Our September 18th Jazz Gumbo at Phineas Phogg’s in Seville Quarter, highlights Kathy Lyon as she sings music of America’s female vocalists, “Classics from the First Ladies of Jazz”! Backed by musicians Mary Chavez , keys; Steve Douglas, bass, and Lawrence Young, drums. Doors open at 5:30 PM and the music begins at 6:30 PM. Admission for members and their guests is $10, non-members $12. A cup of gumbo is included in the admission fee. The Seville Quarter menu is also available.
The list of featured vocalists includes Mary Ford, June Christy, Anita O’Day, Chris Connor, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Julie London, Diana Krall, Shirley Bassey, Peggy Lee, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Rosemary Clooney, Dinah Washington, Etta James, Carmen McRae, Jo Stafford, Dakota Stanton, Abbey Lincoln, Dinah Shore, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Nancy Wilson. Kathy’s selection of 19 songs were sung by many of the above singers. We salute all of them and their contributions to the jazz legacy.
KATHY LYON BIOGRAPHY:
Originally from Ralston, Nebraska, Kathy grew up in a large musical family, and was influenced by a variety of music as a young girl. Especially important was listening to her father’s piano renditions of Count Basie and Pine Top Smith, and exploring his collection of 78s. She harmonized with her four sisters on traditional Czech and American folk songs, musical classics, and spirituals.
After moving to the Washington, D.C. area in the late 70s, Kathy met Tom Lyon, her future husband, and they started performing as a duo in area clubs. “Two’s Company” and later the “Kat Lyon Band” toured extensively during the early 1980s, including seven overseas tours for the U.S. Dept. of Defense, traveling worldwide entertaining U.S. military and diplomatic personnel. Kathy and Tom produced several showcase performances in Northern Virginia, including a sold-out concert at the Barns of Wolf Trap. Kathy also performed with many other top D.C. area musicians.
Kathy studied Jazz Vocal Performance with the Elliston Music Studios, and became involved with the Fish Middleton Jazz Scholarship Fund and FMJS’s East Coast Jazz Festival. She performed at the Festival many times, in her own showcase concerts, as well as featured vocalist with the Ricky Loza Latin Jazz Orchestra. She toured with the Ricky Loza Jazz Festival to El Salvador and Guatemala in July 2002, and the tribute tour in July 2003 after Ricky Loza’s untimely passing.
Kathy released her debut CD, “Kathy Lyon Live at the TomKat Nite Club” in 2002. Her second CD, “Here’s To Life/Live at the East Coast Jazz Festival”, was released in 2006, and was recorded live. In 2017, a CD containing “the best of” her two recordings was released, called “A Song For You.”
After relocating to Navarre, Florida in 2005, she has appeared onstage at numerous Jazz Pensacola JazzFests and other Jazz Pensacola events, the Jazz-By-The-Bay Festival in Panama City, the Roswell (New Mexico) Jazz Festival, and at the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival in Rockville MD (DC area).
In 2019, Kathy released a CD produced by the legendary tenor saxophonist Houston Person. The 12-track CD titled “Nothin’ But Love” features vocals by Kathy, with musicians Houston Person (tenor sax), along with top New York musicians Lafayette Harris Jr. (piano), Peter Hand (guitar), Vince Ector (bass) and Matthew Parrish (drums), and was recorded at Teaneck (NJ) Sound Studios. The recording was featured on radio programs world-wide.
Kathy’s newest recordings, “Who Knew?” (released in January 2022), followed by “Texas Highway” (released on May 5, 2022) were produced at Montrose Studios West in Ruidoso, New Mexico. The collaborative project with guitarist Rich Chorné resulted in both releases. The “Who Knew?” disc highlights several jazz tunes and two blues tunes, with five of Kathy’s original compositions, plus one co-written with Rich Chorné. The “Texas Highway” collection features seven songs, including four of Kathy’s originals, two of Rich’s originals, and one co-written by Rich and Kathy. Working with producer and engineer Richard Cagle on this new set of songs, the albums showcase both jazz and blues–reflecting Kathy’s passion for both genres.
Several of Kathy’s original songs and vocal performances were also included on Chorné’s 2022 release, “Bringin’ In The Blues”, which won “2023 New Mexico Music Awards’ Best Blues Album”.
We look forward to seeing you there!
