By: Rick Landers
Dave Kline at the Creative Cauldron – photo credit: Rick Landers
Last night’s mesmerizing performance by The Dave Kline Band at the Creative Cauldron in Falls Church, Virginia, gifted the audience with a diverse array of music brilliance by a five-star group line-up.
Virtuoso violinist and band leader, Dave Kline, packed in melodic expression with precision and clarity that ran the spectrum from beautiful melodic expressions to vigorously riveting Irish jaunts.
Kline has performed at many of the top venues in the Washington D.C. area, including The Strathmore and the legendary Blues Alley, and a few years back the violinist accompanied country star, Dwight Yoakam, as well as the legendary Chick Corea.
“I love your musical universe…it’s so fresh and creative.” – Chick Corea
The Dave Kline band handed out such gifts as a blues-drenched classic “Stormy Monday” (T-Bpne Walker) to Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” with Ken Avis covering guitar and lead vocal. with some Hendrix heft from the fella on violin. The group loaded up with a wonderful complement of songs, including Irish, Calypso, and some fine originals.
Ken Avis and Dave Kline – photo credit: Rick Landers
The classy French Canadian chanteuse, Lynn Veronneau, arrived with her beautiful voice and perfect phrasing. I was hoping she would roll into some expert whistling, as I’ve seen her offer up that talent in the past, a talent rarely heard these days – maybe next time!
Percussionist extraordinaire, Olaolu Ajibade, held down the fort with back beats and some intricate drumming to keep all in synch, as well as rolled into a drum solo that captivated everyone in the place.
(L to R) – Ken Avis, Lynn Veronneau , Dave Kline, T.J. Turqman, and Olaolu Ajibade – photo credit: Rick Landers
Ripping along with uncanny basslines was newcomer, T.J. Turqman, who Kline introduced as experiencing his first performance with the group on this night. His fluid bass pyrotechnics were stunning.
The band has released several albums of their music, most recently, Shifting Borders, that scored a #1 album hit on the Top 50 Jazz Albums list.
Bonus Video
The Dave Kline Band at Blues Alley
