Singer Lisa Kelly and trumpeter JB Scott had a few surprises up their sleeves for their return performance at the Charlotte County Jazz Society on Monday, February 13. The Jacksonville-based musicians spent about one-third of their two-hour concert digging deep into music associated with New Orleans. They also.brought a larger band than anticipated and featured Scott on several vocal numbers in addition to his solid trumpet artistry.
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| Lisa Kelly |
The Crescent City connection was a natural.
Scott spent three years as musical director of the New Orleans-based Dukes of
Dixieland. He's now an associate professor of jazz studies at the University of
North Florida and directs its award-winning Jazz Ensemble I. While in New
Orleans, he was mentored a bit by trumpeter Al Hirt, whose influence was clear
both in Scott's playing and his audience rapport.
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| Kelly, Silva, Scott |
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| JB Scott |
The
evening was advertised as a quintet performance, but Kelly and Scott turned it
into a sextet by adding the fine Southwest Florida trombonist Herb Bruce, whose
humor and versatility made him an ideal fit for this unit. The other players
included pianist Jeff Phillips, bassist Charlie Silva and drummer Clyde Connor.
This was the Port Charlotte debut for Connor, who teaches percussion and jazz
theory at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
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| Herb Bruce |
The
band covered a wide range of material, from Dixieland, classic jazz, big band
standards and the Great American Songbook. The New Orleans-associated material
that bubbled up throughout the night included "Basin Street Blues" (a
strong feature for Bruce), Kelly's exquisite take on the Louis Armstrong
hit "What a Wonderful World," "Sweethearts on Parade"
(complete with Connor's shuffle beat and Scott's gritty vocals), a Professor
Longhair-inspired solo from Phillips on "Tin Roof Blues," "Do
You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" and the closer, "When
The Saints Go Marching In."
They
also put jazz stamp on pop material when Kelly
performed a beautiful ballad version of "I Can See Clearly Now" with
just the rhythm section. Johnny Nash wrote and first recorded
the reggae tune in 1972, and Jimmy Cliff's 1993 hit cover was on the soundtrack
for the film Cool Runnings. "It's not the song that makes it jazz,
it's what you do with it," Kelly said, underscoring the point that jazz is
a process, not a repertoire.
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| Jeff Phillips |
Other
standout moments included Scott's vocal take on "After You've Gone,"
compete with bass-style scatting to Silva's bass solo; a gorgeous Phillips-led
trio exploration of "My Foolish Heart" that opened the second set;
and Kelly's Ella Fitzgerald tribute with a full scat chorus on "Blue
Skies." Connor showcased his drum mastery to full effect with a feature on
"Caravan."
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| Phillips, Kelly, Silva, Scott, Connor, Bruce |
Thank you so much Ken for attending our return performance last night for the Charlotte County Jazz Society and for writing such a wonderful blog review,complete with pics. Remembering how well we were received 3 years ago, we looked forward to performing again for folks so supportive of live jazz performance. Equally important in keeping jazz alive and thriving is the documentation and sharing of concerts by artists and of the sponsors of performance. Thank you for sharing last night's most enjoyable musical event with your readers! Lisa Kelly
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