Easy Like a Sunday Morning
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18.05.2011
Mary Ann Harvey
Easy Like a Sunday
Morning
Hudson
River Sampler (ND) - April 2011
Sunday mornings
are too relaxing, right? Even God took Sunday off.
So should we too,
after church of course. That's what sunday brunch is for - and a cool jazz brunch
is best.
We could meet
down at The Rhinecliff, the beautifully restored historic hotel on the Hudson River's edge in the tiny hamlet after which the hotel
has been named. It's brunch-time and the jazz is mellow. As Lionel Richie says it's
"Easy like a Sunday Morning."
You'll be able
to enjoy one of the finest jazz duets ever. Māra Stepe on keyboards and Steven
Merr playing guitar
raise Easy Jazz
up to a new level of "cool."
Starting with a rendition of Etta
James' song "A Sunday Kind of Love," singer and keyboardist
Māra sets the mood instantly.
Playing piano
since she was six-years old, Māra consistently plays her heart out. "This is
my love," she says. She is also an artist, painter and bartender (at The Rhinecliff),
but she says music is life itself.
"She loves
to sing," said her friend Robert Jameson, who works in television production.
And was recording the session for eventual publication on her website. He added,
"She's got it -- whatever it is." It is evident in her performance and
her enthusiasm.
Her father, Uldis
Stepe, explained how all three of his children were introduced to music, specifically
piano, when they were very young and living in California, but only Māra continued it and made
it her life's mission. "She's very talented," her dad added," and
disciplined."
To the strains
of Dionne Warwick's "Walk
On By." Māra's warm, clear tones made Sunday brunch so much more special for
the guests. "We like the intimate setting here," guitarist Steve Merr
pointed out. He's a forensic psychologist by day and also plays with a six-piece
band by night, his avocation. Steve was backing up another singer when bartender
Māra asked if she could sing one song with them. Instant sensation! And they immediately
formed a new duet. A recent Sunday brunch at The Rhinecliff was their first public
performance together, but you would think they had been together for years, The
chemistry is genuine.
Stan Getz would
be proud of Māra's version of his song "The Girl From Ipanema." As
would George Gershwin of her rendition of his much-sung "Summertime
and the Living is Easy." The song selection goes on and on because the
duet is so talented and makes it look easy.
James Chapman, owner
and Innkeeper, initiated the Sunday Jazz Brunch as part of the culture of The Rhinecliff
soon after its grand reopening in 2008. It's been voted the "Best Jazz
Brunch" in the hudson
valley, and it definitely is.
Interesenti
mīļi aicināti uz Māras Stepes koncertu Rhinecliffviesnīcā š. g. 1. jūnijā no plkst. 11 līdz 15 Jazz Brunch Sunday laikā.