A jazzy night at Bethesda Blues

Mary Ann Redmond sings at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club with Jay Cooley on keys, Paul Langosch, bass, Danny Leonard, guitar, and Dave Mattacks, drums/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Bethesda Blues and Jazz sold out last weekend when Mary Ann Redmond and her party of four entertained non-stop for more than 90 minutes.

The audience purred right along with practically everything Redmond put out, and one had the feeling that most there were already fans. 

Before he turned them loose, Bethesda Blues owner Rick Brown came out on stage to thank the audience for coming, and announced his club has surpassed 100,000 in attendance since it opened in 2013 after an $8 million renovation. 

For some reason Ms. Redmond opened the show with a lacklustre "Come Rain or Come Shine," and if you weren't familiar with her music, you might have thought you were in for a loooong night, but that impression was not to last.

Soon afterwards, the entertainment took off, and all the players became stars.

Mary Ann Redmond sings at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club with Jay Cooley on keys, Paul Langosch, bass, and Danny Leonard, guitar/Photo by Patricia Leslie

For a while it was keyboardist and magical arranger Jay Cooley who stole the show, then Paul Langosch on bass took the limelight, then it was master e-guitarist Danny Leonard's (unannounced before show time) turn to shine.

Jay Cooley at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

No, wait, there was drummer Dave Mattacks who's played with Sir Paul McCartney, Jethro Tull, Elton John (to name a few) and he stole the show. 

They were all show stealers, professional and incredible to hear all making music for the vocals of Miss Redmond who sings pop, jazz, soul, you name it, with some bossa nova thrown in.

Mary Ann Redmond sings at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club with Paul Langosch, bass, Danny Leonard, guitar, and Dave Mattacks on drums/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Her soul sounds are something akin to Aretha Franklin.   (Has anyone ever called her a "white Aretha Franklin"?) A fan certainly hoped her sexy version of Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar," set at a slower pace, is on one of her albums, and her low, guttural meows unlike any I've heard, made perfect for Peggy Lee's "Fever," a huge hit with the audience, like most everything Redmond sang.

Several numbers arranged expertly by keyboardist Cooley stood out: The Beatles' "Fool on the Hill" and "Can't Buy Me Love," Ray Charles' "Unchain My Heart," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," and the Supremes' "Stop in the Name of Love."

Near the end, swaying fans stood in a chorus line, arms wrapped around backs to listen.

Jay Cooley on keys and Paul Langosch plays bass at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club with Mary Ann Redmond/Photo by Patricia Leslie

When the lights dimmed and the quintet left the stage, the whoops and applause from the audience soon brought the musicians back for one of Redmond's biggest hits, "Love Me Anyway" which she co-wrote with Todd Wright.  It's  sold three million copies.

If Redmond ditched those heavy office glasses and wore a sexy, sparkly number with red Dorothy shoes, and a mean boa to throw around, she'd give the men something to look at besides the funeral black outfit she had on like she was going to be whisked away after the show to a memorial service somewhere. 

The performers' apparel overall was pretty drab (like a bunch of academicians'), saved by the lighting designer which brought some life to the visuals.  (Music is not totally what you hear. Tones and emotions set the stage, too.)

The crowd sounds from the lobby bar occasionally drifted in to the concert venue during pauses, but everyone was having a good time, and that's what it's all about, Alfie.

Coming up: 

Friday, Jan. 23, Be'la Dona, $20, dance night, doors open at 6 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 24, Carl's Rare Roast Beef Band, $10, theater seating only since it's dance night beginning at 8 p.m.

Where: Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club, 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814

How much: See prices online.

Future shows: Please check out the calendar.

For more information: 240-330-4500

Getting there: The Bethesda Metro station is about 1.5 blocks away, and parking is below the building (free on weekends). See directions.

To read about past shows, please click Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Mary Ann Redmond, Langosch, Cooley, Mattacks at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Saturday eve

Mary Ann Redmond/Photo by Michael McDermott

Local jazz star and soul vocalist, Mary Ann Redmond, will perform at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Saturday night with Paul Langosch on bass, Jay Cooley on keys, and special guest on drums, Dave Mattacks.

Redmond has something to please all with her specialities in rock, blues, soul, jazz, pop, and she plays guitar.

Langosch, who teaches jazz at Virginia Tech, played bass for Tony Bennett for 20 years.  Cooley has a following from his many experiences with area greats, playing, directing, and writing.  

Mattacks has played with Elton John, George Harrison, Jethro Tull, Cat Stevens and has recorded five CDs with Sir Paul McCartney.

A resident of Great Falls, Redmond, 55, has won 23 Wammies (Washington Area Music Awards) including three in 2013 for female rhythm and blues vocalist, song of the year, "Love Me Anyway," and songwriter of the year with Todd Wright. 

Another night of great music at Bethesda Blues!

Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club, 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD/Photo by Marc Rubin

What:  Mary Ann Redmond, Paul Langosch, Jay Cooley, and Dave Mattacks at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club

When: 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.  Doors open at 6 p.m.

Where: 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814

How much: $20 at the door or online.

Future shows: Please check out the calendar.

Food and drink: The dining area has a $10 per person minimum which can be applied toward any item on the menu. Check out FAQ here. And here's the menu. I have found the food (beet salad: yummy) and drinks, good and reasonably priced.

For more information: 240-330-4500

Getting there: The Bethesda Metro station is about 1.5 blocks away, and parking is below the building (free on weekends). See directions.

To read about past shows, please click Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.

patricialesli@gmail.com 

Jimmy Webb, live at Bethesda Blues and Jazz

Jimmy Webb at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Dec. 5, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

He saved his best for last, "MacArthur Park," and at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club Friday night, he said it had been recorded more than 500 times, including three times by Waylon Jennings.

Jimmy Webb singing and playing "MacArthur Park" at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Dec. 5, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Jimmy Webb, 68, whose songwriting skills top the charts, talked more than he sang in the 2.5 hour show (one intermission), about the artists he's worked with, about the background of each hit. For a few numbers, he invited the audience to sing along, but the evening, thankfully, did not become a "sing-along" and overwhelm the reason for attendance. 

Jimmy Webb at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Dec. 5, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

He was energetic and merry, solo with a piano on stage and without a program, which he put together while he played.

Unlike Bob Dylan on tour who sometimes won't sing his big hits, Webb sang most of his biggies: "Galveston," "By The Time I Get to Phoenix," "All I Know," "Worst Thing That Could Happen."

Jimmy Webb at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Dec. 5, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

"I don't write all sad songs," Webb said. "Bob Dylan would put out an album and you couldn't understand a damn word of what he said. We're good friends."

He recorded with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings, to name a few, and Webb said he didn't know Jennings (1937-2002) real well: "He was a real character."

Jimmy Webb at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Dec. 5, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Jennings would lay on a sofa with a hat over his face, and when Webb told him that Webb had won a Grammy, Jennings said:

"'What for?'"

"'Country Song of the Year.'"

"'Which country is that?'"

Webb said "at times I felt a bit miffed that the critics weren't taking me seriously." But later: "When you're famous, they make a big deal out of it [transgressions] and really hurt your feelings."

Jimmy Webb at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Dec. 5, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

When "Up, Up and Away" came out in 1967, Webb's manager called to tell Webb that KMOA in Oklahoma City (near where Webb grew up) thought the song was about drugs. "It was a song about balloons!" Webb exclaimed before he sang the song, inviting the audience to help him reach the high notes.

 

Judy Collins, "the fairy godmother of lost songs," picked up one of his songs which had languished for eight years in the back pages of his songwriter's notebook, "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress."

Collins is "larger than life and all feelings....Her voice is every bit [what it used to be] when she was 20 years old. She still tells racy stories," Webb said, some about old boyfriends. 

Jimmy Webb at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, Dec. 5, 2014/Photo by Patricia Leslie

But the person to whom Webb is most indebted is Glen Campbell, diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2011.

Like most who receive bad news, we wonder how our lives will be affected, and Webb is no different:  "I felt so sorry for myself, that I was losing a part of myself," and then he realized what he was experiencing could not compare to Glen's family. Still, Webb felt "an incredible sense of loss....I love Glen so much and he's the reason I'm up here because we had an incredible run."

When he was 14, Webb said he used to pray he would meet Glen Campbell and four years later, the composer almost lost it when he heard Campbell singing Webb's "By The Time I Get to Phoenix" on the radio.

Sometime later, Campbell called Webb and asked him to write another "town" song for him, and Webb sat down that afternoon and wrote "Wichita Lineman."

Campbell has always been an inspiration to Webb whose singing voice is similar to Campbell's. 

He closed his performance with the full-blown seven minutes and 21 seconds of "MacArthur Park," written with a girlfriend in mind (his or Richard Harris's? Working with Harris, by the way, was "a wonderful experience").

It was a memorable evening with a superbly talented artist who sang, played, and told it like it was, happy in Bethesda.  (A song about Bethesda?)

For more performances at Bethesda Blues & Jazz, check out its calendar.  This month the Chuck Brown Band, Urban Soul, and the Nighthawks are some of the groups which will perform, including the Glenn Miller Orchestra which plays "In The Holiday Mood" December 10, with dancing!

When:  Most nights

Where: 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814

How much: Prices vary.  Buy tickets at the door or online.

Future shows: Please check out the calendar.

Food and drink: The dining area has a $10 per person minimum which can be applied toward any item on the menu. Check out FAQ here. And here's the menu. I have found the food, magnificent: Beet salad ($12), tomato,  basil and mozzarella salad ($11) are delicious. Ditto, the appetizers like the crab cakes (about $12) and five coconut shrimp ($12).  The drinks are good and reasonably priced.  Nice wine selection.

For more information: 240-330-4500

Getting there: The Bethesda Metro station is about 1.5 blocks away, and parking is below the building (free on weekends). See directions.

To read about past shows, please click Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Songwriter Jimmy Webb at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Dec. 5

Jimmy Webb

America's songwriter and the only person to win Grammys for music, lyrics, and orchestration, Jimmy Webb, will perform at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club Friday night beginning at 8 p.m.

Webb's "By The Time I Get to Phoenix" was the third most performed song for 50 years, according to BMI.  His compositions have been recorded by Elvis, Judy Collins, Isaac Hayes, Art Garfunkel, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Billy Joel, Linda Ronstadt, R.E.M., Carly Simon, and Frank Sinatra, to name a few.  He's the youngest man inducted into the National Songwriters' Hall of Fame and is now its chairman.

Billboard's Top 10 Jimmy Webb songs and recording artists are:

1.   "MacArthur Park" – Donna Summer, 1978
2.   "Wichita Lineman" – Glen Campbell, 1969
3.   "MacArthur Park" – Richard Harris, 1968
4.   "Worst That Could Happen" – Brooklyn Bridge, 1969
5.   "Galveston" – Glen Campbell, 1969
6.   "Up, Up And Away" – The Fifth Dimension, 1967
7.   "All I Know" – Art Garfunkel, 1973
8.   "Honey Come Back" – Glen Campbell, 1970
9.   "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" – Glen Campbell, 1967
10. "Where's The Playground Susie" – Glen Campbell, 1969

Click here for the link to Webb's appearance on David Letterman July 21, 2014 with 23 musicians and Will Lee on vocals singing "MacArthur Park."

An $8 million renovation transformed the 1938 art deco Bethesda Theater into the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Marc Rubin

 

What: Jimmy Webb at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club

When: 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 5, 2014

Where: 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814

How much: $35 at the door or online.  

Future shows:  Please check out the calendar.

Food and drink: The dining area has a $10 per person minimum which can be applied toward any item on the menu. Check out FAQ here. And here's the menu. I have found the food (beet salad: yummy) and drinks, good and reasonably priced.

For more information:  240-330-4500

Getting there: The Bethesda Metro station is about 1.5 blocks away, and parking is below the building (free on weekends). See directions.

To read about past shows, please click Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Rita Coolidge delights area fans

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

She'll turn 70 next year, but she sure doesn't look it, act it, or sing like it.

Instead, Rita Coolidge sings like she did after she graduated from college and tried her talents on stage, thrilling fans with her classy, signature voice which she did again Sunday evening for a crowd at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

She opened with a number she sang long ago and oh so far away which the Carpenters made legendary, "Superstar," a song no one wanted her to stop singing.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Dazzling in a ruffled long black dress with curving hemline, silver clasp and lilac wrap, Rita looked like she may weigh all of 100 pounds.  And her long hair may account for half that weight.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club with John Thomas on keys; John McDuffie (center), guitar, and Randy Landas, guitar/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rita is her own, who can handle the singing herself, without echoes or fake background voices.

John McDuffie on a mean red guitar with Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.  Behind him is Randy Landas/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the romantic, sexily lighted Jazz Club hall, she sang "Basic Lady," and when she got to Peggy Lee's "Fever," you got it. 

The first time she heard Peggy Lee sing the song, Rita was just three years old, she said.  It put a spell on the young listener, and right then and there: "I knew what I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to be here tonight, and here I am." She credited Bethesda's Blues owner, Rick Brown, for bringing her to Washington.

Rita Coolidge at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Her most beautiful song of the night was the Cherokee National Anthem, sung by her ancestors in the 1830s while they traveled the Trail of Tears after President Andrew Jackson kicked them out of the Deep South.  The music is reminiscent of "Amazing Grace," and can be as emotionally wrenching for listeners as it is for vocalists.  Rita was born in Lafayette, Tennessee to a Cherokee father and a Scottish/Cherokee mother.

Reading the titles of many of her hits she sang at the Jazz Club may enable them to start spinning in your head: "We're All Alone," (Your Love Has Lifted Me) "Higher and Higher,"  "The Way You Do the Things You Do," and "Can't Stand The Rain."

Also, "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," and Bob Dylan's affable, "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," which she varied with a slower, sexier arrangement from Dylan's version.

Lynn Coulter was the drummer for Rita Coolidge's show at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club.  He and Rita made sweet harmony in "Loving Arms"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

She mentioned her ex, Kris Kristofferson (married 1973-1980) and the joy they share in their only child, a daughter, Casey, and three granddaughters. Next spring HarperCollins will publish Rita's autobiography.

Most in the audience stood and applauded when the two hour set ended. Rita Coolidge bowed, and in her graceful way, exited the stage, to return seconds later for the encore and "I'd Rather Leave When I Am In Love" and "Lover, Please, Please Come Back." We will, Rita! 

If your experience is like mine at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club, you and your party will spend a totally delightful evening listening to fantastic music in an intimate setting with drinks and/or dinner, and you may be kicking up a heel or two for some of the acts come with dancing, theirs and yours. Cowboy hats, welcome.

What:  Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club

When: 12 p.m.-1 a.m., Monday-Saturday; 12 p.m.-12 a.m., Sunday

Where: 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814

How much: Prices vary, depending upon artist. See the calendar.

Food and drink: The dining area has a $10 per person minimum which can be applied toward any item on the menu. Check out FAQ here. And here's the menu. I found the food (beet salad:  yummy) and drinks, good and reasonably priced.

Tickets: Call 240-330-4500 or go to the website.

Getting there: The Bethesda Metro station is about 1.5 blocks away, and parking is below the building (free on weekends). See directions.

For more posts on Rita Coolidge and the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, please click on the links.

patricialesli@gmail.com




 

Bust the blues at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

 

Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble made lots of it at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

When you hear the word "zydeco," doesn't it make you happy? 

Doesn't it make you move a little?

Just a little? 

Now, come on.  Come on.

Me, too.

That's why I went to the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club Friday night to hear Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble (love that name!) entertain all the cool cats (that would include me) who showed up to listen, dance, eat, and imbibe. (Some nights are made for listening and dancing.  Check the calendar.) 

Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie
 

Curley (from Louisiana, natch) got the crowd to come on down and go to town as fast as the fellow playing the electric guitar could pick one string.

No timid people came to zydeco. No siree.  The big dance floor filled real fast, and it never got too crowded or dark.

Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What do you call these silver metal accordions which hang around your neck? Silver medal accordions which hang around your neck? Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble know what they are, at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In that sexy night hall with the columns lit by lights from down yonder, we could have been on a ship.  Matter of fact, I was on a ship, one that rollicked and waved in time with the music and served up plenty of good tastings, a fast cruise like a mood lifter that didn't require popping pills. 

Time to check for messages with Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The hall is a beautiful place (with an $8 million renovation) in a 1938 art deco building with high ceilings, and attractive Indian designs on the side walls with big, tall columns and lights to give it that nightclub allure. 

Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club with...oriental rugs on the ceiling?/Photo by Patricia Leslie

I do believe it's better to go to the club with a date since that's what most of the guests seemed like they were, although a few singles found dancing partners. Just my observation.

Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club.  Who said there were no cowboy hats on Wisconsin Avenue? It's okay to wear them at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club.  No apparel restrictions/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Get there early and get a table (you may sit with strangers who won't be "strangers" for long) or take a seat, please, in the theater section where no food (but drink) are permitted.  (All seats have great views of the stage.)  The Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club takes no reservations, but sells advance show tickets.

Oh, and for the uptights and uprights, there's a nice new bar and lounge out front.  But for us all rights, we'll take inside, please.

Some of the acts coming up at the club are:

Wednesday, August 6, 7:30 p.m.,The Greg Boyer Peloton ($15)

Thursday, August 7, 7:30 p.m., Luther Re-Lives Concert Tour 2014 with dancing ($25)

Friday, August 8, 8 p.m., Doc Scantlin and His Imperial Palms Orchestra with dancing ($35)

Saturday, August 9, 8:30 p.m., The Vi-Kings with dancing, Ladies' night!  ($1 - $10)

Sunday, August 10, 7:30 p.m., Rita Coolidge ($35), the Rita Coolidge.  Exactly one year ago I heard her sing in town, and she was as spectacular as ever and sang her big hits, Fever, Higher and Higher, We're All Alone, One Fine Day and more.  I can't wait to hear Rita again.

Friday, Oct. 10, 8 p.m., The Shirelles ($45) as in the Shirelles?  Don't want to give away my age or nuthin', but, honey, I'll be there!  I want to dedicate this to the one I love, who, Mama said, was a soldier boy.  I met him on a Sunday and what a sweet thing that was, even if I am a foolish little girl. Baby, it's you. Will you still love me tomorrow?

What:  Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

When:  12 p.m.-1 a.m., Monday-Saturday; 12 p.m.-12 a.m., Sunday

Where:  7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814

How much:  Prices vary, depending upon artist.  See the calendar. 

Food and drink:  The dining area has a $10 per person minimum which can be applied toward any item on the menu. Check out FAQ here.  And here's the menu.  I found the food and drinks, good and reasonably priced.

Tickets:  Call 240-330-4500 or go to the website.

Getting there:  The Bethesda Metro station is about 1.5 blocks away, and parking is behind the building (free on weekends).  See directions.

Whazziz?  Guess you'll have to come on out to the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club and find out/Photo by Patricia Leslie

patricialesli@gmail.com