Deanna Bogart Brings Down the Roof at Vicky's in Indian Wells, CA

Jeff Olson, Deanna Bogart and Bob Gross

Chuck Alvarez

Composer/Vocalist/Arranger/Keyboard and Tenor Sax player, Deanna Bogart is bringing down the house aided by her talented band at Vicky's of Santa Fe every Monday starting at 6:30.  For those who have not seen Deanna perform,  she is a spinning domino of musical talents and energy.  She loves to perform and nobody does it better!  Deanna's musical tastes span many musical schools including Blues, R & B and Pop, but her love is for Boogie Piano.  I would guess that for most of you, it has been been a long-time since you heard Boogie Piano being played live. Also, my guess is you have never heard it played like Deanna plays it.  Her fingers move at an unbelievable rate of speed up and down the Keyboard, never missing a note or a beat!  It's fun to see the members of her band, all veteran Jazz players,  just watch with the rest of us marveling at her dexterity.  Her bandmates are the-always-wonderful Jeff Olson on Drums,  Composer/Guitarist wonder Chuck Alvarez on Guitar and the talented Bob Gross on Electric Bass.  Deanna is a test for these three veteran musicians as they never really know where Deanna may be going during a song because she is a free spirit and takes the music wherever she feels it's telling her to go.

Music has been Deanna's life from a very early age, and she never had a doubt of what she wanted to do the rest of her life.  It's very seldom that you have the chance to experience a musical talent with such energy like Deanna live and close up.  Now you get that chance every Monday night at Vicky's with no coverage.  Just one word of advice, get there early because when she performs there are no empty seats in the house!   She is a delight to see and hear.

I have attached a real treat for you.  This is a "Youtube" of Deanna performing live, one of her original compositions, "Still the Girl in the Band".   Fasten your seat belts and listen to this!

"Jazz For Jazz Lovers" at Pete Carlson's Golf & Tennis Is a Gift to All Music Lovers!

John Prouix

Larry Holloway and Jeff Olson

For any of my Jazz followers who have not discovered the wonderful Jazz Series: "Jazz for Jazz Lovers" at Pete Carlson's Golf & Tennis in Palm Desert, I think you are missing a chance of a life time to see and hear some of the best Jazz in the country.  The series is possible because of the generous financial support of Pete and Edna Carlson who have put together over 40 concerts this winter season bringing wonderful performers to our area.  All the non-profit concerts' proceeds go to support music education and scholarships for young musicians in the Coachella Valley.  

This series of Jazz concerts has been going on since 2010 and this year represents the largest number of concerts they have ever hosted.  Some may wonder how a Jazz performance can be put on inside a Golf and Tennis store, but I can assure you that the venue is perfect.  Everyone gets to see and hear great Jazz close-up and even better, talk with the performers one on one after the concerts.  

This year's concerts started on October 30 with the outstanding pianist Tamir Hendelman and his quartet that featured Polly Gibbons on Vocals. The last concert will be on April 2, 2016 with a Shelly Manne Tribute with Gary Foster.  You can call for tickets in advance since they go quickly, 760-568-3263.  Pete Carlson's Golf and Tennis is located at 73-741 Highway 111, in Palm Desert.  All Jazz fans in the Valley owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to Pete and Edna Carlson for their tireless effort to bring all this world-class Jazz to us.  I salute both of them and encourage you to do the same the next time you are in their wonderful golf and tennis store.

Recently I attended two events that featured two of the best Vocalists performing today, John Prouix Trio consisting of Vally favorites, Larry Holloway on Bass and Jeff Olson on Drums.   John sings and plays great Jazz piano.  His vocal seems like a mixture of Chet Baker and James Taylor;  not a bad combination, right ?  John also performed some great songs he has written that have been covered by a lot of singers performing today.

I found a "YouTube" of John Prouix singing "The Best Thing For You", the title song from his new CD.  I know you will love what you hear!

                                                   
                          JACKIE RYAN

Jon Mayer, Chris Connor and Jackie Ryan

The second outstanding Vocalist I heard at Pete Carlson's Golf and Tennis was Jackie Ryan and her trio  consisting of Jon Mayer on Piano, Chris Connor on Bass and Ron McCurdy on Drums.  I can't even begin to describe how great Jackie Ryan is, but I will say that she reminds me of several of my very favorite Jazz Vocalists.  Her stage presence is polished and professional and her selection of songs is straight out of my list of all-time favorite standards.  What a delight to listen to her sing no more that 10 feet away.  Jackie has several great CDs out and I highly recommend that you pick up a few.  Jackie Ryan should be on your "To Do" list of Jazz artists you need to see in person! 

I found a "YouTube" of Jackie singing "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" from her great CD "You And The Night And The Music" that will give you a taste of her vocal talents.

CD Review: Tom Keenlyside's New Release, "Musica Brasileira", Music For Jazz Flute

I have had the pleasure of listening to Tom Keenlyside play Flute and Saxophone for the past several years.  When I say, "Pleasure" that is exactly what I mean.  Tom is an amazing musician and a gentle and caring human being.  Tom's career has spanned four decades and during this time he has performed and recorded with many of the biggest and most talented names in the music world.  I'll name just a few: Diana Kroll, Harry Connick Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, Mel Torme, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Jon Bon Jovi, Oscar Peterson and David Foster.

Tom is Canadian and he has been spending his winters in the California Desert for the past 4 years. Tom has dedicated the last 40 years of his life and energy to music much like a master oil painter.  In order to paint a truly beautiful picture a master painter must visualize his subject for long periods of time, sometimes years before he can produce the emotion that he feels from the subject.  So too, a great musician like Tom Keenlyside has spent almost his entire adult life studying sounds, lyrics, instruments and rhythms of every kind of music he could get his hands on trying to understand its emotional message.  This was the foundation for his desire to record a CD of Brazilian music.  Tom's journey started  in the Spring of 1963 and continued through his trip to San Paulo in 2007.

Tom wrote the cover notes for this CD and rather than paraphrasing his brilliantly written and emotional words about how this project came about, I'll let Tom tell his story:

" In the Spring of 1963, I was treated to my first exposure to Brazilian music in the form of the iconic "Girl From Ipanema".  I was astonished by how present, clean, and well, frankly, perfect the music sounded.  Dry and sonically unadorned, the harmonies and stark melodic beauty of Astrid Gilberto's voice dazzled from the hi-fi like diamonds: the sound had an enormous effect on my early teenage ears, and would continue to influence my Jazz playing throughout much of my career.  Later in my teens, I sought out the works of the Brazilian greats, and gradually acquired a vague inkling of saudade, the longing woven throughout much of Brazilian melody and harmony.

In 2007, I had the great fortune to spend time in Sao Paulo and Rio, listening to and playing with some of the great players in Brazil today.  Impromptu Rodas or Chore jam sessions would pop up out of nowhere. The unearthly joy of sitting on Rogerio Souza's front porch playing "Doce de Coco" jamming "Noites Cariocas" with 200 others in the park under a giant banyan tree, or playing "Desafinado" with the great mandolinist Izaias Bueno de Almeida was irrefutable and magic."

It's obvious Tom would have made darn good writer also!  After all the years of Tom's inner feelings about Brazilian music,  he decided the time had come to record some of the songs that have been in his mind for years and "Musica Brasilia" was born.  The CD has 13 songs including two original songs Tom composed.  Cut 9, "Feather in the Wind" written by Tom is a beautiful song that is gracefully rhythmic, and if you close your eyes you can see a feather gently floating in the wind.  "A Raposa" a wonderful song was also written by Tom with Mike ONeill.  The background voices in this recording are haunting and Tom's Flute solo is excellent.  Most of the other songs on the CD will be familiar to you.  If you are a lover of Brazilian music, you should own this CD.  It is available on "CD Baby".

Tom brought together a talented group of musicians:

1. Tom Keenlyside- Flutes, all Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals
2. Michael ONeill- Acoustic and Electric Guitar,; tracks 2,5,8,12
3. Bill Coon- Acoustic and Electric Guitar; tracks 3,4,6,7,9,11
4. Bill Saitta- Acoustic Bass; tracks 5,11,12
5. Rene Worst- Acoustic Bass; tracks 3,4,6,7,9,11,13
6. Jeff Olson- Drums; tracks 3,7,9
7. Dennis Burke- Drums; tracks 5,11,12
8. Liam MacDonald- Pandeiro and Credo; tracks 2,4,5,12
9. Angela Kelman- Vocals; tracks 7,8,12
10. Jennifer Scott- Vocals; tracks 4,6,11,13

Tom Keenlyside did all the arrangements except track 8 done by Tom and Michael Neill. Walter Keenlyside did the Album design.

               Playlist
1. "Flauta So' "Triste"
2. "Brejeiro"
3. "A Felicidade"
4. "Carinhoso"
5. "Biruta"
6. "Eu Te Amo"
7. "We and The Sea (Nos e o Mar)
8. "A Raposa"
9. "Feather In The Wind"
10. "Corcovado Intro"
11. "Corcovado"
12. "Assanhado"
13. "Brazil"

I found a "YouTube" on Tom Keenlyside performing with the group "Altered Laws" at the 2011 Vancouver Jazz Festival that I know you will enjoy.

 

Deanna Bogart Brings Down the House at Woody's in Palm Springs

Chuck Alvarez, Jeff Olson, Bill Saitta and Deanna Bogart

Deanna Bogart

Chuck Alvarez

Jeff Olson

Steve Sarandos

                                                           Debbie Davies, Bill Saitta and Deanna Bogart

I first heard Deanna Bogart play Sax last year when she sat in with Pat Rizzo any played a few tunes.  I thought she was exceptional  talented and so did Pat.  No one sits in with "The Riz" unless they have some chops.  As soon as I found out that Deanna had a regular Wednesday gig at Woody's great Jazz Club in Palm Springs, I decided to catch her act.  I called for a reservation only to find out that her show was sold out.  I decided to call the owner of Woody's, Wayne Woodliff and ask if he would do me a favor and find me a spot.  I arrived at Woody's about 6:00 PM, one hour before the show, and the entertainment room was already packed.  I knew I was about to see and hear something special.  We were not disappointed as Deanna rocked the place from the first note she played on the Keyboard.  In addition to Sax, Deanna plays Keyboard and sings like a Blues angel.  Deanna loves making music and she transfers her love of performing directly to the audience that was totally captured by her performance.  Tonight, Deanna had invited a special guest, renown guitarist, Debbie Davies, to join her and the marvelous guitar wizard Chuck Alvarez,  everyone's favorite bass player Bill Saitta on Electric Bass and marvelous Jeff Olson on Drums.  I have never heard the level of excitement as high as Deanna brought it tonight.  She is a musical dynamo with unlimited energy.  Over and above that she exhibits "Sprezzaturo" with her incredible mastery of her craft and the effortless ability of her performance.

Deanna had always know what she wanted to do.  She posted the following on her web-site "Around the  age of six, she was "gently removed" from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music for playing piano by ear instead of learning to read music.  While in middle school, Deanna yearned to play the Sax.  Typical of those times though, she was told, Girls play the Clarinet, not the sax."  Thankfully, nothing could stop Deanna from creating her own music.  Deanna has created her own style of music by blending the best of Boogie-Woogie, contemporary Blues, Country and Jazz into what she calls "Blusion".  It works for her and certainly works for her audiences who never stop loving her.

Deanna has several CDs she has recorded including her most recent, "Pianoland" that I intend to review soon.  Deanna and her talented bank own Woody's on Wednesday nights.  Don't wait to see her as she finishes her current Wednesday engagement  on January 21. I found a "YouTube" of Deanna performing one of her original compositions which will give you a taste of her talented voice.

 

    

Trish Hatley Sings Up A Storm At Woody's

Jeff Olson, Trish Hatley, Larry Holloway and Darin Clendenin

Larry Holloway

Darin Clendenin

Jeff Olson

There was music magic at Woody's on Tuesday night, March 12 where Trish Hatley joined her sensational singing style with keyboard player Darin Clendenin and Valley favorites, Larry Holloway and Jeff Olson.  Trish Hatley has a great singing style that is all her own.  She loves standards from the "Great American Songbook" and approaches them in her own unique Jazz style. Her voice is very rich and clear as a bell and her phrasing is near perfect. Trish is simply a wonderfully-talented singer that I could hear again and again! I understand that Trish did a lot of singing with Larry Holloway when they were both living in Seattle and I believe Larry helped set up some gigs for Trish in the Valley. As a result, we got to hear some super Jazz sounds tonight.

Darin Clendenin has been accompanying Trish on piano for the last several years and it shows. In addition to providing great piano support behind Trish, Darin also provided outstanding arrangements for Trish's performance. Darin is a super talented musician and I hope we get to hear more from him in the future.

This was only the second time this group has played together but you would never know it from the music they made tonight.  What stood out to me was the way Larry Holloway knew every vocal move that Trish made and there were plenty of them.  Larry has always been one of my favorite bass players but tonight he was on fire. I have never heard Larry play better .

If I were a singer, I would want to have Jeff Olson playing drums in my group. I have seen Jeff play with Jazz instrumental groups and with Jazz singers, and he has the softest hands in the Valley.  He is always focused and keeps the perfect balance of sound for both uptempo and torch songs.

I understand that Trish may be doing some other dates in the area in the near future, and I strongly recommend that you try to see her, she is really good!