TAMAR KORN’S NEW YORK (with MICHAEL COLEMAN, ROB ADKINS: CASA MEZCAL, December 14, 2014)

Although Tamar Korn hails from Long Beach, California, she has deep roots in New York City — something evident in her choice of material.  Here are two ancient paeans to Gotham exuberance sung by Tamar and her friends, bassist Rob Adkins and pianist Michael Coleman during their Sunday afternoon gig at Casa Mezcal on Orchard Street in that very same city, December 14, 2014.

The first song may be more famous to jazz fans because it is a Jelly Roll Morton composition — late in his career, perhaps representing his final attempt to make this cruel city fall at his feet.  The melodic line is simple but inescapable, and the cheerfully simple lyrics stay in the mind long after more subtle ones have become dim.

and here are Tamar, Michael, and Rob:

Another Gotham ode, this one from 1931, is DO THE NEW YORK — a much more Art Deco supercharged composition, with an appropriately delightful unaccompanied verse from Tamar.  The composers are listed as J.P. Murray, Barry Trivers, Ben Oakland — which I find pleasing, because Oakland was a distant cousin on my mother’s side (I believe the original family name was Auslander).  But enough genealogy: here’s the exuberant performance:

Thanks to Michael and Rob for their swinging individualities.  And I know that we are grateful that a brightly-colored bird (species Tamar Korn) has decided to perch in New York and gladden our lives.

May your happiness increase!

MS. KORN EXCLAIMS! (MICHAEL COLEMAN, ROB ADKINS: Casa Mezcal, December 14, 2014)

It’s nice to see someone get all excited about something positive, to have vivid energy flow through . . . directly to us.

I’ve never seen Tamar Korn give a dull or routine performance: she allies herself with the song, and if the material is jubilant, she rides the emotions as energetically as she can.

This was the closing song of a long and delightful afternoon gig at Casa Mezcal on Orchard Street in New York City, where jazz flourishes on Sundays from 1-4. Tamar’s colleagues were pianist Michael Coleman and string bassist Rob Adkins, and they played marvelously throughout the afternoon.  But for this closing number, I decided to take a chance and zero in on the most emotive Ms. Korn.  I believe that Michael and Rob will forgive me for being left out of the shot — you can still hear them splendidly.

I also think you will agree that her rendition of WHAT A LITTLE MOONLIGHT CAN DO — that 1935 Harry Woods number lit from within by Billie Holiday — is a superb expression of their enthusiastic joy:

There will be more videos from that gig . . . and I hope to visit Casa Mezcal often when I return to New York.  You should visit it now . . . And if you would like to know about Tamar’s upcoming gigs, I suggest you click the-first-kind-of-music/ and thank David S. Isenberg.  You’ll understand why.

May your happiness increase!

MAKE MINE MEZCAL: TAMAR KORN, JAKE HANDELMAN, JESSE GELBER (Oct. 19, 2014)

Casa Mezcal — 86 Orchard Street on New York City’s Lower East Side — became one of my favorite places in autumn 2014.  Brightly lit with friendly people and good food, it also has been offering the best music for a Sunday afternoon: with appearances by Tamar Korn, Dan Block, Ehud Asherie, Tal Ronen, Mark Shane, Jake Handelman, Jesse Gelber, and others.

(At the time of this video, Jesse and Kate Manning’s new baby, Greta Helen Gelber, had not yet made her appearance on the scene — but she’s happily here now.)

Here are three more performances from October 19, 2014, featuring the trio of Tamar (vocal improvisations), Jake (trombone and vocal), Jesse (piano), the repertoire ranging from Twenties pop to jazz classics to a spiritual:

CAKE WALKIN’ BABIES FROM HOME:

DO THE NEW YORK:

DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE:

Here’s the instrumental highlight of that afternoon — a trombone / piano duet on JAZZ ME BLUES:

This session was my first introduction to the very talented and jubilant Mister Handelman — trombone and voice — and you should meet him for yourself.

The odd ectoplasmic effect on a few of these videos is what happens when one shoots video against a brightly lit window.  At points, Tamar and Jake look like actors in a silent film . . . which might be temporally appropriate.

Now.  Don’t tell anyone, but I was at Mezcal yesterday and experienced a delicious musical afternoon with Tamar, pianist Michael Coleman, and bassist Rob Adkins.  Hotter than the salsa verde!  (Videos to come.)  Try Mezcal for yourself — a most congenial place.

May your happiness increase!