A masterful night of jazz

Trombonist Michael Dease was well armed with ample doses of creativity, gentility, humor,  and swing when he joined the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra as the sextet opened its 10th concert season on Wednesday, October 30.

Dease, 37, is a busy young performer and educator. In addition to touring the world as a first-call player, he teaches music at Michigan State and runs a summer jazz camp in North Carolina. He also plays trumpet, saxophone and piano.

Michael Dease

This evening with the NPJO's fine team of players.underscored his trombone mastery.  The sextet includes tenor saxophonist and artistic director Lew Del Gatto, trumpeter Dan Miller, violinist Glenn Basham, pianist Jerry Stawski, bassist Kevin Mauldin and drummer Mike Harvey.

Together, they explored a handful of jazz standards, two Dease originals - and a little-heard treat from the early days of bebop.

Dease paid tribute to one of his own trombone heroes, the late J.J. Johnson with J.J.'s "Shortcake." He honored the modern jazz legacy of gone-too-soon trumpeter Roy Hargrove, who died last year at age 49, with a poignant version of one of Hargrove's favorite ballads, "Never Let Me Go," with just the rhythm section.

Michael Dease & Lew Del Gatto

This performance of Del Gatto's arrangement of Harry Warren's "You're My Everything" included a bit of growling trombone in Dease's solo. The band's take on the Antonio Carlos Jobim's bossa nova "Triste" featured Del Gatto on flute and Miller on muted trumpet. It included a beautiful trumpet-trombone counterpoint segment after Mauldin's solo introduction. Basham's violin work enhanced the exotic bossa feel here.

Glenn Basham

"Brooklyn," the first of Dease's two originals, was named for his 1-year-old daughter. Here and there you could here snippets of the Frankie Valli hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." Stawski dropped in a tasty quote from Freddie Hubbard's "Little Sunflower." He wrote the second tune, "Zanderfied," as a tip of the hat to longtime friend Jeffrey Zander, an insurance broker ho has been instrumental in the success of the Dease-run Jazz Institute  at North Carolina's Brevard Music Center. The tune had an uptempo "Killer Joe" feel.

The evening concluded with a burning version of bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker's 1949 composition "Cardboard," which has fallen into obscurity. In crafting this one, Bird put a fresh melody over the chord progressions of the 1941 pop song "Don't Take Your Love From Me." Dease and the sextet made it fresh and vibrant.

Michael Dease guests with the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra

The NPJO's "All That Jazz" season at Artis-Naples' Daniels Pavilion includes performances with singer Carla Cook on November 20, guitarist Peter Bernstein on December 18, tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon on January 15, vibraphonist Stefon Harris on February 12 and alto saxophonist Charles McPherson on April 22.The sextet digs into the music of Thelonious Monk on May 13.

Swinging effortlessly into a new concert season

It was most appropriate that clarinetist Allan Vaché began the Charlotte County Jazz Society's 2019-2020 concert season opener with the chestnut "Just Friends." He was back for his fourth CCJS appearance, and his first Port Charlotte visit since 2014. And he brought four close musical friends: his current Orlando-based rhythm section plus ace trumpeter Charlie Bertini.

Allan Vaché

The Monday, October 14 event teamed the Jim Cullum Jazz Band alumnus with Bertini, pianist Mark McKee, bassist Charlie Silva and drummer Walt Hubbard. While Bertini and Silva are no strangers to the CCJS stage, this was the first local appearance for Hubbard and McKee. 

The evening featured several Vaché concert staples with other jazz and Great American Songbook fare. It included material from the Duke Ellington repertoire, a bit of movie music, some Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael, and a brief foray into vintage New Orleans. One concert staple, also performed in Vaché's Port Charlotte appearances in 2011 and 2014, was Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Look to the Sky." Because it is heard so infrequently, these days, Vaché does a great service by sharing this gentle bossa nova.

Charlie Bertini

Vaché's lively, wide-ranging clarinet artistry was featured on Rodgers and Hammerstein's "It Might as Well Be Spring" from the 1945 film "State Fair," which made sense. It's included on his latest recording, It Might as Well Be Swing (Arbors Jazz, 2018), teamed him with the same rhythm section.

Mark McKee

On "Tangerine" and "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" Bertini and Vaché showed what terrific musical foils they are. They played exquisite unison melodies but also delivered solos that built on each other's ideas.

It was clear this night that for Vaché, every tune is a musical adventure unto itself. That spirit lets him spotlight each member of the band several times during a concert. In that regard, he is a most democratic bandleader.

Charlie Silva

Shifting to flugelhorn, Bertini shared a stunning version of the Carmichael ballad "The Nearness of You." Silva took spotlight honors on the early standard "Comes Love" before he and Vaché traded bass and clarinet phrases to close it out. The rhythm section dug into "Some Day My Prince Will Come." Hubbard was featured on two Ellington-associated tunes, Juan Tizol's "Perdido" and "Caravan," the concert closer.

Walt Hubbard

Together, Vaché's quintet delivered a fine evening of effortless swing. 

The concert drew an early season crowd of more than 250 to the Cultural Center of Charlotte County's William H. Wakeman III Theater in Port Charlotte, FL.

McKee, Vaché, Bertini, Silva, Hubbard

A night Bass'd on a True Story

The Barrel Room at the Twisted Vine Bistro in downtown Fort Myers was packed on Saturday, September 28 for bassist Brandon Robertson's CD release gig/celebration. By my head count, it was standing-room-only and then some.  In addition to those fortunate to get seats at tables or the bar,people were standing wherever they could find space.
 
 It was a well-deserved turnout to note the release of Bass'd on a True Story (Slammin' Media). 

The Barrel Room was the natural choice for this, since Brandon performs weekly at the club as an integral part of the Dan Miller-Lew Del Gatto quartet each Thursday night. He's built quite a following since settling in the area. He performs frequently in a variety of contexts and directs the jazz program at nearby Florida Gulf Coast University.

Brandon Robertson

While the CD includes two terrific jazz standards (Brooks Bowman's "East of the Sun (West of the Moon" and Benny Golson's "Stablemates"), the other eight tracks are Robertson originals. Each was inspired by a profound moment in the leader's musical or personal life, hence the clever CD title.

The band for the evening included Miller on trumpet, Del Gatto on tenor sax, Zach Bartholomew on piano and Josh Platt on drums. Bartholomew, a longtime collaborator with Brandon since their Florida State undergrad days, earned his doctorate and teaches at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. Platt is a Frost student.

A season warm-up for Charlotte County jazz fans

While its formal 2019-20 concert season doesn't start until October 14, the Charlotte County Jazz Society whetted the appetites of about 90 members and prospective members on Wednesday, September 25.

Billy Marcus, Don Mopsick

Pianist Billy Marcus and bassist Don Mopsick performed for CCJS at the matinee event at JD's Bistro and Jazz Club in Port Charlotte, FL.The pair are frequent collaborators, although this was Marcus' first CCJS appearance.

Marcus, a South Florida jazz powerhouse for decades, cut his jazz teeth in Massachusetts. His mother, Marie Marcus, was a renowned stride pianist. She was considered the Queen of Cape Cod Jazz. 

Big band bebop at its finest

A 17-day family wedding road trip brought me back to Rhode Island for the second time in a month, returning in September, not long after my August visit to cover the Newport Jazz Festival. The scheduling gods worked their magic for this September journey.

In other words, I got to hear the splendid John Allmark Jazz Orchestra on Monday, September 9 at The Met Cafe, a premiere RI music emporium that is located in a former mill building in Pawtucket. The band plays there on Mondays once or twice a month. 

You can never be sure which charts the British-born trumpeter will pull from his huge band book on any given Monday. But the music is always swinging -- and delivered impeccably by his crew of southern New England musicians, most of whom are Boston or Providence jazz mainstays.

Looking ahead: Southwest Florida jazz preview

Here is a rundown of noteworthy jazz events, principally in the Sarasota to Naples territory, from now through November, as the 2019-20 concert season heats up….

September

Valerie Gillespie

• Saturday, September 7 – Saxophonist and singer Valerie Gillespie opens the Firehouse Cultural Center’s 2019-20 jazz series with her Blues in the Night band. Ruskin. 7:30 p.m.

October

• Monday, October 14 – Clarinetist Allen Vache’s quintet opens the Charlotte County Jazz Society’s 2019-2020 concert series. William H. Wakeman III Theater, Cultural Center of Charlotte County. Port Charlotte. 7 p.m.
• Thursday, October 17-Sunday, October 20 – 40^th annual Clearwater Jazz Holiday. With headliners including Boyz II Men, Alison Krauss, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Chicago, you have to look hard, and arrive early, to hear most of the jazz on the program. But it is there this year. Check out the Young Lions Jazz Masters Sessions, featuring trumpeter James Suggs, at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the University of Miami’s Frost Jazz Ensemble featuring trumpeter John Daversa, and a 40^th anniversary tribute to jazz vocalists, with singers Valerie Gillespie, Karen Benjey, Erica DiCeglie, Fred Johnson, Theo Valentin and Belinda Womack, backed by the jazz trio La Lucha. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue close out the Friday night show. Coachman Park, Clearwater.
• Saturday, October 26 – The Jazz Club of Sarasota opens its 40^th season with a concert by pianist Shelly Berg’s trio with bassist Mark Neuenschwander and drummer Ian Goodman. La Lucha opens the evening with tenor saxophonist Jeremy Carter and singer Synia Carroll. Holley Hall, Sarasota, 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 30 – Trombonist Michael Dease guests with the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra in the sextet’s 2019-2020 concert series. Artis-Naples’ Daniels Pavilion, Naples. 6 and 8:30 p.m. 

November

• Monday, November 11 – Pianist Johnny Varro's Swing Seven performs in the Charlotte County Jazz Society’s concert series. William H. Wakeman III Theater, Cultural Center of Charlotte County. Port Charlotte. 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, November 20 – Singer Carla Cook guests with the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra in the sextet’s 2019-2020 concert series. Artis-Naples’ Daniels Pavilion, Naples. 6 and 8:30 p.m.

  

  Jason Marsalis

• Friday, November 22 to Sunday, November 24 – The 28^th annual Suncoast Jazz Festival’s lineup includes drummer Jason Marsalis and his 21^st Century Trad Jazz Band, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, reed player Adrian Cunningham, singer Molly Ryan, Tom Rigney & Flamabeau, and Tom Hook & the Terrier Brothers, plus a long list of area guest musicians. Sand Key, Clearwater Beach.
• Friday, Nov. 29 – Dave Koz & Friends Christmas tour with Jonathan Butler, Melissa Manchester, Michael Lington and Chris Walker. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota, 8 p.m. The saxophone smoothie and his friends also perform on Sunday, December 1 at Artis-Naples. 

James Suggs

Several local venues offer jazz steadily. They include J.D.’s Bistro in Port Charlotte, 88 Keys Florida and The Blue Turtle in Punta Gorda, Amore, the Art Ovation Hotel and the Burns Court Bistro in Sarasota, The Roadhouse, Society and The Barrel Room at Twisted Vine Bistro in Fort Myers, and Slate’s in Cape Coral. A variety of matinee concerts sponsored all season by the Jazz Club of Sarasota and Morrie Trumble Productions also keep things swinging for jazz lovers.

More Newport moments

Here are a few visual moments from the 2019 edition of the Newport Jazz Festival, held August 2-4, along with one from the Thursday, August 1 One More Once concert that featured the festival's founding producer, George Wein. The Newport Jazz Festival began in 1954. 

This was my 39th annual Newport festival trip dating back to 1981 when George brought the festival back to Newport and its picturesque Fort Adams State Park home. Hectic as it can be, having grown from a single main stage in the early 1980s to four varied stages, it never disappoints.

My primary coverage can be found at jazztimes.com and offbeat.com.

George Wein and NJF Artistic Director Christian McBride

Jon Batiste

The Sun Ra Arkestra

Drummer Ralph Peterson's Messengers Legacy band

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Tony Scherr, Jenny Scheinman, Allison Miller

Artist-in-Residence Herbie Hancock

Dianne Reeves

Laurin Talese

Terence Blanchard

Aaron Diehl

PJ Morton

The tented Quad Stage is a big draw

Catching up with old friends, musically

Timing is everything. Singer Ronnie Rose returned to New England last weekend for his 50-year class reunion at Taunton High School in southeastern Massachusetts. It turned out to be great timing by reunion planners, because the John Allmark Jazz Orchestra performs on the first Monday of the month at The Met Café in nearby Pawtucket RI. As a result, Rose also had a musical reunion with the trumpeter 's big band, which was one of his favorite backing bands before he moved to Las Vegas 15 years ago.

Ronnie Rose and the John Allmark Jazz Orchestra

As a special guest for the night, on Monday, August 5, Rose performed a half-dozen tunes. They included Allmark's arrangement of “The Shadow of Your Smile” (a crowd-pleaser often performed by orchestra’s longtime vocalist, the late Clay Osborne), “Stormy Monday,” Ray Charles’ “Mary Ann” (first recorded in 1957 and then recorded with conguero Pancho Sanchez in 2003), and Big Joe Turner’s “Switchin’ in the Kitchen,” which Turner re-recorded with Rhode Island’s Roomful of Blues.

Newport Jazz Festival's 65th anniversary edition is in the books

The granddaddy of all jazz festivals - held in Newport starting in 1954 - hit another milestone this past weekend (August 2-4). Over three days, plus a Friday evening downtown concert, the Newport Jazz Festival celebrated its 65th anniversary with a wide array of musicians from the jazz spectrum and beyond. Alto saxophonist Gary Bartz made his first Newport appearances at this year's event.

My annual photo-pit marathon, briskly ambling between four stages, wound up Sunday evening, as I documented and captured moments from most of the 58 bands that performed over the three day weekend. JazzTimes has posted a wide array of those images taken by yours truly and three other assigned photographers (Marek Lazarski, Alan Nahigian and Joseph Allen) as part of its comprehensive coverage.

As some of you know, this was my 39th annual trek to Newport, starting in 1981 when founding producer George Wein brought the festival back to Newport after a 10-year hiatus.

Sheila Jordan

In addition to the photo pit adventures, which made it impossible to hear more than a song or two of most performances, it also provided a few opportunities for some backstage portraiture. One happy subject was Sheila Jordan, who appeared as special guest with The Royal Bopsters vocal quartet. "I may be old, but I'm not dead yet," she told the crowd.

Brandon Goldberg

At age 90, she wasn't the oldest performer. That honor went to saxophonist Marshall Allen, who at 95 still leads the Sun Ra Arkestra. The youngest performer at Newport this year was pianist Brandon Goldberg, 13, who led a trio with bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. on the festival's Storyville Stage.

Perhaps the most poignant event happened the night before the festival opening. 

Wein performed at a free Quad Stage concert* at Fort Adams State Park that was dubbed One More Once. Wein, who turns 94 in October, performed with bassist Christian McBride, who is now in his third year as the jazz festival's artistic director. They were joined after a few numbers by an unadvertised guest: trumpeter Jon Faddis.

Before performing “What is This Thing Called Love?,” Wein tipped his hat to the many jazz festival executives who have been so vital to its past and are bringing it well into the future. 

Wein, McBride, Faddis

“We’ve been here 65 years, and I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved,” he said. “I want to dedicate this program to the generations that have made the festival what it is and the new

generation that’s taking it over and will be bringing us more festivals for many years to come.” He singled out longtime associates Bob Jones and Darlene Chan, and the Newport Jazz Festival/Folk Festival executive director Jay Sweet.

 At one point, Wein suggested Faddis and McBride do a duet. As they explored Miles Davis's “All Blues," Wein, 93, listened at his piano, savoring their music like a proud papa.

McBride joined the Newport Jazz Assembly for several numbers before his duo collaboration with Wein. The septet has performed for students at 65 public elementary and middle schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island over the past two years. The ensemble is sponsored by the Newport Festivals Foundation.

I'll post more Newport Jazz Festival images as time permits.

The Newport Jazz Festival is sponsored by Natixis Investment Managers.

*The event was part of BridgeFest, a series of Monday-through Thursday local music events to "bridge" the days between the Newport Folk Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival.