I like steak dinners, cigars and socializing as much as the next guy, but I have to be honest, the real reason I attended the Avo Cigar Dinner this past Friday at Cabernet Steakhouse was to see and hear Avo Uvezian play the piano. And after the boxes of LE 10’s were signed, pictures with Avo were taken and the plates were collected, Avo made good on the promise to play.

We spend a lot of time (and money) on cigars, and as a reader of the Stogie Review, when you hear Avo’s name you’re likely to imagine the his line of cigars. What you might not know is that before Avo was famous for cigars, he was known for his skills as a musician. In his youth, Avo attended the Juliard School of Music in New York City and would later compose and play piano on Frank Sinatra’s 1967 grammy award winning hit, “Strangers in the Night.”

I made a point of bringing my little flip camera along in case there would be an opportunity to record a song to two. There was, and I decided I was going to record as much of the performance as I could so I could watch it again later. (And I have. Several times.) When someone in the crowd asked for a copy of the video, it occurred to me that this might make for a fun thing to share with our readers. So sit back, light up an LE 10 and enjoy. (Apologies in advance for the lighting and the background noise, given the small, intimate environment neither could be helped.)

Thank you, and happy birthday Avo Uvezian!