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.

Exceptional jazz with firepower

Allmark, Antell

John Allmark’s Monday evenings at the Met Café in Pawtucket RI generally feature his very fine big band. This past Monday, Allmark presented his octet, a brass-rich band that gives each player a bit more time in the spotlight than the big-band format permits.

For that evening, the horn line included Allmark (trumpet), Tucker Antell (tenor sax), Mark Vint (alto sax), Angel Subero (trombone) and Bob Bowlby (baritone sax), Dennis Hughes (piano), Bill Miele (electric bass) and Jim Lattini (drums) comprised the rhythm section.

The octet’s first set included a wide range of bop classics from the likes of Horace Silver, Benny Golson and Kenny Dorham, artfully arranged to feature the textures and possibilities of the horns. The band also dug deep into Dave Holland’s “Blue Jean,” which was a feature for Bowlby, and a spirited take on Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” that closed the set.

An improved jazz deja vu

John Allmark

One of the great bonuses from returning to Rhode Island for the Newport Jazz Festival each summer is a chance to hear trumpeter John Allmark's extraordinary big band, The John Allmark Jazz Orchestra. For 16 years and counting, Allmark has kept Little Rhody's big band tradition alive - a tradition that began 49 years ago with the Duke Belaire Band. (It's just one year shy of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra's golden Monday night run that began as the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra,)

This was my first opportunity to hear the band in its new home, The Met, a live music emporium in Pawtucket. The prior home, Bovi's Town Tavern, closed in late 2015. It had hosted big-band jazz on Monday nights for 48 years.

Jerry Vejmola solos

Bill Vint

The new venue is larger, feels much roomier, and has top-notch sound and lighting systems. In my view, those compensate for the coziness that Bovi's afforded the band and its loyal fans.

During last night's opening set, the wide-ranging repertoire included a bit of Ellington and Strayhorn, some Freddie Hubbard material and a few other gems. My clear favorite was the band's lush take on trumpeter Tom Harrell's gorgeous composition, "Sail Away." 

Bob Bowlby

Vinny Pagano

Lucky me. I get to go back the next two Mondays to hear this blend of some of Southern New England's finest jazz players.

Enjoy these visual souvenirs from the evening. 


  

The John Allmark Jazz Orchestra

Getting back in the Monday night jazz groove

Rhode Island has had a superb big band jazz tradition that began within a year of the Monday night "rehearsal band" that Thad Jones and Mel Lewis.started at New York's Village Vanguard.

Drummer Duke Belaire inaugurated the RI tradition in 1967 at the Cobblestone Tavern in East Providence before settling in 1969 at nearby Bovi's Town Tavern. In quite a feat of musical longevity, Bovi's was the home of Monday night jazz for 48 years. 

John Allmark

Belaire had the gig until 1999 (with a band rotation that at various times featured trombonist Hal Crook and saxophonists Greg Abate, Dick Johnson and Art Pelosi), when he eased into retirement. 

Trumpeter John Allmark's Jazz Orchestra took over the Monday night slot - and kept the candle burning for 16 years. Then came late November, when Bovi's closed with no clear indication if or when it might reopen. After nearly a half century of dynamic performances, that was quite a blow for area jazz fans.

The John Allmark Jazz Orchestra

The good news is that Allmark's superb orchestra will resume the tradition on Monday, January 25, at The Met, a music club in nearby Pawtucket better known for pop, rock and blues acts. But now, Monday nights at The Met will belong to jazz.

Allmark's big band has featured top-flight players from across southern New
England and occasional special guests, who have included Los Angeles-based trumpeter Winston Byrd and pop/R&B singer Jeffrey Osborne. Jeffrey's oldest brother, Clay Osborne, sang regularly with the big band until his death10 years ago. Others who guested with Allmark's big band since its founding include saxophonists Nick Brignola and Lanny Morgan, and trumpeter Bobby Shew.

Here's a taste of what the John Allmark Jazz Orchestra sounds like, on a 2009 version of Don Menza's tune "Groovin' Hard," a Buddy Rich band staple.

You'll find a score of similar JAJO video tracks on YouTube, including wonderful takes on Billy Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge" and Dizzy Gillespie's infreqently heard "Tanga." 

This band, often featuring brass-rich material by Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Oliver Nelson and Horace Silver, among others, can hold its own against any competition on any given night. Here's a link to a profile/review I wrote for JazzTimes a few years ago.

Hard bopper Greg Abate and his high-energy jazz

Greg Abate

High-energy jazz doesn't describe the full feeling of listening to hard bop saxophonist Greg Abate in live performance because so much intensity and idea-making fuels his music. But it comes close. Even his approach to ballads and sambas have that lilt. They start out breezy or laid-back, but they are certain to have their burning moments.Count on it.

Such was the case on Monday, December 8, when the New England-based jazz man performed in the Charlotte County Jazz Society's concert series. He visits every two years for a Port Charlotte stop and a few other gigs in the area. And why not? It's a great way to escape harsher northern weather for a few days.