Bill Wurtzel,
Jazz Musician
from New York, Performing at The Park Hotel, Bangalore, India, on 7th
November 2006
It was a packed house, and people had to be turned away as there were
no more tickets and no more place in the hall, however, a few tears brought
relief to some I suppose and they possibly could have got in!
The show started at a little after 8 p.m., and Aruna introduced Bill
Wurtzel and the band - Prashaanth Davidson on 5-string Yamaha
electric Bass, Tillu on Drums, and Pauline Warjri on electric piano / keyboards.
The Stage was rather small, but large enough for the four musicians to
feel comfortable without leaning on each other.
Bill playing a rather slim Guild acoustic electric guitar, accompanied
by Prashaanth and Tillu. The Trio played 'Satin Doll', 'A Day in the Life
of a Fool', and 'The Thumb'. This got the audience in the mood.
Bill gave each player solos, which allowed the musicians to work around
each other. This experience for them was something out of this world, as
they had to keep time in coming in on the bars and try to make the solos
enjoyable to the audience.
Next, Bill played with Pauline, actually accompanying her as she sang
two numbers, 'A Shadow of Your Smile' and 'Amazing Grace'.
Bill tried something a little different to end the first session,
a 'duet' with the drummer Tillu, called 'My Romance'.
The second phase of the program was a little different, Bill got
the bass player and drummer on stage, and played 'C-Jam Blues'.
Bill while playing his riffs, made Prashaanth do a few solos, and interacted
with his playing.
Bill then went on to do a solo Classical guitar piece called 'Capricio
Arabe', this had a mix of Latin-American accent.
Carlton Braganza (owner of the resturant Opus) who had interviewed Bill
in the morning for Radio Indigo, did a vocal solo 'Fly me to the Moon'
backed by Bill and the band.
Bill played 'Blue Bossa' with the bass and drums as a finale.
However an encore brought him on again, and this time he did play a captivating
medely of, 'What's New', 'Polka Dots' and 'Moonbeams', as a guitar solist.
It was an engrossing and absorbing evening, and I think that Bill would
come back and play here again. The audience got to know him and accepted
him as a player they would return to listen to.
Aruna closed the evening with the vote of thanks and Shumone Chatterjee,
the MD of Levis, felicitated Bill with a shawl, and garlands on the other
players.
Later, Aruna gave me a shawl to put on Bill's wife Claire. I quickly
arranged the band with Bill for a photograph before they all dispursed,
and one with Claire. As my battery was down and so was Bill's, I finally
used Tillu's camera for these last two pictures (Thanks Tillu for the
copies!). Talk about Murphy's Laws in action!
We then went for the sponsor's 'Black Dog', not thinking of Led Zeppelin!
It was after 10 p.m.!
My Comments - The show was entertaining, just right for the time limit,
musically stimulating, and the backing players did they bit, being embarrassed
into doing too many solos they were not prepared for. I would have thought
Pauline could have picked one vocal piece and the other instrumental. I had
asked her to play with Bill based on her instrumental talents, not knowing
that she also had a vocal talent!
Thanks to Jagadeesh for the pictures of audience, Bill playing and Bill's
felicitation.
Cheers
Ronnie
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The show started at a little after 8 p.m., and Aruna introduced Bill
Wurtzel and the band - Prashaanth Davidson on 5-string Yamaha
electric Bass, Tillu on Drums, and Pauline Warjri on electric piano / keyboards.
Bill playing a rather slim Guild acoustic electric guitar, accompanied
by Prashaanth and Tillu. The Trio played 'Satin Doll', 'A Day in the Life
of a Fool', and 'The Thumb'. This got the audience in the mood. 
Bill gave each player solos, which allowed the musicians to work around
each other. This experience for them was something out of this world, as
they had to keep time in coming in on the bars and try to make the solos
enjoyable to the audience.
Next, Bill played with Pauline, actually accompanying her as she sang
two numbers, 'A Shadow of Your Smile' and 'Amazing Grace'.
The second phase of the program was a little different, Bill got
the bass player and drummer on stage, and played 'C-Jam Blues'.
Bill while playing his riffs, made Prashaanth do a few solos, and interacted
with his playing. 
Bill then went on to do a solo Classical guitar piece called 'Capricio
Arabe', this had a mix of Latin-American accent.
Carlton Braganza (owner of the resturant Opus) who had interviewed Bill
in the morning for Radio Indigo, did a vocal solo 'Fly me to the Moon'
backed by Bill and the band.
However an encore brought him on again, and this time he did play a captivating
medely of, 'What's New', 'Polka Dots' and 'Moonbeams', as a guitar solist.
Aruna closed the evening with the vote of thanks and Shumone Chatterjee,
the MD of Levis, felicitated Bill with a shawl, and garlands on the other
players. 
Later, Aruna gave me a shawl to put on Bill's wife Claire. I quickly
arranged the band with Bill for a photograph before they all dispursed,
and one with Claire. As my battery was down and so was Bill's, I finally
used Tillu's camera for these last two pictures (Thanks Tillu for the
copies!). Talk about Murphy's Laws in action!