Sy Smith : Psoulful Psinger

Vintage Trouble still abroad, their time slot was substituted by the soulful Sy Smith. Large of afro and voice - she is commanding visually and sonic-ly filling the club with groovy parishoners worshipping on a Tuesday night. What is one to do except join in the worship of one the best performers I've seen all year? With three albums under her belt, it's surprising she isn't more of a star, cuz she sure does shine!! If she returns, I highly recommend. Hopefully she will play more songs and keep us out a bit later. I could have heard another hour of her voice!!

Special shout-out to Kamasi Washington - who used to blast his sax on a semi-regular basis on Tuesday's back in the (Ryan Cross) SoulFunk days - who was just one of the members of Sy's awesome backing group. (I will amend this post with the rest of the band members' names asap.)

Dezmond Meeks : Trouble Free (almost)

I was proud to see Dezmond Meeks was performing Tuesday night (regular Tues residents Vintage Trouble took the night off). I say proud, because I first met Dezmond at Harvelle's about a year ago, when he performed with Ryan Cross' SoulFunk. Since, we've run into each other around town, and I've been able to watch him evolve. He never fails to command attention and entertain - whether sitting in at a jazz club, doing stripped down covers at a coffeehouse or onstage at a cool place (like Harvelle's). Dezmond is as natural a performer as two of his idols — Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey. And like them, he does what he does, because that's what he was born to do.


He dazzles on the piano, has an incredibly dynamic vocal range and the energy of an NBA all-star. I mean to say that Dezmond Meeks is a star. A celestial being. He doesn't need sparkly clothes or flashing lights to make himself brighter (but he looks good in 'em!). Dezmond Meeks has genuine heart and soul.


Joining Dez onstage were Vintage Trouble lead singer Ty Taylor (not pictured) and James Delisco (above) - lead singer of his own band- Funky Deep.



Laura Jane Jones came through with her jazzy fresh vocals and the most amazing corkscrew curls I've ever seen, making her one to watch. As petite, feminine and coy as she is - the opposite is true of her vocal ability. Big, pure and emotive, she led her terrific band through a set of all originals. She really got the crowd revved up for Dezmond.


Also this eve - Harvelle's regular Dancin' John celebrated his birthday. While some are more appreciative fans than others, Dancin' John is true to himself, and his creative output - a sorta raw funky interpretive dance - leaves one awestruck, but like a lot of us, he loves to get down and has a real love for live music.


Happy Birthday Johnny!!


And they even spelled his name right on the marquee!!! Dezmond Meeks uber alles!!

This entry posted live from Harvelle's using BlogPress & the iPhone Hipstamatic photo app

Location:4th St,Santa Monica,United States

Soul Funk : Moonlight Feels Right

Ryan Cross' SoulFunk Tuesday night residency hosted the usual gang and rocked the club til close.

Popp, Zane Musa and Dale Black

Popp and Dale Black

(above - Eric Parker in control)
Cedric Anderson, Nick Miller and Punky all took turns on the sticks n stones.

happy bday Sophie!

- Posted live from Harvelle's using BlogPress & the Hipstamatic™ photo app for the iPhone

Back to Soul Funk : Back To Reality

DJ Vicious Lee made Ryan Cross' weekly jazz/funk throwdown an awesome place to be this Quatro De Mayo.

Ryan's roster of mega talented jazz cats never fail to disappoint.

Cedric Anderson put the groove in his pocket and did double-dutch with it. Cedric gets the party going and got everybody to sing along to "Skin Tight".

Dennis Hamm stretched out on the keys and our hero Ryan - of course - tamed the monster standup bass (as usual). He breezed through an extended solo, incorporating parts of "Come Together", "Billy Jean", "Brick House" and "So What" - digging deep into the neck, at times bowing the bee-jezus out of it.

Popp was on hand to slice and dice his guitar and guest bassist- Keith Rouster- burned hard on the left-handed 6 string.

And making the night an event was the aforementioned DJ Vicious Lee - the grandmaster cuttin' on 2 turntables. Dude spins the hottest sets. Check him as he rocks the house every Sunday night at Harvelle's as part of the Toledo Show.

Ryan Cross and co. reconvene next Tuesday with special guests tba.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:4th St,Santa Monica,United States

Funky Birthday Shots

First off - Happy Bday to the righteous funky brother number one: David Ormesher!


Miss Heather with David O


John "Pop" Clark on wicked guitar.


above - Octavia with Kenny Crouch (keys).

A pre-birthday bash of sorts -
no doubt this celebration will be continuing on for the next 24 hours (or so). Cheers to another trip round the sun.



The house is full of funkateers and soul babes. (above - Miss Heather w your humble blogger). Like Putney Swope says "the Boorman 6 girl has GOT TO have soul". Singers Lisa Foreman and Octavia have got the soul.



above David O w J (from CT)

Big-ups to Kenny Crouch (keys), drummer Cedric Anderson, Miss Heather & photographer Josh, Tom McNalley, singer Ella, J (all the way from CT), bassist Cornelius, the marvelous Lisa Foreman, guitarist John "Pop" Clark, Singer/DJ Reesso, Tanisha and of course Ryan Cross.


above - Lisa Foreman is funkin' for Jamaica.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:1432 4th St,Santa Monica,United States

Ryan Cross : Cat In The Hat

Ryan Cross knows soul. And he knows funk. He knows jazz. And he knows a lot of people - many of which play their musical instruments with such finesse and grace that they have made their way in the world as troubadors.

Tonight the stage is blessed with several of them. Kenny Crouch on keys. The dude simply dazzles his way across, up and down the black and whites, coaxing notes out of that thing that it may not have known it was capable of playing.

Ryan Cross

Kenny Crouch

R.C. and violinist Lea.

Also in the house: Jacob Lutrell, Zane Musa, Urie Norris, Colin Gordon and drummer Cedric Anderson.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:1432 4th St,Santa Monica,United States

Ain't We Funkin' Now

Ryan Cross' Soul Funk.
Soul, acid jazz, secular blues, hard bop and fusion. All live, all musicians unrehersed jamming into another fabulous Tuesday night heading into Wednesday morning.

All that and DJ Vicious Lee on the 1s and 2s.




Very excited to see Kamasi Washington sitting in on sax,
Cedric Anderson on drums and the return of guitarist Matt Roberts.

SoulFunk. Every Tuesday night.










- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:4th Ave,Santa Monica,United States

Which Way Is Up? : SoulFunk 09

Ryan Cross, Brandon Coleman and Gene Coye host the hottest jam on the West side aka SoulFunk. It's always different, and it's always funky. This past session included guest players Jes Selane on guitar, Maiya Sykes on vocals, Urie Norris on keys and Frank Abraham on bass.

Workin and Broke : Soul Funk

There's nothing that sucks more than being broke around the holidays, and when you're working hard, it's like adding insult to injury. At Harvelle's the Tuesday night SoulFunk is a veritable church visit, one and all testifying. Blues and jazz and people playing to their hearts content, is a sure way to escape the bleakness of the situation. So I'm gonna be polite and comb my hair and be gracious this season and white knuckle it into 2010, where the future is.

OK. So this past Tuesday.... Ryan Cross brought his crew through. Keith Eaddy on bass, Dennis Hamm on keys and Gene Coye on drums. Featured singers Nicole and Tina sang some Xmas classics and some R&B and blues in tandem and solo.

Mayia Sykes took the stage and sang her heart out; she thawed me a little too. John Beasley - a keyboardist with an amazing resume - sat in on a few tunes. There's a video of Maiya jamming with Mr Beasley I have posted here. Lisa Foreman brought down the house with her sheer funkiness.

I hung out with guitarist Tom McNalley and chanteuse Hilary Van Lier throughout the night, and left broke - but slightly more enthused about life. A special shout out to Marcas Johnson, a keyboardist that sat in and a cool guy that I've recently gotten to know a bit.

I don't expect it to be any less funky this week.

Soul Funk! : The Return Of Mayia Sykes

My night started off with Coq Au Vin. Two days before Thanksgiving and she wanted to prepare Coq Au Vin. And who can say no to Coq Au Vin? Seriously.

Good food is a ripe aphrodisiac for haughty musical exploration, and as luck would have it, my favorite eclectrician, Ryan Cross, was holding court with his cast of players including Zane Musa, James Allen, Robert Miller and Mr Brandon Coleman.

Pictured top: Tom McNalley accompanies featured vocalist Mayia Sykes in what was one of the best musical performances I have seen in a while, at Harvelle's or anywhere. Detroit native Tom is an accomplished guitarist with a passion for Haitian music and

culture. Mayia Sykes continues to surprise and delight audiences around the world, and to experience her in an intimate setting like Harvelle's is beautiful and rapturous.

Soulfunk is every Tuesday night.

Soul Funk! : Amber Ojeda

From Amber Ojeda's Facebook page:::

Alright everyone! I am getting out of my comfort zone and mixing it up! Expect some funk expect some silliness. If you have not heard Soul Funk hold it down and break it off a little something saucy for ya, you are in for a treat!!!! I am delighted to be sharing the night with such fine ass musicians.

So come one, come all, and spend a little time... won't ya?

Ryan Cross : CelloFunk

This is Ryan Cross.

Tonight he hosts Soul Funk - the weekly gathering of some of the brightest and best players in L.A. Every Tuesday Ryan brings 'em through and puts 'em on. Tonight Amber Ojeda is featured, but you never know who might drop by. Recently Byron Miller, Esperanza Spalding, Jose Espinoza and Wally Ali have sat in.

Soulfunk : Tuesday Night Vocalese

SoulFunk! - Ryan Cross, Gene Coye and Brandon Coleman. Three incredible musicians who mix it up - jazz, soul, funk, r&b... There's always top-notch surprise guests and a plethora of vocal and instrumental talent.

Tonight's featured performers : Octavius Terry and Karma.

Previous sessions have included (top to bottom) Judith Hill, Nikki Grier, Chris Pierce and Lisa Foreman .

Soul Funk : DJ Vicious Lee Pix

It's Soul Funk time!

Joining Ryan Cross was the star of the Sunday night residency at Harvelle's known as The Toledo Show. The inimitable Mr. Diamond hasn't been seen round here on a Tuesday night in ages.

DJ Vicious Lee shot the pix!

Thanks VL!

Toledo expounds on the nature of cool with Ryan Cross on bass.

TheArtist Kiki proves who's got the love!

Ian Martin on bass and Todd Washington on guitar!

Soul Funk : Welcome to Tuesday

Ryan Cross and Soulfunk are hardly strangers around these parts. The West side home to L.A.'s coolest jazz cat, it is with major enthusiasm and elation that brings this one all home. Let's not forget Mr.'s Coye and Coleman (drums, keys respectively) and the plethora of talent available to Mr. Cross.

Tonight's guests include Octavius Terry, DJ Vicious Lee and Karma.

Maiya Sykes : Soul Funk-ateer

The effervescent vocalist with the multi-octave range and soul to spare... yes, *that* Maiya Sykes. Maiya has been here and wowed the crowd with her performance as part of Ryan Cross' Soul Funk Tuesday night residency and I'm sure is up to the task of eliciting a grand reaction again.

See what's up with these purveyors of funk, jazz, latin and r&b - Brandon Coleman (keys, vox) and Gene Coye (drums)- with Ryan Cross holding the whole thing down on the stand-up bass. In addition to Ms. Sykes, there is never a shortage of some of the brightest and best players who stop by and join in. It's always a memorable evening.

Soul Funk : California Dreamin'

A night of soul and funk and jazz; any major dude will tell you it's the spot on a Southern California Tuesday night. Ignore the warm smell of colitas rising up through the air, and cruise down a balmy Santa Ana wind-fueled P.C.H. with the top down towards the beach. Right near the "World Famous" Santa Monica Pier, a stones throw from Venice Beach and at least 15 degrees cooler than the rest of Los Angeles, Harvelle's is the place to be.

Esperanza Spalding : Let's Fall In Love

The incredible Esperanza Spalding brought her bad-self to Harvelle's and excited the place with her artisanal approach to performing. Unlike any other, Esperanza sings like a bird and plays bass like no one I've ever seen (Mingus, maybe?). She's busy and melodic and truly sounds like she's trying to get into your heart and soul. Everyone fell in love with Ms. Spalding! Check her out - you might fall in love too!

This video doesn't quite capture how electric she truly is, but you'll enjoy it anyway.

Tuesday Night's Soul Funk : Too Much!!!

Too much fun! Too many good cocktails, too many amazing musicians, too much!!!

That describes last night.

Soul Funk, Ryan Cross' Tuesday night residency always gets me out of the house, and puts me in a good mood. Brandon Coleman (keys) and Gene Coye (drums) set it off with Ryan on the bass, jamming deep grooves and tearing it up for the folk who got their early.

The evening unfolded as the stage became a blur of players, singers and musicians sharing their amazing talents with the very entertained crowd. The photos hardly do the night justice, as it's high auditory component was the key!! Esperanza Spalding, Nayana Holley, Kiki, Jacob Lutrell, Todd Washington, Crystal Star Knighton, Wildflower and Kamasi Washington (and many others!) provided an incredible night of music.

Thanks for bringing it Ryan!! And special thanks to Mika and Jessica - Harvelle's staff members - for making it a very cool Tuesday night.

Esperanza Spalding

Crystal Star Knighton

Jacob Lutrell on vocals and keys

Kiki, Nayanna and Crystal Star Knighton

Esperanza

Kiki

Brandon Coleman

Alfredo Rivera with Esperanza

Kiki!!!

Crystal Star Knighton

Todd Washington

Nayanna Holley

Wildflower

Didn't catch this guy's name,

but he pounded the skins into utter submission!