Bud Leeds' jazz quartet in Venice

Bud Leeds

Clarinetist Bud Leeds peppered Friday's Venice Art Center concert for the South County Jazz Club with tunes that became brief two- and three-song medleys. It showed interesting connections between material that was either thematic or of similar structure.  For example: "Autumn Leaves" shifted to "Lullabye of the Leaves" and then "Softly as a Morning Sunrise."

But he had a different motive for the condensations.

Naples Jazz Orchestra with star firepower

 Byron Stripling and Doc Severinsen

Thousands jammed into Cambier Park in downtown Naples FL last night for what was the clear highlight of the Naples Jazz Orchestra's fourth season. The 16-piece big band's concert with two special guests - trumpeters Doc Severinsen and Byron Stripling - was also a high point since drummer Bob Stone organized the band four years ago.

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs from Patricia Barber, the Ian Carey Quintet +1, the Clayton Brothers and Scott Hamilton….

Toe-tapping Dixieland - Florida style with a touch of Hawaii

Bob Leary and Davy Jones

Bob Leary's sextet, also known as The Moral Imbeciles (so he said), had toes a-tappin' Monday night throughout the Charlotte Cultural Center at the Charlotte County Jazz Society's Artists Series.

Classic Jazz with good humor

Johnny Varro

Pianist Johnny Varro's Swing 7 concert at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center in Sarasota FL last night had a bit of holiday weekend humor - compliments of the leader.

TSB spins a jazz gem

The Tierney Sutton Band

The Tierney Sutton Band opened a two-week mini-tour last night at Daniels Pavilion in Naples Fl. The show underscored the singer's mastery of taking familiar material and transforming it into something fresh and different.

Sutton’s band has been a musical family for more than 20 years, with finely honed collaborative arrangements and an intuitive spirit that enables them to shift gears in an instant when soloists offer new ideas.

 

My full review has been posted at jazztimes.com.

Sarasota Jazz Festival - Gates and Lamb in spotlight

Giacomo Gates

Connecticut-based bop/vocalese singer Giacomo Gates took the 33rd annual Sarasota Jazz Festival by storm last night, sharing the evening's spotlight with former Ellington bassist John Lamb.

Lamb was a strong part of the headliner's rhythm section - after receiving the Jazz Club of Sarasota's Satchmo Award for his outstanding contributions to jazz as a performer and educator. After getting off the road, he settled in St. Petersburg in 1967 and spent nearly 30 years teaching in the Pinellas County School System. He is still one of the area's most in-demand bass players.

Englewood jazz series concludes first season in fine form

Valerie Gillespie

The South County Jazz Club wound up the first season of its Englewood Art Center concert series with Friday afternoon's performance by Valerie Gillespie's trio. Gillespie is a Tampa Bay-area saxophonist who has also developed into a fine singer. When she's not singing or soloing, she also can't resist dancing to the groove set by her bandmates, in this case pianist Jeff Phillips and drummer Dave Rudolph.