Live at the Baked Potato Vol. 1 (2001) - V.Colaiuta, S.Phillips, D.Weckl, D.Gottlieb, Ch.Wackerman, J.Haslip, A.Laboriel, M.Forman, J.Beal, B.Fields u.a.

Guitarist Jeff Richman, drummer Dave Weckl, bassist Jimmy Haslip, and a few more of their friends got together at the Baked Potato in Hollywood, CA, one evening in 1999 and performed an audacious jazz fusion set that resulted in Live At The Baked Potato. This release is totally raw, purely improvised, and is the first of a two-part series that captures the spontaneity of these great musicians, doing what they do best -- jamming! Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Abraham Laboriel on bass, Steve Tavaglione on soprano saxophone, and Jeff Richman on guitar kick the set into high gear with an 11-minute version of Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street." Steve Tavaglione wails the melody on soprano sax which segues into an awesome guitar solo from Richman. Laboriel walks all over the track with basslines steeped in rhythms similar to Noel Redding's spectacular playing as a member of Jimi Hendrix's band. Drummer Dave Weckl is on fire on "Splatch" with sparks of electricity flying in all directions from his drum kit but leaves its existing framework in tact. His excellent timing, varied rhythms, and syncopated backbeats add to the excitement of Peter Wolf's keyboards and Richman's guitar and makes this one of the more powerful songs on the CD. Live at the Baked Potato ambitiously captures these exciting musicians creating jazz fusion during the Hollywood club's most exciting era. ~ Paula Edelstein

Performers include: Jeff Richman, Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta, Abraham Laboriel, Steve Tavaglione, Ralph Humphrey, Mitchel Forman, Dave Carpenter, Brandon Fields, Jimmy Haslip, Chad Wackerman, Russel Ferrante, Danny Gottlieb, Robert Hurst, Simon Phillips, Tom Kennedy, Peter Wolf, Jeff Babko.

Personnel: Jeff Richman (guitar); Steve Tavaglione (soprano saxophone); Brandon Fields (tenor saxophone); Russell Ferrante (piano); Jeff Babko, Mitchel Forman (keyboards); Robert Hurst (acoustic bass); Danny Gottlieb, Dave Weckl, Ralph Humphrey, Simon Phillips , Chad Wackerman, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums).

Track Listing

Trk	Song
1	Mercy Street See All 8 (with Peter Gabriel)
2	Ain't Gonna Wait (with Jeff Richman)
3	Monkfish (with Jeff Richman)
4	Seven Stars See All 11
5	Splatch See All 4 (with Marcus Miller)
6	Dreamscape See All 22 (with Simon Phillips)