It’s been an exciting and productive week.

Sunday, the Danny Silber trio played at Frenchman’s Cove for a couple of hundred people at a 4th of July BBQ. The crowd was very appreciative.

On Monday, the Becca Darling Band played before a packed house at Latitude 18, and again the crowd was very appreciative as well as generous – they kept throwing money at the stage. It at first startled Becca, but she then realized that it’s a high compliment

and a Greek tradition ( there was a party of roughly 30 folks from Greece).

On Wednesday, the band met up at ISW Studios to begin work on our first “studio”

recording. It’s going to be all originals and Morgan is going to be the acting producer. Things are definitely looking up for the Becca Darling Band – Jim Tunick will be the Executive Producer.

On Thursday, I played solo Piano at the Northside Bistro and thought I played quite well ! I just love that place, and hope more folks find out about it – It’s got a wonderful ambiance, plus great food and great staff – and with a grand piano – well there’s nothing else like it on St. Thomas !!

Saturday night I’ll be at Hull Bay Hideaway with the Becca Darling Band and that’s usually a fun gig – a lot of our “northside” fans usually show up and It’s a laid back casual hang.

Sunday the Danny Silber Trio will be playing at Emerald Beach Resort for some good cause which I should know – I’ll find out. the trio consists of Denise Hummer, a fine jazz vocalist, and Paul Dirks on Bass.

photo by Paul Dirks

Last night I played to an appreciative crowd of  60 to 70 folks at Northside Bistro. I hope nobody noticed that I was suffering with mouth pain – having recently had 4 teeth pulled and a denture fitted which was slowly cutting into my gums ! Ouch !!

The song that arguably got the biggest applause ( plus a thumbs up from the bartender) was my singing of  the Rolling Stones opus to disco, “Miss You”. Other songs that got nice rounds of applause were “Natural Woman” – I didn’t sing on that one, but played a bluesy, gospel tinged interpretation.  The great Hoagy Carmicheal tune “Georgia”, also got a nice round of applause, as well as the blues,” Big Boss Man”, by Jimmy Reed. Oh yes, and “Satin Doll” by Billy Strayhorn, which for a time, was the theme song of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

I love the staff there !! You can see that they take pride in the establishment, as well as in their respective roles. There is a sense of camaraderie and even a sense of family – from the top on down – that is rare !!

This gig is one of those “free up yourself”, opportunities. Since there are no other musicians on the gig – I  have the freedom to play medleys, change keys on the fly, and try unusual intros and endings (among other things), without having to cue other musicians.  It is also more challenging, since I don’t have the stimulation and or inspiration that I receive from other musicians!  Of course, playing on a grand piano is inspiration in and of itself !!

I find myself  playing more jazz, bossa, blues, and latin during the first set. As the night goes on, I tend to branch out into more R&B, rock, and country (depending of course, on the crowd) !  And I get to sing a few tunes -  Yay !

The food is excellent, the ambiance is sophisticated, and the staff is great !!  So what’s not to like ?

It was enthralling to be performing on a grand piano again! I had forgotten how inspiring it is !

Last night I played the first set kind of mellow -  some Ballads, soft Bossa, and medium tempo Jazz , just to scope out the vibe of the room. It was interesting to see which tunes got applause. The two R&B tunes that I slipped in towards the end of the set got the most applause, with the possible exception of the ballad “My Funny Valentine”. A great ballad played well (I thought), is always a formidable crowd pleaser !

The second set I picked things up a bit – played some rocking Blues, Latin, up tempo Jazz, and so forth. The staff was great – they were applauding and giving me thumbs up.

The third set was a real treat. By then I was relaxed with the “vibe of the room”, and Denise Hummer, a fine jazz vocalist  got up and sang a couple of tunes and wowed the room ! In fact Connie, the owner of this fine establishment,  implored her to sing some more, so she got up and closed out the set !