By TOM BOWSER
The Spin Quartet played the Chicago Jazz Festival on Friday, September 4, at the Jazz Heritage Pavilion (North Promenade). The Jazz Heritage Pavilion was a large tent with bench seating close to the stage and chairs positioned further back from the stage. The sides of the tent were fully opened to let the summer breeze blow smoothly and comfortably through the space. It was a perfect summer day to listen to great jazz music.
Unfortunately, like most people my wife and I had a limited amount of time we could spend at the Chicago Jazz Festival. We had seen Chad McCullough and Geof Bradfield when they played with James Davis and his band Beveled. We liked what we heard, but wondered if The Spin Quartet would differ enough from Beveled to warrant seeing both bands.
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We were both pleasantly surprised. The musical compositions were unique between bands. Geof Bradfield played tenor saxophone instead of the bass clarinet he plays with James Davis. Geof is also a talented sax player. Chad played trumpet most of the time, which gave the Spin Quartet a different sound and feel from Beveled, in which he played flugelhorn. Combined with the lively double bass playing of Clark Sommers and solid drumming of Kobie Watkins. My wife and I were happy we added The Spin Quartet to our Chicago Jazz Festival schedule.
The Spin Quartet currently has 2 different CDs available for purchase. In 2015, the CD " Starting from Zero" was recorded at a live performance in Chicago. It features Chad McCullough – trumpet/flugel, Geof Bradfield – tenor sax, Clark Sommers – bass, Kobie Watkins – drums. The CD " In Circles" (Origin Records) was recorded in 2014.
The Band:
- Chad McCullough - Trumpet & Flugelhorn
- Geof Bradfield - Tenor Saxophone
- Clark Sommers - Double Bass
- Kobie Watkins - Drums
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The Chicago Jazz Festival is one of the largest, high-quality, FREE jazz festivals in the United States.