PHOTOS BY GH ANDREW
By Patty Andrew
D
ecember nights provided great opportunities for live music and entertainment of all kinds in the Galveston Bay area. Lively locales dot the landscape and regularly feature the brightest talents in Texas to put everyone into a holiday mood. Let’s take a look inside a few favorite places to see which artists are bringing a festive sparkle to our seaside shores.
Mambo Jazz Kings
Kelly Williams
MEDITERRANEO MARKET & CAFÉ,
the Nassau Bay venue with exquisite dishes from around the Mediterranean Basin, hosted two favorite performers to kick off the weekend fun: Kelly Williams and Jameela, belly dancer from Bella Donna Dance Company. KELLY WILLIAMS, a well-known singer in this area, sailed her honey voice over the
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Bay Area Houston Magazine | JANUARY 2022
dining room with popular tunes and Christmas carols while diners sang along between bites of feta and gyros. Kelly has a smile as wide as Texas as well as a heart of gold. Locals may also recognize her from her online talk show, T-Bone Tom’s Gospel Brunch, or her previous stint on the Kemah City Council. This woman never slows down, and we are very lucky that she shares all her talents with us here especially her dynamic voice and personality. JAMEELA swapped sets with Kelly to provide the Mambo Jazz Kings colorful and enthralling belly dancing that included daring book acts from the area, they are also fond of sword balancing and colorful pulling in those from further away to give their scarf flying. Jameela is originally from Guam audiences a chance to experience something and is trained as a hula dancer. Noting the different. With Mambo Jazz Kings, Jackie’s similarities between hula and belly has done all of the above. dancing, she has incorporated the best of both into her unique, exotic style. While belly dancing can have a sensual and mesmerizing MAMBO JAZZ KINGS (OR MJK) is a 14-piece effect on an audience, Jameela band that mixes vocals, strings, keyboards, points out that it is a great exercise percussion, and horns to provide a sound especially for strengthening the core, that touches all genres: Soul, Funk, R&B, providing good cardio, and improving Rock, Latin, Jazz, and more. Starting in the balance and stability. Jameela is Galveston County area almost 39 years ago, very fun to watch, and we applaud their members now come from all over the Mediterraneo’s for having both belly Greater Houston-Galveston area to bring a dancers and musicians every Friday vibrant show to their followers everywhere. and Saturday night. Art Lopez, creative director, has built MJK Follow Kelly Williams on to seamlessly glide through their diversified Facebook at https://www.facebook. repertoire that is sure to pull people to their com/SingerKellyWilliams. Learn feet or sing along with the band’s contagious more about Jameela and the energy. other dancers of their company MJK’s performing strength comes from the at BellaDonnaDance.com. high quality of their musicians. Lead singers Mediterraneo Market & Café is Stormy and Starr have commanding voices located at 1400 NASA Rd 1, Unit D in that powerfully support great anthems such Nassau Bay. as The Doobie Brother’s “Long Train Runnin’” (aka, Without Love) or Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” Listen for Ron “Grip” Davis and Almost every night of the week, Danny “Disco” Hernandez’ keyboards on JACKIE’S BRICKHOUSE has Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish.” MJK generously live music on their outside patio or allows its performers to shine in solos such as main stage inside. While they do Ernest Gonzalez on the drums and Fritz
