Band Review

Melding bebop, jazz, reggae, country and rock, the Tiffany Christopher Band is one band you must see. Performing with spirit, con brio and a positive vibe, the group mixes electric and acoustic with some jazz thrown in on vocals and Tiffany Christopher's knack for playing polyrhythms -- a pillar of jazz -- on her guitar. One can see that the band is having a good time on stage. Because of that, you have a good time with this band.

Consisting of Tiffany Christopher on vocals and rhythm guitar, Chester Ellis on lead guitar, John Bamman on bass guitar, and Justin Gabossi on drums and percussion, the Tiffany Christopher Band (TCB) has been together for over a year. Featuring original tunes and covers, the members talk with their instruments, highlighting the personality in their music.

Self-defined as a Jeff Buckley-meets-Dave Matthews-meets-Jack Johnson-with-Bonnie Raitt-mixed-in type band, TCB has drawn on musical influences Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Tower of Power, Bob Dylan, and Rogers and Hammerstein. Those influences, as well as literary influence Tom Robbins, has helped TCB tell narratives through their songs by using imagery as the catalyst for those narratives

The band is comfortable in about any setting. Christopher is gifted, exuberant, positive, and a fantastic stage presence. From her vocal stylings on "Onion Cutter" to her acoustic version of "At Last", she is sure to make anyone swoon. Her true forte, though, is the original music she writes and performs.

Gabossi, Ellis, and Bamman complement Christopher fittingly, as well as flex their musical muscle throughout the performance.

Performances draw upon the comraderie and genuine care the band has for each other. "We're after sending a positive message to people, making people feel free to be who they want to be and to let go of things," Christopher says.

"We like to focus on having a really good show: Not a lot of time between tunes and really unique changes. People get really into it by the end of the show and people just get out on the dance floor."

Gabossi adds, "It's about not holding back. We want to help people liberate themselves through our music."

"In a way it's like being a shaman because it's taking all the energy that comes out of a show, funneling that energy and channeling that energy into the music," Christopher says. "It's a focused energy, a positive energy.

"It's about taking people on a journey. In 3-and-a-half minutes, you can open people's eyes to something they never thought about before or have seen before."

"There is a philosophical and metaphysical vibe behind our music and behind our band," says Gabossi. "Emotionally, music can affect you in positive ways."

TCB will perform at Port Cape on April 29. This show will include a violinist from Boulder, Colo., and special guest Lyric from Carbondale, Ill. The band will also record this show for consideration on a live album to be released later this year.

Future plans for the band include touring Colorado and the Southeast during the summer and fall months. Also, TCB plans to release a new album that encapsulates the energy, vibe and thoughts of band members in October. The album will tell a story from beginning to end.