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Please note,
that on Saturday January 10, 2004 a full house at the
Rex Hotel were musically Fryed! It was an evening of
hot R&B, Swing and Blues that the crowd will not soon forget.
The Saturday Nite Fish Fry took over the small stage at
the Rex with the full band led by Bill King on piano
and vocals. Check out the number of quality musicians in the
big version of this band, Kevin Clarke and Brian
O'Kane on trumpets, John Johnson on alto sax,
Bob Brough on tenor sax, Chris Gayle on baritone
sax, Neil Chapman on guitar, Scott Alexander on
the upright bass and David DiRenzo on drums. Nine
talented players sizzling the audience on a cramped
platform.
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 - Rex Hotel - 2004.JPG) |
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The sets
started off with the band swinging away on "Pachuco Hop" with each player getting a spot to shine. Bill King who
has developed into one great singer in his own right sang some
well known tunes like “Can’t Be Satisfied”, “Down By The
River”, and one of my favourites, Clarence Garlow’s New
Orleans hit “Bon Ton Rouley”. He also did one of his new
originals, “I’ll Miss That Girl”. Bill and the band really
warmed up the Rex’s patrons for Toronto's newest singing star. Things started
to really get cookin’ when Shakura S'Aida, with no more room
on the stage, grabbed the microphone on the main floor and started
to sing. Hell, the world changed at that moment as this beautiful
lady let loose. There’s not a better singer than Shakura in this
town that I know of. She’s got everything it takes to front a band
like this. Her vocals seem so effortless yet impact you like an
explosion. Some of the songs Skakura sang included the famous “House
Of Blue Lights”, Dinah Washington’s ”I Just Couldn’t
Stand It Any More”, “Don’t Freeze On Me” originally
recorded by Jessie May and the classic Ann Cole number
“Easy, Easy, Easy”, all the right tunes that left the
gathering in the room applauding and wanting more after she left the
stage. It doesn’t get any better than this.I really hope that The
Saturday Nite Fish Fry with Shakura record a CD and get it out
very soon. I could see Shakura S'Aida and The Saturday
Nite Fish Fry band again any day of the week, just tell me when
and where. I love being musically Fryed !
Eddy B
(photo by Eddy B - January 10, 2004) |
