BlogCast

Review: Joe Gransden and Kenny Banks at The Velvet Note

* * * * * (5 out of 5 stars)

By Michael Lane, Staff Reviewer

Perhaps you’ve noticed that on Valentine’s Day, everything is better in pairs.  Two people combining their love.  Two drinks sipped in unison, and two sets of eyes gazing ever-so-lovingly into one another’s.  Couple this with the musical pairing of Joe Gransden (trumpet, vox) and Kenny Banks (piano) and you have a most desirable night of delight. 

Both established performers in their own right, they waste not one moment as they cruise through a spirited show.  Kenny Banks is easily one of the world’s most talented jazz pianists, softly caressing every ivory key with both precision and flair.  Most performers have one and not the other, but Kenny achieves both so easily, it is as if he is simply breathing or blinking.  Joe and Kenny–not only joyously, but with style–breeze through their opening number as the crowd radiates happiness and comfort, pretty standard fare at The Velvet Note. 
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High Praise From St. Ives Country Club Newsletter

The Velvet Note provides an exceptional evening of entertainment and fine food which takes you on an incredible journey you would not expect in Alpharetta!

The Velvet Note is an acoustic “…Living Room” where you can enjoy nationally-recognized and acclaimed artists as well as the best musicians in Atlanta. The sound is amazing because the “living room” was designed by musicians to provide the purest vocal and instrumental reception available to a live audience.

Fridays feature acoustic artists showcasing rock, folk, country and independent music. Saturdays you will enjoy sensational styles of Jazz and Blues, both vocal and instrumental.
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The Answer to the Question: “When Will You Expand the Velvet Note?”

A Personal Strategic Manifesto, by TK

I still remember the day that McDonalds first offered their fries in a Super Size.  I no longer worried about running out—I had miles and miles of those hot, salty, crispy, savory, potatoes, as many as I could eat.  I downed them greedily—three or four at a time, with the oil and salt dotting my fingers, until they were all gone.  And then an hour or so later, I didn’t feel very good at all.

On my subsequent visits, I would order a ‘super-size’, because they were such a good deal and just to make sure that I had all the fries I wanted, but I would never, ever eat them all.  I got accustomed to throwing away the food I had ordered.

Similarly, in buying my first home, I was so proud to be able to afford 3500 square feet.  I was young, single, a career warrior, and I had just purchased all of the home I could afford.  It was a four-level garage townhome in Columbia, Maryland, in the same neighborhood where Oprah Winfrey had once lived.  The levels went up and up endlessly, floor after floor of space that I had little remaining funds to decorate or furnish.
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Ask Cory: Answers to Your Most Pressing Questions about Wine

Cory Wills is the Wine Steward and Team Leader at The Velvet Note Acoustic Living Room.  His golden palate has been insured by Lloyds of London for an estimated value of 5.4 million dollars (just kidding, but he really knows his wine!)

Dear Cory:  This is the holiday season and I will be cooking a lot of turkey and ham.  What kind of wine should I buy that will “wow” my houseguests?

There are basically two ways to pair wines with food in order to make the flavors of your meal pop.  The first way is to select a wine that is very different than the flavor of the food and thus brings out flavor through contrast. This is appropriate for lighter dishes such as salads, fish and some chicken.  The second way is to choose a varietal whose characteristics are similar to the food you’re eating.  This is especially the case for richer, sweeter or heavier foods.

Turkey and pork are sweeter meats, and during the holidays, they tend to be eaten with even sweeter dishes such as cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes.  Therefore, for your turkey, I would suggest a Pinot Noir, specifically a French Beaujolais.  For your ham, you’re going to want to stick with a Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel, because ham is a sweeter meat, and you want to choose a bigger, sweeter, juicier, fruity wine to accompany it.

If you have a question regarding wine, send it to [email protected].  Meanwhile, enjoy The Velvet Note’s selection of top rated wines, craft beers and ultra-premium liquors Wednesday-Saturday, 6:00 – Midnight.

A Touch of Praise from a Jazz Historian

Nestled in a quiet corner of Alpharetta just 15 minutes north of the perimeter off 400 resides this cozy little nightspot that brings welcoming audiences an unplugged jazz experience. Intimate in its approach, one is swathed in the tapestry of music emanating from the stage, regardless of where one comfortably rests in this forty-seat room.

Within this construct, owner Tamara Fuller has carefully crafted a wonderful ambiance with light, sound, libation and culinary delights that will excite your senses while assuaging any fear that your encounter will be anything less than your desire.

As one who enjoys seeking life beyond the curve, I was enthralled along with the audience to a powerful and moving set of originals and covers sans ballad last night performed by the Melvin Jones Quintet. This wonderful music was in good company with sumptuos lump crab cakes, a glass of red and a delightful and attentive staff.

I highly recommend making a reservation for this acoustic respite and refresh your mind, body and spirit.

Carl Anthony
Notorious Jazz

Ryan Whitehead’s Disorderly Conduct

By TK

Ryan Whitehead was born in Warner Robins, GA.  This sleepy small town dominated by an Air Force base happens to be my birthpace too, although I didn’t grow up there as he did.  Nevertheless, I will take this rare opportunity to call him my “homeboy.”  Anyway, the first things you notice about Ryan are his eyes, which barely conceal the mischief crafted by a child whose intellect has outpaced his options for putting such mischief to constructive use.  Ryan Whitehead’s face is always asking, “How much can I get away with before you notice?” 

By the age of 13, Ryan was an overweight, 220-pound adolescent with few friends and a severely overactive personality.  He decided to make some dramatic changes, including running, incorporating fresh vegetables into his diet, and music.  “My first week in middle school band, I was kicked out for disorderly conduct.  My dad suggested that I go back and apologize and make it work.  After that, I began practicing 6 hours a day, every day.  I fell in love with it.”  He credits his school band leaders for spending the time with him necessary to give him a great start as a young musician.

Whitehead had a brief stint at Kennesaw State University, studying under the great Sam Skelton, who he says taught him to “be on time and know your craft.”  Mismanagement of his new-found campus freedom cut his college career short, but helped propel him into the professional scene at a relatively young age and with an unusually focused ambition.  “This is all I do.  It’s the only thing I’m good at.  I make an effort to make sure people have a great time at my shows.”

This will be Ryan’s first performance since his recent two-month Mediterranean tour with Norwegian Cruise Lines during which he played saxophone, clarinet and flute each night.  He describes his upcoming show as “classy” and “different” and as he talks, there’s a mischievous twinkle in his eye—he’s still trying to push the limits and see how much he can get away with.  “I know I could make a living just playing “Brick House”, but I want to do the music that resonates with my soul.”   Accompanying him will be two of his best friends–Mark Sims on bass and Jacob Deaton on guitar.  Hopefully, they will be behave themselves.  Or hopefully, they won’t.  Showtimes are Friday, October 26^th at 7:30pm and 9:30pm and tickets are available at www.thevelvetnote.com/schedule-ticketing.

Our Nation’s Cultural Diet and The Jeffrey Cox Quartet

By TK

I have been meaning to write this post for some time now.  I apologize for the delay.  By means of mea culpa, I can only offer that there are some things in life that you feel so deeply and so profoundly that you need to sit with them awhile….to fully grasp their meaning and connections, and to make sure that they stand the test of a few days of time. That and the fact that I’ve been distracted by the perfect snap of autumn weather here in Georgia.

In late August, I was in an extensive early morning interview with Dr. Gordon Vernick, Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Georgia State University.  Now, Dr. Vernick is my absolute favorite kind of guy—grumpy.  Straight up—no chaser. He reminds me of my best buddies when I lived in New York City—the lawyers and doctors and judges I played poker with every Thursday night on Riverside Drive, which—coincidentally—is where Vernick was born and raised.  I learned a long time ago that the most cynical amongst us are those who actually care the most—care so much that it hurts.  Vernick definitely cares.  We quickly blew through all things superficial in his bio, and then we got to an interesting notion as we pondered why jazz has not been the popular choice on our music scene since the early 60’s.  Vernick said, “Popular music choices reflect the nation’s health, since pop music, by definition, appeals to the least common denominator.  100 years ago, we were a nation of active music makers, meaning that most people grew up learning how to play some kind of music.  When a culture is actively making music, you have healthier music in the cultural diet.  It’s like, when you don’t cook, you don’t appreciate real food.  It’s a tragedy that we don’t actively make music anymore, and that’s probably not going to change, just like most people aren’t going to go back to cooking their own food.  So now, we have to teach people how to listen to and appreciate music like jazz, because it’s not something they can distinguish with their palate.  As a nation, we are missing part of our diet.  ” Or something like that, you get point.  It was kind of dismal, depressing, actually, especially having just launched a venue that focuses on the best music delivered in the best possible way.  With iPods and XBoxs having replaced the clarinet, could future generations truly appreciate the difference that is The Velvet Note?

A few days later, I was driving down the road and I passed a member of the Guitar Hero Generation holding a sandwich board.  Not just any sandwich board, but the one in this photo.  I was so surprised that I had to screech on my brakes and stop and ask if I could take a snapshot.  I mean, come on—we are all accustomed to “We Buy GOLD” or “Furniture Liquidation Sale” or even “Live Nude Girls!!” being hocked on the corner, but this was truly unusual.  Could it be that the dark clouds were parting and the rays of a culture of music makers were shining through?  And more importantly, would I live long enough to see these seeds come to fruition? 

On the evening of Dr. Vernick’s show, quite a few college students poured in to hear their beloved jazz history professor blow his horn.  It was a phenomenal show—my bartender and service assistant (both of whom are trained musicians) declared that Vernick had set a new standard for our venue and that we should never settle for less.  At one point in the night, a young man of 6’4” towered over me.  “Tamara, meet Jeffrey Cox,” said my music director, Justin Varnes.  “ He’s in high school and his quartet is scheduled to perform here in a couple of months.”  Huh?!?  We’re booking high schoolers now?  Justin’s look said, “Just trust me.”  Well, it turns out that our Master Cox is the star pupil of—guess who?  Our charmingly-grumpy Dr. Vernick.  Oh….that’s a lot to live up to.  Enough said.

As the Cox Quartet show drew closer, the reservations started to swell and the buzz started to grow.  At times, I had to remind myself that they were still in high school, because their sense of organization and ability to sell tickets had outpaced most others we’ve booked, young and old.  And they had planned to perform both interpreted standards as well as original work, which is always of great interest to us.  Media called and asked if they could attend.  A record label was in the audience.  We were on the edge of our seats as we opened for the first time on Sunday evening to welcome The Jeffrey Cox Quartet.

Jeffrey Cox’s compositions and arrangements are simply beautiful.  They make you wonder how it is possible for someone his age to bring something so original to such a classic genre and its works.  Listen to Cox’s arrangement of Coltrane’s classic “Naima”.   The notion that this self-possessed 17-year-old sat down and put such innovative investment and confident thought into his musical craft fuels me with unapologetic hope for the future generations of jazz musicians.

On bass, Andrew Sommer performed like a highly-skilled jazz surgeon…anchoring the rhythm of the group while at the same time, showing an individual, meticulous reverence and attention to the detailed fingerwork on the bass strings that was quite remarkable. 

And then there is Jordan Holiman.  When you think of a 17-year-old and a set of drums, images of the unruly, untamed, unbridled come to mind.  Nothing could be further from the truth here—Jordan Holiman possesses a control, a maturity and sensitivity to his role that is far beyond his years.  And apparently, he plays some other instruments quite well too, which probably accounts for his ability to both sense and integrate the disparate elements into a synchronized whole.

I don’t think that I can say enough about the group’s pianist, Andres Rovira.  Rovira and his family have visited our acoustic living room several times, and they seem to really understand and appreciate what we are trying to do here—which is to make this a place where you can truly hear music at its best.  Across all of those occasions combined, The Young Mr. Rovira possibly uttered four words that passed my eardrums.  Thus, when I heard that he was the pianist in this quartet and prodigy of the great Kevin Bales, it was difficult for me to put these seemingly contradictory images together.  Boy, was I wrong!  His interpretive artistry is exquisite, and I do mean “exquisite” in the true sense of the word.  While listening, you wonder how it is possible for such a quiet 16-year-old to play so confidently and beautifully, and at the same time, you wonder why it’s so rare to find in this world.  It is both rapturous and painful at the same time.

The Jeffrey Cox Quartet performed only one show at The Velvet Note, on that unassuming Sunday evening, packed from end-to-end by—mostly—people who knew people they knew.  For every person fortunate enough to be in attendance, there was a corresponding person who had called for reservations and had been unable to get in for this show.  So I declare, without hesitation, that if you ever get the precious opportunity to hear this group perform—either at our place or elsewhere, RUN, do not walk to the box office.  These four young men are a brilliant example of the future of music in this country—a future led by music makers who grew into music appreciators, who I am certain will grow into the kind of true artists who change the world.

Friday, October 5th: Diane Durrett

“I feel things very deeply,” says Diane.  “I love soul music and the feeling of telling the story of love and hardship.  I’ve been through hardships and I’m in a business where there’s a lot of struggle.  I’ve often written in order to get through the things I’ve faced.”

Listen to a sample of Diane performing here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=D5al0w4O6eU

With a blend of raw soulful vocals, sultry tones and strong original songs, Diane has sung with or opened for a plethora of music legends, including Sting, Delbert McClinton, Gregg Allman, The Indigo Girls, The Ohio Players, Tina Turner, Michael Bolton and Faith Hill.  A Memphis reporter once wrote that Diane’s performance was so powerful that “If you don’t go see her she may just come see you!”

Tickets:  $15

Showtimes: 7:30pm and 9:30pm

NBC’s “The Voice” Comes to The Velvet Note

****Friday, September 28th and Saturday, September 29th****

  Soul singer, songwriter and blues pianist Orlando Napier is making his way from Los Angeles as we speak, playing his first gig outside of LA since he returned from the second season of “The Voice”. His destination? The Velvet Note, of course!

 Orlando appeared on the music-reality show ‘The Voice’ in 2011. He was among the top 48 finalists and found himself on ‘Team Adam Levine’ where he worked one-on-one with the Maroon Five frontman as well as Robin Thicke while on the show. I asked Orlando about his takeaway from the show, “I’m a lot more confident now as a performer. After you get up in front of millions of people, nothing can shake you. Now, I only get the good kind of nerves and I feel a little more validated.”

Orlando and his band are excited about being in Alpharetta. He says, “Ideally, I just want to show Atlanta what we’re capable of. I hear there’s a hub of music and I just want to knock people’s socks off!”
Orlando performs this Friday and Saturday, September 28-29 at The Velvet Note. Show times: 7:30pm and 9:30pm.
Opening Act: Flesh & Stone
Tickets are $25 and selling fast! Call 855.583.5838 for Reservations!!

Laura Coyle’s Circles of Life

Laura Coyle was born in Buffalo, New York, the daughter of an IBM executive.  At 5 years old, her family relocated (“IBM stood for ‘I’ve Been Moved’”) from Buffalo to Atlanta, GA.  “I was fascinated and amused by the red clay earth I saw from the window of the airplane,” she says.   In time, the shy and demure transplant adapted to her new surroundings, complete with a southern accent and an earnest, yet short-lived attempt to learn southern manners.

Upon graduating from high school, Laura set off to Auburn University as an art major, where she took a jazz history course because friends told her she could listen to records in class.  This was her introduction to the music of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn and other great jazz artists.  Back in high school chorus, she had been terrified to sing in public, but now there was no one to hear her but herself.  While practicing her art and becoming an illustrator, she would sing their music all day, all through her art sessions.  A kernel of an idea began to form, “I really think I can sing.”  Finally, she mustered up enough courage to sing for her jazz history professor, who invited her to join in on his regular campus jam session.

After college, Laura circled back to her home state of New York, where she lucked into a job as photographer Jimmie Katz’ assistant in New York City.   She sat in on the lengthy, yet inspiring recording sessions of many great New York City jazz artists, including Dianne Reeves and the dashing Joe Williams.  “I was blown away by the classical jazz cultural experience, ” she says. She listened and learned, but still didn’t attempt to sing herself.   But, it was through this inner circle of royalty that she learned the genre and made connections with the best musicians in NYC.

Eventually, Laura moved back to Atlanta to get married to her boyfriend, but engagement didn’t last.  She took piano lessons though, and after an art-related repetitive strain injury, her teacher switched her to voice lessons and forced her take the stage and confront—once and for all—her shyness and reticence to sing for an audience.

Today, Laura is both a celebrated art illustrator and highly acclaimed jazz vocalist, once again, deeply connected to a community of talented musicians who play together and support each other.  Drummer Justin Varnes says, “Laura has a unique voice and delivery that we don’t hear in singers anymore.  It’s a throwback to the 40s and 50s when jazz vocals were king and queen.”  Pianist Tyrone Jackson says, “I like Laura.  She is very professional, very easy to work with.  She hires great musicians and interprets songs very well.” And pianist/frequent side-man Louis Heriveaux says, “I think that Laura is a singer that really connects with musicians.  She believes that to be good, you actually need to study music.  She studies melodies, harmonies and the things that musicians study in order to play, which most vocalists do not.  She speaks our language on musical terms, and it makes musicians happy to play with her.” 

You can hear Laura Coyle and her trio perform LIVE at The Velvet Note on Saturday, September 15^th.  Showtimes are at 7:30 and 9:30pm.  Reservations are suggested—just call 855.583.5838 or visit our box office at www.thevelvetnote.com/schedule-ticketing.