It’s Sunday, November 12th, 2001. At 8 o’clock in the evening a fall chill secures it’s grip on Harvard Square. But just footsteps away at the Regattabar in the Charles Hotel the atmosphere is hot: Jazz hot.
Vocalist Louise Grasmere and her band of illustrious musicians took the stage and lived up to the jazz tradition that is immersed deep within the halls and walls of the Regatta. Graced with past performances from Chick Corea, Lionel Hampton and Carmen Macrae , to name a few, that hallowed ground is not to be approached lightly or without veneration. Respectfully, Louise Grasmere took the stage with fury and confidence and didn’t give it back until she was good and ready.
The large, initially noisy house didn't know what they were missing when Grasmere’s quartet, Consuelo Condelaria, piano, Jon Hazilla (replacing Keith Gibson), drums, Ron Mahdi, bass, and Billy Novick, horns, warmed things up with Benny Carter’s ‘’When Lights Are Low’’. The performance here was simply flawless. It was a harbinger of things to come. With Grasmere’s entrance on the second song, (by now adding guitarist Kevin Barry), the crowd settled down and the fun began. Opening with Willie Dixon’s ‘’You Can’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover’’, Grasmere got down and mean with this clean, direct rendition. It was a personal declaration of independence, stating that not all jazz singers come in the same package. Grasmere is a distinguished vocalist. Her voice can be soft and sweet or loud and gritty. Any which way, it’s always magnificent, lyrical and heartfelt.
By the third song, a swinging version of Koehler and Arlen’s ‘’Lets Fall In Love’’, the audience was putty in Grasmere’s accomplished hands. Grasmere is right at home on stage (in fact, so at home, she brought her own silver flask of tea which she periodically poured from). Her easy going rapore with the crowd made for a wonderful night of music and closness. The 11 song, nearly two hour set was also a benevolent act of this artist for all proceeds went to benefit Temporary Care Services of Cambridge and Somerville Massachusetts, an organization that provides support for families who have children with developmental delays or disabilities.
A subtle, moody, samba version of Abbie Lincoln’s ‘’Throw It Away’’ spotlighted Grasmeres talent for percussion. Seated, she sang while gently tapping a conga with sticks. Novick’s soprano sax and Barry’s acoustic guitar solo on this tune were both a delight.
With little innovative promise (or so I thought) , Hoagy Carmichall’s standard ‘’Georgia’’ began like every other ‘’Georgia’’ you’ve ever heard in any given cocktail lounge in any Holiday Inn across America. But shame on me for assuming. By the end of the tune, Grasmere and Co. built the song up to an wondrous heated crescendo, the likes of which I’ve never heard.
The level of musicianship was as high as it gets. Condelaria’s piano playing is quite special. Her sensual touch and commanding attack takes hold of ones senses and imagination. She’s a treasure. Her inclusion in the band is a testimony to Grasmere’s talent and musical inertia. Jon Hazill’s drumming and Ron Mahdi’s bass were the bedrock of the evening. Laying it down with steady ease, they provided a spring board from which all others were to jump. Kevin Barry’s (sideman for Paula Cole) guitar was a treat. His knowledge of rock, folk, jazz and R&B made him a crucial part of the musical equation. The ‘’Infamous’’ Billy Novick, who Grasmere jokingly dubbed the king of ‘’...outstanding parking tickets in the Cambridge area’’, really puts his music where his mouth is. This guy can blow sax. His playing is inventive, soulful and poetic. When he traded sax scat with Grasmere’s voice on ‘’Bye Bye Blackbird’’ he genuinely made his instrument talk. Not to be outdone, Grasmere jousted him note for note until she scatted him one better, growling out the phrase, ‘’I don’t think so!’’. The audience roared it’s approval. Grasmere closed the show with an emotional version of ‘’Some Other Time’’ to a standing ovation, singing, ''just when the fun was startin', comes the time for partin'.'' With a talented, sensitive artist like Lousie Grasmere, Jazz, our great American art form, is in good hands.
-Michael Khouri / Northeast Performer Magazine (January 2001)