The Jazz Corner

MARTINI MADNESS

The Jazz Corner honors some of the great attributes of jazz . . .

Bebop Banana Split

In honor of bebop style jazz

Banana Rum, Cream de Cocoa and Chocolate Milk

Bebop or bop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. It was developed in the early and mid-1940s. It first surfaced in musicians' argot some time during the first two years of the Second World War. Hard bop later developed from bebop combined with blues and gospel music. Charlie Parker and Miles Davis were famous for this style of jazz.

Cal Tjader Cocktail

In honor of the great Cal Tjader

Midori, Blue Curacao, Champagne and a dash of bitters

Cal Tjader (1925 ? 1982) was an American Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his death.

Tjader primarily played the vibraphone. He was also accomplished on the drums, bongos, congas, timpani, and the piano. He worked with numerous musicians from several cultures. He is often linked to the development of Latin rock and acid jazz. Although fusing jazz with Latin music is often categorized as "Latin jazz" (or, earlier, "Afro-Cuban jazz"), Tjader's output swung freely between both styles.

He won a Grammy in 1980 for his album La Onda Va Bien, capping off a career that spanned over forty years.

Calypso Cafe

In honor of calypso joining jazz

Tia Maria, Espresso, Cream, Caramel and Chocolate

Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad and Tobago at about the start of the 20th century. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of African slaves, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song. This forged a sense of community among the Africans, who saw their colonial masters change rapidly, bringing French, Spanish and British music styles to the island of Trinidad.

The steel drum as pictured to the left, is an example of a predominant calypso instrument.

Jelly Roll Rancher

In honor of Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton

Watermelon Vodka, Sour Mix, Sprite and Grenadine

Jelly Roll Morton was the first great composer and piano player of Jazz. He was a talented arranger
who wrote special scores that took advantage of the three-minute limitations of the 78 rpm records.

But more than all these things, he was a real character whose spirit shines brightly through history, like his diamond studded smile.

Licorice Stick

In honor of the clarinet

Black Sambuca and a splash of Soda, shaken hard

The Noun "Licorice Stick" has two meanings:
1. The ordinary clarinet with a middle range, also known as a B-flat clarinet, as played by our favorite Allan Vache
OR
Our Fabulous Martini!

Lionel's Lemonade

In honor of Lionel Hampton

Jack Daniels, Lemonade, Orange Juice with a Sugar Rim

One of the all-time great jazz musicians,
Lionel Hampton first achieved fame as a member of Benny Goodman's orchestra in the 1930s. Though he also played drums and piano, Hampton is most celebrated for his innovative vibraphone work. Red Norvo introduced the instrument to jazz audiences in the 1920s, but it was Hampton who popularized the sound of what had once been considered only a novelty instrument and turned it into a jazz staple.

Major Key Lime

In honor of music

Vanilla Vodka, Pineapple, Sour Mix and a Splash of Cream

In musical notation, a key signature is a series of sharp symbols or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural notes (for example, the white notes on a piano keyboard) unless otherwise altered with an accidental. Key signatures are generally written immediately after the clef at the beginning of a line of musical notation, although they can appear in other parts of a score, notably after a double bar.

Mambo Mango

In honor of Mambo joining jazz

Mango Rum, Orange Juice, Sour and a splash of Grenadine

Mambo is a Cuban musical form and dance style. The word mambo (which means conversation with the gods) is the name of a priestess in Haitian Voodoo. The name is derived from the language of the African slaves who were imported into the Caribbean.

Class and color melted away in the incandescent rhythm of the music. Even jazz musicians such as Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt
fell under the mambo's charm, as can be heard on the many Latin recordings they made in the 1950s.

Mellow Melon Melody

In honor of those famous "melodies"

Midori, Malibu, Blue Curacao, Sour and Sprite

Since melody is mostly a part of the musical foreground, it is one of the easiest aspects of music to perceive and remember. Melody gives a piece of music richness and character. Melody also helps the listener remember and identify music. In most cases, it is the melody of a song that is the most memorable part.

Great examples are "What A Wonderful World" and "Body And Soul".

Mojito Fuentes

In honor of the Tito Puente, Sr.

Bacardi infused with Fresh Mint and Fresh Lime

Born Ernesto Antonio Puente, Jr., was an influential Latin jazz and mambo musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey" (the King) of the timbales and "The King of Latin Music". He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz compositions that helped keep his career going for 50 years.

Only The Thelonius

In honor or Thelonius Monk

Tequila, Blue Curacao, Sour Mix and Pineapple

Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917 ? 1982) had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire (including his classic works "'Round Midnight" and "Blue Monk"). He is often regarded as a founder of bebop, although his playing style evolved away from the form. His compositions and improvisations are full of dissonant harmonies and angular melodic twists, and are impossible to separate from Monk's unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of silences and hesitations.

Orange Groove Crush

In honor of groove joining jazz

Orange Vodka, Orange Soda, Triple Sec and Orange Juice

Named for "groove master" Herbie Mann: In some more traditional styles of jazz, the musicians often use the word "swing" to describe the sense of rhythmic cohesion of a skilled group. However, since the 1950s, musicians from the organ trio and latin jazz subgenres have also used the term "groove". Jazz flute player "Herbie Mann talks a lot about "the groove." In the 1950s, Mann "locked into a Brazilian groove in the early '60s, then moved into a funky, soulful groove in the late '60s and early '70s. By the mid-'70s he was making hit disco records, still cooking in a rhythmic groove." He describes his approach to finding the groove as follows:"All you have to do is find the waves that are comfortable to float on top of." Mann argues that the "epitome of a groove record" is " Memphis Underground or Push Push".

Prelude to a Hershey's Kiss

Named for the famous song by Duke Ellington.

Vanilla Vodka, Cream de Cocoa and Chocolate Milk

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and band leader who was one of the most influential figures in jazz, if not in all American music. As a composer and a band leader, Ellington's reputation has increased since his death, with thematic repackagings of his signature music often becoming best-sellers. Posthumous recognition of his work include a special award citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board.

Ellington called his style and sound "American Music" rather than jazz, and liked to describe those who impressed him as "beyond category", including many of the musicians who served with his orchestra, some of whom were themselves considered among the giants of jazz and remained with Ellington's orchestra for decades. While many were noteworthy in their own right, it was Ellington that melded them into one of the most well-known orchestral units in the history of jazz.

Sinatra's Citrus Tea

In honor of the great Frank Sinatra

Citrus Vodka, Tea, Orange Juice and Simple Syrup

Francis Albert Sinatra (1915 ? 1998) was an American jazz-oriented popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor.

Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a solo artist with great success in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers". His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1954 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He signed with Capitol Records and released several critically lauded albums (such as In the Wee Small Hours, Songs for Swingin' Lovers, Come Fly with Me, Only the Lonely and Nice 'n' Easy). Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label, Coming out of retirement in 1973, he recorded several albums, scoring a hit with "(Theme From) New York, New York" in 1980, and toured both within the United States and internationally until a few years before his death in 1998.

The Big Dizzy Apple

In honor of Dizzy Gillespie

Apple Vodka, Sour Mix, Sprite with a Caramel Rim

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (1917 ? 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. He was born in Cheraw, South Carolina, the youngest of nine children. Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.

In addition to featuring in these epochal moments in bebop, he was instrumental in founding Afro-Cuban jazz, the modern jazz version of what early-jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton referred to as the "Spanish Tinge". Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and gifted improviser, building on the virtuoso style of Roy Eldridge but adding layers of harmonic complexity previously unknown in jazz. In addition to his instrumental skills, Dizzy's beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, his scat singing, his bent horn, pouched cheeks and his light-hearted personality were essential in popularizing bebop, which was originally regarded as threatening and frightening music by many listeners raised on older styles of jazz. He had an enormous impact on virtually every subsequent trumpeter, both by the example of his playing and as a mentor to younger musicians.

DOUBLE MARTINI MADNESS

Martinis for Two!

Bit O'Brubeck

In honor of Dave Brubeck

Buttershots, Frangelico, Vanilla Vodka and Cream

David Warren Brubeck (born December 6, 1920 in Concord, California, better known as Dave Brubeck, is a U.S. jazz pianist. Regarded as a genius in his field, he has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills. Much of his music employs unusual time signatures.

His long-time musical partner, alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, wrote the Dave Brubeck Quartet's most famous piece, "Take Five", which is in 5/4 time and has endured as a jazz classic. Brubeck experimented with time signatures through much of his career, recording "Pick Up Sticks" in 6/4, "Unsquare Dance" in 7/4, and "Blue Rondo ? la Turk" in 9/8. He also provided music for the TV animated miniseries "This Is America, Charlie Brown".

Don't Just Stan There, Getz Me My German Chocolate Cake!

In honor of Stan Getz

Frangelico, Vanilla Vodka, Coconut Rum, Chocolate Milk, and Coconut

In the 1950s, Getz became popular playing cool jazz with Horace Silver, Johnny Smith, Oscar Peterson, and many others. His first two quintets were notable for their personnel, including Charlie Parker's rhythm section of drummer Roy Haynes, pianist Al Haig and bassist Tommy Potter. A 1953 line-up of the Dizzy Gillespie/Stan Getz Sextet featured Gillespie, Getz, Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Max Roach.

Returning to America from Europe in 1961, Getz became a central figure in Bossa nova. Along with Charlie Byrd, who had just returned from a U.S. State Department tour of Brazil, Getz recorded Jazz Samba in 1962 and it became a hit. The title track was an adaptation of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Samba de Uma Nota S?" (One Note Samba). Getz won the Grammy for Best Jazz Performance of 1963 for "Desafinado".

I Don't Caramel Fusion, Give Me My Jazz!

In honor of fusion jazz (which few honor)

Apple Vodka, Buttershots, Vanilla Vodka, Cream and Caramel

Jazz fusion is a musical genre that merges elements of jazz with other styles of music, particularly pop, rock, folk, reggae, funk, metal, country, R&B, hip hop, electronic music and world music. Fusion albums ? even those that are made by the same artist ? often include a variety of these musical styles. Herbie Hancock is a leading jazz fusion musician.

In the late 1960s, jazz musicians began mixing the forms and improvisational techniques of jazz with the electric instruments of rock and the rhythms of soul and rhythm and blues. At the same time, some rock artists began adding jazz elements to their music. The 1970s were the most visible decade for fusion, but the style has been well represented during more recent times.

Fusion music is typically instrumental, often with complex time signatures, metres, rhythmic patterns, and extended track lengths, featuring lengthy improvisations.

Rhumba Razamataz Smash

In honor of Rumba influenced jazz

Mango Rum, Bacardi, Bacardi Limon, Orange Juice, Triple Sec and Sour Mix

In Cuba, Rumba is a generic term covering a variety of musical rhythms and associated dances. The rumba has its influences in the music brought to Cuba by Spanish colonizers as well as Africans brought to Cuba as slaves.

Rumba developed in the Cuban provinces of Havana and Matanzas in the late 19th century. As a sexually charged Afro-Cuban dance, Rumba was often suppressed and restricted because it was viewed as dangerous and lewd.

Rumba developed in rural Cuba, and is still danced in Havana, Mantanzas and other Cuban cities as well as rural areas, especially those with a significant or predominant black community, although now it is infused with influences from jazz and hip hop, such as the jazz of Arturo Sandoval.

Tan Pan Alley

In honor of Tin Pan Alley

Mango Rum, Bacardi O, Bacardi Limon, Orange Juice, Triple Sec and Sour Mix

Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century, such as the Gershwin brothers.

The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885, when a number of music publishers set up shop in the same district of Manhattan. The end of Tin Pan Alley is less clear cut. Some date it to the start of the Great Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph and radio supplanted sheet music as the driving force of American popular music, while others consider Tin Pan Alley to have continued into the 1950s when earlier styles of American popular music were upstaged by the rise of rock & roll.

Other leading Tin Pan Alley composers and lyricists include:

Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, George M. Cohan, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer and many others.

WHITE WINE & CHAMPAGNE LIST

Our bottle list changes seasonally and we try to keep a nice variety so there is something for everyone.

We also have several wines by the glass, as well as half bottles.

Please suggest your favorite and we will try to add it to our list.

WHITE WINE AND CHAMPAGNE

Chardonnay
Bogle California 08 $33
Buena Vista Carneros Carneros 07 $36
Charles Krug Napa 08 $38
Chateau Ste. Michelle Col. Valley 08 $32
Ferrari Carano Alexander Valley 07 $45
Newton Napa & Sonoma 08 $48
Rodney Strong, Chalk Hill Sonoma 08 $37
Sonoma Cutrer Sonoma 08 $49
Stags Leap Wine Cellars Napa 07 $54
Sterling Central Coast 08 $31

Significant Whites
Chenin Blanc Dry Creek CA 08 $27
Pinot Grigio Bottega Italy 08 $39
Pinot Grigio Estancia CA 08 $37
Pinot Grigio St. Margherita Italy 08 $54
Pinot Gris Big Fire Oregon 08 $34
Sauv. Blanc Manifesto North Coast 08 $34
Sauv. Blanc Sea Glass California 09 $32
Sauv. Blanc Whitehaven NZ 08 $38
Riesling Cht. Ste. Michelle Col. Valley 08$29
Riesling Columbia Winery WA 08 $33
Riesling Trullo Germany 08 $31
Rose’ Chateau St. Martin France 08 $39

Bubbly
Perrier Jouet 1/2 Bottle France $41
Veuve-Clicquot 1/2 Bottle France $59
Ruggeri Valdobbiadene Prosecco Italy $52
Villa Rosa Moscato D’Asti Italy $33
Moet & Chandon White Star France $78
Piper Sonoma Brut Sonoma $49
Tattinger Brut France $69
Chandon Brut California $48

RED WINE AND HALF BOTTLE LIST

Our bottle list changes seasonally and we try to keep a nice variety so there is something for everyone.

We also have several wines by the glass, as well as half bottles and a few "rare finds" for the connoisseur.

Please suggest your favorite and we will try to add it to our list.

RED WINE AND HALF BOTTLES

Merlot
BV Coastal Estates California 06 $29
Blackstone Napa 08 $34
Chateau St. Jean Napa 07 $37
Duckhorn Napa 06 $98
Ferrari-Carano Sonoma 06 $49
Gloria Ferrer Carneros 05 $48
Ravenswood Sonoma 07 $36
Rutherford Hill Napa 05 $56
Silverado Napa 05 $49

Cabernet
Cellar No. 8 Sonoma 07 $32
Cht. Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley 06 $53
Flora Springs Napa 06 $57
Grgich Hills Napa 05 $99
Jordan Alexander Valley 05 $98
Montevina Winery California 06 $34
Robert Mondavi Napa 06 $49
Raymond Reserve Napa 07 $56
Sebastiani Sonoma 06 $45
Simi Alexander Valley 06 $52
The Sum Napa 07 $58

Red Significants
Pinot Noir Acacia Carneros 07 $58
Pinot Noir B & G Bistro France 07 $33
Pinot Noir Erath Oregon 08 $47
Pinot Noir Gloria Ferrer Carneros 06 $62
Pinot Noir Jezebel Oregon 08 $38
Pinot Noir Jargon “Just Good Wine” CA 08 $36
Pinot Noir La Crema Monterey 08 $48
Pinot Noir Markovic Estates France 08 $34
Malbec Broquel Argentina 07 $38
Malbec Bicentenario Casa Donoso Reserva Chili 06 $33
Malbec Cavas De Crianza Blend Argentina 07$44
Malbec Vistandes Argentina 06 $35
Chianti Monrosso Italy 07 $36
Chianti Rocca della Macie Italy 07 $42
Meritage Cyrus Alexander Valley 05 $98
Meritage Gundlach Bun. Sonoma 06 $68
Rioja Cortijo Spain 08 $31
Shiraz Angove’s “Red Belly Black” Aus. 07 $34
Shiraz Penfolds, Bin 28 Australia 06 $48
Syrah Earthquake Lodi 05 $46
Petite Sirah Concannon Central Coast 06 $42
Petite Sirah Lava Cap El Dorado 05 $49
Zinfandel Reds Zin Blend Lodi 07 $36
Zinfandel 7 Deadly Zins Lodi 07 $41
Zinfandel Edmeades Redwood 07 $46
Zinfandel Grgich Hills Napa 06 $68

1/2 bottles
Cabernet Rutherford Ranch Napa 07 $21
Chianti Bell’agio Italy 07 $22
Merlot Rutherford Hill Napa 06 $25
Pinot Noir La Crema Sonoma 08 $26
Pinot Noir Row 11 California 07 $26
Shiraz/Cabernet Penfolds Australia 06 $19
Zinfandel 7 Deadly Lodi 07 $21
Pinot Grigio St. Margherita Italy 08 $26
Chardonnay 7 Heavenly Lodi 06 $21
Chardonnay La Crema Sonoma 07 $22
Chardonnay Mondavi Central Coast 07 $21
Sauv. Blanc Duckhorn Napa 08 $26

DELIGHTS

Handcrafted blended drinks, good anytime!

Brandy Alexander

Brandy and Kahlua blended with chocolate and vanilla cream

Fresh Mint Grasshopper

Creme de Menthe, fresh mint, vanilla cream and Creme de Cocoa

Fresh Strawberry Berryetto

Fresh strawberries blended with Amaretto

Gran-Ma's Martini

Grand Marnier, Espresso, chocolate and vanilla cream, shaken and served straight up

Nutty Irishman

Frangelico and Baileys with our house blend coffee

Toasted Almond

Amaretto and Kahlua blended with chocolate and vanilla cream

COFFEE AND TEAS

We feature a wide variety of coffee drinks and a fine selection of teas.

Cappucino and Espresso

We use Italy's best - Lavazza

Chai Tea

A super sized black tea chai with steamed milk

House Blend Coffee and Hot Tea Variety

Our famous house coffee is great on its own and we also offer a variety of hot teas

Iced Irish Mocha Cappucino

Espresso, Baileys, chocolate and milk, shaken over ice

Iced Thai Coffee

Our house coffee with espresso, ground cardamom and condensed milk, shaken and served over ice

Iced Vietnamese Coffee

Our house blend coffee with a shot of espresso and condensed milk, shaken and served over ice

AFTER DINNER

Cognacs and Cordials

Remy, Hennessey, Calvados, Courvoisier, Galliano, Baileys, Frangelico, Sambuca, Tia Maria,
Kahlua, Grand Marnier, Amaretto,
Galliano and Nocello

Dessert Wine

We feature Framboise, Muscat, Limoncello and a Sparkling Red Wine

Ports

Dow's, Taylor Fladgate and Cockburn's