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Happy Friday!

Couldn't resist sharing a picture from Monday night -- it was a joyful, musically expansive night at Dizzy's, and so great to see those of you who made it out.

Onto the pairing...

Juice

For some reason, rosé is a category that sometimes struggles to be taken seriously -- perhaps it's the easy style, it's usually being youthful, perhaps the color (as some kind of subtle aversion to the feminine? I wouldn't wonder...)

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Most rosés are fresh, easy sippers -- but that doesn't make them any easier to make well. This week's wine is one I come back to time and time again: Los Bermejos Listán Negro rosado 2023 from Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands.

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Growing conditions are extreme here; it takes expert hands to make such exquisite wine -- intense winds, weather and soil keep yields miniscule. It isn't just technically marvelous, this wine is delicious, and able to age beautifully.

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Vivid raspberry and ranier cherry fruit, with a touch of sour watermelon candy are met with a turkish-delighty rose powder note -- an almost vibrational core of concentration brings the wine to a finish that has all the flair of the volcanic soil in it, it's stony seriousness offsetting the vivacious fruit.

Jazz

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Blossom Dearie's vocal sound is often described as girlish -- it has a light, breathy lilt like the petals of a of bloom in the breeze. (She is aptly named.)

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There are plenty of girlish sounding singers in every generation, but there's only been one of her -- her delicacy and femininity are inextricably linked to her Japanese-knife sharp intelligence, wit, and masterful musicality.

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The category of singers who can sing and play piano with the deftness she does is statistically insignificant since there are so few -- and her humor buoys lyrics she penned and those she didn't.

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This week I needed a tune that captured the concentration and fun of our rosé -- how about this 1930 ditty "Moonlight Saving Time" by Irving Kahal and Harry Richman on Dearie's Once Upon a Summertime (1959, Verve)?

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In another singer's voice (her hands don't play on this one) the tune might be nostalgic sap, but this canary knows how to make it snap and swing -- and brings a smile to your face with each listen.

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Moonlight Saving Time Blossom Dearie PREVIEW   ​

Have a delightful weekend. May I suggest that whole album for your soundtrack?

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Till the next,

Kristen

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