While jazz guitarist Nate Najar has been spending more of his musical time in the Bossa Nova and Samba world, since his pairing with singer Daniela Soledade, our audiences first knew Nate for his swinging jazz trio, often alongside bassist John Lamb.
The swing version of Nate Najar is back this Sunday at 4 p.m., along with two other guitarists and a crack rhythm section for a show we’re calling Nate Najar’s Swing Guitars.
The show is in the intimate Side Door Cabaret. Reserved seats are already gone. A few general admission tickets remain. To get yours please follow this link.
Carl Amundson and Dominic Walker are the other guitarists on the bill with Nate. They are joined by bassist Joe Porter and drummer Jean Bolduc. The program features repertoire from Duke Ellington, Thad Jones, Django Reinhardt and more.
“I played with Carl years ago,” Nate told me. “He had a band called the Modern Guitar Quintet doing swinging, cool jazz. He’s such a good guitar player.”
Along with being a virtuoso guitarist, Amundson is also a composer and arranger. The ensemble will be playing his arrangements on Sunday.
The third guitarist is Tampa Bay favorite Dominic Walker, who was also known for his stint as a programmer on the late and much-lamented WUSF All-Night Jazz programs.
“Dominic swings,” Nate told me. Which is something I already knew from seeing him numerous times. “He’s greasy and he plays the hell out of these charts.”
(Just to clarify, “greasy” is how Nate describes Walker’s style of playing, not his personal hygiene.)
Along with the ensemble pieces, the players will do some solos and duos that show off their chops.
I’m planning to be in the Side Door to introduce the show. I can’t wait to catch these three guitarists swinging together on our stage.
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