 Carmen Michelli sips a Cab Merlot at the Thornton Winery Champagne Jazz Series  Brian Culbertson & David Sanborn |
Guest Wine Chix Carmen Micheli is a freelance wine, food and music writer living in Temecula Valley Wine Country. An amazing home chef, mother of two and wine aficionado she writes about those in-the-know and on-the-go. With a pulse on the latest in dining, entertainment, events and more, Carmen delivers the latest news and happenings around the city, showcasing the best that Temecula Wine Country and the SoCal area has to offer.
Dream Team rocks Thornton Winery’s There was not one seat open at the July 15, 2012, sold out performance of The Dream Team, featuring Brian Culbertson and David Sanborn, at Thornton Winery’s Champagne Jazz Concert Series. The duo kept excited guests on their feet, and grooving to the beat of their fantastic and upbeat smooth Jazz sound. During the entire performance, The Dream Team owned the audience by not only playing a flawless set, and engaging eager fans, but by also giving each other a hard time and telling a number of humorous stories stemming from time spent together on The Dream Team Tour. Brian Culbertson shared how he makes the clothes on the ladies just “melt away” with his perfectly seductive rift: “boom-chic-a-wow-wow”. At one point, Brian caused quite an explosion when he stepped out from behind the keyboard, walked around to the front and played a part of a song completely backwards. |
Multi-instrumentalist, Brian Culbertson describes his musical style as “Jazz Sensibility with a R&B flair”. The award-winning musician just celebrated the release of his enchanting 13th album “Dreams”, back in June 2012. “In the gentle lull of sleep, we’re often enraptured in a vivid sequence of thoughts, images, and sensations”. The album is inspired by a bout of strange, vivid dreams of from which Brian woke ready to make some music magic. He has worked with many well-known artists such as Faith Evans, and Brian McKnight. The album has already reached #1 on the Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Charts. No words can describe Brian’s amazing musical skills and addictive personality. I highly recommend checking out his video “It’s Time” for a nice representation of his music and over the top character: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-8uZG4EFRA. Or to learn more about Brian and his musical genius visit: http://www.brianculbertson.com/.
 Cab-Merlot and Cheese and Fresh Fruit Platter  Chilled Shrimp Salad |
Six-time Grammy Award Winner, Saxophonist David Sanborn, released his first solo album “Taking Off” in 1975. David was literally saved by the Sax. He was introduced to the Saxophone as a therapy treatment at age 3 after contracting Polio. By age 14 he was already playing with legends, Albert King and Little Milton. In his almost 40-year career he has achieved 8 Gold, and 1 Platinum album in addition to 6 Grammy’s Awards. His most recent album, the David Sanborn Anthology “Then Again” was released in July 2012. David enjoys making music that “challenges the mind and goes straight to the heart”. Read his complete biography, check tour dates, and listen to some of his wonderful musical compellations here: http://davidsanborn.com/.While enjoying the antics and music of this very entertaining dynamic duo, I relished a Chilled Shrimp Salad with Green Goddess Dressing, and a Cheese and Fresh Fruit Platter. My husband and date for the evening opted for the Jazz Burger and deemed it the best burger in the world. Served on a Buttermilk Bun with White Cheddar, Secret Dressing, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, and Onions, the perfectly cooked and seasoned burger was born to be a star. Thornton Winery’s 2010 Cabernet-Merlot highlighted the dinner and show nicely with layers of ripe summer berries and just the right amount of oak. |
Don’t miss summers most popular Jazz Concert Series in Temecula Wine Country. Thornton Winery’s Jazz Concert Series runs through October 2012. Concerts have been known to sell out so reserve your tickets right away at: http://www.thorntonwine.com/jazz.html.
 Brian & Dave wow the crowd |
