2010- Steamers Christmas show- staring Chris Williams and friends.

Whew!  It has been way to long since I have blogged.  Rut? Blocked? Busy?  Who knows. I do know, that last night at Steamers in Fullerton,  "My favorite jazz club" I experienced one of those awesome, fantastic, smile frozen on face, kind of nights that makes me want to share with everyone.  Hence I am  blogging yet again..  So let me paint the picture.   It's rainy outside.  3 days before Christmas.  Its that time of the year when everyone is stressed out and to hectic, but wanting badly to partake in that Christmas spirit.  There is a room full "and I mean completely full" of said people. The room is actively waiting for the show to begin.  There is chatter, greetings, drinks being ordered.  All those great sounds of a fun jazz club, pre-music.  Finally the band has set up and Terrance Love (owner of Steamers) comes on stage.  Terrance is a great jazz lover and truly a huge  part of that community.  So Terrance thanks everyone for coming to his 10th annual Christmas show.  10th annual?  Where have I been that I missed 9 of these?  Damn!  Well anyway he then gives a little background on his 10 year history with Chris Williams.  Band leader, song writer, singer and part time percussionist.  Hugs are given and it is deeply touching.  OK OK.  On to the good stuff.  The music.   Stupendous.  Absolutely energetic, festive and pure fun.  The Christmas spirit being sought out had arrived.  The complete show was Christmas music.  Were not talking about the old tired out ones we are sick over the last month.  We are talking, classics with a jazz twist that makes you love that song all over again.  My two favorites of the night.  Chris's new song "Christmas here with me" (Beautiful) , Little drummer boy with Chris, Bryan and Mike killing it on percussion's and Tidings of Comfort and Joy.  That song will never again sound that good. As Chris said "life is unresolved" so it is a very apropos. I left this show feeling completely pumped up, relaxed and giddy all at the same time. Thanks guys and Terrance for a great show as usual.

 Band member introductions:

• Chris Williams-  Can't say enough about him and do not want to bore you but .. Lets just say a cross between Frank Sinatra and Ricky Ricardo, band leader.  Beautiful voice.  I think the best part of Chris is his bone fide passion for what he does.  It is what you feel when you watch him. His leadership as a band leader shows through as there is always an energized presence on stage, no matter who is sitting in.  If it starts lagging with a song or a musician he picks it up right away.  His voice is award winning, literally.

• Edmund Velasco- I always thoroughly enjoy watching Edmund.   Writer, Sax and occasional flute, he is top of the line.  He and Chris are friends and have been playing together for a while.  this is very apparent as they are tight together.  Besides playing with Chris.  Edmond plays with the Estrada brothers and has his own quintet which has recorded 3 CD's.  The thing I enjoy most about the Edmund Velasco Quintet is the fact that they play their own music.  It is always something fresh and original.  And  how I love surprises. Thanks Edmund for keeping it fun.

• Andrew Carney-Trumpet  Astonishing trumpeter at that.   He definitely nails it on every song.  huge part of  my "smile frozen on face disorder" I looked up this mans resume and all I can  say is WOW.  it is way to long and unbelievable for my small blog.  I do suggest you check it out. http://www.bing.com/search?q=andrew+carnegie&go=&form=QBLH&qs=n&sk

• Bryan Brock-Percussionist.  So good good good.  I have always had a special love for percussion's.  That being said, when I see a great one it just takes my night up a few notches.  This was the case with Bryan.  Kudos!

• Mike Bennett- Drums.  Another great artist. Huge contribution to the night.  Probably only in mid twenties but has already performed with many great artists.  Hillary Duff being one of them.  That's OK, I forgive you.
• Llew Mattews-Piano and
• Luther Hughes- Base. wrapped up this amazing group.  Both very accomplished and skilled.

The scoop on the Monterey Jazz Festival.

So I finally made it to the Monterrey Jazz festival.  I was so excited as
this is supposed to be THE FESTIVAL!  My Dad and Mom were regular attendees for many years, back in the day.  While there I met many attendees that had been going for 30 years plus.  So then why is it that I found it to be a very irritating festival?  Is it because I didn't quite understand how it worked?  Here is my problem.  If you want to see  the main performers you have to buy what is called "Arena seats.  This is the main stage in the festival and has assigned seating. If you want a good seat in the arena you have to, have been going for a while, as the long time fans get to have their same seat yearly or an upgrade as others drop off.  Doing my research ahead of time I knew that to really have a great experience with the heavy hitters I needed to buy our Arena Ticket from someone on Stub Hub that had good seats.  This worked out really well as when we got into festival and over to the Arena our seats were awesome..  We were about 20 rows back center.  So now I am excited as I think I get to see some greats performances up close for the whole day.  Naomi Shelton, Trombone Shorty,Billy Childs Quartet, Dianne Reeves and Chick Corea.  Well boy was I wrong.  Here is how it works.  They split up the day into two categories.  Day time shows and night time shows. When I bought my ticket it was for daytime shows only.  (The 1st two bands I listed above) and I had no idea.  If you want to go to night time shows, that is a whole other ticket.  The worst part is, the daytime Arena shows and Billy Childs went to the garden stage to play after they were done at the Arena.  You don't pay extra for those tickets. You have to get to that stage way before they start but I will go into that later.  Now in between the daytime and nighttime shows there is a 2 hour break where none of the 5 stages have anything.  Does this sound confusing to you?  That's because it was.  Because we missed Naomi Shelton at the Arena, we pretty much paid way to much to see Trombone shorty at the arena and then our tickets were void.  We could have seen him 2 hours later for  free at the Garden Stage. Talk about feeling like a sucker.OK so I don't want this to happen to anyone else so here is what I learned from my experience and from talking to some veterans.  Don't even bother with the daytime Arena tickets if you are buying from private party.  If you buy from festival you will get the whole day but your seats will be bad.  What you want to do is take a folding chair and get to festival in morning.  Set up your chair up front at the Garden Stage and just leave it there for the day.  This way you can come and go from that stage and see half of the performers from the Arena stage.  (The website actually recommends you don't bring a chair which is absolutely bad info.) In between the shows you want to see at Garden Stage, you can check out the other 3 smaller stages that have some cool surprises of up and coming or international performers.  As for what to do during the two hour break.  I don't know what to tell you.  I do know that if they just skipped the break you wouldn't be finishing up at 12:30 at night after a 12 hour day.  Oh well.  This is why I will stick to the playboy jazz festival..  It is so much better.  I think I will take Dr. Jazz's advice and check out Detroit's Jazz festival next.  He says its the best in US.

 Trombone Shorty was the highlight of day, just as he was at Playboy.  Watch out for this band of mid 20 year olds because they are on their way up the charts.

Does anyone know who this is?  She played with John Firman & the Nocturne Band.  She was not listed but man she had some outrageous pipes.  Loved her.

 This Woman has a band from Korea called Ritsuco Endo & FRV.  They were amazing  I think my husbands favorite.  They are contemporary Jazz but so good you just don't care if you are a straight ahead listener..

I know I didn't give this guy much credit on my 2010 playboy review but WOW. Jake Shimabukuro will blow you away as a one man show.  Truly breathtaking.

          The only other surprise was I got to hear one of my favorite piano players Gerald Clayton.  He used to play at my favorite little Jazz club but has now gotten to big.  Good for him.

Do you Remember Richard Blade?

So I went to a friends 50th birthday party Saturday night.  The DJ they had hired for this great affair was Richard Blade.  For those of you who don't remember him, read below, He has quite a history.  So Being the music whore I am I just had to know how many songs Richard had in his library.  The answer? over 38k.  WOW!  I love it and am also very jealous.  He told me he could play anything from Frank Sinatra to Lady Ga Ga. So with all that music he defiantly has the the tools to be a music icon but what is his he like as a  fellow human?  Well that's the greatest part.  He is very down to earth, allot of fun and best of all seems to have a true passion for his trade.  My husband and I were watching him and no matter the song being played he was either dancing in spot or singing.   That passion is easily recognized by any fellow music lover.  So after truly enjoying his 80's themed play list for the night Richard really made by night by letting me hear a few of his favorite jazz picks on his headphones.  Not bad picks either for an 80's icon.  He then showed me his setup and all the amazing things he can do with it.  Was very interesting, and again, "Jealous". You can hire Richard for your party so look him up on http://www.richardblade.com/  and  read on for a little Richard Blade History.

Blade worked as a DJ "The Young Dick Sheppard" in the United Kingdom and Europe before moving to Los Angeles and starting work as a DJ there in 1982. He took a new name from the Sci-Fi film, Blade Runner.
Within a few months of working in Los Angeles, Blade had become the #1 Arbitron-rated radio personality on the West Coast, and in 1982, he began to host a weekly television program on KCAL-TV called "MV3," which later became "Video One."
In 1984 Richard created, produced and hosted "VideoBeat" for KTLA. The weekly series ran for two years.
Blade also worked as an actor in the 80's, appearing in Square Pegs, Hunter, Divorce Court, as contestant Dick Sheppard from England on the television game show Card Sharks, and in other programs.
Between 1991 and 2003, Blade hosted several music-related television programs, including "America's Top Ten", which he took over from Casey Kasem. He hosted several "Flashback" radio programs on KROQ, and was a frequent host at Los Angeles dance clubs on their KROQ Nights, including the famous Palace Theatre in Hollywood. He appeared on the cover of a six-volume set of 80's music compilations called Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites.
In 1998 Richard wrote for the UPN TV Sci-Fi series "7 Days" including writing the second season's finale "The Cure".
In April 2000, Blade moved to St Maarten in the Caribbean and took a two-year break from the industry to work on several writing projects.[1]
Returning to Los Angeles in 2002, Blade returned to his career in radio and television.
In June, 2003, he consulted for MTV Networks on the television program "Bands Reunited", then worked for VH1 as a writer and producer on both seasons of the series.
In 2004, he returned to radio on Los Angeles station KYSR (Star 98.7), originally as host of a Saturday night "Totally 80's" program and short features in the afternoon drive-time period. In 2006, when the station became more 90's and current-based, the Saturday night program ended.
Today he has gained a national audience in North America where he is a host for the Sirius Satellite Radio channel First Wave, a 1980s New Wave Music channel. He hosts his own signature show "First Wave Rewind". He also hosts a twice-daily short feature on Sirius' The Big 80's channel called "Behind The Big '80s". Recently, Blade has taken over for Ray Rossi on The Pulse on weekends.
In April 2006 Richard co-starred with Gabrielle Anwar and Craig Sheffer in a movie he wrote called "Long Lost Son". The film, which was shot on location in the Caribbean, premiered on Lifetime in August 2006. He currently has a TV series he created being edited for airing on Animal Planet in 2007 called "My New Wild Life".
In August 2007, Blade made an appearance on the reality show "Rock of Love" featuring Poison lead singer Bret Michaels.

Brea Jazz Festival

It is that time of the year again.  The Brea Jazz festival is one of my favorite events. The talent seems to get better every year.  They call it the Jazz Festival but you will see allot of Blues on the line up too. It is free to the general public but I highly recommend the VIP.  It is $40.00 this year but with that you get a $20.00 gift card to Cha Cha's "My favorite Latin Restaurant in Downtown Brea", a $10.00 gift card to Yard house and a T-shirt. Your seats are the best in the house and you don't have to fight the crowd to find a seat. Website to buy tickets is to the right under upcoming events. 
Can't wait for this Friday Sept 10th.  Check this band out. The Reno Jones Band.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ7ou1DP4E4

Irvine Lake Blues Festival 2010

Wow, it has been over 2 weeks and I just now found some time to post my review about the Irvine Lake Blues Festival.  This was my first time at this festival, and to be truthful, I had never heard of it before. I can say I really like this venue.  Not only is it in a beautiful setting, but the size of the venue is small. Small venues are great. They have easy access to almost everthing, and they just feel more quaint and relaxed. My friends and I did go VIP on this one, and I give it 2 thumbs. 1thumb's up, but one thumb's down.  First major thumb's up, for the fact that you have access to the VIP tent, which is shaded, has a VIP bar that serves drinks at a dollar discount, and even serves free food. The other reason I give it a major thumb's up, is because of the VIP bathrooms. They are cleaner, shorter lines and closer.  To me, that pays for VIP, and then some. Now the thumbs down comes from the fact that the VIP section is to the side, so you're not really centered, and the worst part is there is no access to front stage from that section, for my favorite dance area. You have to walk further around than you would generally...Oh well,  I guess you can't have everything, but it sure is fun when you do.
Ok, so for the music. I'm going to make this short and sweet. The 1st 3 bands are not worthy of my review, so I will just list their names... Little Barry G, The Blue Note, and Shari Puerto. 

There was a 2nd stage that featured Johnny Mastro and Mama's boys.

This band played in between the main stage bands, while the next band sets up. They were what my girlfriend accuratly pegged as, "Biker blues".  I loved them! Very entertaining. I would definitely go see them play at some local biker's bar, which is probably where you would find them. (Check out the pic of the drummer. It kind of says it all)

Now the last 4 bands on the main stage were great. 1st we had Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers.  The 1st time I ever saw this husband/wife duo and their band, was at a small club in LA about 14 years ago. They blew me away. This time I can't say that it was as dynamic as the 1st time, but they do definitely know how to keep it fun.

  Rod, a California-based blues bandleader, harmonica player, and singer and his wife have been in the blues scene since 1967. In the early 80's, Rod and his wife Honey Alexander, my favorite of the 2, formed the Mighty Flyers. 

Honey Alexander plays the keyboard. Wait, let me take that back, she is the piano pounding diva of blues, and without her, I don't think this band would survive. I think they need to re-name the band, "Rod & Honey's Mighty Flyers".

Next on the roster was The 44"s, featuring Kid Ramos.  I knew who Kid Ramos was, guitarist for the Fabulous Thinderbirds from 1993 to 1995, Oingo Boingo for a spell, and the Blasters, just for starters. Ramos was born in Fullerton, Ca. Yeah a local boy!  Kid Ramos can jam on that guitar creating pure excitement and great energy.  He always has me up and dancing.  

Now the 44's, I can't remember seeing before this day.  What a shame, because, "Oh my God" Good-Good-Good.  I looked up the 44's, and this is what I found: "The 44’s are a Los Angeles-based band who play blues-roots-rock music. They first made their mark on the Los Angeles blues scene in 07’ when they were tapped to compete and Finished 4th in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. The band members include, harmonica player Tex Nakamura (Formerly of war), Singer- guitarist Johnny Main, upright bassist Mike Turturro (Formerly Lynwood Slim/Candye Kane), and drummer J.R. Lozano. This band rocked. They were my favorite surprise act of the night. For those of you who actualy read this blog, you know the "surprise band" of the day is ALWAYS my favorite. Their Bass player Mike Turturro, was one of the best I have ever seen, and I am not kidding..

  When Johhny Mann and Kid Ramos rocked out together, it almost gave me an .....#^*&%$!.....oh never mind, (giggle giggle), I've got to keep this rated PG.

So I have already downloaded their new CD  Boogie Disease on CDbaby.com  to add to my collection.
Next two headliners were the most experienced, and it showed.
Coco Montoyo, one of those blues artists, that whenever he pops up on my IPOD, or on "Time for the Blues" on KJZZ, I always double check who I am listening to because it is so damn hot! This is the 1st time I have really heard him all the way through live.  HOLLY *^%!!
 

Music in the Park

So it is that time of the year again.  Summer!  My favorite.  Not only is summer the time of year that all my favorite festivals break out, but it is also time for music in the Park.  Picture this.  Nice summer evening,  the temperature is starting to cool down after the hot day, the moon is starting to come up and is shinning nice and bright and the sound of music is filling the air.  Does that not sound like a great way to spend your evening? Don't tell me you would rather have you back side  sitting on that dusty couch watching repeats on that square boring box, Get up!  Best of all these concerts are FREE," my favorite four letter word. "
So I googled  music at the park for Orange County and found out that almost every city has it. If you live in LA area I would imagine they have it also. 
Here is a great website that lists most of them and I also added the one in La Habra Heights as that is my stomping grounds.Try it out. It is a great way to break up the week.

  Enjoy!
Orange County venues for Music in the park: http://www.orangecounty.net/html/events_concerts.html#bp
La Habra Heights-Wed's: http://www.lhhcity.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=168&Itemid=92

Wow! Who is that kid?

So last Sunday, the day after the Playboy festival, I awoke tired, hungry and sad that the day of music was over.  So what do you do when you wake up like this?  Well I go Eat, drink champagne and find more music.  Just so happens that I was waking up at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel.  Why does that matter?   Well it's because  that is where my KJAZZ DJ's host their Jazz and Blues brunches at the Twist.  "Problem solved." Everything I needed right downstairs. So who is playing last Sunday but none other then Deacon Jones. Deacon has been around since the 60's and  is known as the king of B-3 Organ. What he does on that Organ is play amazing, down home, Chicago blues.  So here is a quick history of Deacon before I talk about this kid. 

Melvyn Deacon Jones has written over 100 original songs in a variety of genres ranging from pop, R&B, jazz, gospel and country.  His first love is Blues and for over 18 years he served as band leader for blues legend John Lee Hooker. He has performed with Freddie King, Curtis Mayfield, Eric Clapton, Greg Allman, Joe Cocker, Hank Ballard and the late Stevie Ray Vaugn, just to name a few.  My review of his performance on this beautiful day.  EXCELLENT!  Smile on my face wishing there was a dance floor, performance.

 Deacon had 2 guest this day.  1st guest was Lady Gi Gi.  I will be honest.  I had never heard of 

Lady Gi Gi, but man she could belt out the blues.  I definitely give her two thumbs up.

 The 2nd guest to come up and play with the band was the bigest surprise of my weekend.  I would try to describe the performance of this guest but there is no adequate way to describe the indescribable.  This phenomenal guest was referred to as no other then Guitar Ray. Guitar Ray's  full name, I was told by his dad, is Ray Gorin and he is 10.  That's right you did not read that wrong. 10.

Guitar Ray has been playing for a year and a half, but if  you were to have had your eyes closed when Ray came to the stage  you would have thought you were listening to a 50 year old blues guitarist that had been gigging his whole hard life. When I say a 50 year old blues guitarist I should say, "An incredible blues guitarist".    So here is what I think is really cool.  Guitar Ray was watching a couple of utube videos one day of BB King, Stevie Ray Vaugn and Eric Clapton.  He turned to his Dad and said I want to do that.  That was it.  He knew he was a blues artist.  When I spoke to Ray he told me that Stevie was his number one idol and he tries to emulate him whenever possible. When we asked him if he ever played Rock his reply was an adamant No! Ray is 100% Blues.  You can see it when this little man plays.  He has the passion and  soul for the music.  Not only Does Ray play like he is 50 but he has the moves of  a great blues artist, with his head  hung back, he jams with intensity and fervor.  I truly believe that, this day, I witnessed one of the first shows of a future great.  I can't wait to say I was there when, and mark my word, I will be.

 

Playboy Jazz Festival Saturday 12th 2010

Playboy Jazz Festival

How did this wonderful event begin?

In 1978 Hugh Hefner hosted a jazz festival in celebration of 25 years of Playboy Magazine. He rented out the Hollywood bowl and held it over a Friday and Saturday night.  It was a huge success and has just celebrated it;s 32nd year.  Thank you Mr. Hefner.

The ambiance at the playboy festival comes not only from the music, which can be incredible, but also from the people who attend.  Some of which have gone all 32 years.  It is like a big annual jazz lover's reunion for many.  The Venue could not be any better than the Hollywood Bowl.  The acoustics are amazing, and who doesn't want to be out under the stars on a June Evening? The best part of the day, other than the music, is the way all my fellow jazz lovers celebrate it. They line up at the entrance with their picnic baskets of food ranging from crab legs to fried chicken.  They generously fill their ice chest with good wine, champagne and beer.  They cover their tables with table cloths, vases of flowers and snacks galore.  When all of this is done, they sit back in their chairs and ENJOY, ENJOY ENJOY.  This year was my 14th year and I can't imagine ever missing it.  It is a truly an addictive festival.

So lets talk about the music.  The day started out with Jake Shimabukoro.  Jake plays the Ukulele. Yes I did say Ukelele.  Jazz?  No it's not but we will get into that in a bit.  Jake was amazing at his talent.  It was a one man show in which Jake takes the instrument from Bach to Beatles.  Very different, but I did find it a little repetitious after a while.  Maybe I am just not a big Ukulele fan.

One of my favorite things about music festivals is that you never know what can happen, and there is always a pleasant surprise or two that will just knock you off your feet, or even more appropo, will get you up on your feet dancing.  The next act of the day was that surprise for me. Trombone Shorty & New Orleans Avenue. was defiantly the youngest band of the day, with T.S. (Trombone Shorty) being only 25 and his band members around the same. Let me tell you, they blew it out of the park, and when I say "Blew it", I mean that literally.

 TS got his name at age 4 when his older brother. Trumpeter James Andrews saw him marching in a street parade playing a Trombone that was bigger then him. T.S. is more then a Trombonist, he is also a very skilled Trumpeter, singer and bandleader with Orleans Ave. being his first band of his own. What I loved about this band is the energy they pumped out, which was high. At one point T.S. was blowing on his trumpet for what seemed an eternity.  We are talking mind blowing, cheek puffing, bring many to their feet kind of music. Don't let Trombone Shorty fool you with this being his first band.  He has been around as he has played with Neville Brothers, Harry Connick Jr, Norah Jones, Dianna Krall, Rapper-Juvenile, U2 and Green day.  That is to just name a few. The bands high voltage sound can be heard on their new CD Backatown.  They performed Hurricane at the show and that was my favorite.

Next on the lineup was Kurt Elling, a leading bop singer in the industry. This man has the pipes. He can sing any of the standards or ballads but my favorite talent that Kurt has is his amazing gift of scat. This style can be a little low key for my taste but that could have been from the fact he had to follow Trombone Shorty.  It did seem that only have the audience was paying attention.

So we are now getting into early evening.  You can feel the crowd getting more relaxed, as the wine glasses are refilled, the chicken and potato salad is being served up and the blankets are coming out. It is time for Javon Jackson with special guest - the great singer-keyboardist Les McCann.

Javon blows the Tenor Sax and he does it right. Javon Jackson came into international prominence as a member of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. As a member of Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Javon toured and made many recordings with the legendary drummer.  Javon not only has played with Blakey, but many others.  I personally have always loved the sound of the Tenor Sax, and this man has the chops.  I could have listened to him for much longer.  Now you match Javon up with Les McCann and you get pure jazz with that great fun funk sound that Les has been producing since 1956.  In the mid 90's Les had a stroke, but thanks to the jazz gods he is making a come back.

Naturally 7 was next. This group is a cappella group and  one that closely emulates real instruments, sounding like an instumental band.  Again I ask.  Jazz?  I think not.  I could get completely on my soap box right now, but I am not going to bore you..  I do have to say.  LEAVE THE JAZZ FESTIVAL as a JAZZ FESTIVAL.  We don't have many left.  This was completely the wrong band for the day.

Ok I am moving on.  I will talk about positive things such as Marcus Miller-Electric Bassists extraordinaire.  This guy has been playing Clarinet, piano and bass since he was 13, and gigging since he was 15.  All I know is he ROCKS, playing jazz and funk effortlessly. Loved it!!!!!!

Marcus has played with Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey and Wayne Shorter just to name a few.  Whew!  Bet you he has some stories.

Well this blog is getting lengthy so here is the remainder of the night.  All greats and all played great.

Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra always flawless.  If you didn't appreciate the big band sound before seeing them, you can be guaranteed you will after.

Chick Corea Freedom Band. Grammy award winner Chick Corea and his all star band of Christian McBride, Roy Haynes and  Kenny Garrett. Well with those names you could not be anything but Wonderful.  Even if you tried. 

Next was Legendary Latin Jazz musician  Pete Escoveda mastering the percussion's as always,  and his  Orchestra.  Pete the father of Sheila E. (my favorite percussion diva of all time)  Peter Michael and Juan Escoveda loves playing with his family.  Latin Jazz played with this much skill and fun always gets the audience on their feet smiling from ear to ear.  As it did again.

As I missed the last act of Sax for Stax, I will end with this. 

It was another phenomenal year as always.  I have decided that I am doing both days next year.  The addiction grows.

Doheney Blues festival 2010-Review, parking and seating.

Wow, almost 2 weeks since the festival.  I have been busy busy busy.  But finally, here is my short write up.
First of all I want to talk about the venue in regards to seating or lack of when arriving late.  As I said I have always gone VIP.  I did buy my VIP's for Sunday, but this year I decided to hit Saturday afternoon as well just to go see the Black Crowes.  "LOVE THEM".  Now this is the  1st time I have ever arrived to the festival in the latter part of the day.  I am not sorry I went because my Crowes tore it up.  I think I am still shaking my money maker.  It will however be the last time as it was a bit of a mess. 1st of all parking is pretty much gone.  We had to park about 4 miles a way and be shuttled in.  When we got into festival it was wall to wall chairs without an open space to sit.  I guess it has always been like this but I am there early enough to secure my spot and have never noticed.  After wondering around with my 1st glass of wine to calm my nerves from the parking ordeal we finally met up with friends in VIP who snuck us in carefully.  Sorry, can't tell my secret there.  It was all good after that as I was at the stage where I am happiest, but I did miss the Fabulous Thunderbirds in all the ruckus, and that is just wrong! 
OK, so Saturday-  Black Crowes.  All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Everytime I see this band I am in awe. Chris Robinson-Vocal and his Brother Rich Robinson Guitar are the original band members since 1989 and you have to have both to make this band work, as they are dynamic together. The band has had some turnover but Adam Macdougell-keyboard, Luther Dickenson-Guitar, and Steve Gorman-Drums were as tight as it gets. Sadness!  After over 20 years together the band is taking a very lengthy hiatus.  So I am so glad I didn't miss them. I would go through parking hell anytime for these guys, and they will be missed.  Hurry back guys. (See my previous posts to read what Chris & Rich Robinson wrote as a farewell  and to watch an incredible video. "It just makes me want to cry"
So now it is Sunday and I am up at 6:00 am to leave as I normally do for Doheney.  With excitement for the day I hid my 2 bottles of Chardonnay in my blanket-in-a-tote, and headed out. "That's right, I sneak in my wine as it is better then anything you can get out there and does not cost $12.00 a glass".
This year my group decided to stay overnight on Sunday at the Doubletree Hotel across the street. This I highly recommend as you pull right up to hotel, they take your car immediately and send you on your way.  The walk is short and if you get tired of the elements during the day you can sneak off and go watch a Lakers game at the bar for a while, as some of our group did.
OK, enough of the Logistics.  Lets talk music.  The day was just OK in regards to the bands.  I have seen better and worse.  Crosby Stills and Nash closed and they were solid.  I was actually pleasantly surprised.  I am only going to write about two others as they, in my opinion made the day.

    John Nemeth-Harmonica player of riveting intensity and vocals that have a funky soulful feeling.  The first time I heard John was last years Festival but he was just a mere guest appearance on Elvin Bishop's stage. They have even recorded a few songs together. Not that I don't love Elvin Bishop, but I remember saying to myself, "I could just listen to this guy all day".  Well, he finally got his own stage this year. It  was not the main stage but you just watch, by next year it will be or he will just be too big for this festival. Check him out, you won't be sorry!

     Now the first performance out on the main stage on Sunday was Nathan James with Kim Wilson.  I had never heard these two before and I cant believe that because they were absolutely awesome.  My whole group was in agreement as well as all my fellow blues peeps around us. Nathan on guitar and vocal has been gigging since he was 18.  I don't know how old he is now, maybe 30? But he sounds like he has been doing it for a hundred years, yet still playing a fresh sound.

Kim-A front man for the Faboulous Thunderbirds, (Damn I wish I wouldn't have missed them) is an amazing Harmonica player and his vocals are rich, slightly scarred, and never in a hurry.
You put these two together and you don't want it to end.
I would say overall, even with the bad, the festival was an enjoyment as it always is.  Met new great people.  Hung out with old friends, and danced danced danced.
FYI The event was sold out both days.

A Farewell to the Fans from Chris & Rich Robinson form Black Crowes

To The Fans:
"With a smile so wide you can count my teeth and with a heart so full of love that it is spilling over the rim, I offer a humble and simple thank you.  Thank you for your time, your imaginations, your heartaches and joy.  Thank you for 20 years of cosmic rock n roll. This year the music is only for you as we celebrate what has been, what is now and whatever will be"
.- Chris Robinson
" At this milestone in our career, I feel very fortunate that I have had the opportunity to spend my life making music.  It's been 20 years since we started out on this journey.  I would like to extend my deep gratitude to all of our fans who have been there with us along the way.  We would not have gotten here without your support.  Every night I stand on the stage I feel great pride and respect for what we share with our fans."
-Rich Robinson

The Black Crowes - Seeing Things

The Le Van Family Musicians, right here in Brea.

I have been listening to Michael Le Van play Jazz Piano for the past 15 years.  He is one of the most talented pianist I have ever heard. Playing with the kind of passion that gives you the chills and just makes you smile without realizing it. I was told that Michael's incredible talent ran in the family. One day Michael was kind enough to invite me to his 50th birthday bash at his brother Eric's house. Eric Le Van is  a renowned international classical pianist and has 3 amazing talented children. On April 28th 2010, Solene LeVan age 12, was a Gold Medal Winner at the International competition of the American Association for Development of the Gifted and Talented at Carnegie Hall. Sarah Le Van, age 14, Sarah has performed with many orchestras and has given over 500 performances since the age of 7. Sarah and Solene have been seen on Disney Chanel, Pax TV, Fox and KDOC.
Sean Le Van, age 9, is a fine pianist who just won the Silver medal in the annual competition of the American Association for the Development of the Gifted and Talented, and performed at Carnegie Hall in April 2010, along with sister Solene.
So back to this Birthday Party. Because this is Michael's Party, there was a jam session in the living room with Michael's Trio and many other musicians that would jump in. Among these musicians were the entire Le Van family. I was amazed. I actually had tears in my eyes when the daughters performed.  How does one family end up with so much talent? It is just a part of them. Like walking or breathing is for the rest of us. They make such complicated music to perform, seem so easy and sound so amazing.
Well I found out now, that this same family is performing right here in my stomping grounds. Beautiful downtown Brea. If you want something different to do this Friday or Saturday, other then the same old same old, I highly suggest this, as it will be one of those nights that becomes an unexpected and wonderful surprise. Just as it was for me.
 For Tickets go to http://www.resonancerecords.org/rjsevents/levan.php

Why are saxophones made in different keys?

 A true C, for example is the same tone on whatever instrument it is played, namely 263 cycles per second. However, a true C is not necessarily called C on all instruments. On a tenor saxophone, which is known as a "transposing" instrument, everything is shifted down a tone (well, actually a tone plus an octave, but let's not quibble). That is, if you play a "C," you actually get a B-flat; if you play a "G," you get an F, and so on.

The reasons for this have to do with the difficult nature of the sax. On instruments with a linear arrangement of notes, such as a piano, transposing keys is easy--you just shift your fingers up or down the keyboard. On instruments like the sax and the cornet, however, the notes are obtained by various combinations of valves scattered all over the instrument. Changing keys would mean having to completely rethink your fingering. To avoid this difficulty, saxophones are made in a number of different ranges, soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone being the most common. Essentially, instead of your doing the transposing, the instrument does it for you. Thus if you think a tenor (B-flat) sax is too low for a given tune, you can get an alto (E-flat) sax instead. Using the identical fingering, you'll find the melody comes out about a half-octave higher. For ease of nomenclature, when sax players talk about playing a "C," they are talking about a particular valve combination (which is the same for all saxes), not the actual tone that is produced.

Most saxes today are either E-flat or B-flat, but years ago there were also C and F instruments, the former being called a "melody saxophone." Although it enjoyed some popularity in the 20s and 30s, it is rarely seen today. When C saxophones were still used, it made sense to write all sax music as though C were the home key--after all, C is the easiest key to sight-read, due to the absence of sharps and flats in the signature. Also, when they first invented this system, it seemed pretty obvious that on a C sax a "C" came out C, on a B-flat sax "C" came out B-flat, and so on. Admittedly, now that C saxes are uncommon, it seems a little perverse to have to choose between a B-flat and an E-flat as the result of playing a "C," but having known a few sax players in my day, I must say it seems only appropriate.



— Cecil Adams

Time for Doheny Blues Festival

Just a reminder that we are only 2 1/2 weeks away fro the Doheny Blues Festival..  We are talking beautiful scenery, Great people that love to have a good time, yummy food, and most of all "Awesome Music" I usually go VIP on the ticket because you get in before general public and your seats are closer to stage.  The main reason I like VIP is because I can walk right up to stage whenever I want and dance my tush off.  That area is closed off to general public. For me this is key but if not important to you then go with the general admission.  Any ticket is worth the wonderful day you will experience.
"This year I may have to go both days."
http://www.omegaevents.com/dohenyblues/

Chris Williams Benefit

Review of Chris Williams Benefit Event

I don't even know where to start on this review.  I can say that I witnessed true magic last night at the fundraiser for Chris Williams.  This was an  incredible concert, to help out a great artist, through a very difficult time in his life. Chris Williams has been very ill and needs an urgent surgery in order to get better.  Let me start out by telling you a little bit about Chris Williams.
Chris has been performing professionally since he was 15 years old.  He is now in his early 30's.  Chris has an outstanding ability to wow his audience with his incredible voice and his true passion for the music.  His scatting never ceases to amaze me. He sings the standard and makes them seem better then ever.  Chris nails it with the Latin Jazz accompanying his voice with some awesome bongo action.  What I really love the most about Chris,is his own work.  His music ranges from beyond moving to the desire to get up and dance.

Chris Williams He has earned many awards including four vocal solo awards at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, and a major scholarship to the elite Berkley College of Music in Boston. His recording of “Comes Love” from his debut album Premodernism won Best Latin Song at the 2007 Orange County Music Awards.
So here is what I  witnessed last night.  LOVE.  I was expecting to listen to the 15+ musicians that I read listed on the flyer.  What did happen was at least 40 incredibly talented musicians showed up for their fellow artist.  I believe that it takes a very special man to have this much love and  support just pour out for you.   As Chris stated, when he got on stage to thank everyone.  "I have always wanted to be a jazz artist.  You don't get a badge or a football jersey for that.  You do, however, sometimes get in a financial bind.  But I am so in awe of how many great musicians are in this room." It was a very heartfelt speech.  It had myself and many others  in tears.
So these extremely foot tapping, tear jerking, smile making musicians not only showed up, but played their hearts out.  I thing my goose bumps were stacked 5 high.  They matched themselves up with their usual bands, they mixed themselves up with people they had never played with and they then would just switch it all up again .  I wish I could have gotten all the names but there were just to many and I just kept getting caught up in the tunes and forgetting to write.  Here is what I did get:

•  Edmund Velasco-Saxophonist "brilliant"  and the friend who made this gig happen  Thank You
• Charles Small-Guitar 
• Ramon Banda-Drummer "never disappoints, Great"
• Ruben Estrada (vibes) and the Estrada Brothers, "always a winner" 
• Justo Almario-Saxophonist & percussionist. "One of my top three favorites of the night." Listed among the 50 top alumni in the history of Berkley College Music.
•  Clayton Cameron-Brushes. "WOW"
• Ramon Banda-Drums "Always kicks booty," As he did here"
• Kye Palmer-Trumpet "regular in Jay Leno's Tonight Show"
•  Ron Stout-Trumpet and Vocals
• Mark Massey-Keyboardist
•  Dr. Scott Tibbs-Keyboardist
•  Matt Politano-keyboardist
•  Mike Bennett-Drums
•  David Miller-Bassist
•  Steve Venz,-Bassist
•  Ryan Rost-Bassist
•  Sam Montooth-Saxophonist 
•  Andrew Carney- Trumpet
•  Greg Parman-Bassist
• Tim Gil-Trumpet
• Blake White-Bassist
• Dion Wilson-vocals "incredible surprise"
• AND OF COURSE CHRIS WILLIAMS "WONDERFUL EVEN IN PAIN!"

Terrance Love, owner of Steamers night club and Helen Borgers from KKJZ hosted.  Terrance did most of the MC and was great.
Favorite moment of night!  Chris Williams singing "PURE IMAGINATION"

Ruben Estrada

Ednund Velasco

Ramon Banda

Rocking out to "Echo Love Chamber" and end up in the paper.

Crowds enjoy what Taste of Brea was serving | brea, crowds, taste - News - The Orange County Register


My girl friend Debbie and I were at the Taste of Brea last weekend to watch our favorite local rock band, "Echo Love Chamber".  We ended up in the OC Register rocking out.  If you love great Rock you have to check this band out.  Mark Cardinal- Vocal and lead guitar rocks  it out of the park You can't help but  dance.  His voice is as incredible as his guitar playing and the play list he chooses is never disappointing.. Sammy Burke- Bass guitar& vocals throws out some great sound and can do a mean rendition of Johnny Cash.   Chad Patchen-Drums & vocals knows how to keep it exciting.  I am telling you this band is tight.  Check them out sometime. http://echolc.second-level.net/main.html

Chris Williams is one of my favorite performers and it looks like he needs help.  The line up on this looks incredible.  If you want to donate online you can also do this by going to http://www.edmundvelasco.com/

Brunch with Grant Geissman Cool Man Cool - Performing on 4/11/10

So last Sunday my husband and I decided to go up to hollywood and check out the live jazz at,"The Twist Restaurant" inside the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel.
http://www.renaissancehollywood.com/restaurant.asp.  "By the way I totally suggest doing this"

Myself being a huge fan, of my favorite radio station KJAZZ 88.1.  I had to check out the scene, as I have been hearing it promoted on the station for a month or more.  I knew that one of my favorite DJ's,  Helen Borgers host it every week and I was hoping to meet her.  She did not let me down. (Bonus I actually got to meet two of my favorite DJ's that Sunday as Bubba Jackson was there also)  See picture.
 This was our first time doing this and man were we in for a treat.  I am not even going to talk much about the brunch as it was pretty standard.  Good all you can eat and all you can drink champagne.. Price at $40.00 per a little high , but not when you consider the entertainment we received.  This Particular Sunday was all about Grant Geissman "Cool Man Cool" band , and Wow!
My husband, who very rarely gets excited about jazz loved this band so much so he wanted to do the review.  I didn't publish it all.  LOL. It was long but you will get the gist.

From Eric Habener:
I’ve seen a few bands in the past that have really *Harshed my groove, but as we approached the eating area, we could already hear the melodic din of Grant’s music, and I must admit, I was a bit anxious to witness what I was about to hear. My wife was already giddy with the anticipation and if music is the source of here pleasure right now…BRING IT ON!

We sat down and were blocked by a partition from seeing the piano player. Not a good thing for my wife. We immediately moved so we could get a full view of the band. That is part of the experience isn’t it?? The visual stimulation along with the audio..?
So now that we have sat down and relaxed, and currently have the best seat in the house, we were amazed by how tight this band was and the originality of Grant’s musical Groovation! Ya, I just made that up. But if you heard Grant lay down his arrangements, you can ‘t help but appreciate his prowess as a guitarist and songwriter. I can play a bit of guitar myself, and know some chords to help me through a song or 6, so I know when I see great dextratiousness on a guitar. Ok, I made another word up, but just go with it. I think you’ll get my point by the end of this review. Let’s say, so far I like this band!
If you could call bad music boring…you might say, Grant Geissman is the antidote for monotony! He really knows how to mix it up and keep you wanting just a little bit more of what he was doing in his last song. He seems to slip into and out of styles like a chameleon. I think he must get bored with writing & playing certain types of riffs, leads, and styles, …which is fine by me. If he can crank tunes out like, “Wes Is More”,” Too Cool for School” or “Minnie, Lights Out”…stay as bored as you want Grant!

I know I gave plenty of praise throughout this review, mostly, if not all to Grant. But I have to give allota respect to the other 4 guys in the group that have so much talent, that they should start auctioning it off on E-bay. It’s not fair to have that much talent while the rest of us mortals can just sit and watch!!
1st let’s start with Brian Scanlon. This sax – flute – woodwinds - multi-talented brass musician, kept pace with Grant as if they were Siamese twins reading each other minds. I mean really, how good is this guy??!! He was ripping off dynamics leads and like it was child’s play. The sax is one of my wife’s favorite instruments…which she deems the “Sexaphone”, but only if it’s worked properly. Brian, you definitely represented the Sexaphone Player’s Union with flying colors! You rock Brian!
Next. Emilio Palame. I spoke with him briefly as he only had a few minutes between sets to scarf down some primes rib and get some well deserved nourishment after tickling the Ivories like an aerobics surgeon. He indicated that he had been playing with Grant for 20 years...and as tight as he was with Grant and the rest of the band the rest of his precision scale climbing, I could see that this was true and this man had some world class talent. I’ve seen a few piano players in my day...and I am not lying when I say this guy is a virtuoso. Thanks to you and Brian for giving my wife goose bumps……That’s with THE MUSIC Emilio, so don’t get too excited!
Ray Brinker on the drums was the back bone of this group and holding tempo to drive their upbeat, but soulful rhythm. Ray could crank it up for tunes like “Wes is More”, or slide you into a slower sentimental piece like “Minnie Lights Out”. He made every movement look so easy as if he was toying with the skins. Keeping a group tight, is driven by the percussionist, and Ray performed that task like a conductor. You were definitely born with one foot one the bass pedal Ray!! Grant’s lucky to have you pickin up the beat!
And last, but not least, …Trey Henry! Because of musicians that are near and dear to my heart, like Sting, John Entwistle & Paul McCartney , bass players hold a particular interest for me because almost all good pieces have solid bass lines…atleast the music that I really dig. Some of the bass riffs Trey whipped out, made me wish I had the talent to run the scales like that. 1 word I can say about Ray is “Solid”. Not solid as in “Solid Job”, but solid as in Richard Roundtree - SHAFT - “SOLID!!! Thanks for reminding me why I love the bass so much Trey! And very impressive on the Tuba too!! If I didn’t mention this before, I totally loved this band!!...and now I am a fan!

Big Cheif experience at New Orleans Jazz Festival

Ok it is almost time for the NO Jazz festival.  Last year was my first time attending and I had no idea what ticket to buy. I knew I wanted a premier experience but  when I researched online where the seats were compared to the stages, it was very confusing.  I didn't want to be in the sun for four days, but I also did not want to be so far away from the stages that I couldn't see anything.  I took a chance and bought the Big chief experience.  I am SO GLAD I did.   When we went into the festival with that  incredible excitement you get when you go for the 1st time, we were welcomed in with our own special line and directions to the Big Chief Building.  What is the Big Chief Building you ask?  Well it is a air conditioned room with Big screen TV's, Bar tenders serving mimosa's, Coolers with good old fashion dove bars, tables of sweet treats, baskets of salty munchies and that is just a few of the perqs.  Now I am not one to stay away from the real thing. (The Tunes) so off we went.  We checked out every stage our first day.  "OH THE MUSIC." Ok I digress. The seats at the big stages were a little further then I  wanted but I have to say in the big scheme of things, they were the best out of the choices.  They offered shade, beer and wine without lines, great people and most important, especially for the ladies.  Clean and  cool bathrooms.  "We are talking the real thing." No outhouses.  Now anytime we went to the smaller stages you were aloud to go up front right behind the  section reserved for the Grand Marshall VIP pass.  This was my 2nd choice of  ticket as you get to stand right on the stage, at every stage.  "Standing is the relative word here" No thank you on four days of standing. Yes I am a wimp".  I have to say my first experience at the NO jazz festival will be on the top of my favorite memories list forever.. Oh and did I mention I never want to miss a year of the heritage festival fun again.   Big Chief experience at New Orleans Jazz Festival.