Boston Horns rocked Beverly; Douglas played last show with band

Last night’s show at Chianti Lounge in Beverly was a send off party for saxophone player Henley Douglas Jr. After playing in The Boston Horns for 12 years, Douglas is moving onto other projects. Throughout the evening, Douglas maintained his composure but his eyes looked watery from time to time. He even told a story about a time he and trumpet player Garrett Savluk went into an elevator full of women in Japan. You had to be there.

Other members of this brassy, funky, jazzy band include drummer John Iltis, keyboard player Ben Zecker, bass player Dave Walker, guitarist Jeff Buckridge, and their trombone player who only goes by the name Squantch.

After all these years, The Boston Horns still impress with their ability to shine as individual musical powerhouses and also with their ability to play so well together without stepping on each other. The dynamic seven piece opened their first set with the horns blowing out some smooth exuberant joy over a full blown groove. This rhythm section doesn’t need time to build up the oomph. They can just go right into it huge and heavy.

Douglas celebrated his last gig with the Horns by putting his heart and soul into his numerous solo spots. Yet, ever the professional, Douglas never tried to make the music all about him. He remained a part of an ensemble. His first sax melody spot found his melody blowing in a spiral, artfully moving around everything else that was going on in the tune.

Throughout the evening Zecker played his piano like a rapid fire machine of precision. So many 16^th notes. So much cool, jazzy ambience. Garrett and Squantch brought trumpet and trombone together in a splendid ebullience in plenty of spaces in the heavy groove.

Boston Horns performed “The Nasty Riders,” another of their instrumentals, making it bop along with greasy horn shots that pieced the melody together in style. The trumpet melody here made its own wall of sound. A tune they called “Big Alice” had an irresistibly skipping beat with a faux barrelhouse piano. The horn section played the melody in glowing, blaring, glorious unison. Garrett took a trumpet solo on a flight of fancy while the rest were rocking behind him.

Buckridge often unleashed his speedy, jazzy guitar phrases, brittle notes riding high into the stratosphere. There were moments of Buckridge knocking off funky guitar riffs and other moments when he made his guitar play something close to acid jazz. This guitar player also made his guitar sing, when he had his high notes, sustained, bent, moving into higher scales as he went along.

Drummer John Iltis added a lot of nice touches of his own when he wasn’t busy lifting all of the sounds around him with his solid beats and quick moves around his set. Iltis gets a nice, full sound out of each drum piece, and his sense of dynamics fits right in with this horn band that never fails to create a sense of largeness with their huge, heavy, busy sound.

Keyboardist Zecker, with his wild, funky 16^th notes, ran the gamut of possibilities, from 1960s soul to hints of modern, jazzy minor chords. One moment he could be heard coaxing a series of soulful organ chords forward or articulating a forlorn melody with his piano tinkling.

Savluk’s trumpet blows hard like a force of nature while remaining intricate in his treatment of the melody. If you have always associated the trumpet with the uncoolness of a high school marching band, Garrett will broaden your horizons. Like never before.

Douglas was gracious enough to share his final night with guest trumpet player Brian Cogger, a 16 year old prodigy who goes to every Boston Horns show he can get to. Cogger was melodic and dynamic in his solo spot and he held his own in the ensemble portions. Not bad at all for a kid his age not to get hurt up there dealing with all of those seasoned pros.

The Boston Horns went into Garrett’s composition he titled “P.E.W.B” and has never revealed to anybody what those initials stand for. The piece, which combines funk determination with jazzy freedom, was marked by Buckridge’s greasy, jazzy leads that breezed by on his cool application of the notes.

The Boston Horns had fun with Lou Donaldson’s “Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky(From Now On).” Buckridge pulled out some more of his tender, brittle notes that he moved through speedily. The group improvised a Cold Blood interpretation of a Willie Dixon tune “All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You” and turned it into a swaying groove that had the crowd swaying to its earthy vibe. Piano tinkling on this got frenetic and reached a point of inspired madness

The band’s own tune “Funkafized” was chockfull of fun stuff, horn shots, funky guitar riffs, and heavy yet fluid bass. Yet, it was the keyboard solo that churned out an exciting echoey chord that resonated underneath it all. Buckridge eventually grabbed his share of the song with a screaming guitar solo that was as crazy as the sound of a tortured animal.

The spoken refrain “Shake That Ass” persuaded all of the patrons who were on their feet to do just that; a line of them snaked their way from the bar area, in and around the tables in the lounge, right up to the stage. Segue into “Give Up Food For Funk” and the dancers got even more into shaking it. After a hearty performance of “Boogie Stop Shuffle,” complete with waves of horn melody over the rocking beat, Douglas gave an emotional, thankful farewell to his fans. The Boston Horns responded with yet another big tune after the crowd called out for more.

The Boston Horns are not crowd pleasers in a commercial sense. But with such a mighty sound and with an intricate knowledge of dynamics, they are sure to always please their own loyal crowds at every show.

This special night for them was no different from the funky fun they have been serving up for 12 years.

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