Acme Jazz Garage
Tampa, Florida, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Catch a local supergroup comprising reputable jazz and funk musicians - Creative Loafing
Great set at 'Talking Animals'! Acme Jazz!!! Wow! - Cheryl Mogul, WMNF, 88.5 FM (Tampa)
Jazz fusion jam band Acme Jazz Garage plays Yeoman's Road Pub on Friday night. - Creative Loafing
There’s no telling what sort of project local bassist, writer and all-around jazz scene leader Philip Booth is going to get into next. He’s played with groups like Trio Vibe, Greenwich Blue and his own Philip Booth Quartet, not to mention an array of solo gigs with artists like Bo Diddley.
These days he’s focusing on Acme Jazz Garage, a jammy, jazzy, organ-driven group made up of local favorites: Tim Diehl (drums), Matt Swenson (guitar), Mike Aloia (keys) and occasionally singer Angela “Gee” Washington.” Looking for a comparison? Medeski Martin and Wood is a good place to start —Booth describes their sound as “a mix of jazz, blues, funk, fusion and R&B.” At the recent WMNF Talking Animals Music Night at New World Brewery, they played a soulful mix of funk and jazz songs that all dealt with chickens, including John Scofield’s Chicken Dog and Ron Levy’s Chicken Fried Snake.
On Saturday, Acme Jazz Garage will perform with Belinda Womack at the Child of the Sun Jazz Festival in Lakeland. On April 28, they’ll be at the Blue Parrot Bar and Grill in St. Pete Beach. Then on May 12, look for them as part of WMNF’s Tropical Heatwave concert.
- TBT - Tampa Bay Times
Ease into your Sunday with soul food flavors and a performance by an all-star group of musicians otherwise known as Acme Jazz Garage; low-end maestro Philip Booth (Trio Vibe, Ghetto Love Sugar) and beats maker Tim Diehl make up the grooving rhythm section, guitarist Matt Swenson delivers jazz and blues-informed guitar licks and riffs, and keys man Mike Aloia jams the organ funkiness. - Creative Loafing
Discography
Acme Jazz Garage, Studio Demo (2012)
Acme Jazz Garage, Live/Studio Collection (2012)
Photos
Bio
Jazz, blues, funk, rock, New Orleans R&B, fusion and jamband styles meet in the music of Acme Jazz Garage, whose recordings have been heard on WMNF, 88.5 FM and WUSF, 89.7 FM.
Acme Jazz Garage features guitarist Matt Swenson, drummer Tim Diehl, bassist Philip Booth, keyboardist Mike Aloia, and, on some gigs, saxophonist Rick Runion.
Acme Jazz Garage puts its own twists on Dr. Lonnie Smith's "Norleans" and "Play It Back," the Meters' "Pungee" and "Look-a-Py-Py," Paul Simon's "One Trick Pony," Herbie Hancock's "Canteloupe Island," Santana's "Lightning," and Beck's "Loser," along with tunes by Miles Davis, Jeff Beck and MMW, and originals in the same vein.
The band, regulars at Ella's Americana Café in Seminole Heights, in 2012 played the WMNF Tropical Heatwave Festival (Ybor City) and the Child of the Sun Jazz Festival (Lakeland), and opened for national act Dave LaRue at Skipper's Smokehouse in north Tampa, where the group has played on multiple occasions.
Also in 2012: New World Brewery and the Italian Club (Ybor), Timpano (Hyde Park), Yeoman's Road (Davis Islands), the Green Parrot (Carrollwood), and the Blue Parrot (St. Pete Beach).
PHILIP BOOTH (bass) has played with Trio Vibe, Greenwich Blue, and the Philip Booth Quartet, jambands Ghetto Love Sugar and the Jonathan Powell Quartet, and other jazz, rock, and blues acts, including a short-lived band with Acme Jazz guitarist Matt Swenson. He did one-off gigs with rock legend Bo Diddley, jazz master Larry Coryell, and Nat Adderley sidemen including "Kind of Blue" drummer Jimmy Cobb.
TIM DIEHL (drums) toured the Southeast with show bands before landing a Disney World house gig with the Macar Brothers. He founded The Bank and Jazztek and was the house drummer for one of Tampa’s hottest nightclubs. The drummer for Hyde Park United Methodist Church since 2004, Tim is also a teacher and clinician. The USF graduate played with the jazz and symphonic bands, and the percussion ensemble.
MATT SWENSON (guitar) has shared stages with the area's best blues, R&B, and jazz musicians, working with a diverse group of musicians including boogie-woogie piano master Mitch Woods, blues harmonica legend Rock Bottom, The Backbreakers, Juke Joint Kings, TBone Hamilton, DW Gill, Willie Lomax, Will Quinlan, and Julie Black. Freddie King, Kenny Burrell and Cornell Dupree are among his influences.
MIKE ALOIA (keyboards), who played with Matt in the Juke Joint Kings, hails from the New York scene. There, he served hard time with The Hackensack Men & The Trenton Horns, laying down the funkified groove for the horn-driven 10-piece band. He also performed and recorded with bluesman Sam Taylor (former music director for the Apollo), Otis Redding, and the Isley Brothers.
RICK RUNION is a longstanding member of Central Florida favorites the Free Time Jazz Quartet, and has played with many Tampa Bay area bands and musicians.
Acme Jazz Garage has also worked with singer Belinda Womack; several other keyboardists, including young jazz master Ben Winkler, jazz and R&B journeyman Kevin Wilder, and jamband/rock wizard Raulton Reichel; and saxophonists Jeremy Powell and Rodney Rojas.
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