Review: Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band at the Touhill Perfoming Arts Center

To many of the high school and college student musicians who came to his concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center last Saturday, April 21, Gordon Goodwin is a bonafide star. The students have played Goodwin’s charts in their school bands, bought his CDs and maybe even a t-shirt or two, and look up to him the way earlier generations of student jazz players regarded the bands of Maynard Ferguson, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Don Ellis and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis.

Given that level of esteem, Goodwin and his Big Phat Band (pictured) were a logical choice to perform on the final night of the education-oriented Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival. And given that Goodwin and many of his band members initially learned their craft in the same sort of educational setting – a fact the pianist, composer and arranger alluded to several times during the night – they seemed to feel right at home with the crowd and the venue.

The Big Phat Band’s music has some similarities to the bands cited above, as well as to the "Tonight Show" orchestra under Doc Severinsen and the work of composer-arrangers such as Oliver Nelson, Henry Mancini and Neal Hefti who moved, as Goodwin does, in the worlds of both jazz and film scoring. On Saturday night, they emphasized extroverted, uptempo pieces – there wasn’t a ballad played all night – and showed off some very crisp and precise ensemble work, their exemplary execution providing a fine example for the school band directors also in attendance to share with their students.

Comprised mostly of little-known but highly capable West Coast studio musicians – ex-Chuck Mangione guitarist Grant Geissman was the most recognizable name – the Big Phat Band delivered Goodwin’s charts with unflagging energy and an appropriately professional polish. Trombonist Andy Martin and tenor saxophonist Brian Scanlon stood out among the soloists; trumpeter Rick Sorenson skillfully supplied the high note work; and drummer Bernie Dresel proved adept at powering the 18-member ensemble through a variety of grooves.

As for Goodwin, his piano playing was mostly setup and punctuation, though he did show off some nice chops during one brief solo on “Swinging For The Fences” (an extended reimagining of “Sweet Georgia Brown”), and even picked up a tenor sax for a swinging chorus on “Count Bubba’s Revenge”. As a composer/arranger, he seems still in the process of assimilating his various influences, but nevertheless is capable of some inventive and colorful writing - one standout example being the sax section feature that opened “Hunting Wabbits,” a tribute to the Warner Brothers cartoon scores that featured the music of composer Carl Stalling. "High Maintenance" was an effective concert opener, the sort of chart that used to be called a "flag waver," and "El Macho Muchacho" was a piquant cross-border blend of salsa, samba and country guitar licks from Geissman.

Goodwin also did a nice job expanding his slight theme for the film Attack of The Killer Tomatoes into a full-length big band piece, morphing it into an evocative minor-key blues. Less successful was a superfluous cover version of “Play That Funky Music,” which seemed to exist mostly to give alto saxophonist Sal Lozano a chance to show off a frantic pastiche of Dave Sanborn and Maceo Parker licks.

Overall, the Big Phat Band is a slick outfit that puts on an entertaining show, and other jazz groups might even learn a bit from their presentational style. Goodwin is an engaging MC, informal without getting smarmy, and the band’s entrance in particular was a lot of fun: the rhythm section set up a vamp, over which Goodwin introduced the rest of musicians as they ran on stage one by one, almost like announcing the starting lineup at a sporting event.

This little bit of business, along with others throughout the concert, showed that Goodwin has a good sense of what will appeal to his young audience. However, the Big Phat Band “trivia contest,” while providing a chance for Goodwin to tout some of his musicians’ accomplishments and give away some merch to a few fans, was a real momentum killer during the second half of the show.

Occasional lapses into show biz silliness and/or musical superficiality notwithstanding, Goodwin’s got the style down, and he’s clearly got a fine craftsman’s enthusiasm for his work. He's only been making big band records since 2002; with the opportunity to continue practicing his craft, even greater musical substance ought to follow.