Seattle Hilton
Wayne Bell Quartet at the Top of the Hilton October 1983
Breezin'
The Big Payback
Sexual Healing
Billie Jean
Superstition
When I was a kid in Spokane, in my mid-teens and just starting to get some ability on the drumset,
I met a young man named Malcom Anthony, who was a fantastic pianist. With Malcom, and my friend Alan
Phillps, I played real jazz for the first time. It turned out that Malcom had three brothers who were all
musicians; Wayne, a keyboardist; Merlin, also a keyboardist, and Thornton, a tenor sax player. They had a funk
band called The Shakers. One night, when I was about sixteen years old, Malcom invited me to come down to sit
in with the band at a Spokane nightclub called The Midnight Hour. Even though I was underage, I had no problem getting
in and played a whole set with them, doing a credible job on the James Brown classics and other current R&B which was, and
still is, my favorite pop music. Skip ahead a few years; my friend Pinky also knew these guys, and when I started working with him,
I renewed my acquaintance with them all. Malcom went on to fame as a solo pianist, now known under the moniker "The Great Zyah Ahmonuel';
Merlin was the organist in "A Choice of Colors", the Pinky-led band that opened the Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado (see Audio Files Page 3);
Pinky and I played with Wayne and Thornton at a club in Seattle on E 23rd Street; and Wayne called me for this gig at the infamous Top
of the Hilton lounge, the city's most elevated "snake pit". The bassist was Dave Press; I don't remember who the guitarist and vocalist were.
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Carl Vast today
Carl Vast Demo 1979
Transition
Movin' On
With You
B.Y.D.
The Choice
Watch What Happens
Carl Vast is a professional guitarist from the San Francisco Bay area. He is a very busy bandleader, contractor, and producer. In
1979 he contracted me to do a demo at my little studio. I recruited Dana Brayton to play piano and Dan O'Brien to play bass. We recorded
nine tracks; all but one are originals by Carl.
All tunes (c) 1979 Carl Vast
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The Cornerstone band in 1980
Cornerstone Demo 1980
Hang On
Falling In Love
John The Baptist
Communion
Cornerstone was a "Christian jazz/rock" ministry band in which I played in the 1980s. My high school best friend Fenton Kraft invited me to join himself and guitarist Rob Dingman, percussionist Kurt Oglesby and vocalists Teresa Price and Deborah Bornstine. All the songs were originals by Debbie, Teresa, and Rob. We recorded this demo at my Bothell, WA studio. We played church gatherings, schools, and correctional facilities all over the Puget Sound area for a couple of years. Fenton and Teresa eventually married, as did Kurt and Debbie. Rob moved to England and became pastor of a church there. I last saw Kurt and Debbie while I wa in New York a few years back; I've long since lost touch with my old friend Fenton, who, the last time I saw him in the 90s, was the IT manager at Seattle's Museum of Flight.
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Rorschach in 1976 L-R Top: Fred Taylor, Tim Gemmill, Bruce Phares
Bottom: Bob Cozzetti
Live on KYAC-FM Seattle 1976
For The Rock Artist
Have A Happy day
Astro's Playsong
Rorschach (later renamed the Cozzetti-Gemmill Band) was an early Seattle fusion group. I joined them in early 1976 and played with them for about seven years.
All compositions were written by pianist/trumpeter Bob Cozzetti and saxophonist/pianist Tim Gemmill. These are the three best tracks from our one-hour appearance on Seattle's KYAC-FM
radio show called 'First Take", hosted by Pat Kibbe. In 1982 we released the album "Concerto for Padre', with bassist Steve Bartlett.
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Crow Recording
1983 Power Trio
Processional
Riff Raff
In 1983 I had a series of recording sessions at Crow Recording, where I had recorded 'Court of Circe two year before. My idea was to produce a second album that expanded more on the disparate styles and genres in which I worked. One of these sessions was a 'power trio' of guitar, bass and drums, playing two of my originals: 'Processional', which later was modified and became the title track of the first Inquest album; and 'Riff Raff', which was a jam in 7/4 based upon a bass motif that I had written. The musicians were myself; Bill Barkauskas on guitar, who had performed with me in the Cozzetti-Gemmill Band; and Robert Shangrow, who had worked with me in Sanctuary and several other groups. This material has never been released until now.
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Crow Recording
Duo Improvisation
Duo Improv
As another part of my 1983 sessions, I recruited my friend and bandmate Craig Lawrence, the gifted woodwinds player and composer/arranger, with whom
I had worked in Sanctuary, Jazz Dance, and several other endeavors. Craig and I shared a love for adventuresome improvisation, so I brought him into Crow and we did a half-hour of making up whatever came into our heads. Craig played various woodwinds and percussion; I played conga, tabla, various whistles and flutes, and toy noisemakers. This material has never been released until now. |