The Joint is Jumpin’
Last night Kim sang for the first time with a local Jazz combo at a small and unusual gathering spot very close to where we live. Earlier in the week, out of the blue, a woman from her local Women’s Group, who had all come over to our house for a regular dinner gathering, told her she played keyboards with a small jazz band and would Kim be willing to come over and audition/rehearse with them with the prospect of joining the group at an event later in the week. I know my Kim and I know that she takes musical preparation very seriously. Just ask her to get up and sing on an impromptu basis and you will see that she is not about off-the-cuff performing. When you watch Kim perform you can understand why. She does not just get up and belt out a tune, she performs the music in a deep and heartfelt manner that puts her whole being into the lyrics and music. You can almost see the penetration of the music into her soul. That means that I was surprised to hear that she was doing this gig all of a sudden. I flew back on Tuesday and when we got a group text invitation to Faraj & Yasuko’s house for dinner on Friday, I was unaware that she had a prior commitment. When I got home she explained that she was doing this gig on Friday and that we would be going to F&Y’s house for dinner on Thursday instead. On Wednesday the pianist came over and I sat and listened as she and Kim ran through the numbers very quickly, not in the repetitive and deep way that I have heard Kim rehearse with Steven Ray Watkins or Tracy Stark when she is preparing for a big show in NYC. This was more like plink-plink, plunk-plunk, OK, fine, you’ve got it. I know nothing about music, but even my untrained ear can tell professional from amateur night when it comes to rehearsals.
Back in the bad old NYC days, one of the courses Kim took at her beloved Singnasium, was a jazz class with a renowned Jazz singer by the name of Gabrielle Stravelli. I always think of Kim as a singer of the American Songbook and cabaret and not about singing Jazz, but Kim was quite taken with the jazz class by Stravelli. I even once went to a sort of end-of-class recital from one of her courses and heard them all sing a few jazz tunes. I know jazz like I know opera, which is to say that I can identify with at most a dozen familiar tunes and no more. It’s just never been an art form that has drawn me in. I compare that to the cabaret menu from the Great American Song Book, which I feel that I can identify about 80% of the time. I am especially drawn to musical familiarity rather than musical innovation, so I dutifully listened to these jazz recitals, but more in support of Kim than out of distinct resonance with the art form. Kim had a deeper connection to the musical genre and seems to know what Billie Holiday sang or what Fats Waller wrote. I know the names Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald, but Kim really knows the music. She went so far as to take a scat course from Stravelli. Scat is a fast-paced nonsensical way of singing to the beat of jazz. It was attributed to Louis Armstrong and it is simply indicative of getting so into the rhythm of the beat that you wander mindlessly off into “doo, be, shoo, bop, ooh, dee, doo, sha-bam”. It sounds silly when you talk about it, but it seems strangely in place when you hear it with the music. Anyway, I recall Kim taking that course and coming home all doo, be, shoo, bop, ooh, dee, doo, sha-bam around the apartment.
I asked Kim how the “audition” went with the group and she said it was a bit weird. The combo, comprised of the keyboardist, a drummer, an electric guitarist (doubling on an occasional saxophone riff), an electric bass player (upright…which is particularly strange looking, almost like a Star Wars bionic alien), trumpet player and a bongo drum player, was a collection of committed musicians who took their prior professional music careers very seriously. The drummer, who was sort of the band leader, was particularly snarky, wondering if this unknown singer named Kim was up to their level of professionalism. Apparently, after she ran through several songs that they all knew and did not need sheet music for, she impressed them enough with her voice that the drummer said some version of “that’ll do, pig, that’ll do”.
The chosen venue for the event last night was equally as mysterious as the origins of the group, which called themselves Straight No Chaser, presumably to invoke a smokey, boozy sort of jazz feel. The venue was this place called TERI Campus of Life and it seems to be the embodiment of a charitable organization that seeks to provide life-changing resources to the community of people with special needs. TERI stands for Training, Education and Resource Institute. It is particularly well-funded by all looks, because it is a lovely sprawling campus that is designed to bring people together for various events to celebrate life and helping others. I don’t think it is religious in nature. Teri was founded by a woman who had been profoundly changed by her encounter with a severely disabled young woman. She went on to form the organization and somewhere along the way tapped into some serious money to build this center. It’s story per its website is as follows: “The TERI Campus of Life is in San Marcos, CA. This state-of-the-art facility is located on 20 acres of beautiful California countryside. It will allow us to open our doors to so many more children and adults who need our help. The Campus’s innovative programs and services will provide our students, their families, and the community with a remarkable facility second to none – an environment for learning, growing, achieving and experiencing joy. Most important, it’s a dream that’s becoming a reality – built on love, compassion, fun, and hope!” In a world too busy to worry about a lone disabled person, this is a breath of fresh air kind of spot. There they have a cafe that serves upscale cuisine like Buratta & Prosciutto and Flatbreads. Beverages are confined to bear, wine and organic fruit and vegetable drinks (No Coke, No Pepsi!). It seems Straight No Chaser plays there twice a month on Fridays for tip money and a free plate of food.
They play on an outdoor covered terrace that seats perhaps 50 max. The event was casual, but well-attended. It’s the sort of place that is close enough that we may want to go more often. Unlike the sports bar atmosphere of The Sideyard Public House, which is the only eatery nearer to us, this seems more genteel and more like-minded to me. I suspect it is somehow connected or funded by The Golden Door Spa people next door. So Kim is now sort of part of Straight No Chaser and may be playing the place regularly. I guess I have to say that while the crowd is more our age than not…the joint is jumpin’ every other Friday night.