Anderson Ponty Band (Tucson)

Saw them at the Fox Theater in Tucson the other night. They played some remakes of Yes tunes that were pretty cool, and the music/musicians were superb.

– JLP performed flawlessly and amazingly. He played a beautiful solo that was just way out there and very ethereal and lovely. And he still played with fire and passion, hitting all the notes with his impeccable precision even on a couple of things from back in the ‘hi-fusion’ days.
– Subdued bass from Keith Jones…until necessary! Then unleashing monster 6 string playing for a wonderful solo, and a creative intro to a version of Yes’ Roundabout.
– Powerful drumming from Rayford Griffin with a really great solo piece.
– High energy. multi-instumentalism, and super good playing music vibes from Jamie Glaser.
– Wally Minko the keyboard player was great too and filled it all in without showboating.
– Jon Anderson maintained his complete otherworldliness, while ‘mostly’ hitting all the notes. Seems like a genuinely nice guy and it was cool to see him in a such an intimate venue. What a legendary musical history he has. I saw Yes play three times (Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans, and Relayer…omg were they great)

Anyways, it is well worth seeing them if they are coming near to you. It is not a retro concert, but is especially likable if you have a musical past affinity to the music of JLP or JA. And all the musicians are worth noting and following up with if you have not heard of some of them.