Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Tonga Ross-Ma'u Sextet live at Dizzy's

Ross-Ma'u led a tight ensemble of veteran and younger players through an ambitious program of original material and lesser known standards.

One of Chuck Perrin of Dizzy's greatest attributes is his fondness for showcasing emergent or lesser known talent to the wider San Diego jazz fan base.

On April 14, I got the opportunity to take in a show that featured some players I rarely get a chance to see when multi-instrumentalist Tonga Ross-Ma'u led an excellent sextet comprised of Kamau Kenyatta on piano, Antar Martin on bass, Derek Cannon on trumpet, Richard Sellers on drums and a young LA musician, Javon Harvey on tenor saxophone.

Opening with the gentle swing lilt of "Ugetsu," Cannon emerged first with tart aphorisms, deftly blending velocity with long tones over the powerful lines of Martin. Ross-Ma'u followed on guitar, pushing squiggly lines reminiscent of John Abercrombie and early Pat Metheny. Kenyatta's lush harmonies and self-contained melodic strikes rounded it all out.

"Peter Kobia," by Kenyatta was next, featuring a remarkably cogent tenor solo by Harvey, who had the patience to distribute silence equally among his complex lines. Ross-Ma'u entered with horizontally oriented legato lines peppered with short glissandi before the composer responded with cascading melodic sparkles over the kinetic energy of Sellers.

Kenyatta sat out when Ross-Ma'u went to the piano to lead the band into an original, "The Iron Horse," fueled by the Martin's throbbing pedal-point and the propulsive brushwork of Sellers, whose drums were a constant source of delight. There was a distinctly Wayne Shorter-ish feel to this piece as the leader's piano culled laid-back phrases that built slowly into a climactic exchange with Sellers.

Ross-Ma'us piano and Cannon's flugelhorn began "Of Sun & Sand," as a duo, leading to a breathtaking solo from Cannon's warm horn when the full band entered.

"St. Louis Blues," got a modern makeover, with everyone contributing extended solos, especially Sellers, who dropped some jaws with his architecturally developed feature that kept a strong funk undercurrent just beneath the surface.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween
Next Article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island

One of Chuck Perrin of Dizzy's greatest attributes is his fondness for showcasing emergent or lesser known talent to the wider San Diego jazz fan base.

On April 14, I got the opportunity to take in a show that featured some players I rarely get a chance to see when multi-instrumentalist Tonga Ross-Ma'u led an excellent sextet comprised of Kamau Kenyatta on piano, Antar Martin on bass, Derek Cannon on trumpet, Richard Sellers on drums and a young LA musician, Javon Harvey on tenor saxophone.

Opening with the gentle swing lilt of "Ugetsu," Cannon emerged first with tart aphorisms, deftly blending velocity with long tones over the powerful lines of Martin. Ross-Ma'u followed on guitar, pushing squiggly lines reminiscent of John Abercrombie and early Pat Metheny. Kenyatta's lush harmonies and self-contained melodic strikes rounded it all out.

"Peter Kobia," by Kenyatta was next, featuring a remarkably cogent tenor solo by Harvey, who had the patience to distribute silence equally among his complex lines. Ross-Ma'u entered with horizontally oriented legato lines peppered with short glissandi before the composer responded with cascading melodic sparkles over the kinetic energy of Sellers.

Kenyatta sat out when Ross-Ma'u went to the piano to lead the band into an original, "The Iron Horse," fueled by the Martin's throbbing pedal-point and the propulsive brushwork of Sellers, whose drums were a constant source of delight. There was a distinctly Wayne Shorter-ish feel to this piece as the leader's piano culled laid-back phrases that built slowly into a climactic exchange with Sellers.

Ross-Ma'us piano and Cannon's flugelhorn began "Of Sun & Sand," as a duo, leading to a breathtaking solo from Cannon's warm horn when the full band entered.

"St. Louis Blues," got a modern makeover, with everyone contributing extended solos, especially Sellers, who dropped some jaws with his architecturally developed feature that kept a strong funk undercurrent just beneath the surface.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Zlatkovich soars at Dizzy's grand opening

Next Article

Reka Parker Quartet, + Joe Marillo & Derek Cannon

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader