Looking ahead: Southwest Florida jazz preview (updated)

Here is a rundown of noteworthy jazz events, principally in the Sarasota to Naples territory, from now through March.

•  Wednesday, January 24 – Tenor saxophonist Harry Allen and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon with the Ed Metz-Rossano Sportiello-Nicki Parrott trio and singer Stephanie Nakasian. A South County Jazz Club-Venice Institute for the Performing Arts concert. Venice Performing Arts Center. 7 p.m.
• Saturday, January 27 – Singer Kenny Washington is featured with the Dan Miller-Lew Del Gatto Quintet, Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. Fort Myers, 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, January 31 – Singer-pianist Diana Krall in concert, Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, Fort Myers, 7:30 p.m.

  

  Diana Krall

• Tuesday, February 6 – Singer-pianist Diana Krall  in concert at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota. 8 p.m.
• Saturday, February 10 – Singer Tony Bennett in concert at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota. 8 p.m.
• Sunday, February 11 – Veronica Swift and the Jeff Rupert quartet. A South County Jazz Club concert at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center. Sarasota, 2 p.m.
• Monday, February 12 – Veronica Swift and the Jeff Rupert quartet. Charlotte County Jazz Society concert at the Cultural Center of Charlotte County’s William H Wakeman III Theater. 7 p.m.
• Monday, February 12 – Singer Tony Bennett in concert. Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, Fort Myers, 7:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, February 14 – Alto Saxophonist Steve Wilson guests with the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra in the sextet’s All That Jazz series. Artis-Naples’ Daniels Pavilion, Naples. 6 and 8:30 p.m.
• Thursday, February 15 – Singer-guitarist George Benson in concert at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota. 8 p.m.
• Saturday, February 24 –The 13^th annual Punta Gorda Wine & Jazz Festival runs from 1-6 pm in Laishley Park on the Punta Gorda waterfront. This long-standing smooth jazz event features guitarist Nick Colionne, pianist Lao Tizer and saxophonist Eric Darius as the afternoon’s headliners. Saxophonist Mindi Abair was a headliner for the nine prior years. This time around, she's coming s a co-host, who liikely will sit in. While not on the festival billing per she, she’s getting her own Mindi Abair & Friends weekend festival this fall. The Mindi Abair Punta Gorda Wine and Music Festival is scheduled November 17-18 on the great lawn outside the Event and Conference Center in Punta Gorda.
• Saturday, February 24 – Pianist Dick Hyman and saxophonist/clarinetist Ken Peplowski with a 35-piece orchestra in A SYMPHONY OF BROADWAY A South County Jazz Club-Venice Institute for the Performing Arts concert. Venice Performing Arts Center. 7 p.m.

Jimmy Greene and Jeremy Pelt

• Thursday, March 8 to Saturday March 10 – The 38^th annual Sarasota Jazz Festival features a wide array of domestic and global jazz talent in this “A World of Jazz”-themed event. Headliners include Danish singer Sinne Eeg, Japanese organist Akiko Tsuruga, pianist Ehud Asherie from Israel, singer Chiara Izzi from Italy, guitarist Graham Dechter from California and metropolitan New York-based tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. The lineup includes encore performances by Brazilian guitarist Diego Figuereido, drummer Jeff Hamilton and tenor saxophonist Houston Person, as well as clarinetist-festival music director Ken Peplowski. Riverview Performing Arts Center, Sarasota (a switch from Art Ovation Hotel because of construction delays).

• Monday, March 12 – Dave Pruyn's Legacy Big Band perform at the Charlotte County Jazz Society’s Big Band Night concert. Cultural Center of Charlotte County’s William H Wakeman III Theater. 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 14 – Trombonist Steve Davis guests with the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra in the sextet’s All That Jazz series. Artis-Naples’ Daniels Pavilion, Naples. 6 and 8:30 p.m.
• Sunday, March 25 – Singer Alexis Cole in concert. Firehouse Cultural Center, Ruskin. 3:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 28 – Vibraphonist Warren Wolf guests with the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra in the sextet’s All That Jazz series. Artis-Naples’ Daniels Pavilion, Naples. 6 and 8:30 p.m.

Several local restaurants, including J.D.’s in Port Charlotte, 88 Keys Florida and The Blue Turtle in Punta Gorda, Fandango in Sarasota, The Roadhouse and The Barrel Room at Twisted Vine Bistro in Fort Myers, and Slate’s in Cape Coral, offer jazz steadily. A variety of Friday matinee concerts sponsored all season by the Jazz Club of Sarasota and the South County Jazz Club also keep things swinging for jazz lovers.