It seems like all the music stars were out tonight at the Candlelight. It has always amazed me to see who stops by to watch The SoulMates; from the illustrious Mel Brown to the renowned George Mitchell to the innovative Jimmy Sanders. Tonight the room was especially lit up by stars younger and older.

SoulMates’ friend and supporter Michael Magaurn, of video fame and who is about to release the DVD of The SoulMates live performance at Jimmy Mak’s, pointed out some of the stellar visitors to us. Michael always gets that huge hamburger and we always get the fish and chips. We stare at each others' food and say to ourselves "Next week, I'm getting that" which we never do. Michael showed us a couple of guys seated in the middle section. It was Gordie Michaels the great keyboards player whose snowy, wavy long hair made him look like Wild Bill Hickock and next to him was Larry Pindar of guitar fame who looked like…well, Lex Luthor.

Now what is loads of fun is to watch these great musicians admiring The SoulMates. When Jaybird displays his virtuosity, these brilliant musicians would break into a smile and nod to each other in admiration and approval of what Jaybird was dishing up.

It continues to get served up when Jarrod sings "Everything I Need" a Gospel-style composition of his own. Come and dine, brothers and sisters, come and dine!

The second set was a like a big birthday bash for Reinhardt Melz, “the drummist” of The SoulMates, who was celebrating his birthday today. Coming to join in the celebration were Joe Hall, Dan Gaynor and Doug Rowell and also Chris Land who joined with the band to sing a couple of numbers after we were graced by young and gifted Nichole Burke singing an Etta James tune.

However, the nicest surprise was Billy Bradford who had come along with his brother. Both of the Bradford boys are sons of the legendary trumpet phenomenon Bobby Bradford (Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Quincy Jones).  Billy sang backing vocals to Jarrod Lawson’s lead and the result was thrilling. He stood in for two songs and was delightful. Regular patron Tim had come in and politely asked Billy if the seat beside him (at the front) was taken and Billy offered it up to him. After adjusting his chair, Tim sat his drink down, banged knuckles with Jaybird, and assumed the position he takes very week--watching intently and absorbing everything.

Rhonda the waitress was also in especially good form.  She delivers refilled water glasses to The SoulMates and does it without disturbing the music, the musicians...or the water-glasses. She slipped around Jaybird's guitar neck, sidled by Reinhardt's cymbals and dipped past and behind Jarrod's keyboard without ever bumping a microphone or pulling a cord. Poetry in motion.

Perhaps the most gratifying moment for Jaybird personally was the return of drum master Dennis Bradford. Dennis has known Jaybird for many, many years and they played with the Jeff Lorber Fusion and both of them appeared on the “Water Sign" (1979) album, with Dennis appearing the first five JLF albums. As Jaybird says, “When everyone else was copying Billy Cobham, Dennis was creating a new style of swing drumming.

Dennis, however, has been in Tokyo for the last 26 years and has only recently returned home. He had achieved permanent resident status but has now come back to the US, apparently for good.

And what a welcome home he received! The SoulMates treated him to wonderful renditions of “Stay” and “Knocks Me Off My Feet” alongside original numbers like “Man for You”(by Jay Koder) and “Everything I Need” (by Jarrod Lawson).

Reinhardt Melz was sporting a different drum kit tonight. I mentioned it to Jaybird and he said, “Oh, he’s got lots of drum kits. He loses a lot of stuff.” Reinhardt is away for 2 ½ weeks with Gino Vanelli in Europe. We will miss him.

The second set concluded around 1.30 am and one of the final numbers was Gershwin’s “Summertime.” It was a bit of a farewell to summer-time in Portland and was terribly ironic. When the night was over, the band packed up and we made our way to the door. Stepping out into the night, we were harshly greeted by near-freezing temperatures and the assurance that summer-time is over.

But inside the Candlelight, it is always warm and inviting with the food served hot and The SoulMates even hotter.

As Jaybird always says, “We’re going to join you for some cocktails and then be back after the break.”

And so will I…..


© copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

Good Lord, that man has got the complete vocabulary of drumming searching for new terms. Now, I’m not a drummer and, as an old keyboard player, I have heard (and told) all the jokes about drummers. Like, “How do you get a drummer away from your front door? Pay him for the pizza!” <Insert Quick roll and crash here> or “How is a drum solo like a sneeze? You can tell it’s coming but you can’t do anything about it.”

Reinhardt Melz belies all such insults and innuendo. For one thing, Reinhardt has been called "the first choice" of drummers in the Portland music scene and he is performing almost every night in some group (so forget the pizza joke). For another, you truly look forward to the drum solo (so then forget the sneeze joke). He is also a high-demand teacher of music.

He relies on none of the old standby tricks. Bill Bruford’s famous dictum was “When in doubt, roll.” Reinhardt is simply never in doubt! He plays with confidence and even courage every time, all the time. He is entertaining! Watching Reinhardt is amazing as he chews on his lower lip or when he gets that enigmatic smile when he is watching Jarrod or Jaybird. He jokes (“Where did the beat go?”) and he cajoles (“Would only one of you play during my solo and not both of you?”).

He is so adept at all rhythm styles from Afro-Cuban to rock, jazz, r&b and anything else you would care to name. If the Martians have a style called ”Interplanetary Deformed Iridium-Oxygen Techno-Soul,” then Reinhardt could play it.

And why not? He began playing sessions when he was 16. His father is none other than Bobby Torres, who played with Spooky Tooth, Joe Cocker, Tom Jones and on and on… And if you want to watch some fun, then you want to see Bobby playing percussion alongside Reinhardt. When they are both in that groove, the same expression comes over their faces, they both chew that bottom lip (not the same lip, mind you) and they simply command the thunder; like Zeus and Thor exchanging lightning-bolts.

One could go on for a long time about Reinhardt’s credentials but the proof is in the pounding. I am still amazed to see him playing a roll on the snare off of his ride cymbal. When he plays, he is not just the time-keeper. With Reinhardt, there is a sense of propulsion in his drumming.  He fits in so very well with Jaybird’s soaring guitar and Jarrod’s soulful vocals and jazzy keyboard. They are truly the perfect trio… well, more like trinity.

Here’s the thing: I have watched musicians and bands that strove for perfection (and often came close to it) but they never seemed to have fun doing it. With each and every member of The SoulMates, and with the band in general, having fun and giving a sense of fun is among their highest priorities. Perfection will come when the musicians are enjoying themselves and enjoying each other. This may be the secret ingredient in that great chemistry. They genuinely enjoy playing together. The individual egos are checked at the door and they perform together.

Who could ask for a better experience? Certainly not me.

As Jaybird always says, “We’re gonna join you for some cocktails then be back after a break.”

And so will I…




© copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

From the start, the song selection of The SoulMates always hit us in all the right spots. Marvin Gaye, George Clinton and Stevie Wonder. Maybe it is especially the treatment of Stevie Wonder that sits so well. Late in the first set on that first night, we heard Jarrod Lawson (keyboard and vocals) start in with the lines:

“I see us in the park/Strolling the summer days of imaginings in my head/
And words from our hearts/Told only to the wind felt even without being said…”

Of course, you know as well as I do that this is “Knocks Me Off My Feet” from the Songs in the Key of Life album. Jarrod got us with that one… and I mean GOT us. Now, I have always loved that song. It and “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” are my two favorite Stevie songs.

But it doesn’t matter whose song he is singing, when Jarrod gets the song, it becomes his own. It doesn’t matter if it is Stevie or Smokey, he takes the great original and works it his way. Even if it is a John Lennon song, Jarrod breathes his own life into it. Be it blues, funk, rock or gospel; everything he touches turns to soul.

Liv Warfield called him “the truth.” If truth is the unrelenting exposure of one’s heart, if truth is the bare bulb that elicits confession of heart-break, and if truth is proclamation of our place in the world, then indeed Jarrod Lawson is “the truth.” And I’m not lying.

But back to the Stevie Wonder song… After hearing J-Law (Jarrod) on that first night, and many nights to follow, singing “Knocks Me Off MY Feet” we were changed by his treatment. Instead of the song being about Stevie singing to his woman, it became about how I feel about my wife. In fact, when my wife and I listened to Songs in the Key of Life several days ago, we looked at each other and said, “Sorry, Stevie.” We concluded that Jarrod’s version was more about us and for us. “The Truth” had given us a better version.

As we talked about it, we both had the same impression that nothing would please Stevie Wonder more than to have one of his songs developed, improved, personalized, call it what you will, by a young master like Jarrod Lawson.

It was like Bob Dylan said about Jimi Hendrix’ version of “All Along the Watchtower.” Bob said, “I wish he had done them all. All my songs were his.” I would like to send Stevie a recording of The SoulMates’ performance and I can imagine his smile. He would call it a success.

As Jaybird always says, “We’re gonna join you for some cocktails then be back after a break.”

And so will I…

© copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

What is it about The SoulMates that lets them hit you right in the heart with every performance? This has happened since the very first performance my wife and I heard months and months ago. It wasn’t just virtuosity (and they are all virtuosi). It wasn’t just the atmosphere (and the Candlelight Café is an amazing place for live Soul).

It started for my wife and I one day when Michael G, a new-found but ages-old friend, was chatting with us outside his Music School in Vancouver, Washington. He said that he was going down to Portland (“down” as in going south, not slumming) to see a long-time friend of his play at The Candlelight Café and Bar. “Really?” I asked. “Who is your friend?” “Jaybird Koder,” was the answer. I let out an expletive and said, “Jaybird Koder is in Portland???” “Oh, you know him!” said Michael. “Know him!” I looked at my wife, “He’s played with Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Buddy Miles, Jeff Lorber, Gino Vanelli, Victor Wooten and Arturo Sandoval to name only a very few!”

Ok, you get the picture. I was in! It was settled; the next Monday night, we were going to The Candlelight. And so we did.

My wife and I got there a little late and sat in the back. Michael G and his lovely wife Theresa were at a table close to the front. In between songs, Michael motioned us closer… and there we have stayed. We were introduced to Jaybird during the break and it seemed like another meeting with an ages-long friend.

Do heart connections really exist or are they just fantasy whims of our imagination? Whichever it is, my wife and I both felt the tug from the heart of a long-lost friend. His musicianship is truly incomparable but it is the emotion with which he plays that makes the world seem brighter and more hopeful. I guess the word to describe him is “inspirational.”

Steve Miller has said that Jaybird plays the guitar “with truth and warmth.” I would agree and would even add that he plays with “love.” It is not just love for the instrument or love for the music; he plays with real affection for the audience. I have seen great musicians play with great appreciation of the audience. I have seen them play with a true camaraderie with the audience. But affection? I have never, ever seen that.

This must be why Jaybird will walk out into the crowd 3-4 times during a performance. It is not showmanship. It is not killing time in the middle of a solo. He likes to look you in the eye and play for you. Right at that moment, right there at your table he will play for you as if you are the only person in the room.

So, the music is personal for Jaybird. There is a personal connection and a personal reflection of his heart when he plays.

As Jaybird always says, “We’re gonna join you for some cocktails then be back after a break.”

And so will I…


© copyright 2011. All rights reserved.