Submitted by Al Kanovsky 08/11/14
...way back in the day,
some people would say I was a spendthrift. Wild Turkey 101 with a splash and a
dash. Surf & Turf. Cadillacs & Lincolns. Fancy Forest Hills address.
Nowadays I take advantage of "happy hour pricing" and salads. The car
is 6 years old and I have more doctors appointments than dinner dates. Woe
is me --- not last night. I arrived at BJB's just under the wire. The joint
was crowded .Wonderful sax sounds coming from the stage.
"Wow" I thought, "Anthony Corrado must have been practicing his
horn skills". No, it was not Anthony. A little kid(just turned 12) Ian
Munoz was soloing a section of "I've Got Rhytyhm". I have nicknamed
Ian "Little JAZZ" and for good reason. This 'cat'(kitty) can BLOW.
You've gotta hear him to believe it. Additionally, he's polite and in spite of
his talent, is unpretentious. Anthony has Shay Eischen on drums, Paul
Banman(piano) and Bob Ullman on guitar. They follow with "Girl From
Ipanema" and then Charlie Barnetts "Cherokee". Raucous applause
filled the house. After what seemed like a 200 bar coda Anthony gets to
"When A Man Loves A Woman". Lovers fill the dance floor. Up close &
tight. One couple, Michael Leeds and Arleen Scherfer are out on their first
date which started with breakfast on the beach. I let them know that after 8PM
there is 15% added to your tab if you dance like that. That didn't seem to
bother Mike. He requests "Pride & Joy". The band does a very
short version. Ian returns to the stage for the last number. Anthony calls for
some be-bop, Charlie Parker's "Red Cross". Ian is not familiar with
the song but he listens to the first few bars and 'jumps' right in. I love that
kid.
Maria Rivas was the scheduled artist for the Sunday nite Latin Fest. Unfortunately she was suffering from a virus and had to defer. Fortunately, in her place was a gal I had never heard before. Michelle Manzo. Absolutely beautiful in a white dress, slit up the front all the way to heaven and legs that made it worthwhile. She has recently returned from a world-wide tour and I was glad to be there to welcome her home. With me are dance partner Denise, buddies Jimmy and Nancy. Babette is in her usual spot, Doug Smalls with "The Lady In The Hat" have a table. Tania is at the bar with a girl friend. On stage, Danny Burger(drums), Brian Murphy(piano) and Dr. Jaimie Ousley(bass). Michelle opens with a salsified "Days Of Wine & Roses" and I am now impressed with her voice and grat JAZZ chops. This vision is definitely a JAZZ artist. Vocal nuance. Taking chances with melody, lyrics and rhythms. I sit back and enjoy. Each band member does a solo section and then Michelle,scatting, trades 4's with all. When I was 15, I worked with a band on Miami Beach. It was November of 1947. There were more girls on 'the stroll' on Washington Avenue than rocking chairs on hotel porches of Lummis Park. We must have played "Love For Sale" a thousand times. Michelle chose that song to follow. Latin beat, creative melodic lines and an incredible ending to the song. I am on the verge of falling in love but know the dangers involved. 'Love' somehow seems to be the theme for the evening when Michelle opts for "My One and Only You". Her voice sensitizes the nature of the lyric and melody. Danny's brush work adds to the beauty of the song itself. Mari Bell has come in along with Paul Shewchuck. Michelle decides to have a little fun and just Jam a tune. Make it up on the go. Scat vocals and instruments only---ooowee baby. The chord changes are reminiscent of "Use Me Up" but it's not. It is a Jazz vocalist, being extemporaneous with a band that knows the meaning of the word. It seems to me that Michelle is very comfortable in 'scat' mode. Great phrasing and melody bending. Danny gets a chance to really show off during this one. "No More Blues" swings to a bossa rhythm and Jaimie gets his turn at ego building. They started the next song and I asked Denise to the floor. It was so 'hot' that I forgot to note the name of the tune. I was trying to remember my cardiologists number. "I Thought About You" opened with just Jaimie and Michelle and a kind of quiet befell the room. Everyone listening to the display of artistry. My other dancing partner Jackie arrives at the same time as the wonderful dance team of Martine & Jacques. Martine is in a splendid red dress. Jacques is in a tee-shirt. He could have at least worn a tie. The 2d set starts with "Caravan". I am beginning to suspect that Michelle loves scat lines better than lyrics. During her stint in Hong Kong she learned to love the song "The Hands Of Time". Her rendition has me reaching out to hold Jackies hands in mine. Brians solo is worthy of superlative note. "But Not For Me" has me and Jackie on the dance floor. "Autumn Leaves" followed by "Missed the Saturday Dance"(Don't Get Around Much Anymore) has Martine & Jacques on the floor and I always try to pick up some of their moves. Ms. Manzo does "Easy Living". Slow and easy. Jackie is in my arms. We may have to pay that 15% I mentioned earlier. Nancy and Jimmy are doing it also. Uh-oh!. Solos all around to end the set with "It Could Happen To You". The final set coming up---most folks are gone---Jackie and I are alone at the table---I'm telling her part of my life story---the full story to be published at a later date---Sista' Mary Beth comes in and orders a pizza---. The set opens in Brazil with "Cocovado" and stays there with a Joabim melody(all in Portugese). Brian quotes "A-Train" and Jaimie catches the Brazilian disease'carioci'. Michelle speaks of her grandfather who early on taught her about listening to music. Beny More was one of his favorites and Michelle pays homage to that great Cuban singer when she does "Solo A Mi". There is no way Jackie and I can resist dancing to the alternating rhythms of bolero and cha-cha-cha. "The Way You Look Tonight" is done ala Tito Puente---full scale mambo. Jaimie's solo displays a Latin alma. JAZZ's mother is the BLUES. Michelle is true to the genre and does "Stormy Monday". I have heard this song ten thousand times by ten thousand artists. I cannot, in all honesty, say this was the best one. I will, however, say, I have never heard better. Michelle using trumpet like phrasing in her scat, had me clappin', tappin' and for want of any better word----ENTHRALLED. "I'm glad I'm living and happy to be."
Maria Rivas was the scheduled artist for the Sunday nite Latin Fest. Unfortunately she was suffering from a virus and had to defer. Fortunately, in her place was a gal I had never heard before. Michelle Manzo. Absolutely beautiful in a white dress, slit up the front all the way to heaven and legs that made it worthwhile. She has recently returned from a world-wide tour and I was glad to be there to welcome her home. With me are dance partner Denise, buddies Jimmy and Nancy. Babette is in her usual spot, Doug Smalls with "The Lady In The Hat" have a table. Tania is at the bar with a girl friend. On stage, Danny Burger(drums), Brian Murphy(piano) and Dr. Jaimie Ousley(bass). Michelle opens with a salsified "Days Of Wine & Roses" and I am now impressed with her voice and grat JAZZ chops. This vision is definitely a JAZZ artist. Vocal nuance. Taking chances with melody, lyrics and rhythms. I sit back and enjoy. Each band member does a solo section and then Michelle,scatting, trades 4's with all. When I was 15, I worked with a band on Miami Beach. It was November of 1947. There were more girls on 'the stroll' on Washington Avenue than rocking chairs on hotel porches of Lummis Park. We must have played "Love For Sale" a thousand times. Michelle chose that song to follow. Latin beat, creative melodic lines and an incredible ending to the song. I am on the verge of falling in love but know the dangers involved. 'Love' somehow seems to be the theme for the evening when Michelle opts for "My One and Only You". Her voice sensitizes the nature of the lyric and melody. Danny's brush work adds to the beauty of the song itself. Mari Bell has come in along with Paul Shewchuck. Michelle decides to have a little fun and just Jam a tune. Make it up on the go. Scat vocals and instruments only---ooowee baby. The chord changes are reminiscent of "Use Me Up" but it's not. It is a Jazz vocalist, being extemporaneous with a band that knows the meaning of the word. It seems to me that Michelle is very comfortable in 'scat' mode. Great phrasing and melody bending. Danny gets a chance to really show off during this one. "No More Blues" swings to a bossa rhythm and Jaimie gets his turn at ego building. They started the next song and I asked Denise to the floor. It was so 'hot' that I forgot to note the name of the tune. I was trying to remember my cardiologists number. "I Thought About You" opened with just Jaimie and Michelle and a kind of quiet befell the room. Everyone listening to the display of artistry. My other dancing partner Jackie arrives at the same time as the wonderful dance team of Martine & Jacques. Martine is in a splendid red dress. Jacques is in a tee-shirt. He could have at least worn a tie. The 2d set starts with "Caravan". I am beginning to suspect that Michelle loves scat lines better than lyrics. During her stint in Hong Kong she learned to love the song "The Hands Of Time". Her rendition has me reaching out to hold Jackies hands in mine. Brians solo is worthy of superlative note. "But Not For Me" has me and Jackie on the dance floor. "Autumn Leaves" followed by "Missed the Saturday Dance"(Don't Get Around Much Anymore) has Martine & Jacques on the floor and I always try to pick up some of their moves. Ms. Manzo does "Easy Living". Slow and easy. Jackie is in my arms. We may have to pay that 15% I mentioned earlier. Nancy and Jimmy are doing it also. Uh-oh!. Solos all around to end the set with "It Could Happen To You". The final set coming up---most folks are gone---Jackie and I are alone at the table---I'm telling her part of my life story---the full story to be published at a later date---Sista' Mary Beth comes in and orders a pizza---. The set opens in Brazil with "Cocovado" and stays there with a Joabim melody(all in Portugese). Brian quotes "A-Train" and Jaimie catches the Brazilian disease'carioci'. Michelle speaks of her grandfather who early on taught her about listening to music. Beny More was one of his favorites and Michelle pays homage to that great Cuban singer when she does "Solo A Mi". There is no way Jackie and I can resist dancing to the alternating rhythms of bolero and cha-cha-cha. "The Way You Look Tonight" is done ala Tito Puente---full scale mambo. Jaimie's solo displays a Latin alma. JAZZ's mother is the BLUES. Michelle is true to the genre and does "Stormy Monday". I have heard this song ten thousand times by ten thousand artists. I cannot, in all honesty, say this was the best one. I will, however, say, I have never heard better. Michelle using trumpet like phrasing in her scat, had me clappin', tappin' and for want of any better word----ENTHRALLED. "I'm glad I'm living and happy to be."
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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