[.ca] V1 Live At The Baked Potato

From Amazon.com:
Starting the mid-'90s, the Baked Potato became one of the few spots where you could hear top L.A. players blowing fusion hot and heavy on a nightly basis. Culled from a series of 1999 performances at the new Baked Potato, now situated near the legendary Hollywood intersection of Sunset and Vine, this CD features train wrecks, warts, and inspired moments under the direction of guitarist Jeff Richman. It's definitely a mixed bag, but there is enough energy and deft soloing here to cause an earthquake. Since much of the action revolves around the drummers (and their ability to make these jams gel), what better way than to start off with a magnificent performance by Vinnie Colaiuta on Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street." Richman, saxophonist Steve Tavaglione, and bassist Abe Laboriel are no slouches, but the anticipation of Colaiuta's solo is palpable, and he doesn't disappoint, exploding with a rush of bass drum/tom flurries and whirling-dervish snare and cymbal stickings. A few Richman originals follow and are pleasant enough, executed by bassist Jimmy Haslip, drummers Chad Wackerman and Ralph Humphreys, pianist Russell Ferrante, and saxophonist Brandon Fields. But then Marcus Miller's "Splatch" fires it up with a 16th-note groove from drummer Dave Weckl and Richman's soaring fretwork. If you can't make it to L.A., and the sleazy Sunset Strip home of the Baked Potato, this is the next best thing to being there. --Ken Micallef

Tasty L.A. fusion without the muzak tendencies:
Bought this on a whim, and have been pleasantly surprised. Richman is a tasteful player with an unique sound and surrounds himself with some some serious musicians. Each tune is stretched out for maximum blowing potential, can't wait to hear Volume two!

Hot Potato:
"Live At the Baked Potato" is a two part cd series that features guitarist Jeff Richman with various fusion performers. This is the first volume and is also the better of the two. Jeff Richman is a very good guitarist with his own non-flashy style of jazz fusion. The disc contains covers as well as a couple of Richman originals. The things that make this disc worth getting are the performances by some of the other musicians. Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street" is the opener on this disc and this is a spectacular version. Abraham Laboriel and Vinnie Colaiuta form a dynamic rhythm pairing and Tavaglione and Richman both add quality solos. The ending of the song is Vinnie cleaning house in a most impressive fashion. The other highlight of this disc is the cover of Marcus Miller's '"Splatch". A short piano imrovisation by Peter Wolf is soon joined by Richman who establishes the melody. This time Laboriel teams up with drumming sensation Dave Weckl to form an undeniably great groove. Richman delivers a fine solo and then Dave Weckl shakes the room with his drumming insanity. The rest of the tunes are solid but unspectacular fusion. If you like fusion then I suggest that you pick this one up; the two highlight songs are worth it by themselves.

• Mercy Street - Peter Gabriel
• Ain't Gonna Wait - Jeff Richman
• Monkfish - Jeff Richman
• Seven Stars
• Splatch - Marcus Miller
• Dreamscape - Simon Phillips