Music to Our Ears

We never get tired of hearing great music at Ocean Blues....It's that time of the week again...Monday nights Jazz Jam at Ocean Blues. They have different music every night of the week but Monday just happens to be one of our favorites so far. We enjoy the people watching, the musicians greeting each other and jumping in to play, the camaraderie of the players and the customers, the atmosphere of Ocean Blues...It's cozy, intimate and friendly....

Steve Arvey and Company...

There are regulars--Steve on the guitar, Bryan Post, the drummer, another Steve--the trumpet player and Michael Dempsey, the bass player. Sparky is just going to have to be better about acknowledging the rest of these great musicians and get their names down pat. Steve, the trumpet player, has some cool shirts that he wears.

He came over to talk to us for awhile. He knew that Eldy made brass instruments for famous players and for schools. Steve had a gadget he designed to work with students in the schools, to teach them how to improvise and play their own music. It was very cool, but we didn't have a CLUE as to what he was talking about as he launched into the very long and technical musical side of how this little wheel worked. Sparky is sure a music teacher would have appreciated it a whole lot more. But we were impressed, none the less.

Steve Arvey was really working his hot sauces last night. He has several now that he's selling. Must be a blues musician thing going on, selling hot sauces. Remember the "Sauce Boss" who came to Myakka River State park this past winter? We didn't buy any of Steve's sauces this evening...Both of our stomachs and tongues just aren't able to appreciate that really hot stuff!

But we sure do appreciate the music! Great jamming last night....There was a new keyboard player from Brazil, Regis Moriero who lent a Latin bossa nova feel to the music for awhile. Steve did a great job on guitar as always...He has the most infectious grin when he's enjoying his buddies playing along with him. He played an original song he wrote which was just wonderful!

We were happy to be at Ocean Blues..they are always so welcoming to their patrons....Food is great, music is wonderful, it was a great night!

A Special Night

Sarasota, FL       High:  85     Low:  69

It's heating up around here....can't imagine what summer must be like! Thank goodness, there is a breeze often as the evening winds down, cooling things off.

Last night we went to Ocean Blues supper club, our favorite music venue in Sarasota to hear Ocean's 11. It's an 11 piece Big Band jazz band that has a couple of our favorite trumpet players, Shane Chalke and Steve Rolland, and our favorite drummer, Brian Post. The club opens up the doors on one side of the club totally open to the street so they can fit the whole band in.

We've gotten to know these guys in the band a lot better since we've been visiting Ocean Blues, they are so great about coming out between sets and talking to the customers. They know that Eldy made trumpets and horns for 43 years, so they appreciate his efforts and work. As a matter of fact, Eldy worked SEVEN DAYS A WEEK for 30 YEARS before being able to cut back his schedule to let others take more of the work load. He was the supervisor, so he had to put in the hours to keep the department going, it was a really small, family owned company.

Last night something really special happened, on the eve of his 65th birthday...The drummer, Brian Post, dedicated a song to Eldy....Eldy was so surprised! The name of the tune we don't remember, but it was a wonderful gesture and almost brought Eldy to tears. He turned to Sparky and said, "That just kind of makes it all worthwhile, all those years of work, to see these guys play these horns and hear this wonderful music." It was sort of like a thank you from the fellas, for all the sacrifices he made while working to raise his family.....

What capped it off and REALLY made it extra special, was Steve Rolland played a pocket trumpet during Eldy's dedicated song.

This is a little teeny trumpet that is sort of a novelty but still sounds cool. Steve said they made them during Prohibition so musicians could sneak them into joints where music wasn't supposed to be allowed. Eldy hadn't seen a pocket trumpet, what his department called a "piccolo" trumpet, in over 30 years. That just made the song even more special!

It wasn't super crowded this early in the evening, so there was room to get a nice table and see the band. You can bring your family into the club to eat and hear the music on one side of the club. Sparky spotted a dad with his son, acquainting him with how to use a cell phone for fun. Ah, times have changed, haven't they?

We had fun, the music was fabulous, and every Saturday night for a few more weeks, you can hear Ocean's 11 at the Ocean Blues Club on Hillview Street  if you are in Sarasota, from 7-9 PM. Don't miss them! Great bar food and great music just about every night of the week. Blues Jam is every Sunday, Monday nights are Jazz Jam nights and plenty of other great musicians and bands are playing the nights in between. Eldy won't forget this night for a long time!