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Steamers, located 30 miles east of Los Angeles International Airport, is currently the most vigorous and crowded jazz venue in the greater Los Angeles area, where you can enjoy excellent live jazz performances seven days a week.
Mr. Terence Love, the owner of Steamers, has been dedicating himself to jazz; he by himself maintains its web-site, sends schedules to customers via e-mail, maintains the house audio system, introduces artists who perform there, and does many other activities related to jazz. Thank Terence Love!
(Refer to the web site: www.steamerscafe.com.)

The Ron Kobayashi Trio has been performing at Steamers many years on the first Tuesday of each month and with Debbi Ebert every other month, and their excellent performances have been highly evaluated by many jazz critics and enthusiasts.
The trio's 2002 CD, "No Preservatives" (Carpetcat Records, www.carpetcat.com) was described as "a five-star session from three of the Southland's finest" by the LA Jazz Scene. The Orange County Register wrote, "If you define jazz, at least partly, as spontaneity, emotional expression and communication among musicians, you won't find anything better than "No Preservatives."

Among the totally 12 tunes contained herein, 7 tunes are famous jazz standards such as Autumn Leaves & Take The 'A' Train, and the rest are Ron's and Baba's originals.

Review: Page 196 of March/2004 issue of Swing Journal (published in Japan)

(from liner notes on the DVD case wrap:)
The DVD that you hold in your hands could easily have been subtitled "Steaming at Steamers," because that's precisely what is emitted from the tracks contained herein: smoke and fire, passion and emotion, all the thrills and chills that live jazz has to offer.
Fluid, inventive, percussive pianist Ron Kobayashi is no stranger to the recording studio. But for his most formidable powers to emerge, an attentive and enthusiastic audience is required, and that's just what he found on this visit to Steamers - an invitingly cozy music oasis jam-packed with jazz aficionados. The result is a plate-filling evening of standards and original compositions that will have you clamoring for more long after the disc has stopped spinning.
The Ron Kobayashi Trio - Ron, bassist Baba Elefante, drummer Steve Dixon - is a well-oiled, much-traveled, cohesive little unit that (as with the very best of piano combos) essentially plays with one mind. Now you can hear it AND see it: The musicians are constantly communicating, spurring one another on and, most importantly, savoring every note. Look no further than Kobayashi's own "Waltz For Bill," an homage to Bill Evans (to whom he owes a considerable stylistic debt) for a stirring example of this. And don't miss the rollicking funk of "Hang Time" or the hip-swinging, uptempo "I'll Remember April." The churning, forceful rendition of the much-played "Yesterdays" just might be worth the price of admission.
But wait, as those old TV commercials say, there's more!
Added to this already rich mix, on four of the dozen numbers, are the vocal stylings of Debbi Ebert, a graduate of the voice-as-horn school of jazz singing who elegantly meshes with the trio. Ebert is a little bit Carmen McRae, a tad Sarah Vaughan and a dash of Ella Fitzgerald in her performance but, ultimately, she's pure Debbi Ebert. Listen in particular to the tour-de-force "Autumn Leaves," which she manages to morph into a scat-crazy romp, or the swinging, audience-participation do-up of "I've Got You Under My Skin."
Maybe there's no live music in your neighborhood; or perhaps you can't get out to hear it. Until you can, "Live at Steamers" will suffice quite nicely, thank you. It's so much more than just a document or artifact - with its interviews, street scenes and, most important, a close-up look at the musicians in action, it is very much an in-person experience.
In short, it was one of those "You should have been there!" nights.
And now you were.
Enjoy.
(Stve Eddy, Orange County Register)