Walter Savage Soothes The Savage Beast CD

Walter Savage is another artist from San Francisco's large and active jazz community. A bassist of considerable talent, this album debuts him as a leader. The title of the album is a take-off on William Shakespeare's famous conclusion that "Music soothes the savage breast." Often "breast" is erroneously substituted by "beast" and with the leader's name being Savage, well hence the title. But the music is anything but brutish. There's an assorted play list of compositions by Savage running the gamut from mainstream jazz, such as "Cah La La La La La," the exotic "Thai Forest," and the modern "Morning Bird." It's on this track that Savage displays his considerable virtuosity on bass -- he takes a long solo that, instead of being boring, is riveting. If a Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra were ever to be composed, Savage would be an ideal candidate as the soloist. Humor is not forgotten, with two versions of a swinging "Gotta Use the Bathroom." One is instrumental and one is sung by Savage with a voice somewhere in between Joe Williams and Leon Thomas. One of the prime cuts on the album is Savage's woeful saga of "Timothy James" and his many driving violations bemoaning that the "only ticket he doesn't have is the winning lottery ticket." The title tune features the soulful sax of Bob Johnson who, with trombonist Al Bent, does good work throughout the session. Despite its menacing title and cover, Soothes the Savage Beast is almost an hour of well-written compositions engagingly played by a group of musicians who clearly know what they're doing. Recommended. ~ Dave Nathan

As the son of a Baptist minister, Walter Savage's church duties were many. But the one he enjoyed the most was being the church pianist. Walter became interested in bass, however, after seeing and hearing Paul Chambers perform with Miles Davis. He immediately purchased a bass and began lessons with Leroy Vinegar, Al McKibbon and other bassists in the Los Angeles area. He is known mostly as a jazz bassist, however, Walter has proven himself as singer, pianist, and composer as well. His blues pop, rock and jazz vocals are truly distinctive and compelling. From 1963 to the present, Walter has appeared in the rhythm sections of Tony Scott, Gerald Wilson, Mary Jenkins, Horace Tapscott, Taj Mahal, Gloria Lynn, Sonny Chris and Arthur Blythe, to name a few. Walter has also appeared with Bobby Hutcherson at Hermosa Beach's famed Lighthouse Jazz Club. Since moving to the Bay Area, Walter has worked with the likes of David (Fathead) Newman, John Handy, Pharoah Sanders and Richie Cole, Harold Jones, Donald Bailey and Mary Stallings (jazz cruises)."Soothes the Savage Beast", his debut CD, is a remarkable collection of original compositions that run the gamut of jazz stylings. Tunes from this CD have been featured on KCSM 91.1, San Francisco's premier jazz radio station. Dave Nathan's AMG review reads, "...Savage displays his considerable virtuosity on bass...is riveting..."Soothes the Savage Beast" is almost an hour of well-written compositions engagingly played by a group of musicians who clearly know what they're doing." Walter can be heard on the following recordings: William Marshall, "For My People" Horace Tapscott, "The Giant is Awakened" Elaine Brown, "Seize the Time" Lamonte Johnson, "Sun, Moon and Stars" label Besides working actively as a teacher, Walter also works a full schedule of club, casual and concert performances around the San Francisco Bay Area. Regular venues for this talented artist include Jazz-at-Pearl's in North Beach, Enrico's Sidewalk Cafe, The Black Cat, Yoshi's in Jack London Square, Club Jazz Nouveau in The Cannery and numerous festivals including San Francisco's Fillmore Street Fair, the Union Street Festival and the Vallejo Shoreline Jazz, Art and Wine Festival. Look for his upcoming CD, "Autumn's Witch".