“ …Saturday night, June 19th, 10 PM in the beautiful Elco Theatre in downtown Elkhart, Indiana. One by one the musicians file on stage. John Leitham is first, picking up his burnished bass and waiting for the others. Larry Novak, Don Menza, Phil Woods, Louis Bellson. Unreal! They start in unison. What's the expression-it doesn't get any better than this.
Woods takes off, spinning out an expressive line. A wonderful growl comes forth from the bass and drums combined-how do they do that? The bassist is just superb! The drummer is focused on his drums, his gaze unwavering.
Leitham is phenomenal, that rare kind of player you want to chase down at every festival and then listen to all day long. Most of all his way of making the bass a melody instrument, but also his awesome technique and delivery, his ingenious creativity with its subtleties, nuances, breathtaking explorations, his sheer enjoyment of playing his instrument, mark him as one of the finest jazz musicians in the world today..”
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