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:

What a jazz herd

Reynolds, Lamb, Switzer, Hixon

When drummer Al Hixon gets a call to put together a concert band, he settles for nothing less than all-star musicians. Such was the case at Friday's South County Jazz Club matinee at the Venice Art Center.

The A Team scores big with jazz in Port Charlotte

Amanda Carr and Arnie Krakowsky

Massachusetts-based singer Amanda Carr and tenor saxophonist Arnie Krakowsky generally don't perform as a team outside New England, but their Charlotte County Jazz Society concert in Port Charlotte, FL last night demonstrated that they have what it takes to do so. And then some.

Trad jazz and more from Sayer & Co.

Cynthia Sayer's Hot Jazz Trio

Banjo ace Cynthia Sayer performed to a sellout crowd Saturday at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center in Sarasota with her Hot Jazz Trio, featuring bassist Don Mopsick and trombonist Bill Allred.

Metz-Parrott-Sportiello - jazz in Sarasota

Sportiello, Parrott, Metz

"Don't be fooled by the name of the band," drummer Eddie Metz Jr. said. "We're really just his monkeys."

Metz got a lot of laughs with that line at last night's Jazz Club of Sarasota concert by what was billed as the Eddie Metz Trio. In reality it was an artful trio of equals, teaming Metz with pianist Rossano Sportiello and bassist/singer Nicki Parrott. Each of them brings powerhouse strengths to the stage.

Jazz concert review – Randy Brecker

Trumpeter looks back four+ decades in Naples concert


Randy Brecker

Randy Brecker dug deep into his own songbook on January 17 in his second guest appearance with the Naples, Fl-based Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra. It was also a reunion of sorts with tenor saxophonist Lew Del Gatto (a 25-year veteran of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” Band), who Brecker has known for more than 30 years.

Newport Jazz Festival 2013 has a great talent mix

With the proliferation of artists and venues over the past three decades, competition for the entertainment dollar has gotten mighty fierce across the United States. Consumers have just so much to spend over the course of a season, and tend to make their choices early.

Newport Jazz Festival organizers rolled out their August lineup in April or May for many years. That’s no longer the case. The stellar lineup for the August 2 to 4 event is out today… and tickets go on sale on Thursday, January 17.

Keeping jazz tunes alive

Jim Wellen and Shelly Torman

Tenor saxophonist Jim Wellen's quintet took the South County Jazz Club on a refresher tour Friday through the some of the significant music written and/or recorded by some of the world's most powerful reed players.

OKeh’s revival is more than OK

Record labels come and go. In the case of one historic imprint, they come back with new purpose. And it is not the first time for OKeh Records.

The OKeh label, founded in 1918, had a reputation in its early years as the home of so-called ”race records.” Its 1920 hit, Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues,” is often credited as the first blues record. OKeh also released historic early recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver and Duke Ellington in its heyday.

2012 - The Year in Jazz

The world of jazz officially went global in 2012, kicked the Grammy Awards in the shins, dealt with economic issues and Mother Nature, and found new ways to innovate in this social media and Internet-savvy age. That is the overview of my annual wrapup of significant goings on in the jazz world, and its continuing move of players to the celestial jazz band, which has been published by allaboutjazz.com.

The many losses in the jazz world ranged from pianist, composer and bandleader Dave Brubeck and composer Clare Fischer to drummer Pete “LaRoca” Sims, saxophonists Red Holloway, John Tchicai and David S. Ware, and singer Etta James. The list is frighteningly long again for 2012.

Happy Holidays

It’s been a terrific first full calendar year here in southwest Florida – making new friends, enjoying the weather, getting acquainted with a boatload of fine jazz musicians and supporters we’d previously not known of – or only knew of by name.

The Jazz Notes staff and family send our very best wishes for this special season and the new year to the jazz community near and far, new friends, old friends - and future friends.

We hope you enjoy these two classic takes on Christmas music that have always been among our favorites.

 

 

A jazzy "green Christmas" gig

Tom Ellison and June Garber

Saxophonist Tom Ellison's quartet Hip Pocket, with special guest June Garber on vocals, performed at the Centennial Park gazebo in Venice, FL this afternoon in a holiday concert sponsored by the South County Jazz Club and Venice MainStreet community nonprofit.

Holiday jazz with a B-3 twist

Stan Heffner and Katt Hefner

Singer Katt Hefner and her brother, Pittsburgh-based Hammond B-3 player Stan Heffner, brought their own brand of holiday cheer to the South County Jazz Club's Venice Art Center series this afternoon in Venice, FL.

The B-3 is a distinctive instrument in jazz, and any opportunity to hear it played well is welcome. Stan Heffner is one who knows how to dig in and make it smile, moan, cry and testify.

Trumpeter Bob Zottola's jazz quartet was sublime

Bob Zottola and his "secret weapon"

Naples-based trumpeter Bob Zottola was a marvel today in his appearance at the South County Jazz Club's Englewood Art Center jazz series, working in splendid fashion with pianist Michael Royal, bassist Don Mopsick and drummer Henry Ettman.


Zottola, a former big band and Broadway shows trumpeter in New York (he spent 16 years in the pit band for "Les Miserables"), has a knack for embellishing a tune's melody without ever sounding like he's overplaying. His soloing is always tasty and creative.

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. 

Abate on fire

Saxophonist Greg Abate is a bebopper pure and simple. He plays with a feverish intensity that on a great night is counterbalanced by his rhythm section. As a busy soloist, the rhythm section and city - and sometimes country - change from gig to gig.

Greg Abate and Kenny Drew Jr.

Last night, he performed in Port Charlotte, FL for the Charlotte County Jazz Society’s Artists Series at the Charlotte Cultural Center, bringing his intense brand of hard bop (think Charlie Parker and Phil Woods if you need comparisons) to an audience of about 350.

R.I.P. to a jazz icon

Dave Brubeck, 1987

Jazz giant Dave Brubeck died this morning in Connecticut, one day before what would have been his 92nd birthday. Condolences go out to Iola Brubeck, their children and their families, and the jazz world at large.

Brubeck was a pianist, composer, rhythmic innovator and bandleader who worked comfortably both in jazz and classical circles. Many of his liturgical works were nothing short of brilliant.

Brothers in life - and jazz

Tonight's special moment at the South County Jazz Club's weekly jam session at Allegro Bistro in Venice FL belonged to the Mancini brothers.

Dominic Mancini, a longtime fixture on the southwest Florida jazz scene, is the regular bassist for the jam sessions and one of the busiest musicians around. He's one of the very best at what he does. That trait seems to run in the family. His brother Joe, making a pre-holiday visit from southern New Jersey, is a fine pianist.

Tonight, Joe sat in with Dominic for the first time at a South County Jazz Club jam session. Together with drummer Dane Hassan, they explored "I Close My Eyes," "What is This Thing Called Love?" and the beautiful Harry Warren waltz "Summer Night" to wind down the evening's first set.

A tired tune walked into a bar...

There’s a musicians’ joke that goes something like this: “How many jazz singers does it take to sing ‘My Funny Valentine’ [or ‘Summertime’ or ‘(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66’ or ‘All of Me’]?”

Answer: “Apparently all of them.”     

Bah-dum-dum.

Only it’s no joke. Too many singers, and wannabees, go right to the tiredest of tunes in the Great American Songbook. It’s not that these are bad songs. Far from it. But the new purveyors show NO imagination. And most times they’re doing the great tunes an injustice.

They fail to seek out and freshen other excellent songs that they can identify with, illuminate and present to ears who might like to hear something different. Something that may have bypassed the listeners’ own radar screens, or something they loved but haven’t heard in a while. A singer's failure to do that is lazy - and insulting to his/her audience.

Some holiday cheer for musicians

Things are looking up for musicians - economically - if you take the PNC Christmas Price Index^® as more than just a whimsical economic analysis.

The bank’s 29^th annual price calculation for the gifts in the holiday classic, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," showed the overall gift cost rose 3.5 percent over the past year. The 12-gifts price tag this year is $25,431.18, which is $1,168 more than 2011’s CPI.

As for the musicians… the prices for hiring 11 Pipers Piping ($2,562.00) and 12 Drummers Drumming ($2,775.50)

Deck the halls with songs from jazzmen (and women)

There is no shortage of holiday-inspired jazz material. Classics abound by the dozens, some long out of print. (Some of the double-entendre variety, most as covers of holiday fare with spirited soloing). And every year new ones arrive to add to the litany.

Here’s a sampling of this year’s presents to we listeners:

The best of 2012 - my take

T’is the season for the outpouring of Top 10 lists, and their many variations, for jazz, world events, etc. The jazz lists tend to have a lot of variation depending on the individual reviewer's personal tastes, as well as what he or she had a chance to hear during the year.* Bottom line, all are very subjective.

My choices below (except for the top 10 new songs of the year) have been submitted to the Jazz Times and Rhapsody.com 2012 compilations (the latter a Francis Davis-produced poll that through 2010 was published by The Village Voice.) My lists have also been posted to the Jazz Journalists Association's website, where you can get a sense what other writers and reviewers liked this year.

As I begin preparing my review of significant events and trends in jazz in 2012 for posting on allaboutjazz.com, I thought I'd share my "best of 2012" lists. *Always keep in mind the above caveats.

The 10 best new jazz releases of 2012

1. Ryan Truesdell, Centennial: Newly Discovered Works of Gil Evans (artistShare)

2. Gregory Porter, Be Good (Motéma)

3. Paolo Fresu & Omar Sosa, Alma (Otá)

4. Ahmad Jamal, Blue Moon (JazzVillage)

5. Jeff Hamilton Trio, Red Sparkle (Capri)

6. Kurt Elling, 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project (Concord Jazz)

7. Pat Metheny, Unity Band (Nonesuch)

8. Edmar Castaneda, Double Portion (Arpa y Voz)

9. Stacey Kent, Dreamer in concert (Blue Note)

10. Lisa Hilton, American Impressions (Ruby Slippers Productions)

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs from Jeff Holmes, Scott Robinson, Mike Longo, Ed Cherry and The Osland/Dailey Jazztet...

A drum summit with finesse



Tony Bruno, Jim Prosser, Ron Drischel and Johnny Moore

Drummer Tony Bruno's group Jazz Around The Corner, with Jim Prosser on piano and Ron Drischel on tenor and alto saxes, performed at the Venice Art Center on Friday with drummer Johnny Moore as a featured guest.

It was an interesting instrumental doubling for this concert, sponsored by the South County Jazz Club. The two drummers' interaction was more complementary than a full-bore drum battle - though there were some high-energy opportunities, particularly with "Caravan" and "A Night in Tunisia."

Tamburr & Co. bring fire and subtlety

Vibes player Christian Tamburr’s quintet, featuring trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, closed out a three-week, 5,000-mile tour up and down the East Coast last night in Port Charlotte FL as part of the Charlotte County Jazz Society’s Artist Series.

Extended solos and a blend of subtlety and fire were the order of the night for this band, which showed from the opening notes how much it enhances a band’s chemistry if the players work together for extended periods. The band also included pianist Scott Giddens, bassist Billy Thornton and drummer Justin Varnes.

An abundance of chops and chemistry

Lew Del Gatto and Dan Miller

A newly formed organ jazz-inspired band in southern Florida is shaking things up from its home base in Naples and a regular weekly gig in Fort Myers. The Dan Miller-Lew Del Gatto Quintet ventured north to Sarasota last night to open the South County Jazz Club’s five-concert series at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center.

Dan Heck

The band was formed in May and has been working steadily ever since. Trumpeter Miller is a veteran of bands led by Harry Connick Jr., Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman and Wynton Marsalis. Tenor saxophonist Lew Del Gatto spent 25 years in prime time as the baritone player in NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” band. The band also includes pianist Stu Shelton, drummer-singer Patricia Dean and guitarist Dan Heck, who earned his pro stripes with his Seattle-based band Bebop and Destruction before moving to the New York jazz scene, then the fertile music scene in and around Naples.

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.

How to help musicians reeling from Sandy

Jazz angel Wendy Oxenhorn and her Jazz Foundation of America staff in New York have been put to the test once again, helping musicians who have been hit hard by the impact of superstorm Sandy.

"It's so much worse than one might have imagined,” Oxenhorn wrote in today's email. “Aside from the most obvious need of water, warmth, food and money, hundreds of musicians have lost gigs because of Sandy. Clubs are closed, and musicians haven't been able to travel out of town for work either. Lost gigs means no money for the rent. No money for the rent means the Jazz Foundation will be providing emergency assistance."

She tells it well, and shares a lot of heartfelt stories about the struggles here, and efforts that are underway by the Jazz Foundation  through its Jazz Musicians Emergency Fund.

There's also a link for those of you who care to join me in helping through donations from near and far at a serious time of need by musicians who have given so much to jazz throughout their careers.

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs from Joey DeFrancesco, Frank Macchia and jazz programmer Rio Saikiri's "Home" project....

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.

Ellis Marsalis on music





Ellis Marsalis

The November issue of Hot House is out. It includes my profile of pianist Ellis Marsalis, patriarch of today's first family of jazz. Marsalis, whose work is rooted in the styles of his native New Orleans, chooses his notes with great care. That focus is essential to his subtle and relaxed sense of swing. He is at the Blue Note in New York November 8-11 with his quartet. Three days later he turns 78.



CDs of Note - Short Takes

Today we take a look at three new CDs from four musicians with Rhode Island roots, Greg Abate, Daryl Sherman,  Harry Allen and Scott Hamilton....

Kenny Drew Jr. delights

Pianist Kenny Drew Jr.'s  performance at the Venice Arts Center yesterday was rich in originality, a dazzling command of the keyboard and tips of the hat to late piano greats who have influenced him mightily.
 He blended standards from the jazz canon and the American Songbook and his dazzling  solo improvisation on one classical piece, the first movement of Franz Liszt's "Liebestraum."

A golden career is being honored this week

Larry Monroe
(Photo by Phil Farnsworth)

Larry Monroe helped shape and expand the reach of Boston-based Berklee College of Music over the past 50 years in many ways. Most notably, Monroe helped establish Berklee’s international network of schools in 12 countries, including Berklee Valencia, the college's new campus in Spain.

His Berklee ties are strong - as a student, teacher, dean, vice president and global ambassador. As an educator, he influenced saxophonists Branford Marsalis, Miguel Zenon, Donald Harrison and countless others. Early in his career, alto saxophonist Monroe performed with Lou Rawls, Buddy Rich and Dizzy Gillespie.

The college will celebrate Monroe’s many contributions, but in some ways likely mourn his retirement, with a Berklee Performance Center concert on Thursday night, October 18, featuring students and faculty, former Monroe student Donald Harrison and Italian bassist Giovanni Tommaso, who helped Monroe create Berklee's 27-year partnership with the Umbria Jazz Festival.

It’s a fitting sendoff. What a run it has been.

Jazz at New Jersey's southern tip continues

It is great to see that Cape May hasn’t given up on jazz – particularly having its own charming jazz festival.

Two years ago, the Cape May Jazz Festival ended its twice-a-year run (34 weekend festivals in 17 years) due to financial and organizational shortcomings. Some wondered whether the string of November and April festivals would ever be back as a way to extend the tourism season in quaint and charming Cape May.

The good news is that there will be a full-blown jazz festival next month.
The Exit 0 International Jazz Festival has scheduled performances by 21 bands Friday night through Sunday afternoon, November 9 to11.

The value of the ingredients that shape jazz

Musicians and listeners alike draw many positives from jazz beyond the immediate listening experience. It can be a healer, a soother, a creative outlet, a common meeting ground.

It's core ingredients also can have an impact on other disciplines, including business. A brief read  from Time magazine this week distills those essentials quite nicely.

Swinging the oldies with fresh arrangements

Johnny Varro

The Florida edition of pianist Johnny Varro's Swing 7 opened the Charlotte County Jazz Society's 2012-13 season tonight by giving a swinging vitality to vintage jazz material. Material that would be "no later than the '60s. That's beyond our time," Varro told the Charlotte Cultural Center audience.

The Port Charlotte FL concert featured tunes that Varro borrowed heavily from the Duke Ellington and Count Basie Orchestra songbooks, along with material composed by W.C. Handy, Jelly Roll Morton, Al Cohn, John LaPorta, Frank Foster, Benny Carter and Mel Powell, among others. Even Frederic Chopin made it into the mix.

Mining the bluesy side of jazz

June Garber and Tom Ellison

Toronto's loss is Southwest Florida's gain. That's become very apparent very quickly since last month's arrival of singer June Garber, who moved to Sarasota with her husband, Bob Doherty.
Two weeks ago at the South County Jazz Club's Tuesday night jam session at Allegro Bistro in Venice, she wowed the crowd, including yours truly, with one of the bluesiest renditions of "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" I've ever heard.

Celebrating music and culture in the Big Easy

Amid the tragedy and devastation of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, many of us found an even deeper appreciation for New Orleans musical contributions – past, present and future. Quite simply, there is no other city like it. And it is important that seven years after Katrina, New Orleans survived, continues to rebuild its infrastructure and remains such a music incubator.

There is a lot of focus on that tradition this fall, as the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, founded and led by trumpeter Irvin Mayfield, is celebrating its 10^th anniversary. Mayfield, who lost his father to Katrina, is a modernist with a bright, swinging sound. He is also a busy fellow. Besides running the big band, he co-leads Los Hombres Calientes, runs two jazz clubs bearing his name, is an educator and New Orleans’ cultural ambassador. 

And they're off...

Jake Pinto

The 2012-13 jazz concert season in Southwest Florida is under way. The South County Jazz Club inaugerated its new schedule this afternoon with the Jake Pinto quartet at the Venice FL Art Center.

Sarasota-raised, New York-based Pinto, a recent graduate of NYU's jazz program, was the South County Jazz Club's inaugural concert offering two summers ago as an arts center fundraiser, so it was only fitting that the pianist return with his latest band, consisting of one NYU student and two other recent graduates.