Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Jazz on Tap

When San Diego trumpet master Gilbert Castellanos performs Latin jazz, it's usually in the context of his New Latin Jazz Quintet, at the El Camino in Little Italy, or Croce's in the Gaslamp.

That group features in essence, two drummers acting as one: Mike Holguin on the traps, and Charlie Chavez on percussion.

On Friday, at Dizzy's, Castellanos organized a group of an entirely different nature to explore other facets of Latin jazz--less explosive, perhaps, but no less compelling.

Handling the percussive chores was the amazing tap-dance artist Claudia Gomez-Vorce, who gives the group it's namesake: Jazz On Tap.

Joining Gomez-Vorce was Castellanos regular Irving Flores on piano, Lorraine Castellanos on voice and guitar, and Evona Wascinski on doublebass.

The concert began with the swing-era classic, "Stompin' At The Savoy" after the bassist established a cool groove. Lorraine Castellanos pumped fresh blood into the well-worn melody and, when the trumpeter entered, the band shifted effortlessly into double time.

Powering the ensemble though it all was the astonishing footwork of Gomez-Vorce. Flores' piano solo constantly engaged the dancer --egging her on to finish his repeated quotes from the Monk classic, "Straight No Chaser."

A Castellanos tune dedicated to the dancer followed and this time Flores let loose with a dense proclamation that seemed fused of equal parts McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea--thunderous power laced with rococo ornamentation.

The trumpeter left the stage for Wascinski, Gomes-Vorce, Flores and vocalist Castellanos to examine a Brazilian tune in almost chamber-jazz fashion. The percussionist dragged her heels along the concrete floor to elicit the sound of the guiro and the bassist led the way, while Castellanos' vocals soared over the changes.

Wascinski has a thick, buttery sound and very solid time. She didn't solo much, but her groove was always there.

The pianist has got a solid sense of the history of the instrument, and when he and the trumpeter performed a duo on the standard "Lover", he made sparks fly with an almost Art Tatum like display of stride piano.

On the closer, "Caravan", Castellanos delivered an essay in plunger-mute dynamics--evoking everyone from Bubber Miley to avant-garde master Lester Bowie, all while swinging his ass off.

Hats off to Castellanos for assembling such an unusual group. It's a nice change to see three strong women in a jazz quintet-- and substituting a tap dancer for the drummer was an inspired choice.

photos by Thomas Westerlin

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room

When San Diego trumpet master Gilbert Castellanos performs Latin jazz, it's usually in the context of his New Latin Jazz Quintet, at the El Camino in Little Italy, or Croce's in the Gaslamp.

That group features in essence, two drummers acting as one: Mike Holguin on the traps, and Charlie Chavez on percussion.

On Friday, at Dizzy's, Castellanos organized a group of an entirely different nature to explore other facets of Latin jazz--less explosive, perhaps, but no less compelling.

Handling the percussive chores was the amazing tap-dance artist Claudia Gomez-Vorce, who gives the group it's namesake: Jazz On Tap.

Joining Gomez-Vorce was Castellanos regular Irving Flores on piano, Lorraine Castellanos on voice and guitar, and Evona Wascinski on doublebass.

The concert began with the swing-era classic, "Stompin' At The Savoy" after the bassist established a cool groove. Lorraine Castellanos pumped fresh blood into the well-worn melody and, when the trumpeter entered, the band shifted effortlessly into double time.

Powering the ensemble though it all was the astonishing footwork of Gomez-Vorce. Flores' piano solo constantly engaged the dancer --egging her on to finish his repeated quotes from the Monk classic, "Straight No Chaser."

A Castellanos tune dedicated to the dancer followed and this time Flores let loose with a dense proclamation that seemed fused of equal parts McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea--thunderous power laced with rococo ornamentation.

The trumpeter left the stage for Wascinski, Gomes-Vorce, Flores and vocalist Castellanos to examine a Brazilian tune in almost chamber-jazz fashion. The percussionist dragged her heels along the concrete floor to elicit the sound of the guiro and the bassist led the way, while Castellanos' vocals soared over the changes.

Wascinski has a thick, buttery sound and very solid time. She didn't solo much, but her groove was always there.

The pianist has got a solid sense of the history of the instrument, and when he and the trumpeter performed a duo on the standard "Lover", he made sparks fly with an almost Art Tatum like display of stride piano.

On the closer, "Caravan", Castellanos delivered an essay in plunger-mute dynamics--evoking everyone from Bubber Miley to avant-garde master Lester Bowie, all while swinging his ass off.

Hats off to Castellanos for assembling such an unusual group. It's a nice change to see three strong women in a jazz quintet-- and substituting a tap dancer for the drummer was an inspired choice.

photos by Thomas Westerlin

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Bass Summit IV at Dizzy's

Next Article

Conference of the Contrabasses

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.