Chicago's Rhythm Rockets, a seven piece Jump, Rhythm & Blues Band, perform an original tune from their CD...She Swings Blue- Vol 1: The Joint Is Jumpin'. Available at www.cdbaby.com The First Saturday of every month the Rhythm Rockets perform at Katerina's Supper Club, 1920 W Irving Park Rd., Chicago, IL RHYTHM ROCKETS REVIEW 10-6-12 It takes courage to open an evening's festivities at a music club with an entire set of material slated for upcoming album release. After all, longtime fans aren't familiar with any of it. That didn't deter the Rhythm Rockets at Katerina's on West Irving Park Road from introducing their latest set list additions to a sizable crowd on Saturday evening. From the warm reception those relatively unfamiliar numbers received, the CD promises to sell well. Long a Chicago area attraction, the Rhythm Rockets specialize in jumping horn-fueled R&B;, the great majority of it culled from the immediate postwar era (along with a few original numbers along the same lines), with an occasional torch ballad strategically situated. Guitarist/band founder Dave Downer has his band classily decked out in suits and ties (matching the classy surroundings at Katerina's, an intimate jazz club and restaurant), and the sax players stand behind illuminated music stands, adding to the retro ambiance. But there's nothing dated about this outfit; sky-high energy levels and rollicking rhythms keep things live and lively. Along with Downer's crisp T-Bone Walker-influenced licks, played on a Epiphone hollowbody (he displays two identical gold ES-295 models onstage, complete with matching Bigsby bars), the Rhythm Rockets boast a pair of stellar tenor saxists as their primary soloists: Sam Burckhardt, who developed his authoritative sound over many years as blues piano patriarch Sunnyland Slim's loyal sideman, and Mike Bielecki, whose animated stage persona is as entertaining as his wide-toned wails. Acoustic bassist Lou Marini and drummer Mark Fornek provide a formidable rhythm section that genuinely knows how to swing (no small feat these days), and vocalist Nicole Kestler displays just the right tone in her appealing delivery. This fun-loving crew sounds like it was indeed born jumpin' those blues. --Bill Dahl, journalist/music historian www.billdahl.com

• published: 15 Sep 2013
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