My ears tell me when something extraordinary has happened during a musical performance. But my feelings are confirmed when musicians turn to me after the last note has been played and say, “WOW. Did you get that?” and are happy when I can say I did.
This happened just yesterday, Sunday, October 19, 2014, at Casa Mezcal, a very pleasant Mexican restaurant (88 Orchard Street) that has been featuring jazz at its Sunday brunches for some months now. The musicians were Tamar Korn, pianist Jesse Gelber (whom I’ve known for almost a decade), and trombonist Jake Handelman (new to me although I’d seen his name in worthy contexts).
Tamar asked the gentlemen if they would care to play an instrumental, and they began JAZZ ME BLUES — bobbing and weaving back and forth between 1920 and 2014, playing hilarious games without words as they went along:
Good fun without being too silly, and great romping music. Gentlemen, I salute you!
May your happiness increase!