420 First Street East Sonoma, CA 95476 phone 707.996.4466

Friday, February 12, 2010

Join us for a Valentine’s Celebration with

 Vocalists Dana Land and Jonathan Poretz

Join Dana and wonderful vocalist, Jonathan Poretz, with their swingin' band; Jonathan Alford, Jeff Neighbor and Kent Bryson for a celebration of loooove!

Dana has the pleasure of being supported by some of the finest musicians in the Bay Area as she interprets and puts her own sense of style into the compositions from many of the greats including Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Nat King Cole, Dave Frishberg, Chick Corea, Mose Allison, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and Harold Arlen, to name just a few.

Blending the swinging vocal stylings of Sinatra, Torme, Bennett and Darin, Jonathan is equally comfortable performing with a trio or a 17-piece big band, putting his own unique stamp on every song he sings and every story he tells through the great American standard songbook.

Jonathan has been appearing as Frank Sinatra in the “Tribute to Frank, Sammy, Joey & Dean (The Rat Pack)” in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Boston and Memphis. He also appears regularly at various Bay Area venues, including LJ’s Martini Club, Jazz @ Shanghai 1930 and The Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay.

http://www.danaland.com/home.html

Friday, February 19, 2010

Bobbe Norris and

 Larry Dunlap

Vocalist Bobbe Norris and pianist Larry Dunlap are two seasoned musicians who have honed their artistic talents to create unforgettable performances that are both well-crafted and spontaneous.

Biography:
Bobbe Norris & Larry Dunlap

This husband-wife duo presents an exciting program of Standards from the Great American Songbook, Jazz and Brazilian music as well as original music with an intuitive communication that can only come from years of performing together. Their music is sensitively arranged and adventurous, making for performances that are full of surprises.

Bobbe Norris, originally from San Francisco, pursued a widely publicized singing career in New York where she worked the major clubs and concert halls, recorded for Columbia Records, and appeared on television on the The Ed Sullivan and Tonight shows (among others). Her skyrocketing career was strictly controlled, motivating her to step back and retire from the music until meeting Larry Dunlap, who encouraged her to get back into singing.

Bobbe is a brilliant singer who applies her dusky contralto to carefully chosen songs, some quite obscure. Longtime fan Rex Reed has written that "she reaches into a lyric like she's pulling taffy and brings out the sweetness and rich flavor of each song, discarding anything superfluous or sticky."

Larry Dunlap is an extraordinary pianist and arranger, a player with taste and sophistication. He has been praised as a "remarkable and versatile accompanist" and "one of the best jazz pianists around -- anywhere" in the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle. Besides his ongoing career with Bobbe, Larry has served since 1983 as pianist for the British diva Cleo Laine and has performed an/or recorded with such luminaries as Mark Murphy, Joe Williams and Sheila Jordan as well as jazz instrumentalists Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, and Marc Johnson, to name a few.

As their numerous recordings and appearances at such venues as the Monterey and San Francisco jazz festivals have shown, together Bobbe Norris and Larry Dunlap offer a classy show of great music in their own style, infusing each song with romantic elegance and creative fire.

Situated in an 1859 landmark building with a long colorful history,  the Plaza Bistro offers a relaxing bistro style ambience, delectable wine country cuisine, including daily specials, fine wines and an indisputable social atmosphere.

What could be finer on a Friday evening than live jazz "On The Plaza"?  

The Plaza Bistro offers relaxed atmosphere, a complete dinner menu if you so desire and a full bar for your favorite adult beverage.

The SVJS had teamed up with the folks at The Plaza Bistro to present live jazz Friday evenings, 7 to 10 pm. No cover  and no minimum!

 Join us at The Plaza Bistro for the best live entertainment in town: America's one true art form, JAZZ!

Why not join the SVJS and support live jazz in Sonoma?