CD Review: Michele Faber, "Journey Back"

 

Pianist, Composer and Arranger Michele Faber recently published a couple of wonderful Jazz albums a few years ago that I recently received.  Michele is a classic Jazz Pianist who performed for many  years in the LA area and then 12 years ago moved to Barcelona, Spain.  She fell in love with Barcelona and the outstanding Jazz environment there and decided to make it her permanent home.  A good friend and wonderful singer, Beverly Jenson who has known and performed with Michele Faber told me about her.  I received two CD's that Michele Faber has published and I fell in love with both of them.  The one that I am reviewing is "Journey Back" and it was recorded in Barcelona.  It's a classic Jazz album that includes 6 songs that Michele wrote, two standards and one song written by Guitarist Doug MacDonald.  Michele's compositions are beautiful and are matched perfectly by her outstanding Jazz Piano playing.  I have attached a YouTube of one of her compositions from the CD, "Here We Go Again" so you can judge for yourself.  Michele is joined on this cut by Fredrik Carlquist on Tenor Sax and Bassist Pete Loewe.  For me this composition brings to mind the cool Jazz scene of Barcelona as I invision it.  The second song that I have attached is the Duke Pearson Jazz classic "Jeannine" that features Doug MacDonald on Guitar and Pete Loewe on Bass.

Michele Faber is a master composer and musician in the traditional American sense.  She creates music that is fresh, new and understandable on many levels.  You don't have to be a Jazz buff to appreciate her writing or her improvising, she just produces beautiful music!  Michele has CD's available for sale that you can add to your Jazz collection and I highly recommend them all.  The second CD I received was titled, "Barcelona Encounter" and it's just as good as "Journey Back".

 PLAYLIST:  

1. Journey Back

2. Letter to J.L

3. Algo Que Paso

4. Once Again

5. Jeannine

6. Estate

7. Madison at Midnight

8. Here We Go Again

9. Dream Love

PLAYERS:

Michele Faber- Piano

Pete Loewe- Bass

Joe Smith- Drums

Fredrik Carlquist- Tenor Sax

Doug MacDonald

                                                                   "Jeannine"

                                                                  "Here We Go Again"

"Songbird" Beverly Jensen Impresses the Jazz Lovers at 360 North in Palm Springs

"Songbreath" is the perfect name for Beverly Jensen.  Beverly has a strong, clear voice when combined with her perfect pitch will win over any music lover of the "Great American Songbook".  If you have been in the Coachella Valley over the past few years, you probably have heard Beverly sing a song or two.  I have never talked to any musician who has heard Beverly sing and then express anything but the highest praise about her voice, her phrasing and her beautiful interpretation of lyrics.  She is truly a remarkable vocalist.

Beverly has been applying her singing skill with many bands and groups over the years including several tours with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.  She is at easy singing alone, with a piano, with a trio and with a big band.  She can do it all!

Tonight at 360 North Restaurant, Beverly was joined by Randy Johnson on Keys, Jim Kirwin on Guitar, Steve Crowell on Drums and John Tedder on Electric Bass.  One of the great aspects of the music community here in the California desert is that they are very supportive of their fellow members.  And tonight was no exception.  Many were on hand and some even sat in with the group to support Beverly.  It is so great to see musicians support each other in such a tough industry.

I would like to add that as a vocalist, Beverly never pays it safe singing easy songs, she is always challenging herself to sing great songs that you just don't hear everyday.  She has a wonderful ear for the best of the best songs with lyrics that tell wonderful stories.

I want to give those that have not heard Beverly, the experience to hear her.  I used a hand held iPhone to record Beverly singing "Watch What Happens" at 360 North.  It's live, of course, and I was not able to due justice to Beverly's voice but even using an iPhone, I think you can hear what a great vocalist she is.  The lush and soulful Tenor sounds are from Joe Canoura who was sitting in with the group. Sorry the video is dark due to the lighting in the club.

Bill Saitta's Quartet Features Lovely Songbird, Beverly Jensen at Backstreet Bistro

Beverly Jensen, Bill Saitta, Tom Keenlyside and Doug MacDonald

Jay Lewis, Bill Saitta, Tom Keenlyside and Doug MacDonald

Tom Keenlyside

Doug Macdonald

Jay Lewis

Beverly Jensen

Beverly Jensen, Bill Saitta and Tom Keenlyside

Bill Saitta

Backstreet Bistro was jumping again on Tuesday night with Bill Saitta leading a group of talented musicians who play Jazz with a vitality and freshness that one seldom gets to witness.  Bill puts together a different group of musicians every week, and he never disappoints with the music results.  Tonight Bill put together a group that included Tom Keenlyside, the specular Flute and Sax player; the marvelously talented Jay Lewis on Drums and world-class Guitar player, Doug Macdonald.  The music tonight was hot and was more than enough to overcome the cold front that has been in the valley the last couple of days.  Making tonight's performance even more special was the  beautiful singing of Desert favorite, Beverly Jensen.  Beverly has a long, star-singing resume that includes touring with the Dorsey Band for many years, and she still has a wonderful pure voice with perfect pitch.  As great as the band was tonight, the addition of Beverly's sweet singing voice took the music to an even higher level.

Tom Keenlyside never disappoints his audience and tonight was no exception.  He played Tenor Sax with the energy of a twenty-year old and his flute playing has never been sweeter.  Tom also treated the audience with his singing that had everyone cheering.  It's always a treat to hear him perform.  Jay Lewis continues to impress everyone with his Drumming skills.   Jay could teach a course to any young wannabe Drummer on how to use sounds and rhythms to support a band.  Jay is one of the top Drummers playing today.  There are a lot of good Guitar players around today but if you want to hear a great Guitar player, Doug is your man.  Doug's solos are intelligent with clarity.  He is one of the most sought-after players in the Desert.

Bill Saitta was playing his upright Bass tonight to the delight of the capacity audience.  Bill works very hard producing these Jazz shows and never looks for credit.  But he deserves lots of credit for always putting the spotlight on other musicians, preferring to give them all the accolades without consideration to himself.  Without Bill Saitta's efforts, the Tuesday night Jazz series would never have reached its current high esteem among Desert Jazz lovers.  From all of us that come to Backstreet to dine and listen to Jazz, we all thank you Bill!

Eric Lindstrom Performs at AJ's On The Green

Eric Lindstrom

Beverly Jensen & Eric Lindstrom

Francesca Amari & Eric Lindstrom

In case you have not heard, AJ's on the Green located inside Date Palm Country Club in Cathedral City now has live music 7 nights per week.  Eric Lindstrom , known to many as a terrific Trombone player gets to perform on Keyboard and Vocals.  AJ's has turned into a Jazz supper club and owner/chef Art Herrera and co-owner John Farrow are also serving excellent food.  Eric show is part of the Monday series called "Acoustic Stew" Mondays which includes his playing and singing and also allows for lots of Valley entertainers to sit in during the evening.  The club has a really low key vibe and the line-up of various musicians performing during the evening provides a lot of relaxed fun.  

Tonight among the many performers on hand, I was especially impressed by Beverly Jensen and Francesca Amari who sang beautifully with accompaniment from Eric.  

In addition to playing wonderful Trombone in several groups here in the Desert, Eric Lindstrom also turns out to be a wonderful keyboard player and vocalist.  Eric is universally liked by all of the musicians in the Valley and is considered one of the "Good Guys" of the Valley music scene.  Eric will be back at AJ's on Sunday from 11:30 to 2:30 and on Monday, March 2 from 7 to 10.

The Jackson Garrett Band Warms Up "The River" Shopping Mall

Mike Costley And The Jackson Garrett Band

On Sunday, January 4, 2015, a group of some of the most talented musicians in the West came together at "The River" Mall in Rancho Mirage to perform in support of "Desert Friends of the Developmentally Disabled". This non-profit group provides low-cost dental care to everyone with developmental disabilities, as well as senior citizens and veterans in the Coachella Valley and throughout Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. I find it interesting that these world-class musicians, who, are never paid the full value of their talents are always the first ones to offer their musical talents to help worthy charities all across the USA.  We all owe these musicians our admiration and support for the music they give us and their efforts to make our world a better place to live!

The performers today included a long list of A-list musicians put together by the tireless efforts of Chris Gore, singer, arranger, writer and all-around good guy who spent weeks putting this concert together.  Chris is the leader of the talented "Jackson Garrett Band" that performs at various functions in the Coachella Valley. He not only plays keyboard but sings, arranges and writes new material for the band. The reason why Chris is able to get all these great musicians to perform is because they know he a dedicated, committed individual and will do whatever it takes to get the job done. 

Today's performers included the lovely and golden voiced Beverly Jensen, John Pagels on Guitar, velvet throated singer Ken Steele, Shelley Yoelin on Tenor Sax, Singer and Valley weatherman, Patrick Evans, singer Michael D'Angelo, Chris Gore singing and playing Keyboard, desert-favorite singer Darci Daniels-Murphy and Mark Guerrero singing and playing Guitar. This group performed brilliantly but the closing performer, Mike Costley brought the house down with a world-class performance that electrified the audience. Mike has not been performing over the past year or so and his performance today reminded everyone of his singing and performance greatness. Today Mike Costley owned the stage!  Mike sang, danced and talked to the audience gathered at "The River" with a perfection few performers ever get to experience. It was simply a delight to hear Mike performing again. We all hope that Mike decides to perform again on a regular basis!

The Jackson Garrett Band today consisted of John Leys on Trombone, John Pagels on Guitar, Don Clark on Trumpet, Steve Alaniz on Tenor Sax, David Ring on Keyboard, Jay Lewis on Drums and the great bassist, Jeff Stover on Bass Guitar.

Darci Daniels-Murphy and the Jackson Garrett Band

Beverly Jensen and The Jackson Garrett Band

Ken Steele

Michael D'Angelo

Mike Costley & John Pagels

Shelley Yoelin

Chris Gore

Mark Guerrero

Mike Costley Is Sensational At 360 North in Palm Springs

Mike Costley

Mike Costley

Mike Costley

Sal Frisaura, Larry Holloway and Yarek Yurant

Carole Hampton, Sal Frisaura, Larry Holloway and Yarek Yurant

Jeanie Stanhope, Larry Holloway and Yarek Urant

Beverly Jensen

On Wednesday, April 4, I had my first chance to hear Mike Costley sing since last winter.  Mike performs at 360 North Restaurant on Wednesdays and Thursdays to a packed house and with good reason.  Mike is pure and simple a great singer.  In addition, he is also a great performer.  When you go to hear Mike you get so much more than just a singer of songs.  Mike has his own unique approach to each song he sings, and he never opts for singing safely.  When he sings he "takes no prisoners" and pushes his performance to the highest level possible.  Tonight, I was particularly impressed with his vocal range which was far greater than I remembered.  Mike sings a variety of music from lush ballads like "The Very Thought of You" and "The Nearness of You" to a blinding fast version of "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing".  His voice can be smooth as silk singing "You Are So Beautiful" to down-and-dirty singing the blues.

As a performer, Mike is a perfectionist.  He always carefully picks the finest musicians to support his singing and tonight was no exception.  Mike had three seasoned, highly-talented players with him, Sal Frisaura on drums, Larry Holloway on bass and the always wonderful Yarek Yurant on keyboard.  I thought Yarek's performance with Mike tonight was exceptional.

As usual, there were several singers in the audience Mike called up to sing:  Carole Hampton, Jeanie Stanhope and the talented Beverly Jensen.

If you have not been over to hear Mike this season, make plans quickly.  You don't get to hear singers with Mike's talent everyday, and be sure to call 360 North for reservations as this show fills up quickly.  Reservations call 760-327-1773

Dance The Night Away With Music By The 17 Piece Ted Herman Orchestra At The Indio Performing Arts Center

Ted Herman And The Ted Herman Orchestra

Beverly Jensen

The Ted Herman Orchestra with Beverly Jensen

Beverly Jensen and John Leys

On Sunday February 26th I went over to the Indio Performing Arts Center to see "The Ted Herman Orchestra".  I had learned that "The Ted Herman Band" has a weekly gig every Sunday evening at the Arts Center and that my good friend, Beverly Jensen, was singing this evening. By chance, I happened to sit next to Ronald Hagan and soon learned that he was a member of the IPAC Board of Directors and he filled me in as to what the Indio Performing Arts Center is all about. The music and dance program at the IPAC is not advertised much and those who know about it most likely discovered it from word of mouth.  Here is the deal, every Sunday at 6:15 PM, the program starts with a dance lesson taught by Carl Davis.  Then at starting at 7:00 PM until 9PM, the 17-piece Ted Herman Orchestra takes over and plays some great "big band" standard classics from charts that Ted Herman has put together over the years. All all this great music and dancing will cost you $10.00.

There were about 120 people that came to participate in tonight's program and I do mean participate.  Everyone danced and the dance floor was large enough for everyone to show off their dancing moves. Even when the band took it's breaks, the floor was still full of dancer, dancing to pre-recorded music.
I am pretty sure that at lot of my Desert followers are learning about the IPAC from this blog and that's a good thing.  There are very few places in the country where you can go to dance to live music by an 17-piece live band, never mind for $10.00. I know I will be going back especially to see two of my favorite singers that are usually featured with this band, Larry Capeloto and Lee Hartley.

I heard the Ted Herman band last winter when they were playing in Palm Springs at Dinks but the sound tonight in this big dance hall compared to the small space they were in at Dinks was so much better in opinion.  They sounded as good as any big band I have heard and being able to dance on such big dance floor with the band elevated on a full stage made the experience just about perfect.

My good friend, Beverly Jensen was featured with the band tonight and she came to sing and take no prisoners.  She opened with the great standard, "Lullaby of Broadway" and continued with several other standard classics including a great rendition and arrangement of "Come Rain or Come Shine". Beverly has a great resume' that includes touring with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra directed by Trombonist Murray McEachern. She recorded her first and very successful CD "Ken and Beverly, Watch What Happens" in 1966. Over the years, Beverly has sang with many musical greats, like Cal Tjader, Ted Herman, Bob Hardaway, Ray Sherman, Buddy Childers, Joe Pass, Jeff Hamilton, John Clayton and her husband, John Leys. The vocal arrangements for Beverly tonight were just outstanding and I found out later that Beverly's husband, John Leys did all the arranging. Beverly has a pure strong voice that never fails to amaze me.

Make sure that the next time you feel like going out to dance, that you make it over to the IPAC.  By the way, I did see that there were two large tables that were set up for singles and I saw most of these guests dancing most of the time also!  Believe or not this program has been running for 5 years and "The Ted Herman Orchestra" has been playing here on Sunday for the last two years. If you want to hear this band this season, make plans to go before the end of March as the program will stop.  It will begin again in November.  

The Big Band Sound Is Alive And Living At Dinks Thanks To The Ted Herman Band

Ted Herman

On Tuesday night, April 19, I went to Dink's Restaurant in Palm Springs to see the Ted Herman Orchestra.  One of my favorite singers in the Desert, Beverly Jensen had told me that this 14 piece band was producing some great sounds and I wanted to hear the band for myself.  As soon as the band started to played it's first song, "All of Me" I knew I was in for a treat.  Under Ted Herman's direction, the band played beautifully, swinging this great evergreen firmly but softly.  

Larry Capeloto

Larry Capeloto

Ted has two singers with his band.  We first heard, Larry Capeloto sing and swing with the band. His style and voice fit perfectly with the band.  I only heard two songs from Larry but would like to hear more from him in the near future. 

Next we heard from the beautiful Lee Hartley.  I had not heard Lee before but she was right at home singing in the middle of the band.  She has a strong voice and good range, perfect for singing with a big band.  Can't wait to hear more from Lee.  I understand that both Larry and Lee are currently working on new CDs.  As soon as they released, look for a review on my blog.

Lee Hartley

Lee Hartley

 I had another surprise at Dink's this evening.  I learned that about once per month, Ted invites a local high school jazz band to play for the first hour of his show.  This night, the impressive jazz band from Palm Desert High School performed.  I have to say they sounded a whole lot better than the Jazz band I played in when I was in high school.  It is very satisfying to see these young high school adults playing big band music and playing it well.  The director of the band was Guy Lake, and he deserves lots of credit for the job he has done.  After they finished, Ted invited two members of the Palm Desert High School Band to sit in with his band, Amelia Sullivan on Trumpet and Bennett Robinson on Alto Sax. What a thrill for these young adults and what a thrill for me watching and listening in the audience!

Amelia Sullivan

Bennett Robinson

 If you have not been to Dink's on Tuesday night, put it on your "To Do" list.  You can have dinner and dance to a 14 piece orchestra with no cover charge or music charge! What are you waiting for?

Guy Lake

My thanks to Beverly Jensen and trombone player, John Leys for telling me about this great venue and orchestra.

John Leys

Beverly Jensen

Beverly Jensen Lights Up Lavender Restaurant

Beverly Jensen Leys

Ken Steele

Thom McMorris

This past Friday night, April 1, 2011, we dined at Lavender Restaurant to enjoy their great food and the even greater sounds from Beverly Jensen. As I mentioned before, we have heard Beverly sing a song or two at other entertainment venues we visited.  However, we did not want to miss the chance to hear her headline her own show. Beverly was joined by the wonderful pianist, Herb Mickman who traveled from LA just to play for Beverly.  We sat outside in the patio area even though the temperature at 6:30 pm was still in the 90's. But the heat did not stop Beverly from performing some of the greatest songs ever written in the Great American Songbook.  One of the first songs she sung was the song I rank as my personal favorite of all times;  the great Hoagy Carmichael & Ned Washington chestnut "The Nearness of You". This song was written in 1937 and never gets old.  I loved the way Beverly sang this song, with her soft and silky voice with great attention to the emotion the lyrics express.  A truly a wonderful display of great singing talent.  Next she covered several absolutely great evergreens, "Spring Is Here", "Spring Can Really Hang You Up" and slow tempo "That's All".  I liked the way she sang "Teach Me Tonight" and Beverly did teach us all how well she can sing.  One other number really moved me, the Gershwin classic, "Someone To Watch Over Me".  If you closed your eyes during this song, one could easily hear the soft and lush sounds of Ella Fitzgerald coming from Beverly. If you have a voice as mellow and soft as Ella's, nothing can top that. Thanks for the great evening of music, Beverly!

We also had two guest singers who came up from the audience, Ken Steele and Thom McMorris.  I have heard both of these gentlemen sing before and I was delighted to hear them again. They are both accomplished, professional singers and were welcomed by the many music lovers that were at Lavender to hear Beverly.  It is sometimes hard to explain to people who ask me "why I like spending time in the desert". I think singers like Beverly, Ken and Thom are the answer.  This is where the talented musicians hang out in the winter.  I am renaming the Coachella Valley as "The Winter Home Of Jazz".