Candlelight and Flights

If you have not had a chance to catch one of the Candlelight concerts hosted by Fever, I highly recommend you make plans to catch one soon. Recently, we had a chance to catch A Tribute to Miles Davis hosted by City Winery in Washington, DC and we were not disappointed. While the food at City Winery could use a little TLC, the vibe, the band, and the wine made it all worthwhile.

Ushered into a space of near darkness, concertgoers find themselves warmed by hundreds of dimly lit candles giving off an almost ethereal glow.

This experience is a delight for the senses. The venue is just intimate enough to feel like the band is playing just for you. The wine, City Winery's proprietary brand, is flowing, filling the room with a familiar smell of cork and fermentation (Remind me to review their wine in a later post). As a wine lover and blogger, I know that reviewing the wine should have been my priority but, I was too moved by the ambiance.

Now on to the band. I consider myself a lover of all things jazz. Jazz has always made me feel like a real 'grown-up'. It cools me instantly on a hot day, calms my anxiety when it flares up, and gives me an air of bravado-- or so I'd like to think.

When I was a little girl, I was taken in by movies like Love Jones and Brown Sugar. In Love Jones, Darius Lovehall and his impossibly cool, hyper-accomplished group of friends, spent their weekends in smoky lounges, surrounded by a graveyard of emptied glasses, an ashtray overflowing with extinguished cigarettes, fervently debating politics and modern philosophy; all to the chaotic soundtrack of Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. It was scenes like these that shaped my concept of what adulthood meant and would mean to me, and how I knew I wanted to live.

Back to the Quintet, they were spot on, paying homage to Mr. Davis' best works while showcasing some original pieces inspired by the late great virtuoso.

If you have an opportunity to attend one of these concerts, I can't promise that the food will be good or that wine will change your life, but I can promise you a great time.