Looking Ahead: Southwest Florida jazz preview

The 2015-16 jazz concert season continues through May. Here is a rundown of noteworthy jazz events, principally in the Sarasota to Naples territory, from now through March. I’ll post updated lists as the season progresses. 

• Monday, February 8 – Guitarist Steve Uscher and his Tropical Jazz Band. Charlotte County Jazz Society‘s Concert Series. Cultural Center of Charlotte County. 7 p.m.
• Sunday, February 10 – Clarinetist Ken Peplowski plays the music of Benny Goodman with The Naples Jazz Orchestra, Titans Auditorium, 2925 Titan Way, Naples, 7 p.m.
  
• Sunday, February 14 – Trumpeter and singer Bria Skonberg in concert. South County Jazz Club series, Glenridge Performing Arts Center, Sarasota, 2 p.m.
• Wednesday, February 17 – Singer Carmen Lundy joins the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra for the sextet’s  monthly All That Jazz concert. Daniels Pavilion, 6 and 8:30 p.m.

  

  Bria Skonberg

• Saturday, February 20 – 11^th annual Punta Gorda Wine & Jazz Festival features guitarist Nick Colionne, singer Bobby Caldwell and alto saxophonist Mindi Abair (back for her eighth consecutive year). Laishley Park, Punta Gorda, 1-6 p.m. The festival’s mainstream jazz brunch on Sunday, February 21 at the Isles Yacht Club, sponsored by Presley Beane Financial Services, features trombonist Herb Bruce, singer-drummer Patricia Dean, trumpeter John DePaola, pianist Jeff Phillips, saxophonist David MacKenzie and bassist-guitarist Dave Trefethen. 

• March 6-12 – Jazz Club of Sarasota‘s 36^th annual Sarasota Jazz Festival.This year's major concerts feature the Naples Jazz Orchestra with trumpeter Byron Stripling, guitarist Diego Figueiredo and clarinetist Ken Peplowski, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, and a Dick Hyman-led all-star band that includes guitarists Howard Alden and Russell Malone. Evening concerts are at the Riverview High School Performing Arts Center in Sarasota. 
• Wednesday, March 9 – Flutist Hubert Laws joins the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra for the sextet’s  monthly All That Jazz concert. Daniels Pavilion, 6 and 8:30 p.m. Trumpeter Chris Botti guests with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra across the courtyard at Hayes Hall, 8 p.m.
• Sunday, March 13 – Singer Tony Bennett in concert. Hayes Hall, Artis Naples, 8 p.m.
•  Monday, March 14 – The Harry Allen quintet with singer Rebecca Kilgore. Charlotte County Jazz Society‘s Concert Series. Cultural Center of Charlotte County, Port Charlotte. 7 p.m.
• Saturday, March 19 – Pianist Cyrus Chestnut makes his first South County Jazz Club appearance. Glenridge Performing Arts Center, Sarasota, 7.p.m.

Several local restaurants (including J.D.’s in Port Charlotte, The Orange House in Punta Gorda, and The Roadhouse in Ft. Myers, 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.