Kristin Lish, Nyle Steiner and I had a great night at the chic downtown club Panache. We provided 'ethereal jazz' for their posh Soiree featuring the art of Diane Cliff and the gourmet artistry of guest chef Jonathan Ruppert of Simon's in Midway. To the right you can see the place setting with all the various wine glasses at the ready!
There were 7 fabulous courses each with a special wine paring. John Engen enlightened us about the alchemy of wine, while Shauna Engen, also co-owner of Panache, was an elegant host for the evening. We even had an English Butler dressed in red tails who would announce each course in very proper English, and even began the evening with "Ladies and Gentlemen, Dinner Is Served!" Almost otherworldly!
The food was fantastic and it took over three hours to complete the meal! Nyle Steiner, inventor of the EWI (electronic wind instrument), and EVI (electronic valve instrument) has been all over the world and worked with the likes of film composer Maurice Jarre, joked about his dining experiences while in France. He said "the more expensive the restaurant, the worse the cheese is!" Evidently he was referring to 'stinky cheeses' which I personally love!
Our trio, now called Pungent Lily, had a great time doing standards that always take on a twisted life of their own! We love doing improv and get on these musical jags that lead us into some pretty interesting territory. We're always a bit stymied when asked what our 'genre' is, so we've decided that we do 'ethereal jazz'. It's beautiful, evocative, evolving and arty. I love it. It's so fun to just let the music take you on a moody journey. Nothing about Pungent Lily is linear; we're definately outside the box!
