Jamming ON A FRIDAY NIGHT

Jennifer K Mahal

Looking around the Tee Room at the Newport Beach Golf Course, you

don’t immediately think of a venue for jazz and blues. But every

Friday night, the Mark Davidson Trio jams on its stage with a view of

the golf course at its back.

Each week, a special guest is invited to join in.

This Friday, though, it will be Davidson who joins in, as noted

jazz, blues and gospel singer Barbara Morrison is bringing members of

her band to back her.

“Mark’s an excellent musician,” Morrison said. “We’ll be fine.”

Davidson has been playing jazz piano around Newport Beach since

1960, when his trio appeared at the Sea Shanty, which is now the

Bluewater Grill. The trio’s music is available at

www.palomarmusic.com.

The California-born musician learned the piano thanks to a mother

who was determined that one of her six boys would be musically

inclined. Davidson was the youngest.

He started playing in church; his father was an Assemblies of God

minister. But his first paying job was playing “Blueberry Hill” for a

stripper named Shirley Lane in East L.A.

“When I got the job, I thought I was playing for dancing,” he

says, going into a version of the Fats Domino song on the Tee Room’s

grand piano. “It was an added bonus.”

Some pianists caress their instruments, some pound, but Davidson

really does tickle the ivories. The twinkle in his playing matches

the twinkle in his eyes and the jovial laugh he lets out in

conversation. He is a man having fun with what he does.

Part of his job, he said, is to highlight other players. In

Morrison’s case, however, Davidson seems to feel honored just to play

with her.

“Most singers put on a show,” he said. “Barbara is the show.”

He’s had to learn a few things to perform with the singer, who has

sung with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Etta James, Johnny Otis,

Terence Blanchard and Keb’ Mo. Besides her “wonderfully exotic

blues,” Davidson said she does a few songs that are just a bit

naughty.

“Women and children can still be in the room,” he reassures.

Morrison, who has performed at the Irvine Barclay, said she plans

to do some rhythm and blues, some jazz, some gospel and a bit of pop.

“The repertoire is very, very diverse. I think the audience should

come prepared to not just hear their favorite songs,” she said, “but

to hear a bunch of songs.”

Her latest CD, “Thinking of You, Joe,” is a tribute to singer Joe

Williams, someone she not only knew, but idolized. He sang the blues,

but he also sang other forms of music he was less known for.

“That seems to be my case,” Morrison said. “Most people think of

me as just a blues singer, but I also do ballads and do jazz.”

Actually, the first song she sang in public was not a gospel tune

or a bluesy ballad. It was the Johnny Mercer-Henry Mancini favorite

“Moon River.” Morrison remembers singing it at a hair style show in

Michigan.

“That was a long time ago,” she said.

Performing in a small space like the Tee Room is no different than

a large hall like the Barclay to Morrison, who can be found on the

Web at www.barbaramorrison.com.

“I’m a personable person, so wherever you are, wherever you’re

sitting, in whatever room, I’m going to reach out and touch,”

Morrison said.

That’s what Davidson is counting on for his regular Friday night

crowd. The Costa Mesa resident said that his favorite jazz

performance is the last one that went well.

“Jazz has a certain unpredictable quality,” said the man who also

produces acts in his recording studio. “Sometimes it works well,

sometimes it doesn’t.”

But when it works, it can send chills down the spine. That’s what

Morrison and Davidson are looking forward to.

“I want people to walk out humming the last song I sing,” Morrison

said.”