Mindful Musings

Jennifer and I went to the Valentine Theatre Gala Celebrations last night and had a really good time. It was a very classy event with good wine, good food, lots of top level executives of sponsoring companies and some good music. There were a few things about this Gala that caught my eye.

The performers were Karrin Allyson and Steve Tyrell. Everyone was extremely excited to hear these two perform. Karrin had a very nice and warm stage personality and her voice was soothing. She sang a few jazzy tunes, most of which fall under the “soft rock” category (101.5 The River or elevator music)

Steve, on the other hand, had the persona of a sleazeball on stage. All of his songs were written by other people from his “American Songbook” and he kept throwing out his “little stories” of being pals with Rod Stewart, Jack Nicholson and Steve Martin. My first impression of him was of a “name thrower” whose claim to fame was a song from the Steve Martin Blockbuster, Father of the Bride. He has been riding his fortunes ever since. His voice was so-so, his banter was terrible and his choice of music was very cookie cutter. I think I am a little more critical of Modern American Jazz because of my love and taste for classical Jazz and Blues. Every song/composition that I hear in the soft rock category, sounds to me like it was meant to be played in the elevators and lavatories of 5 star hotels.

If you are in the Toledo area and would like to listen to some “real” jazz, head over to Rusty’s (do they still exist?) or take a day trip to Cleveland and visit some of the Jazz clubs in the flats. My favorite memory of live Jazz music dates back to 2000 at Wooster where our music class had invited a bunch of Chicago Jazz and Blues musicians to jam with us.