The 2005 Convention Felten &
Michelle All-Star Jam
By Bob Felten (with Tami Michelle)
For the 2005 AFG Convention I thought that with so many
great players in the club I would really enjoy an
opportunity to perform with some of them. So we booked
our set as the Felten & Michelle All Star Jam.
Tami and I invited AFG players who live locally, were
available for the scheduled rehearsal and convention, and
who had played with us on other occasions. These included
AFG Musical Director David Oakes, long time AFG member
Ric Ickard, and the Guitar Romantica duo Andres Carrasco
and Kent Lindsay. We also wanted to surprise the AFG
audience with someone special. Tami and I had performed
with Doc Doolittle (alto sax) for several years, and we
thought it would be cool to introduce Doc to the AFG (and
the AFG players to Doc.) He is an incredibly creative,
melodic player in any style. He produced Tami's
"Lucky Man" CD (recorded at A&M's Studio
C), and has played professionally for years on the road -
and off - with several name musicians (Jackie Wilson,
Natalie Cole). We also wanted to include Bob Saxton,
although we knew he wouldn't be in town for the
rehearsal. We hoped if we sprung it on him at the
convention he would be willing to join us, which he was
happy to do.
On a stormy day, in the middle of a downpour, during what
became the 2'nd most rainy season in L.A., this group of
great musicians hauled their equipment up the stairs to
our house in Redondo Beach, California.
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| Kent, Ric, David & Andres at
the buffet |
I wanted to start the jam with just a few musicians, then
slowly build up by bringing in additional players one or
two at a time. Each player was matched with certain songs
to bring out textures in the tunes. Lastly, to be able to
ensure good sound, David would be on the sound board when
Tami was performing, and Tami would run sound when David
was on stage.
After Tami's very nice buffet lunch, we got down to
business. I'll describe the songs in the order performed
at the convention. First were two Tami Michelle originals
- "Still the Spark" and "Your Eyes" -
with Tami on Fingerstyle guitar / vocals, Doc on alto
sax. This was intended to be a gentle opening,
introducing Doc and showcasing his soft melodic sax over
and around Tami's Gibson L-5 and beautiful voice. Then a
special surprise: Tami, Doc, and Bob Saxton performed the
classic Eddie Arnold tune "Any Time" (written
by Zeke Clements). Tami had previously recorded this song
in a Santa Monica, California studio with a backing band
of name players - again produced by Doc Doolittle. She
wanted to do this song for AFG founder JD Roberts, as it
was the title tune on JD's debut CD last year. Bob Saxton
and Doc had fun trading some great country licks back and
fourth over Tami's rhythm guitar and vocals.
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| Bob Saxton, Doc Doolittle &
Tami Michelle |
Ric joined Doc on the Blackburn and Suessdorf
standard "Moonlight in Vermont." This gorgeous
ballad is one of Doc's favorites, and has been recorded
by Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, and as a duet by jazz
guitarist Johnny Smith and sax player Stan Getz. (One of
Doc's influences.) Doc recorded a beautiful version on
his own CD "The Doc Doolittle Quartet." Ric had
also been performing this song solo. At a Felten &
Michelle gig at Borders Books awhile back, Doc and Ric
were our special guests. Tami requested they play
"Moonlight in Vermont" that night as a
guitar/sax duet. It was absolutely stunning! At our
rehearsal for the AFG convention everyone was spellbound
as they ran through it. Ric had brought his new
seven-string guitar and was playing it for the first time
that day.
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| Doc and Ric at the Convention |
Next we rehearsed the songs I was planning to
perform with Doc and the other guitar players. These were
some jazz tunes I had been performing at my weekly solo
restaurant gig in Palos Verdes. First, with David Oakes,
Ric, and Doc was "Autumn Leaves," a standard
recorded by several different artists.
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| Bob Felten & Doc Doolittle |
Then we planned to step up the energy of the
show, bringing in Guitar Romantica (Andres and Kent).
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| Andres Carrasco & Kent
Lindsay |
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| Bob and Doc on Stage |
By now there were five guitarists plus Doc, and
we all took solos on "Blue Bossa." This Kenny
Dorham latin tune recently appeared on the Guitar
Romantica debut CD "Beyond Borders." We
rehearsed it faster than usual, but not as fast as Andres
and Kent's version. David Oakes jokingly called it
"Blue Samba." We followed that with the Charlie
Parker blues "Billy's Bounce."
For our last tune Tami joined us on guitar on the
seven-guitar-and-sax-grand finale "Limehouse
Blues." This tune has been around decades longer
than any of us. I've heard it played in many styles
including versions by Chet Atkins with Jerry Reed, and in
the 1920's by guitarist Eddie Lang. I play a double
string harmony arrangement taught by David Oakes at one
of our AFG seminars a few years ago.
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| The Grand Finale - Bob Felten,
Bob Saxton, Doc Doolittle, David Oakes, Tami
Michelle, Ric Ickard, Kent Lindsay, Andres
Carrasco |
After this final number, JD Roberts and Freddie House
formally presented Doc with an AFG pin, inviting Doc to
be an honorary member of the club as well as naming him
official AFG Sax Player.
More recently Doc played with David Oakes at Granita out
in Malibu, and has added his alto sax to a new jazz CD I
am currently recording, which will include "Autumn
Leaves," "Blue Bossa," and "Billy's
Bounce."
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