Linda Peterson was the featured musician of the week at Backstreet Bistro and she gathered a talented group of musicians that included beautiful vocals from her sister Patty Peterson, Bill Saitta on Bass and Jay Lewis on Drums. Linda is one of the most popular musicians in the Valley because of her wonderful work on the Piano, her marvelous voice and her pleasing personality. Joining Linda and the group tonight was her talented sister, Patty who recently arrived in town from her family home in Minneapolis. The Peterson family is famous in the Minneapolis area because of all the wonderful music everyone in their large extended family performs.
Linda Peterson always allows local talented vocalists to sit in with her when she is performing. But when she has the opportunity to play some straight ahead Jazz, she really sparkles! Tonight was one of those opportunities for Linda, and she took advantage of it providing great Jazz vocals and solos. As you will see in the attached "Youtube" Linda has a great love for her sister Patty's musical talents and has no problem giving up the spotlight to her.
Patty Peterson has been singing since she was a child. If you are in the Peterson family performing comes naturally. She has a strong, clear voice and truly understands the lyrics in the great evergreen songs she sings. Her phrasing is dead perfect as is her pitch. Singing with musicians you don't know and who have no charts to follow is always difficult but tonight Patty and her supporting musicians made it seem simple. It was a great night for Jazz under the stars on the Backstreet Bistro patio, and we all hope Patty returns soon so we can hear more of her vocals.
Linda Peterson is always busy working at different venues in Southern California. On Wednesdays she performs at The Palm House in Palm Springs. She is doing a vocal presentation with talented singer, Lenny Kay on Thursday at Backstreet Bistro from 3 to 5. On Friday she is performing from 5 to 8 at FIX located on El Paseo in Palm Desert. On Saturdays, she performs at BackstreetBistro from 12:30 to 3:00. And finally on Sunday she plays at Chef George's in the lounge from 6 to 9 pm.
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.
Every time I hear Mike Costley perform I prepare myself to find him less spectacular than I remember from the last time I heard him sing. However, the truth is that every time I hear Mike perform I always leave more impressed by his talents. I am not just talking about his singing. He is so much more. Mike is a marvelous singer/performer who has the ability to capture his audience within minutes of the start of his show and keep them engaged right to the last song he sings. Mike loves to sing and performs with body and soul and his passion quickly connects with his audience. His energy on stage is electric. Mike's first set is non-stop for over 90 minutes. What is most amazing is that Mike can sing every genre of music and all at the highest professional level. He is also naturally comedic especially when you least expect it! Mike is a perfectionist when it comes to music, and he demands and gets the top level of support from the talented instrumentalists that he carefully selects to join him on stage.
Supporting Mike at Vickys are two outstanding sidemen, Steve Alaniz on Tenor Sax and John Pagels on Guitar. Steve is one of the best Sax players in Southern California, and I especially love the way he can mirror Sam Butera's wonderful phrasing and sound on the Louie Prima numbers Mike sings. John Pagels is also recognized by all the musicians I know as one of the most best guitar players on the scene today. He provides rock-solid support for Mike whether he is singing torch songs or up-tempo swing numbers; he can do it all.
How lucky we music lovers here in the Coachella Valley are to get to be able toexperience Mike Costley on a regular basis. Mike's show is first rate and as good as any show you might see in Vegas or NYC. He performs every Tuesday at Vickys in Indian Wells to packed audiences. He starts at 7:00, but be sure to get to Vickys early if you want a seat.
For those readers that have never had an opportunity to hear Mike sing, I have attached a "YouTube" of Mike singing with the great Jackson Garrett Band at an outdoor concert at "The River" in 2015. The band members consisted of some of the best musicians in our Valley: Jay Lewis-Drums, Jeff Stover-Electric Bass, Dave Ring-Keys, John Pagels-Guitar, Steve Alaniz-Tenor Sax, John Leys-Trombone and DonClarke-Trumpet. All musicians perform wonderful solos on this track.
Rose Kingsley, Jim Di Julio, Jim Di Julio Jr., Steve Alaniz
Rose Kingsley
Steve Alaniz
Jim Di Julio Jr.
Bob Corwin
Jim Di Julio
Opera great, Rose Kingsley made her debut at the historic Catalina Jazz Club in LA. Welcomed by a large and supportive audience, Rose responded with a wonderful Jazz vocal performance of some of the best songs out of the "Great American Songbook". Rose is relatively new singing Jazz vocals but she has her own unique style that is unlike most of the Jazz singers on the scene today. As a result of her Opera training, Rose approaches each song and each lyric with great understanding and emotion. She never just sings words, she tells wonderful stories with every ounce of emotion in her body. Rose also never holds anything back, she sings perfectly with reckless abandonment that is seldom seen with other singers. Even though Rose has years of singing experience, she has thrown herself into perfecting her Jazz vocal chops in the belief that she add something new to the great songs of the past for her audiences.
Rose is not the kind of singer that you can hear sing one song and fall in love with. Her style takes some getting use to but I can assure that after you listen to her sing her first handful of songs, you will fall in love with her. She is a wonderful performer in addition to being a wonderful singer!
Rose also is savvy enough to make sure she has only the very best musicians supporting her performances. Tonight, she brought in the great pianist, Bob Corwin. along with Jim Di Julio on Bass playing his newly acquired 18th century Bass, Sax great, Steve Alaniz played Tenor and Soprano Sax and Jim Di Julio Jr. was on Drums. These talented musicians were sensation tonight playing a supporting role for Rose and providing excellent solos when called.
I have attached an iPhone video of Rose performing "Come Rain or Come Shine" that I published on my "YouTube" page.
I recently reviewed some absolutely brilliant Jazz musicians who apply their trade mostly on the West Coast, so I was very happy when I was asked to review a great new CD from a master guitarist from the East Coast, Larry Newcomb. Larry's new CD, "Live Intentionally" was recorded live. I have long believed that live recordings capture the spirit and emotion of the players and Larry believes that also. According to Larry "Live Intentionally! was recorded live. I wanted to capture the spontaneous intensity and energy of playing Jazz without a safety net. I also wanted to test my own performance and improvisatory skills in real time." Bravo, Larry, your new CD does all of the above and more. The CD contains a mixture of wonderful standards like "All The Things You Are" and "Have You Met Miss Jones" and three Larry Newcomb original songs. Larry is joined on this CD by three top level Jazz musicians, Dmitri Kolesnik on Bass, Jimmy Madison on Bass and Eric Olsen on Piano.
I will end with a quote from another of my New Jersey favorites and one of the very best guitarist in the history of the instrument, Bucky Pizzarelli. "Larry Newcomb is a master guitar player and a life-long student of the instrument. You manage to get a great tone consistently and that isn't easy. You have terrific talent, and a very good sound. You have mastered the guitar". Bucky is recovering from some heart problem and we all wish him a speedy recovery!
I found a "Youtube" of Larry playing "Be My Love" for your listening pleasure.
Johnny Morris is back playing everyone's favorite standards at Backstreet Bistro on Monday nights from 6:00pm until 9:00pm to the delight of all lovers of the "Great American Songbook". My appreciation for Johnny's playing and singing skills increase every time I go to hear him. Don't make the mistake of thinking that Johnny plays "Elevator Music". Johnny is a superb Jazz pianist who has played with some of the greatest Jazz performers in the country. He toured with The Buddy Rich Band for years including many sessions with him at Birdland in NYC. The great Alto Sax man, Cannonball Adderley, tried repeatedly to get Johnny to tour with him, but Johnny like the venues he was playing in NYC at the time.
Tonight Johnny was in fine form, playing great standards beautifully, singing the lyrics we all love and to top it off, telling wonderful stories about his experiences with many favorite musical giants of the past who performed with him.
You just can't find venues like Backstreet Bistro where you can have an intimate dinner on the outside terrace and listen to some of the best sounds this side of heaven! Please do your self a favor and go hear Johnny's wonderful performance every Monday at Backstreet Bistro in Palm Desert.
Continuing my effort to attach music to my postings, I recorded a video of Johnny playing the great standard "Stella By Starlight" live at Backstreet Bistro in Palm Desert. I apologize for the poor visual in the "YouTube" as I am still in the learning stage of movie making. I thought the sound was ok.
Aubrey Tadman is a musical treasure who lives and sings in the Coachella Valley. Aubrey is multi-talented with comedy writing credits for such shows as "Mary Tyler Moore", "Rhoda","Welcome Back Kotter", "Three's Company", "The Tim Conway Show", "Dick Van DykeAnd Company" and "Donny and Marie" just to mention a few. Of course, anyone who has met Aubrey knows how funny he can be. Aubrey is from Winnipeg, but his personality is right out of Hollywood. Aubrey has had a long career as a writer and producer of television in Hollywood. He has won an "Emmy" and has been nominated for 5 additional "Emmys". He has also been awarded a "Writer's Guild Award".
Aubrey has performed at some top clubs in California including "The Jazz Bakery", "The Hyatt Hotels", "Geri's World", the famous "Racquet Club" and "Vicky's of Santa Fe" in Indian Wells. He has also performed in the Vancouver Jazz festival five times. I first heard Aubrey sing when he sat in with talented pianist Rich Bono at The Indian Wells Resort Hotel. Aubrey sang "Body and Soul", and I became an instant fan.
On Tuesday, February 2, a big group of his friends gathered at 360 North Restaurant in Palm Springs CA to hear Aubrey sing. His appeal as a singer is linked to his understanding of lyric and impeccable timing. He puts life into a lyric with surging emotion. His ability to inject that emotion into lyrics that may have been written 50 years ago and take them into the present is a rare talent few vocalists can reach. As you would expect, Aubrey just can't stop from throwing in some comedy lines into his performances to the delight of his audience.
I wanted to mention that 360 North Restaurant in Palm Springs has live music 6 days per week and offers some wonderful food to match the great live music. I congratulate the new owners of 360 North Restaurant for their support of live music! A great place to stop by anytime you are in the Palm Springs area.
Aubrey has a great CD that I highly recommend. The CD is "Stay With Me" and it will give you a true sample of Aubrey's great singing ability. The CD covers many wonderful standards like "Accustomed To Her Face","Watch What Happens", "She Needs Me" and "Mountain Greenery". I found a cut from the CD on "Youtube" and have attached it below so you can hear Aubrey at his best! The CD can be purchased on "CD Baby".
I attempted to record a sample of Aubrey's performance at 360 North so you can see how entertaining he can be but the lighting was low and I picked up a lot of the crowd noise, but I still think it is worth sharing. It captures Aubrey singing "You Are My Sunshine" using some funny new lyrics he has written.
Aubrey Tadman At 360 North singing his version of "You Are My Sunshine"
Aubrey Tadman singing "Accustomed To Her Face"
From his CD "Stay With Me"
