My first career right after college was in the music industry. I managed, promoted, and was deeply immersed in the independent music industry. I worked with a number of musicians, many of whom are still friends today. One of those friends is Lavonna Zeller-Williams, whose jazz stylings have always intrigued me.
One of my current passions is social networking. Through web sites like Facebook and MySpace, I have been able to connect and re-connect with friends from all aspects of my life. Once such individual is Pete Peterson, who I went to high school with at Borah High in Boise.
Those two worlds collided in a fun way tonight when Jen and I went to Tony Starlight’s Supper Club in Portland. Lavonna was the featured performer at this great little jazz club. And who was playing saxophone? You guessed it. Pete Peterson.
And to make this story even better, both Lavonna and Peter are really great musicians! The played for nearly 2 1/2 hours, both jazz standards and songs Lavonna had penned. The riffed and crooned and provided a really excellent evening of entertainment.
If you get the chance, I highly recommend checking out Tony Starlight’s. And if Lavonna or Pete are performing… you GOTTA get there!
I’ve long been a fan of HyperStatic Union. I’ve known these guys since well before their RKT CD debut. These guys are incredibly talented and make some funky rock-n-roll. I’ve just about worn our their national debut release “Life Giver.” You should really pick up a copy of this album!
I love telling you about quality musicians. Hopefully this video will encourage you to give a spin to HSU’s music.
My weekly artist review is on Portland based band Encomium. This is a young band with some great talent. In 2006 they released “Expression of Praise”, an impressive 9-song disc which mixes rock riffs and worship lyrics.
One of the first things that grabbed my attention on this CD was the expert musicianship. This isn’t a sequenced garage band recording, but rather a major label quality offering. Many young bands have an album of songs that all sound the same stylistically. But this CD has a variety of sounds without becoming disjointed.
Led by Devy Jamin, the group has recently put out a new EP entitled “Like the Dawn”. The samples on their MySpace page promise more of the same quality and no-compromise lyrics found on their first effort.
Check these guys out at http://www.encomiummusic.com/
