Sam, Akira, and Jordan
It’s been a few years since Sam’s last stint at Blues and Jazz, and now the Boston-based guitarist and singer is back with the “classic trio” (plus one more) to rock the new location. The rest of his classic trio I speak of, in case you weren’t around when they played either of the two stints at the old House of Blues and Jazz, around 2 and 4 years ago, are drummer Akira Nakamura and bassist Jordan Scannella, famous for laying down extra-solid grooves in many styles all night, every night. And as a bonus, they’ve added keyboardist Todd Marston to the mix this time, who arrived this week to give Sam some extra chordal support. Sam is a solid guitarist, but having a keyboardist should leave him a bit more space to focus on the vocals sometimes. I have to get back down there soon to check them out as a quartet, because I’m guessing that it has compounded the greatness of this already amazing group.
Sam and his band play the hell out of blues, rock, funk, and soul, but I might be leaving something out because they are pretty darn versatile. If you’re lucky, you might be able to get Jordan to show off his mad freestyle skills, for example. And don’t be surprised if they bust into some reggae grooves or drum n’ bass. And I believe there’s plenty of original music getting performed by these guys, though they don’t hesitate to pay homage to the greats of these genres.
The group is doing a 3-month contract I believe, finishing out the end of the year before something else happens in there. When I went to hear them early last week, there were at least a few dozen people in there, so I guess that means the new location of the club is starting to catch on pretty well. Not to mention they’re hiring groups that really know how to get the crowd going, like Sam Hooper and the hard-working showman who just finished his contract, Carlton J. Smith. Hooper’s band has quite a different sound than his predecessor Carlton, but both have been invited back to the House multiple times so they’re all doing something right.
They are also keeping the Sunday night jam session tradition alive, so bring your axe down on Sunday if you like to play funk, soul, blues, jazz or something else you can jam with other people on!
