winning spins by George Kanzler The survival and ongoing vitality of the big band is one of the most gratifying aspects of jazz in the 21st Century. Talk about labors of love: Big bands don't pay the bills for anyone; if anything they just generate additional debts. Yet jazz musicians still willingly devote their time and energy to keeping them alive, and in no place more than in the Big Apple and environs, where you can still get out and hear a big band somewhere, almost any day of the week. Two New York-based ensembles provide the winning spins this month: The Mingus Big Band and the John Fedchock New York Big Band. In addition to presenting six Mingus Big Band tracks, I Am Three (Sue Mingus Music/Sunnyside) also includes two each by the smaller Mingus Orchestra (a tentet) and Mingus Dynasty (a septet). Due to the indomitable enterprise and dedication of Sue Mingus, all three configurations have been heard in New York during the last year, and the Big Band currently has a weekly gig. Unfortunately, Charles Mingus rarely fronted, or even recorded with, a full-size big band. Yet the Mingus Big Band has been extending and enriching his legacy since his death over a quarter of a century ago. Clearly, his music has always been ideally suited to big band settings, with a complexity, tonal and harmonic, that can be fleshed out while retaining its tremendous rhythmic and narrative drive. The Mingus Big Band arrangers, all members or alumni of the band, capture the story-telling spirit and emotional excitement that are at the core of a Mingus musical experience. Like his idol Duke Ellington, Mingus also had a prolific gift for melody; it courses through the tunes, riffs and even contrapuntal passages on this album's tracks, keeping the ear enthralled. The late John Stubblefield arranged and conducted three of the more complex Big Band tracks, investing them with rich voicings and wrapping the soloists in such Mingus ploys as stop-times, tempo shifts, overlapping passages and call-responses with the sections. Another Big Band gem is bassist Boris Kozlov's chart on "Tensions," a roiling, angry piece not heard since it was recorded by Mingus with a mid-size ensemble fifty years ago, yet as current as today's headlines. The Mingus Orchestra, a tentet with French horn and two woodwinds along with trumpet, trombone, two saxes and guitar plus rhythm, does "Chill of Death," a "classical" piece sans improvisation, and "Todo Modo," a texturally rich "Third Stream" piece with sax solos flowing out of sumptuous ensembles. Don't miss the arco bass and flute coda - it's stunning. The Mingus Dynasty septet contributes "Cell Block F 'Tis Nazi USA," with Craig Handy's flute and Ku-umba Frank Lacy's trombone both incisive, and "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting," a churchy romp. No Nonsense (Reservoir) showcases the writing, arranging and improvising skills of its trombonist leader, as well as the playing of some of New York's best jazz musicians. It's a tight, cohesive big band with a supple sense of rhythmic acuity and the ability to cruise through a variety of grooves, from all-out flag-waver swing to Afro-Latin, samba and blues. Like the Mingus Big Band arrangers, Fedchock knows how to frame and support solos with the ensemble. Five of the ten tracks are Fedchock originals, including the fetching bossa-samba "Brazilian Fantasy," with soloists Charles Pillow, alto sax, and Scott Wendholt, trumpet, engaging each other in a tandem coda; and "Blue After Two," a big band blues as convincing as any New Testament Count Basie chart. Fedchock illuminates five fine jazz standards too, including Freddie Hubbard's "Eclipse," a ballad feature for his lush, crushed velvet trombone; Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday," with Scott Robinson suitably majestic on baritone sax, and Joe Henderson's "Caribbean Fire Dance," featuring an idiosyncratic but brilliant trumpet solo by Barry Ries, handling a Harmon mute like a plunger, and a Fedchock solo over a clave-clapping band. The Mingus Big Band plays every Tuesday night at Iridium. The John Fedchock New York Big Band can be heard at Marie's Jazz Bar on August 2. SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL BLAIR KURT ROSENWINKEL BIRDLAND/AUGUST 17-20 You don't have to graduate from Berklee to make a name for yourself as a guitarist. Rosenwinkel dropped out after a couple of years and hasn't looked back. The dozen or so albums he's recorded under his own name - many utilizing imaginative electronic effects that enhance his compositional ideas - have all been well received. While much of his output suggests a moody and melancholic approach, he can swing as well, as projects undertaken with Mark Turner, Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, Brian Blade and Paul Motian have proven. Among the influences he cites: hip hop and Arnold Schoenberg. GENE BERTONCINI JAZZ STANDARD/AUGUST 25 For lovers of non-aggressive, non-amplified guitar playing, any new Bertoncini recording is an occasion for, uh, subdued cheering. The recent release of his new Ambient CD Quiet Now has prompted more of the same. It's a beautifully recorded solo recital that includes pieces by Billy Strayhorn and Bill Evans, a medley linking Coltrane and Dameron tunes, a Jobim number, an exquisite reading of Denny Zeitlin's title tune, compositions by Puccini and Schumann and several other highly polished gems. Some of these are likely to show up during his evening at the Standard. Note, too, that Gene plays at Le Madeleine on W. 43rd each Sunday and Monday. STEVE TURRE CARAMOOR/AUGUST 6 Limbering up for late-month work at the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel, trombonist Turre plays at the Caramoor festival with pianist Bill Charlap's trio (in a salute to J.J. Johnson); at the Newark Museum at noon on August 11; and with Cedar Walton's quintet at Dizzy's on August 9-14. Don't be surprised if he also unpacks his celebrated shells for each of these appearances. Back on this continent, he'll be featured soloist with the U.S. Army Band at a West Point concert on September 3. Steve's latest CD? It's The Spirits Up Above (High Note), his rousing tribute to a one-time employer named Rahsaan. BRIAN BLADE VILLAGE VANGUARD/AUGUST 30-SEPT. 4 Blade's Fellowship band hasn't headlined at the Vanguard since 2000, though he's often graced the bandstand with other leaders since then. Joining the drummer this time will be his current bunch of Fellows: guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and saxophonists Chris Cheek and Myron Walden, along with Jon Cowherd (keyboards) and Christopher Thomas (bass). Meanwhile, we're all waiting for another group CD. The first two, both issued by Blue Note, were far from conventional, with Blade utilizing such non-jazz elements as steel guitar smears and pygmy chants on top of the compelling cross-rhythms Brian mastered growing up in Shreveport and New Orleans. HEATHER BENNETT 55 BAR/AUGUST 21 Bennett, a fine pianist and writer who also sings upon occasion, will use this 7:00 PM set to introduce original material from Reflections in Red, her new CD on the Apria label. Saxophonist Donnie McCaslin and drummer Ari Hoenig, both of whom play in the disc, will be part of her quintet. (For Suite Talk, her first Apria album, she used the talents of Bill Mobley, Rick Margitza, Rufus Reid and Billy Hart to full advantage - and we like that one, too.) If you haven't yet visited Charlie O's on Eighth Ave., Heather's presence there with a different quintet on August 18 offers good reason to drop by. KENGO NAKAMURA KITANO/AUGUST 19-20 Heard this bassist yet? Chances are that you soon will, since he's part of the band backing Wynton Marsalis on a new Blue Note release called Amongst the People, coming out on August 30. For two evenings at Kitano, though, Nakamura heads his own Roots Quintet: Marcus Printup on trumpet and Greg Tardy on tenor, along with pianist Dan Nimmer and drummer Shinnosuke Takahashi. Kengo will also underline the playing of Wess Anderson's quartet at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola for six nights beginning August 30. His own CD, Roots (55 Records) is a good one, enriched by the presence of both Anderson and Printup. BILL WARFIELD WEST BANK CAFE/AUGUST 18 Into the West Bank, toward the western end of W. 42nd St, stroll the fourteen musicians who comprise Warfield's current ensemble, a high-powered outfit - strong in every section - that usually features this trumpet-playing leader's own arrangements. Expect the first downbeat around 6:30 PM, with a second set ending about half past eight. Though Bill's a well-credentialed academic (currently a fulltime faculty member at Lehigh University and the organizer of music workshops in Europe), there's nothing the least bit tedious or fussy about either his writing or his horn work, as the lengthy clips audible through www.warfieldmusic.com clearly demonstrate. DUDUKA DA FONSECA ZINC BAR/AUGUST 9-11 Rio-born and a New Yorker since 1975, this drummer/percussionist has lent color, wit and drive to the efforts of Gerry Mulligan, Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz, John Scofield, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Phil Woods and lots of other non-Latin musicians looking to add something distinctive in the way of rhythmic seasoning. But Duduka is best known as a member of Trio da Paz, the award-winning group that's done four albums together. His quintet for these two evenings includes young Anat Cohen, a clarinetist and saxophonist we really like, together with guitarist Guillermo Monteiro, pianist Helio Alves, bassist Leonardo Cioglia - plus singer Maucha Adnet. RAY CHARLES ORCHESTRA BLUE NOTE/AUGUST 9-10 We can't tell you much about this aggregation, except that it'll be presenting as many of Brother Ray's classic numbers as it can conceivably squeeze into each night's set, using the very same arrangements played when Ray himself did his last series of shows. Longtime band member Craig Bailey now serves as musical director. Songwriter and longtime Charles collaborator Billy Osborne will be handling keyboard and vocal chores. And there's a new bunch of Raelettes, too - among them, Andromeda Turre, Steve's daughter. If Ray's recordings moved you over the years, this is all the prompting you'd need to know to reserve a table ASAP. HENDRICK MEURKENS SWEET RHYTHM/JULY 31 Amazon River (Blue Toucan) is really a lovely piece of work. And since the Amazon flows through neither Germany, where Meurkens was raised, nor Holland, where his roots lie, you're correct in surmising that the musical emphasis is Brazilian. At Sweet Rhythm - and at Cornelia Street Cafe on August 9 - Meurkens will play both vibes, which was his original instrument, and harmonica in partnership with pianist Helio Alves, bassist Gustavo Amarante and percussionist Adriano Santos. The CD, which features much larger ensembles and big-name guests, hasn't really been officially launched yet. Once it is, though, it should win lots of awards. NEW JERSEY JAZZ BY FRED McINTOSH DAN LEVINSON BICKFORD THEATER/AUGUST 27 Seventy years ago this month, Benny Goodman and his orchestra were finishing a disastrous cross-country tour of poorly attended one-nighters. Their final stop was the Palomar ballroom in Los Angeles. To Benny's surprise, the hall was packed and the opening evening (August 21, 1935, to be precise) was a smashing success. Many date the birth of the Swing Era from that one night at the Palomar. Versatile reedman Dan Levinson and his group will recreate the occasion during this Bickford gig. Joining Dan on the stand will be pianist Mark Shane, drummer Kevin Dorn, vibraphonist Matt Hoffman and vocalist Molly Ryan. WINARD HARPER SHANGHAI JAZZ/AUGUST 19-20 Harper brings to Shanghai one of the great small bands in jazz today. Indeed, many are reminded of Blakey's Messengers whenever Harper's distinctive group plays. Personnel will be Josh Evans on tenor sax, Brian Horton on trumpet, T.W. Sample on piano, Ameen Saleem bass and Alioune Faye playing African drums and djembe. Over the years, Winard has worked with the best - among them, Dexter Gordon, Ray Bryant, Johnny Griffin and Tommy Flanagan. His playing is swinging, tasteful, refreshing and unfailingly inventive. He's also one of today's top drum soloists. To quote one enthusiastic reviewer: "Blakey would surely have loved this band." JIM ROTONDI CORNERSTONE/AUGUST 17 Trumpeter Rotondi's resumé includes work with Charlie Earland, Ray Charles, Junior Cook, Cecil Payne and George Coleman. Part of his quartet will be Rick Germanson, piano; Mike Karn, bass; and Mark Taylor, drums. Jim's in the first rank of modern brassmen, with playing that attacks, surges and flows. He's part of the musical flock roosting regularly at Smoke. The hard bop collective called One For All has long been Rotondi's home group, together with cohorts like Eric Alexander and David Hazeltine. (Check them out on Blues-Like, issued on Criss Cross.) Jim's latest release on that same label is New Vistas with Chris Potter. THREE GENERATIONS OF JAZZ TRUMPETS/AUGUST 10 Here's a family you ought to hear: five musicians named Arntzen, ranging in age from 14 to 77, who play saxophones, trumpet, piano and drums. Listeners agree that trumpeter Leif Arntzen's playing and singing bear an uncanny resemblance to Chet Baker's. Together with a non-family bassist, they have three other area gigs lined up, in addition to this one. They'll be at the Shinn Estate Vineyard in Mattituck, Long Island on August 6; at the Living Room on the Lower East Side on August 11; and literally in the middle of Cornelia Street for a free performance beginning at 7:30 PM on August 10. JAZZWOMEN! BY ELZY KOLB Dig We Must Sometimes there seems to be only two kinds of people in the world: those who love Sinatra's up-tempo swingers and those who prefer his ballads. When asked, vocalist Judi Silvano immediately declared herself in the first category. However, "Sinatra was so brilliant and evocative when singing ballads that lately I've been finding those are the ones that really grab me," she says. Recognizing the seeming contradiction, she explains, "A lot of people have a misconception about artists and art, that we always stay the same. I'm trying to keep a really open mind, keep working hard, keep developing myself." Judi will perform some of the tunes Sinatra made popular during the "Celebrating Sinatra" concert at the Caramoor Jazz Festival in Katonah, N.Y. on August 6. "What a pleasure and a thrill to be part of that program," she says. "For a creative person, there's nothing more fun than playing with the people you really dig and respect," which in this case includes Joe Lovano, Kenny Werner, Billy Drewes and others. "Plus what a beautiful venue, what a beautiful environment. As a gardener, I'm totally smitten with Caramoor's formal gardens and landscaping," Judi says. The festival lineup also includes Luciana Souza, recently named Female Singer of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. Different Strokes Though pianist/composer Roberta Piket says she doesn't think of herself as a jack-of-all-trades, she does like to do a lot of different things. "Sometimes it's hard to prioritize, there are so many things I want to do," she says. She has a straight-ahead trio "coming from a more traditional repertoire" including Herbie Hancock and Bill Evans. Roberta also loves to play "music that grooves, that feels good," which she gets a chance to do with her electric project, Alternating Current. She's currently shopping around Seven Pieces About an Hour, a cooperative CD with drummer Billy Mintz and saxophonist Mark Reboul. "It's hard to find a home for a project like this. There's not a written note, it's completely improvised." Roberta's brand-new "Nabokov Project" consists of her compositions to accompany spoken or sung poems written by Vladamir Nabokov. "It has written and improvised elements, and influences like 20th century classical music and free jazz," she explains. The project premieres at Lotus Music & Dance's "Cooler in the Shade" series on August 19. Also on the bill: Fragments, a reed, violin and keyboard trio which includes Roberta. Keyed In Pianist Miki Hiyama credits saxman Kenny Garrett with kick-starting her life as a jazz musician. She ran into him outside a club and gave him her demo smooth jazz CD. He phoned later to ask if she could play straight-ahead. She had, in Japan, "But not good, not like a New York jazz professional," she says. Kenny "encouraged me a lot. He inspired me to get into jazz more seriously, and taught me a lot about harmony and lines." It must have worked. Besides gigging with Kenny, Sean Jones, bassist Kim Clarke, and others, Miki was a finalist at this year's Women in Jazz Pianist Competition at Kennedy Center, and her smokin' first CD, Vibrant, was just released in Japan. Catch Miki with her trio at the Kitano on August 10; with Tia Fuller at 55 on August 15 (and at Cecil's on August 26-27); or playing solo at Go Wasabi in Astoria every Friday. Freebie With the 'beans Percussionist Annette A. Aguilar and her string/percussion ensemble, StringBeans will hit Bryant Park on August 12. "It was great last year," she says. "This time, I'm trying to include more vocals. That's important to me. Sometimes I like to use a vocalist who can play an instrument and sing in both Spanish and Portuguese, but they're hard to find." Annette hopes she'll have the StringBeans' new CD No Cheap Dates finished by then. She has some exciting gigs coming up, including one at the Paris Opera House, in Bernice Johnson Reagon's "The Temptation of St. Anthony," directed by Robert Wilson. Annette has also been chosen as a jazz ambassador for the second time; she expects to hit the road for that tour in January. City Scene Singer Tierney Sutton celebrates the release of her new CD, I'm with the Band, at Birdland on August 24-27 … Rene Marie sings at Joe's Pub on August 2 … Pianist Lenore Raphael is at the Cornerstone on August 2 … Diane Moser plays Monk at the Dancing Goat on August 11; her Composers Big Band is at Trumpets on August 24 … Trumpeter Sarah Wilson is at Sparks on August 19 as part of Dave Douglas' Festival of New Trumpet Music. FATHEAD IN FULL FLOWER by Yvonne Ervin Ray Charles was an integral part of David "Fathead" Newman's musical life and it's a connection that continues beyond the death of the musical icon. "It was a very wonderful association and I'm eternally indebted to him," the soft-spoken saxophonist says. "Ray introduced me to the people at Atlantic Records. I did my first recording, Ray Charles Presents Fathead, for them and that was the beginning of my career as a leader." Newman met Charles when they were both on the road down south in the early 50s. When Charles started his own band, he hired Fathead as baritone saxophonist, but Newman soon became his tenor sax soloist. He was with Charles from 1954 to 1964, then again for a couple of years in the early 70s. His 1958 debut with Atlantic led to twelve more releases on that label through 1970. Now, a year after Charles' death, the big-toned Texas tenor man is getting a lot of gigs at tribute concerts for Charles. In fact, at the beginning of this year, he came out with his own tribute: I Remember Brother Ray on the High Note label. It's not just Newman's talent and his long tenure with Charles that accounts for his surge in popularity. His character is key in the movie "Ray." "Although the Ray Charles character was pretty true to form, the Fathead character was nothing like me," Newman says of the part played in the film by Bokeem Woodbine. "The movie's Fathead was brash and that's not me at all. Also, they had me introducing Ray Charles to drugs and that wasn't true at all. Ray was into drugs long before he met me." Friends to the end, Newman said he gave Charles permission to use his character in the movie and he seems to take his depiction in stride. "Most of the time, directors want to sensationalize and put the Hollywood spin on things. People have told me that drugs and sex sell, and the movie seemed to dwell on that," the saxophonist says on the phone from his upstate New York home. "I think it was a good movie and Jamie Foxx did an incredible job. Still, I felt that the director could have done a better job of presenting Ray Charles and what he brought to the table musically. But movies are movies and that's Hollywood." Newman has a couple of engagements coming up in New York. August's gig at the Iridium will have vocalist Roseanna Vitro performing some of the tunes she recorded with Fathead on her 1997 release, Catchin' Some Rays. Then in November, he's doing a reprise of last year's engagement with organist Joey DeFrancesco's trio at Dizzy's. In between, he's doing a Ray Charles Tribute at the Chicago Jazz Fest and another five festivals, along with a dozen other appearances. As if that weren't enough for the 72-year-old reedman, he's also recording a new CD at the end of the summer. "It's going to be instrumental and I'll use more horns than I have in the past, with arrangements somewhere between the five-horn things Ray Charles did with his small group and old James Moody stuff like "Last Train From Overbrook." Fathead Newman plays at Iridium on August 11-14 - as well as with John Hicks at the Charlie Parker Festival on August 28. DAVE STRYKER: MULTITUDINOUS MUSICAL SHADES by Ken Franckling Guitarist Dave Stryker is the consummate musical juggler. He leads or co-leads seven different bands of varying sizes, styles and personalities. The band that keeps him busiest, though - a quartet he fronts together with saxophonist Steve Slagle - can be heard beginning September 13 on a new Zoho CD entitled Live at the Jazz Standard. Another new release called Big City, issued on Mel Bay Records' Guitar Sessions imprint, is actually Stryker's nineteenth as a leader. It features the instrumentation that listeners can expect when he plays at Smoke on August 18. The disc, with four originals and three standards, shows tremendous intuitive interplay and extended yet cohesive solos. This recorded group includes pianist David Kikoski and two frequent Stryker bandmates - bassist Ed Howard and drummer Victor Lewis. (But David Berkman will sub at Smoke for Kikoski, who had a schedule conflict.) In 1980, Stryker moved from his native Omaha to New York, where he has earned his stripes as a solid, bluesy and melodically inventive modern guitarist. "I've been in New York close to 25 years now," he says. "I don't want to be anywhere else. Most of the time, I am working with either my own quartet or the quartet with Slagle." His bright, crisp sound is at the heart of his quartet's sound. When he shifts gears a bit and Slagle joins Stryker, Howard and Lewis, there's an uncanny and intuitive interplay that makes the Stryker-Slagle band so enjoyable to hear. Having worked together for more than a decade, Stryker and Slagle have developed a wonderful synergy built around their sax-guitar melodic doubling. "We can anticipate each other's moves a bit," the guitarist says. "I think it's a cool sound. There's a lot of air there. And I've always loved that openness of playing without chords." Stryker has a lot on his plate. His other bands include Trio Mundo, a Latin project with percussionist Manolo Badrena and bassist Andy McKee; his Shades (of Miles) Project with drummer Lenny White; his bluesy horn group Blue To the Bone; and an organ trio with drummer Tony Reedus and organist Jared Gold. "Trio Mundo is built around Manolo's crazy spirit," says Stryker. "It's different music, but I put my style into it. We play Sweet Rhythm once or twice a year. Meanwhile, the organ band brings out a different side of my personality. It's the kind of music that hits people in the soul. There is always room for that." The Shades Project, which yielded his Shades of Miles CD on Steeplechase in 1998, is focused on putting a fresh stamp on music from the trumpeter's electric phase. The original band featured Billy Hart on drums. In its pared-down successor, White holds the drum chair. Says the guitarist, "I got Lenny involved because he's another fine player whose sound I admire. Plus he's a link to Tony Williams. I've been lucky to play with a lot of great drummers. I'm a firm believer - even before the notes, it has to feel good." It's something he learned from spending a couple of years (1984-86) on the road with Jack McDuff's organ group, then nine more with saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. "The feel that McDuff and Turrentine engendered every time they hit the stand was just ridiculous. Hopefully, some of that rubbed off." Dave Stryker plays at Smoke on August 18. JAZZ ANECDOTES BY BILL CROW Jazz bassist Bill Crow has written two entertaining books, available in paperback from Oxford University Press: Jazz Anecdotes, a collection of stories about jazz and jazz musicians, and From Birdland to Broadway, a personal memoir of life in the jazz world. You can order them from your favorite bookseller. When Johnny Varro was the pianist at Eddie Condon's original club on West 3rd Street in the Village, a waiter, Ambrose, whose English wasn't too fluent, came to Johnny and asked him to play a request for a customer. "They want you to play Come Rain or Come Shine, ...either one!" At a Howard Johnson's on the Pennsylvania Turnpike late one frigid winter night, bass player Dobbin Davis hurried in, complaining that his ears were freezing from the cold. "Why don't you wear earmuffs?" someone asked. "Oh, I never wear earmuffs since the accident," said Dobbin. "What accident?" Dobbin grinned. "Somebody offered me a drink, and I didn't hear them." When the Buddy Rich band played at a theater in Cincinnati, Buddy and some friends went to hear a local piano trio after the show. They invited him to come up and play, and Buddy played a punishing drum solo that cracked cymbals, broke drumheads and laid waste to various other items in the drum set. When he finished, he turned to the dismayed drummer, handed him several hundred dollar bills and said, "Don't ever invite a drummer to play on a piece of crap like that again!" HOT FLASHES BY PAUL BLAIR LATE SUMMER FESTIVALS Martha's Vineyard isn't a place you'd likely pass through on your way to somewhere else. It's a destination, right? If you'll be on that island anytime during August 4-7, check out what's going on this year's Vineyard Vibes event - an appealing mixture of jazz (Phil Wilson's Rainbow Big Band), Latin (Eguie Castrillo's tribute to the Mambo Kings), and gospel (a rousing Sunday performance by the Reverence Ensemble). Berklee College of Music is the official presenter, along with several NPR stations. Consult www.vineyardvibes.com for times and locations ... Jazz Week at Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center in West Orange, NJ includes the New York Voices on August 10, an Ellington tribute featuring Xavier Davis, Dave Liebman, Vic Juris, Harvie S and others on August 11, a series of workshops and a wrap-up concert on August 14. The venue is an outdoor amphitheater, so bring a chair or blanket. This one's cost-free ... Jazz in the Valley is a single-day event taking place on August 28 in Rosendale, NY. Being featured this year are pianist Francesca Tanksley, singer Judy Bady, trombonist Craig Harris' group and Pucho & the Latin Soul Brothers. For details go to http://www.transartinc.org/jazz.html ... Finally, for the lowdown on this year's mammoth Chicago Jazz Festival, check out http://chicagojazzfestival.org/. No details are posted as we go to press - but the dates are September 1-4. FREE JAZZ OUTDOORS If you'd rather spend your presumably limited jazz budget on CDs and Rico reeds than drink minimums, the days ahead provide plenty of chances to hear great stuff on a no-charge basis. Listen up! The Sun Ra Arkestra plays under Marshall Allen's direction on July 30 in Central Park, which also offers Jason Moran, Brad Mehldau and Eric Lewis on August 5. At Brooklyn's Fort Greene Park, trumpeter/guitarist/singer Olu Dara tops the August 18 bill. (Consult www.cityparksfoundation.org for the details.) McCoy Tyner performs on August 4 at Castle Clinton, located at the southern tip of Manhattan. The music begins at 7:00 PM, but you must pick up your free tickets nearby earlier. (See www.worldfinancialcenter.com for specifics.) Pianist Danilo Perez's talents will be apparent during his 7:00 PM appearance in Madison Square Park on August 10. (www.madisonsquarepark.org) The Bryant Park piano series continues this month and we're especially eager to catch stridemaster Terry Waldo, who'll be there on August 15-19. (http://www.bryantpark.org/calendar/piano.php) Guitarist James Blood Ulmer comes to the MetroTech campus (Flatbush at Myrtle) in Brooklyn for a noon gig on August 4. The Museum of Modern Art's garden concert series continues with Greg Osby's Sound Theater on August 7 and a Henry Threadgill sextet (that includes three cellos plus a tuba) on August 21. (http://www.moma.org/events/summergarden/ explains it, tickets are free but required) You're with me so far? OK, are you aware of the summer-long free concert series that Jazz Forum Arts is running throughout Westchester Country? It includes appearances by Melvin Sparks (in Mount Vernon on August 2); a fine co-op quartet called Way Out East that includes Jack Walrath and Bill Moring (Sleepy Hollow, August 4); the New Jazz Composers Octet (Mount Vernon, August 9); Greg Abate (Dobbs Ferry, August 10); Gary Smulyan (Sleepy Hollow, August 11); Tony Jefferson (Dobbs Ferry, August 17); Lew Tabackin (Sleepy Hollow, August 18); Marvin Stamm (Tarrytown, August 19); Houston Person (Yonkers, August 21); Harvie S. (Yonkers, August 28); Chico Hamilton (Mount Vernon, August 30); and much more. (To check times and locations visit www.jazzforumarts.org). Finally, here's word on our favorite annual free local jazz blowout: the annual two-day Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. Attractions on the first day (Saturday, August 27) in Garvey Park uptown include Bobby Watson's Horizon, pianist Hiromi, Odean Pope's phenomenal Saxophone Choir and alto guy Soweto Kinch. Action shifts on the following afternoon to Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, where Geri Allen, Cindy Blackman's Quartet, a John Hicks-Fathead Newman group and Pope's saxophone gang will all be featured. The start time both days is 3:00 PM ... Again this summer, Jazzmobile offers grand music at its free events. Their website reveals that Clark Terry, Jeremy Pelt, Jimmy Heath, Grady Tate, Jimmy Owens, Hilton Ruiz, Houston Person, Melba Joyce and Rene McLean are among its August attractions. The info number is 212/866-4900 ... J&R's annual festival takes place in City Hall Park on August 25-27, we think, but no details are available at press time ... Lincoln Center's open air freebie sked includes appearances by Danny Mixon (August 16), Babatunde Lea (August 17), Chico Hamilton (August 18) and Dee Dee Bridgewater (August 28). INDOOR FESTIVALS? Definitely. Cornelia Street Cafe is offering six nights of Brazilian music (August 9-14) plus six more devoted to innovative string players (August 23-28) www.corneliastreetcafe.com ... Makor presents an innovative series of live performances coupled with jazz-related films built around the musical exploits of Bird, Miles, Monk and yes, Bleek Gilliam. They'll also be showing "Anatomy of a Murder," which features an outstanding Ducal score, on August 24. The schedule's posted on Makor's website ... FONT - short for Festival of New Trumpet Music - has no fewer than 26 nights of remarkable brass talent lined up during August. The first six of those nights take place at the Jazz Standard, with performances by several fine trumpeters you've surely read about but may not have caught live: Bill Dixon, Herb Robertson, Cuong Vu, Bobby Bradford, Dennis Gonzalez, Baikida Carroll and Roy Campbell. This fest continues at Tonic (August 12-15) and Sparks (August 16-20), with more great players slated to perform. You'll doubtless be impressed by what's posted at www.fontmusic.org. ADDED ATTRACTIONS Pianist Isaac ben Ayala's trio (Chris Berger playing bass and Alvester Garnett on drums) appears at Small's on August 11 beginning at ten ... For his August 15 brunch gig (11:00 AM ff) at the Priory, pianist Tim Lyddon has assembled a well-credentialed trio: Mike Richmond (bassist with Dizzy, Miles, Stan Getz and Ravi Shankar, among others) and Eliot Zigmund (drummer on many of Bill Evans' later recordings) ... Admission costs a measly three bucks for each of this month's Wednesday presentations at Scandinavia House at 58 Park Avenue in midtown. The Nordic Nights series, heavy on jazz, features both overseas visitors and local notables, including Sofia Laiti, August 17th. (www.scandinaviahouse.org) ... Cobi's Place, a wonderful but easily overlooked spot at 158 W. 48th St., hosts a birthday party for singer/drummer Della Griffin on August 13, beginning at 8:00 PM. You really should phone Cobi herself (516/922-2010) to request that she add you to her e-mail alert list ... Helen Sung plays piano with Clark Terry's big band at the Blue Note (August 2-7), backs T.C. Monk in Bethlehem, PA (August 11) and at the Newport festival (August 13), then does late-night sets at Dizzy's on August 16-20, while somehow working with Gregg August's band at Smalls on August 18. On her new Fresh Sound CD, due for release in a month or two, she's got Derrick Hodge playing bass and Lewis Nash doing the drumming ... The Sidney Bechet Society presents the Wycliffe Gordon All-Stars at the Lighthouse (111 E. 59th St.) on August 22. Call 516/627-4468 to learn more.