Burgers ‘n’ Blues — The Joe Satz Trio returns to Delicias Restaurant Aug. 25
The Joe Satz Trio, playing some of the world’s finest jazz standards, will return to Delicias Restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe on Thursday, Aug. 25, for a night of “burgers and blues.”
The Trio is now a quartet with the addition of Susie Lotzof, a vocalist in the best tradition of torch singers Lena Horne and Ella Fitzgerald. “She doesn’t just sing – she performs,” said bassist Rocky Smolin. “She knocked their socks off when we played at the City Ballet Gala last fall.”
“But the thing which really changed us musically was her interpretation of great blues standards like Stormy Monday, Hey Sweet Man, and Guilty. So we’ve added a lot of blues standards to our regular mix of jazz standards.”
Thursday night is Burger Night at Delicias. Delicias Burger Night offers a variety of burgers for every burger palate. From Kobe to Garden Burgers, turkey, bison, lamb – there’s a burger for everybody – with sides of herbed or sweet potato fries, onion rings and house-made chips. “It should be a real party — more fun, more casual and a bit easier on the pocketbook”, said Branden Rinker, night manager of the upscale Rancho Santa Fe eatery.
The quartet’s unique repertoire of blues and jazz standards has made the group sought after locally for private parties, fundraisers and sophisticated background music at high-end restaurants and other social affairs.
Keyboardist Joe Satz began playing piano when he was 7 years old and played the Catskills as a college student. He moved from the east coast to La Jolla in 1979 and started playing professionally again in 2005.
Drummer Lee Sarokin, a Rancho Santa Fe resident since 1996, graduated from Dartmouth in 1949. After touring with his band in Europe and playing alongside such greats as James Moody, he returned to the U.S. and entered law school. He retired in 1996 after a long and distinguished career as a lawyer and renowned judge, and started drumming again five years ago with Joe Satz.
Bassist, semi-retired software developer and Del Mar resident Rocky Smolin describes himself as “a refugee from rock and cover bands.” A lifelong guitarist who switched to bass several years ago, Smolin said, “This is music with wonderful lyrics, and even more wonderful chords and melodies. There’s a real revival of this style now. People loved it when it was popular in the ‘40s and ‘50s. And they are loving it again today.”
The restaurant, located at 6106 Paseo Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe, offers Happy Hour Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m., with fine dining every night except Sundays. For more information or reservations, call Delicias at 858-756-8000.