The Electrician and I were lucky enough to go on a triple date tonight with my good friend and her sig. fig., as well as her parents. Somehow, her parents happened to have an extra pair of excellent seats for the Jazz Me Away show at the Shell Theatre in Fort Saskatchewan. To be completely honest, when they invited us to jazz concert, I anticipated an amateur show, something cute and sincere but not necessarily stunning.

Well, let me tell you friends, I was blown away by the talent in The Fort tonight. The show was a double bill: Thea Neumann and Clint Pelletier followed by The Jesse Peters Trio. They were two very different  but complementary acts, and I was enthralled by the whole affair.

Thea and Clint are a couple in real life as well as on the stage, and they are clearly meant to be together. Clint Pelletier, apparently, has been named “Guitar Jesus” by kids he mentors, and the man definitely plays guitar like someone plugged into a higher power. Thea Neumann doesn’t have the big “jazz” voice I anticipated, which was actually a nice surprise. Instead of the powerful wave of sound I thought would roll out of her mouth, she had perfect control over her voice that allowed her to give every note with stunning precision and gripping purity. I was enthralled by their performance.

The Jesse Peters Trio, though, truly made my week. They play exactly the kind of soulful, often rowdy, jazz I love. Jesse Peters played his piano so enthusiastically that he had to search the stage for his wedding ring, which flew off his finger during the first piece. Throughout their tremendous show, Jesse, his bassist, and drummer expressed true gratitude for the opportunity to play for us, and their humility seemed strange to me given the depth of their talent. You don`t see it often. Jesse`s voice gave me chills, which I realize is a terrible cliche, but ìt`s also twenty-five minutes before I`m out of time to publish this post today, so you`re just going to have to wait until tomorrow for something more creative from this little blogger. Anyway, I sincerely recommend you find Jesse Peters on YouTube to listen to his stuff. He doesn`t have a clue who I am, and I doubt he noticed me having a heck of a good time from the front row, but I suggest you listen to the title track from his new album by clicking right here.

My brain aches from trying to wrap it around all the phenomenal music I heard, saw, and sang along to tonight. What a wonderful start to the weekend!

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