Eliane Elias

Right on the Spring Equinox this year, the first daffodil of the season leapt into service outside my office window. So nice to see you again! And since then, he's been joined by many of his fellow blossom-ers. Love this time of year. :)



These flowers have a good long time to bloom yet, too, given the season. Earlier this week, though, we went down to the Dakota Jazz Club to enjoy something that may be shorter lived than the daffodils.

And sure enough, here was another kind of blossom - the chanteuse kind. This one I'm afraid is near the end of her season, though; not yet ready to dead-head, no no, still lovely but beginning to show some signs of being past peak. Or maybe... like fruit that's just a bit overripe: a little bruised, quite juicy, fragrant, but pretty soon it will start fermenting on the counter.


I will say though, her cocktail length black sleeveless shirred sheath dress did fit... like a dress SHOULD fit... just on a 30 year old. One look at her arms put her well past that age. Yes, I know as a performer on stage you dress differently than you would as a regular person going out, but... the down-to-the-hips hair and the hem-well-above-the-knee-pour-me-into-this-thing dress looked about as appropriate on her as it has on Tina Turner or Cher in recent years.

Unfortunately, the club made explicit statements tonight about no photography, even cell phone photos. I have a feeling the artist wants control at this point of what images get released. So I found one on the web that looked a lot like she looked tonight.. with just a little less wear and tear.


One thing that hasn't faded is the way this woman can play! Holy smoke, she's good. The whole band was. Guitar, bass, drums - every player was a gem. They moved effortlessly from samba to swing to avant-garde jazz to Gershwin and back to bossa nova... all in the same (20 minute) song.

I admit I initially thought of her as the Brazilian Diana Krall, and the blond singer/pianist comparison holds, but that's also where it stops. They are nearly a generation apart in age, Krall is a good player, much better singer and willowy in build, whereas Elias is a stronger player with less vocal ability, and more statuesque in shape.

As usual the food offerings were interesting and delicious. Mine was warm beet salad with goat cheese (and slivers of kumquat for some bite). It made use of red beets, sure, but also golden beets and striped beets, all roasted. Who knew there were so many different kinds of beet? Farmer's market, here I come this season! A marvelous presentation and a great taste.



Later a trio of cheesecakes: Meyers lemon with pistachio, key lime (the garnish of lime slice was carmelized), and chocolate with tangerine zest.



Yummy food, yummy music... too bad it might be our last time at this classy venue. I'm sure Toronto has classy venues, too. :) Des Moines, on the other hand... hm. Well, more on that whole topic post-Easter. For right now I need to rehearse my lector readings for the Good Friday service today at St. Rose's.