road trip to jazz in the Poconos--- The Deer Head Inn

Yes there is a deer head, but there is also a very cool stained glass (again me without my camera) of the Delaware Water Gap, a geological wonder which we drove through to get to the Deer Head Inn. It has been a home of Jazz music for over 60 years. The current owners have spruced the place up and turned it into a Bed and Breakfast. The last time we drove up there we stayed over and we would recommend the place highly for the rooms, the food, and the jazz.

It was some what spontaneous. Mosaic Woman is on their e-mail list and when an e-mail came last weekend I opened it and went to their website. At first I noticed that living legend Phil Woods was doing a mostly Billy Strayhorn show Labor Day weekend, but then my eye caught this name... Virginia Mayhew. Women in Jazz who don't sing or play piano are growing and here was the opportunity to see an amazing sax player coming over from NYC.

So a dinner reservation was made and we drove up route 611 along the Delaware River stopping at the Canalside Cup just south of Easton, PA, which features 24 flavors of soft ice cream, including the chocolate banana which I consumed and the malted milk chosen by Mosaic Woman.

Before the show Ms Mayhew stopped by our table asking if we were Jay's parents. We aren't. She proved to be a humble person with amazing talent. We were tempted to stay for the third set, but left after the second in an attempt to get home before the Honda Fit turned into a pumpkin.

The tune of the night, hmmm How about her arrangement of Lets fall In Love, talk about evolution. Still easily recognizable, however, it had been turned into a Latin rhythm in 7/8 time. I bought the CD featuring it at the first intermission.

But here let me highlight her immersed in tradition... playing Duke Ellington's wonderful ballad, Don't You Know I Care. Take a listen.

support music ----- buy a CD, applaud for brilliance, tell a youngster they have talent, go to the Deer Head Inn.........

shooting for 50, a family tradition

My sister flew home to celebrate my parents big year. Turning 75 this spring, they are within a few months of reaching 50 years of marriage.

Not that long ago I thought, music, we must have music from 1958. I found lists of number 1 hits, best jazz, best country, top 100 songs, and then I went through my jazz Cd's. Let me say that there were a bunch of folk sounding like Elvis back then. I put together 50 songs from that year. My dad, sitting to my right, was heard singing a line here and there. But my youngest aunt proved to be the music lover in the group. My one aunt and uncle were appreciative of the country hits including Johnny Cash and Kitty Wells.

50 years... I celebrated when both sets of grandparents made it that far. At the dinner, the aunts and uncles who had survived to see the day had already celebrated 48, 48, and 54 years of marriage. Though my sisters are older, I am the closest to 50 as Mosaic Woman and I have celebrated 16 anniversaries. In the year 2042... at age 78, I hope to be listening to 50 tunes from 1992. Wonder what I will remember?

As for the big hits of 1958, The Everly Brothers competed with Elvis and the Chipmunks hit #1 twice, but I left the Chipmunks off the Cd's, which allowed room for some 1958 music I own, including Lets Fall In Love by Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges. A tune I once listened to as I drew a card for the one I love.

... and Since I-tunes had no 1958 Elvis tunes which I could burn as an audio file, I pulled out my one Elvis CD, which meant the evening had one gospel tune... Praise be to Elvis for being a man of faith, may that wondering spirit find some peace.

Don't know if this is the exact version, but here it is.


Peace