Culver City Hotel Concert Report

For the second concert report, I went to go see the Paul Di Blasi Band at the Culver City Hotel. This was actually the second time I had attended this venue, it was decorated similarity to last time. The venue was very vintage in terms of its decor, it truly had an old school feel, it made you fee like you were in the 1920s. The hotel was dimly lit, and had a jazzy and supper club atmosphere. Almost everyone was dressed up but also casual, and the music was perfect for this setting. From the moment I walked into the hotel, I knew that it was a very old school feel. It is both a restaurant and bar where they host live music almost every night, more importantly, watching this band person was a truly a true jazz experience. There really wasn't

However, they added their own influences on the songs, as well as their own solos and groove. The very first song played was “As Long As I Live” which was composed by Harold Arlen, who wrote this song for his last show at the Cotton Club. The next song performed was “Midnight Blue” by Kenny Burrell, a well known jazz guitarist. The third and final song played that night was “Samba de Orfeu” which was written by Brazilian guitarist and composer Luiz Floriano Bonfá. Each piece was unique in its own way, but they all had something in common, they were all jazz standards being played from sheet music and each song contained a solo from each instrument. First, “As Long As I Live” had a very up medium tempo as well as a straight ahead swing beat, overall it was quite bright. Each musician performed their own variation of the melody, excluding the drummer. Then, “Midnight Blue” had a very nice bluesy taste to it, it had a light swing and sounded like a song right out of the 1920s. This piece really reminded me of a mobster strolling down the streets while all the women were looking at how cool he was. Lastly, “Samba de Orefeu” was a Latin style jazz, my favorite piece of the night. It was very upbeat and made you want to get up and dance, there was actually a couple who got up from there table and began dancing to it. Something quite intriguing was the way the drummer played with brushes the whole time,