Opening a month-long tribute to a jazz legend

James Suggs

Much attention will be paid throughout May to the musical legacy of trumpeter Miles Davis, who would have turned 90 this May 26. His musical legacy remains so strong today that it sometimes is hard to fathom that he left us a quarter-century ago - on September 28, 1991.

Trumpeter James Suggs assembled a fine quintet to honor Davis's imprint on mainstream jazz and shared music from the horn legend at a Sunday, May 1 concert co-sponsored by the Tampa (FL) Jazz Club, WUSF's "All Night Jazz" program and Hillsborough Community College's Visual and Performing Arts Series.

The Four Freshmen experience

Stein Malvey, Curtis Calderon

The Four Freshmen have been straddling the jazz and pop genres for 66 years nonstop, though the quartet hasn't had an original member in its ranks since 1992. But everywhere they go, they still pack in full houses.

Sunday's matinee concert at Sarasota's was a case in point.Glenridge Performing Arts Center, sponsored by the South County Jazz Club. The gig was sold out more than a week in advance, with more than 200 turning out to hear classic tunes performed by the band's 23rd combination of singer/players. 

Harmony vocals are the band's hallmark, bridging the vocal tradition associated with 1940s and '50s swing big bands with groups they inspired, notably the Beach Boys and The Lettermen. Clearly the hunger for that sound and style is still there.

The current lineup consists of Brian Eichenberger (lead vocals and bass), Stein Malvey (vocals and guitar), Curtis Calderon (vocals and trumpet), and Bob Ferreira (vocals and drums). was first established in 2013. Malvey is the newest member, joining the band in 2013.

Most interesting moments: The clever back-to-back performance of the 1952 hit "The Day Isn't Long Enough (When I'm With You!)" and its direct opposite, 1950's "Pick  Up Your Tears (and Go Home)." They also paid tribute to the founding members: brothers Don and Ross Barbour, Bob Flanigan and Hal Kratzsch with a reprise of the band's greatest hit: "It's a Blue World." Without those four, this phenomenon may never have happened.

Bob Ferreira, Brian Eichenberger, Stein Malvey, Curtis Calderon

  

A jazz matinee with Larry Camp, Marty Morell, Bruce Wallace

Larry Camp

Bassist Bruce Wallace opened the South County Jazz Club's 2014-15 concert season Friday afternoon with a top-notch trio whose members had never worked together in this personnel grouping. It featured guitarist Larry Camp and drummer Marty Morell, best known in jazz circles for his seven-year stint in pianist Bill Evans' trio from 1968 to 1975.

Marty Morell

Musically, it was a fine, and poignant, afternoon at the Venice (FL) Art Center. This was Wallace's third consecutive season opener for the jazz club. Powerhouse pianist Kenny Drew Jr. had been pencilled in for the gig - until his unexpected death on August 3.

Naples Jazz Orchestra fans can breathe easier

At Monday's workshop on a proposal to limit special events taking place in downtown Naples, the City Council seemed to agree that shelving concerts by the Naples Jazz Orchestra on Monday nights January through May is no longer a possibility.

Big Band Jazz needs support in Naples – NOW

In just four seasons, Southwest Florida’s Naples Jazz Orchestra has developed into one of the state’s finest big bands. That’s no exaggeration. Some of the band's crack musicians drive two or three hours each way to rehearse and perform with the band because the experience is worth the commute. The NJO can hold its own with any big band anywhere. 

Benny Green pursues magical moments

Hot House has published my profile of pianist Benny Green in its February issue in conjunction with his Jazz Standard performance in Manhattan in late February, as well as his role in the 40-city Monterey Jazz Festival 55th Anniversary tour across the United States.



One of the many nuggets gleaned in our hour-long conversation this month: his view of what’s inside the music that a performer presents to his or her audience:

An identity challenge taken in stride

Jazz pianist and composer William Evans splits the bulk of his time between Florida's Tampa Bay area, where he has lived part-time since 1984, and Switzerland, where he teaches and performs frequently.



William Evans with bassist Dominic Mancini,
drummer Dane Hassan and clarinetist Paul Vrakas

Like most musicians, he travels a lot and is tough to difficult to pin down, particularly on the Information Highway. Google jazz pianist William A. Evans and you’ll find 80 or more pages about jazz giant Bill Evans. No matter that Bill Evans was William J. (for John). William Evans says he is often teased about the name similarity but has a different outlook about it. 

The Hat Lady swings and sings

Carol Stein

Jazz pianist and singer Carol Stein can’t hide her solid chops, even when she’s working her “day job.”  Actually, it’s an evening job.

Five nights a week, Stein is “The Hat Lady” at Epcot’s Rose & Crown Pub at Walt Disney World. At the pub’s console piano, she breezes through what seems an endless litany of pop songs, English and Irish pub songs embellished with her vocal improvisations to fit the moment, jazz and classical flourishes – and a grand smile. Every tune or two, Stein changes her hat to another of the dozen odd or outlandish ones hanging on the wall or a nearby rack.

”It’s a special thing to have a full-time job as a jazz musician,” Stein told me this week between sets.

Trio gig becomes much more

When is a trio gig NOT a trio gig? When the bandleader decides at the last minute to add another player without advance notice. Such was the case with yesterday's opener of the South County Jazz Club's new Englewood Art Center concert series in Englewood FL.

Rodney Rojas and Billy Marcus

The 60 or so concert goers expected to hear pianist Billy Marcus's trio with bassist Mark Neuenschwander and Steve Bucholtz. Because one key out of 88 on his electric keyboard was down for the count, without time to get it repaired, Marcus called saxophonist Rodney Rojas to supplement the solid lineup.

Mat Domber - R.I.P.

Mat Domber

A true hero of classic jazz has left us. Arbors Records founder Mat Domber died yesterday (September 19) from cancer. He was 84.

In 1989, Domber, who was a lawyer, created Arbors and began recording classic jazz artists - from Dixieland to mainstream swing - who weren’t getting the attention they deserved. Over the next 20+ years, they found a welcome home on his Clearwater, Florida-based label. What began as a labor of love for Mat and his wife/business partner Rachel, and evolved into a significant force on the jazz scene. In many cases, Arbors was a career revivalist for many significant elder statesmen of jazz and a career nurturer for younger players who loved and felt most comfortable in the classic jazz style.