| Frankfurt Musik Messe 2007 |
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 The Frankfurt Musik Messe is the European equivalent of the NAMM, a huge music fair featuring countless exhibitors, buzzing with tons of people involved at every level of the music business and packed with musicians, amateurs and professionals.
The reason for me traveling to Frankfurt was to catch up with David Garfield. David was attending the fair as part of Russ Miller & Friends also featuring bassist John Peña and saxophonist Eric Marienthal. The band, who recently worked on Russ Miller's brand new solo album 'Arrival', was put together by Russ on demand from Yamaha who endorses him.
The event was star-studded and walking through the various halls I saw The Scorpions' Rudolf Schenker, Slayer's Kerry King, Winger/Dixie Dregs' Rod Morgenstein, current Santana drummer Dennis Chambers, former Santana drummer Horacio El Negro Hernandez, members from legendary Swiss hard rock band Krokus, members from Europe, former Manfred Mann Earth Band's vocalist Chris Thompson, New York legendary session guitar player Hiram Bullock (James Brown, Sting, etc.) or the very talented and prolific Swedish guitarist/songwriter/producer Tommy Denander amongst others.
I spent most of my time in the Yamaha Hall as a) David Garfield played there, b) the Yamaha people were very gracious to me, c) the line-up playing on the Yamaha stage was superb and d) they exhibited impressive gear/equipments/instruments.
The Yamaha stage featured several high profile endorsees such as Billy Sheehan (bass player for Mr. Big, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, etc.) and Rage's guitarist Victor Smolski. They also presented a very talented folk/blues singer from Canada but living in Germany, the excellent Dave Goodman, whose album 'Rocks Skies & Waters' I highly recommend.
Russ Miller & Friends played three sets of 30 minutes each on the first three days and two sets of 45 minutes on the Saturday which was the only day open to public. The band had German guitar player Christian Tolle as guest. They surprised the Saturday crowd by featuring the high-energy and funky Hiram Bullock on two songs of which 'Compared To What', a tune made popular by Al Jarreau and covered on one of Eric Marienthal's solo album.
The set list was made up of songs taken from Russ Miller's, David Garfield's and Eric Marienthal's solo albums as well as the Los Lobotomys tune 'Big Bone'. Each set was different.
It wasn't a normal concert setting as the gigs took place around 11 am, 2pm and 4 pm every day. The stage was actually a sound proof 'box' located in the Yamaha Hall. It was quite an impressive setting as you could not hear anything if you were not inside. The sound inside was fantastic, powerful yet very clear.
The quartet was in fine form and getting better with every set. Russ Miller, whose credits include Nelly Furtado, Christina Aguilera, Andrea Bocelli, Bobby Caldwell, Ray Charles and Jennifer Love-Hewitt amongst others, is a top class drummer. I really dug his playing throughout as he possesses a very deep and fat groove. Russ is to be put in the same category as people like John 'JR' Robinson, Gregg Bissonette or Steve Gadd. Drummers with a wonderful technique but very groove oriented. Drummers who never forget to play for the song and respect the music but who know to let go when the time is right.
Eric Marienthal was the real discovery for me. I was somewhat familiar with his playing through his many sessions with musicians like David Benoit or Don and Dave Grusin. Surprisingly I have never heard his work with Chick Corea for which he is mainly known for.
Marienthal is quite an impressive player. Unfairly maybe categorized as a smooth jazz solo artist by most, he definitively deserves higher and wider popular recognition. Like Brandon Fields, but in a very different style, Marienthal marries and mixes his many influences to create his own voice. Perfectly at ease in a fusion setting ('Big Bone') or in a R&B/groovy mood ('Compared To What'), Eric Marienthal delivered the goods with passion.
Bass players are rather seldom given the chance to shine. John Peña is a great groovy player. The kind of player holding a band tightly together at all time. But Peña is not afraid to intelligently 'show off' when the time is right. An inventive soloist with a fiery slapping technique, he displayed great warmth in his playing even though he was not using his tool of choice (i.e. his usual custom-made bass) in Frankfurt.
Last but not least, David Garfield. I might be tempted to say I experienced 'David as usual'. There is of course nothing negative in that remark when one knows how much respect David shows for the music and the audience and how much heart and soul he puts in every gig. Frankfurt was no different. As much at ease accompanying or soloing, David's tasteful playing brought a big smile to everyone's face. Even more so when he spontaneously broke into Cream's 'Sunshine Of Your Love' for a few bars, followed without a missing beat by his three colleagues. Totally and utterly fun!
The live setting in a 'jazz' situation is always interesting. It however can sometimes sound pompous and pretentious. Peña, Miller, Marienthal and Garfield never fell into this trap. At all times, they played with a purpose, making every note feel meaningful.
If this line-up sounds exciting to you, check out the Russ Miller web site and order his newest album Arrival.
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