Ron Gutierrez

Gutierrez wowed the audience...at the Coleman Hawkins Legacy Jazz Festival. - Topeka Capital Journal

“Other arms reach out to me/Other eyes smile tenderly/Still in peaceful dreams I see/The road leads back to you,” Ron Gutierrez sang in a smooth voice on Saturday at Manhattan Arts Center.

In the audience, several people closed their eyes or nodded their heads in time to the music. At the end of the number, some added an enthusiastic “Yeah” or whistle to the applause.

Gutierrez, a renowned Kansas City, Mo., jazz vocalist sang the Ray Charles song “Georgia on my Mind” during the first of two hour-long sets. The performance was part of the arts center’s Swing City Jazz series.

"First of all, he’s an outstanding vocalist,” said Tess Purvis, director of marketing and programs at the center, after the first set. “Everybody loves it.”

He was accompanied by Craig Akin on acoustic and electric bass, drummer Kevin Wickliffe, and Charles Williams on the keyboard and piano, as well as associate professor of music Wayne Goins on the guitar.

“I liked it a lot,” said Tracy Peters, freshman in business. “I’m a big fan of jazz, mainly Ray Charles, Nat King Cole.”

Peters said she preferred the older songs to contemporary jazz.

“I liked both sets, but I liked the first set the best,” she said. “It was romantic and slower. The second was a little more contemporary. I enjoyed it.”

Gutierrez, who has played at large venues across the country, said he enjoyed singing at the Arts Center for the first time.

“It’s nice, intimate,” he said. “Something this size, it’s perfect, really.”

Patrons were welcome to walk around during the performance.

“We like to keep it really mellow,” said Goins, who helps coordinate the jazz series. “It’s almost like a bar, nightclub and a cabaret all in one. Not a bad seat in the house.”

Goins met and played with Gutierrez and the others for the first time Saturday night, without having practiced. During the performance, the musicians looked to one another, signaling things like key changes and solos.

“We talked about it before he came here,” Goins said. “I told him I’d like to join in the fun. His reputation is impeccable. With the level of musicianship he’s on - and I think we’re both on that level – we’re able to just play off of each other.”

Goins said it was easy to play along, because he was familiar with the songs.

“His repertoire was stuff I grew up with,” Goins said. “All that music was right up my alley. We didn’t have to practice. These guys are great musicians. They make you proud to be a jazz musician.”

“Excellent, excellent vocals,” said Victoria L’Ecuyer, a volunteer at the arts center. “I think it’s our best one this season. I was enthralled.”

Goins said he hopes to have Gutierrez and the others back as soon as he can, possibly for a Valentine’s Day show in February.

For more information on Gutierrez and his music, visit www.rongutierrez.com.
- The Kansas State University Collegian

This double CD, recorded last October at the Manhattan (KS) Arts Center is just what you'd expect from seasoned pro, Ron Gutierrez. Several adjectives attach appropriately to his sound: warm, personable, effortless – not to be dismissive of his energy, witness opener “Route 66.” (BTW, although the rhythm section's intro is a clinic in swing, it isn't the singer's key. The transition is a winker – smooth...fun.)

Charles Williams' rhapsodic piano ushers in “Since I Fell for You,” the breathy ballad mostly front-phrased, the second bridge punctuated with facile leaps. Note: Gutierrez has a full complement of vocal tools which he uses discriminately. A “Big Noise...” bass intro punches up “Autumn Leaves,” the introductory chorus featuring voice/bass only. (Ron's phrasing/voicings remind me of Lloyd Schad, one of my all-time favorites.) Akin's stalwart bass fills the donut and Wayne Goins contributes a roarin' guitar solo, the first of many.

“ Georgia ” follows, a l2/8 feel underpinning Gutierrez's savvy tenderness. Another great piano solo – each is praiseworthy – offers a polished excursion through the familiar changes. After mellow bossa “Night and Day,” Akin's bass once more accompanies the reflective baritone's “One For My Baby,” wherein he effectively preaches the bridge, then delivers the outchorus with resolute torment. Nice.

The liner notes refer to a “bonus track” but you'll have to wait a bit for the sound. I thought my player was malfunctioning but after a l-o-n-g pause, a rompin' “Teach Me Tonight” emerged. Gutierrez pulls out his pop chops and sails through this (second) closer with surprise guests Jim Mair (tenor) and Rod Fleeman (guitar) delivering masterful turns. There's also a fine bass solo but the liner notes don't reference the player and Gutierrez's acknowledgement is unintelligible.

Kevin Wickliffe's cadence introduces “Summertime,” Volume Two's funky first cut. Grover Washington 's cyclical “Just the Two of Us” follows, a quasi-rock crowd-pleaser with Goins contributing a brief but nice comp behind the vocal. Gutierrez has impeccable chart-sense, his scatting predictably smooth and clever.

“The Look of Love” is true to the vocal blueprint, also boasting Goins' Benson-like double stops and Williams' passionate keyboard. “When I Fall in Love” is butter-melting tender with only a slight woof: it's “forever” and “never” - but with Gutierrez's sonorous warmth and the ability to utilize grace note attacks and releases at will, who cares? A perfect piano solo – complete command and control guiding the romantic ideation – completes this choice.

The unconventional intervals which characterize Stevie Wonder's “It Knocks Me Off My Feet” are no problem for R.G. and this version provides a major seam for Goins' ravishing guitar solo. Check out this singer's falsetto in “Going in Circles,” the intense (and rangy) ballad made even more special via Akin's pensive bass interlude.

Goins' sassy guitar atop a familiar syncope immediately reveals what's next (and last): Benson's “On Broadway,” nicely covered – and then some – with a fiery scat solo and yet another Goins gem. If it seems I've neglected Kevin Wickliffe's contribution to these discs, it's unintentional. Having once been married to a drummer (the father of my two incredible offspring), I know how they often fail to feel the love. Wickliffe is content to serve as timekeeper, punctilious...pulsating...imaginative (p.r.n.) and – here – delivers an extended duet with Goins, then (briefly) Akin, with time to spare (pun intended). This one wins for distance at 8:03 .

Gutierrez is enchanting, the rhythm section is worth the price alone, and all deserve your attention and support for an ambitious effort fully realized.

—Carol Comer

- J.A.M. (Jazz Ambassadors Magazine)