EZ-E Trio: Eric Escanes, Jason Matthews & Aaron Glueckauf at Lagniappe House
Lagniappe House in Miami hosts music nightly. There is a huge outdoor patio with seating for close to 200, perhaps, but the music is in the wine bar indoors, with seats for 50, IF you tetris everybody in, plus standing room. And it is the hottest place in town.
Owing to good fortune, we were in Miami, planning to have dinner with amazing artists and Jam Cruisers Angela Pare Schwartz and Aaron Schwartz. And the music for Wednesday, August 14, would be the EZ-E Trio led by Eric Escanes (Electric Kif, Flo Rida), guitar; Jason Matthews (Electric Kif, TWYN), keyboards & synths; and Aaron Glueckauf (Lemon City Trio, TWYN). We were getting three of our favorite bands, all in one!
We lucked into chairs and standing space right in front of the band. And we were in for an incredible treat. [Full disclosure: we missed the third set.]
The wide-ranging setlist allowed these great fusion musicians to stretch out and explore great material in such a great atmosphere. Escanes eased into “Hottentot,” the great tune from John Scofield’s Au Go Go album, where many of us first discovered Medeski, Martin & Wood playing with him. The vibe of the tune perfectly matched the room as Escanes and then Matthews soloed, all with impeccable support from Glueckauf.
“Hang Up Your Hang Ups” is a regular on Electric Kif setlists, a real rave-up, but the trio kept this one on a tasty simmer, again befitting the room. Each tune was clocking in at about ten minutes, giving them plenty of improvisation time. I missed the title of the next grooves, something about snakes. It too smoked. The trio eased out of the first set with a delicious take of Curtis Ousley’s 1964 smash “Soul Serenade” (you know Ousley as King Curtis).
Set two began with an exploration of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” perfectly understated. The trio followed that with a fine reading of the Lettuce standard “The Breakout,” then “Freedom Dance,” a Lionel Loueke tune. All set long, Escanes used his whammy bar when needed and was superb on that Jimmy Nolan playing that he perfected with James Brown (chunka-chunka-chunka) as well as inventive soloing. Matthews made great use of his keyboard setup, intertwining synths with electric piano, piano, and organ.
A real highlight was the brilliant take on “Fine Corinthian Leather,” the amazing Charlie Hunter composition. Set two closed with a tight version of the Grant Green staple “Jan Jan.” Glueckauf, who propelled the music the entire evening, got a chance to step out on this one.
As great as the music was, the smiles and looks that the trio exchanged with one another were a match. It was a delightful evening, and we’ll take it on faith that set three was the just as awesome.
[ONE: Hottentot (John Schofield w/ MMW), Hang Up Your Hang Ups (Herbie Hancock), Snakes?, Soul Serenade (King Curtis); TWO: Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana), The Breakout (Lettuce), Freedom Dance (Lionel Loueke), Fine Corinthian Leather (Charlie Hunter), Jan Jan (Grant Green)]
