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 ?

Last Friday night at Hull Bay Hideaway… a few hundred people showed up to express their love and support for two people who have been cultural linchpins of our island community for many, many years ! It was one of those memorable moments, that those of us  lucky enough to be there for … will never forget ! I could go on and on about the wonderful music… but it was more about the Love !

Becca Darling  and Barefoot Davis hosted this incredible evening and did a superhuman job of  coordinating and  orchestrating this event. This was no simple feat – there were many musicians present each of whom,naturally wanted to play- plus raffles, announcements and so forth.  Somehow it all went smoothly !!

This photo was taken last night at Jack’s at Tillett Gardens. The crowd was very appreciative and   also attentive. Randy Baustert our friend and videographer  tried recording the band plus took many pics of which this is one ! We had Paul Cater Deaton on drums – and it’s always nice to have him on the bandstand -he’s fun to work with. Becca showed some skin – she had a mini dress and high heeled shoes and hey-it never hurts to look good ! Heard a quote from Bobby Darin (the singer) that goes “people hear what they see” !

((Mark thisMark this date because “open mike”  night is back in a big way at Latitude 18. Last night we had several fine vocalists – Joe Colpitt, Denise Hummer, Captain Bob White, Jason Jones, and Kim and Rich,  plus the “house band” which consisted of  Barefoot Davis (who did a great job of hosting and MC ing ), plus Ras Abijah on guitar, and Donald Birmingham on bass, and myself on keys!  I loved the spontaneity of the night – each performer brings something new to the table and to see  how the house band responds to each performer is fascinating!!

I'm singing a blues on open mike night

The Becca Darling Band will be appearing at Hull Bay Hideaway on Sat. April 17th. On this date we have  Ras Abijah subbing for Morgan. The band has some new dance tunes that we may try out. Hull Bay always feels comfortable for the band since most of the band lives on that side of the island. We hit at 7pm.

Morgan and Becca "feelin it"!!

We enjoy the crowd at Jack’s. Almost all locals-we usually know quite a few of them. Plus Becca does a Trivia night there on Tuesdays, and does have a fan base for that! We’ll be playing our usual eclectic mix of  Blues, Country, Rock, R&B, Jazz, and original songs!  We hit at 7:30pm. Come on down and hang!!

I’ll be playing piano and doing the sound for the “Full moon jazz on the green” at Yachthaven Grande from 7-11pm tonight- Sat. Feb. 27th. Gerry Harris is the featured vocalist and it’s a nice setting for a casual (bring your own chair or blanket) evening of  jazz under the stars!