President Emily Matthews called our meeting to order at 12:15.
Our Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mike Heffernan
Emily then asked Chief Mike Matteucci to deliver the Invocation. Mike reminded us that on this date in 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theater. As our country is marked by divisiveness, not as deep as in Lincoln’s time, words from his Second Inaugural Address, meant to begin the healing between the North and the South, would have meaning to us today. “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish, a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”
Guests: Joining us was our speaker, Alisa Clancy. Also, our former member Phillip Larson was on the call. It was good to see Mary Murphy who was there with her Jazz fan beau, Howard.
Sunshine Report: Emily gave us an update on Delia Montano’s husband, Genesis. He has been hospitalized with COVID-19 and is on a ventilator. Please keep them both in your thoughts and prayers.
Announcements:
- Don’t miss the Friday Happy Hour at 5PMan
- Spring Golf Tournament will be held Monday, May 3 at Green Hills Country Club. The Fiesta Cart will be roaming the course. We still need golfers.
- Our Garden Party at Filoli will be held on Sunday, June 27th from 4 to 6:30. It will be a fabulous and fun event. So sign up and bring guests.
Breakout Rooms: Emily then transported us to small random groups for an opportunity to chat for five minutes. There was a second five-minute round. It’s always nice to gather virtually and talk.
Newscast+: Jennifer Pence was our newscaster of the day. She suggested, that since most of us have received or planned our “jab”, we report on various vaccination adventures. Jennifer asked who might have traveled the furthest to secure the vaccine. I think her husband, Adam, was the winner in that category having driven 400 miles round trip to Tulare County. Most Rotarians found locations much closer than that. Her next question was the preferred arm for the vaccination. There didn’t seem to be a universal preference. For we who got to remain in our car, it depended on which window you were seated by. The driver got the jab in the left and the passenger the right.
Jennifer then informed us that there are actually freebies for those who have been vaccinated. Krispy Kreme is offering free donuts for the rest of 2021.
Jennifer also reported that there are a few dispensaries who will give you a joint if you show them your vaccination card. For maximum enjoyment, it was suggested that you take advantage of the joint first before visiting Krispy Kreme. And not to be outdone, you can send a selfie with your vaccine card to the Sam Adams Brewery and they will send you a $7 coupon to redeem for beer. What more incentive could one ask for!
Program: Mike Heffernan was tasked with introducing our speaker, Alisa Clancy, Program Director at KCSM-FM. Mike’s warm-up act consisted of a number of vintage photographs of many legends from the world of jazz.
A Great Day in Harlem (1958)
Once his Jazz Icon slide show ended, Mike gave us a bit of background on Alisa. She grew up in San Diego in the 1970's, and first got interested in jazz while in Jr. High band (she played drums and piano). While in college Alisa worked at stations WKYU in Bowling Green Kentucky as an undergrad. and then at WFDD at Wake Forest University, while working on a Master's Degree. In 1987 she join KCSM at College of San Mateo. Alisa Clancy is the host of A Morning Cup of Jazz where she provides an eclectic mix of music and jazz history, interviews, and personally curates sets put together from the stations remarkable jazz library.
Alisa explained that her music is a family affair. Her husband, daughter and son are all musicians. She discussed how musicians fared during the pandemic. She noted that jazz actually did quite well thanks to a number of movies centered on this music. There was the animated film Soul, The US vs. Billie Holiday, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. These films were all good for the movie industry but not necessarily for the musicians. With the cancellation of events, e.g. cruises, weddings, etc. that employed musicians, they had to figure out how to perform. Many were able to learn the technology to utilize Zoom, with the help of software, to produce music for online audiences. Alisa then gave us an update on the resumption of live music venues. Monterrey Jazz Festival is planning for September. Weddings are beginning to be planned. Jazz at Filoli may resume this summer.
We were then treated to a concert on a 1923 player piano. Alisa introduced her daughter, Ramona Baker, who gave us a bit of background on the restored piano. Then she set up the roll on the instrument and played The Sheik of Araby.
There were several questions from Rotarians. Nancy Bush noted that the old Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlours had player pianos. The group engages in reminiscences about the huge sundaes. If you could eat the entire “Zoo” sundae you got it free. Another king-size dessert came with a badge that said, “I made a pig of myself at Farrell’s”.
Alisa responded to a few more questions then ended her very interesting talk. We’re all looking forward to live music to be part of life in the Bay Area again.
Emily thanked Alisa and Ramona for joining us. She then presented Alisa with the “virtual” Polio Plus Certificate.