Woody's Palm House in Palm Springs is a great spot to hear live music any day of the week because they have live music 7 days a week. And the quality of the performers is always some of the best the Desert music scene has to offer. The owner of Woody's Palm House, Wayne Woodliff, is a former musician himself and he personally selects every act that performs there. Tonight, I enjoyed the Shelly Yoelin Trio that performs regularly every Wednesday night. Shelly usually invites one of our great Desert singers to be a special guest and tonight the fabulous Michael Dees joined the group. Michael has had a long career of doing studio, movie and TV work in LA until he moved to Palm Springs a couple of years ago. His singing and his original compositions are top draw. He is simply one of the finest singers on the scene today even though we only get a few chances to hear him sing locally. I try never to miss one of his gigs.
Tonight Michael vocally joined the Shelly Yoelin Group consisting of Shelly Yoelin on Tenor and Flute, David Ring on Keys and Andy Fraga Jr. on Drums. These are three of the most talented musicians anywhere and when joined by Michael Dees, it's magic! Michael sang many songs tonight including the evergreen "What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life" the song Michael sang for the movie "The Happy Ending". Michael also sang several beautiful and sensitive songs he wrote the music and the lyrics for, one in particular is the sensational, "In A Moment". It was a great night for quality music!
I recorded Michael singing a swinging version of the classic "All or Nothing At All" at the event. I was recording from my table and caught some of the crowd sounds but I think you will still enjoy Michael Dees and the Shelly Yoelin group. Enjoy!
Jack Pena, Don Fraser, Shelly Yoelin, Danny Flahive and Bob Corwin
Carolyn Martinez continues to impress large audiences on Tuesday nights at Vickys in Indian Wells, CA. Carolyn has been performing on Tuesday nights for the past couple of years. When she first started at Vickys, her audiences were small because not many music fans were familiar with her voice, but it did not take long for the word to get out. Now she draws large crowds that always include some of the finest musicians performing in the Desert, a sure sign of their respect for her singing ability. I first heard Carolyn sing 3 years ago, and I became a fan immediately. Carolyn has a strong, pure voice that when combined with her deep emotional feel for lyrics, makes a powerful performing statement. I think Carolyn is at her very best when singing Brailizan tunes. But that's not where her talent ends, she is a terrific Jazz singer and she handles great standards with the skill of a seasoned pro. If you have not heard Carolyn recently, you need to be at Vickys on Tuesday nights, and I personally guarantee you will love her singing.
Carolyn also is very careful about the quality of supporting musicians she brings with her to her gigs. She only asks the most experienced pros to work with her. Tonight was no exception with the marvelous Bob Corwin on Piano and Danny Flahive one of the best Bassists in the West on Bass. These two seasoned pros could make any singer advance their singing to a higher level. This duo with Carolyn's beautiful voice was just about perfect!
During tonight's performance, quite a few musicians came by to support Carolyn and sit in with the Trio. First up was KenSteele, an extremely multi-talented singer/composer/arranger and producer. I would love to see Ken have the opportunity to sing on an evening of his own. He has a beautiful mellow deep voice and his phrasing especially on Standards like " The Nearness of You" are dead center perfect. In the meantime, I will be happy to hear him sing in almost every place there is live music. The fact that all the top musicians always ask Ken to sit in and sing a couple of songs is a tribute to his wonderful singing talents.
Also sitting in tonight was Tenor Sax great, Shelly Yoelin, Don Fraser on Drums and Jack Pena on bongos.
