Posts Tagged: ron steen

The Coffee:

As many of you know, I’m on a life quest to find the consummate coffee shop.  I believe this endeavor to be as elusive as the quest for Camelot but boy is the journey delightful!  While my hometown offers at least 10 mochas worth drinking within a mile of my home, I find it even more satisfying to discover the cafes in the towns that I visit on travel~ and this month has seen a lot of car time. 

In Ashland a few weeks ago that coffee shop was found in all it’s unpretentious glory:  Rogue Valley Roasting Company!    Maybe it was the wonderful group of retirees trading gossip before the 7 a.m. hour had even struck or perhaps it was the extremely friendly baristas, but the latte I enjoyed stood on its own.  It’s definitely not coffee for the faint of heart—that cup was strong but it was balanced with the perfect amount of foam and served in a fantastic glass mug. (the mug is of course part of the experience.)

The August 29th Jazz Show:

I’m back in Portland now for a while and finalizing the set list for next week’s show at Wilfs at Union Station.  I’m excited to be back at Wilfs.  It’s wonderful to be able to perform with stellar jazz musicians Ron Steen (Drums) and Joe Millward (Piano).  The conundrum for an artist like me is always narrowing down the songs to perform.  For sure I’ll be doing some selections from the new album.  I’ll be rounding that out with some classic jazz standards that I love to sing and rip up on my violin and finally, I’ve got a few folk tunes that I am “unfolking.”  I may even have a special guest or two. 

Looking ahead, believe it or not I’m working on Acoustic Christmas plans as well as pursuing opportunities to share the music from the new album beyond my local venues.  I will keep you posted. 

As always, thanks so much for stopping by… and if you haven’t had a chance to check out the new album, you can listen to the songs right here by clicking below. 

Last month I played at Wilfs with the incomparable drummer Ron Steen and pianist Joe Millward.  It was my first time playing with Joe and definitely an experience I hope to repeat!  I was able to record several of the songs we did and have posted them on Youtube.  What a fun and musically fulfilling night this was!

K Bay—working title—is a song I wrote about Honaunau Bay in Kona.  Two of my greatest loves are music and being outdoors.  Honaunau Bay is an incredible place to snorkel.  I found the area to be very mystical—partly because the way the light would beam down through the deep waters below me and partly because it is adjacent to a Hawaiian historical site called Pu’uhonua o Honaunau which is loosely translated “Place of Refuge.”  It is a place where Hawaiians accused of a crime could basically exile themselves and escape punishment—which in ancient Hawaiian culture seemed to have typically been one of a few different brutal executions! 

Parlor Music- a piece I wrote back in the spring of 2009 for my daughter.  It begins with a short classical piece called Ständchen by Franz Schubert.

I’m looking forward to Wednesday, July 13th when I’ll be playing and singing with Ron Steen at the Jazz Club Wilfs at Union Station!  Last time I played at Wilfs was for Tasha Miller’s CD release party and it will be good to be back enshrouded in the vintage, red velvet look and feel of this classic Portland club.   It always makes me think of… yup, you guessed it, White Christmas with Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen…. which is a good thing!!!  Here’s a short video from last summer when I so enjoyed playing with Ron Steen, Kevin Deitz and George Mitchell. 

NEXT WENDY GOODWIN SHOW:  THURSDAY, AUGUST 5th at Sherman Clay Moe’s Pianos  7-8:30 PM

I’m struggling to find the right adjectives to properly convey how much I loved singing and playing with George Mitchell, Kevin Deitz and Ron Steen last night at Wilfs.  For one thing, it’s as if these three gentlemen of jazz share a collective brain when they are playing-each giving authoritative pizzazz yet always playing as a team.  As a guest artist, it’s the musical equivalent of being supported by 3 pairs of strong arms… not so scary to lean out over the edge when you’re in such secure company!

I was also blessed to have such a great group of friends come out for the show.  Looking out and seeing the familiar faces dotting the landscape who support and encourage me in so many ways was awesome.

To top it off, some other fantastic jazz artists were at the show and performed a few tunes—the iconic drummer Dick Berk and smashingly talented vocalist and pianist Laura Cunard.

If you are just getting acquainted with me, and wondering why you haven’t seen me around town, it has to do with a few things-

1.  I tend to play in unrelated genres—right now, I’m working with Celtic/Contemplative Seattle based artist Jeff Johnson and Puck Fair Flutist Brian Dunning.  While these two gentlemen actually have plenty of connections to the Portland Jazz Scene, the Celtic trio performs in churches and concert venues and tours seasonally.

2.  I play a LOT of private events—after finishing school, I started Effesenden Music, a wedding and event music company.  Effesenden gives me the opportunity to play lots of styles of music with a variety of musicians.  It gives me an excuse to do a lot of arranging of pop music for strings, and it gives me the chance to help people with a special day in their lives.  And to be totally honest… I LOVE weddings! 

3.  I have played in bands and appeared as a side woman with many different artists including Rising Violet, Lori Willcuts, Drew Grow, Kelly Jones, Nate Macy, Michael Allen Harrison, Michelle Tumes, Laura Gibson, Tasha Miller, Adam Sweeney, Bryan Clark and more, but have only recently begun appearing under my own name.  Though I love performing, I have always been sort of embarrassed about drawing attention to myself.  In the past I’ve often appeared under the name Effesenden.  When I started writing music though, it seemed natural to start appearing… well…as myself!

I’m looking forward to what lies ahead—in a couple of weeks I’ll be at Sherman Clay Moe’s Pianos (August 5th 7-8:30 p.m.) If you’d like to be kept in the loop of future shows, drop me a line. 

There’s been so much going on lately, I haven’t had a chance to write.  But I hope that you’ll mark your calendars for a few particularly exciting shows coming up–

Wednesday, July 14th from 7:30-10:30  I will be playing and singing jazz for the first time at Wilfs Restaurant on the invitation of the amazing drummer and jazz community instigator Ron Steen.  I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to it!  You can check out the Upcoming Shows page here on this site for more details about parking and location.

Thursday, August 5th:  First Thursday at Sherman Clay Moe’s Pianos in the Pearl:  I’ll be joined by Aaron Pruitt on keys as well as special guests and friends.

 
As any of my former high school classmates who saw my “notes” in AP European History back in the day, can vouch, I’ve always loved to draw and create visual art.  As of last month, a dream that I thought I would have to set aside to fully pursue music came to be—I am now a published illustrator!  Check out Cocoa’s Collar, a very special book written to help special needs kids deal with grief—written by Garyanna Stalick.  I did these illustrations several years ago and had all but forgotten about it when this past winter, Garyanna called to see if it was okay to pursue publication…why yes, of course it was!  I have enjoyed picking up my sketch pad again of late.  Having a house filled with toys again certainly doesn’t hurt the inspiration factor!
Here’s the link:  Cocoa’s Collar Website