It's
Showtime! Johnny Showtime, that is... Chicago-based trombonist
technically known as John Janowiak. I have a new phone number
as of Oct. 2007: 773-761-7709.
The
recent CD from my funky groove-based jazz combo, Soulio,
was reviewed in the April issue of DownBeat:
Trombonist
John Janowiak’s nickname “Johnny Showtime”
speaks volumes about Soulio’s music. The Chicago quintet
plays in a rhythmic style that makes no bones about aiming
to please. Soulio boasts of bringing soul back to jazz,
but its sound is actually an amalgam of loping funk, Blue
Note-like hard bop and a blues-driven vibe reminiscent of
the Jazz Crusaders.
The
band neatly skirts the down-and-dirty, applying sheen to
the material that keeps things from getting too deep. Yet
within its particular niche, Soulio sounds like a band in
command. Janowiak logged many years in another Chicago ensemble,
Liquid Soul, and there’s a similar, if slightly rootsier
groove laid down here.
--Jeff
McCord, DownBeat, April 2008
Hear
or order the CD at the Soulio
sounds page or our myspace
page.
PROJECTS
& GIGS
Besides Soulio,
I regularly gig with several different bands including the
Larry
King Orchestra, Tributosaurus,
Skip Towne
& the Greyhounds and more. Don't let this list scare
you from calling, however. I'm
always looking for talented musicians to work with.
TRAVEL
PICS
I went to Thailand in February! Here are pics from that trip
as well as some of my other travels:
Thailand
Mexico City
Japan
More Pics
