It’s just the place for a weary heart and that place is wherever SoulMates are performing. Exhaustion, grief, frustration all take a seat in the back of the mind when Reinhardt Melz starts that cool groove and Jay “Bird” Koder eases into sonic sweetness with Jarrod Lawson joining on the keys. It happens with the very first bar, the first measure… SoulMates are a refuge for the heart. Monday nights are alright at Quimby’s.

That sweet sexy soul came right us from the opening instrumentals. Sure, we know that the instrumentals are supposed to be the warm-ups but for the audience, they may well be the cool-downs from the harsh day… preparing to get you warmed again in the right way.

The opening number slows you down just right. It is a gentle recline into musical repose and cares begin to wash away.  Then into a cool blues send-out to Michael Magaurn, who loves the blues. You start to breathe easier now. But then the trading between the guitar and the keys kind of gets your heart going again…and Reinhardt…well, Reinhardt is dropping this blues groove that has been described as being like a drum solo with keyboard and guitar laid over it. The guitar alternates between charming and haunting blues.

When the piece ended, Michael Magaurn—a former drummer—complimented Reinhardt’s performance.  It was something that would need to be repeated after the next song…

Bird introduced it as “a little something from the Caribbean.” Reinhardt dove headlong into the rhythm as if he were diving into the blues waters off St. Croix. He was playing only his drum kit but it sounded that there were steel drums, maracas, guiros and congas being played by ten different people. Bird played underneath with rapid-fire guitar licks and Jarrod kept a solid structure throughout. This was stuff to warm you up in the right way. The applause was riotous.

What followed was one of the most perplexing exchanges I have ever heard between Jarrod and Bird. Bird looks to Jarrod and asks, “What do you feel like doing?” Jarrod’s reply was, “I dunno... Feel like making love.” Now, of course, we all know that he was referring to his choice of the next piece as being the song Feel Like Making Love by Roberta Flack. Still, it made me tilt my head like a confused puppy when I heard it. Getting past that, SoulMates’ rendition of the Roberta classic was as soulful as it ever was.

Immediately after this song concluded, Jarrod then asked Bird, “What you thinking ‘bout, Jay?” I swallowed my drink quickly in fear of what his answer might be because I didn’t want to spray anyone near. Fortunately, the next selection was She’s Right (And I’m Wrong).

It was fine blues; so fine that all I could do was close my eyes and just hear it. Bird’s undercurrent was slow-moving and delicate. The guitar solo was fascinating—not blistering or intricate but enthralling in the choice of chord changes and tempo. Bird kept up that magic throughout the song. Jarrod’s powerful vocals in the bridge could almost make the hearer overlook that guitar thread.  All the while, Reinhardt has a fine groove of his own which does not draw attention away but is completely supportive.

This is the thing: to use a word like “supportive” may bring to mind a style of playing that is less than refined or simply in the background. This is not the support given by SoulMates. Their support is in terms of holding up, of providing a structure, which is based on complete mastery. It means that the playing allows for the listener’s attention to go elsewhere. Reinhardt’s playing on this piece allows you to hear Bird’s guitar and Jarrod’s vocals. That is musicianship.

What followed was a rare treat. Let’s Stay Together is one of my favorite pieces of all time and it has been a long time coming into SoulMates’ playlist. It was worth the wait.

Let’s stay together
Loving you whether
Times are good or bad
Happy or sad

This is the happy refrain that is indicative of SoulMates’ approach to life and love. It is something that I have learned from them or, at least, have been reminded by them so often.  In friendship and fellowship, let’s stay together.

Bird acknowledged Jarrod after the song by calling him “the Locksmith of Love.” Jarrod has been given more aliases than Billy the Kid: “The Man Made of Soul,” “Everything He Touches Turns to Soul,” “The Truth,” “The Voice,” and more that have escaped my memory for the moment. But you get the point that nicknames speak of characteristics and Jarrod’s epithets speak plenty about him.

The truth of the nicknames was fully in evidence when they broke into September for the next song on the set list. Jarrod doesn't reprise the electro-funk version of Earth, Wind and Fire, but writes sweet sexy soul all over it, SoulMates style.

Likewise, Bird creates a guitar melody with a repeated four-note descending scale that draws the listener into the ease of the soul. When the song returns to the vocals, all is at peace.

At the end of the song, an audience member asked incredulously, "Are you KIDDING me?" Jay "Bird" answers with simply, "SoulMates, baby."

The next song was shouted out to the lovely Monica... "and her boyfriend." Jarrod corrected with "fiancee" to which Jonah responded, "THANK you." Everyone knew what was to follow, as it is the one song continually requested by the cutest couple there or anywhere.

Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay was rendered with such wistfulness that it turns Redding's blues upside down. Jarrod's delivery and Bird's guitarcraft steal the despair from the song and leave it with a smile. The audience loved it and Peter was shouting his approval from early on.

Reinhardt cuts straight into the groove for You Were Meant for Me. If you have read these articles for any length of time at all, you know how much Donny Hathaway means to me. You know how much SoulMates mean to me. So, you will have no problem in determining what impact it has on me when SoulMates do a Donny Hathaway tune.

But this one in particular... all three SoulMates take possession of this song like few others. There is a gentleness and a devotion in their delivery that is breathtaking. The chord changes and the solos and the vocals and the rhythm rain down pure paradise in the hearing of it. Sublime.

By request, Can't Hide Love was the next and final song of the first set. SoulMates turn loose the church-funk on this one and Peter reacts with joy to it. There is the call and response between vocals and guitar but then the audience picks up the response and soul-church is now in session. When the coda comes around, almost every voice in Quimby's is full-throated in their joining with the vocals. 

As the set concluded, Jay "Bird" introduced the band with the words, "SoulMates! At the drums...Mr. Reinhardt Melz! And in this corner... the man made of soul himself, Mr. Jarrod Lawson!" Jarrod took over the intros with "And the Fingers of Fury... Mr. Jay "Bird" Koder!" A satisfying set.

After the intermission, Jarrod began the keyboard introduction and Reinhardt joins in as Bird picks up his guitar and Bird looks wide-eyed over at Jarrod and says, "I was going to call that, I swear." The song was Colours of the Day. It is a slow blues/soul bit that allows lots of room for vamp and drizzle and SoulMates turn it on. Truth is, the best portion of the song is what SoulMates do with it during the vamping. Just turn these guys loose and magic is the result.

It is a cool slide into Man4U which follows right on the heels. This is Bird's great composition--and he has many--that is just riveting. Riveting, I say! It gets Jonah Kobayashi shouting out and Peter Winchester singing along. Then there's that bridge that is the musical version of Bifrost. Add "Bird's" solo on top and you've got a treat.

I wrote at length about this song here: http://travisrogersjr.weebly.com/2/post/2012/07/birds-masterpieceman4u.html. Of course, it all bears repeating because the song is just that magnificent.

Someone requested a Stevie Wonder tune and SoulMates answered with A Place in the Sun. They had introduced this into their repertoire at the Water Front Blues Festival back in July. It fits them and they fit it. The andante tempo gives the feeling of stroll to find that place in the sun and Bird's stroll through the audience is representative of just that. But he brings the sun with him and wherever he plays is our place in the sun.

They stayed with Stevie Wonder into the next song which Bird called "some baby-making music." It is Chieko's favorite of all Stevie songs. Knocks Me Off My Feet is definitely one of those refuge songs. SoulMates' version has long been a place of strength and comfort for us but I have written of this before.  It is a song that contains some of Bird's most ascendant guitar work, Jarrod's most demanding vocals, and Reinhardt's coolest groove. Can't get enough.

From Wonder to Gershwin... the great work Summertime followed after. It was written by George Gershwin as an aria for his opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics were written by DuBose Heyward, who authored the novel Porgy upon which the opera is based. The song has been covered over 33,000 times, making it one of the most recorded songs in history.

It was first recorded by Abbie Mitchell and Gershwin himself in 1935. It was none other than Billie Holiday who made it a hit with her 1936 recording. Since then, it has become a jazz standard with subsequent recordings by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald in 1957, Sam Cooke (also in 1957), Miles Davis (1958), Janis Joplin (1968) as well as The Zombies in the same year. The Doors recorded the song live on such albums as Live in Boston. In 1998, Hubert Laws recorded the song for the Gershwin tribute album entitled Red Hot + Rhapsody. Norah Jones and Marian McPartland performed and recorded it in 2003. But nobody--and I mean nobody--has treated it as well as SoulMates.

The song's A minor tone make for a bluesy lullaby. In fact, the first time it is sung in Porgy and Bess, it appears as a lullaby. Billie Holiday made it straight-up blues, Ella and Satch made it the jazz standard, Miles Davis turned up the jazz, the Doors did something unholy with it by combining it into a mish-mash with Light My Fire/Summertime/My Favorite Things. Horrible. Then Janis Joplin turned it into a Baroque-psychedelic bombast. This just has to be seen and heard. Below is a YouTube link to a performance of Janis with Big Brother and the Holding Company in Stockholm, 1969.

It is SoulMates who have transformed Summertime into the Soul standard that it so richly deserves to be. I'm not saying Gershwin intended it that way but the place it held within the opera just begs for a soul expression of it.

It was time to close the music out for this Monday night but there is always time for one more Donny Hathaway song and Love, Love, Love is the perfect ending to send the audience home with a smile.

Love love love, why'd you take so long to come to me, oh baby
Love love love love tell me where you hiding
From me all the time
Each time I try to find someone to take your place
It was all in vain, no their lips were never quite the same
When I was kissing someone new, deep inside I was missing you

Oh baby, you make me fall in love with you
Now I don't know just what I'm gonna do
I looked out into empty space and all I saw was your
Pretty face

Love love love love can't imagine what you did to me, baby
And love love love every time you smile, it goes
Through me all the time
Day by day I'm falling more in love with you
And that's no lie, cross my heart and, honey, I hope to die
'Cuz I'm not trying to mislead you, believe me, girl, I really need you

Yeah, you made me fall in love with you
Now I don't know just what I'm gonna do
Yeah, I looked out into empty space and all I saw was your
Lovely face

The evening ended with smiles on every lovely face. No matter what the day holds, Monday night belongs to SoulMates.

Everyone in the place knows the song as soon as Jay “Bird” Koder plays the opening riff. He begins with what has become a signature line for about two bars before Reinhardt joins in on the high hat. Another 3-4 bars and Jarrod joins in on keys, then vocals. The ascending chords crescendo to a quick stop before the first lyrics are sung.

It may be the most requested song in SoulMates’ repertoire. It always brings oohs and aahs from the audience as soon as they recognize what is coming at them. The song is subtle and graceful and was written to the love of Bird’s life… who is also subtle and graceful.

The song is called Man4U.

First verse:
Sweet lady, My heart flies for you
'Cause you are on my mind all of the time
Moonbeam lover, I want to be with you
At this point Bird plays this cool little repeating couplet that absolutely calls to mind dreams of moonbeams and starlight reflected on a watery pool. In fact, it almost puts one in mind of a tone poem like Smetana’s Moldau or Sibelius’ Swan of Tuonela.
Help me find the words to make it right is sung over a guitar gliss that is full of optimism and hope. This is also the first mention of the shared efforts of the couple in finding their life together. It will be repeated in various ways to drive home the cooperative nature of serious love. 
  
Chorus:
I could be the man for you
Yes, I could be the man for you
Yes, I could be the man for you
The chorus carries that familiar guitar riff again throughout these three lines. They conclude the stanza with the assertion that he could be what she wants. “I could be the man…”isn’t an expression of uncertainty. It is rather saying that he will be the man for her if she chooses him to be the man for her. It is not the assertion of a domineering man; it is the cooperative man who knows (and acknowledges to her) that she has a choice. This is a love song from a grown-up. It is rich and wise and understanding.

In the second line of the chorus above, I am certain that I hear a little wolf-call from the guitar. With all this serious attraction, there is also a playfulness. The chorus ascends to a crescendo and then again to a full stop.

In the following verse, the listener has to “listen with both ears” because Jarrod is singing the verse melody but Bird is playing something else underneath it all.

Second verse:
Lovely lady, Walk a while with me
So maybe we can help each other understand is a refrain of the co-operative theme of the song.
We can sing a song in the key of life is accompanied by an almost-lullaby phrase that is very sweet.
All you’ve got to do is take a hold of my hand
The crescendo/stop is repeated after a change from lullaby to funky ballad and the chorus is then pronounced in an almost staccato drive. It is single-minded in  its thrice-repeated line.

Chorus:
And I could be the man for you
I could be the man for you
I could be the man for  you

Another crescendo before the bridge opens onto the most
beautiful harmonic imagery of support and devotion. Again, the tone poem is called to mind because that imagery is remarkably and clearly projected with the music alone. The bridge is my favorite part of the whole song and I love the whole song!

Bridge:
Let me be the one that you can turn to
When everybody else lets you down
I want to be the man inside your eyes
Feel your heart, your soul in mine
If you don’t know by now let me say it again

Chorus:
That I could be the man for you
Yes, I could be the man for you
I could be the man for you
 
The sexy guitar sounds like pure desire. Yet again appears the wolf-call in the guitar lick. Meanwhile, Bird’s running arpeggios uniquely build this feeling of longing in the music. The bridge serves as an interlude of reflection in the midst of the wooing where Bird writes of his own desires before returning to verse and chorus of winning her over.
 
Jarrod gets to improvise in between chorus and verse and Bird always acknowledges him with “J-Law is the man for you.” It Bird’s composition but he gives Jarrod all the space he needs. 

Then follows another guitar solo which is more raw but still contains the beauty and sexiness of the earlier, more delicate, solo. While there is a delicacy mixed in, the listener gets the feeling that in the winning over of his loved one, he is becoming bolder and then following lyrics of the final verse move to assertion and a straightforward declaration of their own reality, especially as the improvisational section returns to this final verse.

Third verse:
 Lovely lady, Let me love you girl
I need to let you know that this is for real
This life we share is no fantasy
Baby, let me show you how much I feel

Chorus:
I could be the man for you
I could be the man for you
Yes, I could be the man for you
The final proclamation has been made and it can only bear repeating during the extended coda wherein guitars, vocals,
keys, and drums drive the point home.

Coda:
I could be the man for you
Yes, I could be the man for you
Yes, I could be the man for you

The masterpiece concludes on the sweetest and most delicate of phrases. This work has run the emotions of the whole courtship/pursuing relationship; from shy intention to boldness to urgency to victory. It is not, however, the victory of  conquest but the sweet victory of relationship and belonging. It is not the conquest of one person’s will over another but the victory of two souls who have become one soul.

This is the music of the soul. It has come from the most personal of experiences and is shared with those whose souls are open to such sharing.

Ah, sweet sexy soul…

Okay, so I ripped off Alfred E. Smith's quote about democracy. Admit it, you like it.

But the truth for me is simple; whenever it feels like life is beating the living daylights out of me, listening to SoulMates is the cure. It has never failed in the all the time I have listened to them live or recorded. Monday nights at Quimby's is the place for just such a cure.

Last Monday night saw SoulMates turning it on still red, hot and blues after their stellar performance at Portland Water Front Blues Festival celebrating the Fourth of July. There were some new additions to the already impressive SoulMates repertoire and Monday night saw the unveiling of some of the new additions.

The opening of the first set of the night began with the warm-up instrumentals. These "warm-ups" have never revealed a need for these guys to warm-up. If anything, it is only to get the gear and amplification tweaked for the night. The musicians are always ready to set a place on fire from the very beginning. They smoke from the very first notes and do not let up until they say "good night."

The first number was a cool jazz standard that highlights Jay "Bird" Koder's guitar virtuosity that surpasses anyone you care to name. Drummer Reinhardt Melz kept the jazz groove on track and shows himself again and again to be the superlative drummer in Portland or anywhere else.

After the first piece, Jarrod was trying to get his own gear back in order and showed the only possible need for the "warm-ups;" warming up instruments not musicians. Into the second song, all three are working over their various instruments, bending them to their will. Reinhardt begins early to introduce some of those funky patterns that make the listener sit up and wonder what it was they just heard. This is one of the main reasons that I don't understand how people can chatter during any performance of SoulMates. You will most assuredly miss something if you don't listen very attentively.

Jarrod Lawson was dropping the sweet keys and had corrected any problem he may have felt needed correction. Then in the third number, Valdez in the Country, he started drizzling where there were no vocals in the song at all. It was a cool cross between George Benson's and Keith Jarrett's vocal overlays on instrumentals.

The song, as always, was sent out to Michael and Theresa G and Jonah Kobayashi knew immediately what the song was and shout out "Valdez!" It is an early showcase for Reinhardt and he never gives you the same sound twice. With every performance that I have heard of this song, Reinhardt has never repeated himself. Not once.

It should always be remembered, also, that this piece offers a really great chance for the guitar to wail and the Bird never lets you forget it. His improvisational skills also get highlighted in his solo. This Monday night, however, saw Jarrod stake his claim to the song as well with his great keys and matching vocalizations.

Jarrod got the nod for She's Right and he got to turn on the vocals proper for this one. Both Bird and Reinhardt play the low profiles here and give Jarrod the complete spotlight. That does not mean that the two of them do not provide absolutely breathtaking accompaniment. The guitar solo and rhythms are sweet and understated and the three SoulMates leave one wishing that this were a 30-minute song.

When the song concluded, Jarrod asked the audience "How ya'll doing?" and someone answered "Ready to make some babies!" This brought uproarious laughter from the crowd because it is a catch-phrase used by Jay "Bird" for certain styles of music which he calls "baby-making music." Some audience member asked Jarrod "How YOU doing?" Jarrod's answer was typical SoulMates sentiment, "I'm just better when ya'll are here."

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this is what makes SoulMates so special. The feeling of community and connection is the foundation of this unique blend of music, artistry and affection.

Jarrod continued his scat and drizzle during Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover. Again, this was a new foray into vocal experimentation that has not been unveiled at Quimby's before. Bird and Reinhardt were also opening new vistas previously unseen. Fifty Ways... was being transformed yet again under the influence of SoulMates. This is commonplace. Nothing remains the same under SoulMates' treatment and it is always for the better.

For the next song, someone in the audience requested something by D'Angelo and SoulMates responded with One Mo' Gin from D'Angelo's album Voodoo. This was a phenomenal album and produced several memorable songs. But once again, SoulMates provide the superior version because of the superiority of the muscianship. The YouTube link below lets you hear the original version.

Bird acknowledged Jarrod with "the man made of soul" nod. The Bird sails into a really soulful blues solo after which he claimed that he wasn't sure that he could "pull out of that one." He did, of course, and brought howling cheers from the listeners. Meanwhile,  Reinhardt pops his rhythms and shakes up the whole groove. Nobody lets up in this one. Reinhardt keeps driving and Bird keeps flying and Jarrod covers it all with the sweetest of vocals. Indeed, this is the superior version.

When the song finished, Lance Giles walked in and was greeted warmly by everyone, as usual. Bird and Jarrod told him that just five minutes before his arrival, they almost did Great Day in the Morning but decided to wait just in case Lance showed up. Bird then informed him that they would play that song last and make Lance have to stay until the very end. You see, Lance makes the trip from Seattle to Portland just to see SoulMates and he has to catch the train back to Seattle. Making him wait until the end is no real punishment as he loves every moment of every performance.

SoulMates then brought out one of the new numbers that they had included in their Blues Festival set. They tore into a smoking blues intro and I found myself wondering which song this was. It was an old Stevie Wonder song.

"You know when times are bad/ And you're feeling sad/
I want you to always remember/
There's a place in the sun/ Where there's hope for everyone/
Where my poor restless heart's gotta run/ I know there's a place in the sun/ And before my life is done/
I gotta find me a place in the sun"

Of course, the song was A Place in the Sun which some mistakenly think is entitled "Moving On." It was wonderful (no pun intended) and heart-warming and thrilling all at once. When the song ended, there was about 3 seconds of stunned silence from the audience. I'm not kidding. The crowd was just enthralled and could not immediately respond to what they had just heard. That happens a lot--silent awe.

Someone requested a Latin taste and when Jarrod couldn't find his chart for it, it turned into a Three Stooges routine for a minute or two with implied threats like "Why, I oughtta..." and "Don't make me come over there." Music AND Vaudeville in one show.

The comedy turned around quickly when SoulMates launched into the beautiful and longing emotions of You Were Meant for Me. As much as SoulMates render amazing performances of Stevie Wonder tunes, it is Donny Hathaway that they have taken to perfection and I am not using the word "perfection" lightly. Jay "Bird" calls forth the most tender sounds imaginable. If there were no lyrics in the song, Bird's guitar could still make one feel exactly what the song intended. It is lovely and it makes me teary-eyed everytime I hear it. Then Reinhardt cuts loose with the Afro-Cuban rhythms that only enhance the feeling. Despite the furious pace he sets in his solo, Reinhardt retains the tenderest of sounds and continues the emotional effusion.

"You were meant for me/ No one else can come between us, love/ I know you'll always be the one/ You and me it seems/ Never had a problem we can't overcome/ You'll always be the one/ You'll always be the one/ You'll always be the one."

To close out the first set, another great song was turned loose for the first time at Quimby's: Signed, Sealed, Delivered. This was fun stuff with "Bird" Koder resurrecting the funk and Reinhardt giving it a pulse. The set closed out to huge applause for SoulMates and for Rhonda and Shawn behind the bar. Shawn was also a Candlelight employee who made the transition to Quimby's seamlessly after Rhonda had come over. The family that parties together... or whatever.

The second set kicked off with Bird's introduction "SoulMates comin' back atcha..." and the sound of Jarrod's vocals preparing the way for Lance's favorite Great Day in the Morning (Greatdayndamonin') which brought a loud affirmation from the audience. Bird's guitar is an incredible display of cross-dimensional playing that is vicious and elegant at the same time. This is one of the many things that sets Jay "Bird" Koder apart from anyone else who attempts mastery at the guitar. His solos brought loud shouts of appreciation form the listeners.

Reinhardt's clap-sounding rhythms kept the groove on a joy-in-the-face-of-despair feeling throughout the song.  It was an encouraged audience that responded immediately at the close of the song. Jonah Kobayashi yelled out "We love you, Jarrod! Love you, too, Jay "Bird" and we haven't forgotten you, Reinhardt!!!" Jonah's declaration is proof of what it is that SoulMates instill and call out in their listeners. It is real respect, and even love,  and that is not feigned or over-estimated. 

I attended a performance by Joan Armatrading back in 1983. Someone in the audience shouted, "We love you, Joan!' Armatrading's response was truthful with "Love me? You don't even know me!" I understood her point then and now. This again, however, is what I mean about SoulMates and their relationship with those who come to see them every Monday night and wherever/whenever else we may get to see them. A mutual affection has been born out of the magic of soul music and these incredible musicians and men. Jonah can rightly say that he "loves" these three and they can respond in kind with complete honesty.

As I have said before, this is why it is called soul music-- because it comes from the soul to the soul.

The next guitar riff introduced the following song with Reinhardt joining in on the high hat to leave no doubt that we were about to hear Bird's own composition Man 4 U. This will be the focus of a future article here. It is sweet, sexy soul at its finest and deserving of a full-length discussion. Stay tuned.

It is one of the songs that quiets even the rowdiest of audiences, except to elicit hoots and dance invitations and moans of approval. It also has one of the coolest bridges ever and it contains one of Bird's most emotional solos. It is soul.

With the end of Man 4 U, Arietta Ward was called up. Bird introduced her and the audience (as always) shouted their delight. Bird had gotten to play with Steve Miller the night before and was now about to embark on SoulMates' great cover of Miller's Fly Like an Eagle. Etta just owns the song as I have written so often before. Etta calls it her "SoulMates staple." But no matter how many times one hears it, it is moving and powerful. And Reinhardt always...always...throws a funky rhythm her. She adjusts--or not--and takes flight with the song each and every time. She personalizes the song and turns it into an anthem. This Monday night, Jarrod backs her on vocals and they take it higher.

Bird's solo rolls on into the blues and Etta could be heard saying "It's gonna be one of those nights." She could sense the energy and enthusiasm from the start and she always adds to it. Bird often talks about musicians making space for the others onstage and this was a great example. Part of that "making space" is, I think, the sheer admiration that the musicians share together. They sit back and listen to each other. Bird admires her and he plays quietly, then she stands aside quietly and listens to his solo. They enjoy each other. And we get to enjoy it all.

When Will You Call Me was next. It is so cool. It is the song to make you close your eyes and simply drink it in... and feel the soul. The chord changes are stunning and Reinhardt's drumming is almost tear-inducing. Reinhardt's heart seems to really possess  this song as much as any other. Even beneath Bird's beautiful guitar, that slowly rolling and heavy rhythm just gets me. That melodic drumming...no one better than Reinhardt.


The talented and lovely Nicole Burke joined Jarrod for a duet of You've Got a Friend...Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack style. It is a song that always appears at the right moment. Just when you need it. "People can be so cold/ They'll hurt you/ And desert you/ Well, they'll take your soul if you let them/ But don't you let them." Sweet and needed.

Rhonda was checking for last drink orders and Tim Leavy was singled out for the final song of the night. And what a song. It was I Love Every Little Thing About You. It is joyful and uplifting. It is also how we feel about SoulMates.

Reinhardt, Jarrod, Bird... we love every little thing about you.


As Jay "Bird" always says "We're going to join you for some drinks and then we'll be right back"... and so will I.

To have missed SoulMates' Tribute to Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack, you needed a really good reason. One special couple missed it and everyone noticed they missed it. As it turned out, there was a very good reason and that was evidenced by the young man's Internet posting on Saturday (the day after the tribute) which read: "(She) said yes! I'm getting married!"

Although SoulMates' fans never need a reason to celebrate, this was as good a reason as could be hoped and the celebration was on. Fresh off the Hathway/Flack tribute, there was sweet music for celebrating as the tribute continued from the previous Friday night.

And it all started with an instrumental of Roberta's huge hit Killing Me Softly. This instrumental version proved the depth of the material as one would tend to think that the strength of the song was in the agonized lyrics. But Jay "Bird" Koder, Jarrod Lawson and Reinhardt Melz proved that the foundation of the piece was indeed to be found in the music.

After another couple of warm-up instrumentals, SoulMates concluded the intro section with their own instrumental composition entitled Bacchus. The fingers, gear, audience and the voice were truly warmed by now as Reinhardt worked over a barrio beat while Bird had taken flight with his guitar solo. The keyboard solo also proved that they were ready to roll.

Attention was then turned to Monica and Jonah as it was announced to the audience of Jonah's proposal and Monica's acceptance. Full-throated cheers went up in acknowledgment and celebration. SoulMates then sent out Jonah's favorite song to the couple, Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay. Fortunately for the newly-engaged young woman, the song does not reflect the young man's work ethic. "Sittin' in the morning sun/ I'll be sittin' when the evening comes..." is not what a future wife wants to hear about her man's prospects for employment. But it was a swinging, cheerful version and was affectionately received by the lovely couple.

With Donny Hathaway still in everyone's mind, SoulMates moved to I Believe to My Soul which contains the great lyric delivered so well by Jarrod; "Last night while you were sleeping I heard you call my name 'Oh, Ronny.' ... When you know my name is Donny!" Jarrod's intonation was filled with bitter irony and it worked. Great stuff.

With Knocks Me Off My Feet, Bird took ownership of the room...again. His guitar solo took him into the audience like a medieval minstrel passing amongst the nobility in a great hall. He was greeted with awed, wide-eyed stares as he played before the assembly. While he was passing between the tables and patrons, it became clear that a metamorphosis has taken place over the weeks since SoulMates had set up shop in the Blue Diamond at 20th and Sandy in Portland's eastside.

The audience had changed. It was no longer just the Blue Diamond regulars who had been there all along nor was it the SoulMates regulars who had followed the band after the closing of the Candlelight. The crowd were now filled with young people. There were 20-somethings in the audience and they were making up a larger and larger percentage of the audience. These listeners had heard the sound of Bird's guitar, Reinhardt's drums and Jarrod's voice and had begun to attend and to bring their own crowd with them. Here was fresh energy and a fresh outlook on music that we had grown up hearing. These listeners arrived after the original artists, in many cases, had already passed. The music they were hearing was not their parents' music but was music that has been reinterpreted and reinvigorated and it is now their music just as much as it is our music. They do not bemoan the fact that Donny Hathaway passed before they were even born. Rather, they breathe in the timeless music of Donny Hathaway or Marvin Gaye or Otis Redding as retold by the SoulMates who belong to them.

They rejoiced in Earth, Wind and Fire's September as offered up by SoulMates. They loved Bird's funky guitar and Reinhardt's blistering drums and Jarrod's celebratory vocals. It became clear that the new audience was also breathing new life into the old audience. It has made me see the music as celebration and not simple reminiscence. Hearing the music alongside them has made me hear the music afresh; not just as great versions of eternal classics but as great music played with...soul.

Now the Remy Shand song Colour of the Day is from their time. Once again, however, SoulMates have made it their own and have given a depth to it that did not seem to exist before. The story of Remy Shand is rather a bleak one, if you will permit me.

Remy Shand was born in Winnipeg, Canada. At the age of 19, he sent in a demo tape which was presented to Motown Records and Shand was signed to the label and released his widely received 2002 debut album The Way I Feel. The album was a huge success in Canada and the US, selling over half a million recordings in the US alone. It received the 2003 Juno Award for best R&B/Soul Recording and was even nominated for a Grammy.

In 2003, Shand was set to release his highly anticipated sequel A Day in the Shade. It was never released and the reasons are not known. More than simply that, the whereabouts of Remy Shand have remained unknown. In 2006, someone who claimed to be an insider stated that Shand had been through a bitter divorce and had suffered from depression. He was returning to music in 2005 when his mother passed, leaving him so broken that he could not even attend her funeral.

The quest to find Remy Shand had become a near-obsession from 2005-2007 but the public have moved on and only infrequently do searches reappear. His website now redirects to the Motown website and email addresses are seemingly dead-ends. His original of Colour of the Day can be heard on the YouTube link below.

From Colour of the Day, SoulMates turned on the juice with All Day Sucker and Can't Hide Love and the latter included an enthusiastic audience sing-along of the coda. Reinhardt's Afro-Cuban rhythms in All Day Sucker simply left Blue Diamond owner Steve shaking his head behind the bar.

Donny Hathaway got a final nod of the night with Love, Love, Love as the young couple were still being celebrated. It was near closing time but few were making any moves toward the door. But the crowd was sent off with the roar of You Haven't Done Nothing or, as Reinhardt calls it, "the doo-da-wop song."

Feeling that good makes it difficult to leave the place that gave that feeling. As long as any SoulMates were around, so were music-lovers. It's tough to leave those who bring such joy. Especially, when you have to wait a whole week...

It was one of those nights when spirits were high and some people were made high by spirits and funny mixed in with the fun.

Where to begin? Was it Mikey G shouting out "Power Mushrooms!" when Jay "Bird" Koder sent out the song Valdez in the Country to him? Or when "Bird" responded to him with "Time to get your fungus on...?"

I don't even know who started it or when but it was a night a cheers and jeers and nicknames thrown about.
"Bird" dubbed Jarrod Lawson "the Locksmith of Love" sometime during the night and I think it might have stuck.

During the "Bird's" solo in the second song of the night, it was a beautiful, airy improvisation and Peter encouraged from the audience, "Take your time! Take your time!" echoing the sentiment we all had that we didn't want to end too soon.

It had been a while since Peter and his lovely lady Traci were with us and they brought the fun humor and their fine dancing back to the Candlelight. Peter keeps everyone within earshot laughing but he takes the music seriously. And their dancing is serious, too.

All the dancing styles were represented on Monday night. From Peter and Traci to the interpretive and freeform dancers to the solo dancers. It wasn't limited to the audience, either. As Rhonda was carrying her tray of empties and the "Bird" was on the return trip from his stroll into the audience, they got into a bottleneck between the tables and they extracated themselves through a funky little dip and swirl without a pause or a misstep.

Another nickname to remember (and he was surely remembered)  was Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins, the great delta blues pianist who had died last March 21, 2011.

Perkins had begun his professional career as guitar player but was involved in a barfight that left the tendons of his left hand severed from a knife wound. He switched to piano and we're glad he did.

He played with Muddy Waters' band and so many other blues greats like Sonny Boy Williamson and Earl Hooker. However, he would not have an album that showcased him alone until 1988's After Hours. He was 75 years old at the time.

As the SoulMates prepared to play the Perkins composition, Reinhardt "Nose" Melz asked about the tempo and "Bird" responded with "Slow shuffle. It wants to go 12/8 but don't let it!" Some songs have a mind of their own. The keyboard work that Jarrod handed in was something Perkins himself would have loved. Sweet and soulful.

Forgive the history lesson above but Jay "Bird" gave us a little history lesson about the Candlelight Cafe, also. The place was built in the 1930's and remains the oldest blues club on the west coast still playing live music seven nights a week. It was originally named something else but it has been the Candlelight Cafe and Bar for more than 40 years now. Sadly, the place is destined for demolition by Portland Tri-Met and is scheduled for closing at the end of March, 2012. Clearly, government has no soul.

Part of the fun was wrapped up in the celebration of the birthday of Jonah Kobayashi. Jonah's father, Mark Kobayashi, was in town from Hawaii to visit and enjoyed the celebration and the music along with everyone else.

Jonah and Monica are those kind of people that just steal your heart the minute you meet them. They are soulmates drawn to the SoulMates.

So Monica escorted Jonah to the front as Jarrod sang his soulful rendition of "Happy Birthday to You." 

Here's another history lesson--that song was composed in the mid-late 1800's by sisters Patti and Mildred Hill.

Seriously? It took two people to write that song?

But in addition to that song just for Jonah, the SoulMates gave him his birthday wish by singing the Otis Redding song, Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay. It was the first time I have heard the SoulMates do that song and it was worth the wait. Once again, it was that vocalization by Jarrod that turned it upside down.

But swirling in the center of all that soul was the introduction of another song previously unheard from the SoulMates. The song was The Color of the Day. Amazing. "Bird's" guitar work was so smooth and melodic. The chord changes were just breath-taking! Reinhardt has nosed into the groove, as always, and Jarrod simply owned the song. The lyrics were haunting.

And I recognize the price that must be paid for salvation
You know that I want ya to figure out
Just what you started in lookin'
When it ain't no backseat praise to put ya under
Do you feel when it's safe to say
How your childhood was all over
Now that you've grown up
You've gone and thrown it all away




It was sad. It was sweet. It was the SoulMates. There was some discrepancy, however,  about who wrote the song. Jarrod said that it was written by Remy Shand. I said that it was written by Jarrod.

Of course, we were treated to compositions by Jarrod with Everything is Clear which featured more of that Reinhardt groove. But for me, Jarrod's magnum opus remains Everything I Need. Thankfully, we got to hear that one in the second set. This again is why I always say..."Never leave at the end of the first set." You just miss everything!

Besides, leaving before midnight means missing Valentine's Day with the SoulMates and who would want to miss that? When the clock struck midnight, it was then Valentine's Day. But then one is reminded of the last line from the Rodgers and Hart classic-- Each day is Valentine's Day.

Especially when you are with your SoulMates.