3 minute read
SOAKING UP THE ENERGY AT JAZZ ON THE PLAZZ
by Weeklys
Pleasant evening as Pamela Rose serenaded the crowd
Drew Penner, Reporter
Blues is a Woman Band dished up pleasant sonics at Jazz on the Plazz, July 5, with San Francisco jazz and blues singer Pamela Rose belting out rousing vocal lines in the early evening light.
To the right of the stage, a group of longtime fans of the musical series were satisfied with the performance.
“It was fabulous,” said Robin Hays of Milpitas, when asked for her assessment of proceedings. “I’ve been coming here for years and I think this year is the best in years.”
Mayor Maria Ristow was also in attendance.
Hays came to meet her friends, and commented that she liked the upbeat rhythms.
“Very danceable,” she said, adding she’d just purchased the An Etta James Summer Card from Jazz on the Plazz.
Her friend, San Jose resident John Jennings, who was a police officer in town for three decades, said the music series is an integral part of community life.
Plus, he added, it was nice to see some “dear friends” during the peaceful Wednesday gathering at the Los Gatos Town Plaza.
“We feel very much a part of this town,” he said. “This is a wonderful town to be a part of.”
He wasn’t one of those twirling and swaying on the dance floor. That’s because he broke his ankle recently.
“But in a couple weeks I’ll be dancing up a storm,” he said. “People love this venue. People come to this venue to be part of it.”
Another contingent member, DebRenée McCarty, resides in Los Gatos. For her, Jazz on the Plazz has an even deeper significance.
In 2004 she went to her Los Gatos High School 30-year reunion and met Sgt. Tam McCarty, now a retired Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department officer.
But things didn’t truly escalate until the following year.
“We fell in love in August of 2005 at Jazz on the Plazz,” she said. “It was the time and the place.”
July 12 will feature Ren Geisick, a Silicon Valley singer/songwriter with Americana roots. On July 19, the Lao Tizer Band will take the stage, followed by MJF Regional Band and Vocal Ensemble, July 26.
