 Also Upcoming:Friday, April 11, 8-11pm-Bob DeVos/Andy LaVerne Quartet with Mike Richmond and Billy Drummond at Trumpets Jazz Club, Montclair, NJ and
Sunday, April 27, 7pm Bob DeVos/Oscar Perez Latin Jazz Quartet in Concert at LunaStage Jazz Series, West Orange, NJ
See www.bobdevousguitar.com for details
Bob DeVos Organ Quartet “A Powerhouse Band That Delivers”–Zan Stewart
Bob’s current CD Shadow Box catapulted to No. 6 on JAZZWEEK’s TOP AIRPLAYS CHART and was the October, 2013 WBGO CD Selection of the Month. Hear why, when Bob and the CD personnel play album selections and the band’s signature mix of standards, jazz standards, blues and DeVos’ hyper hip originals at the Kitano Jazz Room on Thurs Feb 27.
DeVos propels his Hammond B-3 experience deep into 21st century jazz without losing the soul of the masters he came up with: Richard “Groove” Holmes-Sonny Stitt, Jimmy McGriff-Hank Crawford & Charles Earland. Shadow Box spins dazzling variations on the blues: a New Orleans second line groove on Percy Mayfield’s The River’s Invitation, a Latin take on Wes Montgomery’s Twisted Blues, along with Bob’s blues-in-disguise originals– Shadow Box, Blue Print and After Burner, Bob’s swinging tribute to “The Mighty Burner.”
Reviews for Bob DeVos/Shadow Box
Inspired solos-Dead On!—Brad Farberman, Jazz Times
The guitar-driven organ combo is in full effect and Bob DeVos and his fine ensemble are burning that torch brightly…Great inventions from an inventive and diverse crew. Swings with strong passion and verve and spotlights smooth harmonic and unison interplay— Eric Harabadian,Jazz Inside New York
DeVos plays the blues and bop with the best, he has a nice fat tone and with tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen the two push each other in non-traditional B3 directions. While the blues certainly runs through most of these tunes, many are tricky and this complexity gives parts of the session a very contemporary modern jazz sound. Drummer Steve Johns is a delight and with three meaty frontmen, he makes the intricacies work.—Elliott Simon, The New York City Jazz Record
Bob DeVos and his long time bandmates have forged an identity that transcends all influences with a momentum and energy level that never flags; they create a sustained, tightly coiled excitement. DeVos is a mature artist who continues to grow and evolve in ways that matter. Shadow Box seeps into one’s consciousness and doesn’t let go.—David Orthmann, All About Jazz
A cooker all the way—Marc Myers, JazzWax: CD Discoveries of The Week
DeVos is a killer jazz guitarist with so much soul–swinging, bopping and hard charging throughout, DeVos shows up ready to play and blow you away. A sumptuously killer of a date where the cooking is always with the gas on high. A winner throughout.—Chris Spector
DeVos eschews anything but pure notes: no tremolo, no hammer-on’s, nothing but perfect playing each note singing out fully—the perfect foil for Bowen to blow some glorious sax lines. DeVos has appeared with a long list of greats over the years—Stitt, Crawford, McGriff, Earland and others—and is solidly nailed into what’s gone down since: The two fuse quite nicely here—Mark S. Tucker, Acoustic Music
A sparkling, melodic exploration of original compositions spiced with some blues, a bit of Latin flavor and some straight-ahead jazz…An ensemble that works together in support of the music; they play with nuanced clarity, rocking guitar and organ work and dynamite solos.—Jack Goodstein, blogcritics.org
Bob DeVos is at his prime and that prime delivers some of the richest moments in jazz right about now… This is an amazingly big band sound from a small group of musicians. Unforgettable experience—Grady Harp
Guitarist Bob DeVos continues his astute combination of blues, rhythm & blues, and bop- and soul-saturated jazz on his fifth release as a leader, the hour-long Shadow Box. There’s a sense of celebration and virtuoso playing. DeVos has the adept ability to offer what is anticipated but can also expertly strip away expectations.–Doug Simpson, Audiophile Audition
A meeting of compatible musical minds that is a pleasure to hear. When they fall into an easy groove as they do on songs like “Basie in Mind” or “Born to Be Blue,” it is kick off your shoes and put your head back time, but most of the time the album is a real cooker.—Joe Lang
DeVos finds the right mix of heat and feel: It’s straight ahead hard bop with the groove and the changes in mind. Bob solos excellently, fluidly, and very coherently with some fine strings of note-ing and groovy chords.—Grego Applegate Edwards, Gapplegate Guitar
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