It was a sizzling summer day and some equally sizzling jazz went down at our annual Jazz Society Summer Party this year. The terrific house band… pianist, Woody DiMarco, Hank Allen on bass, and drummer, Steve Stockmal were helped out with some more of our fine local musicians. Peter Clark showed up to add his considerable talents to the mix with a number of tunes most memorable, I Just Found Out About Love. Excellent players, bassist Juan Carlos Perez and drummer, René Martinez sat in to give Hank and Steve a breather. The gifted Dennis Berger brought his alto sax to jam with the band and add to the accompaniment of the vocalists. Danny Bergen was there with his trumpet and newcomer, sax man, Paul Gader sat in for a couple of tunes. Pianists, Frank Frost and Larry Duff came to entertain too and flutist, Bob Taylor played an appropriate, Summertime.
We also had a huge array of great vocalists. Donna Greene, aka Lady Blue, set the bar with two beauties…the Billie Holiday classic, Fine and Mellow and Since I Fell for You. Guitarist Greg Loeb, her long time accompanist, sat in with the band for her lovely numbers. Sandy Cummings did double duty as MC and singer with a rousing, Deed I Do. We also heard some fun parodies… Sol Morrison with a take off on Why Don’t You Do Right and Erin Graffy, in great voice, singing and scatting on Route 66 renamed You’ll Stay Alive if You Stay Off the 405. James Arnold, with his terrific voice, sang his heart out on I’m Singin’ this Song for You and Autumn Leaves. We also had some new faces in the vocal department: Kanga La Verado belted out an very professional The Very Thought of You and Jody DeMarco on a moving What a Difference a Day Makes. Although not a jazz singer, Kim Holmquist, gave it her all on Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man of Mine. Somewhere along the line, we were treated to a Hank Allen vocal, I thought About You, also accompanying himself on his bass. Hank is such a great musician we sometimes forget what a good singer he is.
I think we have to take off our hats to Sandy Cummings for holding it all together and the super trio and particularly Woody DiMarco for being able to accompany the vast array of talented singers and musicians. It was a truly GREAT afternoon of jazz! Check out some candid shots of the event on our website by photograher, Mark McDonald.
Photos by Mark McDonald
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