Jazz that swings mightily




Lisa Kelly and JB Scott

Singer Lisa Kelly and trumpeter JB Scott's first appearance at the Charlotte County Jazz Society's concert series tonight was a dandy, ensuring that the Jacksonville-based couple will be back sooner rather than later in the CCJS rotation.
The pair teach at the University of North Florida, where Scott directs the school's award-winning Jazz Ensemble I. (He also spent three years as musical director of the New Orleans-based Dukes of Dixieland.) Both are versatile entertainers with warm personalities and musical styles that parrot no one. Their backing trio included pianist Jeff Phillips, bassist Charlie Silva and drummer Ian Goodman. The quintet's combined familiarity worked to great advantage.

"We are firm believers in swing," Kelly told the crowd. And the band delivered in strong, swinging doses from start to finish. There were touches of Dixieland ("Three Little Words," "Rosetta" and "Sweethearts on Parade") and a bit of blues, and one fiery Scott original ("J Bizzle"), but swing tunes set the tone for the night.

Highlights: Kelly's takes on "The Nearness of You, "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" and "East of the Sun," and the band's closer - "I Love Being Here With You" - for the band loved the reception and the audience loved the musical evening.

Jeff Phillips, Charlie Silva, Lisa Kelly, JB Scott, Ian Goodman