July 26, 2017

Downbeat Magazine Poll

 

It looks like I was nominated in Downbeat’s Critic’s Poll this year for Rising Star – Vibraphone. If you are feeling so inclined, you can vote for me in Downbeat’s “Readers Poll” for 2017. The link is below. Be sure and write in ‘The Wee Trio’ for best group, ‘Dan Loomis’ for best bassist, and ‘Jared Schonig’ for best drummer.

Link to Downbeat Reader’s Poll

Having put in a shameless plug, the successes of myself or The Wee Trio haven’t been marked or defined by ay poll or magazine. While I’m gracious that the press has raved about the music of TWT, I’m more gratified by the reviews from fans like the one below I stumbled on via Amazon.com. Being able to touch someone’s life with your music is the real award. I will take this reward over a trophy or plaque any day of the week.

 

 

October 7, 2016

WWOZ – New Music Spotlight: The Wee Trio

New music spotlight: The Wee Trio
Authored by: Carrie Booher
Published on: October 4th, 2016

vibesThe Wee Trio formed in Brooklyn in 2008 but sounds of New Orleans are sprinkled throughout their latest, Wee + 3. The Trio tells stories of impressive depth through jazz; it is the most narrative an album could get without having words. New Orleanian James Westfall’s vibraphone jumps out on many songs, particularly ‘Titan Up,’ a tribute to his new Nashville home and their football team.

Local trumpeter Nicholas Payton joins the trio on ‘Sabotage’ and the seemingly Mardi Gras inspired ‘Belle Femme De Voodoo,’ as well as ‘No Justice,’ a song that runs the gamut from beautiful to downtrodden to hopeful. Other guest appearances on Wee + 3 include Fabian Almazan and Nir Felder. The final track, ‘Apparition,’ is a hauntingly beautiful song; immediately bringing to mind some kind of “other” world. Check out ‘Climb’ from the album below.

“As The Wee Trio, we challenge ourselves to never play a song the same way twice,” the group says. “In every live performance we stretch to find something new in that moment, and this act of reaching is a riveting experience for us as well as our listeners.”

The Wee Trio have been met with critical acclaim in recent years. Downbeat stated “The Wee Trio often veers from the expected…questioning the rules of jazz orthodoxy. They keep the music substantive and riddled with direction surprises. Definitely a group to watch.”wee3

The San Francisco Chronicle said “With James Westfall’s vibes in the forefront, the group has a fresh sound, and bassist Dan Loomis and drummer
Jared Schonig flow like the tides. Wee’s sound is not wee, it’s huge.”

Wee + 3 is available now on mp3 from iTunes and Amazon.

You can catch them live in New Orleans at Snug Harbor on November 19.

July 18, 2016

Please help support The Wee Trio’s 5th record

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November 5, 2014

AllAboutJazz Italia!

A new review of The Wee Trio from my second most favorite country.

“Listening to Live at the Bistro is a truly exciting and fulfilling for Both the mind and the body. We hope to see them as soon as possible and listen to These latitudes.” – Di Luigi Sforza – Italian Allaboutjazz

Italian Language

By

Published: 

The Wee Trio: Live at the Bistro

The beautiful cover of the CD-Wee Trio-style comic pop art, Roy Lichtenstein, including onomatopoeia-represents the three musicians in the act of playing.The music is a dynamic and multi-faceted, in line with possible variations of a company on the move.The combination of pop art and  Live at the Bistro  -Disco photographing the performance of the homonymous group of local St. Louis for a couple of years away from  Ashes to Ashes: David Bowie Intraspective -not accidental. Like the works of Lichtenstein, the disk contains no distinction between genders. Pop and bop, funk and rock, swing and cool jazz are references in the joint process of kaleidoscopic musical representation of the group. Each piece is in itself a synthesis of poetic antolologica of the trio, where nothing is hidden within the parameters to change. The execution of each piece is malleable, constantly moving. The sound tracks are not closed square. They evoke images always changing.Live at the Bistro  evokes an imaginary dream in which live sound American “high culture” and “low” energy, frenzy, meditative space, the ability to change perspective and direction to the music, a sense of belonging to a linguistic syntax jazz identity of the modern type , aspiration and realization of a democratic music, in which the parity between vibraphone ( James Westfall ), bass ( Dan Loomis ) and battery ( Jared Schönig ) is the formal discipline of the entire project.That Wee Trio is made ​​up of creative originality of the sound is shown that he knows is powerful, supple, expressive and full of adogmatici references if necessary lackluster. Apart from the aforementioned genres, music that is known to be nicely decorated with baroque-music echoes even then understanding of the jazz tradition that leads inevitably to the  Modern Jazz Quartet .
The trio’s music will not surprise artificially and a priori, simply amazed at the way in which is built: it feeds the exchange of ideas between musicians and performances by no means obvious.
The strength of the group comes from the game of the parts, dall’interplay-that is the mainstay of sound-and an approach to the musical culture of pragmatic – pluralistic and multilingual-in which the unexpected combinations are the norm.

What are the standards (“Cherokee” and “There Is No Greater Love”), to pop songs by David Bowie (“Queen Bitch”) or original pieces (“Sabotage,” “White Trash Blues,” “New Earth” and “Ranthem”), the assumption is the same: to give the performances a deep sense of lightness music. This makes the song highly legible to the user, despite the valuable traits of craftsmanship and technical mastery.

Listening to  Live at the Bistro  is a truly exciting and fulfilling for both the mind and the body. We hope to see them as soon as possible and listen to these latitudes.

Track Listing: Cherokee; Drum Intro; Sabotage; Vibraphone Intro; hite Trash Blues; Queen Bitch; Bass Intro; There Is No Greater Love; Space Jugglers; New Earth; Ranthem; Tig Mack; Drum Intro; White Out.

Personnel: James Westfall: vibraphone; Dan Loomis bass; Jared Schönig: drums.

Record Label: Bionic Records

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January 13, 2014

Louisiana Weekly

New Orleans Jazz CDs of 2013

imgres“Vibraphonist James Westfall, a Houston native who again makes his residence in New Orleans, is an immaculate player who assembled The Wee Trio, a talented and aggressive group, in 2005. The Wee Trio Live at the Bistro stands as an excellent representation of the variety of rhythms, styles and textures – from funk, to swing and even a cover of David Bowie’s “Queen Bitch” – of their performances.” – Geraldine Wyckoff

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January 3, 2014

Offbeat Awards

Every year Offbeat Magazine hosts an awards banquet here in New Orleans. I’m honored to be on a list with musicians that I look up to and/or have mentored my career. The idea of winning or “beating” these artists has no appeal to me but I can’t help but to feel honored to be mentioned on the same list!

 

If you would like take part in the voting process you can click on the link below.

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e8p3kcn2hpec6b5h/a0317t1hpzw8cib/questions

 

Or if you would like attend the event please visit:

http://www.offbeat.com/best-of-the-beat-awards-2013/

December 18, 2013

The Wee Trio in Downbeat Magazine

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