Doctor Steve at Mireille's Bistro

Last night I was treated to the music of Doctor Steve, accordion master, at Mireille's Bistro in Beaverton.  Doctor Steve, aka Steve Gordon, MD, is a multi faceted musician who also plays clarinet and sax.  Steve moved easily among musical genres from classical, blues, show tunes, and pop.  We heard, "Black Coffee", "'Til There was You", "Yesterday",  "Amazing Grace", and many more.
His Roland accordion is not your basic squeezebox - this is one sophisticated instrument!  Although it somewhat resembles the accordion my Uncle Jack used to play, the depth and quality of sound is way beyond the scope of my memory of Uncle Jack's rendition of "In Heaven there is no Beer".  But, then again, that was Uncle Jack; this is Doctor Steve.

Doctor Steve

New Club - Ivories Jazz Club and Lounge

Ivories Jazz Club and Lounge opened last week!  This is a very nice club on 1435 NW Flanders St in the Pearl District.  A new club is always exciting and owners Art Trafton and Jim Templeton are working hard to provide live jazz in a very comfortable venue.  The staff was very accommodating and eager to please.

Last night we were treated first to Jazzesque, the duo of Rick Homer and Matt Schiff.  They have a great sound, I love Rick's soft muted trumpet and Matt's sophisticated guitar solos.

Rick Homer and Matt Schiff

Jim Templeton's Trio then took the stage for a solid set of standards and improvisation.  This is an experienced trio including Kevin Dietz on bass and Charles Neal on drums.  They were joined halfway through the set by Carey Campbell lending her vocal skills to tunes such as "Pennies from Heaven" and "East of the Sun/West of the Moon".  I was not familiar with Jim Templeton but was very impressed with this trio.  I'll hear them again.  One comment I would make is to adjust the stage lighting; Carey was singing in a shadow much of the evening.  Other than that, we enjoyed the music from both groups very much; we'll be back!

Jim Templeton 

Jim Templeton Trio

With Carey Campbell

Signatures at Tony Starlight's Supperclub and Lounge

The more I attend Signatures performances, the more tunes I add to my "favorite Signatures songs".  I almost find myself groaning when they introduce a new tune because it means that one of my favorites will be dropped from the evening's song list.  Well, I am learning not to worry - I have heard very few tunes by this solid quartet that I can do without (well, maybe "Love Me Tender")

Signatures started the evening with their special version of our National Anthem then had Ms. Maryann Nicholas join them with some classics from the 40's.  Maryann absolutely kicked *** on "I'll Never Smile Again".

The ladies then invited Tony Starlight to sing a beautiful interpretation of Johnny Mercer's "One for My Baby".

Set 'em up, Joe.....

The rest of the evening was pure Signatures; Barb, Karla, Kat, and Suzette (who, by the way, has hit her stride as the newest addition to Signatures).  Musical highlights include the "Harvest Moon" solo by Suzette, Barb's "Betcha By Golly Wow",  Kat's lead on "Killer Queen", and just try to keep still when Karla rips into the Eagles' "Heartache Tonight".

And, to cap off a wonderful evening of music and fun, the girls closed with the Manhattan Transfer inspired arrangement of "Operator" - my favorite Signatures tune.  They'll be back at Tony's on February 3rd.  See you then (if not sooner).

Post Script:

The following are tunes regularly performed by our local talent that should not be missed.  Let's all get out to the clubs that hire our gifted local musicians and performers.  This list is hereby dubbed, "Amazing Tunes".  If you have a proposed contribution to this list, let me know.

"Mother, Mother", Renato Caranto, Mel Brown B3 Quartet (Thursdays at Jimmy Mak's)
"When I Was Seventeen", Johnny Martin
"Pete Kelly's Blues", Art Abrams Swing Machine
"Operator", Signatures

Tea Zone/Camellia Lounge

A very cool spot to enjoy your favorite warm beverage.  I had the silver needle (white) tea and traditional scone served warm with lemon curd and Devonshire cream.  Oh yeah, they have live jazz 2 or 3 nights every week.  We enjoyed the Blake Lyman led jazz jam with Kevin Van Geem, Akila Fields, and Jim Prescott.   Blake is a very capable band leader who plays a strong sax but leaves lots of room for his band mates.  Kevin Van Geem impressed me with his smooth and understated work on the drums.  In fact, all the musicians moved as a unit and took the solos as they came.  It was really fun to witness the collective effort of these young men.

My favorite tune was Mr. P.C. from Coltrane's Giant Steps album featuring one nasty bass solo by Mr. Prescott - knocked me down!  Oh yeah, Darrell Grant sat in on one tune.  Are you kidding me?

The Camellia lounge is small but very well suited for a quartet/trio.  The food is good; staff attentive.  OK; it meets the Patti Weber test; I agree!  Really enjoyed our evening there and will definitely return; check out the TeaZone; some seriously promising events are coming up.

Getting nasty with Mr. P.C.

Blake and the boys gettin' it done!

Darrell Grant

Kevin Van Geem

Here Comes Gabby!

Gabby Holt is a singer/songwriter whom I have gotten to know at the local Starbucks.  Patti and I caught her show at the Alberta Rose theater this evening.  She is a high energy performer with a wide vocal range.  Listening to her reminds me of Jewel (my kids' generation) or Melanie (mine).  I particularly enjoyed her guitar work on her song "More" - think it was an original composition.  It was a short set and completely enjoyable.  She left her audience wanting more.  I'll hear her again!
I kept thinking how much I would like to hear Gabby fronting a full band; she has the voice to carry it.
We'll be back.
On another note, the Alberta Rose Theater is a very nice venue; kind of like the Aladdin with fresh paint - check it out!

Art Abrams CD Release "Speak Low - Swing Hard"

The title or Art's newest CD just about says it all about the party at the Benson last Sunday evening.  Art is a soft spoken band leader but the music he shared with the 300 in attendance was huge.  I simply loved it!
I wasn't alone - I looked around the room several times and saw nothing but smiles and gentle swaying to the music produced by Art Abrams and the Swing Machine.  Got there a little late but just in time for Dejection Blues, a loud, bluesy number; my kind of big band sound.  They followed that with "Evergreen", a snoozer in anybody else's hands but fun coming from the Swing Machine.  My favorite two pieces were "Pete Kelly's Blues" with Art playing the haunting trumpet solo that makes this such a special tune.  The other was "Serenade for a Bass Trombone" with a major solo by John Ohnstad.  I haven't been treated to that instrument before; loved it!

Pete Kelly's Blues

I bought the CD; you need to own this disc.  Click on the link above and you can order it online or visit Music Millenium.