There’s something powerful about intimacy, the intimacy of familiarity, the intimacy of old friends, the intimacy of well-loved music.
All of those were in play at Jazz on the Hill on Saturday, when singer Joyce Lyons returned to entertain and raise money for the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. I’ve had the opportunity to watch her perform a number of times as well as broken bread with Lyons more than once (this Neighbors gig has some sweet perks). Watching her look out into the audience and recognize faces, watching folks in the audience who had seen her before telling newbies they had a treat in store was part of the fun.
The evening began with champagne and appetizers, which included chorizo-stuffed dates wrapped in maple-smoked bacon, chipotle beef on tortillas with avocado crème and cucumber rounds with feta cheese and tomato.
As diners sat down – the tables were on stage – salads of Bibb lettuce blend with shaved fennel, teardrop tomatoes and fresh strawberries drizzled with vinaigrette were served. Les and Penny Layman from Upper East Side Liquors both selected and contributed the wines. Guests also picked up a pack of notecards featuring Lyons and trumpeter Bob Newnam in a painting by Paul Folwell.
Sodexo went on to serve basil-crusted sea bass with lemon-tomato coulis, roasted pork tenderloin with morel-rosemary au jus, fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus. A tart that was as-chocolate-as-chocolate-could-be was served with raspberry sauce as the coup de grâce to a delicious meal.
Then it was time for the headline act. Lyons was living near New York City when I first met her, but is now based in Minneapolis. She has a voice made for jazz standards. Jonathan Latta, assistant professor of music at FLC, played percussion for the evening and helped organize the students.
Lyons comes every year to give a master vocal class to FLC students, and Latta said she teaches them to understand the lyrics and find the heart of a song. She also taught the three FLC students who were part of the combo backing her up – Sam Kelly on alto saxophone, Brian Stoneback on alto saxophone and Spencer Church on bass, how to work with an artist who goes for it.
All three students, who are seniors, could have easily been mistaken for professionals. They had the chops, and they took on their solos with passion. Church was particularly fine on “So Nice to Come Home To,” and Stoneback pulled the mournful out of his sax on “You Don’t Know What Love Is.” Other favorites were “Stormy Weather,” “Teach Me Tonight.” “Now You’re In, But You Want Back Out,” and “Peel Me a Grape.”
Last, but far from least, was Lee Bartley tinkling the ivories. Where the professionals ended and the students started was seamless.
Lyons honored the classics but was witty and irreverent when in-between songs. She was recently at a gig where someone requested “A-Train.” She and the band looked at each other and thought maybe they could fake it. Until someone in the crowd pulled out his iPhone and said, “Here are the lyrics.” And she didn’t have her glasses! She called it the “curse of the First World.”
(I’m listening to her on YouTube as I write this item, and she’s wonderful all over again.)
Lyons has played the big stage – she was booked by Clarence Thomas to play for the Supreme Court justices – and many a gig in clubs and cabarets, but the stage at the concert hall is a perfect venue for her.
The cause was one that has an impact on everyone, the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. You might notice that community comes before FLC in the title. Now in its 16th year, when the hall was built, it was a joint project. This community raised millions of dollars, with the understanding that the hall belonged to all of us, and we were responsible for it.
Somehow, we forgot that part. Ticket sales are only a small portion of what it takes to keep it up and running. After Russ Serzen died, his wife, Bette, and Gary Penington, then the concert hall director, started the Russ and Bette Serzen Endowment Fund for Concert Hall Operations.
Serzen has continued working on the endowment, now partnering with concert hall director Charles Leslie.
More than 40,000 people, including a number of children and students for whom it is their first live performance ever, walk through those doors every year and experience the magic of live music and dance performances.
Leslie tells me the concert hall hosted 30 events in its fiscal year that concluded June 30. That included four free summer concerts in Buckley Park. It does not include the 10 high-definition broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera.
The Community Concert Hall is a very special place where we all come together in a positive way. Many of the special people who conceived it and have continued supporting the concert hall were at Jazz on the Hill, including former and current FLC Presidents Joel Jones and Dene Thomas; Penington; Steve Schwartz, FLC’s vice president of finance and administration, along with his new bride, Kim; Margie Deane Gray, the executive director of the FLC Foundation; and Bette Serzen, along with her oldest son Scott, his wife, Betsy, daughter Chelsea and Don and Sally McMillen, Betsy Serzen’s parents.
The ultimate goal for the endowment is $1 million, so there’s enough for the ongoing operations and the occasional refurbishment and paint job. Jazz on the Hill was sold out, but anyone can, and everyone should, support the endowment.
To donate, call Leslie at 247-7468 or the FLC Foundation at 247-6179.
HHH
Finishing up the Virgo birthdays are Pat Dworkin, Connie Matthys, Dianne Donovan, Paul McGurr, Brennan Stottlemyer, Dan Brennan, Kaitlyn Downey, Kimmie Laumann, Abigail Wiley, Jake Beekman, Kim Caldwell, Melinda Jameson, Lynne Murison, J.T. Munger, Mike Milner, Marian Pierce, Nancy Fisher and Dana Wilson.
HHH
Durango Nature Studies is in the second week of its online auction, and there are some great packages. Yoga, massages, skis and ski passes, membership to the Durango Sports Club and the Paddle School of the Four Corners all provide the chance to take care of yourself physically. A stay at Blue Lake Ranch will be good for the psyche, golf from the Glacier Club and Hillcrest will let you enjoy our beautiful outdoors and there are books to delight and expand your mind.
This auction is perfect. You can sit at home in your jammies while bidding on cool stuff for later. And they’re adding new stuff every day, so you never know what you’ll find. There are more than 100 items, so there’s something for everyone.
To access the auction, the easiest way is to enter through www. durangonaturestudies.org.
I don’t write enough about this wonderful organization. There is ample research about how good it is for young people to be connected to the natural world, but it’s good for all of us. Particularly since I’ve been on crutches, I’ve noticed that I crave time along the Animas River or up in the mountains.
But kids may not ever realize how important it is until they’re exposed to the wonders of the flora and fauna that call the Four Corners home. Durango Nature Studies provides that exposure to thousands of area students, whether it’s at their site near Bondad or on moonlight snowshoe treks in the mountains.
To learn more, visit the website above. And whether or not you’re planning to make a donation or volunteer, check out the auction. I always feel so guilt-free buying something at a fundraiser for a cause I believe in instead of just walking into a store.
And don’t forget – here comes a mini-rant – the goal here is to support Durango Nature Studies, not to bid artificially low to get a screamin’ deal.
HHH
I’m sad to say that HIV and AIDS are still among us, impacting the lives of many local residents.
The 16th annual Durango AIDS Benefit will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Rotary Park. It will include a Bike/Run/Walk for the whole family, with prizes for the highest fundraiser and individual and team costumes.
As part of the event, panels from the The Names Project – AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display at Durango Public Library beginning today and running through Sunday. Included among the panels will be some from local community members. I’ve seen some of these panels, and they are powerful and haunting, well worth the visit, but take some tissues just in case.
The event is hosted by the Four Corners Gay and Lesbian Alliance for Diversity, which will use the funds to build AIDS awareness, provide AIDS education and support programs that support those who are fighting this life-threatening disease and its effects.
Registration is available online at http://4cglad.org or starting at 8 a.m. Saturday at the event. More information about the event is available on the website.
HHH
It’s cool enough to cuddle under the covers for these anniversary couples – Todd and Jessica Sharp, Frank and Ricci Dawson, Mark Dickmann and Eve Gilmore, Bruce and Annette Nye and Joe and Jill Nelson.
HHH
Here’s how to reach me: neighbors@durangoherald.com; phone 375-4584; mail items to the Herald; or drop them off at the front desk. Please include contact names and phone numbers for all items.
