John Farnsworth and the band

Last night John Farnsworth lead the band with Andrew Beals on sax, Peppe Merolla on drums, Steve Einerson on piano, and Jonah Jonathan on bass. They opened the first set with two original compositions, "Street Beat" and "S' Go" from John Farnsworth's cd "The Good Life." I loved their rendition of "Marbella" by Charles Greenlee -- warm and vibrant with an inventive, fierce solo by Peppe. Another original composition by John Farnsworth, "Mozzin," featured an elegant solo by Steve Einerson. At the end of the night they played my request of "Summertime" and John's sexy, sultry sax took me there. Next week the great trumpet player Joe Magnarelli will be leading the band and bringing us some new, gifted musicians to the Bronx.

Full House at Ibiza Lounge

This past Thursday we were lucky enough to have Josh Bruneau on trumpet, John Farnsworth on sax, our band leader Joe Farnsworth on drums, John Webber on bass, Alex Diaz on congas and Steve Einerson on piano. And later in the night Joe Magnerelli and David Croce stopped by to sit in. Rosie Steinberg also stopped by and sang "Blue Skies" and "Bewitched." One of the great things that is happening at Ibiza Jazz Nights is musicians and singers are just showing up to be part of the scene and share their love of the music. Josh blew the roof off of "The Girl from Ipanema." And John Webber played a soulful, gorgeous solo of "If I Should Love You." Joe Farnsworth lead "It's Prime Time" (his own composition from his 2004 recording of the same name) -- it is an exacting, yet rash, molten hot work of art. Joe will be traveling next week so his brother John Farnsworth will be leading the band. I look forward to some cool jazz on these endlessly hot nights.

Hot July at Ibiza Lounge

On Thursday night Joe Farnsworth was back with Nat Reeves on bass, Mike LeDonne on piano, Alex Diaz on the congas, and Josh Bruneau on trumpet. The musicians were cooking on stage and the crowd was up on their feet dancing by the end of the night. Frankie Goris, the owner, and Joe, our band leader, along with Eric Alexander (who is currently traveling), are making Ibiza a mecca for great jazz musicians from all over the city. The club is a welcoming, beautiful, comfortable space. They are creating a culture that revives our souls. Music, particularly the beat of a drum, has always been a call to our intuitive nature to listen and to be heard. For all you wanderers out there like myself looking for sustenance, joy, a home of like-minded people, come to Ibiza Lounge on Thursday nights and feel it.

Latin Jazz at Ibiza

Joe Farnsworth, our band leader, was back with us at Ibiza this past Thursday after playing a gig in Poland among other places. Joe brought in his long time friend and mentor Nat Reeves on bass. Nat has an impressive biography and has played in every major jazz venue all over the world. I particularly enjoyed his solo during "I Hear a Rhapsody." Alex Diaz, a fantastic jazz conga player, was also with us. When he let loose on those drums it was pure love for the music and completely infectious. They played a hot version of "Caravan." Mike DiRubbo on sax, as always gave us his rich, powerful sound. I love when he gets into a bluesy groove. The accomplished jazz pianist Mike LeDonne, who also currently has the number one selling cd on the jazz charts, was doing his sublime thing. A friend of mine and a gorgeous singer, Angel Rose, got up on stage and treated us to "How High the Moon" and "At Last." And Joe gave us all of himself on those drums, a complicated mix of seeming chaos and perfect rhythmic precision, of stillness and breathless motion. He put together a unique mix of music reflective of his personal passion and he'll be doing it again next Thursday, July 15th.

John Webber and the band

On Thursday night John Webber put together a mighty quartet of musicians. It was the first time at Ibiza for Rick Germanson on piano and Phil Stewart on drums. Joe Magnarelli on trumpet had been up to play for us a few weeks ago. I don't know when these particular four musicians have played together in the past, or if they have (I forgot to ask John) but it speaks to their level of musicianship that they could come together and make a night of jazz that was so moving and tight. John called two sets that flowed effortlessly. I loved "Manha de Carnaval" translated as "A Day In the Life of a Fool," a Brazilian song which appeared in the 1959 film "Black Orpheus." It had the perfect balance of emotion and complexity that hit me in my head and my gut and before I realized it I was inside the song being carried along. They also played "You've Changed" full of longing and passion. As you can probably tell, I dig the romance in jazz. Rick Germanson's playing was clean, fluid and completely accessible. The piano sounded simply beautiful. Check out his latest album "Off the Cuff." Phil Stewart on drums created a lovely dialogue with each of the other musicians. He stood very firmly right on the thin line of making his own statement and simultaneously supporting the band. Joe Magnarelli was fantastic, a powerhouse of a player, always interesting and unexpected. And last, but definitely not least, John Webber was a virtuoso on the bass -- long, graceful solos that built and transformed and kept leading me down the road with him and left me wanting more. We are so lucky to have these world-class guys coming up to the Bronx. Joe Farnsworth will be back at Ibiza Lounge this coming Thursday with more surprises.