When Peter Asher first heard Kate Taylor sing, he was instantly impressed. “I loved the texture of her voice and her phrasing, so I said, let’s make a record.”
Not one for idle chatter, Mr. Asher then produced her first record, Sister Kate. The year was 1971.
“She was even more of a soul singer devotee than James [Taylor] was,” Mr. Asher remembered. “He took after Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, but Kate was rocking out and blues-ing out much more overtly. I loved that she was a white soul singer.”
On Monday John Lee stood in the Tabernacle, excitedly talking about the second annual Martha’s Vineyard Jazz Festival. It was the same place he first came up with the idea. He pointed to the front few rows. “I sat in these pews with my daughter and visualized having a festival,” he said.
At the time there was nothing on stage. He was simply sitting and dreaming.
Open mike event is about to kick off at the community building at Island Co-housing, and organizers are looking for musical performers 18 years old and younger.
The first Saturday of every month will be open mike night, beginning Saturday, Nov. 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. A professional performer, Mike Kerr, will be guest artist, starting off the evening with some serious guitar shredding (see online Myspace.com/mikeker).
Free concerts are scheduled for Nov. 27 and 29 at the Performing Arts Center at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
A regional high school instrumental concert featuring the concert band and the string orchestra is set for the center at 7 p.m. Nov. 27. Selections will include Greek Folk Song Suite, a contemporary selection by Cesarini, Chant and Jubilo, a dramatic piece for symphonic band, and Corelli’s Concerto Grosso, a classic example of Baroque orchestra repertoire.
The Arts and Society presents An Evening with David O’Docherty for traditional Irish music with story telling and infectious good humor, on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring street in Vineyard Haven.
Tickets are $15 general admission, or $12 for seniors and students at the door or for advance ticket sales at The Bunch of Grapes, Sun Porch Books and Edgartown Books.
It’s Girls Night Out at Outerland next Thursday night, Nov. 29, when the New England male revue show Men in Motion comes to Martha’s Vineyard. In a bid to warm up the approaching winter, Outerland is importing professional male dancers for a fun evening that begins with dinner and drinks at the club’s bistro from 5 to 9 p.m. Show time is 8 p.m. and tickets are $12 at the door for ages 18 and over.
Two leaders of the new generation of very talented Irish musicians — pipe and flute player Louise Mulcahy and fiddler Oisin Mac Diarmada — perform a concert of traditional music at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3, to finish off this year’s outstanding Irish music series at Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring street in Vineyard Haven.
This spectacular pairing of two All-Ireland Champions promises energy and creativity in their playing combined with a true love and respect for the tradition.
Perched in the second row of a community hall at five o’clock in the afternoon, a plate of reconstituted Thanksgiving food balanced in one hand, and a decent glass of red in the other — it was an unusual way to take in a festival of modern music. No poorly maintained toilet facilities, no vomit, no overweight rave casualties passed out at your feet. Nevertheless, it was how Martha’s Vineyard’s musical elite saw fit to present themselves on Sunday.
Because he believes classic rock n’roll is ageless, deejay and James Dean impersonater Ray Whitaker hosts a night of boppin’ to the oldies on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Outerland. Called Burgers, Brew and Bop, the benefit event begins at 7:30 p.m. The guest with the best costume wins dinner for four at Gigs Bistro, and second place costume winner receives two tickets to an Outerland show.
Tickets are $10, and include a donation to Vineyard Nursing Association.
