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

Ian Tordella Group returns to The Back Room

One of the cool things about the SD jazz community is the opportunity to witness the ongoing evolution and development of key players like tenor saxophonist Ian Tordella, guitarist Joey Carano, bassist Ben Wanicur and drummer Richard Sellers, who came to 98 Bottles last night as the Ian Tordella Group.

Lately, the Tordella ensemble has been a quintet with two guitars, but this concert was pared down to a quartet, which made for an interesting contrast. Carano is an exciting and very original player who fills up a lot of sonic space in unusual ways. The group didn't suffer at all with just him at the gig.

Opening with Wanicur's probing ECM bass ostinato, Tordella's keening, deep-toned tenor sketched out the theme to Joe Henderson's "Black Narcissus," while Carano brushed oblique chords in support. Tordella utilized a digital-delay with mostly positive results--although there were times he landed just this side of John Klemmer's infamous echo-plex abuse. Carano built his solo slowly, using minimal materials until he let loose with chromatic sequences broken up by tangentially related chords.

The odd-metered arrangement of "While We're Young," featured Tordella weaving curlicues of scales and arpeggios in a dark tone--while Carano strung together short phrases and repetitions to establish tension before breaking out with long, winding lines.

Richard Sellers' powerful, yet sensitive drumming provided the fuel for the slow-rock drama of "Expectations." Carano utilized a wah-wah pedal tastefully to elicit slowly undulating clouds of harmony--and Tordella heavily modified his own tone as well.

The title track from Tordella's latest release, "Tragic Comedy," was well represented, the saxophonist digging in with a lean, protean solo and Carano building a breathtaking presentation starting from just one note.

An extremely psychedelic interpretation of a Stereolab song was next, powered by the kinetic energy of Sellers and the schizophrenic comping of Carano's multiple delays, harmonizers and pitch-shifting effects.

The band closed with an animated run through Charlie Parker's "Relaxin' At Camarillo," featuring a hefty, wood-grained feature for Wanicur, and heady solos for Tordella, Carano and Sellers.

Photo by Michael Klayman

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

One of the cool things about the SD jazz community is the opportunity to witness the ongoing evolution and development of key players like tenor saxophonist Ian Tordella, guitarist Joey Carano, bassist Ben Wanicur and drummer Richard Sellers, who came to 98 Bottles last night as the Ian Tordella Group.

Lately, the Tordella ensemble has been a quintet with two guitars, but this concert was pared down to a quartet, which made for an interesting contrast. Carano is an exciting and very original player who fills up a lot of sonic space in unusual ways. The group didn't suffer at all with just him at the gig.

Opening with Wanicur's probing ECM bass ostinato, Tordella's keening, deep-toned tenor sketched out the theme to Joe Henderson's "Black Narcissus," while Carano brushed oblique chords in support. Tordella utilized a digital-delay with mostly positive results--although there were times he landed just this side of John Klemmer's infamous echo-plex abuse. Carano built his solo slowly, using minimal materials until he let loose with chromatic sequences broken up by tangentially related chords.

The odd-metered arrangement of "While We're Young," featured Tordella weaving curlicues of scales and arpeggios in a dark tone--while Carano strung together short phrases and repetitions to establish tension before breaking out with long, winding lines.

Richard Sellers' powerful, yet sensitive drumming provided the fuel for the slow-rock drama of "Expectations." Carano utilized a wah-wah pedal tastefully to elicit slowly undulating clouds of harmony--and Tordella heavily modified his own tone as well.

The title track from Tordella's latest release, "Tragic Comedy," was well represented, the saxophonist digging in with a lean, protean solo and Carano building a breathtaking presentation starting from just one note.

An extremely psychedelic interpretation of a Stereolab song was next, powered by the kinetic energy of Sellers and the schizophrenic comping of Carano's multiple delays, harmonizers and pitch-shifting effects.

The band closed with an animated run through Charlie Parker's "Relaxin' At Camarillo," featuring a hefty, wood-grained feature for Wanicur, and heady solos for Tordella, Carano and Sellers.

Photo by Michael Klayman

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.