Looking Ahead: Southwest Florida jazz preview - Spring edition

The 2014-15 jazz concert season will start winding down after Easter… when the majority of snowbirds will start heading north. But there is great music still to be found for those who linger in Southwest Florida, or are here pretty much year-round. Here is a rundown of noteworthy jazz events, principally in the Sarasota to Naples territory, from now through mid-May.

• Monday, March 16 – The Naples Jazz Orchestra's Frank Sinatra centennial tribute with singer Walt Andrus. 7 p.m., Cambier Park, Naples.
• Friday, March 20 – Singer Carla Cook with the Dan Miller-Lew Del Gatto Quintet. Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, Fort Myers.
• Wednesday, April 1, 2015 – Trumpeter Jon Faddis is the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra’s special guest. Daniels Pavilion, Naples. 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
• Monday, April 13 – Trombonist Herb Bruce‘s Dixieland band, Herbicide, in concert, Charlotte County Jazz Society‘s Artists Series. Cultural Center of Charlotte County. 7 p.m.
• Thursday, April 16 – Singer-pianist Diana Krall. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota, 8 p.m.
• Friday, April 17 – Trumpeter Chris Botti. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota, 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 22, 2015 – Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon is the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra’s special guest. Daniels Pavilion, Naples. 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 13, 2015 – The Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra features drummer Mike Harvey in its tribute to the music of Art Blakey. Daniels Pavilion, Naples. 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Several local restaurants (including J.D.’s in Port Charlotte, The Orange House and the Turtle Club in Punta Gorda, The Roadhouse in Ft. Myers, and Alto in Naples) offer jazz steadily. A variety of matinee concerts sponsored all season by the Jazz Club of Sarasota and the South County Jazz Club also keep things swinging for jazz lovers.