Vuyani Wakaba & Friends At The Darkroom In Chicago

Vuyani Wakaba once again had the honor of being invited to perform with his jazz fusion band at The Darkroom in Chicago.  This performance was held on Sunday, Dec. 6th, 2009, and it was the innaugural bass show at The Darkroom.  The other bassists performing at this show were Doug Johns and event organizer Jauqo III-X. 

The highlight of Vuyani Wakaba & Friends was the band's tightness and its arrangements.  The band focused on presenting its interpretation of songs by such artists as Herbie Hancock, The Rippingtons, Chick Corea, etc.  Future performances will feature some original compositions along with re-arrangements of other composer's material.

In Vuyani's band were drummer Adrian Garza, percussionist Chris Edwards, keyboard/sax/flute player Dennis Sindberg, and guitarist Juan Garza.  Doug Johns had drummer Chris Ceja with him as usual.  Jauqo III-X had DaLawn Simpson on guitar and Jim Gifford on drums.  Below are some pictures of the musicians who performed at this event.

Bassist Doug Johns & Drummer Chris Ceja

As usual, the city of Cleveland was well represented by Doug Johns and Chris Ceja.  This formidable pair provided slinky funky grooves in new original compositions.  Chris and Doug have built a following in Chicago by performing in past "Jauqo III-X Presents One Night of Bass" events.  During their performance,

Chris and Doug used a wide variety of tools to play their original songs.  At times, Chris Ceja was triggering synth patches while still laying down the groove on the drums.  Doug Johns used effects, a loop station, as well as his phenomenal technique to completely leave the crowd speechless.  Vuyani is looking forward to playing future events with Chris and Doug.

Bassist Jauqo III-X, Guitarist DaLawn Simpson & Drummer Jim Gifford

Event organizer Jauqo III-X and his trio brought to the stage intense and unrelenting grooves.  The most unique experience of the night came when Jauqo picked up and played his Adler Sub-Contra bass (pictured above) that he designed himself.  The range of this instrument is so much deeper than standard basses, it caught the bassists in the audience by surpise.  Amazingly, the sound was still tight and clear!

Jauqo III-X also had an arsenal of effects at his disposal that he used effectively.  Guitarist DaLawn Simpson expertly covered the melodic duties with his nine string guitar.  Jim Gifford anchored the trio from the drum throne.  This unique and creative trio was the closing act of a wonderful night of music.