It was a cool Sunday morning that promised to be hot later, but at that time, a stroll downtown in Annapolis made perfect sense. On that morning, I headed to 49 West Coffeehouse with a purpose because after writing about the magnificent little gem, I finally made time to go there. Brazilian singer Jonathan West was on the guitar, hunched in a corner, almost in an effort to get as close to his music as possible. He sat on a simple black stool in front of a brick rustic fireplace. There was nothing striking about the stage, for lack of a better term, but the music that came from Stone lulled like waves. It was soothing and paralleled the comforting, homey feeling the rather small coffeeshop emits.
Now, onto the actual event–morning music from Jonathan Stone. Stone used the same guitar and didn’t have any other instruments with him. The strum from his guitar perfectly complemented Portuguese lyrics. Although I could not understand Stone’s words, there were a lot of “bum bums” and whistling. And oddly enough, the foreign lyrics only lended a hand to carry out the easy-going feel. Later on, Stone sang a few songs of spring and love in English.
People all around me talked of plans for that night, family gossip, and movies they hoped to see. Servers floated around with piping hot cups of coffee, creamy mocha lattes, and spinach quiches. Some who came in grabbed newspapers to peruse, others were like me and just wanted to revel in the pleasure of doing nothing. A little curly-haired girl scooted up to Stone and stuck a couple bucks in his tip jar. He smiled and continued with his lullaby. Everything seemed at peace then.
If I only learned two things that Sunday morning, it’s that 49 West is a new favorite hangout and that Jonathan Stone completely captured the coffeehouse music vibe. Oh, and one more thing: I’ll be going back to 49 West for more.
If you missed Jonathan Stone that Sunday morning, see him the next Sunday. Stone plays at 10 a.m. on Sundays for free. Go to www.49westcoffeehouse.com to learn about the other performances they host.
Take the time this week to enjoy simple things, like soothing music accompanied by a cup of fresh-brewed coffee. It’s summertime after all!
Jonathan Stone has a sultry singing voice. I became acquainted with him a couple of years ago. He approached me, since he’d noticed me enjoying his performance. I’m familiar with some of the music he’s played (Jobim and Gilberto). They’re great compositions. Jonathan is also a terrific muse for a burgeoning writer.