Taste Jazz

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Since I have been working till 9PM at Full Sail, I have been searching for late evening sketch opportunities. Monday Night Jazz at Taste (717 W. Smith Street in College Park) has become a standard Monday Night ritual. They have an early set from 7PM to 9PM and then a later set from 9:30PM to 11:30PM. My sketch is usually finished before the evening of music wraps. All sorts of musicians gather in the bar area and different musicians rotate in for each jam session.

I order a Blue Moon beer and some tater tots to munch on as I sketch.  The young couple at the table in front of me were obviously on a date just getting to know each other. As always the music was lively and spontaneous. My goal at these late night sketch outings is to get a quick sketch done then get home before Terry goes to sleep.

Monday Night Jazz at Taste

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I have been working a late shift at Full Sail from 5PM to 9PM. That means I’ve had to search for events that go late into the evening. Jazz at Taste (717West Smith Street in College Park) fits the bill. Danny Grudal, Chris Muda and Michael Wells started a set when I arrived. I ordered some crispy tater tots, a beer and got to work. Different musicians joined in for different jams. A saxophone player I had met at Terrace 390’s Jazz event said hello.

This is a great way to relax after a hectic day. Soloists would take the music and improvise their own riff on top of it. When a performer got lost in the moment, the audience at the bar and tables would root him on with laughter, clapping and shouts. It is quite addictive. I nodded my head to the beat and tapped my foot as I sketched. I tried to let the lines flow unhindered.

These Jazz sets happen every Monday Night from about 9PM to 11PM. There is no cover.

13 in 13

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Orlando Playwright, Joseph Reed Hayes, will offer audiences 13 artistic projects in 2013. Determined to focus on his artistic passions
in the new year, Joseph will spend the
next 12 months bringing 13 separate creative projects to life. His
“13 in 13” project takes everything he’s learned as a playwright, music
producer, freelance writer, radio guy, spoken word performer,
photographer, voracious techno-geek, and shameless self-promoter to
energize one art-filled year of events and engage and excite Orlando and
a worldwide Internet audience. The first event on February. 5th will be a screening of  “Big Easy Express“, an area-exclusive screening of the
critically-acclaimed, Grammy-nominated movie at the Cobb Plaza 12 in
downtown Orlando. I sketched the theater as the sun set on another business day. The movie tickets to this screening must be reserved by January 30th. As of this writing, 16 more tickets needed to be sold to guarantee that the theater is reserved. Get your tickets now.

The 13 productions in 2013 will be financed in part by a Kickstarter
crowd-funding campaign, which ends January 27th, and will include five
Hayes-produced jazz shows, two of his original plays and a brand-new
live Holiday radio drama, two workshops, a photo exhibit, a movie
screening and a spoken-word performance. In designing this ambitious
year-long project, Hayes will bring his work and the talents of many
local musicians and actors to new audiences in person and online during
live streaming events. Hayes has designed the Kickstarter campaign to help engage theater and
jazz lovers in Orlando.  “I’m asking my audience to help me create this
year of art, and spread the word. I’m excited about what I’m going to
attempt in 2013, and I think together we just might make it happen,” he
said.

Every artist involved — 19 musicians, 11 actors, 8 directors and theater
technicians, 4 writers, 1 chef, a sound-effects person — will get paid,
because Hayes believes talent and art have great value, and that value
should be rewarded. Videos, audio recordings, photo books and posters
will be created for each project, and most of the events will be open to
the public, some at no charge. Many of them will be streamed online, as
was his breakthrough United Arts of Central Florida-funded House
Theater Project in 2012, which staged his play “A Little Crazy” in his
living room and reached viewers as far afield as England, Italy and
Romania.

13 in 13 Events:

1. Feb. 5: “Big Easy Express“, an area-exclusive screening of the
critically-acclaimed, Grammy-nominated movie at the Cobb Plaza 12 in
downtown Orlando.

2. Feb. 9: “Creating an Audience and Shameless Self-Promotion“, a
Downtown Credo Conduit workshop by freelance writers and guerrilla
marketers Jennifer Greenhill-Taylor and Joseph Hayes.

3. April 4: Trumpeter Brian Groder and pianist Tonino Miano — musicians,
composers and educators from New York — conduct a master class in
composition and jazz improvisation at the UCF Jazz Studies Department.

4. April 5: “Jazz in the Real World“. Groder and Miano take their
students from the UCF Jazz program out of the classroom and into a real
world gig.

5. April 7: “FluiDENSITY” premiere. Groder and Miano premiere their new CD of

modern classical/jazz improvisations at the Timucua White House.

6. June 25: “Jazz On Edge Supper Club“. Vocalist Heather Friedman and
her trio perform at Hannibal’s on the Square for a special dinner and
jazz supper club.

7. TBA: “SOLOS.” House Theater Project production of Hayes’ Orlando Fringe Festival hit jazz play.

8. TBA: “SOLOS AFTER HOURS” — a House Theater Project/Jazz On Edge joint
presentation of “SOLOS” with a live band, followed by a cabaret
performance of the Solos Quartet with guest vocalist Lulu Picart.

9. TBA: “Water Cities“, an exhibit of photographs of great world cities by Joseph Reed Hayes at Downtown Credo.

10. TBA: “13in13 Reading Series.” Spoken word performances by novelists
Julie Compton and Jennifer Greenhill-Taylor, playwright Joseph Reed
Hayes and poet Summer Rodman.

11. TBA: Jazz On Edge House Concert featuring the 5th anniversary Jazz On Edge presentation, which will be streamed live online.

12. TBA: House Theater Project will feature the world premiere of “A SLOW RIDE” by Joseph Reed Hayes. Streamed live online.

13. Dec. 2013: “THE LITTLE DICKENS,” An original “radio drama”
production of Hayes’ cracking new Holiday show, presented in front of a
live audience and streamed online in audio and video versions for
enjoying by the fireside.

Eladio Sharron and Carrie Wiesinger

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On November 11th, as part of the Accidental Music Festival, Eladio Sharron and Carrie Wiesinger performed Latin American works for flute and guitar, including Cronicas Del Descrumbiento by Robert Sierra, Fantasia by Inocente Carreno and Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazolla at the Timucua White House (200 Summerlin Ave). There was no visual artist on stage that day.

I tend to like to sketch from the second or third floor balcony, so I climbed the spiral staircase and found a spot to sit. Wendy Wallenberg was busy setting  up the snack and wine table in the next room. She signaled me from the entry gesturing to let me know I didn’t greet her properly.  Paintings by Christie Miga were on display and a large painting with 3D objects sticking out of it was right next to me. I stood and leaned against the wall overlooking the railing as I sketched. I was afraid that I might nudge Christies painting as I struggled with my sketch, sending the painting toppling down hitting audience members below. I don’t know why I always imagine the worst. Nothing horrible happened. Instead I experienced beautiful music in an intimate setting.

Hedwig Manifestation

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Director, Tara Corless, invited me to sketch as actor Brian Thompson got ready for the final night’s performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Majestic Theatre and Lounge inside Revolution Nightclub ( 375 South Bumby Avenue). I arrived a bit early and all the doors to the club were locked. A fellow with long dark hair was waiting in the parking lot. It turned out he had left his cell phone in the club from the performance the night before. He had been waiting since 4PM and I believe the performers started arriving around 6PM. The lead actor and actress, Dorothy Massey who plays Yitzhak, and  Brian, who plays Hedwig, pulled up in a van. All the costumes were piled up in the back and they opened the tailgate and started eating their takeout Chinese food. Andy Matchett pulled up, rolled down his car window, and he asked if anyone wanted a drink since he was making a drink run. Dorothy began relating Saint Augustine ghost stories as the sun set. Every fifteen minutes or so, Cessna airplanes would swoop down over the Club on their approach to the Executive Airport.

The dressing room was maybe 10 feet square and the entire cast had to use the space. I found a spot to sketch from, and I checked with Dorothy to make sure I wasn’t blocking anyone. It would take a full two hours for Hedwig to manifest and transform himself into a woman. His eyebrows were already shaved which would save time. Dorothy explained that her transformation to a man would take much less time. Stage manager, Ally Gursky, arrived with a container of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. She had skinned her knee the night before and somehow every piece of musical equipment carried through the dressing room managed to bonk her raw knee. Being insensitive, I couldn’t help but chuckle.  On her iPhone, she played a wonderful video that pointed out the obvious and hilarious reason to be supportive of gay marriage. Then Tara arrived with containers full of red white and blue cupcakes left over from Veterans day no doubt. Dorothy straddled Brian’s lap and started painting decorative swirling eyebrows. Andy arrived with a bottle of Burbon. He said to me, “Care to take that sketch to the next level?” He filled my cup and asked if I wanted some Ginger ale to water it down. I decided to taste the burbon first. My throat lit on fire and I whispered, “Yep, I need some ginger ale.” My lines loosened up with each sip. Dorothy started dancing in wild abandon to “Do It With a Rockstar“.

One of the Guitar players started to thank every one. “I started this show tentative and unsure, but you all made me feel at home. Thanks you everyone for your friendship and support, I’m going to miss you all when this show is over.” Andy said, “No problem, Uhm, what is your name again?” Everyone laughed. Tara circled everyone up for a pre-show ritual. Half of the cast circled up their index finger and thumb creating a cavity in their palms while the rest of the cast inserted their index fingers in the warm cavities. All their hands and wrists intertwined. Ally shouted, “Five minuted to show time!” actors shouted back, “Thank you 5!” There was an electric excitement in the air. Tara announced that they had 30 people in the audience, that was the largest audience they had in the entire show’s run. Andy claimed that on some nights they performed with only three people in the audience. This was a case off life imitating art imitating life,  The band went on stage and  a flash of electric music filled the theater with the Origin of Love. These rock stars were ready to raise the rafters!

Grand Opening Celebration at the Obama Volunteer Office

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The Obama Volunteer Office held a FREE Grand Opening Celebration on Friday Sept 7th, starting at 5:30PM. The office is located at 200 North Denning Drive in Winter Park right behind the Winter Park Village. I saw police cruiser lights flashing as I drove down Denning towards the event. I figured parking might be a problem so I drove into a Publix parking lot and walked the half mile or so to the event. Sure enough, cars were parked on lawns and all the street parking spots were full.

 Tables were set up in the parking lot and musicians were setting up in the performance tent. The John Valeri Quintet began to perform and Miss Jacqueline Jones
sang with them later in the set. I began my sketch by studying an elder man wearing an American Flag shirt. Four food trucks were set up in the back of the lot. As I sketched a dark sinister cloud pushed in from the west. I rushed my line work fearing rain.

There was a deluge. Everyone ran for cover. Most people, including myself, crowded under the performance tent. A large puddle began to form where I was standing so I lifted my art bag off the ground onto a cement curb. I went inside the volunteer offices thinking I might have time for a second sketch. People were pressed tight together. Former Sentinel theater critic Elizabeth Maupin seemed to be working in the office as a volunteer. An acapella quartet broke out in song in the hallway.  I had to pick Terry up from the airport so I vetoed the notion of a second sketch. I opened up my little umbrella and braved the walk back to my car.

Red Fox Lounge

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Mark Wayne and Lorna Lambey were an Orlando Lounge act legends. Sadly Mark passed away last spring. I’ve often wondered what act could possibly follow their brand of Vegas style kitsch. The urban legend was that Mark and Lorna’s act inspired a Saturday Night Live bit where two teachers perform for students. Part of me hoped Lorna would continue to perform although I knew that wasn’t likely. I had to return to get another sketch.

When I got to the Red Fox Lounge in the Mount Vernon Inn (110 South Orange Avenue Winter Park, ) the room wasn’t as packed as the last time I had been there. The sixties era room sported prints of horse riders on the hunt. Bathed in blue light, Patty and Michael were performing behind a poster sized caricatures of themselves. I found it odd that Patty and Michael’s business card and website didn’t once mention their last names. Perhaps this first name branding makes them seem as big as Sonny and Chere. I liked their covers of Norah Jones  songs but they couldn’t match Norah’s silky voice. They played a wide selection of covers but the music never had the energy or conviction to get people dancing or singing along. The music was kitschy and sweet but an empty caricature of the energetic originals. There is another act performing on alternating evenings and perhaps one day I’ll return.

Casa Feliz

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Casa Feliz (625 North Park Avenue, Winter Park) hosts free musical performances each Sunday from Noon to 3PM. Jack Fannigan invited me inside prior to a performance with a theatrical flourish. Jack used to work for James Gamble III who designed Casa Feliz. The building was slated to be demolished but Winter Park citizens wanted to save the historic building. The entire building was lifted and moved to its new home next to a golf course.

Matt, The Sax Man, Festa and Michelle Mailhot were performing on this sunny Sunday afternoon. I had sketched Matt once before at a First Thursdays event at OMA. As a matter of fact, when he opened his laptop, my sketch of him was being used as his screen saver. Michelle also performs with Toxic Audio, a talented acapella singing group. I know they have performed at the Orlando International Fringe Festival and I’ve heard plenty of good buzz, but I’ve never seen them perform. Regardless, Michelle’s voice is stellar. She sang Nora Jones’ “I don’t knew why” with incredible heart.

The evening before, I had sketched at the Red Fox Lounge where the incomparable Mark Wayne and Lorna Lamby used to perform their kitschy and fun musical lounge act. After Mark’s death earlier this year, there has been other performers trying to fill those shoes, but there is still a void. Matt and Michelle have that extra magic turning a performance into an all out party. Michelle’s daughter dressed in pink, danced in the front row. Every seat was full and the room was alive. As I packed up to leave, I noticed another artist working on a sketch. What a great way to start a Sunday afternoon.

Sunday Afternoon Music Improv

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SUNDAY AFTERNOON MUSIC IMPROV featured musicians from Central FL, Jax, and Miami. The session was on August 18th from 3-7PM at Urban ReThink (625 E Central Blvd, Orlando). When I arrived, Dan Reaves and Lucy Bonk were performing on stage using electronics and a wide assortment of found objects. Lucy used several kitchen bowls, using them like gongs. Dan’s instruments were gathered on a sheet of corrugated steel. He used a foot pedal and a dial with his right hand to modulate the electric sounds which sounded like someone scanning a short wave radio for a signal. Several large nuts on a screw were turned and he had a cow bell, a brass bell which he would use for percussive effects. The performance was on the edge of absolute dissonance. At times the beat and rhythm was mesmerizing to sketch to. When they were done, the electronic sound persisted making it hard to know when, or if, to clap.

Four musicians set up on stage with more traditional instruments. They were Dan Kozak, Kris Gruda, Jim Ivy and A.S. Herring. They had a game show spinning wheel which could be spun to decide if the piece performed would be a solo, duo, or quartet. Large foam dice would be rolled just to pick which musician would spin the wheel. A laptop displayed a visual representation of the next performance but I never got a glance at the screen. Various sayings were used to inspire the performances. For instance one was, “Life is a lamp flickering in the wind” and another was “The fallen flower never returns to the tree.” It was a fun idea to help structure the improvisation adding chance and luck into each piece. Perhaps ten to fifteen people were in the audience with new arrivals all the time. As I was getting ready to go, Chris Belt who organizes the Accidental Music Festival ran into the room drenched head to toe from the rain. Nothing will stop people who want to experience something new, cutting edge and different in Orlando.

ALAK Block Party

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Not every sketch is a gem. This was a rare case where I tried to do a watercolor in the rain. The ALAK Block Party invitation put the address as 715 N Thornton Ave. Bands on the play list included Attic, Surfin Serf, Permanent Nap and of course the California based headliners ALAK. When I arrived, I didn’t notice any stage but I did see a food truck pulling into a parking lot.  That had to be where the event was. I parked down the block and hiked back. A musician was unpacking a drum set from the trunk of his car. It had just started to drizzle. He carried the drum set to the back of a small deserted alley. The La Espinada Food Truck didn’t have a generator, so she backed the truck next to the alley and then she searched for a power outlet. A tenant on the second floor apartment let her run an extension chord up through his window, tapping one of his outlets for a small fee.

I sketched as quirky cat banners were hung around the alley. This small alley was dubbed “Cloud 9” by the event organizer. A young crowd slowly gathered as the rain continued to lightly fall. I tried to salvage the sketch from the constant rain with no success. It became such a wet mess that I couldn’t work on it anymore. I called Terry and we agreed to meet for dinner at Dandelion Communitea Cafe. I bumped into Julie Norris as I was about to order. She had been busy storing a whole bunch of restaurant furniture and cookware.  Ethos Vegan Kitchen had just moved into a new location in Winter Park and the new space was fully furnished so they donated their unneeded furniture and equipment to Julie. A win-win for the Orlando Vegan community. I ordered an all Garden of Eden themed dinner that tasted great.

After dinner, Terry and I walked back to the Block Party to see if it had been rained out. By now the rain had stopped and die hard hipsters were still partying. Terry wasn’t impressed, so she headed home. I considered a second sketch, but I was still wet from the first sketch so I went home as well. I’m sure things heated up as it got dark.