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.

A jazz trombonist who thrives in her two worlds

Louise Wilson

Pianist Mac Chrupcala's quartet concert on Thursday, March 10, in the South County Jazz Club's matinee series at the Venice Art Center introduced most in the room to a new face on the Southwest Florida jazz scene.

Trombonist Louise Wilson is spending the winter and a good chunk of the spring on the Gulf Coast. This snowbird is making the most of her playing opportunities until she and her husband head back to Colorado in May.

Bad to the bone - and more

Trombonist Greg Nielsen brought his quartet- and a lot of versatility - to the Venice Art Center on Friday, January 27 for an SRO performance. Nielsen’s quartet included pianist Dick Reynolds, bassist John Lamb and drummer/singer Dave Pruyn. Nielsen, a longtime bandleader, educator and sideman, is an engaging performer who loves digging into jazz standards. One highlight was his take on Lee Morgan’s “Ceora,” which the quartet performed as a bossa nova.

While trombone is his primary instrument, Nielsen also played at various points flugelhorn, trumpet, a two-belled double euphonium and a slide trumpet. The unusual euphonium hybrid was quite a marvel to hear. During Nielsen’s solos on “Lullabye of Birdland,” he shifted back and forth between middle and low registers. (“The nice thing,” he quipped, “is that I can make two mistakes at once now.”)

Reynolds was house pianist at Mr. Kelly’s in Chicago during the 1960s. He now splits his year between Michigan and the Sarasota area. Lamb, blessed with a deep and robust tone, worked with Red Garland in the mid-1950s and was the Ellington band’s bassist for three years in the 1960s and an occasional fill in later.

Pruyn is very active on the Florida scene, leading his own band, working in others as a trumpeter, drummer and/or vocalist. (His tone, sense of time and musical choices are very reminiscent of Mel Tormé – and he has a Tormé tribute show in his repertoire.) His vocal features were “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” and “”Don’t Blame Me.”

Reynolds provided the afternoon’s most poignant moment, a beautiful ballad, elegaically dark at times, called “Song for Stan.” He said he wrote it as a tribute upon tenor saxophonist Stan Getz’s passing in 1991.

The South County Jazz Club sponsored the matinee event, and standing room only was no exaggeration. About 135 people jammed into the center’s main gallery. Club President Morrie Trumble said it was the largest turnout to date in the club’s concert series, which began in 2010.

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.

Porky would be pleased

The late trombonist Porky Cohen, whose career ranged from section work in the big bands of Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, Tony Pastor, Artie Shaw and others starting in the 1940s to his higher-profile work in Roomful of Blues from 1979 to 1988, once told me a wonderful story about one particular bus ride with Roomful.

They were on a tour of one-nighters through the southwest… and the bus brought them through the little town of Vernon, Texas. As they passed the “entering Vernon, Texas” road sign, Porky got excited. He’s reached the birthplace of Jack Teagarden, and the hometown of the Teagarden clan. He was in trombone heaven.

The little bus pulled over at a convenience store. Porky went in and exclaimed to the young clerk. “I can’t believe I’m finally in Vernon, Texas, the hometown of Jack Teagarden.” To which the young clerk responded: “Who’s Jack Teagarden?”

Porky would be pleased that Teagarden may finally be getting a hometown salute. The Fort Worth Business Press reported this month that the town is considering creating a museum dedicated to its musical native son.

It seems late Teagarden memorabilia and recordings collector Joe Showler wanted to move to Vernon from Canada and turn his collection into a museum. After his death the town has started a $175,000 fund-raising campaign to finance moving the archive from Toronto to Vernon and establish a museum in honor of the jazz great.