...Paul Whiteman
Usually I bowl on Monday evening but tonight was a night off, so I took myself to a favorite music night at Pate's Island at Park Shore Resort in Naples. Here are some of the reasons why I so love this place:
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| Jebry (vocalist), husband, Bobby Phillips (drums), plus unknown guitarist. |
1. The music is first class. There is not a better jazz group in our area than Jebry and Friends, which consists of Jebry, her husband, Bobby Phillips on drums, and a piano player. (The regular piano player, Jean Packard, is recovering from some medical issues, so there was a substitute, and I didn't get his name.) You can hear Jebry
here:
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| Alex Granados, trombonist (age 17), shown here with Artis' Naples Youth Orchestra |
2. The age range of the musicians. I'm guessing that Jebry and her husband are in the 55-70 range. The regular piano player, Jean Packard, is approximately 85. Tonight's sit-in participants included:
- Mark Gerber, trumpet player, in mid-70s.
- Howard Bacon, trombonist, about 87.
- Carlo Fusaro, bassist, in his 80s.
- Frank Michota, drummer and vocalist, about 80.
- Alex Granados, trombonist, a student at Golden Gate High School, is 17.
- Frank Camposano, vocalist, is 92.
- Carol, a vocalist, probably past 70.
- Frank, another vocalist, probably past 70.
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| Mark Gerber on Trumpet |
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| Howard Bacon on Trombone |
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Frank Michota,
Drummer/Vocalist |
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Jean Packard, Pianist, &
Carlo Fusaro on Bass |
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3. The incredible energy of all of the musicians! I understand that Jebry and Friends also perform at New York Pizza and Pasta on Wednesday evenings. Several of tonight's patrons assured me that most of the same sit-in participants usually were present on Wednesdays as well. Bless them! I hope to have that much energy at their age.
4. Everyone was welcome to sit in and everyone who did sit in was amazingly talented, age notwithstanding. Especially impressive was 17-year-old Alex, who knew all of the old songs, played them well, ably engaged in repartee with the other participants, and conversed easily with patrons. I predict great things for this young man. Hopefully, his school guidance counselor is working with him on a plan and financial assistance to enable him to obtain additional credentials.
5. I might have learned something. Since I'm not a musician, I didn't know how a group handled multiple players of the same instrument, but tonight there were two trombone players and it seemed to work.
6. The bartender, Carolyn, made me feel very comfortable and took good care of me.
If I can, I'll choose to bowl on another night next season so I can enjoy more of this Monday jazz.
