Channeling jazz counterpoint - a la Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan

Greg Nielsen and Tom Ellison

Multi-instrumentalist Greg Nielsen and saxophonist Tom Ellison dug deeply into the Gerry Mulligan songbook Friday in a South County Jazz Club concert that focused primarily on the baritone saxophonist's classic collaborations with trumpeter Chet Baker and trombonist Bob Brookmeyer.

Looking Ahead: A Southwest Florida jazz preview

Here’s a preview of some of the more interesting jazz events in the Sarasota to Naples territory from now through March. There are also a couple of Tampa Bay-area listings for those of you who don’t mind driving a few miles more to hear great music.

Newport Jazz Festival lineup set

Whether you like your jazz to be traditional mainstream, big band, edgy, avant garde, Latin- or gospel-tinged, funky or had-bopping, it looks like there is something for everyone at next August's Newport Jazz Festival.

George Wein

Founding producer George Wein and his New York-based production team have expanded their programming for this 60th anniversary event. Yes, it is hard to believe it has been 60 years since the first festival back in July 1954. This actually will be the 50th Newport Jazz Festival held in Newport. The festival moved to New York City after riots in 1971... and didn't return to the city-by-the-sea until 1981.

The August 1-3 festival has an extra full day of programming tacked on, plus a symposium at Fort Adams State Park that will explore how jazz relates to popular culture in today's society, compared to when the festival began in 1954.

Chops + Chemistry = The Finest Jazz

Harry Allen

Drummer Eddie Metz Jr.'s international trio with bassist Nicki Parrott and pianist Rossano Sportiello brought tenor saxophonist Harry Allen with them for tonight's Charlotte County Jazz Society concert in Port Charlotte, FL. Together they displayed the finest qualities in making jazz.

Each has formidable chops and the chemistry they have developed as a trio - and working together in various other permutations - is a great strength. Allen, who has absorbed stylistic influences from many of the great mainstream tenorists in jazz but parrots none - was the icing on this splendid cake.

2013 - The Year In Jazz

The West Coast now has its a jazz edifice of its own with strong roots, International Jazz Day grew in scope during year two, jazz made its mark on Broadway, and the number of musicians lost during the year was large and painful. That’s the summary of my lengthy look back at significant happenings across the jazz world over the past 12 months. It was published today at allaboutjazz.com.

Big Band Jazz - On A Misty Night

This week's mail brought a hot-from-the-production-plant copy of The Naples Jazz Orchestra's debut CD, On A Misty Night. It was recorded last February 18 at the Charlotte County Jazz Society's concert series.

I won't be reviewing it, that's for others to do this time out. I was honored to be asked to provide the concert photography and the liner notes for this excellent big band project.

On a Misty Night is now available through the orchestra’s website, www.thenjo.com, and several of the online music retailers including Amazon.com, CD Baby and iTunes.

Ho-Ho-Ho

Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas from the Jazz Notes staff.

This year we have some vintage musical cheer to share from among our holiday favorites.

Three to Get Merry, in fact.

A Toronto-New Orleans link

Toronto-based pianist Jim Clayton considers New Orleans his home away from home. He spends considerable vacation time and got married there. He also decided to make his newest CD in the Crescent City, with four New Orleans-based jazz musicians. Songs My Daughter Knows is on the pianist’s Clay-Tone label.

Clayton developed the project around songs familiar to or inspired by his young daughter, Lenny. It’s an unusual concept, but one that works well. It also underscores the primary ingredients in making jazz: it’s not about the source material so much as the improvisational art practiced by versatile musicians, and their ability to think as one on any given tune. Mixing in a variety of N’awlins rhythms created a bubbling musical gumbo.

Here’s a link to my full review from the January 2014 issue of Offbeat.

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs by Bob Devos, Jake Hertzog, Frank Macchia, Bill McBirnie and a vintage Miles Davis boxed set…

A terrific jazz trio by any name

Eddie Metz Jr.

The splendid jazz trio, featuring drummer Eddie Metz Jr., bassist Nicki Parrott and pianist Rossano Sportiello, has been working together for several years, honing a fine, swinging blend of mainstream  jazz. Often it feels like a leaderless adventure, with no one person calling all the shots. 

A saxful Friday

The saxophone ruled on the Sarasota jazz scene on Friday, December 13 with two separate, excellent concerts.

Jazzman Del Gatto honors his heroes

Lew Del Gatto and Judi Glover

Tenor saxophonist Lew Del Gatto honored his tenor sax heroes Friday during a South County Jazz Club concert at the Venice Art Center. The 25-year Saturday Night Live Band mainstay, now living in Naples FL, performed in a quartet format with pianist Judi Gover, bassist Don Mopsick and drummer Patricia Dean.

Along Came Benny, With Vigor and Stories

The Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra brought Benny Golson to town last night for a concert that gave spirited and loving extended treatments to the tenor saxophonist’s best-known compositions. Golson put each composition into context with witty and vivid storytelling. The audience at Artis Naples’ Daniels Pavilion in Naples FL was treated to great music - and an appreciation of the time and settings in which he matured as an artist.

Here's a link to my full review at JazzTimes.com.

Top 10 listings

This the season for the outpouring of Top 10 lists, and their many variations, for jazz, world events, etc. The jazz lists always 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 of these are very subjective.

The choices below (aside from top 10 new songs of the year) were submitted to the Jazz Times and NPR Music 2013 compilations. (The latter is a Francis Davis-produced poll that previously was published by The Village Voice and Rhapsody.com).

As I begin preparing my review of significant events and trends in jazz in 2013 for posting on allaboutjazz.com, I thought I'd share my "best of 2013" lists. *Always keep in mind the above caveats.

Jazz on this holiday weekend’s Record Store Day

The record collectors among you who can’t resist going out on Black Friday should stop by your local independent record shops. They need the business far more than any of the big box stores. Plus, it is the Black Friday edition of Record Store Day.

Looking Ahead: Southwest Florida jazz preview

The area jazz scene is heating up for its winter-spring season when most of the snowbirds are back in Florida. Here’s a preview of some of the more interesting jazz events in the Sarasota to Naples territory from now through February. 

Dave Glasser on carrying forward the grand traditions in jazz

New York-based Hot House magazine has published my profile of alto saxophonist Dave Glasser in its December issue. The bebopper who is keen on making sure new generations of players understand and appreciate the rich tradition of jazz as their musical voices evolve.

Multi-faceted jazz from a true multi-instrumentalist

Paul Duffy brings new meaning to the category "multi-instrumentalist." For his South County Jazz Club quartet gig today, he played tenor sax, guitar, trumpet and flute and sang. But he did just fine with his arsenal, backed by pianist Matt Bokulic, bassist Joe Porter and drummer David Pruyn at the Venice Art Center. Duffy had a soprano sax in his kit but didn't use it with the day's repertoire. He didn't bring his bagpipes this time.

Insights into the improviser's art

Pianist Tommy Goodman shared his insights today on jazz improvisation, or as some musicians quite correctly call it, spontaneous composition. "The answer to the mystery of where it all comes from is experience. There is a lot of stuff to absorb," Goodman said. "It takes 10 or 12 years of playing five nights a week to become a skilled jazz player."

Roberts' jazz band bubbles with saxes

Jim Roberts

Pianist Jim Roberts was based in New York when he first performed for the Charlotte County Jazz Society at the nonprofit's first full-fledged concert back in 1991. Flash ahead 22 years from that trio date. Now based in Orlando, Roberts returned to the CCJS again Monday night for an Artists Series concert featuring his sextet, which quite appropriately uses the name Saxtet.

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs by Gerry Gibbs, The Miami Saxophone Quartet and Bill O'Connell...

Jazz spotlight on Claudio Roditi

Hot House magazine has published my profile of trumpeter Claudio Roditi in its November issue. Chatting with this multi-faceted musician earlier this month was a wonderful chance to catch up on each other’s doings, having been out of touch over the past decade.  

 

Blending musical fire with deep feeling and precise articulation, two-time Grammy nominee Roditi has been a mainstay on the New York jazz scene for more than 35 years. He is spending a lot of time composing new music, teaching workshops and getting acquainted with his latest brass acquisition – a piccolo trumpet, which joins his arsenal of flugelhorn and rotary-valve trumpet..

Jazz reflecting both sides now

Pianist Kenny Drew Jr.'s trio and saxophonist Tom Ellison's band Hip Pocket opened the Charlotte County Jazz Society's 2013-14 season Thursday night with very different approaches in this first of two double bills this season.

Nickelson excels in jazz setting

LaRue Nickelson

Guitarist LaRue Nickelson's Tampa-based jazz trio opened the Englewood Art Center portion of the South County Jazz Club's 2013-14 season today.

Nickelson is a modernist who shows great respect for players who influenced him. He has absorbed many such influences - including Tal Farlow, Jim Hall, Pat Martino and Jimmy Raney - but parrots none of them when delivering his own take on standard fare. His bandmates were bassist Mark Neuenschwander and drummer Ian Goodman. (All three are on the University of South Florida music faculty.)

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs by Gary Burton, The Inventions Trio and Redmond-Langosch-Cooley....

Brotherly jazz – a special musical bond [updated]

Philadelphia has a wonderful lineage of jazz siblings. Just as the Jones brothers (Hank, Thad and Elvin) burst onto the jazz scene from Pontiac, Michigan, and the Marsalis clan emerged from New Orleans to make their mark on jazz, Philly gave jazz Jimmy, Percy and Albert “Tootie” Heath; Wallace and Antoine Roney; and Kevin, Robin and Duane Eubanks. 

It also was the birthplace of jazz brothers Dominic and Joe Mancini. Bassist and alto saxophonist Dominic was a longtime local fixture on the Philly-Atlantic City-South Jersey corridor for many years before moving to Southwest Florida a dozen or so years ago. Steady jazz gigs and golf keep him busy. Joe, based in South Jersey, plays piano three nights a week at Steve and Cookie’s in Margate NJ, where’s he’s been featured for 16 years. He works additional Atlantic City-area gigs on other nights. 

Open Letter Update

UPDATE: Three members of the "alternative slate" of new officers for the South County Jazz Club have withdrawn their candidacies. They say the slate was proffered last week without their approval and/or knowledge.  

Any criticism  contained in my initial posting on Sunday was leveled at the leader of this campaign and whoever rallied behind him, not at the slate itself. It is unfortunate if these club members were put in this awkward situation without their knowledge or approval. KF

An open letter to fellow South County Jazz Club members

Look behind the mirror before you vote

As a club member for two-thirds of the South County Jazz Club’s existence, I want to make a couple of comments about what I’ve observed over the past few months.

Jazz excellence opens matinee series

The South County Jazz Club's extensive 2013-14 series of afternoon concerts opened today at the Venice Art Center with the Bruce Wallace Trio featuring pianist Kenny Drew Jr. In addition to Drew and bassist Wallace, the band included drummer Tom Carabasi.

Drew was in fine form (when isn't he?) and western Florida is fortunate to have him call the area home. Nothing in his wide range of material was more poignant than his take on "Dedication" from his 1998  album, Passionata. He wrote the song in tribute to his late father, a bebop pianist who took his career to Europe in 1961 and died there in 1993.

Drew will be back October 14 for a trio appearance at the Charlotte Cultural Center in Port Charlotte that opens the Charlotte County Jazz Society's seven-month Artists Series.

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs by Kenny Garrett, Jimmy Masters, Frank Potenza and Tierney Sutton...

Looking Ahead: Southwest Florida jazz preview [Oct. 14 updated]

The snowbirds won’t be back in Florida in full force until January, but the earlybirds have begun trickling in. That’s another way of saying the concert seasons by southwest Florida jazz presenters are starting to ramp up.

I plan to do these previews quarterly for events in the Sarasota to Naples territory, with a few major items from the Tampa-St. Pete area now and then.

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. 

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs by Jimmy Amadie, Lili Añel and Michael Ross...

A smashing moment for live jazz

I love it when I walk into a club just before the magic happens. Such was the case Saturday night at JD’s Bistro & Grille in Port Charlotte FL. The house band that evening tried something a bit different – and it was marvelous.

Berkshires jazz post-Tanglewood [updated]

You don’t have to go far within the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts to find jazz these days. That's the case despite the Boston Symphony Orchestra organization’s bottom-line decision two years ago to pull the plug on its Tanglewood Jazz Festival, which had grown into an area jazz fixture over the prior 24 years.

Newport Jazz Festival 2014 - Consider the numbers with care

The main stage crowd, 2013

Be wary of some of the touted numbers leading up to, during and after next year’s edition of the Newport Jazz Festival. You’re likely to read a lot of conflicting and confusing figures.

Here’s why: 

2014 marks the 60^th anniversary of the first festival, then called the American Jazz Festival, which was held July 17 and 18, 1954 at historic Newport Casino. It opened to the strains of Eddie Condon’s Dixieland band playing “Muskrat Ramble.”

 
But the 2014 event won't be the 60th edition of the festival, just as this year's was not the 59th. Next August 1-2-3 will mark the 50th edition of the Newport Jazz Festival to be held in Newport.  

The explanation is very simple.

Remembering Bill Evans - and his words of wisdom

Today would have been pianist Bill Evans' 84th birthday. He was born August 16, 1929 in Plainfield, New Jersey.

Evans preferred to speak through his music, but did open up substantially when he was a guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz public radio program on November 6, 1978, less than two years prior to his death (on September 15, 1980 in New York).

If you haven't heard the Concord Jazz  CD of the program (issued on its The Jazz Alliance imprint, TJA-12004), check it out. It is a must listen for serious jazz fans.

Ponder the photo here for more Evans wisdom. He's spot on.

2013 Newport Jazz Festival - visual treats

Esparanza Spalding

An array of my images from this year's Newport Jazz Festival have been published by JazzTimes.com here and here, with more featuring the festival's New Orleans artists by Offbeat magazine.

Here is a blend of favorites from last weekend in Newport (in no particular order). There are quite a few more on at the sites referenced above .

A great jazz night - with a fine surprise

John Allmark

Bovi'sTavern is Rhode Island's home for big band jazz on Monday nights. Well, on most Monday nights. This past Monday, the bandleader threw us a pleasant curve.


Rather than bring his full jazz orchestra, John Allmark presented his octet - a brass-rich unit reminiscent of Phil Woods' Little Big Band.