Favorite New Local CD: "Pink Elephant" by the Bryan Dean Trio
"This is the best concert we've had up here," noted a member of the Oro Valley Arts Council after listening to the Bryan Dean Trio rock the crowd in the plaza at La Encantada. Bryan is a 25 year veteran of the Tucson blues scene, and has played with both Bobby and Sam Taylor, Tony and the Torpedoes, and recently with Grams and Krieger. He is joined on the CD and on stage by drummer Ralph Gilmore and bassist Koko, his lovely and talented wife, who provide a solid rhythmic backline behind the blazing lead guitar. "Pink Elephant" came out in 2007 and has been frequently featured on KXCI's "Locals Only" show. The CD includes 8 original songs and 4 covers, and showcases Bryan's inventive and sometimes humorous songwriting as well as his seasoned musicianship. The musical style has a powerful blues beat laced with jazz-inspired improvisation and a strong dose of acid rock to keep it kickin'. My favorite cover on the CD is the classic "Thirteen Women" by the late Dickie Thompson.
Bryan has been married to Koko for 7years now, and first saw her when she had come from Japan as a student and was playing bass with a band on the street downtown. Three weeks later she came into a Sam Taylor gig where Bryan was playing and he had the opportunity to talk to her. He says she is "the most improved player I know" and besides ably backing up her husband, she is often called to the stage during the Wednesday night jam sessions with Deacon at the Hut on 4th Avenue to back up whoever signs up to play that night, and shows a remarkable ability to hold down thebottom behind a variety of lead players. So if you pop into a jam session and see a bass player with raven hair long enought to sit on and a driving bass line, you'll know that you're having the good fortune to hear Koko Dean.
Bryan Dean and Ralph Gilmore will be the friends playing with Steve Grams and Danny Krieger as "Grams and Krieger and Friends" at the 2008 Blues Heritage Festival. "Pink Elephant" will be on sale at the festival in the Zia Record booth, at performances of the Bryan Dean Trio, and through the group's web site www.MySpace.com/BryanDeanMusic.
(Written by Chars Rogers, Fall 2008)
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