The Southampton Press
‘Twilight Thursdays’ Unite Wine and Song
By Pat Rogers
The sounds of an upright bass, a Steinway piano and a steady backbeat on drums mix with the amiable din of conversation and laughter. Strangers and friends sit around tables in a Tuscan-inspired room with glasses of wine before them or in hand. Occasionally, couples get up and dance. Outside on a stone veranda, people sit around tables or in chairs overlooking carefully cultivated rows of green vines. Even if the sun doesn’t appear, the view is worth contemplating.
Welcome to Twilight Thursdays, when the hours between 6 and 8 p.m. sparkle with the sounds of jazz standards at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack. The improvisational music is by jazz duo Peter Martin Weiss and Jane Hastay, who are joined by percussionist John Cataletto. The wine is by Wolffer. So is the view. Conversation is provided by people turning out for the weekly event. And unless you’re meeting four or five friends, chances are you’ll be sitting next to people you don’t know. “I think it’s great,” said Amber Kopcza in between dancing with Robert Gurvich. “The music is great. The wine is great and it’s a beautiful place. We love to dance. How much more romantic can you get?”
Ms. Hastay and Mr. Weiss are both professional musicians with master’s degrees, numerous recording credits, and a following. Married for 13 years, the couple first met while Mr. Weiss was touring with the Etta Jones-Houston Person quintet. Six months later, the musicians married and settled in New York City.
In Manhattan, Ms. Hastay performed at the Blue Note, the Lennox Lounge, The Five Spot, DeFemios and at the New Haven and Newark jazz festivals. She toured Japan with the all-women Kit McClure Big Band, produced an International Women in Jazz-sponsored concert and performed extensively. She graduated from Manhattan School of Music. While living in San Francisco, she led the Jane Hastay Trio, which performed for four years at the Fairmont Hotel. The violin, bass and piano trio performed 1930s and ’40s standards—the same repertoire she draws on for Twilight Thursdays—plus Broadway, classical and pop selections.
Mr. Weiss also has a master’s in music from Manhattan School, obtained before he met Ms. Hastay. In addition, Mr. Weiss studied at Berklee College of Music. He also studied bass for six years with Homer Mensch, a principal of the New York Philharmonic.
Mr. Weiss performed worldwide with the Houston Person-Etta Jones Quintet. In the 10 years he played with the group, they appeared at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Mount Fuji Jazz Festival, the DeMaurier International Festivals, held in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa, and the International Festival of Trinidad. They also played concert tours in the United States, China, Japan, Europe and Canada and appeared on television and radio.
Mr. Weiss has played on more than 25 CDs. He also performed with the Greenwich Village Symphony for 11 years, with the Bronx Symphony, the Bronx Chamber Orchestra and the Catskill Symphony Orchestra, and was a bass soloist in the International String Conference. In 1998, the pair released their first CD, “NeverNeverLand.”
Since moving to Springs several years ago, the two musicians have quickly become part of the musical landscape on the East End. Besides performing regularly, Ms Hastay was the choral conductor at the Ross School for two years and is the organist at two area churches. Mr. Weiss teaches bass and guitar at his music studio, in addition to performing. Both are members of the Choral Society of the Hamptons, and they recently headed a vocal workshop for adults and staged a performance at Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton. Currently, they have a weekly gig at Mary Jane’s restaurant in East Hampton on Saturdays from 7:30 to 10:30. The couple also performs at Wolffer on Sundays from 2 to 4. They will be at Pierre’s in Bridgehampton on July 3 from 6:30 to 9:30.
At Twilight Thursdays, both halves of the musical couple are apt to sing. As comfortable and accomplished vocally as they are instrumentally, Mr. Weiss has a deep, woody voice that is pleasing by itself or as a complement to Ms. Hastay’s sultry stylings. The couple’s sound is rounded out by the steady and supportive percussion of Mr. Cataletto, a longtime musician from East Hampton who cut his professional teeth playing in the army. Ms. Calden hopes Twilight Thursdays will take on a life of its own as summer heats up. “All of our tables were full on the very first night.”