Having grown up during my formative years in Southern California, as a young man, I saw some of the most notable greats in entertainment at major venues in the Los Angeles area and having visited Las Vegas with my parents watched show business legends such as Dean Martin and Jack Benny perform. For a long time I thought I had seen it all and I”m grateful for those memories.
My high school graduation was at the Hollywood Bowl where I subsequently saw Barbara Streisand sing and Zubin Mehta conduct.
I was there on Earth Day at UCLA”s Poly Pavilion when an angel”s voice rang out like a church bell as Joan Baez sang Amazing Grace in acapella and we all sat quietly in reverence and when she finished, everyone seated was so astonished it seemed we needed a moment to catch our breath before realizing the song was over and it was time to applaud.
I saw Joni Mitchell perform with Tom Scott and the L.A. Express at the Universal Amphitheater where tracks from her 1974 Miles of Aisles double live album were recorded.
After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1979, I sat on Jones Beach at the Russian River Jazz Festival entertained by Count Basie and his orchestra and on the lawn at the Concord Pavilion on one very memorable evening Burt Bacharach played while Dionne Warwick sang some of America”s favorites such as, I Say a Little Prayer, The Windows of the World, Anyone Who Had a Heart and Don”t Make Me Over.
I”ve been to more concerts than I can readily remember. I saw Pete Seeger cast his magical spell on an audience of mesmerized concert-goers at Long Beach City College. You couldn”t help but sing along.
In retrospect, I”ve been lucky, very lucky. And when I moved to Lake County, I thought I had a lifetime of unforgettable memories and I was fine with that but I discovered since coming here that my memorable days were just beginning.
This past Saturday I was treated to one of those amazing nights where if you weren”t there to witness it yourself, there”s just isn”t any way of describing. An incredible line-up of entertainment was presented at the newly-converted Live Oak Grill in Kelseyville where previously I had sat contented on Sunday mornings with buttermilk pancakes that floated and mouth-watering omelet dishes that made you need to come back because the food was simply so good, but last Friday night at the Live Oak was really quite special.
What Dennis Booth, owner and founder of the Live Oak put on (a benefit concert for community sponsored KPFZ, Lake County Community Radio) was nothing short of an astounding evening that made those of us who were lucky enough to be there pinch ourselves and ask, is this really Kelseyville or am I at maybe Yoshi”s in Oakland?
A spectacular evening of jazz was accompanied by a cornucopia of thoughtfully prepared culinary delights and when I say jazz, I mean classics I have not heard performed like that outside of on old recordings featuring Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. In fact, it would be a disservice to the very talented and wonderful musicians who jammed there last Friday night to not mention them by name: Jim Leonardis, saxophone; Paul Kemp, keyboards; David Ferrario, bass; Lynn Clark, drums; and Machiko Shimada, vocals.
Apparently this is going to be an ongoing thing and I can tell you that it”s just one more reason among many that I have fallen in love with and I”m proud to call Lake County my home.
Lake County is alive and vibrating with a wide diversity of music from the Live Oak to the Kelsey Creek Brewing Company also in Kelseyville where live bands perform to blues at the Blue Wing at the historic Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake to the extraordinary Soper Reese Community Theatre that energizes our area with an ever-surprising calendar of events that”s got something for everyone.
Since coming to Lake County in 2004, I”ve never looked back and don”t miss anything I may have had prior to moving here. I don”t miss the traffic. No, I don”t miss spending more time in the car driving to and from an event than actually being there. I don”t miss the stress, I don”t miss the crowds and I don”t miss the mess. I love all there is to do here and I love all that one does not need to do in order to have a good time like sitting out at night and stargazing when the Milky Way would otherwise be obliterated by light pollution or walks in beautiful Clear Lake State Park, home to thousands of birds including blue herons, ospreys, Western grebes, white pelicans and even Bald Eagles.
I love living in a place where people smile at you as you walk down the street and in local stores when they recognize you and I can honestly say, with all my travels, Lake County is one of the most fun and friendliest places I have ever been.
We”re lucky to live in a place so rich in heart and so brimming with life.
Howard Glasser
Kelseyville
