Music I'm Listening To: Neil Buckley Octet at Plaza Bistro (August 19, 2011)

Last night I went to the hear the Neil Buckley Octet at Plaza Bistro, in Sonoma--right on the Plaza, as you might expect. The restaurant has a large back room where jazz bands of consistently high caliber play on Friday and Saturday nights, often booked by the Sonoma Jazz Society. The restaurant serves full meals in the back room but there is a second bar there as well (the restaurant's main bar is out front). The Octet plays 1950s cool jazz using arrangements by the late Neil Buckley, a well-known West Coast performer. This band is always good but they were in especially good form last night. Each of the eight performers (drums, guitar, bass, trombone, trumpet/flugelhorn, and three sax players) is top-notch, but we heard really tight ensemble playing as well. There was some particularly powerful but controlled trumpet work and a lot of sexy solos on the saxes. Thoroughly enjoyable. The restaurant has solid if not stellar food and an interesting wine list. My son drew his own crowd out on the patio with his yo-yo tricks. (Note that the photo above is from a different gig. Uncharacteristically, I didn't have a camera with me....).