I am not alone...says Al on tax day....

Submitted by Al Kanovsky 4/15/13

I am going to start this report about last night, in the middle. It takes place at BJB's in Ft. Lauderdale. I was seated at a table with my friend Mark(a BJB habitué). He was drinking champagne, I was drinking well vodka. I don't think it is necessary to tell why. Anyway, a group of adults sat down at a table in front of us. The women were all attractive. The men were all----burly. I say adult meaning mid-50s. A moment later a single man joined them. He was a bit larger than the rest of the guys. Lourdes was singing and said that people were welcome to dance. Now to the point of this preface. The big guy, much closer to my age than the rest, eyed the women at the table and asked one of the most attractive of the gals to dance. He exhibited a classic "bake and shake". She had the movements appropriate to her classic appearance. The reason for my bringing this to your attention is that I want attractive women, of any age, to be aware that generally guys of my era(age) usually ask the prettiest gals in the room to dance. His name is Ron(anonymous). The beautiful woman is Lynn Weaver. I didn't ask for any of the guys names! The group was heading back to Michigan today but Lynn said she would probably be back in mid-May. Happy landings. Okay! Okay! The music.

Anthony Corrado hosts the Sunday Jam at BJB's. He plays almost every instrument in the known world and tries to do it in every tune that's played. On the stand was Shea Ishen(drums), Brad Keller(piano), James Kidwell(guitar) and an old pal, talented, Steve Kornicks on Latin percussion. Sitting in was Bill "What The" Heck on vocals and the versatile Guiseppe Pucci on drums. Late in the set Anthony picked up a Turkish drum called a "Tumpek". He also did an odd solo using only the mouthpiece end of a flute.

At the end of the Jam, Steve and I walked across the street to Fishtales. On stage was Graham Wood Drout(guitar), A.J. Kelly (bass), Jimmy Daniels(my homeboy) on drums and special guest Rachelle Coba(guitar/vocals.). I didn't get a chance to hear them as they were starting on their "break".

Lourdes Valentin's program is called "JAZZ Meets Broadway". She melds the two easily and with unique style. Lourdes is not afraid to take chances with her arrangements. She did a very unusual rendition of "Counting My Blessings" to a 2d line New Orleans beat. The band had Gary Thomas(bass), Shea Ishen(drums) and Larry Karp at the piano. If you can, sit where you can see Larry's face. He sings along with his lips and facial expressions. It is a show in itself and even if there were no sound, you can tell whether the song is happy or sad, novelty or serious ballad. Lourdes has expanded her repertoire to include tunes like Fats Waller's "Honeysuckle Rose", Juan Pisos' "Perdido", Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" and from "Oklahoma", "Oh What A beautiful Morning". Her JAZZ 'chops' are becoming more evident with every performance. During one of the breaks, I spoke with another BJB regular, Matt Jones. He is a trombonist and has a collection of 20 instruments. Presently he only plays 8 of them. My long time buddy, Bill, on curfew, had to leave after the first set. I will "rag" on him today about what he missed.

Lourdes included "Desifinado" in Portugese, "If I Only Had A Brain" from "The Wizard of Oz" and ”I Feel Pretty" from "West Side Story".  She managed to JAZZ up "Sentimental Reasons" and took us to church with a slow tempo "God Bless the Child". Piano Bob ambles by. We wonder whether bouncing around joints to the wee hours is making us old or keeping us young. All we know is that we love the music. They're sweeping the floor. I'm yawning. Mike Murk, the videographer, tells me I can't sleep on the bar. 6 BLUES CD's in the player including Doug Samm. G'night "chilluns." 

       

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