Dry Martini was formed in 2019 after Mike Knutson and J. Michael Newlight met over coffee at the Rustic Café in Fairhaven, and first performed together publicly at the grand opening of its successor, Café Blue. Since then, there have been numerous performances at both private events and public venues.

The name Dry Martini is an homage to the alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, who famously remarked that he wanted to sound like a dry martini. It also acknowledges our friends and mentors, saxophonist Brent Jensen and guitarist Jamie Findlay, whose 2001 and 2021 CDs are titled "The Sound of A Dry Martini" and "More Sounds of A Dry Martini", respectively.

Mike Knutson began playing the clarinet in elementary school and moved on to alto saxophone in high school and college. He was in the Ballard High Stage Band during his junior and senior high school years. For many years Mike was an admirer of jazz performances, particularly by The Modern Jazz Quartet at The Village Gate in New York City when he was in the US Army. He was a regular in the audience at Seattle's legendary Jazz Alley. After moving to Fairhaven in 2016, Mike took up the alto sax again: taking lessons, performing in the Skagit Community Band and forming Dry Martini with J. Michael Newlight in 2019. Mike is a devoted family man, dog lover and collector of vintage saxophones.

J. Michael Newlight started on guitar in high school. In the ‘70s, he performed throughout the Northwest as half of the folk duo Judith & Michael. Later, he and his nasty black Les Paul Custom guitar fronted the short-lived Bellingham rock band Secret Lives. Then came solo performances here and there as blues musician Mike Leo. At last, following this restless many-decade journey through folk, blues and rock, he has arrived at relaxed domesticity, bossa nova and cool jazz.

Steve Webber-Plank began his initial percussion journey in 1956 at a So Cal music store with weekly lessons and he worked his way thru high school playing Sat night Two Step & Polka gigs in a country Italian pizzeria and road house. His real love was Afro-Cuban Caribbean rhythms popular at the time and he bonded with the Bossa Nova tunes introduced in the late ‘50’s. Big Band greats like Benny Goodman and his Carnegie Hall performance played a role in his love for rhythm, with the early Be-bop and later smooth jazz era of the mid-century music scene. He’s pleased to partner with Bellingham’s Dry Martini and share the Love.




2024 Performance Schedule


Coming


Monday, March 18th
Private Event (Dynasty Winery)
2:00-4:00pm

Friday, April 5th
Corner Taphouse
1125 Finnegan Way, #103, in Fairhaven
Jazz!
7:00-9:00pm

Gone


Friday, February 2nd
Skylarks Hidden Cafe
1308 11th Street in Fairhaven
BOSSA NOVA NIGHT!
8:00-10:00pm

Saturday, February 17th
Private Event (Jansen Art Center)
5:30-8:30pm


2023 Performance Schedule


Friday, December 22nd
Skylarks Hidden Cafe
1308 11th Street in Fairhaven
More Jazz!
8:00-10:00pm

Friday, December 8th
Corner Taphouse
1125 Finnegan Way, #103, in Fairhaven
Jazz!
7:00-9:00pm
Saturday, November 18th
Sycamore Square Atrium
1200 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
4:00-6:00pm

Friday, November 10th
Skylarks Hidden Cafe
1308 11th Street in Fairhaven
8:00-10:00pm

Monday, November 6th
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
Happy Hour Music Monday
3:30-5:00pm

Wednesday, October 18th
Corner Taphouse
1125 Finnegan Way, #103, in Fairhaven
Jazz!
6:00-8:00pm

Monday, September 18th
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
Happy Hour Music Monday
3:30-5:00pm

Wednesday, September 6th
Corner Taphouse
1125 Finnegan Way, #103, in Fairhaven
Jazz!
6:00-8:00pm

Thursday, August 10th
Corner Taphouse
1125 Finnegan Way, #103, in Fairhaven
Jazz!
6:00-8:00pm

Monday, July 31st
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
Happy Hour Music Monday
3:30-5:00pm

Wednesday, June 7th
Corner Taphouse
1125 Finnegan Way, #103, in Fairhaven
6:00-8:00pm

Friday, June 2nd
Skylarks Hidden Cafe
1308 11th Street in Fairhaven
In the Outdoor Beer Garden
5:00-8:00pm

Monday, May 29th
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
Happy Hour Music Monday

Thursday, May 11th
Corner Taphouse
1125 Finnegan Way, #103, in Fairhaven
6:00-8:00pm

Friday, April 7th
Skylarks Hidden Cafe
1308 11th Street in Fairhaven
8:00-10:00pm
Bossa Nova Night!

Monday, March 20th
The Blue Room
202 East Holly Street #401 in Bellingham
7:00-9:00pm
Doors open at 6:30

Saturday, March 18th
Private Event (Shuksan Golf Club)
12:30-2:30pm

Friday, February 17th
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
6:30-8:30pm
Doors open at 6:00

Monday, January 23rd
The Blue Room
202 East Holly Street #401 in Bellingham
7:00-9:00pm
Doors open at 6:30



2022 Performance Schedule


Saturday, December 31st
Skylarks Hidden Cafe
1308 11th Street in Fairhaven
8:00-10:00pm
Jazz To Welcome The New Year

Saturday, December 10th
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
5:00-7:00pm
Music To Enliven The Holiday Pop-up Market

Monday, November 7th
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
3:30-5:30pm
Performing with bassist Sarah Yates

Friday, August 12th
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
7:00-9:00pm
Doors open at 6:30

Tuesday, June 21st
Private Solstice Event (Chuckanut Shore Road)
4:00-6:00pm

Friday, June 3rd
Private Event (Old Fairhaven Parkway)
4:00-5:00pm

Monday, May 23rd
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
3:30-5:30pm

Saturday, May 14th
Private Event (Chuckanut Shore Road)
1:00-3:00pm

Monday, April 11th
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
3:30-5:30pm



2021 Performance Schedule


Monday, September 13th
Firehouse Arts & Events Center
1314 Harris Avenue in Fairhaven
3:00-5:00pm

Saturday, September 4th
Private Event (Samish Island)
5:00-8:00pm

Friday, August 27th
Private Event (Chuckanut Shore Road)
4:00-6:00pm

Friday, July 23rd
Private Event (Chuckanut Shore Road)
4:00-6:00pm

Monday, June 21st
Private Event (Chuckanut Shore Road)
4:30-6:30pm

Friday June 18th
Lighthouse Bar & Grill (Bellwether Hotel)
5-7:00pm

Friday, June 11th
Private Event (Chuckanut Shore Road)
4:00-6:00pm

Saturday May 22nd
Lighthouse Bar & Grill (Bellwether Hotel)
5-7:00pm

Friday May 7th
Lighthouse Bar & Grill (Bellwether Hotel)
5-7:00pm



2020 Performance Schedule


Sunday March 15th
Cafe Blue in Fairhaven
2-4:00pm

POSTPONED -- COVID-19

Sunday March 8th
Cafe Blue in Fairhaven
2-4:00pm

Saturday March 7th
Lighthouse Bar & Grill (Bellwether Hotel)
6-9:00pm

Friday March 6th
Lighthouse Bar & Grill (Bellwether Hotel)
6-9:00pm





Video Samples

Best viewed by clicking on the pop-out icon  


Wendy
(1976 Paul Desmond)




The Girl From Ipanema
(1962 Antonio Carlos Jobim)




Dry Martini Collage



Take Five 0:03
The Gift 0:47
Since I Fell For You 1:14
Wendy 2:20
Wave 2:54
How Insensitive 3:17
The Girl From Ipanema 3:47
Blue Bossa 4:43
Desafinado 5:42
Corcovado 6:30
Black Orpheus 7:09
Round Midnight 7:38





Current Favs


Afro Blue – 1959 Mongo Santamaria
Black Nile – 1964 Wayne Shorter
Ceora – 1965 Lee Morgan
Easy Living – 1937 Leo Robin & Ralph Rainger
Footprints – 1967 Wayne Shorter
House of Jade – 1964 Wayne Shorter
O Morro Nam Tem Vez – 1963 Antonio Carlos Jobim & Vinicius de Moraes
Once I Loved – 1963 Antonio Carlos Jobim & Vinicius de Moraes
Samba Triste – 1960 Baden Powell & Billy Blanco
Speak No Evil – 1965 Wayne Shorter
Stolen Moments – 1962 Oliver Nelson
Watermelone Man – 1962 Herbie Hancock
Whisper Not – 1956 Benny Golson


Representative Repertoire


A Felicidade – 1958 Antonio Carlos Jobim & Vinicius de Moraes
A Foggy Day In London Town – 1937 George & Ira Gershwin
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square – 1939 Manning Sherwin, lyrics Eric Maschwitz
A Taste of Honey – 1960 Bobby Scott & Ric Marlow
Agua De Beber – 1965 Antonio Carlos Jobim
Ain't Misbehavin' – 1929 Fats Waller, Harry Brooks & Andy Razaf
All Blues – 1959 Miles Davis
All of Me – 1931 Gerald Marks & Seymour Simons
All of You – 1954 Cole Porter
All Or Nothing At All – 1939 Arthur Altman & Jack Lawrence
All The Things You Are – 1939 Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein
Along Came Betty – 1958 Benny Golson
Angel Eyes – 1946 Matt Dennis, Earl Brent
Antigua – 1957 Antonio Carlos Jobim
April In Paris – 1957 Vernon Duke, Yip Harburg
As Time Goes By – 1931 Herman Hupfeld
Autumn In New York – 1934 Vernon Duke
Autumn Leaves – 1946 Joseph Kosma, French lyrics by Jacques Prevert, English by Johnny Mercer
Bahia – 1938 Ary Barroso
Besame Mucho – 1940 Consuelo Velazquez
Black Coffee – 1948 Paul Francis Webster, Sonny Burke
Black Orpheus (Manhā de Carnaval -- Carnival Morning)– 1959 Luiz Bonfá
Blue Bossa – 1963 Written by Kenny Dorham, introduced by Joe Henderson
Blue In Green – 1959 Miles Davis (Bill Evans)
Body & Soul – 1930 Johnny Green, lyrics Edward Heyman, Robert Sour & Frank Eyton
Boplicity – 1949 Miles Davis & Gil Evans
Born To Be Blue – 1946 Mel Torme & Robert Wells
Bossa Antigua – 1964 Paul Desmond
Brazil – 1942 Ary Barroso & S.K. Russell
Bye-Bye Blackbird – 1924 Ray Henderson & Mort Dixon
Chega De Saudade – 1957 Antonio Carlos Jobim, lyrics Vincius De Moraes
Chelsea Bridge – 1941 Billy Strayhorn
Con Alma – 1956 Dizzy Gillespie
Desafinado – 1959 (Portuguese “Out of Tune”) Antonio Carlos Jobim
Dindi – 1959 Antonio Carlos Jobim & Aloysio De Oliveira
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore – 1940 Duke Ellington
Dreamsville – 1958 Henry Mancini
Fly Me To The Moon – 1954 Bart Howard
Footprints – 1967 Wayne Shorter
For All We Know – 1934 J. Fred Coots, lyrics Sam M. Lewis
Four – 1954 Miles Davis
Freddie Freeloader – 1959 Miles Davis
Ginza Samba – 1955 Vince Guaraldi
Gravy Waltz – 1963 Ray Brown, lyrics Steve Allen
Harlem Nocturne – 1940 Earle Hagen & Dick Rogers
How Insensitive – 1963 Antonio Carlos Jobim, English lyrics Norman Gimbel
I Don’t Stand A Ghost of a Chance – 1932 Victor Young, Ned Washington & Bing Crosby
I Left My Heart In San Francisco – 1953 George Cory & Douglass Cross
It Had To Be You – 1924 Isham Jones, lyrics Gus Kahn
Joanna – 1959 Henry Mancini
Let’s Get Lost – 1943 Jimmy McHugh & Frank Loesser
Like Someone In Love – 1941 Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Burk
Like Young – 1950 Paul Webster & Andre Previn
Line For Lyons – 1952 Gerry Mulligan
Little Boat – 1961 Roberto Menescal
Look To The Sky – 1967 Antonio Carlos Jobim
Love For Sale – 1930 Cole Porter
Lullaby of The Leaves – 1932 Bernice Petkere & Joe Young
Lush Life – 1948 Billy Strayhorn
Manhattan – 1925 Richard Rogers & Lorenz Hart
Mas Que Nada – 1963 Jorge Ben
Mean To Me – 1929 Fred E. Ahlert & Roy Turk
Meditation – 1960 Antonio Carlos Jobim, lyrics Norman Gimbel
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy – 1966 Joe Zawinul (for Cannonball Adderly)
Michelle – 1965 Lennon & McCartney – Rubber Soul
Misty – 1954 Errol Garner, lyrics by Johnny Burke
Mood Indigo – 1930 Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard & Irving Mills
Moonglow – 1933 Will Hudson, Irving Mills & Eddie DeLange
Mooonlight In Vermont – 1944 John Blackburn & Karl Suessdorf
More – 1962 Riz Ortolani & Nino Oliviero
Mr. Lucky – 1959 Henry Mancini
My Funny Valentine – 1937 Richard Rogers & Lorenz Hart
Nancy With The Laughing Face – 1942 Jimmy Van Heusen & Phil Silvers
Nardis – 1959 Miles Davis
Night And Day – 1932 Cole Porter
Night Train – 1951 Jimmy Forrest based on earlier Duke Ellington composition
Nuages – 1940 Django Reinhardt, Jacques LaRue
Oleo – 1963 Sonny Rollins
On A Slow Boat To China – 1948 Frank Loesser
On Green Dolphin Street – 1947 Bronislaw Kaper & Ned Washington
One Note Samba – 1960 Antonio Carlos Jobim
Our Love Is Here To Stay – 1938 George Gershwin, lyrics Ira Gershwin
Out of Nowhere – 1931 Johnny Green, lyrics Edward Heyman, first recorded by Bing Crosby
Pennies From Heaven – 1936 Arthur Johnston & Johnny Burke
Petite Fleur – 1952 Sidney Bechet
Poinciana – 1936 Nat Simon, Buddy Bernier
Quiet Nights – 1960 (“Corcovado”) Antonio Carlos Jobim
Rockin’ Chair – 1929 Hoagy Carmichael
Round Midnight – 1944 Thelonius Monk
Samba Cantina – 1964 Paul Desmond
Samba de Orfeo – 1959 Luis Bonfa, Lyrics Antonio Maria
Satin Doll – 1953 Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn, J Mercer
Scotch And Soda – 1959 Dave Guard
Silver Anniversary – 1997 Tim Koss
Since I Fell For You – 1945 Buddy Johnson
Skylark – 1942 Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – 1933 Jerome Kern & Otto Harbach
So Danco Samba – 1962 Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vincius de Moraes
So Nice (Summer Samba) – 1964 Marcos Valle & Norman Gimbel
So What – 1959 Miles Davis (Gil Evans & Paul Chambers)
Song for My Father – 1964 Horace Silver
Song of the Jet – 1962 Antonio Carlos Jobim
St. Louis Blues – 1914 W.C. Handy
Stardust – 1927 Hoagy Carmichael, lyrics Mitchell Parish
Stella By Starlight – 1944 Victor Young, lyrics Ned Washington
Stormy Weather – 1933 Harold Arlen & Ted Koehler
Summer Leaves – 1997 Tim Koss
Summer Samba – 1964 Brazilian composer Marcos Valle
Summertime – 1934 George Gershwin
Sweet And Lovely – 1931 Gus Arnheim, Charles N. Daniels & Harry Tobias
Take Five – 1959 Paul Desmond
Take Ten – 1963 Paul Desmond
Take The A Train – 1939 Billy Strayhorn (for Duke Ellington)
Tangerine – 1941 Victor Schertzinger, lyrics J. Mercer
Tenderly – 1946 Walter Lloyd Gross & Jack Lawrence
The Gift – 1959 Djalma Ferreira & Luiz Antonio & Paul Francis Webster
The Girl from Ipanema – 1962 Antonio Carlos Jobim
The Lady Is A Tramp – 1937 Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
The Look of Love – 1967 Burt Bacharach & Hal David
The Nearness of You – 1938 Hoagy Carmichael & Ned Washington
There Will Never Be Another You – 1942 Harry Warren, lyrics Mack Gordon
These Foolish Things – 1935 Eric Maschwitz (aka Holt Marvell) & Jack Strachey
Things Ain’t What They Used To Be – 1942 Mercer Ellington & Ted Persons
This Masquerade – 1972 Leon Russell
Till There Was You – 1957 Meredith Wilson
Topsy – 1939 Edgar Battle & Eddie Durham
Triste – 1966 Antonio Carlos Jobim
Watch What Happens – 1964 Michel LeGrand
Wave – 1967 Antonio Carlos Jobim
Wendy – 1976 (first release) Paul Desmond
When Sunny Gets Blue – 1956 Marvin Fisher & Jack Segal
You Took Advantage of Me – 1928 Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart





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