My house has gone from Empty Nest to suddenly having both kids home — my daughter back from college and my son on some downtime from his just-out-of-college job, which entailed visiting colleges in the West and Pacific Northwest (they’re all closed because of the thing). Now I’m around the house, too. Getting some writing done. [Ed. note: Besides being a musician, Philip Booth is a longtime freelancer, publications and project editor, and had a long run as pop music critic for the Tampa Tribune ].
When I wrote this, last week, my band Acme Jazz Garage still had its regular Thursday and Friday night gig at Timpano restaurant in Hyde Park (Tampa), but “out of an abundance of caution” they’re closed until further notice.
Too bad — We’ve been playing there twice a week since 2014, and began playing there on various nights in 2012. It soon was and has remained one of the longest running jazz gigs for a single group in the area.
Acme Jazz Garage: Matt Swenson, electric guitar; Bryan Lewis, acoustic grand piano; Philip Booth, upright bass; Pat Close, drums; Michael Washington, congas; Peggy Morris, flute.
So: Here’s our new single and video, “Rumba Misterioso,” a Latin jazz tune written by me and arranged by the band. Recorded at Springs Theatre, a converted movie theater in the Sulphur Springs area of Tampa. Not a live-on- the-gig shoot, it’s essentially a collaboration between the band, our videographer friend Pavlos, and two dancers from the Florida Dance Theatre in Lakeland. It’s the first “high-end” video we’ve released.
We shot footage of the band on the stage at Replay Guitar Exchange, a musical instrument store in South Tampa, and footage of the dancers at the Italian Club of Tampa, a 100-year-old building in the historic Cuban/Italian section, Ybor City. Our cd Acme Jazz Garage, released in 2016, enjoyed some national reviews and airplay.
My other band, Swan City Jazz Project, has been at Union Hall in Lakeland most Tuesdays since October, but now that’s on hiatus. Honestly, I don’t know if those gigs will return after things go back to normal — jazz gigs are all so very tenuous.
