Errand Boy for Rhythm

Saturday night, at the m.o.-x.x. jazz club in Graz, I joined Christine, her children Julia and Maxie, and a host of relatives and friends to hear a trio perform in homage to Nat King Cole. The trio was led by Simon Fanta, a young singer, pianist, and composer of exciting promise (a kind of Austrian Harry Connick Jr.!). Simon is the son of Christine’s childhood friend, Maria Fanta, an architect in Graz. The trio filled out two sets of American standards with virtuosic solos, Thorsten Zimmermann playing a rock-solid bass, and Samuele Vivian zinging thousands of notes out of his electric guitar. Many of the songs were well-known standards (All of Me; Autumn Leaves; Fly Me to the Moon). My favorite: I’m An Errand Boy for Rhythm, by none other than the honoree, Mr. Cole. “If you want to swing and shout, get your kicks and get about, I’m an errand boy for rhythm--send me!”