Mindi Abair in Westlake Village, CA

As part of the ongoing Westlake Jazz Series this summer, Mindi Abair, that skinny storm of a saxophone player many have compared to Candy Dulfer, made her appearance and shared her bouncy moves with a numerous, albeit middle-aged, audience.

Mindi successfully connects with her audience, engaging her listeners with easy-listening jazzy tunes trending on pop more than treading on risky improvisations. Unlike Euge Grove's funkier and simpler self, Mindi weaves her melodies in the air, punctuating every note not just with sound but with her body. Her energy level always upbeat and constant, not overdone and not overly aggressive, was a welcome change of scene from two weeks ago.

I was pleased to meet Mindi's varicolored sound, but it is sometimes too sunny for my taste. She has none of Stan Getz' broody yet gentle temperament and, I think, her style glides easily in the company of well known stars such as Dave Koz. She should be bolder and go with more complex rhythms. Seattle-born Jeff Kashiwa, formerly of The Rippingtons, comes to mind as a possible model.

Update: I had more detailed notes about Mindi's performance on July 26th, but I lost them during my move from Southern California to Cleveland, Ohio.

Chillaxin' with Euge Grove...I mean, Groove

Summer has a soft grip on Westlake Village these days. That's because I'm sitting (again) outdoors to listen to another jazz artist, part of the Westlake Summer Jazz program sponsored at the Hyatt Plaza Hotel by Mercedes Benz of Calabasas.

Tonight's turn is Euge Groove, born 46 years ago in Hagerstown, Maryland but now a Westlake Village resident...although, I don't know, he talks like a southerner ("Are you livin' large, y'all?" was his battle cry).

His style is smooth funky jazz, not exactly my cup of tea. A mix of Richard Elliott and Kenny G. at times, he exudes excellence in what he does: predictable sax riffs (see his beautiful baritone sax), so-so musical phrases and a penchant for showmanship. Not that tonight's audience was stuffy by any stretch of the imagination, but he kept interrupting himself to encourage the audience to "feel the funk," "livin' large," and "chillax moving your arms sideways, like this!"

At times, I was reminded of '90s sax sensation Najee, but Groove's style is less flowy and more staccato.

It was too much for me. I left after 25 minutes into the show and went for some cinnamon almonds at the local Trader Joe's.

Acoustic Alchemy in Westlake Village

Last Saturday (June 28), the suavish-gritty British duo Acoustic Alchemy stopped by the Westlake Hyatt Plaza Hotel in Westlake Village, CA, for a cool evening of jazzy guitar sounds. It was cool alright...with the temperature dipping into the high 60s, attendees had to don shawls, jackets and light sweaters as the performance took place outdoors by the pool.

The duo, made up of Greg Carmichael and John Parsons (who took over after Nick Webb's passing in 1998), didn't disappoint. Saturday night's medley consisted of some refreshing tunes, such as "Carlos the King" from their latest album This Way, an homage to charismatic guitar legend Carlos Santana, and the breezy Big Sky Country, to old favorites such as Ariane (one of my personal favs, actually).

I could only enjoy half of the show because I drove to the hotel from home without a jacket and sitting in mid-60s temperatures in the well-isolated enclave, surrounded by an artificial water cascade and a semicircle of tall perennials, was driving me to feel chills of the skin persuasion. I really felt bad that I had to leave early. However, I want to share a memento from that special occasion.

Next in: Euge Groove, July 12th, same place.

Evolución - Evolution

Me encanta la radio y me encanta disfrutar del milagro de escuchar música variada a través de aquella. Empecé a edad temprana a escuchar canciones populares y luego música clásica, alrededor de los 6 ó 7 años. Desde los 7 a los 20 años, no escuchaba casi nada más que música clásica o instrumental. Como era un ratón de biblioteca con tendencias melancólicas, me refugiaba en las sonatas para piano de Beethoven, los brincos orquestales de Mozart, los arrastres patéticos de Mahler y las a veces sosegadas bandas de sonido, un gusto que seguiría cultivando en mi edad adulta.

I love radio. I love enjoying the miracle of listening to a variety of music on the radio. I started to listen to popular tunes at an early age, then classical music (I was 6 or 7 at the time). From then to age 20, I wasn't listening to much more than classical or instrumental music. Since I was a bookworm prone to melancholy, Beethoven's piano sonatas, Mozart's orchestral jumps, Mahler's sad meanderings and the sometimes soothing soundtracks were my refuge. Soundtrack listening was a taste that I would nurture later in my adult life.

Mientras trabajaba en la ahora extinta Abolio y Rubio SACIG (una empresa fabricante de quesos y leche en polvo en Córdoba, Argentina), conocí a un empleado con quien trabaríamos una linda amistad personal. "Pity" Martínez, profesor de guitarra y evangélico devoto, me introdujo a otras variedades del jazz. El jazz que yo conocía hasta entonces era más el de las bandas grandes (Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, Louis Armstrong, etc.). Gracias a "Pity", empecé a acostumbrar mis oídos a Pat Metheny, George Benson, Earl Klugh, Yellow Jackets, Bobby McFerrin y otros.

While I was working at the now defunct Abolio y Rubio SACIG (a powder milk and cheese making company in Córdoba, Argentina), I met a coworker with whom I would develop a beautiful personal friendship. "Pity" Martínez, a guitar teacher and a devout evangelical protestant, introduced me to other jazz varieties. The jazz I knew till then was more of the "big band" kind (Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, Louis Armstrong, etc.). Thanks to "Pity," I started to get used to listening to Pat Metheny, George Benson, Earl Klugh, Yellow Jackets, Bobby McFerrin and others.

¿Por qué? Why?

En 2006, completé un curso de locución con Mario Luna en Córdoba, Argentina. Fueron ocho meses de descubrimientos interesantes, con ejercicios insólitos para mí: cómo preparar spots radiales, cómo entrenar la voz, etc. Finalmente, nos graduamos con un trabajo en equipo o "tesis": un programa radial de una hora de duración basado en un tema elegido por el mismo equipo.

In 2006, I completed a broadcasting course with radio personality Mario Luna in Córdoba, Argentina. It was eight months of interesting discoveries, unheard-of exercises for me: designing radio spots, voice training, etc. Finally, we graduated with a team work or "thesis": a 1-hour radio program centered on a team-selected topic.

Como miembros de cada equipo, teníamos la libertad de escoger un segmento basado en un subtema de nuestra propia elección. Cada uno de los miembros era responsable de preparar, guionar y ejecutar su propio segmento. Yo escogí las representaciones modernas del jazz y lo titulé Corrientes del jazz.

As team members, we were free to choose a segment based on a subtopic of our own choosing. Each one of us was in charge of preparing, scripting and presenting his/her own segment. I selected jazz' modern representations and called it Corrientes del jazz (Jazz Trends).

Mi equipo hizo un trabajo destacado y mi segmento fue objeto de un reconocimiento poco habitual por parte de nuestros instructores, a tal grado que Mario Luna me animó a tratar de cristalizar mi segmento en un proyecto radial real. Mario me puso en contacto con un director de Radio Nacional en Córdoba, pero nada pasó luego de la primera entrevista. Aparte, mis otras ocupaciones me impidieron dedicarle tiempo a un proyecto de radio incipiente.

My team did a nice job and my segment received unusual acknowledgments from our instructors, to the point that Mario Luna encouraged me to crystallize into an actual radio project. He introduced me to a Radio Nacional director in Córdoba, but nothing happened after the first interview. Besides, my other interests prevented me from setting time aside for an emerging radio project.

Así que, luego de pensar si era factible dedicarme a otras posibilidades, como la creación de mi propia radio por Internet dedicada a mis comentarios sobre el jazz (como melómano, claro), decidí reducir mis expectativas un poco por ahora y escribir una bitácora.

So, after mulling over other possibilities, like creating my own Internet radio devoted to my comments about jazz (as a music lover, of course), I decided to scale back on my expectations and write a blog about it.