WARREN GREIG QUARTET LIVE AT RELISH BAR AND GRILL
It was a Sunday morning at 11am. Not quite the time you would expect to see a jazz quartet in a bar. Be that as it may, in anticipating this event I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
I had never been to this bar before. It’s way out in the east end where I don’t usually frequent, being a west end and now downtown guy. But It’s not a bad spot. Small but quaint and comfortable. The stage is situated at the front of the bar, right at the entrance (literally at the entrance). When you walk in the door if you take three steps instead of two you become part of the entertainment. 
Nuff said about the bar, lets get to the reason for my visit. I met Warren through a site called Fandalism. It’s a site for musicians of all genres from all over the world who’s skill levels can range from aspiring to astonishing. Through that site Warren and I collaborated on a song I wrote and produced called ‘Song for Warren’ (Ya I know, not too original but I was in awe of this man’s playing). The song is below. It was done a while back when our recording equipment wasn’t the best and it shows but you still get the feel of the track.
It was then that I realized we lived in the same country and the same city. So when I found out he was performing live there was no way I was going to miss that.
Originally the gig was to include just Warren, another guitarist and bass player but I was pleasantly surprised to find a quartet including a drummer (bonus). The group consisted of Warren, Steve Sherman (guitar), Harvey Pipher (drums) and Mauro Bellotto (electric bass). This was a group of players Warren had played with separately over the years but brought together for this gig.
So let me start off by saying this warren dude really shouldn’t be playing the guitar. He broke his left wrist and now has a implant replacement. He crushed his right elbow socket and had that reconstructed. And years ago he had an accident where he lost the tip of one of his fingers on the right hand and now has a special attachment to simulate the finger tip and nail for finger picking. That being said, the way Warren plays, its as if none of that ever happened. He is truly a wonderfully gifted guitar player. He’s a very smooth, very thoughtful and intuitive player.
The music consisted of jazz standards, bossas and a few jazzy blues tunes thrown in. I must say that Steve is quite a good player in his own right. His comping behind Warren was creative and thoughtful and his solos brought a well received bluesy feel. The rhythm section of Harvey and Mauro was very cohesive with some interesting touches from Harvey and inspired solos from Mauro. It’s as if these guys had been playing together for some time.
The two sets I saw were engaging and entertaining. These are well seasoned players who’s musical skill, creativity and soul were on full display. Glad I was there.
Find out more about Warren Greig below:
Youtube
Biography
Fandalism
Here are a couple clips from the performance on Sunday December 18, 2016 and a few others