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FEBRUARY 2008WINNING SPINS BY GEORGE KANZLER
The jazz of the mid-20th Century (when the common currency of the musicians of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, regardless of whether or not they were part of the bebop revolution, was still forthright swing) is the lynchpin and reference point for the two albums - both released on the Arbors label - that make up this edition of Winning Spins. And while only one of the two is actually entitled Generations, the idea of jazz traditions being handed down through the generations is a palpable one on both.
Generations, featuring guitarists Bucky and John Pizzarelli, is a literal meeting of generations, as the co-leaders on this duo CD are father (Bucky is John Sr.) and son. On the other hand, the Harry Allen-Joe Cohn disc called Stompin' the Blues features guitarist, Joe Cohn, a second-generation jazzman who's the son of the late tenor saxophonist Al Cohn. Moreover, tenor saxists Allen and Scott Hamilton are both stylistic descendants of the Four Brothers saxophone school, of which the elder Cohn was a founding member.
Bucky Pizzarelli, who turned 82 last month, is jazz's preeminent rhythm guitarist, as well as an extremely versatile solo player. His prolific recording and TV studio career has found him accompanying everyone from Benny Goodman and Tony Bennett to the Coasters. His son John, 47, who also favors a seven-string instrument (with an extra-low bass string added) has forged a successful career as singer-instrumentalist by fronting a trio/quartet often compared to Nat "King" Cole's famed combo. On this new release, however, he concentrates on guitar and doesn't sing at all.
The Pizzarellis have been playing together literally all their lives - and performing intermittently as a duo since 1981. The convivial rapport they've developed over time brings a warm glow to Generations, wherein they revisit older tunes associated with musicians they've known and collaborated with over the years, then come up with one incredibly infectious original concoction of their own. Also included are a couple of classical guitar pieces that are favorites of Bucky's.
The jazz tracks are divided between frothy uptempo swingers and slower ballads, with the former - particularly two Goodman-associated tunes, "Rose Room" and "Avalon" - displaying the contrasting styles of father and son: Bucky favoring rhythmically chorded, strummed solos and John playing long single-note lines with chords for emphases or climaxes. When Bucky plays a single-note solo, as on 'Polka Dots and Moonbeams," he utilizes a staccato attack on the high strings. Among the fortuitous surprises are a savory "A Sleepin' Bee" and an uncharacteristically slow, oblique interpretation of "I'll Remember April." And then there's that catchy original, "Graham Avenue Stroll," with its cowboy rhythm riff and buoyant feel, heightened by the bright tandem solos that take it out.
Harry Allen and Joe Cohn have been co-leading their quartet for over five years. It's become a finely tuned engine of swing, propelled on the nuanced yet piston-pumping perfect swing of drummer Chuck Riggs, with bassist Joel Forbes. On the quartet's last Arbors CD, Music from Guys and Dolls, they were joined by a pair of vocalists. Here that quartet is augmented by trombonist John Allred and (on three of the ten tracks) by tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton.
Hamilton joins in on the opener, "Moten Swing," a Kansas City swing staple derived from "You're Driving Me Crazy," with inspired solos all around. The title track, an Allen original, is another tune in the same vein, with similarly exhilarating solos from the core quintet's front line. Allen contributes three other snappy originals in a rhythmic jump mode reminiscent of the work of Buck Clayton and Al Cohn. Trombonist Allred and Allen develop a nice balance between mutual admiration and friendly competition in their solos and trades throughout, with guitarist Cohn often offering a contrasting approach in his singular solos.
Over the last decade or so, both Allen and Hamilton have developed more heft in their tenor sax tones, much as Al Cohn did later in his career. That heft brings a muscular romanticism to their one ballad collaboration, "My Old Flame," a piece on which they further emphasize their stylistic kinship by dividing their improvised solos into alternating eight-bar segments. The two also have great fun with the jaunty, old-time beat of "I Would Do Most Anything For You," making it a highlight of this highly enjoyable, swinging affair.
Bucky & John Pizzarelli hold forth at Birdland on February 12-16. Harry Allen and Joe Cohn headline at Kitano on February 15-16.
SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL BLAIR AND GEORGE KANzlerROBERTA GAMBARINI
BLUE NOTE/FEBRUARY 2
Lots of younger jazz singers pay lip service to Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, but Roberta Gambarini - who placed a surprising third in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition in 1998, shortly after arriving from Italy - sings firmly in the tradition established by them. Gambarini's clear, full voice engages songs with a musicality akin to Ella's, yet her approach often suggests Sarah's bebop adventurousness. And there's joyous brio in her no-net scat acrobatics. Just check out her remarkable duet with James Moody on her Easy to Love debut CD. This gig as part of a salute to Italian Women in Jazz. GKMARK O'CONNOR
DIZZY'S/FEBRUARY 19-24
A fiddle contest winner even as a teenager, O'Connor first made his rep in the bluegrass and country spheres, guesting on literally hundreds of albums by all those big Nashville stars. Then he backed out of session work in favor of collaborations with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Wynton Marsalis and others. Happily, he's never outgrown his early taste for gypsy jazz. The 2005 release of his Hot Swing Trio Live in New York (Omac) fairly sizzles with virtuosity put to great use. With him for this extended J@LC engagement will be guitarists Frank Vignola and Julian Lage and bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, along with guest vocalist Jane Monheit. PBTOM DEMPSEY & TIM FERGUSON
CORNELIA STREET CAFÉ/FEBRUARY 10
A guitar-bass duo is as intimate as any jazz band can get: two musicians literally cradling their instruments close to the chest and sharing those vibrations with listeners. If you've enjoyed recordings by, say, Jim Hall and Ron Carter or Gene Bertoncini and Michael Moore, you'll love the interplay apparent throughout What's Going On? (City Hall), the new Dempsey-Ferguson disc being heralded on Cornelia Street Café. The choice of tunes also satisfies - among them, a Strayhorn, a Barry Harris, a Mal Waldron, a Thad Jones and a Charlie Haden, along with two originals by guitarist Dempsey and one by bassist Ferguson. PBTAJ MAHAL
BROOKLYN CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC/ FEBRUARY 9
Though he's traveled the world, Harlem's his birthplace. We know this Grammy-winning singer-guitarist as a one-man repository of musical traditions, with recordings over four decades celebrating blues, R&B, gospel, Caribbean, Cajun, African pop and even roots Hawaiian. Jazz, too, is close to his heart. One reason this Black History Month concert sounds especially promising is the assortment of accompanists he's bringing with him: Howard Johnson, Bob Stewart, Joe Daley and Earl McIntyre, Buddy Williams, Earl Gardner, Victor See Yuen, John diMartino, Ron Jackson and Jerome Harris. PBJESSE ELDER
BARGEMUSIC/FEBRUARY 21
You can't yet buy an Elder CD (though several pleasing 2005 tracks are available for download through www.myspace.com/jesseelder). He's working hard around town these days - playing solo piano on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings at Destino; leading a quintet at New York Presbyterian Hospital's Garden Café during Thursday lunches; and appearing Saturdays at Roth's Steakhouse. We predict even greater prominence for Jesse, especially given his conspicuous talents as composer and arranger. With him at BargeMusic: Tatum Greenblatt (trumpet), Jeremy Viner (tenor), Chris Tordini (bass) and Adam Jackson (drums). PBDAVID “FATHEAD” NEWMAN
TRIBECA PAC/MARCH 13
His most celebrated association was his decade-long tenure with the early Ray Charles band, but he also has the unique distinction of once having played in the same sax section with fellow Texan Ornette Coleman early in their careers. Newman's robust tenor and distinctive alto styles straddle the mainstream/modern spectrum, and he has a personal sound on flute as well. At this Highlights in Jazz tribute to Freddy Cole, he'll get a chance to square off with tenor saxophonist Houston Person, another featured guest. Also on hand will be trumpeter Lew Soloff and singer Cynthia Scott. GKFAB TRIO
SWEET RHYTHM/FEBRUARY 8 AND 9
Bassist Joe Fonda, the "F" in this acronymic trio, has mixed it up with avant-garders like Anthony Braxton and Wadada Leo Smith. We remember drummer Barry Altschul best for his recordings with Ray Anderson, Mark Helias and John Surman. Billy Bang, meanwhile, has been among the most notable of jazz violinists ever since his collaborations with Frank Lowe, Michele Rosewo-man and Ahmed Abdullah. If these names are familiar, you'll find much to enjoy during the two evenings when this occasional trio again hooks up in the Village. Transforming the Space, the title of their CIMP CD, perfectly describes what they do to any venue in which they work. PBRODRIGUEZ BROTHERS
JAZZ STANDARD/FEBRUARY 26 AND 27
Although each of these young brothers - pianist Robert and trumpeter Michael - has already assembled an impressive professional résumé, their debut album together, Conversations (Savant), is by itself reason enough to draw throngs into the Standard for these two nights. While there's definitely some Latin seasoning sprinkled judiciously throughout, we'd rather peg them as talented post-boppers. Proceedings open with a driving uptempo original called "Rowdy Rod," which they'll hopefully feature once per evening. With them will be Carlos Hernandez playing bass and Clarence Penn on drums. PBGRUPO LOS SANTOS
BARBES/FEBRUARY 8
Into this too-cozy Park Slope spot comes an instrumental quartet whose unofficial fifth member is dancer Max Pollak, a "rumba tapper" who supplies extra percussion for two tracks on Lo Que Somos Lo Que Sea, a Deep Tone CD that appeared on several music writers' Best-of-2007 lists. How best to characterize this music? It's ten reflections of primarily Cuban song traditions, reconfigured for tenor saxophone (Paul Carlon), guitar (Pete Smith), bass (David Ambrosio) and percussion (William "Beaver" Bausch). To say that these fellows cast a peculiar spell isn't all that far off the mark. And to term what they do "accessible" is anything but demeaning. PBED SIMON
VILLAGE VANGUARD/FEBRUARY 7-12
A native of Venezuela, pianist Edward Simon studied both classical music and jazz in the United States. He's combined those influences with the musical traditions of Venezuela to forge a jazz style that is more reliant on mood and structural development than overt technical virtuosity. A fairly long tenure in the band of Terence Blanchard, whose music builds slow resonant narratives, has helped form his vision. As he says on his website: "Being present in the moment is the objective... The more present you are, the more detail you find." Joining him for this gig will be bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade. GK
JAZZ IN JERSEY BY FRED McINTOSHJOHN RICHMOND
CECIL'S/FEB. 1 AND 2 / TURNING POINT CAFE/FEB. 11, 18 AND 25
Happily, Richmond - formerly a middleweight boxer - is back on the scene, playing saxophones, clarinet and flute. John's tenor sound is muscular and his approach on soprano equally commanding. If you're fond of hearing improvisation on classic numbers like Coltrane's "Giant Steps" and Tadd Dameron's "Soultrane," you’ll find John’s tune selections exquisite. He admits to a special fondness for Bird, Rollins, Joe Henderson and Sonny Fortune. A veteran of work with Mulgrew Miller, Lewis Nash, Ray Drummond, Junior Cook and Mike Longo, his classy group at Cecil's includes pianist Michael Cochrane, bassist Chip Jackson bass and drummer Steve Johns. Look for a new Richmond CD later this year.BENNY GREEN with Monterey Jazz Festival Band
COMMUNITY THEATRE/FEB. 21 / MCCARTER THEATRE/FEB. 22
Bassist Ray Brown loved this pianist's work and recorded frequently with him. A vet of bands headed by Art Blakey and Betty Carter, Green comes to Princeton this month toward the tail end of a 54-stop tour through 22 states as musical director with an all-star quintet that also includes trumpeter Terence Blanchard, saxophonist-flautist James Moody, bassist Derrick Hodge and drummer Kendrick Scott. Together with singer Nnenna Freelon, they constitute the Monterey Jazz Festival Band, specially assembled to mark that event's fiftieth anniversary. Some of Green's best recent work has teamed him on record with guitarist Russell Malone. Eloquent and focused, he's squarely within the Waller-Tatum-Garner-Jones-Flanagan keyboard tradition.HAL GALPER
WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY/FEB. 17
Want to participate in a live recording? Hie thee to WPU's Shea Center, where pianist Galper will cut a new one in the company of bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Rashied Ali. Galper studied with Jaki Byard and has recorded with Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Sam Rivers, Tony Williams and the Breckers. Most of us know him best as the result of three years with Cannonball Adderley and then a full decade as part of a crack Phil Woods quintet. The most recent release under his own name is Agents of Change (Fabiola). But his Maybeck solo album, dating from 1990, remains one of our favorites.JERRY VEZZA
SHANGHAI JAZZ/FEB. 1
This pianist, well known in New Jersey jazz circles, acknowledges the formative influence of his saxophonist father, as well as fellow pianists Mike Melillo, Wayne Smith and Mike Nock. He's also spent profitable time playing in groups led by guitarist Harry Leahy. With him at this Madison venue will be bassist Rick Crane and drummer Tom Sayek. These three, together with vocalist Frank Noviello, can be heard on an extremely pleasurable recent CD called You Are There (BridgePin Records). And by the way, Shanghai Jazz is one of the few jazz area clubs that regularly wins praise for its food as well as its music.
SLIDING HOME: WYCLIFFE GORDON by George Kanzler
Of all the jazz musicians who've begun in and emerged from the orbit of Wynton Marsalis, none has impressed more than trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. Alone among Marsalis' associates, Gordon has won both critics and fans polls as tops on his instrument (the latest victory just this month in the Jazz Times Readers Poll). And just as impressive as his popularity is his versatility. Not only has he recorded and performed with Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, but also with ensembles as different as the Sidney Bechet Society All-Star Band and the Herbie Nichols Project, the Gully Low Jazz Band and Randy Sandke's Metatonal Big Band, in a duo with pianist Eric Reed and with the Brass Band of Battle Creek. What's more, his compositions range from gospel numbers to blues, a silent film score for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to a suite for brass band honoring Muhammad Ali.
Gordon considers himself a member of a close musical fraternity. "As trombonists," he says, "we get to work together since the instrument lends itself to playing parts in a section, so we all know how to play charts. But at the same time, the trombone is very individual, with the widest range of voices of any instrument, so there are many of schools of thought and approaches to it." Which is why, he says, trombonists enjoy playing together.
"I like to explore all the possibilities, the complete voice of the trombone, everything from New Orleans to bebop and avant-garde, from Jack Teagarden to J.J. Johnson, Vic Dickenson to Frank Rosolino to Albert Mangelsdorff."
Born in Waynesboro, Georgia, in 1967, Gordon first became enamored of the trombone at twelve when his older brother brought home an instrument he was playing in his junior high school band in Augusta. Until that time, most of Gordon's exposure to music had involved gospel songs he heard in church and the classical piano his father played at home. Shortly after young Wycliffe took up the trombone, his family inherited a record collection from his mother's aunt that included an anthology of jazz from "field hollers to Dizzy Gillespie." Gordon's first exposure to jazz kindled his passion for the music.
Besides trombone, Gordon plays other brass instruments, most notably the tuba/euphonium, as well as the wooden Australian didgeridoo. But the instrument he's favoring most these days besides trombone is voice. He sees the two - trombone and voice - as complementary.
"I try to make my [trombone] playing an extension of my voice," he says. "I try to be creative in the way I speak or sing and then attempt to imitate that on my horn. If I had to pick someone who influenced me most, it would be Louis Armstrong because the only difference between his trumpet and his voice was that the octave he played in was different than the one he sang in. But one is a clear depiction of the other. Actually, it's one of the better ways to approach the trombone, since it's so close to the human voice, in terms of colors and tones, anyway."
Mutes, especially the plunger mute (literally a plumber's plunger), further expand the vocalizing possibilities of the trombone, and Gordon is one of the few younger trombonists today recognized as a master of mutes. But he's also been experimenting with other vocalizing techniques. "I've tried to incorporate some multi-phonics in my playing," he says, "but rather than just voicing two notes together in harmony, I recorded 'Mood Indigo' 'singing' the melody and a bass line through the trombone at the same time. It was a little different from the usual multi-phonics of players like Mangelsdorff, an attempt to take it to another level."
That "Mood Indigo" can be heard on This Rhythm On My Mind, which pairs Gordon with bassist-singer Jay Leonhart for the first release on Gordon's new, self-owned label, Bluesback Records. Gordon and Leonhart make a bit of an odd couple. The trombonist's nickname is "Pinecone," a sobriquet indicative of his deep Georgia roots and supposed "country" ways. By contrast, Leonhart is a suave urbane sophisticate who writes songs that could be well be published as stories in The New Yorker. Yet they mix and match songs (Gordon contributes four), vocals, scat and instrumental solos on what is primarily a duo record and, according to Gordon, a quantum step forward in his aspirations as a songwriter and singer.
Gordon doesn't confine himself to just to playing and composing. He's also a well-regarded jazz educator with a position at Julliard who's also authored a book on trombone technique. At the moment, he's also eager to document other of his musical projects through publishing and/or recording. Meanwhile, he continues to be much in demand as a leader, soloist and sideman.
Wycliffe Gordon heads up a group at Columbia University's Miller Theater on February 2. Among his band members will be Jeremy Pelt, Cyrus Chestnut and Rodney Green.
STEPS FURTHER AHEAD: MIKE MAINIERI by Paul Blair
How many players still on the scene today can boast of past musical associations with erstwhile "King of Jazz" Paul Whiteman? Well, vibraphonist Mike Mainieri's one of them. At fourteen, he was leading his own trio and actually touring with the Whitman orchestra. A couple of years later, he appeared at Birdland in a smaller band that Buddy Rich had at the time. Along the way, there were also chances to perform with the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie and Wes Montgomery. At one point, he gigged with Jeremy Steig's Satyrs group at Café a Go Go in the Village. Outside the jazz fold, he's recorded with or produced albums for Paul Simon, Carly Simon, George Benson, Andy Summers, Linda Ronstadt, Aerosmith, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Dire Staits, and Bonnie Raitt. He's always open to new possibilities, too. Last month, for instance, he was one-third of a trio (with Lonnie Plaxico and Andrew Cyrille) playing as poets Robert Pinski and Charles Simic read at the Jazz Standard.
Of far greater interest to Hot House readers, though, is Mainieri's role as founder and leader of the popular jazz-fusion group called Steps Ahead, which came first came together in 1979. Among its members since then have been saxophonists Michael Brecker and Bob Berg; guitarists Mike Stern and Chuck Loeb; keyboard players Don Grolnick, Eliane Elias, Rachel Z, Warren Bernhardt and Joey Calderazzo; bassists Eddie Gomez, Darryl Jones, Marc Johnson, Scott Colley and Victor Bailey; and drummers Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, Steve Smith and Tain Watts. Steps Ahead has always been an occasional ensemble, coming together for club appearances, tours and recording projects but also allowing its busy members time away for work elsewhere.
The most recent Steps Ahead CD is the one entitled Holding Together, issued in 2005 but really recorded six years earlier. And the label? It's on NYC Records, which Mainieri himself launched some years ago. The Steps Ahead edition appearing at Iridium this month is a quintet: the leader's vibes, Mike Stern on guitar (but with young phenom Bryan Baker subbing on one evening), Tony Levin playing bass and Steve Smith handling percussion duties. It's primarily a group of old friends, says Manieri, making new music together.
"Steve Smith's been on the scene for years, playing with people like Dave Liebman, Steve Marcus and George Garzone, and leading the group called Vital Information. He made loads of money as a member of Journey, then quit and returned to his jazz roots. Tony Levin I've known since the years when we lived up in the Woodstock area together in the late 60s and early 70s. In fact, I recall meeting him for the first time at the same recording sesssion where I also first heard Steve Gadd. They'd been part of a Gap Mangione trio playing up in Rochester that came down to New York to cut a record. Since then, he's been with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson and other high-profile groups. Stern? Well, we both used to hang out at Seventh Avenue South, the downtown club that the Breckers used to run. I got to know him well during the period when he was with Miles, since that band and ours often played opposite one another. And Donnie McCaslin? A great improvisor whose sound and approach fit perfectly into what we do."
To hear and see a relatively non-electronic version of Steps Ahead in action, simply type the band's name into the YouTube website's main page (where at least a dozen videos of the group's performances are listed) and choose the version of the tune "Pools" played in 1983 at some unnamed Copenhagen concert hall. In addition to Mainieri, the one constant over the decades, this particular edition included Brecker, Elias, Gomez and Erskine - each looking awfully young. (Nose around a bit more within YouTube and you'll find the very same tune played with a four-saxophone front line: Brecker, Stanley Turrentine, Ernie Watts and Bill Evans!)
How did Steps Ahead come together in the first place? "Well," recalls the vibist, "at one point around 1977, I was leading both an acoustic jazz group and a more electronic band. We played fairly regularly down at Seventh Avenue South. A Japanese record producer who heard us arranged for a tour in Japan. The result was three LPs recorded there: two in the studio and another live album called Smokin' in the Pit that went gold in Japan, even though no one in the U.S. had ever heard of us. And the group name? We couldn't call ourselves the Mike Mainieri quintet since I was already under contract to Warner Bros., so we settled on 'Steps' - until some lounge music outfit down in North Carolina notified us that they'd already trademarked that name. At first, they offered to sell us the name for about two thousand dollars. But just as soon as they learned that the famous Michael Brecker was among our members, that price began to rise. To save a bit of money, we just added the second word. Easy as that."
Mike Mainieri's current Steps Ahead ensemble plays at Iridium for four nights: February 7-10.
JAZZWOMEN! BY ELZY KOLBBureau of reclamation
Guitarist Lily Maase's compositions "come full circle" when she plays solo versions of music she wrote for her quintet the Suite Unraveling. "I start off writing on solo guitar, then expand the pieces for the quintet," she explains. After playing the tunes with the Suite Unraveling for a while and hearing their interpretations, "I take their contributions and compress them, and reclaim the music for my solo repertoire." Lily started playing guitar when she was 7; her father, jazz guitarist Steve Maase of Albuquerque, was her first teacher. "I was so fortunate to have a jazz guitarist in the house, it never occurred to me not to play," she says. "I really knew guitar was for me when Guns 'n' Roses happened in the '80s and '90s. After I heard Slash, I threw myself into guitar, and knew it was the only thing in life that made sense." Lily began playing professionally as a teen. "When I went to college, I viewed it as a trade school," says the graduate of the Jazz Studies program at the University of North Texas. Though Guns 'n' Roses was an early inspiration, "What I play is very pastoral in nature, very immersive. It's not just about a band presenting music. It's also about presenting an experience. Wherever that ends up taking us is OK." Lily plays solo versions of tunes from the Suite Unraveling's new CD, Unbind (Addtract), at the Bowery Poetry Club on Feb. 27.Finding a way
Baritone saxophonist Carol Sudhalter is nothing if not solution-oriented. She founded the Astoria Big Band in 1985, "simply because I was traveling over too many bridges to play in big bands," she says. "I also thought that Queens could use a big band that was more contemporary than those that were around at that time." Decades ago, Carol also got involved in introducing free jazz concerts in public parks throughout the borough. "It was a pioneering thing, done on a shoestring with tiny grants. Sometimes we even had to bring the chairs ourselves." Carol recalls that once during the early days a basketball hit her on the head in mid-tune, courtesy of guys shooting hoops on an adjacent court. Times have changed since then: Carol recently received a major grant to present three large ensemble concerts of jazz compositions by women who have lived in Queens, including keyboardists Emme Kemp and Sarah McLawler. Carol shies away from using the term "big band." She explains, "If you say 'big band,' everyone expects Glenn Miller. Then they start stomping up to the stage in the middle of the concert, asking why we won't play 'In the Mood.' I love those old tunes, but we have our own music that needs to be played." Carol's next goal is finding "some way of regularly introducing Italian jazz artists I've played with in Italy to New York audiences." She'd like to find a venue in which to play with the likes of Vito Di Modugno, "an incredible Hammond organ player," and pianist Carlo Barile, whom Carol describes as "brilliant, a second Oscar Peterson." Carol will be at Trumpets with Italian vocalist Elena Camerin on Feb. 3, as well as at Iridium on Feb. 24, in the Shirley Stewart Farmer benefit for the NAACP.Catch 'em live
Flutist Jan Leder plays brunch at Rudy's Beau Rivage in Dobbs Ferry every Sunday … Maria Guida sings at the Duplex on Feb. 1 … Barbara Merjan plays drums with Bipolar at the Metropolitan Room on Feb. 1, and Feb. 8-9 … Freebie alert: Vocalist Louise Rogers celebrates the release of Come Ready and See Me (Rilo) at Barnes and Noble at 66th and Broadway on Feb. 2 … Melissa Stylianou sings at Jazz Vespers at St. Peter's on Feb. 3, and with her quartet at Kitano on Feb. 6 … Vocalist Aria Hendricks joins David Berger and the Sultans of Swing at Birdland on Feb. 5 and Feb. 19 … Cynthia Sayer plays banjo on her self-produced CD Attractions and at the Knickerbocker on Feb. 8-9 … Flutist/vocalist Ragan Whiteside makes a smooth and romantic debut on Class Axe (Randis); check her out at Trumpets on Feb. 8 … Keyboardist/vocalist Mala Waldron plays the Arts Exchange in White Plains on Feb. 9 … Celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Highlights in Jazz series with Jane Monheit at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center on Feb. 14 … Ernestine Anderson sings at Iridium on Feb. 14-17 … You usually have to travel to Portland, Ore., to hear singer Nancy King, so give her a New York welcome when she appears at J@LC's Allen Room with Kurt Elling on Feb. 15-16 … Catch vocalist Carla Cook at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center on Feb. 15-16 … Look for bari saxophonist Claire Daly on two new recordings: Scaribari with her band Two Sisters Inc. (Baritunes), as well as Speak, Spake, Spoke (Leaping Dog) from spoken word artist Kirpal Gordon. Two Sisters Inc., appears at Jimmy's 43 on Feb. 17. Claire describes the band as "two baris, one mind, and a bass. We are neither two, nor sisters, but we have big low-note pleasure" … Vocalist Catherine Russell and a great band swing it old school on Sentimental Streak (World Village). She celebrates with a CD release party at Joe's Pub on Feb. 27 … Tricia Woods plays piano at BargeMusic in Brooklyn on Feb. 28.
Congrats to …
Jazz legend Marian McPartland, who was recently elected to the National Radio Hall of Fame for nearly three decades of hosting Piano Jazz on NPR … Lorraine Gordon, for receiving the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for her book, Alive at the Village Vanguard: My Life In and Out of Jazz Time, published by Hal Leonard.
Stop, look, listen
Check out more than an hour of pianist Mary Lou Williams on Jazz Walk: Walkin' and Swingin' at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Web site: http://www.jalc.org/jazzED/index.html … Vocalist Sarah Vaughan demonstrates why "Divine" was practically a legal part of her name, on the newly released DVD Live in '58 and '64, part of Naxos' aptly titled Jazz Icons series … Speaking of jazz icons, pianist Carla Bley has a new CD, The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu (ECM) … Saxophonist Sweet Sue Terry leads a great band, including trumpeter Clark Terry, on her newly released Bandleader 101, available only by download from sueterry.net or from iTunes.com … The Brooklyn Underground Volume 2 (BJU) features work by Tanya Kalmanovitch, Anne Mette Iverson and more … Check out pianist Miki Hayama's Prelude to a Kiss (@jazz) … 3 Cohens, including saxophonist/clarinetist Anat, have released Braid (Anzic).
Spotlight on singers
Jacintha Goes to Hollywood (Groove Note) … With strings, voices, a full orchestra and part of the proceeds going to charity, Sandy Kastel makes a big production of This Time Around (Silk and Satin) … Piano giants Ellington, Strayhorn and Abdullah Ibrahim accompany Sathima Bea Benjamin on her newly released A Morning in Paris (Ekapa) … Melanie L. Skybell is Just a Chase Away (self-produced) … Kendra Ross is a strong New Voice (Lola's Child) … Luciana Souza guests on the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet's Brazil (Telarc).
HOT FLASHES BY PAUL BLAIRWITH A BLACK HISTORY MONTH FOCUS
The Jazz Museum in Harlem's February schedule is an especially full one. It includes "Jazz For Curious Listeners" programs at Harlem School for the Arts on Feb. 5, 12, 19 and 26; a "Jazz For Curious Readers" session at the 115th St. Public Library Branch; two "Harlem Speaks" seminars (with Cedar Walton speaking on Feb. 7 and Ron Blake on Feb. 21); two still-being-planned events at Macy's (their Brooklyn outpost on Feb. 16 and their midtown flagship on Feb. 21); and a Harlem-in-the-Himalayas concert at the Rubin Museum on Feb. 22, with pianist Geoff Keezer as featured artist. All except the Rubin event are no-charge. www.jazzmuseuminharlem.org for details.
A BOUQUET OF ATTRACTIONS
Canadian saxophonist Peter Van Huffel leads a quartet at the 55 Bar on Feb. 1 - and a quintet at Brooklyn's Tea Lounge on Feb. 13 … Trumpeter Jed Feuer heads up a quintet called Bipolar at the Metropolitan Room on Feb. 1 and Feb. 8-9 … Israeli pianist Omer Klein's music reflects Middle Eastern and North African influences, as he'll demonstrate at Joe's Pub on Feb. 2 (Tim Berne's group Bloodcount plays the same venue the following evening at 7:30 PM) ... It's trombonists shaking it up at Dizzy's this month, with a pair of them - Vincent Chandler and Luis Bonilla - going head to head on Feb. 2 (no-charge sets at 12:30 and 2:30 PM); and then Chris Washburne as part of a mostly-Scandinavian quintet called NYNDK on Feb. 4 … Reedman extraordinaire Dan Levinson will be featured on clarinet in our area three times this month: at the Groundhog Jam in Morristown, NJ on Feb. 4; with Stan Rubin's big band for a Goodman-Shaw tribute at the Carnegie Club on Feb. 5; and with a smaller Rubin group at Charlie O's Times Square Grill on Feb. 11 … Vibraphonist Mark Sherman welcomes trumpet guy Joe Magnarelli as guest for Feb. 4 sets at the Turning Point Café in Piermont … Canadian bassist Lisle Ellis also plays locally with two groups this month: a trio with pianist Angelica Sanchez on Feb. 5 - and a different trio featuring saxist Patrick Brennan on Feb. 16. The venue for each is the Living Theater on Clinton St. in the Lower East Side … The well-known Quest quartet (Dave Liebman, Richie Beirach, Ron McClure and Billy Hart) reunites at Birdland on Feb. 6-9 ... Attractions at All Things Gallery on Bleecker this month include saxist Greg Tardy on Feb. 8 and trombonist Alan Ferber's nonet on Feb. 22 … Highlights this month at Kitano include Dena DeRose (Feb. 8-9), Hal Galper (Feb. 13) and baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan (Feb. 29-Mar. 1) … Pianist-composer Mike Holober, whose arrangements we've admired on past recordings, leads the Gotham Jazz Orchestra at the Jazz Standard on Feb. 11 … Singer Carolyn Leonhart and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery celebrate Valentine's Day together at Smoke on Feb. 14-16 … If you relish curiously-named groups, how about the one calling itself Mostly Others Do The Killing? This foursome's new CD (curiously entitled Shamokin!!!) is definitely a winner, and they'll play through it at Cornelia Street Café on Feb. 24 … Alto marvel Vincent Herring leads a quartet on the afternoon of Feb. 24 at William Patterson University … And if you've enjoyed percussionist Adam Rudolph's outstanding new Justin Time release called Moving Pictures, you'll surely want to catch his ensemble at Roulette on Feb. 29.
ISLAND-HOPPING
Instead of flying off to some exotic Caribbean destination this month, consider Long Island, which will be home to a February 8-March 9 event called the Long Island Culture & Wine Winterfest. Of special interest is a series of jazz performances and wine tastings held each weekend at area vineyards and wineries. Among the artists being featured are Teddy Charles leading a quartet on Feb. 23; and David Amram heading up a quartet of his own on Mar. 1. Visit www.liwinterfest.com for a full schedule listing musicians, venues and special accommodation deals. It appears that all the jazz concerts are free, except for the Feb 8 kick-off gala featuring Papo Vazquez and his Pirate Troubadours Band. No need to pack bathing suits, we'd guess.
GOING INSTITUTIONAL
The Belarusian Church (401 Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn) is the site for a whole evening of adventuresome jazz on Feb. 9, with a bill that includes both Dafnis Prieto's and Daniel Kelly's quartets, along with a duo pairing Michel Gentile and Tony Romano. Phone 718-369-6931 for more info on this Brooklyn Music Wide Open presentation … The ParlorJazz Series, which welcomes listeners into a Fort Greene brownstone for Sunday programs, marks its sixth anniversary on Feb. 16 with pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs' trio (reservations: 718-855-1981) … And we can't forget the ongoing jazz ministry at Saint Peter's Church and its Feb. 24. event called "To Prez With Love: Celebrating Billie Holiday." It includes a 3:00 PM panel discussion, the regular Jazz Vespers service at 5:00 PM, and then a succession of three different groups all celebrating the Lady Day legacy.
FRESH MUSIC
We're particularly excited at the prospect of hearing a pair of up-and-comers at the Jazz Gallery this month. Armenian pianist Tigram Hamasyan plays on Feb. 7 His 2006 CD World Passion is a delight; downloadable tracks and a video are available at www.tigranhamasyan.am. He's followed the next evening by trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, winner of the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Although young Ambrose hasn't yet released anything under his own name, he's already been heard on albums under Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer and Josh Roseman. Go to www.ambroseakinmusire.com and catch a bit of him. By the way, he'll also be part of saxophonist Ben Van Gelder's quartet at the Gallery on Feb. 21. (Roseman plays the venue himself on Feb 15.)