SW FLA's jazz busy season is fast approaching

It's time to prepare your listening calendars


Giacomo Gates

Pianist Billy Marcus’s five nights last month at JD’s Bistro & Grille in Port Charlotte as part of a fill-in trio with bassist Dominic Mancini and drummer-singer Patricia Dean had more than terrific listening value. It whetted my appetite for the Southwest Florida concert season, which pretty much runs from late September through the end of April.

I’ve compiled a rundown of interesting concert choices stretching from Sarasota to Naples that was published today at jazztimes.com. There is a lot going on, not including two rival series of weekly jam sessions.

My list is not all-inclusive, merely a guide to some of the concerts catching my eye. There are quite a few visiting artists from the northeastern U.S., as well as from other regions of Florida. The websites of the sponsors - The Phil (Philharmonic Center for the Arts) in Naples, the Punta Gorda Wine & Jazz Festival, the Charlotte County Jazz Society, the South County Jazz Club and the Jazz Club of Sarasota - have full calendar listings.
 

Check them out and get ready to listen - and tap your feet.

Esparanza Spalding

Ira Sullivan