The following is a review of our Friday night show at Feinstein's written by Nick Mondello. We had a fantastic time performing for the packed room. Many more to follow; stay tuned!
Joey Pero and His Band - LIVE at Feinstein's - 10/16/09
Trumpet phenom Joey Pero rocked the casbah last night at the ultra-elegant Feinstein's in New York. And, judging from the packed-full house that was there, he probably rocked the cash bar, as well. This was a spectacular - yet truly fun - virtuoso performance by a brilliant young trumpet artist.
In one exciting extended set (which included a deja vu double performance of "Crazy," displaying Pero's vocal skills) the group offered up selections from Pero's widely acclaimed CD, Resonance. Covering an incredibly wide range of tune types from straight ahead jazz ("A Fine Romance"), brilliantly performed classical trumpet literature (the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto and Bach's Goldberg Variations) to Broadway (Wicked's "Defying Gravity"), Pero and Team simply electrified the audience.
Pero's mature-beyond-his-years display of trumpet skill spewed sparks from his trumpets. He has the scream chops of Maynard Ferguson, the technical wizardry of an Allen Vizzutti, and the jazz-tech chops of Clifford Brown (displayed in a near-flawless rendition note-for-note of Clifford's classic solo on "Cherokee"). Pero's rhythmic energy and dynamic subtleties mirror Wynton Marsalis (who gifted Pero with one of his magnificent Monette trumpets). Pero's fine comp skills as witnessed by his original "Wrapt" lead me to believe that there are probably more in the hopper - or should be.
Joey's boyishly engaging onstage persona (almost Elvis-like with tux and scarf donned, spit curls draped over forehead) seems to add nicely to the entire Resonanceconcept (which Pero discussed between tunes).
Pero was supported by a fine quartet of young musicians (Jon Ware, Piano; Pete Abazia, Drums Jeff Little, Bass) including marimba performer Simon Boyar, whose technical and rhythmic skills on the instrument were show-stopping stroboscopic. Wow!
I had the pleasure of being introduced to Joey's parents and some Family who attended. They surely must have been wet-eyed proud of this terrific young man and player whose future has got to be white-hot bright. As I mentioned to them after the wonderful show, "Mr. and Mrs. Pero, I think you can be incredibly proud of Joey. This kid is truly an honest-to-goodness 'American Idol.'"
And he really is, too.
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