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

Tommy Holladay Quintet at 98 Bottles

98 Bottles hosted the Tommy Holladay Quintet last night, a fascinating blend of emerging and fully formed talent. Holladay is a fine young guitarist working in the post- Abercrombie vein, and he shares the front-line with trombonist John Egizi. Together, these guys have a telepathic chemistry, which was demonstrated by the fluidity in which they phrased melodies.

The rhythm section was hitting it hard all night. On piano, Joshua White has come to a place where he elevates any musical experience, on bass Rob Thorsen was laying down deep grooves and on drums, the remarkably explosive Jonathan Pinson kept the tension ratcheted to an ecstatic degree.

Opening with a tune from the drummer, Holladay began alone, with clouds of volume-pedal swells before Egizi's bone joined in on a ECM sounding melody that reminded me a lot of Kenny Wheeler. Holladay's solo used short, repeating fragments that skirted the edges of tonality--then White picked up on the guitarist's concluding ideas--extrapolating them wildly and drawing Pinson into some furious exchanges. Thorsen took the thick, meaty tones of his bass and applied them with the wisdom of experience for a solo that told a story in itself.

Holladay's clean-toned legato (with a touch of digital delay) opened his "The Song I've Never Heard," with flowing melodic passes, then White proved how lyrical he can be--before turning up the heat with drums in tow. Pinson was super loud and active--sounding like a mix of Roy Haynes and Sunny Murray.

The guitarist's smooth voice -leading set up the the melodic pairing with Egizi on "Deliberation," where trombone and guitar seemed to breathe together. Holladay's solo mixed dreamy ideas with chromatic sequences--building to an exciting climax.

Herbie Hancock's "Riot," was next, starting with explosive fusillades before everyone dropped out but Egizi, who built an astonishing solo that navigated the divide between "inside" and "outside" techniques for his best presentation of the evening. White took the hand-off, sending waves of kinetic energy over the nervous jangles of the rhythm section, sounding like the Cecil Taylor Trio before Thorsen threw down some furious walking lines to channel the swing effect. Pinson and Holladay wrapped it up with winding, grinding ebullience.

Thoroughly enjoyable evening of very modern music, superbly executed. The only drawback was the extremely loud, well-lubricated talking from a small, blond woman in the back. 98 Bottles co-owner Steve Mesaros became my instant hero when he asked her to tone it down--a move that saved the evening for a lot of us.

Photo by Mark Holladay

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

Previous article

Celebrate Holi, Borrego Springs Music Festival

Events March 23-March 27, 2024
Next Article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity

98 Bottles hosted the Tommy Holladay Quintet last night, a fascinating blend of emerging and fully formed talent. Holladay is a fine young guitarist working in the post- Abercrombie vein, and he shares the front-line with trombonist John Egizi. Together, these guys have a telepathic chemistry, which was demonstrated by the fluidity in which they phrased melodies.

The rhythm section was hitting it hard all night. On piano, Joshua White has come to a place where he elevates any musical experience, on bass Rob Thorsen was laying down deep grooves and on drums, the remarkably explosive Jonathan Pinson kept the tension ratcheted to an ecstatic degree.

Opening with a tune from the drummer, Holladay began alone, with clouds of volume-pedal swells before Egizi's bone joined in on a ECM sounding melody that reminded me a lot of Kenny Wheeler. Holladay's solo used short, repeating fragments that skirted the edges of tonality--then White picked up on the guitarist's concluding ideas--extrapolating them wildly and drawing Pinson into some furious exchanges. Thorsen took the thick, meaty tones of his bass and applied them with the wisdom of experience for a solo that told a story in itself.

Holladay's clean-toned legato (with a touch of digital delay) opened his "The Song I've Never Heard," with flowing melodic passes, then White proved how lyrical he can be--before turning up the heat with drums in tow. Pinson was super loud and active--sounding like a mix of Roy Haynes and Sunny Murray.

The guitarist's smooth voice -leading set up the the melodic pairing with Egizi on "Deliberation," where trombone and guitar seemed to breathe together. Holladay's solo mixed dreamy ideas with chromatic sequences--building to an exciting climax.

Herbie Hancock's "Riot," was next, starting with explosive fusillades before everyone dropped out but Egizi, who built an astonishing solo that navigated the divide between "inside" and "outside" techniques for his best presentation of the evening. White took the hand-off, sending waves of kinetic energy over the nervous jangles of the rhythm section, sounding like the Cecil Taylor Trio before Thorsen threw down some furious walking lines to channel the swing effect. Pinson and Holladay wrapped it up with winding, grinding ebullience.

Thoroughly enjoyable evening of very modern music, superbly executed. The only drawback was the extremely loud, well-lubricated talking from a small, blond woman in the back. 98 Bottles co-owner Steve Mesaros became my instant hero when he asked her to tone it down--a move that saved the evening for a lot of us.

Photo by Mark Holladay

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