Petite Blonde Live (1993)

1.Two Price Hit
2.Brancas' Hal
3.Millennium
4.Oh So Hip
5.Daddy Long Legs
6.Watcher
7.Captain Brutis.

Bill Evans (sax)
Mitch Forman (keyboards)
Chuck Loeb (guitar)
Victor Bailey (bass)
Dennis Chambers (drums).
Recorded: live in Hamburg, Germany, July 4, 1992.

Ostensibly, Bill Evans (sax) led the band for this live outing. The players have all been part of a revolving fusion ensemble that has recorded many albums since the mid-'80s. Keyboardist Gil Goldstein may replace Forman on one album while Jim Beard replaces Goldstein on another. Darryl Jones and Victor Bailey seem to trade off. There are two or three different drummers who play musical chairs. The bottom line is that these players have virtually created a troupe, allowing them to become intimately familiar with each other's musical styles. This makes for some really tight playing.
"Two Price Hit" hits the ground running. Chambers's in-the-pocket drumming provides the impetus for Forman's swathing keyboard chords and boisterous soloing by Evans, who can blow up a storm. Forman's synthesizer work is always creative and informative. His solo is furiously circular in nature. Loeb closes out the solo trips with some classic fusion guitar to help the tune lift the roof. Outrageously paced unison lines are played out en masse and abruptly discarded to end the piece. The unbridled energy let loose in this performance overrides the rather unmemorable composition.
Reviewer: Walter Kolosky.