SUE PALMER & HER MOTEL SWING ORCHESTRA: Eight to the Bar

Sue Palmer and her Motel Swing Orchestra played their first concerts and club dates back when Tony Soprano ruled his criminal empire with his bada-bing, and Martin Sheen played a president everyone could love on the West Wing. We heard about hanging chads in Florida and for the first time we could take pictures with our phones.

That’s a long time ago.

For a quarter century, one of San Diego’s most beloved ensembles has been honking and screaming and swinging and singing and rocking and rolling. If memory serves me correctly, with the exception of singer Liz Ajuzie, the Orchestra has consisted of the same musicians throughout its entire lifespan. The band has just released their latest CD, Eight to the Bar, and the whole Motel Swing crew are all here, drummer Sharon Shufelt, trombonist April West, Pete Harrison on bass, the guitar of Steve Wilcox, saxophonist Jonny Viau.

And while these veteran musicians have been giving Southern California some great music and great times, Palmer and her crew have been bumping up their game, becoming a totally solid unit. The band still rocks and rolls, and the spunk and enthusiasm are still there, but like Frank Sinatra, fine wine, and LPs, time has polished this musical unit to a fare-thee-well. The riffs, licks, and lines are pretty close to the bands sounds of long ago, but gosharootie, the band sure has that Motel Swing groove down solid.

Eight to the Bar contains nine songs, including “You’re No Good,” the song that earned notches on the charts in the midst of the musical magic of the 1960s for singers Betty Everett and Dee Dee Warwick and later owned and turned into an anthem of the 1970s by Linda Ronstadt, get a soulful, groovy treatment by Palmer and her band. Palmer, along with L.J. Willcock, penned a tune for the disk, a wry number called “Looking for a Parking Place” that every San Diegan can relate to. And the musicians understand all too well. Singer Liz Ajuzie adds a couple of her own numbers as well.

The recording is top notch. In the studio, all the mics were placed where they should be and all the knobs were turned just right. My only complaint about this CD is that there are nine songs. I wish there had been a lot more. Eight to the Bar is a terrific CD. Two very big and enthusiastic thumbs up!