There's a quote that says...

... "expect the unexpected".

It's a rather funny misnomer of a quote, really... how can you expect something that is unexpected? But that's what happened last Friday and Saturday (28 and 29th July) at TTR@TH.

Just a shortie: it was the Julian Chan Quintet featuring Sharizan on vocals, with me on saxophones, Eddie Wen on trumpet, (*update*) LEONARD YEAP on piano (and loads of comedic quotes on those ivories!), Albert Yap on electric bass, and newcomer Martin Ngim on drums.

We had only two short (and rather incomplete rehearsals), and I was putting our drummer, Martin, a lot on the spot, as this is probably one his more serious jazz gigs (something he hardly gets to do). Being fairly new in the styles of swing and bebop, ie. mainstream jazz, it was a swim or sink case for him (not to mention me giving him a slightly hard time during rehearsals)!! Some of the tunes were tunes we were playing for the first time, so it was quite a challenge too.

Oh did I mention, I had quite a challenge of putting this band together? I managed to get Sharizan to sing with us a few days before the gig, unfortunately Ida couldn't do it as she was committed to a stage production in Istana Budaya (hey Ida, if you're reading this.. no worries hun.. next time, yeah?). Thankfully Sharizan was available! Even my bass player AJ, couldn't do it, so I managed to get Albert (from Eye-2-Eye Jazz Mix) to do the gig.

I must admit, I was rather worried about last night's gig. There was very little time to rehearse the instrumental repertoire, as well as Sharizans vocal tunes. But amazingly (and with blessings from UP there!), the band pulled through and played their butts off in the process, while Sharizan rocked the house with his amazing stage presence and strong vocals! They did an amazing job last night (of course, with the help of a few drinks!), and we didn't just pull through the tunes... we PLAYED them (never mind a few bloops here and there)! Even Martin rose well to the occasion. You can watch out for Martin.. give him a couple of years down the road, he'll be kickin' a lot of butt on the drums!

On behalf of the band, THANK YOU to those who dropped by last night for the gig! Come back again, if you will.

And to the rest of you, there's one more night to go tonight. And it's only RM25++ with one drink, in an intimate room for some good jazz, and like John Klenner and Sam M. Lewis' tune Just Friends (something we're playing as well), that's the vibe you get in Top Room... you're among friends. So head down there tonight, and don't be shy and say HI to the band!

Lastly, also come down to the Sunday Jazz Jam Sessions @ The Top Room... take this opportunity to listen to some good jazz from the most seasoned cats in town and hang out and learn a few things, with a few guests to jam with them, as well. If you're a musician, bring your horns/axe/sticks/whatever knick knacks that make music, and come down to jam as well!

Read more about it here!

Hope to see y'all there!

*update*

I'm seriously getting old here... how could I forget you, Leonard!? I actually forgot to mention one unsung hero of the night, LEONARD YEAP on piano! He's like the fuel to the fire for Sharizan, with both of them spontaneously playing and singing Chinese songs as a joke, during breaks in between songs! And what you get when you put this crazy motley crue... FIVE MINUTES OF NON-STOP LAUGHTER ON STAGE!! To quote Albert... "I've never laughed this hard in a jazz gig before!!". LOL!!

PS: So sorry Leonard.. hahaa.. I'm really slippin' here, man!!

*Update 2*

Check out a review of the show on All Dat Jazz...