A generations-leaping jazz adventure

I’ve spent the last few days listening closely to Cheek to Cheek, the ambitious new recording by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. It debuted September 23 and soared to #1 on the Billboard 200 list. It also topped the Jazz Albums and Traditional Jazz Albums charts. Cheek to Cheek sold 131,000 copies in the week ending September 28, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Bennett is 88 and Lady Gaga is 28, yet they found common ground in exploring the Great American Songbook, which has always been Bennett’s forte. Gaga has also loved it, to a larger degree than most of her fans knew or appreciated.

Finding the jazz at a “jazz festival”

The cachet of jazz sometimes is stronger than the music itself. Madison Avenue continues to use bits and pieces for some of its commercials, and more than a few events across the country bill themselves as jazz festivals when nothing could be farther from the truth. A couple come to mind in the Mountain and Pacific time zones whose lineups are mostly R&B or pop stars with perhaps a bit of “smooth jazz” – a radio programming consultant’s term for contemporary instrumental music that raged across the country in the mid-1980s and well into the 1990s.

Mixing wine and jazz – and sunshine

I spent much of President’s Day Weekend covering the seventh annual Punta Gorda (FL) Wine & Jazz Festival for JazzTimes.com. The main event at the city’s Laishley Park along picturesque Charlotte Harbor featured pop saxophonist Mindi Abair (pictured), guitarist Peter White and The Rippingtons.

The festival is evolving beyond a one-day event. This year, organizers added a Sunday program that featured a mainstream jazz brunch in the ballroom of the nearby Isles Yacht Club. It drew a full house of 250. May the festival continue to grow - and evolve.

In addition to jazz, the Saturday program at Laishley Park lets attendees enjoy a huge variety of wines and tapas-sized portions of food from several dizen restaurants. Those are included in the cost of a ticket. All you need to bring are sunblock and your listening ears.

Exploring mass appeal

Trombonist, bandleader and culture columnist Eric Felten had a terrific essay in today's Wall Street Journal exploring the popular and cynical sides of popular music... and what makes certain musicians really catch on with the fan base. Even when some of us could, would and do consider the product to be junk. Give a read to the article, appropriately titled: "Is There a Scientific Explanation for Justin Bieber? There is much food for thought. And I'm rather certain you'll get a chuckle out of the Eminem quote.