Concert review: Shelley Carrol

Tenor saxophonist holds court Mondays at Expo Park's Amsterdam Bar

by Catherine Cuellar

EXPOSITION PARK — You wouldn't expect so many great musicians to fit inside the Amsterdam Bar, especially at 9pm on a Monday when there are more open tables than patrons, players, and staff combined. But over the next hour or so, musicians start trickling in -- Gary Granger schlepping a trap set, "Big" Jonathan Fisher with a bull fiddle, Scott Bucklin on keys, and the man of the evening, Shelley Carrol.

Since Marchel Ivery passed away in 2007, Carrol (originally from Houston) has been North Texas' top tenor saxophonist. His instrumental quartet's set includes a catalog of 10 originals and hours of standards. They've been in the studio and plan to release a CD of new material in 2008.

Meanwhile, dozens of jazz fans (minus the floor space taken up by instruments) make the shotgun-shaped watering hole feel full. The air is redolent with pipe and cigarette smoke, but conversation is comfortable without earplugs.