Night Scene: Gordon's guitar jazz ideal for a summertime chill
Erik Kellar / Staff

Tom Gordon performs at the Bella Sera Resort in Naples every Friday.

By ELIZABETH WENDT-KELLAR
June 25, 2004

Summer has settled in, which means we all must, too.

It's a nice time to be in South Florida, if you can manage the heat, and we each find our ways to do that. Drink iced drinks. Stay indoors. Avoid pants. Whatever works, as long as it is relaxed.

It is also a nice time to find some easygoing entertainment to match this attitude. Something suitable for summer nights, when the light is low and the mood is mellow.

Tom Gordon fits neatly into this category, with his classical guitar and repertoire of jazz and pop music. His performances are entirely acoustic and entirely lovely, soft stuff that demands little from listeners except that they be prepared to languish for an evening.

His covers include traditional latin jazz favorites such as Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Girl from Ipanema" and almost everything by Carlos Santana, but there are unexpected introductions, such as The Eagles' "Tequila Sunrise" and the Bee Gees' "Emotion." 

He also drops in some Stevie Wonder and standards by Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery (one of his favorite jazz guitarists) and George Benson.

"I take a pop song people know and put a jazz spin on them," Gordon says of his style.

"My taste matured from rock  to  R&B and now it's at a jazz point, which is my favorite to play," Gordon says.

Gordon's sound is polished, not piped-in. It's substantial, too, not too drafty or gossamer-light. 

Gordon's covers have their own acoustic personalities. He turns up the twang on "Europa", "Emotion",  and “Eleanor Rigby”,  it's a twinkling harmonious cover.

Those who find themselves on the proverbial fence about "smooth jazz" can regard this as a safe bet for elegant evening enjoyment.

For a mid-summer chill over iced drinks and mellow moods, it's an ideal combination.