Chris Walters digs the masterful composers

Nashville-based pianist and singer Chris Walters dug deep into the Great American Songbook - and two of his own worthy gems - in what mostly was a tip of the hat to icons George Gershwin and Cole Porter at the Gulf Theater in Punta Gorda, Florida on Saturday, March 18.

Walters called this tour "Rhapsody in Burlesque" - melding a reference to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with his sometimes playful and unusual treatments of the material. Rest assured, there were no dancers involved, other than his fingers dancing over the keyboard. 

Chris Walters

He was backed by bassist Zebediah Briskovich and drummer Miles Vandiver, both from St. Louis. While each had a few improvisational moments, this was more a well-arranged tribute to composers who had a profound impact on 20th century American music and the extensive jazz repertoire.

Walters opened with medley from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess operetta that included an intimate, dirge-like take on "Summertime" and infused "It Ain't Necessarily So" with a bit of honky-tonk piano and his husky vocals.

Miles Vandiver

Zebediah Briskovich

Porter's "Night and Day" and a boogie-woogie treatment of "Anything Goes" followed. Briskovich's rich-toned bass was featured on Gershwin's "Lullaby," which segued right into his "Cuban Overture." Much later in the program, Vandiver was featured with a wide-ranging drum solo on Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," which provided the most extensive jazz feel of the night.

Walters made sure to acknowledge a few other composers, with instrumentals that included Willie "The Lion" Smith's "Echoes of Spring," Jack Fina's sprightly "Bumble Boogie" (based on "Flight of the Bumblebee"), Peter Nero's clever "Scratch My Bach" and a solo piano journey through "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The latter piece ended with a snippet of Judy Garland's vocals from The Wizard of Oz. 

The trio delivered several standout moments:

• Walters paired a salty take on Gershwin's "Here Come De Honey Man" with Porter's "Love For Sale" with his own unusual twist. Both lyrics were sung from the viewpoint of a pimp, not the lady marketing her wares upstairs.
• He also shared two beautiful standards-quality originals: "Waltzing With a Broom," about a man whose wife/dancing partner had passed on, and "Cool Blue Swing," the latter a metaphor for living the good life. It was delivered with a shuffle-beat rhythm of his native New Orleans.

The 90-minute performance, with no intermission, concluded with Walter's exquisite interpretation of "Rhapsody in Blue."

Walters has extensive jazz, pop and country music credentials. He was pianist and musical director for Barbara Mandrell and J.D. Souther, toured for seven years with the band Alabama, and now works with Alison Brown, the Peter Mayer Group and saxophonist Jeff Coffin's Mu'tet.

The concert was co-sponsored by the Gulf Theater at the Military Heritage Museum and the Charlotte County Jazz Society.

Briskovich, Walters, Vandiver

The art of the duo personified

The jazz duo is the ultimate musical challenge. With just two musicians on stage, there is no coasting allowed. You're either doubling on the melody, listening intently to anticipate how to respond to the other player's solo, comping behind him -- or all of the above.

Dick Hyman, Diego Figueiredo

That fine art was in the spotlight at the 42nd edition of the Sarasota Jazz Festival on Friday, March 17 in the hands of pianist Dick Hyman and Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo. 

Their musical conversation belied their half-century age gap. NEA Jazz Master Hyman turned 96 last week. Figueiredo, a rising star on his instrument, is just 42.

It was a call-and-response set from the get-go as they explored a wide range of Brazilian and Cuban material, with a few American standards sprinkled in for good measure. At every turn, they found common ground through the music itself.

Diego Figueiredo

"The Color of Brazil" and "So Danca Samba" led to a playful take on "All The Things You Are," with Figueiredo filling behind Hyman's lead. Whether he is popping off blistering solos or comping, the Brazilian draws on his wonderful combination of finger pick-style jazz and classical guitar techniques, sometimes adding a bit of body English for emphasis.

After digging in to Antonio Carlos Jobim's bossa nova classic "Wave," the festival's new musical director, Terell Stafford, joined them on flugelhorn for an extended exploration of Jobim's "Triste." 

Then came a solo tune apiece by the two co-stars. Hyman uncorked a teasing-at-times, bouncy and bright version of "Cherokee" that included a clever Stride piano segment. Figueiredo used his solo space to explore "Tico-Tico No Fubá," one of the high-energy Brazilian features in his repertoire. Zequinha de Abreu wrote this Brazilian choro in 1917. 

Dick Hyman

Because it happened to be St. Patrick's Day, Hyman included "Danny Boy" in the program. This gentler moment was a chance to catch one's breath before the fiery closer. Together, they roared through Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona's Latin classic "Malaguena."

Hyman, a prolific pianist, organist, composer, arranger, bandleader, composer of film scores and orchestral works in a career dating to the late 1940s, is a master of the keyboard. He mixes sparking delicacy with uptempo fluidity, exploring multiple styles with ease.

Dick Hyman, Diego Figueiredo

He played the first Sarasota Jazz Festival back in 1981 and has been the event's most frequent performer. At first a snowbird, he has lived in nearby Venice full-time for more than 25 years. At 96 and not wanting to travel extensively anymore, this may have been one of his last significant performances. But you never know.

This year's festival, produced by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, was held under the Circus Arts Conservatory's Big Top at Nathan Benderson Park. 

The festival's other headliners included singers Kurt Elling (with guitarist Charlie Hunter), and Lizz Wright, pianist Christian Sands, bassist Marcus Miller, reed player Paquito D'Rivera, B-3 player Tony Monaco, tenor saxophonist Houston Person and the more-contemporary Allen Carmen Project with Gumbi Ortiz.

Dick Hyman, Diego Figueiredo, Terell Stafford

The Jazz Cruise is back with vigor and surprises

After two years of pandemic-prompted cancellations, The Jazz Cruise picked up right where it left off in January 2020. This year's January 6-13 sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the Caribbean was loaded with talent, peerless playing and a few splendid surprises.

How to describe it in a nutshell? The finest jazz performed in varied combinations between early afternoon and 1 a.m. On several days, the music began before noon. And that doesn't count  lectures, interviews, and daily passenger jam sessions that stretched from 9:30 a.m.  to 2:30 p.m.

More than 100 musicians were aboard, with the headliners including singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, pianist Monty Alexander and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. The Jazz at Lincoln Center artistic director came aboard with his octet during the Celebrity Millennium's (8 a.m. to 11 p.m.) extended stop in Cozumel, Mexico.

Each band aboard the cruise performed three times during the course of the week, so you could catch someone later if you had a conflict with another show in one of the ship's four performance venues. Players were also mixed-and-matched in eight different top-notch All-Stars concerts. Deck Four's Rendezvous Lounge specialized in piano trio and solo piano shows that had an up close, in-your-living-room atmosphere.

Sutton, Holmes

Here is a chronological rundown of some of my personal favorites from the week's many offerings:

• Singer Tierney Sutton's opening night Sky Lounge performance with her longstanding band included the first of the cruise's "you had to be there" moments. Singer Clint Holmes jumped on stage for the finale, joining Sutton in a clever scatting duet on Bob Dorough's "Devil May Care."
  

• Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon's Gospel Hour is a treat each time out, this one bringing the jazz church to a Saturday morning, because it was a day at sea unfettered by a port-of-call. Gordon opened with a duet with pianist Lafayette Harris Jr. on Thomas A. Dorsey's "Precious Lord" before bringing out band mates Terell Stafford, Rickey Woodard, Javier Nero, Matthew Parrish and Eric Harland. Singer Niki Haris added rousing gospel vocals on "Precious Memories" and "This Little Light of Mine." Gordon, shifting between horns and vocals, shared an original pandemic-inspired tune, "Blues 2020."
  

Godwin Louis, Etienne Charles

• Trinidad-born Etienne Charles treated the audience to bop and non-bop material flavored with the rhythms and musical spices of the Caribbean with his Creole Soul band. This younger band included alto saxophonist Godwin Louis, Cuban pianist Axel Tosca, guitarist Alex Wintz, bassist Barry Stephenson and drummer Savannah Harris. With Charles shifting between trumpet and congas, they put fresh stamps on Trinidad boogie-woogie pianist Winifred Atwell's "Coronation Rag," Henri Salvador's "Dans Mon Ile," which Antonio Carlos Jobim said influenced him in developing the bossa nova, some Hazel Scott, Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low," and a vibrant calypso, among others.

Sing, Sing, Sing

• Sing, Sing, Sing was a stand, stand, standout. Musical director and pianist Shelly Berg performed with nine of the singers on the cruise. Each talked about their primary influence in deciding on jazz careers, then shared a tune of their choosing that underscored their individual styles. This 90-minute gem was a mutual admiration society event with John Pizzarelli, Bridgewater, Sutton, Holmes, Haris, Kurt Elling, Ann Hampton Callaway, Bria Skonberg and rising star Samara Joy. whose sheer vocal power and artistry had her peers' jaws dropping. Callaway's segment had the audience - and all of the other singers - in stitches, as she improvised lyrics that spoke to each of their traits and background stories that they shared minutes before. It was clever - and masterfully done. Here's a link to the YouTube clip.

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  Gordon, Marsalis
  

  New Orleans jazz flavors were prominent throughout the Wynton Marsalis Octet concert. They explored "No Surrender" from the leader's Integrity Suite, and "Deeper Than Dreams" and "Ballot Box Bounce" from the The Democracy Suite. Former sideman Wycliffe Gordon joined the festivities for "Buddy Bolden's Blues" and "Basin Street Blues." Alto saxophonist Wes Anderson, another Marsalis band alum, who was aboard the cruise as a passenger, joined the band on "Moscow Blues."

Samara Joy

• Samara Joy, who turned 23 in November, only found her way to jazz at age 17, but has absorbed much from studying the masters - and transforming it into a personal style. While Sarah Vaughan is the primary influence, she also shared material from Carmen McRae, Abbey Lincoln and Betty Carter in her performance with pianist Luther Allison, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. She also performed Barry Harris’ composition "Now and Then," to which she added original lyrics.
  

Bridgewater, McBride, Green

• Bassist Christian McBride teamed with two old friends and band mates, pianist Benny Green and drummer Greg Hutchinson, to celebrate the impact and musical legacy of bass great Ray Brown by performing material from his repertoire. All three had worked in Brown's bands, McBride in SuperBass, a project that also included The Jazz Cruise's big band director, John Clayton.The high-level performance finished with a fourth former Brown collaborator. Dee Dee Bridgewater joined the trio for "I'm Beginning to See the Light" and "Here's That Rainy Day." Misty eyes and goosebumps prevailed - on stage and in the audience.

Wintz, Hart,Sewell

• John Hart teamed with Wintz and Marvin Sewell for a Guitar Summit, in which each of the players chose tunes and then shifted between melody, harmony and rhythm responsibilities. With no other musicians on stage, it was intimate and riveting.

• Keyboard Capers, produced by Emmet Cohen, featured 14 of the cruise's 18 pianists in a 90-minute showcase. (Ted Rosenthal, Billy Childs, Christian Sands, Benny Green, Renee Rosnes, Christian Tamburr, Luther Allison, Emmet Cohen, Christian Jacob, Kenny Banks Jr., Axel Tosca, Tamir Hendelman, Sullivan Fortner, Bill Charlap.) Each performed a solo piano piece in his or her own style, then handed off to the next player. All were riveting.   

For example,

Trading off, Keyboard Capers

 Sands shared an instant improvisation inspired by his trip to the beach in Nassau, Bahamas that morning. Tosca played the Cuban son-pregón "El Manisero, known in English as "The Peanut Vendor." Tamburr added a twist by playing "I Remember You" on vibes. This lively session closed with a four-six- and even eight-hands romp through Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce" as the players took turns at the shared piano.

It felt like a Day 7 highlight, even though there were nine more sets scheduled that afternoon and night, including Monty Alexander's third trio show. Much like Benny Golson did a few years ago, he spent time between songs reminiscing about his influences and inspirations.

The Jazz Cruise began in 2001. Because of the pandemic lull, this was its 21st sailing. Founder Anita Berry took Hank O'Neal's old Floating Jazz Festival concept of the 1980s and '90s, which had heavy concentrations of jazz on regular sailings of the SS Norway and a few other ships, and upped the game. She chartered an entire ship for an all-jazz cruise. Her son, Michael Lazaroff, has continued the tradition.

The Jazz Cruise was followed by this week's Blue Note at Sea. The Jazz Cruises LLC series continues for the next two weeks with sailings of The Smooth Jazz Cruise.

Wycliffe Gordon's Gospel Hour with Niki Haris

The joy of piano personified

Pianist Bobby van Deusen returned to southwest Florida on Friday, November 22 with a long-overdue performance that celebrated his mastery of virtually every keyboard style - delivered with joy and enthusiasm.

The Pensacola-based keyboard marvel hadn't performed locally in nearly four years, thanks to pandemic and hurricane postponements.That made his performance in Morrie Trumble's South County Jazz With Morrie series even more special.

Over nearly two hours, van Deusen covered a lot of territory, both stylistically and in the sourcing of his material.

"I'm gonna play a lot of tunes everybody knows," he told the audience at the at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Venice. "That seems cliched, but they're not cliched if you play them your own way." And he did.

Van Deusen won his second senior division title at the World Championship Old-Time Piano-Playing Contest over Memorial Day Weekend in Oxford, Mississippi. He said he is gunning for a third.

The tunes of the day ranged Scott Joplin's ragtime classic "The Entertainer" to Bobby Troup's classic "Route 66" to Duke Ellington's "Satin Doll" to a stunning, shortened version of his amazing "Phantom of the Opera" medley.

"Route 66" was an appropriate inclusion, as van Deusen took various turns all afternoon down Ragtime Road, Stride Street, Boogie-Woogie Boulevard and Classical Circle to add delicacy or thundering passages as the moment prompted him. At times he sounded like the piano duo Ferrante & Teicher rolled into one.

"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" was embellished with lush ornamentation and stride segments. He also dug with zest into "Chattanooga Choo Choo," "Tenderly," "Mandy, Make Up Your Mind" (one of his Old-Time Piano-Playing Competition" selections this year), "Edd Tide," the Four Freshmen hit "Shangri La," "Stardust," Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness," and a eye-popping take on Willie "The Lion" Smith's aptly named composition, "The Fingerbreaker." There were many others, as well.

Late in the program, he dropped in a teasing, sometimes off-kilter version of "Sweet Georgia Brown" that resolved with a lot of boogie-woogie. 

In the spirit of the season, he added a few classics from Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas repertoire, including the joyous "Linus and Lucy" and "Skating." He closed the afternoon with a holiday medley that opened and closed with popular singer Andy Williams' 1963 hit "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

For van Deusen, the afternoon revealed that he is consumed with sharing his love of piano - right down to his socks.

Back on the road, with love

When Japanese pianist Makoto Ozone last visited New York City, a not-so-funny thing happened. He was in the Big Apple in January 2020, planning to visit friends in advance of his next scheduled trip, an April 2020 appearance with his trio at Dizzy's Club.

“I was supposed to be there only for a few days, but I got COVID as soon as I got there. So I had to lock myself up for about 12 days. I had to cancel a gig in Germany because I couldn’t fly out,” Ozone emailed me. He couldn't return that April because his Dizzy's Club gig, and virtually all others in the jazz world, vanished thanks to the pandemic.

Shortly after his 2020 touring plans bit the dust, he started live-streaming solo piano concerts from his Tokyo home. He played every night for 53 consecutive nights. That initiative, “Welcome to Our Living Room,” drew more than thousands of viewers nightly. They included many musician friends and collaborators.

The sheer joy of swinging jazz

 You can hear it in the music, and you can see it in the faces.

Jazz at its best touches the audience, and is celebrated deeply in the musical communion among its makers. No matter the age gap, or the almost immeasurable decades of experience by most participants.

Brandon Goldberg

Such was the case on Sunday, April 10 when the Dan Miller-Lew Del Gatto quintet performed at Naples United Church of Christ. The quintet featured 16-year-old Miami-area pianist Brandon Goldberg - and for this 90-minute performance, he clearly was the center of attention in a band that was made up of jazz heavyweights.

They included trumpeter Miller, a veteran of the Harry Connick Jr. and Maynard Ferguson bands, and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra; 30-year NBC Saturday Night Live Band alumnus Del Gatto; first-call Miami bassist Chuck Bergeron; and Philadelphia drummer Tony Vigilante, who spent 20 years touring with Ben Vereen. 

Sharing some thoughts - and visuals - on Chick Corea

Has there been a more dominant, restlessly creative jazz explorer over the past 50 years than Chick Corea? I think not.

Chick Corea, Newport, 1998

The Clearwater FL-based pianist, composer, bandleader and educator passed away last Tuesday, February 9, from a rare form of cancer that his family said had only been diagnosed very recently. He was 79. Check out his Facebook posting, which includes a parting message.

The sheer variety of his compositions and band projects still astounds me. After he left trumpeter Miles Davis's band in 1970s to forge his own musical path, Corea's journey took many winding twists and turns. He continued exploring the electronic frontiers of jazz fusion with Return to Forever, and later, his Elektrik Band. 

Thanks, Freddy, for the jazz connection

The fine pianist and singer Freddy Cole died Saturday, June 27, at age 88 at his home in Atlanta. He had been struggling with cardiovascular issues for a while.

His manager, Suzi Reynolds, called him Mr. Magic. "He wove a web of sonic beauty with every note and kept listeners silently breathless with his casual, elegant storytelling...," she reflected Sunday via email.

Freddy Cole

While working for many years in the immense shadow of his far-famous elder brother, Nat King Cole, Freddy had his own powerful vibe. There were smoky vocal similarities between the two men (Nat was 12 years his senior and died in 1965), but Freddy became a jazz vocal master of distinction. He performed here, there, and seemingly everywhere, for well into seven decades.

I had several opportunities to hear his performances through the years. The Cape May Jazz Festival in 2004, Newport Jazz Festival in 2013 (where he opened for his niece Natalie Cole, and with the Naples (FL) Jazz Orchestra in 2014, come to mind. But the most impactful, for me, were the first couple of gigs many years earlier.

This was back in the mid-1960s. My parents took me to a little lounge on the western fringe of Albany NY. The names of the club and the strip mall in which it was located now escape me. But Freddy was an annual regular there on his performance circuit at the time. A few nights later, or perhaps the next year, I went back with two or three classmates and our dates after junior prom, just to hear Freddy. Not-your-typical after-prom party for a bunch of high schoolers.

Little did I know at the time that this first live jazz exposure, with Freddy performing solo, would whet my appetite for jazz in the way it has. 

But it sure did.

Here's a link to my review of his Naples appearance for JazzTimes.

A swinging intersect of science and jazz

Scientific research and anecdotal evidence have made it clear that music can be a healing force. That intersection music and science is a two-way street. Look no further than Tampa-based jazz pianist John C. O’Leary III, who has composed music that is inspired by science. In this case, it reflects aspects of his research as a neuroscientist.

This Mexican-born performer has had a hybrid educational life. He attended the University of South Florida where he studied tuba, jazz piano and biochemistry. He graduated with a B.A. in jazz piano performance, a minor in tuba performance, and an honors thesis in biochemistry. He then earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience. For his doctoral dissertation, he researched a group of proteins termed “chaperones” and their effects on the development of neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s, and stress-related psychiatric diseases. 

John O'Leary

Ultimately, his love of jazz piano shifted his career track. He’s the pianist in the fine Tampa Bay Area-based trio La Lucha, which also includes bassist Alejandro Arenas and drummer Mark Feinman. But O’Leary’s interest in neuroscience inspired his 2018 solo recording project, CRISPR (Gamma Rhythm Music), which bridges his twin interests.

The repeating melody that runs through the title track, with slight variations, acknowledges the impact of CRISPR, an acronym for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.”  These DNA base pairs are found many forms of bacteria. CRISPR technology is used to destroy viruses and otherwise improve health through gene editing. O’Leary said he considers it the most significant scientific development in this new century.

Another composition, “Polymorphism,” is built around the idea that a shift of just one note can make a dramatic change the feeling of a piece of music, just as a change in one protein in the body can have major consequences on one’s health. His blues, “Gamma Frequency,” reflects the research that exposure to gamma rays can impact goal-oriented behavior.

The afternoon’s tour-de-force was his composition “Edna Welsch.” The instrumental was commissioned by a grandchild to remember and capture the inner beauty of a woman who died from Alzheimer’s  It began as light and upbeat, then grew progressively darker and brooding, before resolving with an ending segment that, while a bit different from the opening, had a sense of peace and beauty.

“The opening melody expresses her young, vibrant life,” O’Leary said, “then it becomes more angular and depressing, and in its final stage, she has moved on to the next life.” A listener could also interpret the ending as resolving with the memories that friends and relatives retain of her vibrant years.

O’Leary shared his science-and-music perspective on June 15, at the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s Medical Grand Rounds lecture series. Several times a year, the medical forum focuses on different aspects of the links between music and medicine.

The prior evening, La Lucha performed at JD’s Bistro in Port Charlotte, performing originals and jazz standards flavored with the band’s adventurous touches. One gem, “Cheek to Cheek,” opened with the standard melody before O’Leary inserted Latin clave and blues interludes.

The swinging art of the jazz trio - at its best

Pianist Marcus Roberts made clear his musical agenda right up front. "We believe that a jazz trio should not put you to sleep." And they certainly didn't at a Friday, April 19 concert at in downtown Fort Myers, FL. The event wrapped the 2018-19 jazz concert season at the Sidney & Berne Davis Arts Center.

Marcus Roberts

Roberts made sure his longtime trio mates, bassist Rodney Jordan and drummer Jason Marsalis (the youngest brother in the musical clan from New Orleans), also got plentiful spotlights throughout the evening. Each player's ideas and instincts helped move the music's exploratory direction.

The first set was quite varied as they explored three Roberts original and four other gems from the jazz canon.The originals were "Cole After Midnight," his tip of the hat to Nat King Cole and Cole Porter; the hard-swinger "Perfect Timing"; and "Harvest Time" from his 1996 trio recording Time and Circumstance.

Roberts, Jordan

Rodney Jordan

Roberts and Jordan teamed up for a bass-and-piano duet on "Sweet Georgia Brown" and Jordan was in the spotlight later in the set with a beautiful exploration of "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise." 

Marsalis got a center-stage solo spotlight, playing just his snare drum, on an original piece called "The One Drum Band." At one point, he had seven different rhythms going. After a trio romp through Thelonious Monk's "Blues Five Spot," Roberts treated the audience to a delicate solo piano version of Duke Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss."

Jason Marsalis

The second set was very different - and something quite daring for a jazz trio to pull off. Roberts & Co. performed each tune, in order, from John Coltrane's 1964 Impulse! recording Crescent. This meditative Coltrane suite consisted of the title track, "Wise One," "Bessie's Blues," "Lonnie's Lament" and "The Drum Thing," the latter another fine showcase for Marsalis. The band topped off the evening with an earlier Coltrane piece, the blues "Traneing In," from his 1958 studio album with the Red Garland Trio.

The evening was a lesson in how to draw in an audience with deeply varied individual and group dynamics: the music could shift from bold to the softest, lightest touch in a heartbeat, showcasing the material and the talents of its makers.

Marsalis, Jordan, Roberts

The Marcus Roberts Trio at SBDAC