People like a twenty year old Anthony Wilson, a teenage Dan Lutz, and an off to college Gretchen Parlato come to mind. I saw all of them at the YAJS first, and for a $5.00 cover (students get in for free). Its the best kept secret in town. This month was no exception. I took my seat, had my customary delicious Catalina's beet salad with chicken and then the band came on. It was a five member Latin jazz group who call themselves The Latin Connection. They were dressed to the nines and not looking old enough to know what a typewriter was. Chase Morrin, the leader of the group, looked the youngest and as it turns out, he is actually 15. He promptly seated himself behind the very large black grand piano and the quintet launched into “Nardis" by Miles Davis. That tune set the tone for the rest of the evening. The familiar jazz standard was given a whole new Latin arrangement by Chase Morrin and it was tasty, surprisingly sophisticated and it totally cooked. Each member of the band excelled on their instrument and had plenty of chances to showcase their chops, but Chase Morrin on acoustic and synthesizer keyboards was just amazing. He had great technique and his solos were full of interesting ideas and rock solid rhythmic underpinnings. He had plenty to say and lots of soul and humor to say with He was matched by his obvious partner in crime Chris Burgess on tenor sax who blew soulfully throughoutplaying off Chases every musical thought. Also in the set were some Chase originals with mostly Latin rhythms. I especially liked the tango “Kona Kai" and “Fazed which Chase" mentioned was radically different every time they played it. The head of the tune was quite stellar melodically and it only got richer with the explorations each musician took with it. Michael Valentini on bass really shined on this one. Throughout the set, Chase did his arranging magic with So What, Night in Tunesia and the closer Watermelon Manand each were consistently fresh and exciting. Much kudos must be paid to Daniel Feldman and Fernando Gomez on timbales, congas, and percussion. They kept the whole thing groovin' and when its Latin Jazz if it aint got the ritmo its nada baby. When I closed my eyes I could have heard these young cats on any stage anywhere in the world slaying the house... If this is what the future of jazz looks like, Im there...
--Mark Winkler, LA Jazz Scene, August 2009
