Sitting In

It's such a delight when our friend Butch Miles, a legendary drummer, sits in at Parker Jazz Club. We love jazz, but getting to know players and their stories enhances the experience.

Make 'em want it!

There was s long line at this downtown club the other night. Who knows what is so special about going there?

Freemasons in the ranks of famous Texans

Quite a few famous Texans were Freemasons -- as you can see.

Bad News!

We were confronted by these signs at one of our favorite jazz clubs the other day. Turns our there is a sinkhole under its building.

Jazz at the Gallery

We love jazz -- here you see our friend Elias Haslinger tearing it up with some other Austin all-stars at the Gallery over the Continental Club.

Music Legends

The lounge with the Leslie mural we showed yesterday is Lipstick 24. This is their musical tribute mural. Janis, of course, on the left. BB King on the right. Middle? Bob Marley? I believe this is a gay dance club, but no one really stays committed to labels. We haven't visited this place so I can't compare to Rain (the Fourth Street gay dance club where we've attended shows and birthday parties).

Greezy Wheels

Sunday we not only stopped in at the SlimFest a couple of times but also walked up to Jovita's to catch part of a benefit for the Rag Blog (which unbelievably is an Internet incarnation of an old local underground paper). The venerable Greezy Wheels were playing while we were there.

Young Bluesmen

Jackie submitted this photo from her night out New Year's Eve with this note:

We spent the early part of our New Years Eve at Maria Maria where the Peterson Brothers Band from Bastrop was playing. We made a special point of checking them out and weren’t disappointed. Glenn, the guitar phenom, is 15 years old; his 12-year-old brother, Alex, plays bass (and also played the violin on one number, while Glenn backed him up on bass). So many of the old blues musicians died in 2011, including Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, who had planned to record with the Peterson Brothers in 2012. But listening to these talented young men gives us hope that the blues tradition will carry on.

Here’s to a upbeat 2012….

Jackie

Maria Maria is a club and restaurant on Colorado where good music and Mexican food are inspired by Carlos Santana. They have several locations in California as well.

Thirty-Some Years Ago

Time flies when you are having fun. Clifford Antone opened the eponymous Antone's thirty-six years ago yesterday. They've been in several locations, Clifford has passed on but his sister and others keep the funky, blues-focused joint going in its current Fifth and Lavaca location. Last night we saw the first set at the anniversary show, the Marcia Ball band (above). In November it will be thirty-six years since FFP and I had our first date. It was at the Armadillo World Headquarters and guess who we heard? Yes: Marcia Ball! (No relation but now a friend of ours.)

Jazz Last Night

We decided to go hear our friend Liz Morphis sing with the Jazz Pharaohs at the Elephant Room last night. Here you see her crooning with the guys.

Another Shot of Playing for Change

Same group as yesterday taken by my friend Jackie last weekend. I like how this shot shows off the Antone's sign.

Playing for Change

Our friend Jackie saw this amazing band at Antone's on Saturday. She says: "This was an ensemble of 10 musicians from around the world, all fantastic." The group is a non-profit and you can read about them here.

Live Music...Robert Plant

No...we didn't go see the Robert Plant and Patty Griffin show at Stubb's. But our friend Jackie was there in the VIP perch and got this great shot.

Albert and Gage at Donn's

Linda and I went to an old favorite bar to hear two of our favorite musicians the other night. Chris Gage and Christine Albert were playing at Donn's Depot. This place is a reliable standby--always good music, friendly folks and a well-used dance floor. Also, it's close enough for us to walk there! We talked to Chris and Christine between sets and reminisced about how they played for Linda's birthday party 12 years ago. Lots of good memories. (Shot with my iPhone, so not the best resolution, but it captures the moment.)

Pianorama

Five keyboards and a drum set. That was the kit for Marcia Ball's Pianorama on Sunday at Antone's. There were more piano players than keyboards and some trading around ensued. Riley Obsborne, far right, and Marcia and another player sitting in are providing rhythm and bass here while Floyd Domino solos.

Inked Guitar Player

Dave Biller of the Jazz Pharaohs makes the guitar work. He's sporting some tattoos. Shot at Elephant Room.

Lucky Venue

I confess. I'd never darkened the door of the Lucky Lounge on Fifth Street. I'd wondered at the strange lighting in the window (turns out it looks very cool from inside!) but that's it. But last night on a cold and blustery evening of a day that saw what passes for winter here most of the time (melting sleet) they had a jazz happy hour. I took this picture of their nifty little stage while the group was on a break. It's a neat bar, with comfy seating and a great sound. The Jeff Lofton (warning music on link) Quartet played. we're big fans and he's been featured here before. The sound in this venue is wonderful. This is going to be a Wednesday night gig (5:30-8PM) for a while. Last night Kellye Gray stopped by and grabbed a mike for a couple of tunes. Fantastic.

Gadjo Disco

Linda and I were walking home from a party Saturday night and saw this line of youngsters dressed up in a variety of costumes at La Zona Rosa, the club across from the north side of our building. They were waiting to get into a concert which required dressing up. Here is a comment from a young friend who went: "It was for the last Gadjo Disco (eastern European themed dance party). All were encouraged to dress to transgress! I was tasteful in a leopard print lace number topped off with a teased monstrosity on my head."

I shot this with my iPhone.

Yet more jazz

OK, we do other things besides going out to hear great jazz--but most of the stuff we do really doesn't lend itself to interesting photos.

Here you see a recent set at The Elephant Room. What a quintet -- Jeff Lofton on trumpet, Alex Coke on reeds, Dr. James Polk on piano, Michael Stevens on bass and Masumi Jones on drums. (At the point I snapped this one, Jeff was offstage while Alex took the lead and it was impossible to get James in the shot.) The whole group was quite a rainbow coalition-- three African-American men, an Asian woman and a white guy.

With that kind of talent on stage, the place filled up in a hurry. Each of these musicians has a following. In fact, by the time the first set started, there was a line up the stairs and people were having to wait until seats freed up to get inside. (We got there an hour early to secure a front row spot.)

Just another reason why we love living downtown. When we were on Shoal Creek, it was always, "Do we feel like driving down there, finding a place to park, one of us can't drink, etc."

By the way, I think you can see why I always laugh when people say that jazz doesn't draw a crowd in Austin. Oh-- and tonight, we'll be setting up shop in the lounge at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to hear the Jeff Lofton Trio and ring in the new year. If anyone is downtown, drop by and say Happy New Year!

Shot with my iPhone.

Doorway to Music

We fancy ourselves the "Live Music Capital" here and whether you dispute that or not, there is something wholesome about a city that would anoint as a club in a strip center a historic landmark. The Continental Club on South Congress has been there for fifty years. We walked by early on a day when the doors weren't propped open to admit patrons and got this rather nice shot of the fancy door and its historic marker.

Today many of our City Daily Photo compatriots will also take on the doorway theme. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.