The proprietor of this worthy
site once remarked to yours truly how useful
a certain jazz gig in town was, given its
propensity to help patrons have a quiet snooze
- this while the band was on! (It was the
seats not the music! Ed)
Well as the New Year kicks in, it is time
to take a look at how bad things really are
- or not!
Jazz has certainly established itself as the
music of choice at the bigger hotels, and
of late, we now have an increasing number
of better jazz musicians too. As my old jazz
hack colleague Bernie Cooper reminds me, hotels
didn't do jazz until around 1990 when the
regulations governing the employment of foreign
musicians were relaxed. Western musicians
began to appear in lounges bringing with them
a new repertoire and an unaccustomed standard
of musicianship.
The illustrious Oriental then had the very
sensible idea of bringing over featured jazz
singers from the US and supporting them with
a quartet who could attain the appropriate
standard of performance. The first invited
guest artiste was Alice Day, and her impact
at the Bamboo Bar convinced the hotel that
it had made a wise decision. It has pursued
its jazz policy ever since.
Right now at the Bamboo Bar, Cynthia Utterbach
has just finished up her stellar residency
and has been followed since January 3 until
February 28 by Maci Miller.
This babe with her blonde locks and a background
that includes modelling, is back in Bangkok
after playing club and concert venues in Florida
and Atlantic City. A songwriter as well as
a singer, Maci is breath of fresh air. But
jazz is still her bag.
Meantime you will find Alice Day appearing
regularly at the Living Room of the Sheraton
Grande Sukhumvit and this time she will be
staying until January 9. On New Year's Eve,
the hotel featured another guest artist of
global stature, tenor star Ernie Watts. Another
regular attraction at the Living Room is Jeremy
Monteiro, a National Artist of Singapore and
a hard driving jazz pianist with an inventive,
lyrical touch. Two other notable pianists
regularly dazzle at the Living Room and they
are Taurey Butler with the Eldee Young Trio
and the awesome Randy Cannon. Taurey is a
sideman for Eldee Young, bassist and elder
statesman who leads as an upfront entertainer
as well as a solid jazzman with many years
in the business. The drummer is Shawn T. Kelly.
Over at Sirocco at the Dome at State Tower,
Mandy Gaines sings straight ahead jazz, too,
and her scat singing is a joy to hear on a
stage that seems to float out in space above
the city lights. But she likes to leaven her
programme with other kinds of popular music.
Isabelle Valvert at the Conrad's Diplomat
Bar certainly delivers variety with glamour
and sophistication. With a French and Caribbean
background, many influences have informed
her style, but the core is jazz and beside
her is Bangkok's top jazz brass instrumentalist,
Rustem Galyulin playing a fluent counterpoint
to her voice with a swinging Filipino trio.
Four Seasons Bangkok Hotel is not known for
its jazz policy but it does like good music.
Featured in the Lobby Lounge earlier in the
year was Danish jazz diva Camilla. At Pastel
Lounge at the Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square,
for example, one of the featured singers this
year is Gail Dila who also sings at Brown
Sugar on Lang Suan.
At the Plaza Athenee's Glaz Bar, the resident
singer is Rubeth Bumatay. At the start of
her career, Rubeth knew she would have to
sing pop music, but her ambition was always
to sing jazz and this is what she's doing
now. She's accompanied by a formidable Thai
trio with the percussive nicknames of Bump
on piano, Bong on bass and Kong at the drums.
They have been playing together for three
years and have developed a powerful jazz style.
At My Bar which opened at the Dusit Thani
in March, La Dee Streeter has a background
in the gospel church, where a great many good
singers started. She comes to the end of her
tenure - backed by Kom at the piano, Verachit
on bass and Alongkot at the drums - at the
New Year, and from then on, Sonia Saigal will
be starring at My Bar.
And on Phloen Chit Road, Fogo Vivo the Brazillian
Churrascaria also features a jazz trio which
is genuinely cool: Mario Trane, Tim Hauff
and Peter Coulling on piano, bass and drums,
respectively.
Tokyo Joe's on Sukhumvit Soi 24, Brown Sugar,
Saxophone at Victory Monument and Witch's
Tavern on Soi Thong Lo also provide outlets
where jazz and blues are featured nightly,
with opportunities for young jazzers to cut
their teeth at jam sessions.
The Zanzibar on Sukhumvit Soi 11 also features
jazz with a jam on Sundays hosted by local
jazz superstar Koh on saxophone, and we will
be featuring a separate review of this gig
soon.
By the way, on my way around all of these
gigs not a single snore did I hear!
