CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs by Alan Broadbent, Lisa Hilton, Pat Metheny and Dick Titterington….

Jazz's creme de la creme, 2014-style

Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, Newport 2013

The Jazz Journalists Association's 18th annual Jazz Awards winners list is headlined by pianist Herbie Hancock and saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

Hancock is being honored for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz. In addition to being a busy composer and performer, he's the driving force behind UNESCO's International Jazz Day, chairs the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and gave this year's six-part prestigious Norton Lectures series at Harvard.

 

Shorter was named Musician of the Year and his 2013 recording, Without A Net (Blue Note) was voted Record of the Year. 

Cecile McLorin Salvant was named Up and Coming Artist of the Year and Female Singer of the Year. Here is a link to the winners in all 32 categories of musical excellence.

Award winners in the JJA's Journalism and Media categories will be announced June 11 at the annual JJA Jazz Awards party in the Big Apple.

A swinging evening for jazz clarinet and more

Allan Vaché
 

Clarinetist Allan Vaché's mainstream jazz quintet closed out the Charlotte County Jazz Society's 2013-14 concert series Monday night at the Charlotte County Cultural Center with a swinging evening of Tin Pan Alley and jazz standards.

The repertoire ranged from Cole Porter, Duke Ellington and Bob Haggart to the Benny Goodman songbook, with one brief foray to Brazil for Antonio Carlos Jobim's lovely bossa nova "Look to the Sky."

Hip jazz for hip listeners

Giacomo Gates

Singer Giacomo Gates' wide-ranging musicality, humor and swing were on full display Saturday night at JD’s Bistro & Grille as he opened the Port Charlotte FL venue’s Jazz Masters series of special jazz events.

Gates fit the bill perfectly with his approach to jazz, including his instrument-like scatting and use of vocalese. The latter technique, popularized by Eddie Jefferson, Jon Hendricks and Oscar Brown Jr., puts lyrics to classic instrumental jazz solos that enable a singer like Gates to present a jazz standard with new dimensions.

The art of the jazz duo - playing alone together

Howard Alden

Guitarist Howard Alden and pianist Lenore Raphael blended their considerable talents Friday night in a South County Jazz Club concert that concluded its 2013-14 season segment at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center in Sarasota.

The New York-based players dug deeply into Great American Songbook standards, and a gritty take on Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia On My Mind," before concluding their 90-minute performance with a Raphael original. The latter was her Oscar Peterson tribute, "Blues for O.P."

CDs of Note - Short Takes

This vocals edition takes a closer look at new CDs by Barb Jungr, Stacey Kent and Susanna Smith….

A night of Valiant jazz

Valery Ponomarev

Russian-born, New York-based trumpeter Valery Ponomarev and Florida saxophonist Valerie Gillespie teamed their talents Friday for the first time, and loved every minute of it. The occasion was a Jazz Club of Sarasota evening concert at Holley Hall, which drew a small but enthusiastic audience.

Young jazz trumpet phenom steals the show

Pianist and singer Danny Sinoff is the resident jazz cat in the hat two nights a week at JD's Bistro & Grille in Port Charlotte, but Friday night he had to share the distinction and step back a bit from the spotlight. Thirteen-year-old trumpet phenom Geoff Gallante sat in with Sinoff's trio for two sets and showed the enthusiastic crowd - and his fellow musicians - that he is  the real deal.

Looking Ahead: Southwest Florida jazz preview

Giacomo Gates

Here’s a preview of some of the more interesting jazz events in the Sarasota to Naples territory from now through mid-June, as the concert season winds down. 

Happy jazz still going strong

Jim Cullum

The Jim Cullum Jazz Band drew nearly a full house at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center in Sarasota on Saturday night at a South County Jazz Club concert showing traditional jazz and the hunger for it are alive and well.

Cullum's father, a clarinetist, formed what originally was called the Happy Jazz Band in the early 1960s. The cornetist took it over in the 1970s after his father's death. The Cullum band is now in its 50th year and has been broadcasting its Riverwalk Jazz series on public radio for 25 years.

The art of the jazz trio

Morgan, Lamb, Chrupcala

The fine art of the jazz trio at its best was on full display this afternoon at the Venice (FL) Art Center. Except when it was the fine art of the jazz quartet.

Pianist Mac Chrupcala, who is based in Newport RI most of the year but snowbirds in Southwest Florida, performed with a powerhouse trio, featuring John Lamb on bass and Dave Morgan on drums. He also brought a special guest who sat in at the end of the first set and most of the second set.

Jazz that swings mightily




Lisa Kelly and JB Scott

Singer Lisa Kelly and trumpeter JB Scott's first appearance at the Charlotte County Jazz Society's concert series tonight was a dandy, ensuring that the Jacksonville-based couple will be back sooner rather than later in the CCJS rotation.

Building the future for jazz, one student ticket at a time

George Wein

George Wein remembers an evening back in the early 1940s when, as a high school student, he got a chance to hear Duke Ellington live for the first time. It was at Roseland State Ballroom in Boston, and he was in high school. Wein says memories of that night likely planted the seed for his career as a jazz pianist, club owner and festival producer.

Guitar trio digs into jazz and blues

Andre Roy

Toronto-based guitarist Andre Roy, who winters in southwest Florida. closed out the Englewood Art Center portion of the South County Jazz Club's 2013-14 season this afternoon with a terrific trio concert.

The matinee performance marked first-time concert appearances by three contemporary players: Roy, bassist Billy Pillucere and drummer James Varnado. What a tight performance in their first gig together. It also was Roy's first U.S. concert appearance.

International Jazz Day preview

The United Nations is truly putting the stamp on jazz, several dozen of them in fact, when the third annual International Jazz Day rolls around on Wednesday, April 30. UNESCO and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz are sponsoring International Jazz Day, which will have Osaka, Japan as its host city for major, all-star events.

Coinciding with International Jazz Day, the United Nations Postal Administration will issue three mini-sheets of a dozen jazz-related postage stamps, a first-day-of-issue envelope and a souvenir card. The items were designed in a cohesive collage format by UNPA Art Director Sergio Baradat. Here’s a preview of those materials. The stamps will be issued in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs and Euros. For more information, visit UNStamps.org.

Alexis Cole at Sarasota Jazz Festival (updated)

Alexis Cole and Eric Alexander

New York-based singer Alexis Cole's quintet, featuring tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, performed Friday night at the 34th annual Sarasota Jazz Festival.

Cole's band also included pianist John di Martino, bassist David Finck and drummer Kenny Washington. Here's a link to my concert review for JazzTimes.com.

The joy of sax - and trumpet - in a solid jazz setting

Mark Gould, Bob Switzer

Mark Gould's intense tenor sax artistry and Bon Switzer's lyrical trumpet and flugelhorn work blended beautifully at today's South County Jazz Club matinee concert at the Venice Art Center in Venice FL. The pair were featured in drummer Al Hixon's Underheard Herd, a revolving band who this time out also included pianist Dick Reynolds and bassist John Lamb.

Profiling jazz bassist Buster Williams

Buster Williams, Newport 1988

The March issue of Hot House magazine is out. Its features include my profile of bassist Buster Williams, who brings his quartet Something More into Manhattan’s Smoke jazz club at the end of the month. This extraordinary musician has worked with a very long list of jazz giants over the past 55 years. (Her went on the road with saxophonist Sonny Stitt at age 17). 

He talked extensively about the fine art of making jazz, which he described as “living in the realm of danger.” Not all of his perspective fit into the profile’s word limit. So here is a bit more to savor: 

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.

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs by Craig Handy, Herb Silverstein, Dave Stryker, Helen Sung and Volcán...

Klaus Bader's jazz digs deeply into the swing tenor tradition

Klaus Bader

The South County Jazz Club's matinee series took on an international flavor at the Venice Art Center in Venice FL with an appearance by tenor saxophonist Klaus Bader. He flew in for Friday's gig from his native Germany, along with guitarist Peter Starkmann. The quintet also included three Southwest Florida musicians - pianist Johnny Varro, bassist Don Mopsick and drummer Tony Martin.

Small group jazz in the spotlight

Two very different approaches to small group jazz got strong workouts in Monday night's Charlotte County Jazz Society artist series concert at the Charlotte County Cultural Center in Port Charlotte FL.

Zoot and Jug go to church through jazzman Terry Myers

Terry Myers

Saxophonist Terry Myers was the featured guest soloist at Sunday's Jazz at First Church concert series in downtown Sarasota with two excellent sets.

Iowa native Myers, a longtime Central Florida resident best known for leading his Tribute to Benny Goodman Big Band, as well as leading the current edition of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, excels in the small group format in which he was featured at First United Methodist Church.

A jazz samba kind of day

Kenny Drew Jr.

Drummer Tom Carabasi brought his Samba Jazz Quartet to the Englewood (FL) Art Center Friday for a matinee concert sponsored by the South County Jazz Club. The band included pianist Kenny Drew Jr., saxophonist Rodney Rojas and electric bassist Patrick Bettison.

Freddy Cole - still the consummate jazz balladeer at 82

Singer Freddy Cole was last night's special guest of the Naples Jazz Orchestra. The Cambier Park outdoor concert in Naples FL also featured one of Cole's longtime accompanists, guitarist Randy Napoleon.

Cole is the master of the jazz ballad. He can turn bluesy or take a more uptempo swing approach as the situation warrants, but ballads have always been his forte. Napoleon became the 17th member of the NJO for the evening, relishing its strong support as he dug into Cole's numbers as well as several of his own interesting originals. Here's the link to my more extensive review for JazzTimes.

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a closer look at new CDs by Cava Menzies and Nick Phillips, Anton Schwartz, and the Rossano Sportiello-Ed Metz-Nicki Parrott trio...

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.