Reno Jazz Hound- Benny

June 1, 2006

Hi, jazz fans:

I know I haven't written for quite a while, but here I am, back in black and ready to tell you all about what Bill and I have been up to!

Last weekend our friend Rhumba Ron, who's also our webmaster, picked us up and took us to the Siena's Enoteca Jazz Lounge, our favorite downtown Reno nightclub. If you like a beautifully appointed wine cellar and fully stocked bar without the clang of slot machines and sans the stink of cigarette smoke, the Enoteca should be a must for your next visit to the Siena. John Shipley and his wife Cherie played, accompanied by drummer Tony Savage. Cherie sings like an angel, and right away she dedicated her rendition of "Cry Me a River" to Bill, cuz she knows he likes torch songs. She also did some great work on material by Sade, Ella Fitzgerald, and Peggy Lee. John is one of the finest keyboard artists around, and his stellar history even includes a lengthy stint with jazz band Hiroshima. Tony Savage often gets hired to do big musical productions here in the Reno-Sparks area, but his usual powerhouse style was somewhat subdued for the sake of the smaller venue; nevertheless, Tony held forth like the pro he is, and his expected fancy foot-, stick-, and brushwork dazzled the crowd.

The place was pretty full, and I got to schmooze with Bob and Jan, Tony's mom and her hubby. Bob's not supposed to be a dog person, but I'm pretty sure I won him over. All night long I enjoyed Glacier Bones (tm), meaning a bowl of ice cubes, and everyone who walked in dropped by the front couch to visit with me, your official Jazzhound. Later singers Sandy Steele and Linda Alexander dropped in and I got to enjoy the feel of feminine fingernails scratching behind my ears: eat your hearts out, boys! Then a real treat came when a young singer, Marquis, took the stage for two songs and won plenty of applause from the Enoteca gang.

After the show Bill handed my leash to our friend Rhumba Ron and Tony led Dad back to his drum set. I usually get to hear my master pound the skins from behind a closed music room door, but he diddled across the heads and cymbals a bit and I even saw Cherie smiling at him. Bill says it's not true that the drummer always gets the girl, but his girlfriend Shamiran might disagree, cuz I happen to know she really likes him.

Previous to the Memorial Day weekend Dad and I stopped in to enjoy Billy Slais playing his sax at Roxy's, the cabaret upstairs at the Silver Legacy, where Slais sat in with Gil Thomas' group. In April we attended the 2006 Reno Jazz Festival and really enjoyed Oregon jazz vocalist Nancy King backed by the University's hot jazz quartet, The Collective. We've been all over downtown Reno and Sparks in the year since I last wrote, enjoying some great jazz. My favorite night was last September when Shamiran took us to the Best of the West Rib Cookoff at Victorian Square in Sparks. Wow, I got to taste some of their ribs AND nibble at 'leftovers' I found on the ground! Now that's my idea of a good time, which reminds me that I need to tell Dad about the big Chicken Wing festival this coming weekend in Reno.Me, I go for the mild sauce since a single experience with a nitro wing caused such gastronomic vulcanism that Dad tossed me out of the bedroom. I'll bet some of you married girls whose hubby's love hot Buffalo wings can relate.

Well, music lovers, until next time keep your ears open and visit NIGHTJAM.COM so you never miss the downbeat!

See you downtown,

Benny, Reno's official Jazzhound

11/29/04

Hi, everybody:

Well, it's been a wild ride 'round town in the Rhumba Rocket for me, Bill, and our pal Rhumba Ron since I was named Reno's official Jazzhound. Bill and I have been out clubbing every weekend, enjoying live jazz all over downtown Reno and making new friends. I highly recommend the Enoteca Jazz Lounge downtstairs at the Siena. Mike and Andee make my master's drink just right, and Andee always brings me a nice bowl of glacier bones, what you humans call ice cubes. I'll be barking out the downbeat on other jazz rooms in months to come, so drop in at this web site often, okay?

This Tuesday is Election Day, so don't forget to get out and vote. If I could vote for anything I'd vote Yes for stuff that's good for education. Bill and I like to visit schools to do lectures on handicapped independence and guide dogs, and to do guide dog "meet & greets" with students who might not get the chance to hang with a working guide dog and all-around jazz lover like me

And speaking of jazz-loving dogs, you can follow the link back to Bill's home page and read his series of northern Nevada jazz articles from the Reno News & Review. A recent one talks about Scot Marshall's Swing Dogs band and how they also visit schools to teach kids about jazz music, including doing fun stuff like using jazz to illustrate popular stories, like "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," as one example, told with a live sound track.

Gotta run for now, but I'll write more during the holidays.

Thanks for visiting my page,

Benny

Benny is Bill Schley's third guide dog. For more information on guide dogs and their training visit WWW.GUIDEDOGSOFAMERICA.ORG.