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Health & Fitness

Mondays, Martinis, and The Mike Terlizzi Trio, Oh My!

Young jazz trio enlivens the Culver Hotel on Monday nights.

As part of my intellectual growth experience (and requirement), I took a jazz appreciation class back in college.  I actually looked forward to the course because I heard great things about the professor and the class.  The class was held in an intimate and dimly lit lecture hall with great acoustics.  Minus the cocktails, the space was as close as a transformation college lecture hall could get to a jazz club.  Unfortunately, the class was at 12:30 p.m. and I was in my smothered burrito phase—when I was addicted to the heavy, carb- and meat-laden meal that caused me to get sleepy.  Burrito plus dimly lit lecture hall with soft music in the afternoon equaled naptime.  Now, no matter what great jazz band is playing live, the combination of sax, bass guitar, trumpet, and other jazz instruments resulted in a yawn. 

But then comes The Mike Terlizzi Trio. 

Perhaps it was because they were a trio of good-looking, hip and probably-my-age kinda guys that my interest was piqued.  Or maybe it was the martini on hand or that I was happily snacking on delicious salmon tartare.  It could also be because they played my most favorite tune during my video game phase: Super Mario Brothers.  Regardless, on this particular night, I was hooked.  I started bouncing like Mario and Luigi trying to hit the gold coins or mushrooms.

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The Mike Terlizzi Trio plays at the Culver Hotel’s elegant Grand Lobby on Monday nights.  The Trio playing in the hotel is another example of the fusion of historic and hip Culver City.  The large lobby with its marble floor, tall windows, and 22 foot ceiling becomes intimate and warm with the Trio’s traditional and contemporary songs.  The Trio  onsisted of a pianist, a drummer, and bass guitar player.  Though they played tunes such as “Favorite Things” and “Misty,” they also mixed it up with some Charlie Brown songs, e.g., “Linus and Lucy.”  The Trio had an awareness of the crowd: they played older tunes when slightly more mature folks were present (such as the hotel guests) and livelier tunes when younger groups or couples arrived after their movie or dinner date.  And even for a rainy Monday night, the lobby was full of couples and large groups, most of whom seemed engaged in the martini (and other choice drinks) and the music.

I still may not understand jazz, but I do know that I had fun listening to The Mike Terlizzi Trio, and that the Culver Hotel is the place to be on Monday nights.

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