Ari Hoenig Dominick Farinacci Reuben Wilson Cindy Blackman

Transcription

The only jazz magazine in NY in print, online and on apps!
www.hothousejazz.com
August 2016
Jazz Standard
Page 17
Smoke
Page 21
Cindy Blackman Santana
Reuben Wilson
Dominick Farinacci
Ari Hoenig
The Falcon
Page 10
Smalls
Where To Go & Who To See Since 1982
Page 10
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3
4
5
6
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WINNING SPINS
By George K anzler
N THIS AGE OF THE MP3 AND THE
downloaded song, the album often surIvives
as little more than a compilation of
tracks, neatly packaged for consumers as a
marketing strategy. However, some musicians still have more ambitious reasons for
creating records. Case in point: the two
offerings comprising this Winning Spins.
Both CDs connect music to narrative,
creating pieces that tell or suggest a story
apart from the music. For his release, Ari
Hoenig contructs a long narrative arc and
uses the tunes to reveal a connected story.
On the other hand, Dominick Farinacci
chooses songs that tell or suggest individual tales, gathered together but independent of each other.
Short Stories, Dominick Farinacci
(Mack Avenue), finds the 30-something
trumpeter fashioning often sophisticated,
elaborate versions of tunes culled from the
worlds of pop, folk and jazz into distinctive,
highly suggestive narrative arcs. The producer is famed pop music auteur Tommy
LiPuma who, like the trumpeter, is a
native of Cleveland. The production is
sleek and lush, recalling the pristine
sounds and urbane tastes of mid-20th
Century albums from the labels of Creed
Taylor, whose CTI brand signaled jazz
sophistication.
The rhythm section features not only
pianist Larry Goldings, often doubling on
organ, bassist Christian McBride and
drummer Steve Gadd, but often adds legendary session guitarist Dean Parks and
percussionist Jamey Haddad, with Gil
Goldstein playing accordion on four of the
ten tracks. Six tunes also add a string and
woodwind sextet, while two others feature
vocals and electronic instruments from
Jacob Collier.
A New Orleans R&B vibe infuses the
opener, the Gypsy Kings' "Bamboleo,"
Dominick paying tribute to his Louis
Armstrong roots, especially in the stoptime breaks, surrounded by churning
rhythm and full ensemble sections and
echoed by Mark Mauldin's trombone (in its
only appearance). Percussive shakes and
rattles add to the south of the border flavor
of Horace Silver's "Senor Blues," with
multi-vocals from Jacob Collier, and the
leader's "Afternoon in Puebla" as well as
Dianne Reeves' "Tango." Arabic scales and
the muezzin-like vocals of Lebanese singer
Mike Massy highlight Dominick's "Doha
Blues," inspired by his time in Qatar.
The most lyrical period of Miles Davis
10
Blackman cover photo by Chad Tasky.
and Gil Evans inspires a lush version of
Tom Waits' "Soldier's Things," trumpet
caressed by the strings and woodwinds.
Another outstanding ballad track is the
standard "Black Coffee," featuring
Dominick's one foray into plunger and
muted trumpet. Two songs are appropriated from the pop charts: Cream's early rock
hit, "Sunshine of Your Love," riding on the
original bass riff jazzily swung; and the
2013 Grammy Record of the Year,
"Somebody That I Used to Know," given an
electronic treatment and Beach Boys-like
vocal harmonies by Jacob. Larry contributes the sly, tongue-in-cheek finale,
"Parlour Song."
The Pauper & The Magician, Ari
Hoenig (Lyte Records), finds the drummer's quintet creating a soundtrack for a
fantastical tale he wove for his children's
bedtime story about a magician who takes
over the life of a pauper, making him "a
stooge for the magician's cruelest tricks."
While there are some memorable solos
along the way from tenor saxophonist
Tivon
Pennicott,
guitarist
Gilad
Hekselman and pianist Shai Maestro, the
music is ensemble-oriented, achieving
much of its impact and drive from collective and polyphonal strategies.
The titular opening track builds tension
over a martial tattoo from Ari as the others
climb chordal ladders to build volume and
dynamic tension, solo passages flowing in
and out of the overall progressions. A
tempo that races and retards powers "I'll
Think About It," a kaleidoscopic piece
enticing with constantly shifting, overlapping solos.
Like Dominick, Ari explores near-East
scales and exotic blues riffs on "The
Other," with engaging piano and tenor sax
solos moving toward an Arab-bebop fusion.
The contrasting tension of double-timing
drums and tenor sax in ballad mode makes
"Lyric" impressive. Tivon is at his most
emotively yearning on the straight ballad
"Alana," the actual lyric highlight of the
album. "You Are My Sunshine" closes the
narrative on a jaunty note, the leader voicing the melody with mallets on drum
skins, then trading licks with tenor sax.
Dominick Farinacci plays at The
Side Door in Old Lyme on Aug. 6 and
The Falcon in Marlboro on Aug. 7. Ari
Hoenig's Trio is at Smalls Aug. 8 and
15 and he is in Kenny Werner's trio at
Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Aug. 9-10.
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Cary Tone, Gary Walker, Eric Wendell
PROOF READER: Robert Abel
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER: Fran Kaufman
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11
CLUBS & HALLS
UPPER MANHATTAN
(Above 70th Street)
ADAM CLAYTON POWELL JR. STATE
OFFICE BUILDING: 163W 125th St. (7th
Av). www.jazzmobile.org. 212-866-4900. Aug
18: 5pm free adm Yunior Terry & Son de
Altura w/Yosvany Terry.
CASSANDRA’S JAZZ & GALLERY: 2256
7th Av (bet 132nd & 133rd Sts). 917-4352250. www.cassandrasjazznyc.com. Sets: 911pm. Mon: Phil Young Trio; Wed: Donald
Smith & friends; Thurs: Jazzy Jam; Fri-Sat:
Dr. Dwight w/spec guests.
CAVATAPPO: 1712 1st Av (bet 88th & 89th
Sts). www.cavatappo.com. 212-987-9260.
Thurs: 9-11pm $8 adm/$10 min. Aug 4: Peter
Maness & The Artisanals; 11: Jason Tiemann
Trio; 25: Vanessa Parea.
CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE: 2485 Bway (bet
92nd & 93rd Sts). www.cleopatrasneedleny.
com. 212-769-6969. Sets: Early (E), Late (L);
Sun E 4-8pm, L 9pm-1am; Mon-Tues E 89pm, L 10pm-1am; Wed-Thurs E 7-11pm, L
11:30pm-2:30am; Fri-Sat E 8pm-12am, L
12:30-3am. Free adm/$10 min. Trios except
Mon&Thurs Duets. L Jam. Residencies: Sun
E Open mic w/Keith Ingham, L Kelly Green
Duet; Mon Jon Weiss; Tues Marc Devine;
Wed E Open mic w/Les Kurtz, L Nathan
Brown; Thurs L Kazu; Sat L T. Kash. Aug 4:
Steve Elmer; 5: Masami Ishikawa; 6: Denton
Darien; 11: Julia Banholzer; 12: Dan Furman;
13: Walter William; 18: Matt Baker; 19: Bob
Albanese; 20: Richard Benetar; 25: JiSung
Kim; 26: Chris Johanson; 27: Justin Lees.
GINNY’S SUPPER CLUB: At Red Rooster.
310 Lenox Av (bet 125th & 126th Sts).
www.ginnyssupperclub.com. 212-792-9001.
Sets: 7:30&9:30pm $15 adm unless otherwise noted. Thurs: Marc Cary & The Harlem
Sessions. Aug 5: $20 Gregorio Uribe; 6:
Michael Mwenso & the Shakes; 13: Afro
Yaqui Music Collective; 27: $25 Nicole Henry.
GREAT HILL: Central Park West & 106th St.
www.jazzmobile.org. 212.866.4900. Aug 13:
4-7pm free adm Jimmy Heath Big Band.
GRANT’S TOMB: Riverside Dr & W120nd St.
www.jazzmobile.org. 212-866-4900. Wed: 78:30pm free adm. Aug 3: Jeremy Pelt; 10:
Winard Harper; 17: Havana Harlem; 24:
Bobby Sanabria.
MARCUS GARVEY PARK: 122nd St at
Manhattan Av. Free adm. Aug 5&12: 78:30pm www.jazzmobile.org Jazzmobile
JazzFest feat 08/5 Barry Harris, 08/12 Will
Calhoun; 26-27: Charlie Parker Jazz Festival
www.summerstage.org feat 08/26 7-9pm
Jason Lindner, Breeding Ground, The
Antoinette Montague Experience, 06/27 27pm Randy Weston African Rhythms Sxt,
Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, The Artistry
of Jazzmeia Horn, Charles Turner III.
MINTON’S: 206W 118th St (bet St. Nicholas Av
& Adam Clayton Powell Blvd). 212-243-2222.
www.mintonsharlem.com. Sets: 7:30&9pm.
Aug 6: Roberta Piket; 7: Gregory Generet; 14:
Judi Jackson; 19: Alex Han Trio; 20: Emmet
Cohen Trio; 21: Sari Kessler Qnt; 27: Linda
Oh; 28: Tracy Young Qnt.
12
For comprehensive daily updated listings with sort-by options—by artist, location, day or time—go to www.hothousejazz.com.
NATIONAL JAZZ MUSEUM IN HARLEM:
58W 129th St at Malcolm X Blvd. 212-3488300. www.jmih.org. Aug 8&13: 11am-5pm
Swinging Saturdays @ the Museum.
PARIS BLUES: 2021 Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
Blvd at 121st St. www.parisbluesharlem.com.
212-222-9878. Sets: Early (E) 5-9pm, Jam
9pm-1am. Free adm. Sun: E Double G & the
Possee, 9pm The Ramirez Gp, last Sun Elliot
Pineiro & Sumbaswing; Mon: John Cooksey
& Spontaneous Combustion; Tues: The
Sultans of Soul; Wed: Les Goodson & the
Intergalatic Soul Jazz Band; Thurs: Tyrone
Govan & Top Secret; Fri: tba; Sat: alternate
The 69th Street Band/The Antoine Dowdell
Gp.
RENDALL MEMORIAL PRESBYTERIAN:
59W 137th St, #61 (bet Malcom X Blvd & 5th
Av). 212-283-2928. www.welcometoharlem
calendar.com. Tues: 12-1:45pm $15 adm
Harlem Afternoon Jazz series w/Craig Harris
feat guest. Aug 2: Ahmed Abdullah; 9: Jason
Marshall.
RUMSEY PLAYFIELD: Central Park. 212360-2756. Aug 7: 6-10pm free adm
SummerStage
Festival
www.summer
stage.org feat Igmar Thomas & the Revive
Big Band.
SHRINE: 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd
(bet 133rd & 134th Sts). 212-690-7807.
www.shrinenyc.com. Sets unless otherwise
noted: Early (E) 6-7pm, Late (L) 7-8pm.
Residency (R): Sun 5-8pm Jam w/Lu Reid.
Aug 2: E-L Joe Abba Jazz Project; 4: L Jim
Piela Project; 5: E Rachel Linkovsky Qnt, L
Jacob Varmus Trio; 6: L B.J. Jansen; 7: R, 811pm The Shrine Big Band; 11: E Elise Wood
Duo; 12: L Matt Snow Gp, 8-9pm Gloria
Isaiah; 14,21&28: R.
SILVANA: 300W 116th St at Frederick
Douglass Blvd. www.silvana-nyc.com. 646692-4935. Sets unless otherwise noted: Early
(E) 6-7pm, Late (L) 7-8pm. Aug 4: E-L Chris
Bacas; 5: E Sasquatch; 6: L Nick Di Maria; 9:
E Joe Breidenstine Qnt; 11: E-L Dan Block;
12: E Jon Sheckler Trio, L Benjamin Furman
Project; 14: E Paulo Siqueira Qrt; 18: E-L
Marshall Gilkes; 19: L Kristin Callahan; 21: L
Berta Moreno Qnt; 25: E-L John Eckert; 31: 79pm Jamhattan.
SMOKE JAZZ & SUPPER CLUB: 2751
Bway (bet 105th & 106th Sts). 212-864-6662.
www.smokejazz.com. Sets: Early (E), Late
(L), Brunch (B); Sun B 11:30am,1&2:30pm, E
7,9&10:30pm, L 11:30pm; Mon E 7&9pm, L
10:30pm; Tues-Thurs E 7,9&10:30pm, L
11:30pm; Fri-Sat E 7,9&10:30pm, L
11:45pm&12:45am; Adm/min vary. Residencies: Sun B Annette St. John Trio, L Willerm
Delisfort Qrt; Mon (R) E Philly Meets NY Jam
w/Orrin Evans, L Smoke Jam; Tues (R) E
Mike LeDonne & Groover Qrt, L Emmett
Cohen Organ Trio; Wed L 08/3&17 Camille
Thurman Qrt, 08/10,24&31 Jovan Alexandre
Qrt; Thurs L Nickel & Dime OPS; Fri L
08/5&19 John Farnsworth Qrt, 08/12&26
Patience Higgins & Sugar Hill Qrt; Sat L
Johnny O’Neal & friends. Aug 1-2: R; 3-4:
Judi Jackson; 5-7: Heads of State; 8-9: R; 1011: Reuben Wilson Qrt; 12-14: Mulgrew Miller
B’day Celebration feat Steve Nelson, Terell
Stafford; 15-16: R; 17-18: Willerm Delisfort
Project; 19-21: Peter Bernstein Let Loose Qrt;
22-23: R; 24-25: Dezron Douglas Black Lion
Qrt; 26-28: Al Foster's Tribute to Charlie
Parker; 29-30: R; 31-Sep 1: Freddie Bryant
Brazilian Jazz Qrt feat Vanessa Falabella.
SYMPHONY SPACE: 2537 Bway at 95th St.
212-864-5400. www.symphonyspace.org. Bar
Thalia (BT). Mon: 9pm BT Open Mic
w/D'Ambrose Boyd & David Pearl. Aug 12:
13
3&7pm $45 adm The Joffrey Ballet School
feat Jazz & Contemporary works; 14: 7pm
BT free adm The New York Jazzharmonic
Trio.
MID-TOWN MANHATTAN
(Between 35th & 69th Street)
B. B. KING BLUES CLUB & GRILL: 237W
42nd St (bet 7&8th Avs). 212-997-4144.
www.bbkingblues.com. Lucille’s Grill (LG).
Aug 5: 7:30pm LG Joey Morant & Catfish
Stew; 8: 8pm Strictly Sinatra feat Michael
Dutra Big Band Ens; 23-24: 8pm Al Di Meola.
BIRDLAND: 315W 44th St (bet 8th & 9th Avs).
212-581-3080. www.birdlandjazz.com. Sets:
8:30&11pm, except Mon 7&9:30pm, Sun
6,9&11pm. Adm varies. Residencies: Wed
5:30-7pm David Ostwald & Louis Armstrong
Eternity Band; Fri 5:15-7pm Birdland Big
Band by Tommy Igoe; Sat 6pm Eric Comstock
& Jay Leonhart. Aug 1: 7pm Sara Gazarek;
2-7: The Django Festival Allstars w/spec
guests Anat Cohen 08/2, Peter Beets 08/3-4,
Jorge Continentino & Itaiguara Brandao 08/56, Jazzmeia Horn 08/7; 4: 6pm Sean
Harkness & Will Galison; 7: 6pm The
Empathia Jazz Duo w/Mafalda Minnozzi &
Paul Ricci; 9-13: Steve Kuhn Trio; 11: 6pm
Rony Whyte; 14: 6pm Noah Haidu Qrt, 9pm
Rolando Morales-Matos Sxt; 16-20: Renee
Rosnes; 18: 6pm Beat Kaestli; 21: 6pm
Borislav Strulev w/friends, 9pm Dominick
Farinacci; 23-27: The Jazz Masters Play
Monk w/John Abercrombie, Joey Baron,
Dave Liebman & Steve Swallow; 28: 6pm
Joanna Strand & friends; 30-Sep 3: Charlie
Parker B’day Celebration feat Vincent
Herring, Greg Osby, w/spec guests Eric
Alexander 08/30-09/1, Sheila Jordan 09/2-3.
CLUB BONAFIDE: 212E 52nd St (bet 2nd &
3rd Avs). 3rd Fl. www.clubbonafide.com. 646918-6189. Sets: Early (E), Late (L), Late Night
(N); Sun E 7pm, L 9pm; Tues-Sat E 7:30pm,
L 9:30pm, N 11pm. Residency (R): Sun L
Brazilian Night w/Davi Vieira. Aug 3: E
Mthakathi, L Abdoulaye “Djoss” Diabaté
w/Mother Water; 4: E The New York Jazz
Exchange, L Carlos Averhoff, Jr & iRESI; 5: L
Karl Latham Gp w/Oz Noy & Alex Echardt, N
Dermel Warren; 6: E Michael Sarian & The
Big Chabones, L Ty Stephens & the
SoulJaazz, N Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now; 7: N
R; 9: E Ryan Carraher Gp; 10: E Tia Brazda,
L Ignacio Rivas Bixio; 11: E-L Greg Lamy Trio;
12-13: E-L Michael Olatuja & Lagos Pepper
Soup w/spec guests; 13: N Noël Simoné
Band of Friends; 14: E The Lintet, L R; 17: E
Supermambo, L Patrick Andy Band; 18: E
Aimée Allen, L Andy Hunter & SPOKE; 19: E
1in2, L-N Camille Gainer Jones feat The
Immortals; 20: E-L Gabriel Alegría AfroPeruvian Sxt, N Ada Pasternak; 21: E The NY
Jazz Flutet, L R; 24: E Katherine “Kool Kat”
Farnham; 25: E Samuel Torres Gp, N Cookin’
Hooks w/Billy Ruegger; 26: E Afro Bop
Alliance, L Zem Audu; 27: L The Chardavoine
Band; 28: L R; 31: E The Mala Waldron
Project, L Beledo.
DIZZY’S CLUB COCA-COLA: At Jazz @
Lincoln Center. 10 Columbus Cr at 60th St.
5th Fl. www.jalc.org. 212-258-9800. Sets:
7:30&9:30pm; Late Night Sessions 11:30pm
Tues-Sat. Aug 1: Julian Lee & friends; 2: Jon
Irabagon Qrt; 3: John Ellis & Double-Wide; 47: Ben Wolfe Qnt feat Nicholas Payton; 8:
Jazz House Kids w/Christian McBride; 9-10:
Kenny Werner Trio; 11-14: Joey DeFrancesco
Trio; 15: Claudia Acuña; 16-21: Trio Da Paz &
friends feat Harry Allen & Maucha Adnet; 22:
14
Marcus Strickland Qrt; 23-28: Trio da Paz &
friends feat Harry Allen & Maucha Adnet; 29:
Fresh Cut Orch; 30-31: Tito Puente Jr. Band.
Late Night Sessions w/Aug 2-6: Victor Gould;
9-13: Jordan Pettay Organ Project; 1617&19: Evan Sherman Entourage; 20: Evan
Sherman Big Band; 23-27: Noah Garabedian;
30-Sep 3: Julian Lee.
IRIDIUM: 1650 Bway at 51st St. 212-582-2121.
www.theiridium.com. Aug 2: 8pm $25 adm
Mona’s Hot Four; 10-12: 8&10pm $30 Javon
Jackson, Ron Carter & Billy Drummond; 1516: 8pm $25/35 Tuck & Patti; 19-20: 8&10pm
$30/40 Ed Palermo Big Band feat Napoleon
Murphy Brock; 25-26: 8pm $25/35 Stanley
Jordan; 27: 8pm $20 Solomon Hicks.
JAZZ AT KITANO: 66 Park Av at 38th St. 212885-7119. www.kitano.com. Sets & adm: Sun
12-2:30pm, Mon-Tues 8-11pm, Wed-Sat 89:15&10-11:15pm; Sun $40 buffet, Mon-Tues
free/$15 min, Wed-Thurs $17/20 min, Fri-Sat
$32/20 min. Residencies (R): Sun Jazz
Brunch w/Tony Middleton; Mon Jam w/Iris
Ornig; Tues except 08/30 Addison Frei Solo.
Aug 1-2: R; 3: John Fedchock Qrt; 4: Alexis
Parsons Trio; 5: Ted Rosenthal Trio; 6: Tony
Hewitt Qrt; 7-9: R; 10: Deanna Witkowski
Trio; 11: Chris Ziemba Qrt; 12: Noah
Preminger/Frank Kimbrough Duo; 13: David
Kikoski Trio; 14-16: R; 17: Katie Thiroux Trio;
18: Deanna Kirk Qrt; 19: Roberta Piket Qrt;
20: Lew Tabackin Trio; 21-23: R; 24: Asako
Tamura Duo; 25: Peggy Stern Qrt; 26: Joyce
Breach Trio; 27: Tim Armacost Qrt; 28-29: R;
30: Angelo Di Loreto Solo; 31: Patrick
Cornelius Qrt.
SAINT PETER’S CHURCH: 619 Lexington
Av at 54th St. (Citicorp Bld). www.saint
peters.org. 212-935-2200. Wed: 1pm $10 don
Midtown Jazz at Midday; Thurs: 12:30pm free
adm Jazz on the Plaza; Sun: 5pm free adm
Jazz Vespers. Aug 3: Bucky Pizzarelli & Ed
Laub; 4: Miho Hazama Jazz Ens; 7: Deanna
Witkowski Qrt; 10: David White Jazz Orch; 11:
Ted Nash Trio; 14: Andy Ezrin Trio; 17: Brian
Charette & Organ Sextette; 18: Dave
Chamberlain Band of Bones; 21: J.J. Wright
Trio; 24: Sheila Jordan & Cameron Brown; 25:
Benito Gonzalez Trio; 28: Tyler Blanton Qrt;
31: David Hazeltine & Sean Smith.
TOMI JAZZ: 239E 53rd St (Bet 2nd & 3rd Avs).
Lower level. www.tomijazz.com. 646-4971254. Sets: Sun-Mon&Wed 8-11pm, Tues E
8-9:20pm, Thurs 9-11:30pm, Fri 9pm-1am,
Sat 8-10:30pm; Late (L) weekdays 9:4011pm, Sat 11pm-1:30am. Adm: Sun-Wed
free/$5 min, Thurs-Sat $10/10 min. Aug 1:
Greg DeAngelis Trio; 3: Shoko Igarashi Trio;
4: Greg Merritt Trio; 5: Craig Brann Trio; 6:
The Highliners, L Sein Oh Trio; 7: Shoko
Igarashi; 8: Atsushi Shinoda; 9: Abel Mireles;
10: Tsuyoshi Yamamoto; 11: Sumie Kaneko
Duo; 12: Takenori Nishiuchi; 13: Daniel
Bennett Gp, L Paul Lee Trio; 14: Ittetsu
Nasuda; 15: Erena Terakubo; 16: Stephen
Fuller; 17: Yoshiki Miura Trio; 18: Scot
Albertson; 19: Kuni Mikami; 20: The Standard
Procedure; 21: Yuko Ito; 22: Eric Plaks; 23:
Sharp Tree Trio; 24: Hiroaki Honshuku; 25:
Senri Oe; 26: Takenori Nishiuchi; 27: Emi
Takada, L Yusuke Seki; 28: Kengo Yamada;
29: Yako Eicher; 30: Taeko Ota; 31: Raquel
Rivera.
LOWER MANHATTAN
(Below 34th Street)
55 BAR: 55 Christopher St (bet 6th & 7th Avs).
212-929-9883. www.55bar.com. Sets: Early
(E) 7-9pm except Sun&Fri-Sat 6-9pm, Late
(L) 10pm. 1st Mon: E Sean Wayland; 1st
Thurs: E Amy Cervini; 2nd Thurs: E Nicole
Zuraitis; 2nd Fri: E Tessa Souter; last Fri: E
Kendra Shank. Aug 6: E Ayana lowe w/spec
guest Libby York; 10: E Jane Irving Qrt.
BAR NEXT DOOR: 129 McDougal St. 212529-5945. www.lalanternacaffe.com. Sets:
Sun 8&10pm, Mon-Thurs Early (E) 6:307:45pm, Late (L) 8:30&10:30pm, Fri-Sat
7:30,9:30& 11:30pm. Adm: $12 all night + 1
drink min/set except Fri-Sat $12/set + 1 drink
min/set, E free. Trios. Mon-Thurs: E Emerging
Artists series; Mon: L Vocal Mondays series.
Residencies (R): Sun Peter Mazza, Wed L
Jonathan Kreisberg. Aug 1: E Mark Phillips, L
Christine Tobin; 2: E Tommy Holladay, L Nick
Brust; 3: E Jeff Miles, L R; 4: E Sam Zerna, L
Dan Rochlis; 5: Nelson Riveros; 6: Mike
Rood; 7: R; 8: E Peter Amos, L Michelle
Walker; 9: E Kyle Moffatt, L Caroline Davis;
10: E Danny Hartig, L R; 11: E Tommaso
Gambini, L Sandro Albert; 12: Sheryl Bailey;
13: Pete McCann; 14: R; 15: E Dave Juarez,
L Dana Reedy; 16: E Flavio Silva, L
Sebastian Noelle; 17: E Bobby Katz, L R; 18:
E Bobby Katz, L Marvin Dolly; 19: Michael
Valeanu; 20: Nir Felder; 21: R; 22: E Prawit
Siriwat, L Gabrielle Stravelli; 23: E Dave
Juarez, L Larry Newcomb; 24: E Paul Jubong
Lee, L R; 25: E David Kuhn, L Aleksi Glick;
26: Nick Moran; 27: Jeff Barone; 28: R; 29: E
NanJo Lee, L Lainie Cook; 30: E Sagi
Kaufman, L Daniel Weiss; 31: E Paul Jubong
Lee, L R.
BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB: 131W 3rd St at 6th
Av. 212-475-8592. www.bluenotejazz.com.
Sets: 8&10:30pm + Fri-Sat 12:30am Late
Night Groove series, Sun 11:30am&1:30pm
Sunday Brunch. Adm varies. Aug 1: Kind of
New feat Jason Miles, Theo Croker, Jay
Rodriguez; 2-7: The Roy Hargrove Dream
Team feat Jimmy Cobb & George Cables; 8:
Aziza Miller, 10:30pm Chris Rob; 9-14: The
Bad Plus; 15: McCoy Tyner; 16-21: Lee
Ritenour; 22: Jesse Fischer & spec guests;
23-28: Monty Alexander Bands; 29-31: tba.
Late Night Groove w/Aug 5: Jason Spirit; 6:
The Brighton Beat; 12: Esnavi; 13: ArinMaya;
19: Light Blue Movers; 20: No Small Money
Brass Band; 27: Jeremy Warren. Sunday
Brunch w/Aug 7: Pete McGuinness Jazz
Orch; 14: Emmet Cohen Trio; 21: tba; 28:
Nanny Assis & friends.
CORNELIA STREET CAFÉ: 29 Cornelia St.
212-989-9319. www.corneliastreetcafe.com.
Sets
unless
otherwise
noted:
Sun
8:30&10pm, Mon-Thurs 8&9:30pm, Fri-Sat
9&10:30pm. Adm varies. Aug 2: The Flying
Tomboulians, 9:30pm Nora McCarthy People
of Peace Qnt; 3: Animals In My Ear, 9:30pm
Mary Foster Conklin/Deanna Witkowsk; 4:
Marianne Solivan, 9:30pm Melissa Hamilton
Trio; 5: Amos Hoffman Trio, 10:30pm Or
Bareket Qnt; 6: Eden Bareket Trio, 10:30pm
Shai Maestro; 7: Yotam Ben-Or Sxt, 10pm
Nitai Hershkovits Trio; 9: Matthew Ward Trio;
10: Sofia Ribeiro & Juan Andrés Ospina Duo;
11-13: LL4; 14: David Ambrosio/Russ
Meissner; 15: Michael Blanco; 16: Bogna
Kicinska, 9:30pm Lisa Sokolov/Cooper
Moore; 17: Aimua Eghobamien, 9:30pm
Sonicmuses; 18: Carolyn Leonhart, 9:30pm
Michelle Walker; 19: Aubrey Johnson; 20:
Couvoisier, Feldman, Laubrock & Rainey; 24:
6pm Keri Johnsrud Qrt, 8pm Sebastian Noelle
& Shelter; 25: Susan Pereira & Sabor Brasil,
9:30pm Livio Almeida Gp; 26: Billy Newman
Qnt, 10:30pm Bom Ritmos-Keiti; 27: Alex
Kautz Gp, 10:30pm Rubens Salles Gp; 29:
Lenny Pickett & John Hadfield; 30: 6pm Harry
Nilsson & The Point!; 31: 6pm Ear Puzzles,
8pm Barry Altschul & 3dom Factor.
The DJANGO: At Roxy Hotel. 2 Av of the
15
Americas at Walker St. www.roxyhotelnyc.
com. 212-519-6600. Sets: Fri-Sat Early (E) 810pm, Late (L) 10:30pm-2am. Wed: 8pm-2am
Django Big Band & Jam. Aug 4: 8-10:30pm
Chris Norton; 5: E Steven Feifke Trio, L Chris
Norton; 6: E Jonathan Dely, L Kate KelseySugg; 12: E John Iannuzzi Qrt, L Brian
Newman; 13: E Claffy, L Jon Irabagon; 19: E
Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, L Brian Newman; 20:
E Jonathan Dely, L Los Hacheros; 25: E Chris
Norton; 26: E Alex Clough, L Brian Newman;
27: E John Iannuzzi Trio, L Joe Saylor.
DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY: 13 Monroe
St (bet Market & Catherine Sts). 212-4730043. www.downtownmusicgallery.com. Sun:
6pm In-Store shows. Aug 7: Nicolas LetmanBurtinovic & Ken-Ya Kawaguchi, 7pm Nico &
Split Cycle, 8pm Xuan Ye, Sean Ali & Jason
Doel.
The EAR INN: 326 Spring St (bet Greenwich &
Washington Sts). www.earinn.com. 212-4319750. Sun: 8-11pm EarRegulars feat Jon-Erik
Kellso & friends.
EAST RIVER PARK AMPHITHEATER: East
River Promenade. www.summerstage.org.
SummerStage festival. Aug 10: 7-9pm free
adm Nublu Orch, DarkMatterHalo w/Wadada
Leo Smith.
FAT CAT: 75 Christopher St at 7th Av. 212-6756056. www.fatcatmusic.org. $3 adm/no min.
Sets unless otherwise noted: Early (E), Late
(L), Night (N); E 7pm except Sun-Mon & Fri
6pm; L 9pm except Thurs&Sat 10pm; N
1:30am except Sun 1am, Mon-Wed 12:30am.
Residencies (R): Sun E Terry Waldo &
Gotham City Band, N Brandon Lewis &
Renee Cruz; Mon N Billy Kaye; Tues E except
08/2 Saul Rubin Zebtet; Wed E except 08/3
Raphael D'Lugoff Trio + 1, N Ned Goold; Fri
9pm The Supreme Queens; Sat N Greg
Glassman. Aug 1: E Osso String Qrt, L Bruce
Harris, N R; 2: E Kate Cosco, L John Benitez,
N Ray Parker; 3: E Corin Stiggall Qnt, L
Groover Trio, N R; 4: E Carlos Cuevas, L
Frank Lacy, N Ilya Lushtak; 5: E Sarah Slonim
Trio, L R + Jared Gold/Dave Gibson, N Reid
Taylor; 6: E Asaf Yuria Qnt, N R; 7: E R,
8:30pm Jade Synstelien & FCBB, N R; 8: L
Ned Goold Qrt, N R; 9: E R, L Peter Brainin &
the Latin Jazz Workshop; 10: E R, L Harold
Mabern Trio, L R; 11: L Greg Glassman Qnt;
12: L R; 13: L Steve Carrington, N R; 14: E&N
R; 15: L George Braith, N R; 16: E R; 17: E R,
L Don Hahn/Mike Camacho Band, N R; 19: L
R + Point of Departure; 20: N R; 21: E R, L
Ark Ovrutski, N R; 22: N R; 23: E R; 24: E&N
R; 26: L R; 27: N R; 28: E&N R; 29: N R; 30:
E R, L Itai Kriss & Gato Gordo, N John
Benitez & Latin Bop; 31: E&N R.
JAZZ GALLERY: 1160 Bway at 27th St. 5th Fl.
www.jazzgallery.org. 646-494-3625. Sets:
7:30&9:30pm $15/10 adm, $22/12 Fri-Sat,
$40 SummerPass. Aug 4: Colin Stranahan; 5:
Nir Felder; 10: Brooklyn Raga Massive; 11:
Caroline Davis; 12: Liberty Ellman.
JAZZ STANDARD: 116E 27th St (bet Park &
Lexington Avs). www.jazzstandard.net. 212576-2232. Sets/adm unless otherwise noted:
7:30&9:30pm; Sun&Thurs $30, Mon-Wed
$25, Fri-Sat $35. Residency: Mon (R) Mingus
Monday feat Mingus Big Band. Aug 1: R; 2:
Ulysses Owens Jr. & New Century Jazz Qnt;
3: Bobby Broom Trio; 4-7: Tierney Sutton; 8:
R; 9-10: $30 Cindy Blackman Santana Gp;
11-14: $30 08/12-13 Jeff “Tain” Watts Qrt; 15:
R; 16: Stranahan/Zaleski/Rosato w/spec
guest Mike Moreno; 17: Black Art Jazz
Collective; 18-21: $35 08/18 John Beasley
Big Band w/spec guests tba 08/18, Regina
Carter 08/19-20; 22: R; 23-24: Sachal
Vasandani; 25-28: 08/25 $35 George
Coleman Qrt; 29: R; 30: James Francies &
Kenetic; 31: Edward Simon Trio.
16
JOE’S PUB: At Public Theater. 425 Lafayette
St & Astor Pl. www.joespub.com. 212-9677555. Aug 13: 7pm $20 adm Shunzo Ohno.
LE POISSON ROUGE: 158 Bleecker St at
Thompson St. www.lepoissonrouge.com.
212-796-0741. Aug 7: 8pm $20/25 adm
Silencio.
METROPOLITAN ROOM: 34W 22nd St (bet.
5th & 6th Avs). www.metropolitanroom.com.
212-206-0440. Sets unless otherwise noted:
Early (E) 7pm, Late (L) 9:30pm. Residency
(R): Tues L Annie Ross. Aug 2: L R; 4: L
Valentine Qnt; 9: L R; 11: L Denise Jannah &
Amina Figarova Trio; 16: L R; 20: L John
Minnock; 23&30: L R.
MEZZROW: 163W 10th St (bet 7th Av &
Waverly Pl). www.mezzrow.com. 646-4764346. Sets/adm: Early (E) Sun 7:30-9pm,
Mon&Fri-Sat 8-9pm, Tues-Thurs 8-10:30pm;
Late (L) Sun-Mon 9-11:30pm, Tues-Wed
10:30pm-12am, Thurs 11pm-12am, Fri-Sat
9:30pm-12am; Night (N) Mon 12-1:30am, FriSat 12:30-2am; adm varies. Residencies:
Mon E John Merrill w/guests; Tues-Wed L
“Polite” Jam; Thurs L Jam w/Spike Wilner; Fri
E 08/5&19 Sacha Perry Solo, 08/12&26 Ehud
Asherie Solo, N Johnny O'Neal; Sat E Spike
Wilner w/guests, N 08/6&20 Jon Davis,
08/13&27 Anthony Wonsey. Aug 1: E R, L
Jim Ridl w/Lorin Cohen; 2: E Roseanna Vitro,
L R; 3: E Yves Brouqui w/Spike Wilner, L R; 4:
E Jamie Reynolds, L R; 5-6: E R, L Ken
Peplowski, N R; 7: L Amos Hoffman; 8: E R, L
David Hazeltine; 9: E Hilary Gardner, L R; 10:
E Emmet Cohen Trio, L R; 11: E Sam Yahel
Trio, L R; 12-13: E R, L Pete Malinverni
w/Steve Wilson, N R; 14: L Grant Stewart; 15:
E R, L Bill Cunliffe; 16: E Harvey Diamond, L
R; 17: E Sara Gazarek, L R; 18: E George
Burton, L R; 19-20: E R, L DEna DERose
w/Martin Wind & Matt Wilson, N R; 21: Chris
Flory Trio; 22: E R, L Michael Valeanu w/Eden
Ladin & Or Bareket; 23: E Janis Siegel Trio, L
R; 24: E Bruce Harris, L R; 25: E OWL Trio, L
R; 26-27: E R, L Buster Williams, N R; 28: 57pm Mezzrow Classical Salon w/David Oei, L
Dominick Farinacci; 29: E R; 30: E Michael
Kanan, L R; 31: E Ben Allison w/Michael
Wolff, L R.
NEW YORK CITY BAHA’Í CENTER: 53E
11th St (bet Bway & University). 212-2225159. www.bahainyc.org. Tues: 8&9:30pm
$10/15 adm. Aug 2: Judy Marie Canterino Gp;
9: Jeff Siegal Qnt; 16: Sean King Gp; 23:
Cynthia Hints Gp.
NORTH SQUARE: At Washington Square
Hotel. 103 Waverly Pl at McDougal.
www.northsquareny.com/about-jazz. 212254-1200. Sun: 12:30&2:15pm free adm Jazz
Brunch. Aug 7: Camila Meza Duo; 14: Roz
Corral w/Yotam Silberstein & Jay Leonhart;
21: Roz Corral w/Jim Ridl & Rusty Holloway;
28: Aimee Allen Trio.
RUE B: 188 Ave B (bet 11th & 12th Sts). 212358-1700. www.ruebnyc.com. Sets: 8:3011:30pm. Jam Sun-Thurs. Sun: Jocelyn
Medina; Mon: Bobby Katz Trio; Tues: Adrian
Thomas Moring Trio; Wed: Pisco; Thurs:
Andrew Forman Trio; Fri-Sat: Curtis Graham
Nowosad Funk Trio.
SMALLS JAZZ CLUB: 183W 10th St at 7th
Av. 212-252-5091. www.smallslive.com. Sets:
Afternoon (PM), Early (E), Late (L), Night (N);
PM 4:30-7pm Sun, 4-7pm Fri-Sat; E 7:3010pm; L 10:30pm-1am; N 1-4am; jam following N; adm varies. Residencies (R): Sun 1pm
Vocal masterclass by Marion Cowings, E
except 08/28 Johnny O'Neal Trio, N Hillel
Salem; Mon L except 08/1&22 Ari Hoenig, N
08/1,15&29 Jonathan Michel,
08/8&22
continued on page 20
T'S GETTING TO BE AN ANNUAL
tradition: drummer Cindy Blackman
ISantana
and her husband, guitarist Carlos
Santana, have played the national anthem
at one of the NBA finals games two years
in a row. Performing for huge crowds is
nothing new for the veteran drummer, who
has done stadium tours with Santana and
Lenny Kravitz for decades. But still, the
viewership for the NBA finals is "crazy big,
there are people all over the world watching that," she says.
It's interesting to wonder how many of
them are aware of Cindy's other life as an
innovative jazz drummer, mentored by the
great Tony Williams, and an alumna of
bands fronted by Don Pullen, Cassandra
Wilson, Joe Henderson, Pharoah Sanders
and others.
"I'm a jazz musician; jazz is my love, it's
who I am," Cindy declares. "I love the intelligence, spontaneity and freedom jazz
affords for the musicians and the listeners.
It's inspiring as an individual; it promotes
spirituality, creativity and individuality."
The drummer thrives on the wide variety of projects she is involved in; they fuel
her creative flame. "I find joy in doing a
bunch of different things," she explains.
Besides playing a variety of musical styles
and meeting a range of musicians, she
travels to locales and works at venues she
wouldn't hit when fronting her own band.
"It's all intertwined and I find good in that."
Lately, she's been working on a couple
of recordings, one with soul icon Ronald
Isley of the Isley Brothers, produced by
Carlos Santana and another of her own
music, both set for fall release. The new
albums will mark Cindy's vocal debut on a
tune she wrote for the Isley session. After
listening to a demo she brought in, everyone encouraged her to sing it for the
album. The finished take includes a duet
section with Ronald.
"I love what happened between Ronnie
and me," she says. "There will be a slightly different version on my own recording; it
won't be the same on both."
Cindy describes having a fun time in
the studio working on her CD, which
includes special guests John McLaughlin,
Vernon Reid, Santana and Matt Garrison,
plus her own electric band. "It was a different process this time; I usually go in and
knock out some tunes. But since there
were a lot of guests, we were vibing the
music on the spot versus doing something
preconceived," the drummer says.
"Everyone came in with sketches and ideas
and left a lot to creativity. It was an onthe-spot kind of thing."
In advance of her CD release, Cindy is
playing Jazz Standard this month with her
electric band, consisting of Aurelien
Budynek on guitar, Zaccai Curtis on keyboards and Felix Pastorius on bass.
"I'm lucky to be surrounded by beautiful
people who are great musicians," she
notes. "Aurelien is keyed into the music
and wants to make it happen. He has great
ears and no ego when he plays. He allows
the music to grow and speak. Zaccai is
understated; he's such a subtle guy. His
playing isn't brash or loud; it's transparent
and beautiful. It adds a nice texture that
can get intense. Felix is a fantastic musician, helpful and wonderful and humble."
Cindy predicts the quartet will play
some originals, plus material by Wayne
Shorter and Herbie Hancock. "That's stuff
I always love playing," she says. "I also
always like to leave caution to the wind
and have time in a set where we just
improvise. That adds a twist, spontaneity;
we do something completely new and it
gives another kind of edge to our thinking,
there's a whole new song, a whole new
structure on the spot."
The New York date is followed by a gig
at the Hollywood Bowl with Marcus Miller,
Carlos, Herbie and Wayne on Aug. 24.
Though Cindy is matter-of-fact when talking about playing packed arenas with
Blackman photo by Chad Tasky.
17
S P O T L
PETER BEETS
BIRDLAND / AUGUST 3-4
Over the past decade, Dutch pianist Peter Beets has been making inroads into highlighting his prodigious talents stateside, notably through a series of highly regarded
albums in tandem with Willie Jones, Herlin Riley, Larry Grenadier and Reginald
Veal, among others. While his hard-swinging keyboard skills might draw comparisons
to titans like Wynton Kelly or Oscar Peterson, Peter has also shown a rich reserve of
lush romanticism, nowhere more evident than on his Chopin Meets the Blues project,
in which he seamlessly wove the Polish composer's works into a jazz-driven set. As
such, he is a superb choice to appear as a guest during the Django Reinhardt NY
Festival at Birdland, applying his formidable virtuosity to bridging the many worlds
that can be heard in Django's music. SH
NICOLE ZURAITIS
GOSHEN FAIRGROUND-LITCHFIELD JAZZ FESTIVAL / AUGUST 6
A longtime member of the Litchfield community, vocalist/pianist Nicole Zuraitis is
quite precious. In the Top Three of 10,000 for the 2015 Sarah Vaughan Competition
and a high finisher in any contest she has entered, her accomplishments are equal to
her great talent. The Brooklyn-based singer was schooled at New York University,
has two CDs, Spread The Word from 2008 and Pariah Anthem in 2013, and an EP,
Take Some Air, with her world music band EVA. While known as a jazz artist, she is
able with her flexible, dynamic instrument, to negotiate progressive, funky, ethnically diverse approaches to pop, folk, R&B and blues and electronics. On her return to
Litchfield, she's accompanied by guitarist Dave Stryker, pianist Carmen Staaf, saxophonist Caroline Davis, bassist Jon Michel and drummer Dan Pugach. MGN
GREGORY GENERET
MINTON'S / AUGUST 7
A singer whose intimate connection to the lyric affects the way he phrases each chorus, Gregory Generet remains a poet of the music. Moving through verses out of time,
or back phrasing a blues, he continually renews his artistic intention. The release of
his debut record (re) generet-ion (Monsieur Music/Mosaic, 2012) led to an explosion of
sold-out performances across the city and internationally. Gregory has played such
esteemed venues as Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Joe's Pub, The Highline Ballroom, Jazz
at Kitano, and Smoke Jazz & Supper Club where his quartet enjoyed a three-year residency. He has performed with Wycliffe Gordon, Branford Marsalis, Bucky Pizzarelli
and opened A Concert for Roy Hargrove at the Rocca of Castiglion del Lago. He performs as a featured artist on the Minton's Sunday Singers series. SJ
HERBIE HANCOCK
PROSPECT PARK BANDSHELL / AUGUST 11
One of the most eclectic, wide-ranging jazz titans for more than five decades,
pianist/keyboardist Herbie Hancock could facilely be labeled by the title of one of his
signature tunes, "Chameleon." But Herbie's many musical voices and styles don't disguise his identity (like that eponymous lizard); they distinguish it. As a virtuoso
acoustic pianist, Herbie has been touring both solo and in duo with former Miles Davis
Quintet colleague Wayne Shorter and with fellow keyboardist (and Miles alum) Chick
Corea. As a bandleader, he pioneered in bringing the funk to jazz with his multi-keyboard electric ensembles. At this BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn concert, he'll be leading a
quintet featuring electric bassist James Genus, drummer Trevor Lawrence Jr., guitarist Lionel Loueke and saxophonist-multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin. GK
BENNY BENACK III
THE SIDE DOOR / AUGUST 12
A formidable trumpet force in the music, Benny Benack III offers a wonderful mix of
virtuosity and infectiously swinging tunefulness. While the Pittsburgh native turned
heads in New York with his horn chops, Benny has also begun to push his career forward as a highly charismatic trumpet-vocal multitasker, incorporating a variety of
vocal numbers into his sets. At The Side Door, Benny is joined by longtime collaborators Emmet Cohen on piano, Alexander Claffy on bass and Charles Goold on drums,
and will offer a swinging mix of standards and originals. Of particular note to watch
for are Benny's "New Standards"—original vocal works that pay homage to the Great
American Songbook while also seeking to expand the repertoire. SH
By Ken Dryden, Ken Franckling, Seton Hawkins, Stephanie Jone
18
Beets photo by Jos Fielmich, Zuraitis by Lindsey Victoria Photography, Generet by Amara Photos, Chou by Emra Islek, T
L I G H T
STEPHANIE CHOU
LYNDHURST ESTATE / AUGUST 18
Playing at this historical site in Tarrytown is a homecoming of sorts for
saxophonist/composer/vocalist Stephanie Chou, who grew up in nearby Irvington. But
don't be surprised if her sound roams far afield as she draws from a broad universe of
influences, including classical and Chinese music, as well as pop and folk. She has
released a straight-up jazz CD and has another one in the works. In between this pair
of jazz outings, Stephanie collaborated with singer/songwriter Octavia Romano on a
duo CD dubbed Compass. Joining Stephanie at the bucolic outdoor setting in
Westchester County are Andy Lin on erhu and viola, Kevin Hays on keyboards and
Kenny Wollensen on drums and percussion. EK
YOSVANY TERRY
ADAM CLAYTON POWELL JR. STATE OFFICE BUILDING / AUGUST 18
Each moment of Yosvany Terry's music continues a dialog of explorative conversation
that spans generations. A player whose connection to time creates layering and whose
evolving harmonic expression informs his compositions, Yosvany is an electrical current of artistry. Composer, saxophone player, percussionist and educator—he infuses
his music both with subtle and explosive actions and reactions. Yosvany has performed
alongside such artists as Steve Coleman, Roy Hargrove, Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Jeff
"Tain" Watts, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Taj Mahal and the Eddie Palmieri Afro-Caribbean
Sextet. In addition to winning numerous grant awards as a composer, his latest release
New Throned King (5Passion, 2014) received a 2015 Grammy nomination for Best
Latin Jazz Album. SJ
DENA DEROSE
MEZZROW / AUGUST 19-20
A versatile pianist and dynamic vocalist, Dena DeRose is one of a few who excel in both
roles. A wrist injury forced Dena to switch temporarily to singing and the enthusiastic
audience response inspired her to make it a permanent part of her act. Dena prefers to
convey the emotional essence of a lyric as she backs it with her potent piano. Although
the pianist has been teaching and performing in Europe for the past few years, she
returns to her native land to tour and record regularly. Joining her is her longtime
rhythm section, bassist Martin Wind and drummer Matt Wilson, who have appeared
on a number of her CDs over the past decade, including United, her most recent
HighNote release. KD
MONTY ALEXANDER
BLUE NOTE / AUGUST 23-28
Groove master Monty Alexander digs into key facets of his career in this three-segment
engagement. On Aug. 23 and 24, he focuses on the music of Ray Brown and Milt
Jackson, with whom he performed and recorded as a sideman. His tribute quintet
includes vibes player Warren Wolf, saxophonist Ron Blake, bassist Hassan Shakur and
drummer Carl Allen. On Aug. 25 and 26, he reunites with bassist John Clayton and
drummer Jeff Hamilton 40 years after his debut recording, their classic live Montreux
Alexander. The Jamaican pianist's Harlem-Kingston Express blends reggae, ska and
calypso influences with jazz on the final two nights. That sextet includes bassist
Hassan, Obed Calvaire on jazz drums, guitarist Andy Bassford, electric bassist Joshua
Thomas, and Karl Wright on Jamaican drums. KF
JASON LINDNER
MARCUS GARVEY PARK / AUGUST 26
Keyboardist/pianist Jason Lindner's style seamlessly blends jazz, soul and electronic
music. Whether fronting his group Now Vs. Now or his longstanding big band, the
Brooklyn-raised Jason consistently explores new terrain that's hell-bent on catching
your ear. By spinning multiple plates in both the acoustic and electric worlds, Jason
easily traverses any category or genre, resulting in a truly original sound. Since his
days of being the house pianist at Smalls, Jason has performed and recorded with
everyone from Anat Cohen to Branford Marsalis and even the late David Bowie. For
his SummerStage show, Jason presents Breeding Ground a new project that blends his
group Now Vs. Now and his big band. EW
nes, George Kanzler, Elzy Kolb, Michael G Nastos & Eric Wendell
Terry by Govert Driessen.
19
continued from page 16
Jonathan Barber; Tues E except 08/23&30
Spike Wilner Qrt; Wed N 08/3,17&31 Aaron
Seeber, 08/10&24 Sanah Kadour; Thurs N
08/4&18 Tyler Clibbon, 08/11&25 Tony
Hewitt; Fri PM Jam 08/5&19 Andrew Forman,
08/12&26 tba, N except 08/5 Joe Farnsworth;
Sat PM Jam 08/6&20 w/Jonathan Thomas
Trio, 08/13&27 w/Robert Edwards, N 08/6&20
Philip Harper, 08/13&27 Brooklyn Circle. Aug
1: E The Randy Johnston 3, L Helen Sung
Gp, N R; 2: E R, L Josh Evans Gp, N Kyle
Poole; 3: E Alex LoRe Qrt, L The Swing
Machine, N R; 4: E Tim Hegarty Qnt, L Ken
Fowser Qnt, N R; 5: PM R, E Jerome Barde
Qnt, L Joe Farnsworth Qrt, N Corey Wallace
DUBtet; 6: PM R, E Juini Booth Qrt, L Joe
Farnsworth Qrt, N R; 7: 1pm R, E R, L Tad
Shull Qrt, N R; 8: E Matt Brewer Sxt, L-N R;
9: E R, L Smalls Legacy Band, N Jovan
Alexander; 10: E Chet Doxas Qnt, L Philip
Dizack Qnt, N R; 11: E The New York Jazz
Exchange, L Nick Hempton Qrt, N R; 12: PM,
E Jamale Davis Qnt, L Ryan Kisor Qrt, N R;
13: PM R, E The Andy Fusco/Rudy
Petschauer Qrt, L Ryan Kisor Qrt, N R; 14:
1pm R, E R, L Yves Brouqui Qrt, N R; 15: E
Ray Parker Qrt, L-N R; 16: E R, L Steve
Nelson Gp, N Jon Beshay; 17: 7:30pm12:15am Brooklyn Jazz Underground, N R;
18: E Willy Rodriguez Qnt, L JC Stylles Qrt, N
R; 19: PM R, E David Schnitter Qrt, L John
Marshall Qnt, N R; 20: PM R, E Ralph Lalama
& Bop-Juice, L John Marshall Qnt, N R; 21:
1pm R, PM George Gee Jazz Orch, E R, L
Bruce Harris Sxt, N R; 22: E Rafal Sarnecki
Sxt, L Bob Sheppard Qrt, N R; 23: E Ehud
Asherie Trio, L Lucas Pino Nnt, N Jovan
Alexander; 24: E Akiko Tsuruga Qrt, L Jared
Gold Trio, N R; 25: E Christopher McBride &
The Whole Proof, L Carlos Abadie Qnt, N R;
26: PM R, E Tardo Hammer Trio, L David
Weiss Sxt, N R; 27: PM R, E Billy Mintz Qnt,
L David Weiss Sxt, N R; 28: 1pm R, E Falkner
Evans Qnt, L Jared Gold Trio, N R; 29: E Uri
Caine Trio, L-N R; 30: E Theo Hill Trio, L
Steve Nelson Gp, N Jon Beshay; 31: E Tim
Hagans Qnt, L Luke Sellick Gp, N R.
The STONE: 2nd St at Av C. www.thestone
nyc. com. Adm varies. Sun&Tues-Sat:
8&10pm weekly residencies. Aug 2-7: Mary
Halvorson; 9-14: Jen Shyu; 16-21: Joe
Morris; 23-28: Nels Cline; 30-Sep 25: Steve
Coleman.
SUBROSA: 63 Gansevoort St (bet Washington
& Greenwich Sts). www.subrosanyc.com.
212-997-4555. Sets: 8&10pm unless otherwise noted. Residencies: (R) Mon Latin
Nights; Tues Pedrito Martinez Gp; Sat 12am
Habana Nights. Aug 1: 7:30&9:30pm Buena
Vista Social Club; 2: R; 3: 8:30pm Liz
Menezes & Guest; 5: 8:30pm Panacea
Project; 6: David Millan Y Su Orquesta, 12am
R; 8: R w/Robby Ameen; 9: R; 12: Xiomara
Lugart, 11pm Soul In The Horn; 13: 12am R;
15: R w/Mitch Frohman Qrt; 16: R; 17: Camila
Meza; 19: Salsa Urban, 11pm Sean C & LV;
20: 8:30pm Karikatura Juanita, 12am R; 23:
R; 26: 11pm Kid Capri; 27: 9&11pm Lena
Burke, 12am R; 30: R.
TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK: 500E 9th St
(bet Avs A & B). www.summerstage.org. Aug
28: 3-7pm free adm Charlie Parker Jazz
Festival feat DeJohnette/Holland/Moran,
Allan Harris, Donny McCaslin, Grace Kelly.
VILLAGE VANGUARD: 178 7th Av S at 11th
St. 212-255-4037. www.villagevanguard.com.
Sets: 8:30&10:30pm. Adm: Mon-Thurs $30/1
drink min. Residency (R): Mon Vanguard Jazz
Orch. Aug 1: R; 2-7: Geri Allen Qnt; 8: R; 914: John Zorn feat 09/9 Uri Caine Duos
w/John Medeski & Jon Irabagon, 10:30pm
Asmodeus, 09/10 Craig Taborn Solo,
20
10:30pm Jon Irabagon Qrt, 08/11 Brian
Marsella Trio, 10:30pm Gyan Riley & Julian
Lage, 08/12 7pm Matt Mitchell Trio, 8:30pm
Mark Feldman Duos w/Sylvie Courvoisier &
Chris Otto, 10:30pm Peter Evans Qrt, 08/13
7pm Erik Friedlander/Michael Nicolas Duo,
08/13 Jim Black Trio, 10:30pm Jim Black Qrt,
08/14 3pm Chris Speed Trio, 8:30pm Kris
Davis Qrt, 10:30pm Mary Halvorson Qrt; 15:
R; 16-21: Fred Hersch Trio; 22: R; 23-28:
Gerald Clayton/Lionel Loueke/Eric Harland;
29: R; 30-Sep 3: Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio.
ZINC BAR: 82W 3rd St (bet Thompson &
Sullivan). 212-477-8337. www.zincbar.com.
Adm varies. Residencies: Sun Tango Trio &
Milonga, Mon 10pm-2am Ron Affif Trio, Tues
10pm Evolution Band + Jam w/Igmar
Thomas, Thurs 12am Roman Diaz Midnight
Rumba, Sat 8pm Misha Piatigorsky Trio +
Monika Oliveira & The Brasilians. Aug 1:
10pm-2am VandJam feat Scott Robinson; 5:
10,11:30pm&1am Memo Acevedo & Building
Bridges Latin Jazz Big Band feat Jacquelene
Acevedo; 10: 9pm Joe Diorio; 19: 10pm $20,
11:30pm $15, 1am $10 Swing Dance
w/Svetlana Shmulyian & Seth Weaver's Big
Band; 29: 7-9pm Elisabeth Lohninger/Walter
Fischbacher.
BRONX
UNIVERSITY OF THE STREETS: 2381
Belmont Av. 2nd Fl. www.university
ofthestreets.org. 212-254-9300. Sat: 9pm12am $10 don Jam w/Rob Anderson Qrt.
BROOKLYN
BARBÈS: 376 9th St at 6th Av. Park Slope.
www.barbesbrooklyn.com. 718-965-9177.
Residencies: Sun 9pm Stephane Wrembel;
Mon 7pm Brain Cloud; Tues 9pm Slavic Soul
Party; Wed 10pm Mandingo Ambassadors.
Aug 4: 7pm Matt Darriau.
BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK: 334 Furman St.
www.jazzmobile.org. 212-866-4900. Free
adm. Aug 16: 7-8:30pm Jay Hoggard.
CLOVE LAKES PARK: 1150 Clove Rd. Staten
Island. Aug 5: 7-9pm free adm www.summer
stage.org SummerStage Festival feat
Terence Blanchard w/the E-Collective.
I-BEAM: 168 7th St. www.ibeambrooklyn.com.
Sets: 8:30pm $15 don. Aug 12: $10 don Nick
Fraser Qrt; 25: Billy Mintz Qnt.
METROTECH COMMONS: 304 Bridge St.
718-488-8200. Aug 4: 12pm free adm Dee
Dee Bridgewater w/Theo Croker.
PROSPECT PARK BANDSHELL: at 9th St.
Park Slope. www.celebratebrooklyn.org. 718855-7882. Aug 11: 7pm $49.50-97.50 adm
Celebrate Brooklyn! festival feat Herbie
Hancock, Robert Glasper Experiment, BADBADNOTGOOD.
SHAPESHIFTER LAB: 18 Whitwell Pl.
www.shapeshifterlab.com. 646-820-9452.
Sets/adm unless otherwise noted: Early (E)
7pm, Late (L) 8:15pm, Night (N) 9:30pm; $10
adm. Aug 1: L $8 Jon Sheckler Trio; 2: E
Killiam Shakespeare, L The Bridge Trio, N
Michael Malais Trio; 4: E Lead Bubbles, L
Brand Lopez; 5: $12 E Beledo w/spec guest,
L XADU; 6: L Kinesis; 9: $15 E Nadje
Noordhuis, L 9 Horses & Nadje Noordhuis;
11: L-N NYChillharmonic; 12: L Jeff Richardi
& the Move Trio; 16: L Real Talk Collective;
17: L Olson Pingrey Qrt; 18: $15 Brooklyn
Jazz Underground Festival feat E David
N THE 1950 , THE ROLE OF THE
B-3 organ in jazz began a
IslowHammond
but monumental shift. Although
S
Swing Era masters like Bill Doggett and
Wild Bill Davis had been, and were still,
duplicating the sound of the big bands
through an orchestral organ aesthetic that
provided the heft and swing of a dance
band, new talents like Jimmy Smith were
on the rise, elevating the organ to a fresh
role as a horn-like instrument and applying a soloist virtuosity that had previously
only occurred on the instrument in
glimpses. It was into this environment
that a young Reuben Wilson entered the
scene in Los Angeles and began a shift
from piano to organ.
"I didn't start listening to organ until
the attitude of jazz to it had shifted and
people saw what it could do," Reuben reminisces. "I found that once I was listening
to jazz organ, there was a lot of control it
could offer beyond what the piano could do.
You see, an instrument like that allows you
to play a song in many different fashions."
Indeed, that versatility served him well
and, ultimately, he relocated from Los
Angeles to New York, where he became a
primary figure in a rising style approach
often dubbed "soul jazz." Once in New
York, Reuben began building a relationship with Blue Note Records, where he
would go on to record classic offerings of
jazz, notably Blue Mode and Love Bug.
Interested in reaching a broader audience
and working with new composers and genres, Reuben drew on standard jazz repertoire while also nodding to pop institutions
like Memphis' Stax Records. Indeed, his
works stand as towering achievements in
the form of soul jazz.
"As an artist, you have to be ready for
many styles," he notes. "I wanted and I
want audiences to feel good when they
hear my music, and I wanted them to
understand what I was doing. Soul jazz
has a kind of pop effect to it, and I found it
was interesting to play things in that manner. As a child, I was playing things like
boogie woogie and that was something I
never lost, this idea of incorporating styles
in order to express oneself."
While Reuben's career and recordings
slowed down in the 1970s and 80s, a
unique revitalization took place for him.
Newcomer artists like Geoff Wilkinson of
US3 and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest
began to rediscover the soul jazz catalogues of Blue Note and began to incorpo-
rate samples of the music into both hip-hop
and the burgeoning acid jazz genre. For
Reuben, this marked a renewed period of
work, recording extensively and covering a
wide range of music in his albums and performances.
"It was a really pleasant surprise when
it happened," he says. "When we did the
originals, it was novel and new. And it
turned out to be something people liked! I
think the new generation responded to it
because there was a unique approach to it
and there was honesty to the music we
were playing. I think the new artists
responded to that."
As Reuben's classic recordings began to
be heard again, albeit in an often-sampled
format, the world realized that Reuben
had never really left, and was playing
music as vital and extraordinary in the
1990s as he was in the 1960s. Reuben took
full advantage of the revived interest and
his recording resurgence holds up to anything else in his career.
"I've had some interesting times in
developing new sounds," Reuben notes.
"We've been playing music that, while not
incredibly popular broadly, is very popular
in the vein of jazz. So I went in that direction: I got to play a lot of music I enjoyed;
and I was very happy to see that the audiences were liking what we were doing."
At 81, Reuben stands as one of jazz's living legends and one of its most consistently swinging, funky and enjoyable proponents. This month Reuben leads a quartet
on two evenings mixing swinging standards and funkier original compositions.
"You watch your audience to see what
they are reacting to and responding to,"
Reuben says. "And the goal is to make
everyone happy: your audience, your musicians and—believe it or not—yourself! The
better your audience feels, the better
you're going to feel."
Reuben Wilson brings his quartet
to Smoke Jazz & Supper Club on Aug.
21
Cook Qnt, L Rob Garcia Trio, N Tammy
Scheffer Sxt + Voices; 19: N Klymax & llaváno
w/spec guests Books, Tiana J., Jameson,
Rwasenge; 21: $8 E Drama Section, L
Unsolvable Problems, N Alan Ferber, Lucas
Pino, Anna Webber, Jay Rattman, Sita Chay,
Meg Okura,
Eric Lemmon,
Manuel
Schmiedel, Rick Rosato, Colin Stranahan,
Jeff Taylor & Alan Hampton; 24: E Skull Kids,
L Matt Malanowski Trio, N 11 Ens; 26: L $12
New York Freert; 28: E Dana Saul Sxt, L Billy
Mintz Qnt, N $12 Annie Chen Oct; 29: L
Santiago Leibson & Out of Orden Trio; 31: E
Nate Hook Double Drum Band, L Test
Subjects, N Smirk.
SISTAS’ PLACE: 456 Nostrand Av at Jefferson
Av. www.sistasplace.org. 718-398-1766. Aug
13: 9&10:30pm $20/25 adm Kenny
“Swinging” Gates & the Real Deal Qrt.
WILLIAMSBURG MUSIC CENTER: 367
Bedford Av. www.wmcjazz.org. 718-3841654. Fri: 10pm-2am free adm/2 drink min
Gerry Eastman Qnt w/spec guests + Jam. 3rd
Thurs: 8&10pm $10 The Liberté Big Band
presents Kaleidoclastic Thursdays. Aug 13:
9&11pm $20 Bruce Cox; 27: 8pm Matt
Criscuolo Qnt.
The SIDE DOOR JAZZ CLUB: At Old Lyme
Inn. 85 Lyme St. Old Lyme. 860-434-0886.
www.thesidedoorjazz.com. Sets: 8:30pm.
Aug 5: Thana Alexa Project; 6: Dominick
Farinacci; 11: Greg Piccolo Qrt; 12: Ben
Benack Qrt; 13: Tia Fuller Qrt; 19-20: Black
Art Jazz Collective; 26: Champian Fulton; 27:
Jeremy Baum Organ Trio.
LONG ISLAND
The JAZZ LOFT: 275 Christian Av. Stony
Brook. 631-751-1895. www.thejazzloft.org.
Sets: Wed 7-8pm $10 adm, 9pm $5; Thurs-Fri
7pm $10-20 adm. Wed: Jam w/FM Band, 9pm
Open Jam. Aug 4: The Jazz Loft Big Band; 5:
BassDrumbone; 12: Mala Waldron; 18: Rich
Iacona & The Bad Little Big Band; 19: Swing
N’ Dix; 25: Interplay Jazz Orch; 26: Bill
Rignola Qrt.
TRATTORIA GRASSO: 134 Main St. Cold
Spring Harbor. www.trattoriagrasso.com. 631367-6060. Residencies: Wed 7:30pm Wayne
Sabella; Thurs 6:30pm Frank O’Brien; Sat
7pm Ayako Shirasaki & Noriko Ueda. Aug 5:
7pm Madeline Kole Trio.
CONNECTICUT
NEW YORK STATE
The 9th NOTE JAZZ & SUPPER CLUB: 15
Bank St. Stamford. www.the9thnote.com.
203-504-8828. Mon: 8pm $20 adm The 9th
Note Orch, 10pm free adm Monday Night
Session; Tues: 9pm The Tuesday Session.
Aug 17: George Gee Swing Orch; 26-27: One
For All.
BUTTONWOOD TREE: 605 Main St.
Middletown. www.buttonwood.org. 860-3474957. Sets: 8-10pm. Aug 5: Norm
Gage/Kenny Reed Qnt; 13: Phil E Brown
w/Top Notch Ens feat vocalist Yvonne.
GOSHEN FAIRGROUND: 116 Old Middle St.
Goshen. Aug 6-7: Litchfield Jazz fest
www.litchfieldjazzfest.com feat 08/6 12pm
Andrew Hadro Qrt, 1:45pm Richie Barshay
Trio w/Jimmy Greene, 3:30pm Albert Rivera &
Back At It Band w/Paul Bollenback, 4:45pm
Nicole Zuraitis Qnt w/Dave Stryker, 7:30pm
Daryl Johns Trio w/Orrin Evans, 08/7 10am
Friends of the Festival Scat & Scramble Jazz
Brunch, 12:30pm Big Bass Blowout w/Avery
Sharpe & Matt Wilson, 2:15pm Litchfield Jazz
Orch w/Don Braden, 4:45pm Emmet Cohen
Trio w/Jimmy Heath, 6:15pm Curtis Brothers
Trio w/Donald Harrison.
GREEN: 165 Church St. New Haven. Aug 27:
New Haven Jazz festival www.jazzhaven.org
feat 6-6:30pm Jazz Haven Youth Allstar Band,
6:45-7:45pm Mitch Frohman Latin Jazz Qrt,
8-9pm Christian Sands Qrt.
LYRIC HALL: 827 Whalley Av. New Haven.
www.lyrichallnewhaven.com. 203-389-8885.
Aug 26: 7:30pm $10/15 adm New Haven Jazz
festival feat Helen Sung.
MUSIC MOUNTAIN: 225 Music Mountain Rd.
Falls Village. www.musicmountain.org. 860824-7126. Sets: 6:30pm $27 adm. Aug 6:
Chris Washburne & Ragtime Band feat André
Mehmari, Evan Christopher, Sarah Elizabeth
Charles, Alphonso Horne & Candice Hoyes;
13: Chris Pattishall Oct Musical Fictions.
PALACE THEATER/POLI CLUB: 100 E
Main. Waterbury. www.palacetheaterct.org.
203-346-2000. Aug 5: 8pm Keri Johnsrud Qrt.
RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE: 80 East Ridge.
Ridgefield.
www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
203-438-5795. Aug 5: 7:30pm Glenn Miller
Orch.
76 HOUSE: 110 Main St. Tappan. 845-3595476. www.76house.com. Wed: 8-11pm free
adm Quintets w/Mark Hagan & feat artists +
Jam.
BARD COLLEGE: 60 Manor Av. Annandale-onHudson. www.fishercenter.bard.edu. 845758-7900. Aug 4: 8pm $25-45 adm Chris
Washburne & Ragtime Band feat André
Mehmari, Evan Christopher, Sarah Elizabeth
Charles, Alphonso Horne & Candice Hoyes.
CARAMOOR CENTER FOR THE ARTS:
149 Girdle Ridge Rd. Katonah. 914-2325035. www.caramoor.org. Aug 6: 8pm $30-90
adm Cécile McLorin Salvant & Aaron Diehl
Trio.
DARYL’S HOUSE: 130 Rte 22. Pawling. 845289-0185. www.darylshouseclub.com. Aug
13: 12pm www.hudsonvalleyjazzfest.org
Hudson Valley Jazz Festival feat Brunch
w/The Voyagers.
The DAUTAJ: 36 Oakland Av. Warwick. 845986-3666. www.thedautaj.com. Aug 12&14:
www.hudsonvalleyjazzfest.org Hudson Valley Jazz Festival feat 08/12 8pm Chris
Persad Gp, 08/14 8:30pm 3D Rhythm of Life.
FALCON ARTS: 1348 Rte 9 West. Marlboro.
www.liveatthefalcon.com. 845-236-7970. $20
don suggested. Sets: 7pm; Sun 10am-2pm
Brunch (B). Aug 7: Dominick Farinacci; 10:
Jazz Sessions w/Doug Weiss; 14: B Ray Blue
Organ Trio, 7pm The Sketchy Orkestra; 21: B
The Saints of Swing, 7pm Rebecca Martin
w/Larry Grenadier; 26: Club d’Elf w/John
Medeski; 27: International Orange; 28: Alan
Broadbent & Sheila Jordan.
IRON FORGE INN: 38 Iron Forge Rd.
Warwick. 845-986-3411. Aug 14: 12-3pm
www.hudsonvalleyjazzfest.org Hudson Valley
Jazz Festival feat Brunch w/Stonehouse Jazz
Project.
MAVERICK CONCERT HALL: 120 Maverick
Rd. Woodstock. www.maverickconcerts.org.
845-679-8348. Aug 13: 8pm $5-45 adm Julian
Lage Trio.
The ORPHEUM PERFORMING ARTS
CENTER: 6050 Main St. Tannersville. Aug 5:
7:30-9:30pm $25 adm Chris Washburne &
22
-*"
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/
NEW JERSEY JAZZ
Gary Walker, “Morning Jazz Host”, WBGO, 88.3 FM/wbgo.org
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER
NISHUANE PARK-MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL / AUGUST 13
For NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater, anywhere she hangs her hat is home,
whether in front of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, celebrating Ella Fitzgerald
or winning a Tony Award for her Wiz work on Broadway. She's appeared on albums
with Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Dee Dee's
own recorded works have focused on Africa, her Grammy winning tribute to Billie
Holiday, or her latest, Dee Dee's Feathers (DDB/Okeh) bringing all the heat of New
Orleans, making listeners believe she was a Crescent City native rather than from
Memphis. Dee Dee can go from a plaintive cry to sassy and sultry with an amazing
command of any style. Her quintet includes trumpeter Theo Croker, saxophonist
Anthony Ware, pianist Michael King and bassist Eric Wheeler.
BUCKY PIZZARELLI
MORRISTOWN JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL / AUGUST 20
When the focus is guitar, Bucky Pizzarelli is the template for anyone picking up an
instrument with six (or seven) strings. Bucky started with Vaughn Monroe, toured
the world with Benny Goodman, played at the White House, was a fixture in "The
Tonight Show" band, worked and recorded with Frank Sinatra and has a place on the
ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame. Bucky has been part of classic recordings in all genres,
including hits with Dion and The Belmonts. Bucky's encounters with Tal Farlow and
Les Paul are legendary. He can treat a ballad beautifully or swing hard in the tradition of Freddie Green with the Basie Band. Bucky strings along with guitarist/vocalist Ed Laub, violinist Aaron Weinstein and son Martin Pizzarelli on bass for a delightful journey across musical styles.
BEHN GILLECE
DEER HEAD INN / AUGUST 26
After a decade on the jazz scene, vibraphonist Behn Gillece has built a reputation as
a gifted instrumentalist and composer. A New Jersey native, Behn transferred from
percussion studies after hearing the vibe of masters Milt Jackson and Bobby
Hutcherson. As Bruce Lindsay wrote in All About Jazz, "Gillece is a skillful creator of
tunes, harkening back to the hard bop days and beyond, without sounding like imitations of that era's classics." Already a veteran of the club scene and festivals around
the world, his four recorded collaborations with saxophonist Ken Fowser have demonstrated a look back but push forward momentum, which is also on the upcoming Dare
To Be (Posi-tone), with Gillece expressing bebop, ballads and bossa. Expect this and
more as Gillece joins organist Chris Simonina and drummer Jason Tiemann.
AKIKO TSURUGA
INC AMERICAN / AUGUST 31
Lou Donaldson calls her "Queen of the Organ." Jazz Times says "she's the real deal."
Since coming from Osaka, Japan to the U.S. 14 years ago, organist Akiko Tsuruga has
sold out appearances at top jazz clubs and four recordings, with the latest,
Commencement (AT Records) showing off her interpretations of Rogers and Hart, the
Bee Gees and Gordon Parks, alongside Akiko's wall-sweatin' originals. Akiko has
been working toward today since age three, when her parents bought her first piano.
Hearing Jimmy Smith's record, The Cat led Akiko to become wholly familiar with the
grease of the greats, including her mentor Dr. Lonnie Smith. Whether it's a slow boil,
a quiet ride or a go to church shout, Akiko does it with a trio, making you glad you're
in the audience.
Pizzarelli photo by Stephen Sorokoff.
23
Ragtime Band feat André Mehmari, Evan
Christopher, Sarah Elizabeth Charles,
Alphonso Horne & Candice Hoyes.
PINE ISLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Glenwood Rd. Pine Island. 845258-1469. Aug 13: 6pm www.hudsonvalley
jazzfest.org Hudson Valley Jazz Festival feat
Jeff Ciampa Gp.
QUINN’S: 330 Main St. Beacon. www.quinns
beacon.com. Mon: 8pm free adm Monday
Night Jazz Sessions. Aug 1: Rebecca Coupe
Franks Qrt; 8: Tomchess & Bandit Hat Qrt; 15:
Pete McCann Qrt; 22: Antonin Fajt Gp; 29:
Billy Mintz Qrt.
SUGAR LOAF PERFORMING ARTS CENTER: 1351 Kings Hwy. Sugar Loaf. 845-6105900. www.sugarloafpac.org. Aug 13: 9pm
www.hudsonvalleyjazzfest.org Hudson Valley
Jazz Festival feat The Hudson Valley Jazz
Ens.
TOWN CRIER CAFÉ: 379 Main St. Beacon.
845-855-1300. www.townecrier.com. Aug 12:
8pm www.hudsonvalleyjazzfest.org Hudson
Valley Jazz Festival feat Lindsey Webster.
VILLAGE GREEN: Railroad Av. Warwick. Aug
11: 7pm Hudson Valley Jazz Festival
www.hudsonvalleyjazzfest.org feat The NY
Swing Exchange.
The WARWICK HISTORICAL SOCIETY: 2
Colonial Av. Warwick. 845-986-3236. Aug 14:
2-4pm Hudson Valley Jazz Festival www.hud
sonvalleyjazzfest.org feat The Jazz Patients.
WARWICK VALLEY BED & BREAKFAST:
24 Maple Av. Warwick. 845-987-7255.
www.wvbedandbreakfast.com. Aug 13: 123pm www.hudsonvalleyjazzfest.org Hudson
Valley Jazz Festival feat Brunch w/David
Crone Trio.
WARWICK VALLEY COMMUNITY CENTER: 11 Hamilton Av. Warwick. 845-9866422. www.wvcommunitycenter.org. Aug 14:
4pm Hudson Valley Jazz Festival www.hud
sonvalleyjazzfest.org feat KJ Denhert
WARWICK GROVE: 6 Hudson St. Warwick.
www.warwick-grove.com. 845-988-5274. Aug
14: 7pm Hudson Valley Jazz Festival
www.hudsonvalleyjazzfest.org feat Karl
Latham Trio.
QUEENS
JACKSON ROOM: 192-07 Linden Blvd. St
Albans. www.jacksonroom.com. 718-5252387. Last Sat: 8&10pm $15 adm incl
snacks/beverage feat Ed Jackson Qrt.
LOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUM:
34-56 107th St. Corona. 718-478-8274.
www.louisarmstronghouse.org. Sun&Sat 125pm, Tues-Fri 10am-5pm: $10 adm Guided
Tours of Louis Armstrong House. Aug 13:
2pm $18 adm Hot Jazz/Cool Garden series
feat Jane Monheit.
WESTCHESTER
BEANRUNNER CAFÉ: 201 S Division &
Esther
St.
Peekskill.
914-737-1701.
www.beanrunnercafe.com.
Fri-Sat:
810:30pm $10 adm. Aug 6: Premik Russell
Tubbs; 12-13: Hudson Valley Jazz Festival
www.hudsonvalleyjazzfest.org feat 08/12
Slide Attack w/Alan Goidel & Howard Levy,
08/13 Eric Person Qrt; 20: Conigliaro
Consort.
24
HENRY GOURDINE PARK: 3 Westerly Rd.
Ossining. www.jazzforumarts.org. 914-6311000. Mon: 6:30-8:30pm free adm. Aug 8:
Blake Rowe Qrt; 22: Saber Tooth Trio + spec
guest.
HORAN’S LANDING PARK: 9 River St.
Sleepy Hollow. www.jazzforumarts.org. 914631-1000. Tues: 6:30-8pm free adm Mark
Morganelli & The Jazz Forum All-Stars.
LYNDHURST ESTATE: At Hudson River. 635
S Bway. Tarrytown. www.jazzforumarts.org.
914-631-1000. Thurs: 6-8:30pm free adm
Sunset Concerts. Aug 4: Ray Blue Organ Qrt;
11: Nelson Riveros Qrt; 18: Stephanie Chou
Project; 25: Zoila Pianista Latin Jazz Gp.
PIERSON PARK: W Main St & Hudson River.
Tarrytown. www.jazzforumarts.org. 914-6311000. Fri: 6:30-8pm free adm. Aug 5:
Charged Particles feat Paul McCandless; 12:
Audrey Silver Qnt; 19: Danny Mixon Qrt; 26:
Jazz Forum Arts Vocal Winners.
WATERFRONT PARK: Dobbs Ferry. 914-6311000. Free adm www.jazzforumarts.org. Wed:
6:30-8pm. Aug 3: Tessa Souter Qrt; 10: The
New York Jazz Exchange; 17: Tony Jefferson
& Groovocity; 24: Mike Freeman Zona Vibe.
NEW JERSEY
ESSEX
DUKE’S SOUTHERN TABLE: 11 Clinton St.
Newark. www.dukesnewark.com. 862-7635757. Sun: 1-4pm, Wed 7-10:30pm, Fri-Sat:
7:30-11:30pm. Aug 3: Open Mic w/the Brick
City Soul Collective; 5: Lance Bryant; 6: T.K.
Blue; 7: Carrie Jackson; 12: Pat Van Dyke;
13: Carrie Jackson; 14: Jamale Davis; 17:
Open Mic w/the Brick City Soul Collective; 19:
Richard Polatchek; 20: Bruce Williams; 21:
Stephen Fuller; 26: Peter Lin; 27: Radam
Schwartz; 28: John Bauers.
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER: 1 Center St. Newark. 888-466-5722.
www.njpac.org. Aug 18: 7:30pm Jazz Jam
Session @ Clement’s Place feat César López
& Habana Ens.
NEWARK MUSEUM: 49 Washington St.
Newark. www.newarkmuseum.org. 973-5966550. Aug 4: 12:15-1:45pm Jazz in the
Garden series feat Woody Shaw Legacy Ens;
12: 6:30-9pm Jam Session w/Craig Handy &
2nd Line Smith.
NISHUANE PARK: Montclair. 973-509-4900.
Aug 13: 12-9pm Jazz House Kids presents
Montclair Jazz Festival www.montclairjazz
festival.org feat A Christian McBride Situation
& DJ Logic + Bernard Purdie, Dee Dee
Bridgewater Qnt, George Coleman Organ
Qrt, Michele Rosewoman & New Yor-Uba,
The Jazz House Faculty Collective, Louis
Prima, Jr. & the Jazz House Big Bands.
TRUMPETS: 6 Depot Square. Montclair. 973744-2600. www.trumpetsjazz.com. Sets:
unless otherwise noted 7:30&9pm, Fri-Sat
8&10pm, closed Mon-Tues. Adm varies. Aug
5: Saundra Silliman; 6: Dre Barnes; 7: 6-9pm
Ed Alstrom; 12: Amina Figarova & Denise
Jannah; 13: Marlene VerPlanck; 26: Billy
Mintz; 28: 3-5pm Jeree Wade.
MIDDLESEX
The NEW BRUNSWICK JAZZ PROJECT:
www.nbjp.og.
PELZMAN PARK: Tappen St. Avenel.
www.woodbridgeartsnj.org/second-fridayjazz. 7:30pm: Second Friday Jazz. Aug 12: Eli
Yamin Jazz Qrt.
ANOTHER REASON TO CELEBRATE
By Elzy Kolb
Aha moment
Ayana Lowe always knew she could
sing. From childhood, her impressive pipes
earned her important roles in school
events and church choirs. She went on to
classical voice training and even sang professionally for a while. Though Ayana ultimately didn't pursue a full-time career in
music, it remained a constant throughout
her life.
enjoying a monthly gig at the 55 Bar for
most of this century. When Ayana heard
Libby would be in town this summer, she
invited her to join her at 55 Bar on Aug. 6.
This reunion gig is their first time singing
together since their days in the church
choir, with each doing a few songs alone
and together. "We're going to do 'Sunday'
songs, since we met in church," Ayana
reveals. Think: "Sunday Kind of Love,"
"Come Sunday," and "Sunday In New
York," the title tune from Libby's 2003 CD.
Sharing the bandstand with Libby is a
"dream come true" for Ayana. Back in the
day at Libby's gig, "I was glad I had an ear
where I could tell I was listening to something different; it brought my music to a
more sophisticated place. Now, I want to
see if I can keep up with what she's doing.
It's going to be a master class."
Ayana Lowe with Libby York, 55 Bar
She met fellow vocalist Libby York in a
church choir in Brooklyn a couple of
decades back. The two hit it off and when
Libby mentioned having a gig, Ayana
decided to attend to support her friend.
She didn't think much of it in advance,
admitting, "I thought I was the star,"
because of her lifelong choral experience.
Ayana was totally unprepared for the
impact Libby's performance had on her. "I
never heard anything like it," she recalls.
"It was so different—she was better than
me! She was doing something I couldn't do;
she sounded so refined, her interplay with
the band, singing behind the beat. In
church and in classical music, everything
is big: big sound, big vibrato, you're on the
beat, you're not groovin'. I knew I could
sing, but Libby was way ahead of what I
could do."
One listen was all it took for Ayana to
change directions musically. Until then, "I
hadn't
heard
much
jazz.
Louis
Armstrong—that name I knew. But I
couldn't tell you one jazz artist or another."
Though Libby left town soon afterward,
her influence lingered. "I spent years chasing Libby," Ayana explains. She describes
taking "baby steps" toward singing jazz,
listening to records, learning more songs,
how to scat, how to work with a band, playing around with the beat, eventually
studying with Mark Murphy and Sheila
Jordan.
Since shifting musical gears, Ayana has
become a regular on New York's jazz scene,
Danny Mixon, Pierson Park
Attitude of gratitude
Just naming a fraction of the people
Danny Mixon has performed with proves
the versatile pianist can play practically
anything. He's made himself at home in
the bands of everyone from blues and R&B
stars Big Maybelle and Patti LaBelle, to
jazz icons as diverse as Charles Mingus,
Betty Carter, Art Blakey, Hank Crawford,
Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders, Archie
Shepp, Grant Green, bagpiper Rufus
Harley, and even tap dancers including
Savion Glover. Plus, Danny has gigged and
hung out with luminaries such as Ben
Vereen, Tony Bennett and Liza Minnelli.
"I was a kid on the fast track, that's part
of my history. All those people in my life
gave me guidance—good and bad!—and
made me the Danny Mixon I am today," he
shares. "I became well-rounded in the jazz
world because I was raised by the community of jazz musicians. I wouldn't trade my
experiences for anything. I was blessed to
be around the original, authentic people of
the art. They did the raw part of it, and the
end result was beautifully polished."
Mixon photo by JC PhotoGraphics.
25
ANOTHER REASON... continued from page 25
Danny describes saxophonist/composer
Frank Foster as "my spiritual father. He
was a genius, he took me under his wing
and I worked with him in all his ensembles, from the big band to small groups."
Bassist Chris White was another early
mentor. "He paid for my lessons and books
so I could study with Sir Roland Hanna."
The pianist still lives by words of advice
he picked up early on. "Some young players can be so full of themselves. But the
older cats took me aside and told me to
make a statement with my playing; you
don't have to do everything you know on
every solo. In your music, have a conversation with the band, with the audience."
Danny turns 66 on Aug. 19 and will celebrate on that day with an outdoor concert
at Jazz Forum Arts' Jazz series in
Tarrytown ‘s Pierson Park. Expect the veteran pianist to play originals, including
tunes he wrote for McCoy Tyner and
Antonio Carlos Jobim, plus standards and
material from his new CD, Pass It On.
Vocalist Antoinette Montague is "joining
me for a song or two. We've been working a
lot together in my world or in her world."
He turns philosophical in talking about
his birthday, pointing out that "still being
here" is more important than anything
else. "Music was in my blood from an early
age and I was blessed to have taken the
gift and worked with it. Some have gifts
and throw them away and I'm fortunate
not to have done that. I appreciate the gift
and will continue to pass on what I've been
given."
her most personal recording to date. Each
of the ten original compositions offers a
glimpse into her life: "Zinfandel" is the
name of Peggy's aging pet ("She's a good
person, for a dog"); "Phille" is a recent
piece, written after the pianist's mother
died ("I would just sit at the piano and play
that over and over"); "The Elephants'
Tango" takes its name from the Elephant
Room, a club in her current home base,
Austin.
While some of the material is new, she
dug into her archives for other pieces.
"Some were written in the '90s; they're so
beautiful, but they got short shrift, they
never made it onto a record. The sound I
wanted for this was more of a classical
mini orchestra sound, with all acoustic
instruments. No saxophones—I wanted
the sweetness of the clarinet. It was a wonderful project to work on; I loved the writing of it. It was written on piano and I
assigned an instrument to each of the voicings in each chord," Peggy explains. "And
there's a lot of free improv in "Jury Duty"
and "Red Bug Slough," there's a complete
departure from the written parts."
Joining Peggy for her CD release at
Jazz at Kitano Aug. 25, are Harvie S on
bass, Su Terry on clarinet and Tony
Moreno on drums. "I can't do an octet at
Kitano, but this music translates to smaller groups nicely, so we'll do it in quartet
form," Peggy says. "This will be way different, live. In performance the music gets a
whole new lease. That's the beauty—if
they're good vehicles they're going to
change with time; they're going to stand
the test of time."
And in case you're wondering where
Peggy might land next, she's planning to
spend more time in New York soon. “I miss
it; I'm homesick," she says.
NJ LISTINGS...
Peggy Stern, Jazz at Kitano
Grounded wanderer
Pianist Peggy Stern has a nomadic
streak that has taken her to quite a range
of geographical and musical locales, from
Philadelphia (classical music) to San
Francisco (Latin) to Seattle (jazz) to Austin
(Texas swing), with other stops in between.
"I'm kind of genre-free. My Latin is jazz
Latin, when I play jazz I can mix a lot of
classical in there; Texas swing gave me
jazz roots I might have missed. I just keep
moving forward," she relates.
But regardless of where this fearless
traveler calls home or what genres she visits, she stays in close touch with her inner
landscape, as she shares on her new CD, Z
Octet (Estrella). Peggy views Z Octet as
26
Stern photo by Brenda Ladd.
MORRIS
BICKFORD THEATRE: 6 Normandy Heights
Rd. Morristown. 973-971-3706. Concerts 89:30pm. www.njjs.org. $15/18 adm. Aug 18:
Louis Prima Jr. & the Witnesses; 24: Nicki
Parrott & friends w/Rossano Sportiello.
MORRISTOWN
GREEN:
Downtown
Morristown. http://www.morrisarts.org/pro
grams/music-without-borders. Aug 20: 1210pm Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival feat
12-1:45pm George Gee Swing Orch, 23:45pm Bucky Pizzarelli Qrt, 4-5:45pm Louis
Prima Jr. & the Witnesses.
SHANGHAI JAZZ: 24 Main St. Madison. 973822-2899. www.shanghaijazz.com. Free adm.
Sets: Sun 6-8:30pm, Tues 6:30-9pm, WedThurs 7-9:30pm, Fri 6:30&8:30pm, Sat
6:30&8:45pm. Closed Mon. Tues: John
Korba. Aug 5-6: Claudio Roditi Qrt; 11: Bucky
Pizzarelli Trio; 13: Jerry Vivino Qrt.
OCEAN
OCEAN COUNTY COLLEGE: College Dr.
Toms River. 732-255-0500. www.ocean.edu.
HOT FLASHES
By Seton Hawkins
Contemporary Jazz Cruise Artist
Spotlight: Robert Glasper
EW NAMES LOOM AS LARGE OR
as dominant in today's jazz scene as
F
Robert Glasper's. As a pianist, composer,
producer and bandleader, Robert has risen
to incredible acclaim in the past decade as
a genre-defying maestro whose varied projects include stints not only with Russell
Malone, Roy Hargrove and Christian
McBride, but also Maxwell, Jay-Z,
Common, Kendrick Lamar and Bilal.
Leading a number of his own groups,
notably his trio and the larger Robert
Glasper Experiment, Robert has traversed
and incorporated these many musical
worlds into a strikingly unique vision.
Robert Glasper
While Robert's trio records (especially
Canvas, his 2005 Blue Note debut) first
brought him acclaim among jazz audiences, his 2012 Black Radio and 2013 follow-up Black Radio 2 projects with the
Robert Glasper Experiment caught much
wider attention.
"I was playing trio and we were getting
a crossover audience and I wanted to take
that further," Robert recalls. "You can
only take that so far with the trio format
and I wanted to change up the vibe. So I
brought in a band that was leaning even
more into the hip-hop and R&B concept.
With them, I came up with Black Radio to
bring in these artists I had been working
with—I had always straddled the worlds of
hip-hop, R&B and jazz—and mesh the
worlds together."
Purists were nonplussed, but Black
Radio and Black Radio 2 were undeniably
exceptional and unique, offering a musical
portrait of an artist who refuses easy categorization. Finding new fans and a larger
audience after those projects' successes,
Robert made even more changes.
"After I had acquired this new audience,
I wanted to do something different, so I
went back to the trio," he explains. "What
was interesting was that some of the hiphop/R&B audiences began buying my trio
records and so I wanted to do a different
trio approach. I didn't want to do a standard jazz trio, so instead I did an album of
cover songs, but done in a jazz trio format."
The result, Covered, incorporates songs
by John Legend, Radiohead, Joni Mitchell,
and more alongside Robert's originals in a
CD that, while on paper is a return to his
trio format, in sound is a melding of the
trio and the Experiment's aesthetics. "I've
never been one to make the same record
twice," Robert explains.
Indeed, Robert's commitment to following his unique vision led to one of this
year's wonderful surprises: Everything's
Beautiful, a Miles Davis-driven offering
inspired by Robert's work on the Miles
Ahead soundtrack and featuring a singular
take on the notion of a tribute project.
Drawing at times on Miles' playing in sample, as well as Miles' literal voice in spoken
moments, the album manages to pay tribute to Miles and celebrate his work while
still remaining a unique statement on
Robert's part. Such an achievement is no
easy feat, but is also one entirely appropriate for a CD released on the trumpeter's
90th birthday.
"I didn't want to do a 'remix' project. I
wanted this record to be about more than
Miles' trumpet, so the way I did it was
bringing in people who had a genuine love
for Miles, and I wanted to bring in his compositions, his speaking voice, his swagger,
everything about him. He is so much more
than the muted trumpet."
27
FRESH TAKES
By Nathan Kamal, student at The New School
OCALIST AND ACTOR JUDI
Jackson surfs the waters of young
V
ambition with great ease. Only 22 years
old, Jackson has opened for major acts like
Mavis Staples, and her collaborators
include Snarky Puppy.
Judi is frustrated by those who categorize her explicitly as either a jazz vocalist
or theatric performer. Instead, she allows
each of these creative modes to inform and
inspire the other. "If we're not growing
we're dying," she says. "There always has
to be evolution."
Judi's evolution has led her to combine
elements of musical theater and R&B into
her music, while staying firmly rooted in
the jazz and soul standards she loves. "My
writing recently has had a fusion of influences from the jazz I grew up with, and also
soul and folk music."
After an outing of European performances, including shows in London,
HOT FLASHES...
Robert Glasper performs in the
Contemporary Jazz Cruise in February
2017. To make a reservation, visit
www.thecontemporaryjazzcruise.com.
Don Braden
Festivals and Events
Acclaimed guitarist Mary Halvorson
holds a residency at The Stone Aug. 2-7.
Highlighting a full range of her projects
and collaborations, Halvorson will feature
her band Thumbscrew (with Michael
Formanek and Tomas Fujiwara), her octet,
the trio Sifter (Kirk Knuffke and Matt
Wilson), as well as duo work with Nels
Cline, Stephan Crump, Brandon Seabrook
and Joe Morris. Visit thestonenyc.com for
more details.
28
Barcelona and Geneva, Judi makes a triumphant return to New York this August
with a two-evening residency at Smoke.
"It's going to be like a homecoming show.
I'm playing with cats who I played with
when
I
first moved
to the city."
J u d i
Ja cks on
s i n g s
ori gi na l
mat erial
and standards at
S m o k e
Jazz
&
Supper
Club
on
Aug.
3
and 4.
Jazz at Lincoln Center offers a range of
free listening parties throughout August,
featuring hosts like Ricky Riccardi and
Greg Thomas, and covering topics ranging
from Louis Armstrong, to jazz and physics.
Visit http://academy.jazz.org/listening-par
ties for a schedule.
The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival takes
place Aug. 26-28 in Marcus Garvey Park
and in Tompkins Square Park. Featured
performers include Jazzmeia Horn,
Randy Weston, Grace Kelly, Jason
Moran, Jack DeJohnette, Allan Harris
and more. Visit www.cityparksfounda
tion.org for a full schedule.
The Litchfield jazz festival celebrates its
21st anniversary Aug. 6-7, featuring such
talents as Donald Harrison, Orrin
Evans, Emmet Cohen, Jimmy Heath,
Don Braden, Jimmy Greene among
many others. Check www.litchfieldjazzfest.com for details.
At the Morristown Jazz & Blues festival,
Bucky Pizzarelli, George Gee Swing
Orchestra and Louis Prima Jr. are on
the bill Aug. 20. For more information, go
to www.morristownjazzandblues.com.
The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival takes
place Aug. 26-28 in Marcus Garvey Park
and in Tompkins Square Park. Featured
performers include Jazzmeia Horn,
Randy Weston, Grace Kelly, Jason
Moran, Jack DeJohnette, Allan Harris
and more. Visit www.cityparksfoundation.org
for a full schedule.
B A C K S T A G E PA S S
JAZZ ANECDOTE BY BILL CROW
Bill Crow's books " Jazz Anecdotes" and " From Birdland to Broadway" can be
found at your favorite bookstore, and at www.billcrowbass.com
along with many interesting photos and links.
To hold the attention of a music class of teenaged boys, Herb Gardner told them that
learning a little piano could really fix up their social lives. If they could learn to play the
accompaniment to Hoagy Carmichael's "Heart and Soul" no teenage girl could resist sitting
next to them to play the melody. They were doing pretty well at it, but the peculiar look on
the face of a teacher's aide at the back of the room made him think that maybe he'd been a
little flippant about reducing the serious business of music education to a way to pick up
chicks. After the class she went over to Herb and said, "That's the way I met my husband!"
BLACKMAN...
superstars, she sounds practically starstruck in discussing the California gig.
"This is the most exciting thing I have
coming up," the drummer declares. "This is
the kind of thing you frame and put on
your mantel: Herbie and Wayne, the innovators! It's going to be fantastic to play
with them, not only to be inspired by the
music, but it's also elevating—if you play
one note, you're going to learn from it,
you're going to be lifted and elevated."
Who can ask for anything more?
Cindy Blackman Santana plays
Jazz Standard Aug. 9-10, with her
electric band: Aurelien Budynek on
guitar, Zaccai Curtis on keyboards
and Felix Pastorius, bass.
WILSON...
10 and 11 and is joined by saxophonist
Ray Blue, guitarist John DeFrancesco
and drummer Glenn Ferricone.
NJ LISTINGS...
www.njjs.org. Aug 17: 8-9:30pm $18/22 adm
Geoff Gallante.
UNION
DOWNTOWN
WESTFIELD:
Westfield.
www.westfieldtoday.com/jazzfestival. 908789-9444. Tues: 7-9pm free adm. Aug 2: Ron
Aprea, Gus Bardaji Gp, Daniel Ori, The Gold
Magnolias, Mike Kaplan Nnt; 9: Lynette
Washington, Daniel Rufolo, The Murphet,
Jonny Hirsch Band, New-Trad Sxt; 16: Jim
Cohen, Stringbean & the Stalkers, Dave
Leonhardt Trio, VooDUDES, B.D. Lenz; 23:
Jazz Lobsters, Eric Frazier, Carrie Jackson,
Justin Hernandez, Lance Bryant; 30: Lauren
Shub & The Ilya Maslov Trio, NoName James
& Butterball, Ali Ryerson, Watson, Dr.
Dubious & the Agnostics.
PENNSYLVANIA
DEER HEAD INN: 5 Main St. Delaware Water
Gap, PA. www.deerheadinn.com. 570-4242000. Sets: Sun 5-8pm, Thurs 8-11pm, Fri-Sat
7-11pm. Adm varies. Residency (R): Thurs Jam
w/Bill Washer & friends. Aug: 4: R; 5: Spencer
Reed Qrt; 6: Kate Baker & Vic Juris; 7: Mitchell
Cheng Qrt; 11: R; 12: Brian Lynch Qrt; 13:
Nancy Reed Trio; 14: Russ Kassoff w/guest
Catherine Dupuis; 18: R; 19: Carolyn & Jay
Leonhart; 20: Eric Mintel Qrt; 21: Su Terry &
Peggy Stern; 25: R; 26: Behn Gillece Trio; 27:
Patrick McGee Qnt; 28: Rich Jenkins Qrt; 29:
7:30-10:30pm Deer Head Inn Jazz Orch.
A Moment You Missed by
Fran Kaufman Hot House
Contributing Photographer
It's not easy wrangling four saxophonists, a drummer, a bass player and a
pianist—especially when there are
beautiful women passing in the street.
At a photo shoot in Chelsea for the
cover of the upcoming Arbors Records’
release of The Candy Man, Harry
Allen and his ensemble were channeling their inner teens, as you can clearly
see in this photo.
29
F YOU HAVE DREAMT OF ROMANce or Brazilian beaches while listening to
IBebel
Gilberto, you may have been listening to the sounds of flautist and saxophonist Jorge Continentino, who has played and
recorded with the singer for ten years. And
if you would like your dreams to feel a little
more real, you can go and see him perform
live in New York City this summer since he
is a special guest at the Django Reinhardt
festival at the midtown venue Birdland.
But don't expect improvisation to not be
part of the experience, since for the Rio de
Janeiro native, "it's good not to predict
what you are going to do. Your influences
will come out naturally."
And Jorge's first influences came from
"what was surrounding me," he explains.
"So it was of course Brazilian music since
I'm from Brazil. My parents listened to a
lot of Jobim, Joao Donato…" And on his
mother's side, it was Gilberto Gil, Jao
Gilberto, he says. But "I [also] grew up listening to Bill Evans, Coltrane, Sonny
Rollins, Paul Desmond," the Rio native
adds. "All of that jazz repertoire and
heroes." And during the 1980s, Jorge's
father, himself a jazz musician, used to run
the jazz club Pianissimo, in Belo Horizonte.
That's where the flautist started playing
with his brothers...
...The flautist moved from Rio de Janeiro
to New York City in 2004 and played with
gypsy musician Dorado Schmitt for the
very first time in 2011. This year is his
third time performing at the festival. "The
festival is very nice: they play for a week,"
Jorge explains. "And they have one featured guest each night—every night a different one. I am going to be one of the
guests for two nights this year."
Gypsy music has taught Jorge to "think
fast without losing the lyrical aspect of
making music on the spot," he explains.
BRIDGE CROSSINGS
By Cary Tone
OE MORRIS HAS ESTABLISHED his
voice on guitar in a free jazz context for
J
over four decades. His influences range
from Miles Davis to the AACM, from West
African string music to Messian and Ives.
He is on the faculty of the New England
Conservatory and tours extensively as a
leader and sideman on both guitar and
bass.
Q- What was your entry point to
jazz/improvised music?
A- My sister brought Coltrane's record
Om home from college when I was 15. To
me that was the thing beyond Hendrix
that I needed. That sent me looking into
jazz, which meant that I had to learn about
changes, scales, modes, etc. Om also, along
30
Morris photo by Rob Miller.
with a lot of other input, led me to Ornette
Dolphy, Cecil Taylor, Ayler and the AACM.
Q- What do you struggle with in your
creative life?
A- Feeling like I am not the kind of
musician I'm supposed to be. It's a lifelong
battle to feel good about who I am and
believe in myself and deal with the expectation to conform. Feeling like a failure. If I
spend too much time thinking about what
other people do, I get very down. I know
who I am and why I do this. And I know
that my determination to be myself is my
life's adventure, but it's never easy.
Otherwise I am very fortunate. My life has
been like a miracle. So I'm quite grateful
that I found music to frame all of these
years. I no longer expect much from music
except the luxury of making it and sharing
the experience with people. The world is
full of horror and sadness, music is a balm
for that, and a signal to anyone interested
that life is amazing. Imagine if all the
intensity that results in violence was
turned into music instead. We would all be
better off and no one would complain about
making money with music.
LATIN...
And in the process, he embraces his background. "I am a jazz musician and I am
from Brazil and I play Brazilian music, so
when I play Gypsy jazz music, of course I'm
connected to jazz, and of course I can't get
away from my Brazilian influences so it
will show up in my melodies and
rhythms."...
Jorge Continentino performs Aug. 5
and 6 at Birdland with bassist
Itaiguara Brandao for the 17th Django
Reinhardt New York Festival.
BRIDGE...
Joe Morris brings different bands
for a week-long residency at The Stone
Aug. 16-21.
For the complete interviews, visit our website:
www.hothousejazz.com/blog
31
32
33
34
35

Ari Hoenig Dominick Farinacci Reuben Wilson Cindy Blackman

Transcription

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