Live Jazz Music TAKE ONE 2009 At Leslie & Lee's House One Sunday Afternoon In 2009 : Gene Bertonsini ( Guitar ) Comes From New York

This was a great moment at Leslie & Lee's house one Sunday afternoon in 2009. " March 29th " Leslie just told me a bit earlier ...


I have had these sound and video clips now for almost a year now and am thrilled to have them here for you to finally see Leslie and Lee. It's great to see Gene here playing his beautiful music as his sound and vitality and love of playing are channeled so clearly and evocatively through his hands motions over strings here on his jazz guitar.

Gene comes all the way from New York to play every year at Lee and Leslie's beautiful home. They are generous enough to invite a select group of friends and people in the jazz business to come and listen and play as it is their turn or as the moment fits. I get the feeling each time that it is all very fluid, of-the-moment and serendipitous. That's why it all works so well : that's why everyone feels both so much at home and so very welcome in their home. Leslie has been a dynamo for jazz here in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and has clearly earned the admiration and complete support of many local as well as national jazz and international musicians. I only know a very little part of this story even though I am a long and dear friend of both Leslie and Lee that I met back around 1985 or so? I can't even remember the year exactly. I do remember where : at the Mayflower Wines & Spirits store years ago at the corner of New Hampshire Avenue and M Streets N.W. Washington D.C. where I managed the California/American wine sections.

Leslie has for many years been ( jazz ) instrumental in keeping the Friday Night Jazz Evening at the Smithsonian Institute open and alive and thriving for many years. This is so vital and so important as it serves everyone in the community : both the musicians that need a paying platform to play and create and perfect as well as those of us that want to see jazz performed live and close-up and have a more hands-on and personal connection to the whole experience.

Here at their home this feeling is only strengthened and made even more personal and meaningful. I felt all of this as I went around getting close-ups of these talented musicians play together so well. I was so busy capturing all of this that it all went by largely in a whirl and so I am happy to finally have at least two of these snippets of the performances now for you all that are interested to see and listen to.

I, too am an artist but in this case a visual one and here I am using my artsy approach at filming Gene's playing and paying as much attention to the strings and the neck of the guitar, as well as his hands as well as the intensity of his gaze and that concentration, too followed by brief facial smile flowerings of his as people clap and as he knows things have gone well and that he as well as the other musicians feel appreciated for the wonderful jazz sounds that they have just offered and delivered-up to those of us lucky enough to be there in a warm home with plenty of excellent food and wine to enjoy as we all gathered around and soaked up these jazzy sounds as well as our eyes drank-in the visuals of man and woman and both their hand-held instruments as well as those of their trained and free voices ...

I am sure that I may add more later here but more likely I with the help of my friend Karen will add more of these many sound snippets that I took this afternoon.

This would not have been possible for me to do without Karen's help yesterday as she came to my wine store. We got to talking as we always do and one thing led to another and she wanted to show me her movie/video that she had just taken of this snow storm last Saturday, February 6th, 2010 in Washington D.C. that has now been billed as the snow-storm of the century. I liked it very much. She makes a living with her photography and has an excellent web page and is free to listen to any and all requests to work with you out there in need of her fine-tuned talents. Yes, I chose the words " fine-tuned " as many of you reading this and looking at the clips may need her services and you all have to fine-tune either your instruments or voices or both ...

Thanks to all you musicians, to Leslie and Lee and to you Karen for helping me to finally get this project off the ground and on the road so to speak. Cheers, Happy Valentine's Day ( that's today, Sunday February 14th, 2010 here at home in northern Virginia where we are all still largely blanketed and surrounded by white snow that just like our winter coats that we wear has a small space for our faces as these blankets have for our homes and cars that have been finally released from their white covers ...

I hope you enjoy this clip of Gene playing with the three other talented musicians here. The bass player has been a customer of mine over the years and when I saw him at the first Sunday Afternoon Jazz Event ( I have taken only pictures of that and have included them here already either on this blog or under my other blog spot called : chatart@blogspot.com ) I said quickly : " I know you! ". He smiled and we began our conversation.

I have also already blogged about this event and mounted some of the pictures that I took which I now have in draft form but will shortly post. Stay-tuned for more.

So once again Happy Valentine's Day to one and to all. Cheers, TONY