Now vs Now @ Drom

One of my favorite bands… Jason Lindner (keys), Panagiotis Andreou (bass, vocals) and Mark Guiliana (drums). I was so excited about the album release party – Now vs Now  with guests such as Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Anat Cohen (tenor), John Beaty (alto),  Jeff Taylor (vocals). And a string quartet.

There is something really special about this band - they actually sound hip in a really optimistic, energetic, fresh way – somehow giving a feeling that the good times are coming now…

Atmosphere @ the release was great. Lots of people, digging on the music. I wasn’t that much into the opening act though – Brazz Tree. But Now vs Now show was great – I’m loving the music and the band and the concept. The videoscreen and all those guest artists were amazing. But i’ve gotten a little spoiled hearing them at those small intimate places like Rose and Rockwood – I think there the live energy can get to be even more up.

As one of those Facebook people who actually reads the event listings (sometimes), I noticed that First 3 people to name the rapper on our CD get a free one. Whisper it to the person at the merch table. Well I was definitely the first one to go for that. Answer, of course, being Baba Israel

Now I’m listening to the CD – has Meshell Ndegeocello and Kurt Rosenwinkel on it, among others! I’m loving the rapper as well…

What, I ask you, could be simpler or more pleasing?  Duke will be here for a whirlwind tour where every day’s a holiday:

Sunday,  October 4: at The Ear Inn with Anat Cohen, Matt Munisteri, bassist and friendly sit-ins to be arranged.

Monday, October 5: Duke will be part of the trumpet section with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, which is always a treat to hear.  (Sofia’s Restaurant in the Hotel Edison in midtown, of course.)

Tuesday, October 6: Duke and Ehud Asherie will play duets (and perhaps more) at Roth’s Westside Steakhouse (on Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side).

Wednesday, October 7: Duke will sing out with David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Centennial Band at Birdland (5:30 PM).

Thursday, October 8: He will be one of the stars at Jack Kleinsinger’s HIGHLIGHTS IN JAZZ concert, bringing together Ehud, Anat, George Masso, Jackie Williams, and many others.

I’ve skimped on the details on when and where — but all of these sites have their necessary information on the blog.  Yours in haste – - -

*The Sidney Bechet Society.  We haven’t been able to spend Tuesdays with Monsieur Bechet for a half-century, but time spent with his youthful heirs will be just as satisfying.  Don’t be left out!

Wycliffe Gordon’s “History of Jazz Trombone”

Symphony Space, Broadway & 95th St., New York City       Tuesday, September 29, 2009       2 shows: 6:15pm & 9:00pm    

The Sidney Bechet Society presents trombone sensation Wycliffe Gordon leading a “History of Jazz Trombone.”  Wycliffe & the band will remember the legends of this soulful instrument, jazz titans like Kid Ory, Jack Teagarden, Lawrence Brown, Tricky Sam Nanton, Juan Tizol, Tommy Dorsey, J.C. Higginbotham, Tyree Glenn, Al Grey and Buster Cooper.  Joining Wycliffe will be Anat Cohen, reeds (Jazz Journalists’ Assoc. 2009 Clarinetist of the Year); Etienne Charles, trumpet (winner: 2006 National Trumpet Competition); Ehud Asherie, piano; Zaid Shukri, bass; Marion Felder, drums; Terry Wilson, vocals.   Tickets are $25, available at the box office, by telephone and online at www.symphonyspace.org (use code “RAC102” when ordering online).  Special 2 show discount: get our Sept. 29 & Oct. 27 shows for $44.  This offer is good at box office & phone only—use code “SBS 01”

www.sidneybechet.org

“Remembering Stuyvesant Casino & Central Plaza” with Vince Giordano

Symphony Space, Broadway & 95th St., New York City         Tuesday, October 27, 2009     6:15pm & 9:00pm

The Sidney Bechet Society presents a tribute to two legendary jazz venues: Stuyvesant Casino & Central Plaza.  Joining Vince will be Randy Reinhart, trumpet; Mark Lopeman, reeds; Jim Fryer, trombone; Ehud Asherie, piano; Kenny Salvo, banjo; Rob Garcia, drums, and Ricky Gordon on washboard.  During the 1940s and 1950s, these were the hotbeds of traditional Jazz in NYC. All the greats played there. Vince Giordano will lead a hot band recreating the music one would hear at both establishments. Special guest stars are pianist Marty Napoleon & clarinetist Sol Yaged, who played at both venues. Marty & Sol are 88 and 87 years old, respectively, and still swinging hard!  Tickets are $25, available at the box office, by telephone and online at www.symphonyspace.org (use code “RAC102” when ordering online).  Special 2 show discount: get our Sept. 29 & Oct. 27 shows for $44.  This offer is good at box office & phone only—use code “SBS 01”

Jack Kleinsinger has been putting on jazz concerts every year in New York City for thirty-seven years — including just about everyone alive and playing, including Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Hines, Buddy Rich, and Big Joe Turner.  2009 will be the end of the incredible run for “Highlights in Jazz.” 

I have fond memories of the concerts: in fact, I was in the audience for Jack’s second concert — a 1972 tribute to Fats Waller at the Theatre deLys.  At other times, I recall seeing Teddy Wilson, Buddy Tate, Dicky Wells, PeeWee Erwin, Bobby Hackett, Dick Hyman, Vic Dickenson, Milt Hinton, Kenny Davern, Jon-Erik Kellso, David Ostwald, Doc Cheatham, and many others.  My memory isn’t deep enough (Jack’s is) to delineate all of the surprise guests, but they were happy to be there. 

So consider these concerts!  There won’t be another season, and I don’t see new series emerging that give so much loving attention to Mainstream and earlier styles of jazz.

Here are the details:

Thursday, September 10, 2009 – 8 pm
Cabaret Jazz: featuring Barbara Carroll and Paula West

Thursday, October 8, 2009 – 8 pm
Hot Jazz From New Orleans To Israel: featuring Evan Christopher, Duke Heitger, Anat Cohen,
Ehud Asherie, George Masso, Jackie Williams, Johnny Varro, Joe Ascione

Thursday, November 12, 2009 – 8 pm
Living Jazz Legends: featuring Buddy DeFranco, Jay Leonhart, Joe Cohn, Ron Odrich, Ed Metz, Jr.
and Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Martin Pizzarelli, Mickey Roker

Thursday, December 10, 2009 – 8 pm
Celebrating the Swing Masters:
Ken Peplowski Recalls Benny Goodman
Terry Gibbs Recalls Lionel Hampton
Freddie Bryant Recalls Charlie Christian

All Shows at TRIBECA Performing Arts Center
Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street
TRIBECA Box Office at (212) 220-1460  http://www.tribecapac.org/music.htm 
Subscriptions $130, individual tickets $35, students $32.50.  Make checks payable to & mail to: Highlights in Jazz, 7 Peter Cooper Road, New York, NY 10010 (enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope)

P.S.  In a more enlightened time, Knopf would have published Jack’s memoirs, and Columbia Records would have been issuing a sustained series of concert CD / DVD packages.  These things haven’t happened, which is perhaps all the more reason to celebrate what has taken place.

This just in!  (The Beloved and I will be at Jazz at Chautauqua, but you certainly should go, if you can . . . )

“EIGHTH EDITION OF BRAZILIAN INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL PAYS HOMAGE TO ONE OF THE GREATEST JAZZ SINGERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY: BILLIE HOLIDAY

The tribute gathers Madeleine Peyroux, Mart´Nália and the Lady Day All Star Band on the same stage under Oded Lev-Ari’s arrangement.  All the musical diversity found in the streets and cultural spaces in the beginning of the 20th century in New Orleans, the jazz capital, is executed until today by the contemporary jazzists during their brilliant performances and improvisations. Such proof of that is the Tudo É Jazz Festival of Ouro Preto (a historical and popular city in Minas Gerais, Brazil), that’s been happening since 2002. This year, the audience present during the days 18, 19 and 20 of September will appreciate the refined music of jazz’s big names for free and outdoors. According to Maria Alice Martins, the event’s coordinator and idealizer, she always intended for the Festival to have a democratic character. “This won´t suddenly turn jazz into something popular, but it will allow the audience to have more access to great music”, affirms Maria Alice.

The Tudo É Jazz Festival reaches its eighth edition in 2009 with a homage to one of the greatest jazz singers the world has ever known: Billie Holiday, a black, poor woman that abruptly conquered all ears of great musicians from America and all around the world. The event will happen on a stage located in the traditional Largo do Rosário, in Ouro Preto. 11 presentations are programmed for the three days, with the participation of about 70 musicians.

With Maria Alice’s curatorial work, the Festival gathers revealing artists, such as the singer and guitarist Kate Schutt; some jazz old hands, like Bucky Pizzarelli – and his guitar –, and Ron Carter, who performs for the second time in the event; and even the talents from the prestigious music school of Marciac, in France.

The tribute to Billie Holiday will take place on Saturday, September 19th, with musical direction by Oded Lev-Ari and the participations of Madeleine Peyroux, the Brazilian singer Mart´Nália and the Lady Day All-Star Band, constituted by six important musicians of the international jazz scenery. On Sunday, September 20th, the last day of the Festival, the year of France in Brazil will be celebrated with the performance of a quartet of former students from the school of Marciac and the Paris Jazz Big Band, the biggest in France.

Down Beat Magazine – jazz ´n´ blues specialized publication – selected and requested 120 renowned jazz critics, among USA and around the world professionals, to vote for the best artists of the year. Three musicians that fit the category Rising Stars – which represents those in ascension – will perform to the audience of the Tudo É Jazz Festival, during its eighth edition through September 18 to 20, in Ouro Preto (Minas Gerais, Brazil), the talents that resulted on their nominations. They are: Anat Cohen (awarded in the categories “Artist of the Year” and “Clarinet”), Marcus Strickland (categories “Sax Tenor” and “Sax Soprano”) and Lionel Loueke (category “Guitar”).

The news that appeared in jazz on the last few years was the extraordinary spreading that has turned the gender into a kind of language that is easily interpreted all over the globe. A project was elaborated to create contact between the public and some valuable instrumental music, sharpening the audience’s critical sense and offering social-artistic-cultural growth. At the same time, offering the best technical qualities possible, to appraise the presentations; hiring sound, light and stage structure from the best companies all over South America, besides the best technicians to offer environment comfort to the audience. Since the 2009 edition, the presentations have become completely free charge for the public.

Nowadays the Tudo É Jazz Festival includes in its program Brazilian musicians that have more recognition outside their country than in. So, the Festival brought Raul de Souza in a concert with Claire Michel Group; Oscar Castro-Neves, that’s been living out of Brazil for over 40 years; the acclaimed pianist and singer Eliane Elias; Ivan Lins (that is unfairly not recognized as a good musician in Brazil, but appreciated abroad), that played along with Michel Legrand. Also, the Festival has developed, in the several groups interested in music from Ouro Preto and near cities, a closer contact with jazz, the music of the 21st century due to its originality, constant evolution, always influenced by history and by what’s happening right now, absorbing the feelings of the happenings and making music become an exceptional cultural and pedagogical instrument.

The Festival has made possible the creation of a Culture Point, the Alto da Cruz Culture Point, in an action that integrates the multiplicity of culture e shared management between the Senhor Bom Jesus das Flores Musical Society, the Ouro Preto City Hall and the ACL – Associação da Cultura Livre (Free Culture Association). This project has the purpose of being economically viable, socially fair, ecologically correct and inspired on the respect that the location owns; also, it’s turned to the teen and children’s population in a social high risk situation, due to drugs influence, alcohol and outcast environment, so that a project involving social inclusion through music can be developed.

In 2010, the Festival’s Tribute will be to Louis Armstrong, the world’s greatest name of jazz music. Coming to the Festival, projects of great musicians from all over the world to pay a homage to the artist that lightened the public’s attention to the musical gender: after Armstorng came up, jazz grew intensely and unexpectedly, becoming one of the most remarkable phenomenon in the cultural history.

Visit our website: www.noir.com.br“

Melba Joyce

The big band era had only a few female band leaders – Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday were two – but now veteran jazz songbird Melba Joyce joins their ranks. Joyce, who has sung with The Count Basie Orchestra and The Lionel Hampton Orchestra as well as made numerous recordings, has assembled a constellation of New York jazz all stars to perform this summer.

The band features Helen Sung on piano, Wally Gator on Drums, Melissa Slocum on bass, Michael Slocum on bass and trumpets, Michael Howell, guitar, Tanya Darby, Freddie Hendrix, Shawn Edmonds and Valery Pomomarve on trumpet, Don Braden and Anat Cohen on tenor sax, Cleve Guyton and Leticia Benjamin on alto sax, Lauren Savian on baritone sax, Debra Weisz, Benny Powell and Clarence Banks on trombone and Barry Cooper on bass trombone.

The group will swing the standards, the no-so standards, old tunes, new tunes some Latin on the side.

“I am dedicating this evening to the memory of my father, Melvin Moore, who was a big band singer in the 40’s and 50′ celebrated in The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. He sang and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstine, Neil Hefti, Lucky Millinder and Ernie Fields to name a few,” shared Miss Joyce.

www.melbajoyce.com
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By Don Heckman

Los Angeles

- June 29. (Mon.) Tim Garland’s Lighthouse Trio. Saxophonist Garland’s remarkable accomplishments reach from orchestral works to choir music to commissions for an African dance company and pairings with Chick Corea. Hearing him with his Lighthouse Trio reveals the inner essence of his art. Catalina Bar & Grill. (323) 466-2210 .

- July 1 – 3. (Wed. – Fri.) Vital Information with Steve Smith. Drummer Smith’s interests in percussion reach around the globe and across musical genres. And Vital Information – with Smith, bassist Baron Browne, guitarist Vinny Valentino and keyboardist Tom Coster – cover most of those bases in their always-changing sets. Catalina Bar & Grill. (323) 466-2210

- July 2. (Thurs.) “Playing for Change.” The 25th Annual Twilight Dance Series at the Santa Monica Pier opens with the live band version of the startling “Playing for Change” phenomenon that has rapidly moved from the #1 rated YouTube video to a Top 10 release of their 2-disc CD/DVD. Santa Monica Pier Twilight Dance Series. And if you haven’t seen the YouTube video, with its marvelous revelation of the power of music, you should  Here it is: .

John Fogerty

- July 2 – 4. (Thurs. – Sat.) The Hollywood Bowl’s annual Fireworks Spectacular. Featuring John Fogerty with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by John Morris Russell. Fogarty’s reportedly working on a new country album, but the Bowl audience no doubt will expect a large serving of such Creedence Clearwater Revival hits as “Susie Q” and “Proud Mary.” The fireworks, as always, will be spectacular. Hollywood Bowl. (323) 850-2000.

- July 3. (Fri.) Viver Brasil. “Feet on the Ground/Aiye.” A spectacular evening of sight and sound, with the invigorating songs of Katia Moraes and the high-spirited, roots rhythms and dancing of the amazing artist in the Viver Brasil company. Ford Amphitheatre. (323) 461-3673.

Highlight: July 3 (Fri.)

It’s a great night for jazz canaries in L.A., with three impressive ladies offering their very different, but utterly compelling views of the art of jazz vocalizing at locations across the Southland. (Ahh…for a personal helicopter).

Jackie Ryan. The ever-fascinating, multi-lingual Ryan has emerged, in the past few years as a singer with a stunning blend of creative imagination, musicality and captivating story-telling abilities. She arrives in town celebrating the upcoming release of her latest album, the 2-CD “Doozy” (Openart Records). (Full disclosure: I wrote the liner notes for the set.) She’s at the Culver Club at the Radisson. (310) 649-1776. To sample Jackie Ryan’s recordings, click here.

Carol Welsman. Across the county, Canadian singer/pianist Welsman applies her superb blend of voice and instrument to a repertoire that is as imaginative and far-reaching as any vocalist on the scene. (Maybe even more so.) Blessed with a whisper-in-your-ear warm sound and a rich harmonic sense, she uses them both to bring a compelling lyricism to her songs. Let’s hope she includes some of the engaging selections from her as yet unreleased tribute to Peggy Lee. Steamers. (714) 871-8800. To sample Carol Welsman’s recordings, click here.

Susan Krebs. Meanwhile, out in the Valley, Krebs brings to her songs her belief that “Being a jazz gardener is really about the art of becoming…whether working with plants or music or with oneself.” Her outdoors fascination reaches up to jazz-in-flight, as well, in her album, “Jazz Aviary,” which features such classics as “Baltimore Oriole,” “Skylark,” and, of course, “Ornithology,” She’s backed by pianist Theo Saunders, bassist Ryan McGillicuddy and drummer Sinclair Lott. Spazio. (818) 728-8400 To sample Susan Krebs’ recordings, click here.

- July 4. (Sat.) Shin Hae Chul and N.E.X.T. The South Korean pop star and his band make a rare American appearance. A liberal political icon as well as a musical headliner, often compared to John Lennon, he is one of the founders of the country’s contemporary Kpop genre. The Ford Amphitheatre. (323) 461-3673.

San Francisco

- July 2 – 5. (Thurs. – Sun.) Mose Allison & Bob Dorough. What a treat – two of the deans of hip jazz vocalizing, on the same stage. The Mississippi blues meet cool urban sophistication. Dorough also does a matinee on Sunday featuring selections from his “Schoolhouse Rock.” Yoshi’s Oakland. (510) 238-9200.

- July 2 – 5. (Thurs. – Sun.) Gerald Albright. The multiple Grammy-nominated saxophonist brings jazz authenticity to the too-often tepid waters of the smooth and contemporary jazz styles. Yoshi’s San Francisco. (415) 655-5600

New York City

Jack DeJohnette

- June 29. (Mon.) Ravi Coltrane & Jack DeJohnette with guests: “A Benefit for JazzReach.” Talk about an opportunity to make a contribution to something worthwhile, and experience some remarkable music in the process – here it is. Two of the jazz world’s most adventurous players, taking an exploratory road together. The Blue Note. (212) 475-8592.

- June 30. (Tues.) Terese Genecco & Her Little Big Band. Retro swing comes alive in the hands of the energy-packed Geneco and her irresistibly swinging seven piece band. Also on the bill, Scott Barbarino & the Bev-Naps re-imagine a combination of Dean Martin-revisited with a doo-wop, a capella vocal group.. The Iridium. (212) 582-2121. (Also the last Tuesday of every month.)

Anat Cohen (photo by Tony Gieske)

- June 30 – July 5. (Tues. – Sun.) Anat Cohen. “Clarinet work: Benny Goodman and Beyond. “ It’s been a long time since the clarinet has had an advocate as convincing as the gifted Cohen. Although her work on tenor and soprano saxophones is always a joy to hear, her love for the clarinet, combined with the ability to bring its rich resources of sound to life, is one of the pleasures of the 21st century jazz scene. It’ll be intriguing to hear what she does with Goodman. The Village Vanguard. (212) 255-4037

- July 1 – 4. (Wed. – Sat.) Lew Tabackin & Toshiko Akiyoshi Quartet. The gifted couple – with Tabackin’s envelope-stretching saxophone work and Toshiko’s compositionally structured piano have long been – and continue to be – models of new vista jazz improvisation. Birdland. (212) 581-3080.

Montreal

Ornette Coleman

- June 30 – July 12. The Montreal Jazz Festival. There are those who fervently believe that the Montreal Fest is North America’s finest music event. And they may be right (although I’d have to place the Monterey Jazz Festival at a similar level). But with settings placed in and around a beautiful city, and a line up like this, it’s hard to go wrong: Ornette Coleman, Oliver Jones, Joe Cocker, Al Jarreau, Jeff Beck, Jackson Brown, Buddy Guy, Tony Bennett, Brian Setzer, Burning Spear, Melody Gardot, Charlie Haden, Jamie Cullum, Al Di Meola, Joshua Redman, Chris Botti, Esperanza Spalding, Dave Brubeck, Madeleine Peyroux and more. The Montreal Jazz Festival. (888) 525-0515

Rothbury, Michigan

- July 2 – 5. (Thurs. – Sun.) The Rothbury Festival. Rothbury describes its mission as a “commitment to harnessing the spirit of the music festival community into a durable social movement.” A lot of performers and fans agree, especially when the Festival is placed in an amiable outdoor setting, and the program includes The Dead, Bob Dylan, String Cheese Incident, Willie Nelson, the Black Crowes, Ani DiFranco, Matisyahu, Femi Kuti and more. The Rothbury Festival. At the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan.

Went to the Vanguard again, to hear 3 Cohens Sextet (Anat on clarinet and tenor sax, Yuval on soprano sax, Avishai on trumpet). Incredible synergy . Really liked Aaron Goldberg on piano and Greg Hutchinson on drums as well.

By Don Heckman

Los Angeles

Mundell Lowe

- June 23. (Tues.) John Pisano and Mundell Lowe. Always one of the Southland’s most pleasing jazz evenings, Pisano’s Guitar Night this week features a musical encounter with one of the masters of the art of jazz guitar. Spazio. (818) 728-8400.

- June 23. (Tues.) Yanni. One of the founders of the atmospheric, New Age piano style, Yanni — now wearing short hair and no mustache — is drawing devoted crowds with his new “Voices” tour. Nokia Theatre. (213) 763-6030.

- June 24. (Wed.) Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Patti Griffin, Buddy Miller. The show is billed as “Three Girls and Their Buddy,” and the title is right on target. Expect lots of engaging songs. The Greek Theatre.

- June 25. (Thurs.) Andy Garcia and the Cineson All Stars. Actor Garcia is never happier than when he’s jamming on the bongos with some world class Latin musicians – and the Cineson All Stars have more than a few. The Conga Room. (213) 749-0162.

Kenny Burrell

- June 25. (Thurs.) Tom Warrington, Larry Koonse and Joe La Barbara. Class, musicality, inventiveness and swing – they’ll all be on the bill when this fine trio steps on stage. Upstairs at Vitello’s. (818) 769-0905.

- June 25 – 28. (Thurs. – Sun.) Kenny Burrell Quartet. Kenny would probably resist being described as a jazz icon, but that’s what he is. And when he takes a break from his teaching duties at UCLA to play a club gig, no one should miss the opportunity to hear him, still at the top of his form. Catalina Bar & Grill. (323) 466-2210.

- June 26. (Fri.) Steve Huffsteter. Trumpeter Huffsteter’s beautifully lyrical style keeps him on everyone’s A-list. His graceful lines will be backed by the able support of the Pat Sentore Trio. Vibrato. (310) 474-9400.

- June 26. (Fri.) Mark Winkler. The celebration of Winkler’s new CD, “Till I Get It Right” continues. But Winkler – as good a songwriter as he is – always likes to spread his musical net widely. He’ll reportedly be doing some Bobby Troup and Laura Nyro, and inside word has it that Janis Mann will join him on a song or two. The Gardenia. 7066 Santa Monica Blvd. (323) 467-7444.

- June 26. (Fri.) The Four Freshmen. Before there were the Beach Boys, before there were the Hi-Los, there were the Four Freshman, singing gorgeous harmonies on tunes such as “It’s a Blue World.” Sixty-one years after the group first got together, the personnel has changed. But the lush vocal sound remains the same. Culver Club in the Radisson Hotel Westside. (310) 649-1776.  Also at Steamers on Sunday, June 28.  (714) 871-8800.

- June 26. (Fri.) Aretha Franklin. The Queen of Soul makes her first appearance in 31 years at the The Hollywood Bowl. (323) 850-2000.

- June 27. (Sat.) ABBA the music and Super Diamond. The hits will just keep on coming from this pair of tribute bands — Waterloo doing ABBA, and Super Diamond singing the Neil Diamond songbook. The Hollywood Bowl. (323) 850-2000.

Julie Kelly

- June 28. (Sun.) Julie Kelly. The versatile, always entertaining Kelly applies her vocal stylings and her guitar to “A Night in Brazil,” with pianist Otmaro Ruiz, bassist Tom Warrington, drummer Devin Kelly and percussionist Walter Rodriguez. Charlie O’s.

San Francisco

- June 22 – 23. (Mon. & Tues.) “Go Left Fest: Where Creative Arts Collide” The inaugural event of a festival celebrating jazz adventurousness. With the extraordinary line up of Marshal Allen, Roswell Rudd, the Myra Melford/Mark Dressor Duo, Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, Sunny Murray and more. Yoshi’s SanFrancisco.

- June 25 – 28. (Thurs. – Sun.) Pharoah Sanders Quartet with Zakir Hussain. A potentially fascinating encounter between two superb musical individualists. Yoshi’s San Francisco.

New York City

- June 23 – 27. (Tues. – Sat. ) John Pizzarelli and Pizza Party. I don’t know if they’ll be serving pizza, but there will be plenty of Pizzarelli talent on stage, led by the always musical, always witty John Pizzarelli – plus Dad Bucky Pizzarelli, brother Martin Pizzarelli, and wife Jessica Molaskey. Birdland. (212) 581-6500.

- June 23 – 28. (Tues. – Sun.) The 3 Cohens Sextet. Okay, so it’s a week for family jazz ensembles. And here’s another great one; clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, saxophonist Yuval Cohen and trumpeter Avishai Cohen. With Aaron Goldberg, piano Matt Penman, bass, Greg Hutchinson, drums. The Village Vanguard. (212) 255-4037.

Mary Foster Conklin

- June 28 (Sun.) Mary Foster Conklin. She’s a jazz singer in cabaret disguise, her skills apparent in a new recording, “Blues For Breakfast: Remembering Matt Dennis.” Conklin appears accompanied only by guitarist Tony Romano, a setting guaranteed to give full rein to her vocal story telling. Nios Restaurant in the Muse Hotel. Also July 5, 12 and 19.

Saratoga

- June 27 – 28. (Sat. & Sun.) Friehofer’s Jazz Festival. There’s no better way to spend an early summer afternoon than on the lawn at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, enjoying the entertaining lineup Friehofer’s has assembled. Featured acts includ Patti Labelle, George Benson, Gary Burton Quartet featuring Pat Metheny, Jimmy Cobb’s So What Band with a Kind of Blue Tribute, a Time Out Tribute with Dave Brubeck, Kendra Shank, and SMV (with Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten). Saratoga Performing Arts Center. (518) 587-3330.

And on the seventh day... (the sousaphone rested.)

Well maybe it says enough about the last three days of the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival that I didn’t have time to jump in here and share an update until now, two days after it has ended.

Every day was filled with tents and stages, artists and good friends, and dancing to the sounds of the area’s best street performers and school-aged bands and ensembles.

Each night rang with music from the festival’s headliners and the wide variety of acts in neighborhood clubs, cafés and streetside patios.

Reggae, gypsy swing, close harmony, experimental, big band, little band, funk, African drumming, a Fela Kuti tribute, and gospel singing…we didn’t miss anything.

Impossible to pick out the best of the lot from the last three days: was it the Branford Marsalis concert last Friday evening, where we were

Corey Harris

introduced to his brilliant new 18-year old (!) drummer? The after-party at the Thai restaurant with the area’s hottest Afro-Cuban jam band? Maybe it was the inspiring City Park sidewalk drawing contest, and deep reggae groove at the Waterfront Tent on Saturday night. Or Anat Cohen’s off-the-charts performance on opening night. Or, the gospel singers on the Marketplace Sunday afternoon, followed by the sweet swing of Django stylings at the local coffee house.

Really impossible.

I can tell you I didn’t see and hear everything I wanted to during the Festival’s 10 days: on Saturday night I made the call to stay in the Tent and ride out the rain with   Pato Banton’s positive jah vibes, instead of walking up the hill to hear Pink Martini singing at the Flynn

Lettuce @ the Waterfront Tent

It was a strong Festival with a lot of high points: planned, many unplanned, and several that weren’t even directly related to the Festival. (The banjo happening at the Firehouse Gallery – unbelievable.)

The only act that didn’t quite measure up artistically was still entertaining. Saxophonist/vocalist/songwriter Grace Kelly lit up the FlynnSpace last Tuesday night with her charm and natural stage presence, even if her music didn’t reach that same level of accomplishment. It’s a tough one to criticize. She’s 17, and the fact that she’s leading her own group at festivals around the world is a notable achievement in itself. But a little less time touring and more time practicing, developing a unique voice, and becoming a stronger player and singer will ultimately be the key to making sure that Grace makes the transition from teen phenom to adult contender in the next crucial couple of years. She can do it, she has everything and more it takes to be great. Even time is on her side, and how many artists can say that?

Yesterday downtown I saw the Festival banners coming down, posters being scraped off the inside of shop windows, and the energy on the Marketplace had already been transformed from the creative crackle of the past week to the usual hum of more typical touristy summer activity.

That just means it’s time to start planning for Discover Jazz Festival 2010!

(Congratulations to the Festival staff, sponsors, partners, the volunteer crew, and ALL of the musicians and artists who made this year’s Festival such a rich experience.)

By Don Heckman

The Hollywood Bowl was packed on Saturday and Sunday, as it is every June when the Playboy Jazz Festival sets up camp in the venerable amphitheater on the side of a hill. Eighteen thousand jazz fans showed up on Saturday, only a tiny bit less on Sunday, their enthusiasm undistracted by the fact that the Lakers were playing for – and winning — the NBA championship late Sunday afternoon.

Why do they keep coming back, year after year? It would be easy to say that it is because the Festival is no longer limited to jazz, that – with the passing of headliners such as Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and dozens of other icons – it’s become more of a “Music” than a “Jazz” festival. But that’s a short-sighted view, one that ignores both the subtleties and the successes of the gradual evolution of producer Darlene Chan’s programming.

What flowed from the broad Bowl stage over the Festival’s two days was, in fact, an all-encompassing view of jazz in its many manifestations. Far from turning away from jazz, the schedule offered a banquet of delectable musical dishes, each of which – however different the ingredients – was rooted in the fundamental elements of the improvisational art. Let’s take a look at the courses on that menu, beginning with The Kids, Rising Stars and The Mainstream, proceeding through Big Bands, Vocal Jazz and Cutting Edge, and winding up with Latin Jazz, Blues & Roots, Smooth Jazz/Pop Jazz and World Jazz.

Start with The Kids. Jazz has become a startlingly widespread curriculum item in high schools and colleges across the country. And its capacity to turn on young players was vividly present in the opening act performances of the talented youngsters from the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts Jazz Band under the direction of Jason Goldman (on Saturday) and the North Hollywood High School Jazz Ensemble directed by Jonathan Kenion (on Sunday). Each of their sets offered an optimistic view of the jazz future.

Anat Cohen

An even more optimistic view permeated the stage with the arrival of the Festival’s Rising Stars: Anat Cohen, Esperanza Spalding and Alfredo Rodriguez. Clarinetist/tenor saxophonist Cohen performed with Bill Cosby’s Cos of Good Music ensemble on Saturday and led her own quartet on Sunday. Her mastery of the clarinet is already well known; playing with a stunning combination of passion, charisma and musicality, finding rhythmic drive in the interplay of sounds and silence, she is doing a convincing job of returning the instrument to the creative jazz center. But her tenor playing was equally compelling, and filled with humor when she did a honking, bar-walking style solo with Cosby’s spirited, all-star ensemble. Spalding, whose career is on a rapidly rising arc, accomplished the difficult task of playing bass and singing simultaneously. But her extraordinary skills were too often used at the service of less than intriguing material. Spalding has all the right elements; now she needs to apply them to material that best showcases her talents, in a way that engages her listeners.

Alfredo Rodriguez

Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodriguez, discovered by Quincy Jones, is an astonishing talent. At 23, he revealed the same sort of technical virtuosity that has been present in other jazz pianists trained within the arts structures of socialist societies. But what he has done with that technique is uniquely his own. Performing a set of mostly original material, he called up images of a youthful Art Tatum, leavened with an off-center, Thelonious Monk point of view, spiced with the surging rhythmic passions of his homeland. Rodriguez’s version of “Body and Soul” can only be described as memorable – a brilliant rediscovery of a piece that seemed, long ago, to have given up all its riches.

The Jazz Mainstream was well represented in a quartet of groups showcasing the variety of music present in ensembles that remain within the tradition. The Cos of Good Music, already mentioned above, entertainingly fulfilled Bill Cosby’s love of hard swinging, straight ahead playing, energized especially by Cohen, trumpeter Tanya Darby and pianist Geoff Keezer. Jon Faddis, always keeping the bebop flame alive with his Dizzy Gillespie-inspired trumpet, also tossed in some idiosyncratic rapping, noting “Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky, ain’t got nuthin’ on what we do with ‘Cherokee’,” before launching into a high speed romp through the old Ray Noble classic.

Wallace Roney

Jimmy Cobb’s So What band revived the utterly timeless music of Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” album – celebrating its 50th anniversary in sync with the golden anniversary of the Playboy Jazz Festival. Memorable music, it was most effective when trumpeter Wallace Roney and tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson called up the sounds and the intensity that Davis and John Coltrane brought to an LP that became the biggest selling jazz LP of all time. Jamaican pianist Monty Alexander, leading a group he called “Jazz & Roots,” did indeed get down to basics, enlivening them with a healthy dose of reggae on Bob Marley’s “no Woman No Cry.”

Hugh Hefner has often mentioned his love of the Big Band Swing Era. A pair of large ensembles didn’t exactly call up the music of the ‘30s, but they did affirm the continuing vitality of the instrumentation that has essentially been the American symphony orchestra of the 20th, and now the 21st, centuries. Trumpeter Jack Sheldon, leading his own orchestra, set aside his inimitable wit and whimsy in favor of some impressive vocalizing on standards such as “Here’s That Rainy Day,” backed by a group of L.A.’s finest players. Although no credits were announced on the charts, most of the writing – a saxophone section soli in “Caravan was a good example – was as swinging as it was well-crafted. The Dave Holland Big Band, mostly working with pieces by its bass-playing leader, featured some world class soloists – saxophonist Chris Potter, trombonist Robin Eubanks – in Holland’s often quirky, usually dissonant lines.

Vocal Jazz was in relatively short supply this year. There was Sheldon, of course, along with a brief number from Monty Alexander, and Esperanza Spalding’s r & b tinged numbers. But the presence of Patti Austin promised some state of the art jazz singing. It’s unlikely that Austin could ever emit a note that wasn’t state of the art, but this time out she stylistically devoted most of her set to such crossover items as “Come To Me” and “Give Me the Night,” backed by a quartet of singers and a soul-styled back-up band. And as she did so, she reminded us of the way in which jazz, and jazz musicians, have sneakily impacted so many areas of pop. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings did the same, especially in a number in which she convincingly worked her way through such memorable dance steps as the Boogaloo, the Pony, the Jerk and the Mashed Potato. Watching her in action, exorcising the crowd like a female James Brown, I couldn’t help but recall a quote by Brown, in which he said, “At heart, I’ve always been a jazz man.”

The Cutting Edge at the year’s Playboy Festival was dominated by the Wayne Shorter Quartet. With Geoff Keezer replacing the pianist Danilo Perez, who was disabled by an Achilles tendon injury, the group’s emphasis shifted into orchestral-like timbres, with Shorter’s epigrammatic soloing maneuvering in and around a fury of dense chording and surging rhythms from Keezer, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade. As he often does, Shorter offered lengthy explorations of some of his familiar items, winding up with the oft-played “Footprints.”

Sheila E.

Latin Jazz, in two of its fundamental forms, was provided by veteran percussionist Pete Escovedo’s Orchestra, in an amiable, dynamic display of family rhythms featuring Peter Michael Escovedo, Juan Escovedo and the drumming pyrotechnics of the dynamic Sheila E, Oscar Hernandez & the L.A. Salsa All Stars added a taste of the Afro-Cuban rhythm and song that have coursed through jazz since the ‘40s. Blues and Roots book-ended the Saturday show with an opening set by the always effervescent New Birth Brass Band and a closing set featuring the Bayou timbres of the Neville Brothers  Between them, the two groups underscored the still-vital impact that New Orleans has had upon jazz – then and now. World Jazz doesn’t exactly describe the high spirited music and dance of King Sunny Ade and his African Beats, but the Nigerian group’s presentation was an ineffably entertaining reminder of one of jazz’s deepest musical wellsprings.

Smooth Jazz/Pop Jazz may have its detractors among so-called “serious” jazz fans, but there’s no arguing with the fact that many of saxophonist Kenny G’s most devoted listeners actually find their way through him into more creatively layered forms of jazz. Like the dance bands of the Swing Era, Kenny G, who was Sunday’s penultimate act, has found a workable entertainment style built upon jazz roots. Now using circular breathing as an effective, crowd-pleasing gimmick, he introduced his boyish charm and busy-fingered soprano saxophone to his audience by walking through the crowd down to the stage. Norman Brown’s Summer Storm, featuring the warm-toned vocals of Phil Perry, offered yet another example of the way in which jazz rhythms have been transformed into a genre that blends elements of jazz with the predictabilities of pop.

So what was missing from this multi-coursed cornucopia of music? Not much. It would have been nice to have a little more in the way of mainstream jazz vocalizing – especially at a time when there are so many fine young singers on the scene. The Cutting Edge could have used a view or two beyond that of Wayne Shorter. And a solid blues artist – B. B. King, Buddy Guy, Etta James – would have immediately established the unbreakable link between jazz and the blues. But these are minor carps for a Festival that surveyed so much of what jazz has offered and continues to offer, so much of where it has come from and where it’s going. To do all that in an entertaining fashion, while presenting it in a pleasant outdoor setting, doesn’t leave much to be desired.

Photos of Anat Cohen, Wallace Roney and Sheila E. by Tony Gieske. Photo of Alfredo Rodriguez provided by Playboy.

It wasn’t really a holiday.  I still had to get up and go to work, which I proudly did, even when mildly wobbly.  The Beloved had her deadlines to meet, too. 

But last Sunday – Wednesday were a jazz feast in New York City, and (remembering my loyal readers who don’t always get to the same gigs we do) I brought my trusty video camera.* 

I won’t rhapsodize about the music.  As Charlie Parker told the terminally unhip Earl Wilson, “Music speaks louder than words.” 

The week began on Sunday (that’s The Ear Inn calendar rather than the Julian or the Georgian) at 8 PM, when New Orleanian Duke Heitger joined Jon-Erik Kellso, Matt Munisteri, and Neal Miner for hot, soulful jazz.  Here, from the first set, is a rollicking yet serious WEARY BLUES:

Those who know their Hot History will already be aware that Duke comes from a musical family (his father, Ray, is a splendid clarinetist) but that Duke himself was inspired to dig deeper and soar higher by his exposure to another Michigander, Maestro Kellso.  So this was a playing reunion of two friends, brotherly improvisers. 

The second set at the Ear usually brings surprises.  Trombonist Harvey Tibbs had joined the band at the end of the first set, and he was joined by Dan Block on clarinet and the truly divine Tamar Korn, who sings with the Cangelosi Cards. 

Tamar’s final song (of three) was a genuinely ethereal MOONGLOW — and even the rocking head of the woman in front of me couldn’t distract me from the beauty Tamar and the band created.  Not only did Tamar become one lonely Mills Brother; she became Eddie South; she sang most touchingly.  And, in the middle, Jon-Erik and Duke growled, moaned, and plunged; then Harvey and Dan summoned up the ghosts of Lawrence Brown and Barney Bigard.  When it was all over, Jackie Kellso turned to me and reverently said, “That has to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard,” and I wasn’t about to argue with her. 

Monday found the Beloved and myself dressed up for a visit to the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel — where singer / pianist Daryl Sherman was performing a centennial tribute to Johnny Mercer with the help of Wycliffe Gordon, James Chirillo, and Boots Maleson.  Daryl, bless her, gave my favorite unknown Mercer song its “live premiere,” as a sweet duet with Wycliffe.  THE BATHTUB RAN OVER AGAIN, for that’s its name, has never been performed much — but its classic debut was on a 1934 Decca session where Mercer himself sang it (he was a wonderfully wry singer) with the help of Jack Teagarden, Sterling Bose, and Dick McDonough.  The recording’s hard to find but it is a prize, as is this performance, impish and sweet at the same time.  (Matilda, the Algonquin’s resident cat, now thirteen, was snooty as always to us, but beauty is its own burden, even if you’re a Ragdoll.  Perhaps especially so?)

Tuesday found us uptown at Roth’s Westside Steakhouse for a duet session by Duke and pianist Ehud Asherie.  They began with a dreamily romantic YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME at a slow tempo, which suggested to me that the advantage-taking was something sought after.  Without imitating anyone, Duke evoked Ruby Braff and Bobby Hackett; Ehud’s stroll had the leisurely pace of great slow-motion stride playing. 

Then, the duo performed one of my favorite 1939-40 Basie classics, Lester Young’s dancing TICKLE-TOE, with true gliding style.

Duke and Ehud then decided to explore ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE (thought by some to be the sole property of “modern” jazzmen — how wrong such narrow thinking is!) — complete with its lovely verse.

Trombonist John Allred, who had been waiting for his steak to arrive, decided to jump forward to dessert, so he joined Duke and Ehud for a rousing TEA FOR TWO:

Duke and Ehud then created a sprinting version of James P. Johnson’s RUNNIN’ WILD:

After dinner, John came back for a jubilant THEM THERE EYES:

 On Wednesday, I met the Beloved at Birdland (which could be the title of a good Thirties pop song) for a special assemblage — David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Centennial Band (David, Anat Cohen, Dion Tucker, Kevin Dorn) plus guests Duke Heitger and Dick Hyman.  Here they are for a beautiful, hymnlike reading of Ellington’s SOLITUDE.  Duke’s Louis-lyricism and Hyman’s chiming chords are specially moving here:

Clarinetist and prankster Ken Peplowski had been in the club (before the music began) for an informal photo shoot, and he came onstage to join them for a frisky version of Don Redman’s HEAH ME TALKIN’ TO YA (or YOU, for the formal):

More to come!  Watch this space! 

*The asterisk is to remind any cinematic auteurs that my cinematography is at best functional: the music’s the thing, no matter how many people walk through my shot or sit in front of my lens.  I haven’t managed to make any dark, cluttered, noisy club into an ideal set, but I keep trying.

By Dean Poling 

VDT View —

JUST CAN’T WAIT

Jon Burr Band

 Bass player Jon Burr is a stand-up guy. The bass player has worked with luminaries such as Buddy Rich, Tony Bennett, and Chet Baker. In creating this CD and accompanying live DVD, Burr couldn’t wait to work with all-star contemporaries such as Anat Cohen, Joel Frahm, Houston Person, Howard Alden, Bob MIntzer, and Ted Rosenthal. He works with his daughter, Tyler Burr, who co-wrote a few of the lyrics for this CD’s songs. “Just Can’t Wait,” however, is all driven by Jon Burr’s vision and passion as a lyricist, composer and arranger. And let’s not forget as a performer. From the studio-produced CD to the live DVD at New York City’s’ Birdland, this is one album well worth the wait.

People know Lorna Sass’s brilliant photographs of Sicilian wildflowers, Utah rock formations, blossoms in Central Park, and urban landscapes: gargoyles and animals leering from apartment buildings, fences and benches, the architecture we don’t always see.  But how many people know her as a superb jazz photographer, someone who catches sound and emotion while they’re still fresh?  Here are some portraits taken in the last few days.  They resonate.  And if you don’t know Lorna’s fauna and flora, visit www.lornasassatlarge.wordpress.com. 

Daryl Sherman and Wycliffe Gordon at the Oak Room

Duke Heitger, John Allred, and Ehud Asherie at Roth's Westside Steakhouse

David Ostwald, Kevin Dorn, Ken Peplowski, Anat Cohen, Duke Heitger, Dion Tucker at Birdland

Ehud Asherie studies Dick Hyman at Birdland

Esperanza Spalding and Anat Cohen. Esperanza AND Anat.

I remember thinking that at the Discover Jazz Festival back in April, when the full lineup was rolled out for this year’s event. Really? Both of them, in the same show? Yes. At least, sort of. It was actually two very different but complementary shows last night on the Flynn Main Stage as the festival got off to a big bang start.

Anat first: strong, versatile, and commanding on both of her chosen instruments, clarinet and tenor sax. I always wait to hear what the very first notes of the festival will sound like, thinking of them as the defining moment in setting the tone for the whole event. Anat delivered the opening salvo with a fast downbeat and an immediate launch into her own lilting, grooving arrangement of Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” (found on her recent collection, Notes from the Village).

Anat Cohen (photo by the Discover Jazz Festival)

So what does it say about this year’s festival that it began with the clarinet, a surprisingly rare instrument in jazz today? And not only that, but the clarinet in the hands of the first woman reeds player to ever headline at the hallowed Village Vanguard, playing her own fresh, hip new version of such a jazz classic? Everything, I think. This festival is about translating the best elements of the jazz tradition into the language and sensibilities of today. (Esperanza’s performance furthered that thought – more on that in a minute.)

Cohen’s quartet is equally solid, with Jason Lindner at the piano (you may have seen him here last year with his own trio), basisst Vicente Archer, and the very fine percussionist Daniel Freedman. I’m tempted to add ‘percussion’ to Lindner’s name here too because of his tendency to reach inside the piano, holding down the strings, while playing the keys with his left hand. The effect is pecussive,  sounding something like a marimba or tuned drum. Great texture, and used well especially at start of the set-closing “Washington Park Square”, the colorful tune Cohen wrote about her neighborhood in New York and the cultural diversity of people the Park attracts.

No matter what future festivals may hold, this will go down as one of my favorite festival performances ever.

Esperanza’s set started spunky (no surprise), with her scatting introduction of the band, along with a scatting disclaimer about why the scatting the audience was about to hear in her performance wasn’t the traditional “shoo-be-doo-be-ska-be-bop” kind. That’s a fact. Not much about her style is expected.

If you saw her here in 2007 (in the downstairs Flynn Space), you may remember that her show generated some serious buzz: everything from impressed excitement to some doubt that she could sustain that level of energy as she matured. There was criticism about her light, airy, singing style, her less-than-substantial music choices, and some expressed desire that she’d pick up a bow and take some time to explore that important side of the upright bass tradition.

Esperanza Spalding (photo by the Discover Jazz Festival)

Well, she has. Developed her singing style, expanded her musical range, and found a whole new dimension of expression with the bowed bass, which she employed to beautiful effect on Nina Simone’s “Wild is the Wind”. It was the standout moment in her show, starting with the dark, stirring bowing and evolving slowly like a love affair into the nearly out-of-control passionate love song it is. Powerful. Spalding’s energy and natural charm flow out from some bottomless inner wellspring, it’s not an act that will burn out. It’s who she is. To critics: next?

The ensemble included drummer Otis Brown; pianist Leo Genovese (he was here last time with her, too) and guitarist Ricardo Vogt. Each had some solo time to shine, and each did. A couple of thoughts on the overall experience: a lovely Brazilian duet could have used better mic balance, as Vogt’s delicate vocals were a bit overwhelmed by everything else. (At least, from where I was sitting about six rows back orchestra left.) Esperanza’s vocals were also indistinct at times but that’s less a mechanical issue than an effect of the fast, breathless singing style she’s creating. That same approach, with a little more control in shaping the individual words and the phrasing, could be the single nuance that would transform this from a high-beam performance into one with laser focus and effect.

Today: an outdoor organ recital at 3:30 (not related to the festival); jazz on the marketplace; an evening dance recital; and then live music somewhere around town tonight.

I’ll have a few more pictures to share today than I did from yesterday’s adventures (it was dark, I was tired.) Stay tuned for more about the music around town!

Here’s what’s on my menu so far:

Thur. 6.4.09
Left Ear Trio @ Ri Ra Pub

Fri. 6.5.09
Esperanza Spalding & Anat Cohen @ Flynn

Sat. 6.6.09
Revision @ Red Square
David “Fuze” Fiuczynski & Michetti @ Nectar’s

Sun. 6.7.09
Michael Louis Smith Coalition @ Half Lounge

Mon. 6.8.09
General musical wandering…

Tues. 6.9.09
CVU Jazz @ City Hall Stage (Church St.)
James Harvey & Garuda @ City Hall Stage (Church St.)
Will Bernard Group (Will Bernard, Tim Luntzel, Stanton Moore, Robert Walter) @ Nectar’s

Wed. 6.10.09
Gordon Stone @ Lawson Lane Stage
Japhy Ryder @ Fountain Stage (Church St.)
Lettuce @ Metronome

Thur. 6.11.09
Lettuce & Porter, Baptiste, Stoltz @ Waterfront Funk Tent

Fri. 6.12.09
Rubblebucket Orchestra @ Fountain Stage for Block Party
Branford Marsalis @ Flynn
Marco Benevento Trio @ Metronome

Sat. 6.13.09
Rubblebucket Orchestra @ Nectar’s

Sun. 6.14.09
General musical wandering…

—

I plan to catch all sorts of other things around town as I hear about them/hear them. I’ll take pictures and maybe some audio as well and I’ll do my best to post throughout the week.

Burlington Discover Jazz Festival

Anat Cohen's "Noir"

Tel Aviv-born saxophonist, clarinetist and recording label founder Anat Cohen recommends that every performer take the opportunity to be the ’sideman’ when possible, for the tremendous experience it offers. She’s out in front this Friday evening, as part of the double billing that opens this year’s Discover Jazz Festival.

This week on World of Music we’ll give a listen to two of her recordings: Noir, and Notes from the Village, along with previews of other Festival acts.  Also: jazz poetry featuring Jack Kerouac, Hayden Carruth, Langston Hughes, and Al Young’s poem “Lester Leaps In” – and, the usual juicy array of world music, classic and new! Listen to “World of Music” online (Mondays, 3-5pm EDT) or at 105.9FM in Burlington, VT.

By Don Heckman

Los Angeles

- May 13. (Wed.) Mumiy Troll. The Russian rock band has been around since the ‘80s, paid their dues during the Soviet era, and emerged as one of the most popular Russian groups of the ‘90s and beyond. The Roxy. (310) 276-2222.

- May 13 – 16. (Wed. – Sat.) Ann Hampton Callaway. She sings, plays piano and writes songs, and does it all with a musicality that combines a big, pliant voice with layers of rich, creative subtlety. Catalina Bar & Grill. (323) 466-2210.

- May 14, 15 and 26. (Thurs., Fri. and Tues. ) Stephanie Haynes. One of the Southland’s finest jazz vocal artists for years, Haynes has been spending a lot of time living in Vegas lately. So grab one of these opportunities to experience the pleasures of her warm, velvet-textured sound. At Jazz at the Crowne Plaza on Thurs., May 14. At the Sheraton L.A. Downtown on Friday, May 15 and at Bar Melody on May 26. (310) 216-5861. Info: In-House Music.

- May 14. (Thurs.) Bob Sheppard Quartet. He can play just about any style requested, on soprano, alto and tenor saxophones. But Sheppard is best heard fronting his own group, roving the far reaches of his own colorful creative imagination. Charlie O’s. (818) 994-3058.

Otmaro Ruiz

- May 14. (Thurs.) Otmaro Ruiz Quartet. Venezuelan pianist/composer Ruiz still hasn’t received the attention that his talent deserves. Here’s an opportunity to hear him, in an attractive new venue in the Valley, performing with the stellar ensemble of tenor saxophonist Ben Wendell, bassist Greg Swiller and drummer Jimmy Branly. The evening opens with the lyrical vocals of Brazilian singer/songwriter/pianist Catina Deluna. LA Modern Jazz Series at the Whitefire Theatre, Sherman Oaks. (323) 251-0748.

HIGHLIGHT – May 14 – 17. ( Thurs. – Sun.) Jane Bunnett and the Spirits of Havana bring authenticity, ambience and pure excitement to their take on Afro Cuban jazz. Jazz Bakery (310) 271-9039.

- May 15. (Fri. & Sat.) The 2009 Spring Jazz Series at Pasadena’s Boston Court Performing Arts Center features the scintillating duo of Dave MacKay and Lori Bell on Friday, and the probing music of the Bill Cunliffe Trio on Sat.. (626) 683-6883.

- May 15 – 17. (Fri. – Sun.) The Hyatt Regency Newport Beach Jazz Festival. Smooth jazz rules Newport’s early summer breezes with performers such as Dave Koz, Warren Hill, Jeff Lorber, Jeffrey Osborn, Rick Braun, Candy Dulfer, Peter White, Sax Pack, Jazz Attack,Guitars and Sax and more. (949) 729-6057.

HIGHLIGHT – Saturday, May 16

Jose Rizo's Latin Jazz All-Stars

The 2nd Annual Latin Jazz Festival showcases a stellar line up of performers. Among them, The Caribbean Jazz Project Reunion with Dave Samuels & Paquito D’Rivera , Jose Rizo’s Jazz on the Latin Side All-Stars, Kenny Burrell & Hubert Laws, Charlie Sepulveda and the Turnaround. The Greek Theatre. (323) 665-5857.

- May 16. (Sat.) The Rose Ensemble. Early music comes vividly to life in the hands of the Rose Ensemble. Expect to hear everything from 17th century Russian Orthodox motets and medieval Latin chants to double choir works from the Polish Renaissance. The Getty Center. (310) 440-7300.

Sarah Gazarek

- May 16. (Sat.) Sarah Gazarek’s great potential as an interpretive jazz vocalist has been expanding lately into the singer/songwriter realm. Her singing is well placed in the hip, downtown artists’ district ambience of Café Metropol. (213) 613-1537.

- May 17. (Sun.) Judy Wolman’s “Sing! Sing! Sing!” With “Big Band Tribute. This will be the Sunday afternoon singalong’s final celebration of the Big Band era at the Jazz Bakery. On the program: “String of Pearls,” “Moonlight Serenade,” “In the Mood,” and, of course, “Sing! Sing! Sing!” The Jazz Bakery (310) 271-9039.

Dana Point

- May 16 & 17. (Sat. & Sun.) The Doheny Blues Festival. Twenty-six performances on three stages by a line-up of blues artists that includes B.B. King, Brian Setzer & the Nashvillains, the Derek Trucks Band, The Keb’ Mo’ Band, Elvin Bishop, Sharon Jones, John Hammond and others. The Doheny State Beach, Dana Point. (949) 360-7800.

San Francisco

- May 13 & 14. (Wed. & Thurs.) The Charnett Moffett Trio, featuring drummer Will Calhoun and pianist Stephen Scott. Moffett’s adept handling of upright bass, piccolo bass and fretless electric bass guitar produces a cunning array of free-spirited music. Yoshi’s Oakland. . (510) 238-9200.

HIGHLIGHT – Friday, May 15 through Sunday, May, 17

The SFJAZZ Spring Season rolls into high gear with a set of compelling musical events. On Fri., adventurous pianist Brad Mehldau does a solo set. On Sat., Mehldau partners with drummer Matt Chamberlain. On Sun., the African-born jazz duo of guitarist Lionel Loueke and bassist Richard Bona combine to explore their unique, instrumental and vocal visions of bayond-booundaries contemporary jazz.. SFJAZZ at the YBCA Forum. (415) 398-5655.

- May 15 – 17. (Fri, – Sun.) The Joe Sample Trio. From the Jazz Crusaders through his extensive solo career, pianist Sample has been a worthy jazz headliner for more than four decades. He performs with his son, bassist Nick Sample and New Orleans drummer Johnny Vidacovich. Yoshi’s Oakland. . (510) 238-9200.

New York City

- May 12 – 17. (Tues. – Sun.) The always-surprising, ever-adventurous Bill Frisell matches musical ideas with bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen. The Village Vanguard (212) 255-4037.

- May 12. (Tues.) . Russian born pianist/composer/producer, Misha Piatigorsky, winner of the 2004 Thelonious Monk Composers performs with his Octet, and the high-voltage, eclectic vocals of Emily Braden. Iridium. (212) 582-2121 Competition. Iridium Jazz Club. (212) 582-2121.

- May 13 – 16. (Wed. – Sat.) The Heath Brothers Quartet. The remaining two musical members of the Heath brothers – tenor saxophonist Jimmy and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath– carry on the family tradition of world class jazz. Birdland. (212) 581-3080.

HIGHLIGHT – Wednesday, May 13 through Sunday, May 17

Chano Dominguez

Catalan Days, Barcelona Nights. The most interesting, and promising, trend in jazz this past decade has been its globalization. Or, more precisely, the glocalization of jazz. After all, players, composers and arrangers in Europe or Latin America are no longer trying to emulate their American counterparts but rather, are increasingly approaching jazz as a toolbox from which they take whatever devices they need to operate on and transform their indigenous styles. The festival Catalan Days, Barcelona Nights offers a chance for a close hearing of several remarkable artists. A few personal favorites: pianist Chano Dominguez (this is what Bill Evans might have sounded like had he been born in Cadiz, Spain); saxophonist Llibert Fortuny; drummer Marc Miralta (who has been working effectively at a flamenco jazz fusion for some time) and pianist, and former drummer, Jordi Rossy (yes, that Jordi Rossy). The Jazz Standard. (212) 576-2232.

- Pick by Fernando Gonzalez.

Washington, D.C.

Dee Dee Bridgewater

- May 14 – 16. (Thurs. – Sat.)The Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival. Kennedy Center. The 14th annual celebration of women in jazz features performances by Dee Dee Bridgewater, Esperanza Spalding, Anat Cohen, Janis Siegel, Hailey Niswanger, Annette Aguilar, Sherrie Maricle, Anne Drummond, Carmen Lundy and the Maria Schneider Orchestra. The Kennedy Center. (800) 444-1324.

The Beloved and I went to Birdland last night, video camera and tripod at the ready, to celebrate.  Not an occasion of our own, but to raise our glasses and cheer a long run that shows no sign of abating.  It’s the Wednesday night gig of David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Centennial Band (a/k/a/ the Gully Low Jazz Band) – which celebrated its ninth anniversary.  As David correctly pointed out, a two-week gig in jazz is a rare thing.  So for the LACB to be on the stand for approximately four hundred and fifty Wednesdays in a row is testimony to their endurance, the love they generate in their audiences, and the lasting appeal of the music they play and the exuberant way they play it.  It also says something about the enduring appeal of the man whose music they celebrate, but that should be obvious to everyone by now.

This Wednesday’s gig wasn’t a riotous affair.  True, a tidy little cake with one candle appeared during the second set, but the general atmosphere was superficially quiet.  But that’s a good thing in a jazz club when it is the attentiveness of a great band (musicians who listen to each other!) focused on their material and the quiet of a happy, perceptive audience, listening closely — people sitting straight in their chairs, grinning, tapping their feet, applauding in the right places.  A hip band, a hip crowd.  Just how hip was the crowd?  How about George Avakian, Daryl Sherman, Dan Morgenstern, Lloyd Moss, the Beloved, and myself.

The band was a first-class version of David’s floating ensembles: Jon-Erik Kellso on trumpet; Vincent Gardner on trombone and vocal; Anat Cohen on clarinet; Mark Shane on piano; David Ostwald on tuba and commentary; Kevin Dorn, “young Kevin,” on drums.  Here’s some of what they played — for those of you beyond midtown.

About the music: they began this Wednesday as they always have, in tribute to the Louis Armstrong All-Stars of blessed memory, with a nostalgic WHEN IT’S SLEEPY TIME DOWN that segued, after Kevin kicked it off, into a rousing BACK HOME AGAIN IN INDIANA.  (For wise commentary on Louis and the All-Stars, be sure to visit Ricky Riccardi’s site, “The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong,” and save your dimes (get some cash for your trash!) for his book on Louis’s later years, to be published in 2010 by Pantheon.

ROYAL GARDEN BLUES is a song that has been flattened down somewhat by formulaic playing by many jazz bands of varying quality, but it was first a tribute to the place where Louis and King Oliver amazed everyone, so it has to be taken seriously.  And Bix Beiderbecke and his Gang did a pretty good version of it as well.  (So did Count Basie and the Benny Goodman Sextet, so the song — and its routines — are durable for sure.)

Don Redman’s pretty rhythm ballad, SAVE IT PRETTY MAMA, was recorded twice by Louis — in 1928 with his Hot Five, and in 1947 at Town Hall.  In these days of economic uncertainty, saving whatever “it” might be seems like a good idea, and Vincent Gardner sings the simple lyrics with conviction and a bit of amusement.

W.C. Handy’s compositions drew on traditional folk and blues forms, and ATLANTA BLUES is one of his most lively, also memorably recorded by Louis in his 1954 Columbia tribute, a recording produced by the venerable and venerated Mr. Avakian.

I don’t think Louis ever recorded SOMEDAY, SWEETHEART but it’s certainly a lasting tune.  Here, the spotlight falls on a quartet: Anat, Mark, David, and Kevin, at points summoning up the happiness that was the Benny Goodman Trio.  Or Mildred Bailey’s recording with Teddy Wilson.  (Mark knew the verse and played it splendidly.)

Finally, a delightful surprise: the Wednesday manager of Birdland, Brian Villegas, is also a fine singer: he joined the band on IT’S ALL RIGHT WITH ME — and it was more than all right with us.  Wishing you fame and happiness, Brian!

If you couldn’t make it to Birdland last night to join in the festivities, you missed something dee-licious, as Louis would say.  But some of the same hot jazz and good energy will be there next Wednesday from 5:30 – 7:15, and the Wednesdays into the future.  I’m sure David will accept belated felicitations with his usual graciousness.

“Feast or famine,” my mother used to say.

Looks like Wednesday and Thursday, May 6 and 7, are Jazz Feast Nights, posing a moral dilemma of the most pleasant kind.

From 5:30 to 7:15 or thereabouts, David Ostwald and the Louis Armstrong Centennial Band will be celebrating their ninth birthday at Birdland — a wonderful long run — by doing what they do best, honoring Mr. Strong with his music and theirs.  The noble participants tonight include Jon-Erik Kellso, Vincent Gardner, Anat Cohen, Mark Shane, and Kevin Dorn.  And who knows what other luminaries might stop by, with horns or not?

Tomorrow . . . from 6:30 to 8:30, my man Ricky Riccardi will be conversing with Marty Napoleon uptown at the Jazz Museum in Harlem.  Marty is an energetic, funny storyteller with baskets of anecdotage about two stints on the road with Louis, work and play with Red Allen, Gene Krupa, and his own groups.  He’s the very definition of “irrepressible,” and I know Ricky will do nothing to repress him.  Also Ricky has promised to bring along some rare film footage of Marty and Louis.  Take the “A” train uptown to hear a good deal of Marty’s engaging talk. 

If you prefer to stay downtown, the competition is fierce — Jon-Erik Kellso and Ehud Asherie will be playing an hour of duets at Smalls, 8-9 PM.  Maybe you could listen to Marty for an hour and then scurry down (take the 1 to Christopher Street) and catch that wonderful duet.  

Those who complain about the lack of gigs in New York City should take advantage of this jazz cornucopia!  “That’s a-plenty!”

Jon Burr Band

JUST CAN’T WAIT. jbQ Media. www.jbq.net.

www.jonburrband.com. Just Can’t Wait, Please Tell Me, Been Here All Along, Snowfall, None of Them Is

You, Eden by the Sea, Song of a Broken Word, I Understand You’re Leaving Me, Rainbow over Harlem, Sea Breeze, Nobody Said It Was Easy, Another Kind Love, Dancing with a Stranger, It’s Only Love.

PERSONNEL: Jon Burr, bass, leader, composer, lyricist; Ty Stephens, Hilary Kole, Laurel Massé, Tyler Burr, Yaala Ballin, vocals; Houston Person, tenor saxophone; Joel Frahm, tenor & soprano saxophone; Mario Cruz, Bob Mintzer, Anat Cohen, saxophones; Dominick Farinacci, trumpet; John Hart, Yotam Silberstein, Howard Alden, guitar; Jon Davis, Loston Harris, Ted Rosenthal, piano; Anthony Pinciotti, Dave Gibson, drums. [Carlos Gomez, Percussion] [– ed.]

By Bill Donaldson

[Drum roll.] “Please give a warm welcome to…

The Jon Burr Band!”

In the unending spirit of delighting audiences through the act of performing music, Jon Burr’s band certainly succeeded in that endeavor at Birdland in December, 2007. That much is obvious from viewing the DVD that accompanies the Jon Burr Band’s release recordings from that evening, Just Can’t Wait. After his prepared introduction about the omnipresence iPods and the stylistic versatility of the members his recent band, Burr wastes no time in giving the Birdland audience its money’s worth—and more— by launching into a set consisting entirely of his own compositions. Appropriately enough, the songs are crowd-pleasers, relating to events of everyday life and helping listeners get happy and chase all the blues away through the band’s stimulus package of fun, even during the more pensive pieces like “Sea Breeze.”

Burr’s band consists of like-minded, swinging veterans like Houston Person and talent deserving much wider recognition like singer Ty Stephens. Indeed, Stephens is a major presence throughout Just Can’t Wait, even as other equally engaging singers like Hilary Kole, Yaala Ballin, Laurel Massé and Tyler Burr contribute to the celebration of Jon Burr’s music too. When groove occurs and finger-snapping breaks out, Stephens, winner of the 2006 Jazz Mobile Vocal Award, usually is the one holding the microphone. The Just Can’t Wait DVD provides but a glimpse of his talent. Stephens’ re-creation of Cab Calloway’s Minnie the Moocher” is a not-to-be-missed treat.) Stephens presents a variety of moods established by Burr’s compositions. A calming ballad like “Rainbow over Harlem” displays Stephens’ right-on pitch and his internalization of the lyrics. Burr’s gorgeous solo on the same song allows him to improvise in melodic and insouciant fashion. However, all of the potential excitement of Burr’s group emerges on “None of Them Is You,” propelled by a “Killer Joe”-like vamp and Burr’s assured walking bass lines. After Stephens delivers the song’s concept of feminine uniqueness, the effectiveness of Burr’s guest musicians (on the CD recorded at Bennett Studios and not on the DVD of the live performance) becomes apparent when trumpeter Dominic Farinacci takes over after the first chorus, elevating the piece to a yet higher level of irresistibility.

Other top-notch musicians include Bob Mintzer on “I Understand You’re Leaving Me,” where, like Farinacci, he enhances the atmosphere of the song with not only his solo but also his colloquy with Stephens during the delivery of the distraught expression of loss. On “Eden by the Sea,” a lightly swinging composition, Ted Rosenthal accompanies Yaala Ballin as she brings life to Burr’s reminiscence about an ocean-side paradise he no doubt visited, as well as backing Burr’s daughter, Tyler, on “It’s Only Love,” sung with tender force. Anat Cohen and Howard Alden enhance the flow of Ballin’s description of a “Sea Breeze,” both with sinuous harmonic lines and understated solos evocative of Brazilian sambas. In addition, Burr features a group of exceptional musicians in the band that appeared at Birdland, as shown on the DVD, including Houston Person, John Frahm and John Hart. Person’s famous ability to interact with singers, as well as the twang of Hart’s playing, makes “Just Can’t Wait” a perfect opening number for the evening—and for the recordings.

Burr also recruited singers Hilary Kole and Laurel Massé as appropriate for some of his other songs. On “Snowfall,” Kole lightens the mood of the evening with upper-register long tones, supplemented by Mintzer’s or Frahm’s dulcet harmonic lines, suggesting radio-friendly ethereality and longing. Interpreting “Song of a Broken Word” in a broad range, starting at the lower end of her range and swooping upward during the bridge, Massé infuses the piece with tragic emotion while telling a story recalled by a song on the radio.

After a decades-long career as a bassist with some of the most well-known names in jazz, including Chet Baker and Stephane Grappelli, Jon Burr has stepped out to establish his own reputation as a composer, lyricist and band leader with recordings of his own music. Not only did Burr’s band keep the Birdland audience entertained, but also it provided additional exposure for a range of jazz talent in sync with Burr’s work.

Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss showing off the new Smithsonian poster for National Jazz Month

If the downbeat to summertime in Vermont is the annual Discover Jazz Festival (and, it is) then the official downbeat for spring is the annual press conference where the full Discover Jazz schedule is revealed.

That happened today in Burlington.

Geeda Searfoorce, the Festival’s Associate Director, had it just right in her introduction when she said “you can feel the music in the air”. The gallery (home of the annual conference) buzzed with many of the area’s top music media folks from radio and TV, members of the Festival advisory board and reps from the many Fest sponsors. A few steps inside the door and everyone was tearing into the press kit, leafing through page after page of artist listings for this year’s event. If not music itself (come to think of it why wasn’t there background music?) there was a lot of talk about music in the air today.

The headliners have been public for a while now (Diana Krall, Branford Marsalis, and Pink Martini, in case you’ve missed the first big splash) but the rest – and often the most interesting part of the lineup – was kept under wraps until today.

Highlights? You bet. Lots of them: starting with the opening night, this is definitely one of the ‘don’t miss’ shows of the Festival: Esperanza Spalding (bass, vocals, charm by the bucketful) and Anat Cohen (clarinet, sax + innovation like you wouldn’t believe). Mark that one down. In fact, just get your ticket now so you’re not sad when (when) it sells out.

Also very much looking forward to the Luis Perdomo Trio (6/8), the Grace Kelly Quintet (6/9), Yusef Lateef & Adam Rudolph (6/10), the Waterfront Funk Tent (6/11)-featuring one of my N’awlins favorites, Russell Batiste ….and that’s just the first week.

Check out the schedule. You’ll have your own favorites, and, best of all will be those great moments you won’t find until you get there: artists performing in local venues, all the way up and down Church street, and everywhere around town.

Make a plan, get tickets for the shows, and give yourself the time to explore and be surprised.

Guess that’s why they call it Discover Jazz.

—–

P.S. – Just in case you think the schedule alone would be enough to get a bunch of light-deprived media folks inside on such a beautiful day (though, with this crowd it actually would be) – one of the Festival’s sponsors is Lake Champlain Chocolates. The ice cream and chocolate truffles didn’t hurt…I’m just sayin’… Thanks, Lake Champlain!