Submitted by Al Kanovsky 01/06/14
...distance is a developed skill.
In order to take advantage of 'happy hour' prices you must calculate how far,
how long and how much time it will take to get there. I have the gift.
I walked into the 'joint' with minutes to spare. How does a club get to be
honored with the term 'joint? The two major ingredients are the
opportunity to listen to good live music and meet good live people.
My friends,
Mark and Babette were seated at the bar. My buddy Bill was in a booth with Gene
Pontrelli (trumpet) and Gene's wife. A good looking couple had come in and as I
was heading for an available seat, it became a dead heat. The three of us
arrived simultaneously. "Go ahead" said in unison. "No, you" again in unison.
Good folks are good folks. We agree on joining one another. Renee and Donn. Good
looking and obviously in love. The wedding date is set for Feb 1 in Key West at
the Hemingway House at 5:30.
********MUSICIANS
PLEASE NOTE*******
Renee and Donn are actively
seeking JAZZ musicians to do a 2 hour cocktail party. Duo or trio. If interested
contact me and I will put you in touch. 954 391 9215.
Okay, the music. Anthony
Corrado(1,000 instruments plus vocals) Shea Eischen(drums) and Paul
Banman (piano) are on the stand. It is the Sunday Jam and Anthony invites a lady,
Terry Ross, up. A couple of seconds to establish the key and tempo. Terry starts
to sing--- I mean sing! She does "God Bless
the Child". Ms. Ross infuses the BLUES tune with touches of JAZZ providing a
unique interpretation of this standard. I made her promise to show up at the
Funky Biscuit tonight. A couple of tunes and 23 instruments later, Anthony
invites Gene up. They do a lively "Bill Bailey" with Anthony doing banjo. It is
while until the "Sound of Vision" set so I walk across the street to another
'joint'. This is a BLUES bar. On stage are Drew Preston(guitar), Ed on bass, Jon
Zeeman (guitar) and for the first time I see Tim Regis (keys,B3) sitting at the
trap set. My nickname for him is the Chameleon. He changes genres and
instruments at will. It is also the first time I see Drew in a jacket. I wonder
if he has come into a huge inheritance or met a girl. Joanne Nathan (keys) is at
the bar and says maybe Bobby will show up after a gig elsewhere. There were more
firsts. Tim does a vocal "Get High, Get Low". Andy G. (drums) sings "The Thrill
Is Gone" with a few scat bars at the closing. Jon sings and plays "The Night I
Was Born". Antony Livoti(drums) and Richie Goldman(bass) are in the house. Drew
blows the door off with "Watchtower". I had missed Jon's daughter Zoe playing
bass with the band but Joanne said she did a great job. They took a break and I
hiked the 30 yards back to the other 'joint'. The band was now part "Sound of
Vision", Orlando Machado on drums and Scott Klarman (Tenor sax/EWI) and The Tim
Bluntson (vocals) Duo and George Tandy (piano). They did a couple of tunes before
Tim took the stage. One of them was "Mambo In". Tim opens his portion with "I'm
So In Love with You" and continues with a program of soul inspired covers.
Couples get up to dance including Mark & Liz. Renee my table mate knows all
the tunes and Tim notices. They exchange some chat and bring up a "thing" called
the Prep. A kind of hand dance that was used as conversation in the "305". They
close the set with a rockin' "Superstition". Back across the street Regis is on
the keyboard, Antony has joined in on drums, Jon and Drew are in the usual spot
and they close it down with a swinging BLUES. Another short walk and now
Anthony is jamming with the band. At times Anthony can invoke his JAZZ chops.
Mr. Bluntson started singing in church at age 2. At his first appearance,
congregants came up to him, putting small change in his hand. There ain't
nothing like money to turn one's head. His father was a pastor in the
Pentecostal church so the 'soul' is inbred. The audience had fun with couples
dancing. I took a turn with Lisa and hand-danced with Babette. Tim got all the
guys in the room up on stage to help him with "Hey, Hey, Hey". Their vocal
intonations weren't bad, but don't ask 'white guys' to dance-------The song
concluded the 2d set.
Renee, Donn and I chatted a while about their
upcoming wedding. Renee is an independent, tough minded, today, type of gal. She
said she would not cry at her wedding. I stopped gambling 7 years ago but I
can't pass up the opportunity for easy money. I will lay 9 to 5 that Renee
will shed a tear at sometime during that day. How can I be so
sure? All you have to do is to look into her dark eyes and watch how he looks at
her. All wagers are limited to $1, which means you could win $1.80 for your
buck. Don't count on it. The Funky Biscuit tonight and I hope Ms. Terry Ross
shows up.
Al's Disclaimer:
A short note: The reason I write this is because I love music and words. I do not book acts. I do not promote acts. I do not accept invitations to review artists. I go to venues of my own choice. When and where is not influenced by anything other than who I would like to hear that night or day. If I don't like what I hear, I won't write about it. When I like it I let you all know. I never mention a name without asking permission. "Pardon me, Miss. Would you like to dance?"
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