Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

For some, jazz nights can be a sentimental journey

2013-05-17T11:08:00.000-04:00

The South County Jazz Club's weekly jam session has settled in nicely at its new home at the Ramada Inn in Venice FL. There's something of interest each week, either a new instrumental pairing, a fine synergy between musicians, or a tune not heard in a while.

On Tuesday, May 14, there was a bit of each of those ingredients, culminating when two singers took to the stage at the same time. That is unusual for these jams, where
the vocalists tend to get scattered throughout the three sets most weeks.

Ellison, Garber, Goodman, Alexander, Mancini, Hassan

But this particular night, club president (and jam talent coordinator) Morrie Trumble called singers June Garber and Judy Alexander to the stage simultaneously to change things up a bit. The pair blended their talents on the big band classic "Sentimental Journey" and "The Lady is a Tramp." They were backed by the house rhythm section - pianist Tommy Goodman, bassist Dominic Mancini and drummer Dane Hassan - plus tenor saxophonist Tom Ellison, who has a special affinity for Garber's way with a song.

Their first tune was a keen reminder that jam sessions exist for many purposes.

Some participants want to display their varying degrees of talent and their love of jazz.
Some listeners dig every moment of performance, while others cringe at yet another take on tunes that have been done to death in some cases. (Morrie has a list of banned tunes to help minimize that problem).
Some attendees (let's call them The Annoying Minority) consider the music to be mere background over which to dine and chat with their friends - at the risk of being SSSH'd by Morrie or neighboring patrons.
Some find the music to be a sentimental journey, particularly when the band digs into what may be a couple's favorite tune, a tune that may have been top of mind since their romance was first kindled decades earlier. Occasionally, somebody turns free space into a mini dance floor. That's fine too.
And everyone wants to have fun, no matter how they measure it.

For jam session reservations (this event draws between 150 and 200 people most weeks), call The Ramada Inn at 941-308-7700.

9th Wine & Jazz Festival schedule set

2013-05-10T15:37:00.000-04:00

Gerald Albright

The main acts are nailed down for the ninth annual Punta Gorda Wine & Jazz Festival, which is scheduled February 20-22, 2014, with a main stage lineup of smooth jazz/instrumental pop saxophonists Mindi Abair, Richard Elliott and Gerald Albright, plus singer-guitarist Norman Brown.

Albright and Brown are the day’s closing act at Laishley Park along the picturesque Peace River / Charlotte Harbor waterfront. Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce President John Wright says all four will perform together at the finale.

As the event’s darling, St. Petersburg native Abair is no surprise for festival regulars. This will be her sixth consecutive appearance in Punta Gorda. Elliott will be back for second straight year, and is no doubt hoping for better weather. Blustery winds and a bit of rain cut short his February 2013 mid-afternoon set with trumpeter Rick Braun.

Norman Brown

Look for an earlier start in 2014 as the Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event continues its evolution. A Thursday evening kickoff is planned during the city’s downtown Gallery Walk. Friday evening will feature a traditional meet-the-artists VIP reception.

Mindi Abair

Abair headlined a Sunday afternoon show at Laishley Park this past February, but Wright says that segment is going away. “People were just too exhausted from attending the other parts of the event,” Wright emailed me.

Richard Elliott

The festival will conclude with its third annual mainstream jazz Sunday brunch at the Isles Yacht Club. That segment is sponsored by Presley Bean Financial Services. Details to come.

CDs of Note - Short Takes

2013-05-07T12:46:00.000-04:00

Taking a closer look at new CDs from Lisa Hilton, Anthony Branker and George Shearing…

Lisa Hilton, Getaway (Ruby Slippers)

Pianist and composer Lisa Hilton is a painter with sound, offering an array of beautiful tunes whose melodies vividly capture the mood teased by their titles. The loveliest include “Stepping Into Paradise,” “Unforgotten” and “Slow Down.” On Getaway, her 17^th CD as a leader, Hilton and her trio-mates (bassist Larry Grenadier and Nasheet Waits) also serve up tasty explorations of the classic “Stormy Monday Blues” (written by Earl “Fatha” Hines, Billy Eckstine and Bob Crowder) and the contemporary - Adele’s 2011 hit “Turning Tables.” It’s always nice to hear how a quality pop tune can take on new dimensions in the right hands. Hilton winds down the session with a solo piano take on “Huckleberry Moon.”

Anthony Branker & Word Play, Uppity (Origin)

A medical condition that led to a seizure and two brain aneurysms in 1999 forced jazzman Anthony Branker to give up the trumpet, but not his talents as a conceptualist and composer. (He is also an educator – the founder and director of the jazz studies program at Princeton.) His newest release, featuring his all-star sextet Word Play, is both beautiful and provocative. Favorites: “Three Gifts (from a Nigerian Mother to God)” and the title track “Uppity,” which was based on one of the composer’s brief anti-racist poems. “Ballad for Trayvon Martin” is a strong feature for tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen and pianist Jim Ridl. Other band members include bassist Kenny Davis, trumpeter Eli Asher, trombonist/keyboardist Andy Hunter and drummer Donald Edwards. This project underscores Branker’s prowess as a composer and musical commentator.

George Shearing and Don Thompson, George Shearing at Home (JazzKnight)

Thirty years ago, pianist George Shearing and Canadian bassist Don Thompson had a six-week residency at a club in Manhattan. On several afternoon during that run, they’d play a few tunes "just for fun" at Shearing’s apartment, take a break for tea, and then playing some more. They recorded it but the tapes remained hidden away in a drawer for three decades. Thompson realized the specialness of those duo tracks when listening again to the tapes after Shearing’s death in 2011. His sound was sprightly, elegant and, at times, an orchestra unto himself (as shown on “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,” “The Things We Did Last Summer” and romps through “Confirmation” and Thompson’s original “Ghoti”). Four solo tunes show Shearing at his inventive finest. Check out the left hand vs. right hand duet on “Can’t We Be Friends?” The poignant closer is “Beautiful Love,” a tune Thompson said he’d never heard him play before – or since.

JJA Jazz Awards announced in 28 categories.

2013-05-01T14:21:00.002-04:00

The results are in – or at least those pertaining to musicianship. The Jazz Journalists Association today announced the winners in the 28 music categories of its 17^th annual Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards.

The big winners for 2013 included saxophonist Wayne Shorter, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and Ryan Truesdell. Saxophonist Sonny Rollins was named "Emeritus Jazz Artist – Beyond Voting," which means he’s won so many times in various categories (artist of the year, saxophonist of the year, album of the year, etc.) that he is now exempt from the balloting.

Full details and all category winners are posted here.

Shorter was voted the Award for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz and for Soprano Saxophonist of the Year. The Wayne Shorter Quartet , featuring pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, was named Best Small Ensemble.

Smith was named Jazz Musician of the Year and Trumpeter of the Year, partly in recognition of his album Ten Freedom Summers. That album was a Best Record nominee.

The Best Record of the Year award went to Centennial: Newly Discovered Works of Gil Evans, the debut album of bandleader Truesdell, whose Gil Evans Project was named Best Large Ensemble of the Year.

Gregory Porter and Luciana Souza won the male and female vocalist categories.
Winners of the JJA's Jazz Awards for excellence in journalism will be announced June 19 at an event at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City.

Winners of the JJA Jazz Awards are determined through a two-stage voting process, limited to the association's 300 professional members.

Jazz under the banyan tree

2013-04-28T18:29:00.002-04:00

The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota FL is an outstanding home to wide-ranging plant life, and is renowned for its collections of bromeliads and epiphytes. On Sunday, it was also the site of outstanding jazz by saxophonist Tom Ellison's band Hip Pocket featuring singer June Garber. The concert was part of a Sunday afternoon music series that The Selby presents in the shade of a giant banyan tree on its 13-acre property.

June Garber

Ellison & Co. did a masterful job of blending jazz standards with jazz versions of popular material. The latter included R. Kelly's "You Are Not Alone," John Lennon's "Imagine," Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed," Michael McDonald's "Takin' It to the Street," Amanda McBroom's "The Rose" and the most appropriate "And All That Jazz" from the musical "Chicago."

Tom Ellison

One of the afternoon's finest moments was Garber's poignant take on "And When October Goes," which Barry Manilow crafted into a song from a Johnny Mercer poem. Saluting two of his early jazz influences, Rochester NY native Ellison performed trumpeter Chuck Mangione's "Land of Make Believe" and longtime Mangione saxophonist Gerry Niewood's "Joy."

Ellison has assembled a fine band in Hip Pocket, which includes pianist Matt Bokulic, bassist Don Mopsick and drummer Chuck Parr. Garber is a frequent guest and works extremely well with this group.

The performance concluded the South County Jazz Club's extensive 2012-13 concert offerings. The series included 25 events in Englewood, Sarasota and Venice between late September and late April. Hat's off to club president Morrie Trumble for his tireless work putting it all together.

Piano jazz: The full Monty

2013-04-27T16:45:00.003-04:00

I had an extended conversation a couple of weeks ago with pianist Monty Alexander when preparing a profile for the May issue of Hot House, which is now posted online. Among the topics we covered: the enduring popularity among some listeners (myself included) of his classic live trio recording, Montreux Alexander (MPS), from Switzerland’s 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival. I consider it one of the very best live trio recordings. It happened during a three-year tour with bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton, who had been classmates a couple of years earlier at Indiana University.

“We never talked about it, but we’d hit the bandstand and people would be riveted, grooving with the three of us making music,” Alexander said. “Every night was like Montreux. It was such a thrill. It ran its course, and everyone went on and did great, great things. I really can’t explain it. Whatever I was then, and whatever they were, we came together like the Three Musketeers. I keep hearing from people that it is one of their favorite records.”

The magic is still there. Jamaican-born Alexander’s newest release, Uplift 2 (JLP) teams him with Clayton and Hamilton on most tracks. Ahmad Jamal’s “Night Mist Blues” and the traditional “Battle Hymn of the Republic”) are on both CDs - and are among the warhorses in Alexander’s repertoire. “The tunes never get old…. Every time I go play, I feel like it is a new tune to play. It is the first time, because I love what I do,” he said. “I just let something mystical happen with the attitude and the joy of seeing people hearing the notes coming from the piano.”

The Colossus in the Catskills

2013-04-26T14:21:00.000-04:00

Sonny Rollins

There’s an interesting reflection by jazz tenor saxophone titan Sonny Rollins in today’s Wall Street Journal that focuses on his move this year from bucolic Germantown across the Hudson River to Woodstock, an upstate New York town best known for its reputation as an artists' colony and being the namesake for the music festival held in nearby Bethel.

Creativity wasn’t the lure for Rollins, though it has been for many other jazz musicians who reside in the area.
It seems the 1880s farmhouse he had in Germantown for 40 years had gotten too drafty for his 82-year-old bones.

I grew up in Woodstock but we left for other family opportunities between the demise of (most) beatniks and arrival of the hippies who had equivalent impacts on the community.

It’s still a charming place and I miss its splendor, laid-back atmosphere and the abundance of trout fishing in so many nearby Catskill Mountains rivers and streams. The latter is something I’ll not find here in southern Florida.

Kudos to Marc Myers for putting together the WSJ’s Rollins reflection, which triggered fond memories and life’s six degrees – or less – of separation.

Sunday mornings with George...

2013-04-22T16:39:00.002-04:00

Sunday mornings, with few exceptions, are the time I dig out a George Mesterhazy CD and relish the depth and breadth of his talent as I savor the day’s first cup of java and catchup on email or peruse the morning paper. It’s been that way for the better part of the past year. I find it a terrific balm that soothes the loss of this close friend and masterful musician. He died in his sleep on April 12, 2012, a few days after his 59^th birthday.

I have many such CDs to choose from: George’s wonderful collaborations with Shirley Horn and Rebecca Parris, or more recently, Cat Conner, Lisa Lindsley, Gina Roché and Paula West, or, moving to the rock sphere, his work as a sideman (piano, B-3, Fender Rhodes and accordion) on Bob Lowery’s Mellencamp-esque 2000 CD Yellow Light.

The one that draws me in most Sunday mornings is George’s trio session, One For My Baby, which he recorded in September 1999 at Peter Kontrimas’ Westwood MA studio with drummer Matt Gordy and bassist John Lockwood. It is exquisite. Each listening reveals new aspects in his playing and his personalization of nine jazz standards.

Two-thirds of the session features the trio, with George going solo on the other three tracks. The CD was a small pressing that never made it to the general marketplace or reviewers’ in-baskets. That’s a shame, because it stands the test of time like few others. A posthumous release would be a fine thing for George’s countless fans and the many, many friends who were blessed to know the man, his warmth, his humor, his solid friendship.

One interesting note, the U.K.’s Gearbox Records in late May will release a four-song EP by Mark Murphy called A Beautiful Friendship: Remembering Shirley Horn, with pianist Alex Minasian, bassist Curtis Lundy, Shirley's drummer Steve Williams and Till Brönner on trumpet. The project is dedicated to both Shirley Horn and George Mesterhazy. Produced by Jean-Pierre Leduc, it was recorded last November at The Merion Inn in Cape May NJ.

George must have been smiling down on this session, for he was Murphy’s accompanist and musical director until his shocking passing, and was Horn’s accompanist in her final years. And it was recorded in the venue where George was featured nights he wasn’t on the road.

The new Murphy recording will be available in a limited-edition vinyl-only format (500 copies) and as a download. Details will be at the Gearbox website.

Straight-ahead jazz draws from an eclectic mix

2013-04-20T10:01:00.000-04:00

Pianist Lenny Wilson's quintet went far beyond mining the usual jazz repertoire Friday when it concluded the South County Jazz Club's Venice (FL) Art Center concert series. You would expect a blend of tunes from the Great American Songbook, as well as jazz classics, but Wilson also threw in a bit of Chuck Mangione, a wild jazz romp through guitarist Mason Williams' 1968 hit "Classical Gas" (rarely heard today in any jazz setting), The Beatles hit "Can't Buy Me Love" and a solo-piano exploration of a "Les Miserables" medley (including "I Dreamed a Dream") with Dave Norman's fine drum work joining at the end.

Lenny Wilson

It was an afternoon where trumpeter John DePaola spent a lot of time in the spotlight, particularly on the opener, Mangione's "Feels So Good," Miles Davis's "So What" and the exquisite flugelhorn soloing he brought to "Nancy With the Laughing Face."

Ron Rester, Janice Bruce-Swartz

The solid quintet also included Ron Rester on bass and Janice Bruce-Swartz on vocals. She teamed with Wilson on an interesting take on Murray Grand's clever ballad "Guess Who I Saw Today." She was also very strong on the band's takes on "Almost Being in Love," "Fly Me to the Moon" and "But Not For Me."

Wilson used voicings on his keyboard to emulate The Four Freshmen and The Manhattan Transfer sound on several individual tunes and medleys.

This was Wilson's first area concert in at least four years. He is based in The Villages, three hours to the northwest, where his popular band keeps a very busy performance schedule.

The South County Jazz Club's busy 2012-2013 concert season concludes on Sunday, April 28 at Selby Gardens in Sarasota with a 1 p.m. concert by singer June Garber, backed by Tom Ellison's band Hip Pocket.

Lenny Wilson Quintet

2012 at Newport: NOW we’ve heard it all…

2013-04-18T11:38:00.001-04:00

After baking in the sun and wandering between the three scattered stages at the Newport Jazz Festival for seven or eight hours, nearly all in the crowd call it a day during or right after the final set at Fort Adams State Park. It’s time to quench one’s thirst, grab a meal and a shower, and head home or to local lodging - and rest up for Sunday’s equally long schedule.

But that’s not the case for everyone. Some 250 fans and a nearly a dozen musicians dusted off and cleaned up - perhaps changing to something less casual - and headed for Marble House. One of Newport’s storied mansions on stately Bellevue Avenue, it was built between 1888 and 1892 as one of the Vanderbilt family’s “summer cottages.”

On Saturday April 4, 2012, Marble House was something else: the site of a fundraising gala for the Newport Festivals Foundation, which produces the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals under the leadership of the festivals’ founding producer (and foundation chairman), George Wein. The gala raised more than $200,000 to help the nonprofit carry on the festival tradition well into the future.

The gala featured an array of musical combinations not heard at Fort Adams – or anywhere else for that matter. And the tapes were running. The Festivals Foundation has released that recording, called Newport Jazz Festival Gala!, on ArtistShare.

The first-time collaborations included:

The playful trio improvisation “Three’s Free” by clarinetist Anat Cohen, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and pianist Jason Moran.
Singer-guitarist Lionel Loueke and Moran on the impromptu original “Merci.”
Cohen and guitarist Bill Frisell’s take on The Beatles’ “Come Together.”
Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda and alto saxophonist Steve Wilson’s take on Castañeda’s “Double Portion.” (The dazzling Castañeda was the only gala entertainer who didn’t appear as part of the Fort Adams lineup last year. He will be there this August.)

Other material featured saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, accompanied by his own computer-generated sounds, on his original “Aurora;” a vocal and piano duet of “I’m in Love Again” by Dianne Reeves and accompanist Peter Martin; and a quintet version of “Blue Monk” from Frisell, Jensen, Moran, Wilson and drummer Lewis Nash. Wilson and Nash also teamed up on a clever medley pairing Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” and Thelonious Monk’s “Evidence.”

If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend the gala, here’s a chance to check out the unusual pairings the evening presented. To purchase the album, visit ArtistShare's website. The CD cover calls this “Volume 1,” which means more editions are likely from future galas.

While Newport has been the setting for many a historic recording over the years (Duke Ellington’s triumphant 1956 Newport appearance is the best known), this was the first Newport recording that the festival organizers have produced themselves since the event began in 1954.

Jazz from Naples hits Port Charlotte

2013-04-09T00:37:00.000-04:00

"Sir John" Jeffrey

Monday night was Naples Night at the Charlotte Cultural Center as the Charlotte County Jazz Society wound down its 2012-13 concert season in strong fashion. The double bill featured two small groups that made the 70-mile trek north from Naples.

Vibes player "Sir John" Jeffrey's Sir John Trio provided its brand of chamber jazz, with a sound comparing favorably to the late Red Norvo's groups. Chicago native Jeffrey, who has called Florida home for more than 40 years, went a bit more uptempo on the rousing closer, "Cherokee." Bassist Dan Heck and singer-guitarist Rick Howard provided empathetic support throughout the set.

Bob Zottola

Trumpeter Bob Zottola's quartet was also excellent, featuring Stu Shelton on piano, Kevin Mauldin on bass and James Martin on the most pared-down drum kit you'll ever see. He travels with just a baby bass drum, a snare, a hi-hat and two ride cymbals, but what he does with them is a marvel to watch. Mauldin's "day job" is principal bassist with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra but he is equally versed in jazz.

Zottola, an ex-New Yorker who spent 19 years in the Les Miserables pit band on Broadway, is an excellent hornman and an enjoyable singer. The evening's finest treat was the band's take on Sidney Bechet's 1950s ballad, "Si Tu Vois Ma Mère," which was featured prominently in Woody Allen's 2011 film Midnight in Paris.

Sir John Trio

Bob Zottola Quartet

Digging deep into the Great American Songbook

2013-04-07T10:29:00.003-04:00

Marlene VerPlanck

Singer Marlene VerPlanck closed out the Glenridge Performing Arts Center portion of the South County Jazz Club's robust 2012-13 concert season last night with a thoughtful mining of the Great American Songbook.

For the most part, her concert at the cozy state-of-the-art Sarasota FL venue featured Songbook pages turned less frequently but just as worthy of illumination as the warhorses that everybody else puts on their short lists.

Mac Chrupcala, Marlene VerPlanck

With fine support from her ace rhythm section for the night - pianist Mac Chrupcala, bassist Mark Neuenschwander and drummer Dave Pruyn - she gave us a lot of lesser-known gems penned by the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Sammy Cahn, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, etc. The material featured arrangements by her late husband, Billy VerPlanck.

Her crisp and clear delivery enables the listener to savor the lyrics these masters penned in popular song's 1930s and '40s heyday, and she is still capable of the extended high note for effect. Unlike today's young pop singers, she has the good sense to save that technique for the final notes of a song - and sometimes was more effective when skipping it altogether in service to the splendid lyrics.

But there was more than material from the best-known writers from Tin Pan Alley. Other treats included her takes on the playful Ruby Fisher tune "The Jazz Buff," Gerry Mulligan and Mel Torme's "The Real Thing," saxophonist Budd Johnson's "Save Your Love for Me," and an Ellington medley that shied away from his best-known jazz standards. She opted for Duke's "Everything But You," Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" and "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So." (Don George wrote the lyrics for the first two, Mack David for the third.)

VerPlanck closed with poignant and stunning version of a more recent tune (1986) of Great American Songbook quality - Francesca Blumenthal's "Lies of Handsome Men."

The South County Jazz Club's 26-concert season winds down later this month with two afternoon events. Lenny Wilson's quintet is at the Venice Art Center on April 19. The season concludes with singer June Garber and saxophonist Tom Ellison's band Hip Pocket at the Selby Gardens on April 28.

Chrupcala, Neuenschwander, VerPlanck, Pruyn

Welcome to Jazz April

2013-04-04T15:55:00.003-04:00

Yes, this is Jazz Appreciation Month. It is also the month in which UNESCO's 2nd annual International Jazz Day takes place.

Some might argue that every day ought to be Jazz Day. I won't quibble with that ideal.

But a month in which we are asked to help raise the general public's jazz consciousness is a great thing.

There are many ways to get involved - without any great fanfare.

Go to one or two more concerts than you might otherwise.
Buy a CD.
Support your local musicians.

These things make a difference when everyone does it. That's a goal.

More on International Jazz Day, which is April 30.. It began last year with a lot of UNESCO support for an idea hatched by Herbie Hancock and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Ceremonies and all-star concerts took place in Paris, New Orleans and at UN headquarters New York City.

International Jazz Day is designed to bring together communities, schools and groups from across the world to celebrate jazz and its role as a means of communication that transcends differences.

This year’s principal events will take place in Istanbul, Turkey. Other celebrations, concerts and educational programs are scheduled around the globe. More than 170 events have been organized in more than 30 countries, including Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Cuba, Denmark, the Republic of Korea, France, Gabon, Malaysia, Mexico, Swazililand and Trinidad and Tobago.

The evening concert at Istanbul's famed Hagia Irene will feature performances by stellar musicians from around the world, including - among many - Igor Butman, Terri Lyne Carrington, Anat Cohen, Robert Glasper, Herbie Hancock, Abdullah Ibrahim, Al Jarreau, Hugh Masekela, Pedro Martinez, Keiko Matsui, John McLaughlin, Milton Nascimento, Jean-Luc Ponty, Dianne Reeves, Christian Scott and Wayne Shorter. The concert will be streamed live on the internet via Jazzday.com, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, UNESCO and U.S. State Department websites, and will be taped for future broadcast on public television stations around the world.

Monk Institute Chairman and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock calls this initiative a way “to encourage and highlight jazz's unique power for advancing intercultural dialogue and understanding across the world.”

That power has been at work since 1956. That's when Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck and others went on State Department tours to Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East as Jazz Ambassadors.

One value of the jazz jam session

2013-04-03T10:21:00.000-04:00

André Roy

Jam sessions are great for a lot of things. One of my favorite values: the opportunity to hear musicians from near or far with whom one might not cross paths otherwise.
Over the past few months, I got a chance to hear Toronto guitarist André Roy at the South County Jazz Club's weekly jam, which has been held for the past year at Allegro Bistro in Venice FL.

Roy is a guitar modernist born of the rock era, and his beautiful guitar sound is infused with a rockish energy and intensity. Think John Scofield for comparisons.

His debut trio recording, Dark Bright, was released in late 2012. It's highlight: Roy's "Hommage a Sonny Greenwich."

At a recent jam, Roy played a beautiful version of Joaquín Rodrigo's "Adagio" from "Concierto de Aranjuez." The tune is best known in jazz circles as the grand entrance into Miles Davis's classic Sketches of Spain collaboration with Gil Evans. It's a tune that sticks with you, to be savored whenever it is done well.

It may seen odd that Spanish music (classical and music inspired by Spanish folk forms) became such a success when given a jazz treatment, in Miles Davis's case more than 50 years ago. But perhaps not. I asked Davis about his interest in Spanish material during an April 1986 interview, a month before his 60th birthday.

He had a simple, logical answer: "Flamenco is the blues," he rasped, "only in Spanish."

Indeed. Music that comes from the heart touches you, no matter where it originated.

Important jam session note:
Starting Tuesday, April 9, the South County Jazz Club's weekly jam (5:30 to 8:30, home by 9), will have a new home: The restaurant at the Ramada Inn, 425 Route 41 Bypass North in Venice. For reservations, call 941-308-7700.

Bud Leeds' jazz quartet in Venice

2013-03-29T11:41:00.000-04:00

Bud Leeds

Clarinetist Bud Leeds peppered Friday's Venice Art Center concert for the South County Jazz Club with tunes that became brief two- and three-song medleys. It showed interesting connections between material that was either thematic or of similar structure. For example: "Autumn Leaves" shifted to "Lullabye of the Leaves" and then "Softly as a Morning Sunrise."

But he had a different motive for the condensations.
He wanted to free some time to showcase the talents of his quartet mates. They included pianist Bobby van Deusen, bassist-singer Ernie Williford and drummer Johnny Moore.

Bobby van Deusen

Pensacola-based van Deusen is a trad piano powerhouse, drawing keen focus from the audience, and his colleagues, as he dug into a bit of ragtime and boogie woogie, as well as a touch of classical, during his spotlights. The Philly native performed throughout the Midwest starting in the 1970s. After moving south in 1985, his gigs included work in the Rosie O'Grady's Dixieland Band in Orlando and with Pete Fountain, Al Hirt and The Dukes of Dixieland in New Orleans.

Besides being a rock-solid bass player, Williford is an engaging singer with a keen sense of time and a knack for mining the emotion in a lyric. Treats included his takes on two Hoagy Carmichael gems: "New Orleans" and "Georgia On My Mind." His powerful version of "Georgia" is unlike any other you'll hear.

Moore is a tasty drummer who prefers subtlety over flash. His two or three solo interludes were tasty and interesting. He doesn't try to impress with power and noise. This is a good thing.

Ernie Williford, Bud Leeds, Bobby van Deusen, Johnny Moore

Naples Jazz Orchestra with star firepower

2013-03-26T14:15:00.000-04:00

Thousands jammed into Cambier Park in downtown Naples FL last night for what was the clear highlight of the Naples Jazz Orchestra's fourth season. The 16-piece big band's concert with two special guests - trumpeters Doc Severinsen and Byron Stripling - was also a high point since drummer Bob Stone organized the band four years ago.

Byron Stripling and Doc Severinsen

Stripling, Severinsen and the NJO spent a good portion of the evening digging into the New Orleans repertoire, which made perfect sense given the city's importance in the development of jazz - and jazz trumpet playing. Highlights included "Bourbon Street Parade," "Basin Street Blues," "West End Blues," "St. James Infirmary" and a rousing closer - "When the Saints Come Marching In" - on which the two stars shared the solo spotlight with trombonist Greg Nielsen and trumpeter Dave Pruyn. The engaging humor and musical simpatico between the two horn players was a treat.

Severinsen

Severinsen, who turns 86 on July 7, still has high-octane firepower on his solos (reminiscent at times to Maynard Ferguson) though he wisely paces himself. He also retains the colorful fashion preferences that America got to know so well during his 45 years as the leader's of NBC's Tonight Show Orchestra. He also threw in fine versions of two favorite ballads: "September Song" and Bob Haggart's classic "What's New?"

Stripling

Stripling, an Atlanta native and alumnus of the Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman and Count Basie Orchestras, is artistic director of the Columbus (Ohio) Jazz Orchestra. He's an engaging horn player and fine singer who loves digging into the Louis Armstrong-New Orleans repertoires. In 1988, Stripling was picked to play the lead in the musical Satchmo: America's Musical Legend. After opening in New Orleans, the show played in Atlanta, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and North Carolina before closing in Boston.

Bob Stone

The drummer led The Bob Stone Big Band in Chicago for 15 years before moving to Florida full-time in 1990. He has assembled a crack outfit in Naples that is perhaps Florida's finest professional big band. Players from all over southern and central Florida drive as much as 150 miles each way for concerts and rehearsals. Its ranks include trumpeter (and assistant musical director) Mark Pettey, pianist Kenny Drew Jr., and saxophonists Mike Brignola, Tom Ellison and Rodney Rojas.

Both guest artists were thrilled by the backing band. "One of the great gifts of Naples sits behind me," Stripling told the crowd. "They are the best of the best." To which Severinsen added: "You guys have got a red-hot band here."

Doc Severinsen and the NJO

CDs of Note - Short Takes

2013-03-22T19:51:00.002-04:00

Taking a closer look at new CDs from Patricia Barber, the Ian Carey Quintet +1, the Clayton Brothers and Scott Hamilton….

Patricia Barber, Smash (Concord Jazz)

This lady is a musical triple threat. In her latest CD, her debut on the Concord Jazz label, Barber’s music is an equilateral triangle comprised of her ethereal voice, her piano touch and the intellectual feminist-poetry nature of her original material. Her Chicago-based quartet-mates - bassist Larry Kohut, drummer Jon Deitmeyer and fiery guitarist John Kregor - provide strong support and help dig deep into the emotions for each tune. Favorites: “Smash,” “Redshift,” “Missing” and the lone instrumental “Bashful.”

Ian Carey Quintet +1, Roads & Codes (Kabocha)
Ian Carey is a trumpeter-composer from California’s San Francisco Bay area. He is also a very talented graphic artist. His latest CD is a marvel for its lush and intricate music and musical concepts, as well as Carey-designed packaging and illustrations that make it a clear favorite to win the year’s cleverest design. His originals are interspersed with jazz interpretations of three of his favorite pieces by Neil Young (the soundtrack theme from the film “Dead Man"), Igor Stravinsky (the first movement of “Suite No. 1 for Small Orchestra”) and Charles Ives (“West London”). Carey’s longtime quintet is joined by alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen. Favorites: “Rain Tune,” “Nemuri Kyoshirō,” “The Thread” and “West London.”

Clayton Brothers, The Gathering (artistShare)

Hard bop, the blues, and funk. With that sort of intermingling do any of today’s jazz bands come closer to The Adderley Brothers band in sound and feel than the Clayton Brothers? I think not. Brothers Jeff (alto sax) and John Clayton (bass) are joined by John’s son Gerald on piano, trumpeter Terell Stafford and drummer Obed Calvaire, along with two musically energetic guests – trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and vibraphonist Stefon Harris. Favorites: “Friday Struttin’,” “This Ain’t Nothin’ But a Party,” “Stefon Fetchin’ It,” “Coupe de Cone” and “Blues Gathering.”

Scott Hamilton, Remembering Billie (Blue Duchess)

So much angst and heartache marked Billie Holiday’s recordings and performance in the 1950s, that it is easy to forget the pre-WWII Billie, whose sound was imbued with fun, joy and a lighter take on life before her demons took their toll on her voice and her stamina. Tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton digs into the earlier Holiday sound on his fine new tribute recording, Remembering Billie. He’s backed by a New England trio on this session: pianist Tim Ray, bassist Dave Zinno and drummer Jim Gwin, with session Duke Robillard aboard on acoustic guitar on two tracks – “Fooling Myself” and “I’ll Never Be the Same.”Hamilton’s gently swinging swagger is on great display here. This is a dandy. Savor it all.

Toe-tapping Dixieland - Florida style with a touch of Hawaii

2013-03-18T23:39:00.002-04:00

Bob Leary and Davy Jones

Bob Leary's sextet, also known as The Moral Imbeciles (so he said), had toes a-tappin' Monday night throughout the Charlotte Cultural Center at the Charlotte County Jazz Society's Artists Series.
The banjoist, guitarist and singer's genre is Dixieland, and the Florida musicians in his band spent a large portion of the night mining classics from New Orleans. Their Hawaiian shirts were an interesting informal touch.

This crack band included cornetist Davy Jones, clarinetist Bob Draga, trombonist Pat Gullata, bassist Don Mopsick and drummer Dick Maley. Their first set included a romp through "Muskrat Ramble," which was the very first tune played at the Newport Jazz Festival debut when guitarist Eddie Condon's all-star traditional jazz septet opened the event on July 17, 1954.

The Bob Leary Sextet

Classic Jazz with good humor

2013-03-17T00:05:00.001-04:00

Johnny Varro

Pianist Johnny Varro's Swing 7 concert at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center in Sarasota FL last night had a bit of holiday weekend humor - compliments of the leader.

The band played classic jazz that was in most cases 60 to 90 years old. Anything written in the past 50 years hasn't found its way into Varro's charts. The newest tune was Luis Bonfa's "Samba de Orfeu" from the 1959 film "Black Orpheus."

One tune they dug into deeply was Gerry Mulligan's "Disc Jockey Jump," which the baritone saxophonist wrote for the Gene Krupa Orchestra in 1947. "In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we'll call it 'Mulligan Stew,'" Varro told the audience.

Varro's band included Charlie Bertini on trumpet, Jeff Lego on trombone, Terry Myers on clarinet, Rodney Rojas on tenor sax, Don Mopsick on bass and Greg Parnell on drums. The South County Jazz Club sponsored the concert, the fourth of five this season at the Glenridge. The series concludes April 6 with singer Marlene VerPlanck.

Johnny Varro's Swing 7

TSB spins a jazz gem

2013-03-14T00:20:00.000-04:00

The Tierney Sutton Band

The Tierney Sutton Band opened a two-week mini-tour last night at Daniels Pavilion in Naples Fl. The show underscored the singer's mastery of taking familiar material and transforming it into something fresh and different.

Sutton’s band has been a musical family for more than 20 years, with finely honed collaborative arrangements and an intuitive spirit that enables them to shift gears in an instant when soloists offer new ideas.

My full review has been posted at jazztimes.com.

Sarasota Jazz Festival - Gates and Lamb in spotlight

2013-03-08T11:42:00.000-05:00

Giacomo Gates

Connecticut-based bop/vocalese singer Giacomo Gates took the 33rd annual Sarasota Jazz Festival by storm last night, sharing the evening's spotlight with former Ellington bassist John Lamb.

Lamb was a strong part of the headliner's rhythm section - after receiving the Jazz Club of Sarasota's Satchmo Award for his outstanding contributions to jazz as a performer and educator. After getting off the road, he settled in St. Petersburg in 1967 and spent nearly 30 years teaching in the Pinellas County School System. He is still one of the area's most in-demand bass players.

John Lamb

Lamb and Gates

"I do not take this honor lightly," Lamb told the Players Theatre audience as he joined an honorees list that includes Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Gerry Mulligan and Dick Hyman. "It represents thousands and thousands of people and their good works. I feel blessed to have been part of their lives."

Gates performed two solid sets with pianist Mac Chrupcala, Lamb and drummer Patricia Dean. Gates has worked with Chrupcala in southern New England, but it was his first time out with the other bandmates, who he'd only met that afternoon. His rapport with Lamb was creative and special all night long.

Gates artfully blended ballads with vocalese classics, including three tunes from his new High Note CD Miles Tones, which is based on music written and/or performed by Miles Davis. This was his first trip to southwest Florida and, based on the reception he received from the crowd of 300+, it won't be his last.

JazzTimes has posted my full review of the concert.

Giacomo Gates, Mac Chrupcala, John Lamb, Patricia Dean

Englewood jazz series concludes first season in fine form

2013-03-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

Valerie Gillespie

The South County Jazz Club wound up the first season of its Englewood Art Center concert series with Friday afternoon's performance by Valerie Gillespie's trio. Gillespie is a Tampa Bay-area saxophonist who has also developed into a fine singer. When she's not singing or soloing, she also can't resist dancing to the groove set by her bandmates, in this case pianist Jeff Phillips and drummer Dave Rudolph.
Gillespie avoided the tired tunes syndrome entirely, digging into excellent material that stretched from Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Fats Waller, Billy Strayhorn and Antonio Carlos Jobim (the bossa nova "Corcovado" (known in English as "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars"). She also tackled the Ella Fitzgerald classic "Lady Be Good," adding a verse of her own scatting behind Ella's classic scat segment, and later scatted the concert to a close when she dug into "I Got Rhythm."

She also shared us with a charming and poignant version of the Joe Raposo tune "(It's Not Easy) Bein' Green," first recorded by Kermit the Frog of The Muppets in 1970 and soon covered by a wide range of artists, including Ray Charles, Lena Horne and Frank Sinatra. Gillespie's rendition was an opportunity to savor the lyrics of this uplifting tune that is a journey from depression to optimism and power.

Valerie Gillespie, Dave Rudolph, Jeff Phillips

The South County Jazz Club added six Englewood Art Center concerts tand one more at the nearby Lemon Bay Playhouse) to its busy schedule in Venice and Sarasota this season.

Piano jazz x 2

2013-02-28T19:56:00.001-05:00

Mac Chrupcala and Mike Renzi have been crossing paths longer than each cares to count.

Mike Renzi

They began working jazz clubs in the 1960s in Providence, RI - occasionally swapping favorite venue gigs. Chrupcala also spent most of his adult career teaching music in the Newport School System, while Renzi went on to great acclaim in New York City as musical director for "All My Children" and "Sesame Street" - and accompanist to a trove of great singers, including Mel Torme, Maureen McGovern and Jack Jones.

Mac Chrupcala

Both men now winter in Florida. They crossed paths again this afternoon at the Venice FL Art Center in a two-keyboard concert, with strong support from bassist Mark Neuenschwander and drummer Dave Pruyn. It was fascinating to hear these two longtime friends trading back and forth between acoustic and electric piano, as well as taking turns with ease in leading and comping on a wide range of material. Both pianists are powerhouse players.

Neuenschwander, Renzi, Chrupcala

First set highlights included a six-tune Duke Ellington medley and two tunes on which Pruyn traded drumsticks for microphone to sing Renzi arrangements of two Torme concert staples: "Pick Yourself Up" and "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." Chrupcala added subtle strings (via the keyboard) behind Renzi's piano for the latter. Second half highlights included their takes on "Meditation" and "Teach Me Tonight." Singer Shelly Torman sat in on another Ellington gem: "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing.)"

More than 100 jazz fans turned out for the jazz club's first two-piano concert.

The new jazz standard from Whitney James

2013-02-24T11:35:00.001-05:00

Singer Whitney James came south from the St. Petersburg area Saturday for the South County Jazz Club's first concert at Lemon Bay Playhouse in Englewood FL - and it was a delight for a variety of reasons.

Whitney James

James doesn't really front the band. She's an integral part of the action - unlike the "chick singer" style of performance that we see far more frequently. And she avoids the tiredest tunes in the Great American Songbook. This is a good thing.

About half of her material came from her very fine 2010 debut CD Whisper Not; the rest coming from other jazz and popular fare delivered with polish, a bit of humor and fine interplay with her Tampa Bay-area bandmates. They are guitarist LaRue Nickelson, tenor saxophonist Jeremy Powell, bassist Alejandro Arenas and drummer Mark Feinman.

For many, including me, the highlight was something most unexpected in a jazz setting, particularly with a mostly older audience. It was the band's fresh take on the Fleetwood Mac 1977 hit "Dreams." Stevie Nicks wrote the tune, which was the group's only No. 1 hit on the U.S. charts. James & Co.'s extended jazz version was stunning and memorable.

There is nothing wrong with the aforementioned American Songbook. Its tunes are timeless, but James recognizes - as do other contemporary performers - that they need to freshen jazz with newer standard fare pulled from more recent pop and rock sources. May they continue to surprise and delight us.

On the rare nights when it's not presenting plays, The 100-seat Lemon Bay Playhouse works well for this sort of jazz. Its intimacy almost feels like you're hearing live jazz in your living room. The concert was a sellout - and deservedly so.

Nickelson, Powell, Feinman, Arenas, James

In walked Mike...

2013-02-20T12:20:00.000-05:00

One of the cool things about a jam session is that you never know who may show up and enhance the proceedings - above and beyond the regulars. Such was the case last night at the South County Jazz Club's weekly jam at Allegro Bistro in Venice FL.

Goodman, Mainieri, Mancini, Hassan, Ellison

Mike Mainieri, a longtime fixture in jazz fusion and the New York and studio music scene, popped in - and ended up playing five tunes over the course of the three-hour jam. Between the two men, club fixture Jack Fanning’s vibes never had such an extensive workout at Allegro.

Mainieri treated the crowd to his swinging and shimmering touch on a variety of standards, including “The Days of Wine and Rose,” “Autumn Leaves,” “Bye Bye Blackbird,” “When I Fall in Love” and “Moonglow.” The big treat - the simpatico and shared support when he dug into “Autumn Leaves” with Tom Ellison on alto sax and the house rhythm section (Tommy Goodman on piano, Dominic Mancini on bass and Dane Hassan on drums). Goodman reminded Mainieri that they’d done studio work together back in the day.

Mainieri, who turns 75 this July, cut his jazz teeth with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in the 1950s, then worked with Buddy Rich, Benny Goodman and Wes Montgomery, among others, before becoming one of the Big Apple’s busy studio musicians. He founded the fusion group Steps Ahead in 1979. His colleagues over the course of the band’s various iterations included saxophonist Michael Brecker, drummers Steve Gadd and Peter Erskine, bassist Eddie Gomez, pianists Don Grolnick, Warren Bernhardt and Eliane Elias, and guitarists Chuck Loeb and Mike Stern.

Mike heard about the South County Jazz Club jam from his brother Marty, who lives in neighboring North Port. Mike and his wife Dee were visiting - and starting to house hunt in the area for an eventual move south. He’s already found new fans at Allegro.