winning spins by George Kanzler

Prodigy or late bloomer? Which is the better way in the jazz world today? In this Spins, we have a 19 year old pianist, Eldar Djangirov, with his second album (recorded live when he was still 18) and the debut album by a pianist, Danny Grissett, who's 31.
Eldar (like a Brazilian World Cup Star, he drops the last name) obviously has it better off economically. He records for a major label and has appeared at some of the most prestigious jazz clubs and stages (Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center) and broadcast venues (Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards show) in the country. A true prodigy, he came to this country from his native Kyrgyzstan in 1998 and was already winning prizes and competitions while still in his early teens.
A classic late bloomer, Grissett didn't even become interested in jazz until he was a sophomore at Cal State, earning a music education degree before doing graduate work in Charlie Haden's jazz program at Cal Arts in Los Angeles while simultaneously enrolled at the Thelonious Monk Institute. In L.A., he honed his chops working in a weekend trio, with invited guests, under the leadership of veteran bassist John Heard, enabling him to play behind some of the West Coast's best horn men. Three years ago, Grissett moved to the Big Apple and has gigged regularly with Vincent Herring, Vanessa Rubin and, most recently, in trumpeter Nicholas Payton's quartet. He debuts as a leader courtesy of GerryTeekins, that intrepid Dutch chronicler of jazz talent neglected by American labels.
Daily Living: Eldar - Live at the Blue Note (Sony Classical), is a slam-bang impressive CD, full of pianistic fireworks from Eldar. But all those press quotes comparing him to Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson tell us less about Eldar than about those quote-writers' lack of in-depth knowledge of jazz piano. Just because he has fleet fingers and plays with bravura technique doesn't make Eldar a Tatum. Eldar doesn't have Tatum's imaginative take on - or his omnivorous approach to - harmony. When Eldar's doing the centipede-fingers thing, he actually sounds more like two of Tatum's followers: Billy Taylor and Dorothy Donegan.
The opening trio (with bassist Marco Panascia and drummer Todd Strait) version of Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?" especially recalls Donegan, with its crossing hands, big chordal flourishes, Errol Garner-isms and tropical Afro-Latin coda. But on his own "Someday" and "Daily Living" Eldar reveals the heavy influence of McCoy Tyner in the way he builds his solos with roiling left-hand chords in increasingly dynamic waves. And when he does a solo version of "Take the A Train," its evocations of stride style sound more like McCoy's forays into stride than any classic or neo-swing stride pianist.
Eldar is obviously still finding his own style; as well he should be at 19, while borrowing from many jazz sources and, on some of his ballads, semi-classical romanticism. But he's also a good team player with his two guests, sticking to a pared down romanticism accompanying trumpeter Chris Botti, and soloing in turn, on "You Don't Know What Love Is," and getting down with trumpeter Roy Hargrove - solos and then exchanges closing from 8 bars to single bars - on a muscular "Straight, No Chaser."
Danny Grissett's Promise (Criss Cross Jazz), may be less exciting than Eldar's CD, but it's more satisfying. Rather than waiting for the next pyrotechnic display, as from Eldar, with Grissett we're carried along by the deft, narrative approach and a lean jazz lyricism. Grissett practices piano trio jazz, not piano-led trio jazz. Bassist Vincente Archer and, even more, drummer Kendrick Scott, contribute enormously to the captivating ensemble flow of the album.
And while Eldar may dazzle with his swinging, stomping "What Is This Thing Called Love?" he misses the nuances of Cole Porter's song. Grissett, who's quoted in the liner notes as saying he likes to know, and articulate instrumentally, the lyrics to ballads, brings a lovely soft glow to "Autumn Nocturne" and a gentle, evocative hope to "You Must Believe in Spring." Grissett writes memorable originals too, ones that challenge conventions with odd bar lengths or contrasting time signatures. "On the Edge" moves in and out of 3/4 and 4/4, while "Where Do We Go From Here?" is in 13/4, without sounding a bit contrived.
So Grissett's Promise fulfills its title affirmatively. It's an album that can be returned to again and again, rewarding the listener with new layers of enjoyment. The late bloomer has become a master. Eldar's Daily Living, although impressive, has less staying power. It's the work of a prodigy still pursuing his jazz identity.

Eldar stars at the Blue Note on July 5-9. Danny Grissett's trio (with bassist Dwayne Burno and drummer Kendrick Scott) plays the Jazz Gallery on July 29.


SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL BLAIR AND GEORGE KANzler

TERELL STAFFORD
VILLAGE VANGUARD/JULY 4-9
Trumpeter Stafford first drew attention as a member of Bobby Watson's Horizon hard bop band. He's since become a versatile contributor to the Big Apple jazz scene, with big bands (including Lincoln Center's and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars) and a variety of small groups - including Matt Wilson's idiosyncratic Arts and Crafts Quartet, in which he's the only horn. This gig finds him in an especially strong group of like-minded, individualistic players, from leader Steve Wilson on saxes and muscular, two-fisted pianist Bruce Barth, to the dynamic rhythm team of bassist Ed Howard and drummer Adam Cruz. GK

OMER AVITAL
DIZZY'S/JULY 11-16
Avital - a bassist - is just one part of the impressive lineup slated during a Latin Festival that stretches through month's end at Dizzy's. During these six nights, he'll be joined on the stand by vocalist Claudia Acuρa, pianist Jason Lindner, guitarist Juancho Herrera and drummer El Satoshi. (Artists for succeeding weeks are posted at www.jalc.org/dccc). Avital's been a familiar face on the downtown scene for awhile, with work at Smalls and Fat Cat. His skills as both bassist soloist and arranger for a group including four saxophonists are best displayed on a 2006 CD called Asking No Permission, issued on the Smalls inhouse label. PB

STEVEN BERNSTEIN
RUBIN MUSEUM/JULY 21
Bernstein's autobiography will make fascinating reading, if he ever gets around to writing it. He's been the Lounge Lizards' musical director; a Sex Mob instigator; the arranger of sountrack music for films like "Get Shorty" and Robert Altman's "Kansas City;" a prime mover in the Radical Jewish Culture series of CDs on the Tzadik label (including three provocative discs under his own name); a sideman on sessions for Bootsy Collins, Aretha Franklin and Mel Torme; and one of the world's most highly visible slide trumpeters. Who knows what he has in mind for this concert (part of the museum's "Harlem in the Himalyas" series). Nothing conventional, to be sure! PB

MICHAEL COCHRANE
KITANO/JULY 19
If you're unfamiliar with pianist Cochrane's work, it's perhaps because he's done most of his recordings as leader for smaller European labels like Black Saint, Soul Note and Steeplechase. Some of those have been trio efforts, while others have included New York talented hornmen like Tom Harrell and Bob Malach. Kitano's mezzanine-level jazz venue, though, provides an ideal setting for him and his current quartet, which also includes David Alan Gross (alto), Marcus McLaurine (bass) and Alan Nelson (drums). They call their group Lines of Reason - and it's the same quartet you'll hear if you pick up Cochrane's latest, Comfort Zone. PB

PETER BRAININ
SWEET RHYTHM/JULY 6
Apria is another of those smaller independent labels documenting groups worthy of attention. And here's one such ensemble - a quartet called Native Soul. It's saxophonist Brainin, pianist Noah Haidu, bassist Marcus McLaurine and drummer Steve Johns. A party heralding the release of their new disc Rough Jazz brings them to Sweet Rhythm. Brainin and Johns are collaborators of long standing, having already recorded for other specialist labels like Playscape (No Saints No Sinners) and Cat's Paw (Ceremony). You may also have heard Peter at other spots around town - for example, at the Blue Note with Manny Duran's Afrobop ensemble. PB

ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE
NEW YORK BAHA'I CENTER/JULY 11
She grew up in Newark, graduated from Seton Hall, worked in the gospel field for a time and then turned her attention to jazz. Ms Montague says she learned a lot from singers like Etta Jones, Della Griffin and Carrie Smith. She's also toured overseas under U.S. Government sponsorship as a Jazz Ambassador; been active in the group called International Women of Jazz; and undertaken regional TV and theater projects. Backing her will be pianist Mike Longo's trio. Look for her forthcoming Pretty Blues CD as well, on which she enjoys musical support from Bill Easley and Mulgrew Miller, among others. PB

YORON ISRAEL
IRIDIUM/JULY 13-16
Drummer Israel knows how to complement any jazz situation, from big band to trio, singer to Afro-Latin ensemble. He's played for Joe Lovano and had Joe return the favor as sideman on an Israel quartet album. He's one of those rare drummers who can be assertive without being boisterous, always tasteful and part of the ensemble, playing sticks or brushes with equal conviction. He's worked with leaders as musically varied as Ahmad Jamal and Kenny Burrell. During this gig, he'll be manning the traps for saxophonist/flutist David "Fathead" Newman, whose roots go back to Ray Charles. Expect some bluesy, down-home swing from the rhythm section. GK

JON GORDON
JAZZ STANDARD/JULY 25
Like many of the city's most distinctive players, Gordon (an altoist who doubles on soprano) has elected to gain greater control over his music by issuing his new CD, The Things You Are, on the Artistshare label. Available beginning July 1 only through his website, it includes participation by guitarist Ben Monder and drummer Billy Drummond among others. Video clips, transcriptions, lessons and interviews will also be downloadable through that site. The CD? Mostly standards, he says, with a bit of free playing. For this night at the Standard, though, he'll play with Mike Moreno (guitar), Aaron Goldberg (piano), Joe Martin (bass) and Adam Cruz (drums). PB

STEVE KUHN
BIRDLAND/JULY 5-8
If you know Kuhn only as the pianist in Coltrane's first working quartet, you've missed some great playing (and composing) in the years since 1959. There were extended gigs with Stan Getz (1961-63) and Art Farmer (1964-66), a productive period of residence in Europe during the late 60s, a musical alliance with Sheila Jordan in the late 70s and some marvelous trio recordings more recently. The newest (Quiereme Mambo on Sunnyside) makes us wonder once again why this man isn't one of the best-known keyboard players in jazz. For these four nights, he's recruited a couple of sidemen you may have heard of: Ron Carter and Al Foster. PB

JOE MAGNARELLI
SMOKE/JULY 6
He's one of those largely unheralded musicians who make New York the undisputed Jazz Capitol of the World. Whether he's playing trumpet in big bands like Toshiko's or Harry Connick's, driving the front line of the New York Hardbop Quintet, or riding atop the horns in Ray Barretto's Latin Jazz band, Magnarelli's the consummate sideman. Hoop Dreams, his new CD on Criss Cross, reveals him to be an intelligent leader too, one who favors middle-register flow over high-note flair, notably on two Monk duets with guitarist Peter Bernstein. At Smoke, he'll share the stage with saxophonist Dick Oatts, organist Gary Versace and drummer Tony Reedus. GK
 

JAZZ IN JERSEY BY FRED McINTOSH

WOODY HERMAN BAND
MONTGOMERY HIGH SCHOOL/JULY 14
Yes, the Herman band lives on under Frank Tiberi's able leadership. Frank joined Herman in 1969 as arranger and featured tenor saxophone soloist, then gradually became Woody's right-hand man. After Woody passed, Frank assumed leadership of this always-exciting band - and no one's complaining. Frank's own resume includes stints with Bob Chester, Benny Goodman, Urbie Green and Dizzy Gillespie. He also plays clarinet, bassoon and flute - and is a faculty member at Berklee. This Skillman, NJ date is part of the Jazz Mentors Program which also features Maynard Ferguson, Phil Woods, John Coates Jr., and Lew Tabackin.

JOHN LINDBERG-KEVIN NORTON QUARTET
NEWARK MUSEUM/JULY 27
John Lindberg began his career as bassist and composer in 1975. Along the way, he co-founded the much-praised String Trio of New York, which is still very much a going concern. He's also composed scores of originals, performed all over the planet and recorded with the likes of Tony Coe, Steve Lacy, Jimmy Lyons, Sunny Murray and Anthony Braxton. Today he's part of Dewline, an ensemble dedicated to performing Steve Lacy compositions. His latest CD is Winter Birds (Between the Lines Records). This quartet, sparked by percussionist Norton, will also participate in William Paterson's Summer Jazz Week.

JOE COCUZZO
WPU/JULY 25
In this era of percussive over-kill, when drum solos often seem to persist throughout every number, it's wonderful to hear a really swinging drummer with taste. We speak of Joe Cocuzzo, who'll appear (along with guitarist Lenny Argese and midi-accordionist/vocalist Eddie Monteiro) as The Trio during WPU's Jazz in July series. Joe has worked with, among others, Harry James, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra, Benny Golson, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee and Zoot Sims.You can also appraise Cocuzzo's skills on a pleasing CD entitled Sentimental Mood (Venus Records), which also features Barbara Carroll and Jay Leonhart.

NICKI PARROTT QUARTET
CORNERSTONE/JULY 14
Bassist Nicki Parrott is also a pianist and flautist, as well as a singer. Her sister Lisa, a baritone saxophonist of growing reputation, will also be part of the group that plays the Cornerstone. Nicki came to the U.S. from Australia in 1994 to study with Rufus Reid. Since then, she's benefited from a variety of playing experiences in the company of Les Paul, Clark Terry, Billy Taylor, Diva, Five Play, Bucky Pizzarelli, Warren Vache and others. She cites Ray Brown and John Clayton as other important mentors. For a sample of her recorded work, check out On the Brink (Arbors), issued under Five Play's name.


AVERY SHARPE: RENAISSANCE MAN by Robert Abel

"The original purpose of music was to communicate with the gods," says bassist and composer Avery Sharpe, well known for his two decades' association with McCoy Tyner and now leader of his own trio. "I try to maintain that feeling of communicating with a higher force and with people. Music should touch you, inspire you, and make you think. I try to keep that in the forefront of my mind when writing or performing. Music should try to raise the spirit and not be so cerebral. Coltrane brought those things together and the result was incredible, unstoppable."
How well Sharpe succeeds in this can be judged from Dragonfly, his latest album, as well as his trilogy of Extended Family CDs, and his Epic Ebony Journey project, which features duets with violinist John Blake. All these discs are available through his JKNM label (Jade Enterprises, P. O. Box 177, Amherst, MA 01004). (Samples can be heard at www.ItsAboutMusic.com.) A visit to www.averysharpe.com reveals even more about what Sharpe is up to these days.
Why produce and distribute his own CDs? "Well," responds Sharpe, "I got tired of having decisions about my music being made by people who, as we say in the business, can't even hear a screen door slam."
Sharpe's regular trio also includes pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs (whose jazz credentials include stints with performers as diverse as Phyllis Hyman, Betty Carter and Woody Shaw) and drummer Winard Harper. Harper and Sharpe were brought together on the recommendation of tenor sax great Chico Freeman (who makes an appearance on a couple of the Dragonfly tracks). "Chico saw in Winard an affinity for the way my own playing swings," Sharpe says. "Of his generation of drummers he's one who really has a feel for the great drummers of the past." For his Cecil's gig, though, it'll be club owner Cecil Brooks III sitting in for Harper.
Dragonfly is at once relaxed, swinging and adventurous. It also reveals Sharpe's particular blend of influences. He started on piano, he says, "because my mother was a pianist" who played primarily in the Church of God Christ in his Georgia hometown. Not surprisingly, his compositions frequently make allusions to gospel and choral music. It was only after his family moved to Springfield, MA and he became a student at the University of Massachusetts that he discovered the bass. "Reggie Workman came up from Brooklyn a couple of times a week to teach at U. Mass, and he was my first bass teacher," Sharpe says. Although Sharpe's undergraduate degree was in economics, he was greatly influenced by the musicians in the U. Mass jazz program of the time, including Max Roach, Archie Shepp, Fred Tillis, and gospel historian and performer Clarence Horace Boyer, who recruited Sharpe to play bass in the university's Voices of New Africa House choir. "Max and Archie are the reason I'm in this business," Sharpe says. "Those cats had a profound effect on me."
Though he's just as eager to be laying tile at his new home under construction in western Massachusetts, Sharpe has a full plate of commissions and other projects for the months ahead. He's been tapped by Chamber Music Plus of Hartford, CT to work with cellist and writer Harry Clark in creating a series of musical portraits related to the lives of great musicians of the past. Sharpe is also working with the Springfield Symphony on a composition which will bring together a jazz trio (Sharpe, Kevin Eubanks on acoustic guitar, and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums) plus the full orchestra. The work will premier on May 19, 2007. "Whenever I compose orchestra pieces," he says, " I look at myself as a kind of traffic cop. You're trying to keep people in an orderly fashion and out of each other's way and in their own lanes, but keep moving ahead."
September will find Sharpe in Paris with former mentor and tenor giant Archie Shepp. In January, he'll tour with "Raisin' Cane," a performance piece for which he wrote the music. It dramatizes and celebrates Harlem Renaissance writers such as Jean Toomer, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Countee Cullen. Jasmine Guy, whom Sharpe calls a "triple threat" for her acting, singing and dancing talents, is the one woman centerpiece of the show. The trio accompanying her will consist of Sharpe, John Blake on violin and Sharpe's brother, Kevin, on percussion. Sharpe says, "This isn't a song- and-dance, Broadway type of performance, but much more like a series of musical portraits. We want to introduce young people to another generation of artists and thinkers. That period is responsible for a lot of the art we now take for granted. Ellington, Armstrong, Eubie Blake and so many others - we're still drawing on it."

Avery Sharpe, in partnership with Onaje Allan Gumbs and Cecil Brooks III, plays at Cecil's in West Orange on July 7-8.


MAYNARD FERGUSON: STILL HITTING THE HIGH NOTES by Ken Dryden

Having just celebrated his 78th birthday, Quebec-born Maynard Ferguson is gearing up for yet another worldwide tour. In a jovial mood during a recent phone conversation, he said that his life in music actually began with lessons on piano and violin. "Both my parents were school principals, and my mother played piano. When my brother and I came along, she retired to take care of us."
One event, though, really changed his life. "At a church social, a little boy stood up and played a cornet solo. My dad was astounded. I turned to him and said, 'Dad, get me one of those!' He went to Pete's Music Store in Montreal and bought me an inexpensive Czechoslovakian B-flat trumpet. About that time, the local Kiwanis club decided to sponsor a boy's band and they hired Captain H. G. Jones of the Black Watch Highlanders Regiment from Neller Hall in England, where John Philip Sousa came from. He was the first of many marvelous teachers I had."
Even before working as a big band sideman during the 40s and 50s, Ferguson got an early taste of being a leader. "As a teenager, I had a sixteen-piece band that worked six nights a week at the St. Maurice Ballroom in Montreal. I was put in front of the band and had already been a featured trumpeter since the age of thirteen."
The young hornman passed through several important groups during his early career. "I never did record with Jimmy Dorsey due to the recording ban, though transcriptions do exist. Boyd Raeburn's band wasn't very successful commercially, but artistically it certainly was. Its book was wonderful, with charts by Johnny Richards and many others. Charlie Barnet led another of the great bands I played with. We called our trumpet section 'The Three Sons" - Doc Severinson, Rolf Ericson and me, plus lead trumpeter Ray Wetzel." Ferguson says he also enjoyed his time with Stan Kenton.
For over a half-century, Ferguson has been leading his own band on tours through the U.S., Europe and Japan. "Most of the rehearsals come the week before we go on the road," he says. "That's when I like to try new material, since most of the guys already know the book. The fun thing is putting together new music; it helps re-inspire everyone. I'm not the quickest guy at playing far-out changes. I've just got to hear them and look at them for awhile.
"I really enjoy young players coming into the band, too. It's important that you like being a bandleader, while giving space to them. You don't need to be their teacher. By then, they're becoming their own teachers and getting involved in music that wasn't in their direction a couple of years before. You can watch musicians who just barely got the gig and then become marvelous in three months. Most of the new guys are referrals from band members, though I used to get a lot of recommendations from teachers. Eventually you learn which ones just recommend their friends - and which recommend friends who are also great players."
Numerous Ferguson alumni have made names for themselves. "One fun guy is Denis DiBlasio, who comes back occasionally. He'll join me in Europe on baritone sax, though I don't usually carry one. Jaki Byard - what a talent. One night in a Detroit club, I turned around and he was playing piano with one hand and the upper register of the alto with the other, something he'd worked out to have fun with the band."
Although the trumpeter and flugelhornist has written a number of originals over his career, "I don't spend a lot of time composing or arranging. I've had so many guys who do that really well. Occasionally I'll put a tune together. I'm primarily known as a multi-instrumentalist. I still play Superbone [a hybrid slide and valve trombone], which I finger left-handed, since I'm ambidextrous."
Ferguson is also remarkable for having maintained his chops at an age when many trumpeters are forced to retire. "I watch my health, and my late wife Flora helped introduce me to Indian philosophy and yoga. Although I wasn't that great at the bodily manipulations, I discovered that I was a natural doing breathing exercises. About 20 years ago, I went in for a full physical. They gave me a test where I was instructed to blow as hard as I could into some machine - and I broke it! When I did, the nurse banged open the door amidst hilarious laughter. Apparently, they weren't used to trumpet players like me."

Maynard Ferguson's band plays at the Blue Note on July 18-23. He'll also take part in the Jazz Mentors program at Montgomery High School in Skillman, NJ on July 13.
 

JAZZWOMEN! BY ELZY KOLB

Finding a voice
While singer/alto saxophonist Sheila Cooper was growing up, she loved listening to her parents' jazz albums, especially sax players like Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, and Gerry Mulligan. Although she "was in love with Stan Getz, the way he made the saxophone sound," when Sheila wanted to study music, her father urged her to focus on piano. He had a practical reason for that suggestion: Piano players get more gigs. "I didn't start playing saxophone till I was out of high school. I was old enough to do what I wanted, to follow my own mind," Sheila says. "Actually, at the time I was far too shy to sing, and to me the saxophone was the closest thing to a voice. There's something about it, the flexibility of it, the beautiful sound, that's why I wanted to play the saxophone. Then I came back around to the singing when I got braver." Sheila plays and sings at the 55 Bar on July 6.

Song stylist
Singer Tessa Souter has been trying on some new material for size recently. "It's like when you go shopping, there was a period where everything I liked was black," she says. "It's like that with music. For a while, everything I was drawn to was mellow. Now, it's fun to do some fast stuff, something up, it's a different challenge." In putting a set together, Tessa often has "a story in mind, so things will link somehow. It's easier to talk to the crowd and be connected" when she knows what she'll sing next. However, she "tends not to rehearse" when preparing for a gig. "The whole point of jazz is the spontaneity of creating in the moment," Tessa says. "And there's something about the chemistry of the audience being there that makes it different. I wonder if the audience realizes how incredibly important they are to the music that's happening then. They're really part of what's going on, part of what's being made." Catch Tessa at the Jazz Standard on July 3, part of the Voices and Songs series. She'll take a break from the Apple later in the summer, when she heads for Scotland to sing at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival with guitarist John Hart.

Art works
Saxophonist Tia Fuller has been spending time in the studio recently, recording a CD with bassist Miriam Sullivan, pianist Miki Hayama, drummer Kim Thompson, and trumpeter Sean Jones. Guest artist Ron Blake will play tenor on a tune or two. "The hardest part of being a band leader," she says, "is that you're the facilitator for everyone in the group. "You've got to coordinate everyone's schedule. That takes a lot of juggling, but it's worth it once you get in the studio." Tia will play some of the material she wrote for the upcoming CD at the Brooklyn Museum on July 15. Besides originals and standards, she may throw in a pop tune or two "to draw in the non-jazz people." Museum visitors often aren't aware that a concert is scheduled, but once they catch a note of it, they head straight for it. "People can't help checking out the music," Tia says.

Out on the town
Michelle Walker sings at Smoke on July 2 … Singer Mercy Monet introduces her self-produced A Little Taste of Mercy at Night & Day on July 5… Melissa Stylianou will sing material from her new CD, Sliding Down (Sleepin' Bee), at Brooklyn's Perch Cafι on July 6 … Vocalist Andrea Wolper will be at Bacchus on July 6 … Singer Bobbi Humphrey is at Iridium on July 6-9 … Flutist/composer Jamie Baum's septet plays Sweet Rhythm on July 13 … Starting on July 15, Laura Dreyer plays flute for Saturday brunch at Dekk … Pianist Eri Yamamoto does an afternoon gig at the 6th & B Garden on July 16 … Carol Sloane sings Ellington at the 92nd Street Y on July 18 … Check out singer Carol Daggs at Jazzmobile in Morningside Park on July 20 … The Duke Ellington Legacy Band, with saxophonist and musical director Virginia Mayhew and singer Nancy Reed, plays Sweet Rhythm on July 21-22 … Saxophonist Ada Rovatti plays Dizzy's on July 24 … Saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin hits the Blue Note in Clark Terry's big band on July 25-30 … Maria Guida sings at the Duplex on July 26 … The Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble plays Makor on July 26 … Check out pianist Renee Rosnes' Joe Henderson Project band at the Caramoor Jazz Festival on July 29 … Vocalist Marlene VerPlanck is at Trumpets on July 29 … Drummer Allison Miller appears with Marty Ehrlich's sextet at the Museum of Modern Art Sculpture Garden on July 30.

Look who's got a new CD
Samantha Boshnack plays brass and more on Reptet's Do This! (Monktail) … An all-star band backs vocalist Pamela Luss on There's Something About You I Don't Know (Savant) … Great lyrics from singer Marilyn Harris on Round Trip (Wrightwood) ... Yoon Sun Choi sings on 4inObjects (Yeah-Yeah) … Singer Susane Abbuehl reveals a unique approach to ballads on Compass (ECM) … Trombonist Sarah Morrow mixes standards and originals on The American All-Stars in Paris (O+ Music) … Aria Hendricks sings with David Berger and The Sultans of Swing on Hindustan (Such Sweet Thunder) … Vocalist Jann Parker pays a visit to Chris Shelton's Peacetime (Summit) … Violinist Eva Berky sits in on Harri Stojka's Tribute to Gypsy Swing (Zoho).

Singin' and swingin'
Corina Bartra & Azu: Bambu Sun (Blue Spiral) … Carla White: A Voice in the Night (Bright Moon) … Charmaine Clamor: Searching for the Soul (FreeHam) … Carolyn Martin: The Very Thought of You (Cuppa Joe) … Nancy Kelly says she's Born to Swing (Amherst) … Dozens of artists appear on The Jazz Vocal Coalition Vol. 1 (Vocal Vision) and on Jazz Vocalists Hear & Now (Concord), a pair of two-disc compilations … Sofia Koutsovitis: Gala … and Lisa B: What's New, Pussycat? (Piece of Pie).


HOT FLASHES BY PAUL BLAIR

SWINGING AT THE Y...
This year's Jazz in July series at the 92nd St. Y includes six highly varied programs dedicated to the Ellington tradition (July 18), Dick Hyman's life and work (July 19), the Monk legacy (July 20), Jobim (July 25), Harold Arlen (July 27), and the pianistics of Barry Harris, Cedar Walton, Richard Wyands, Bill Charlap, Renee Rosnes and Geoff Keezer, all of whom will be playing singly and otherwise on July 26. The lineup of participants viewable at www.92y.org is, in each instance, most impressive.

...AND ON PARK AVENUE
The Jazz House Summer Nights series at Scandinavia House (58 Park at E. 38th, just down the way from Kitano) runs from June 28 through August 23. Each Wednesday gig spotlights an outstanding group from Norway, Sweden, Denmark or Finland. At this juncture, most of the musicians' names listed at www.scandinaviahouse.org are unfamiliar to we parochial New Yorkers - and none rolls easily off the tongue. But to learn who's shaking up the northern European scene, drop by on any of these evenings. This month's leaders include Raoul Bjφrkenheim (July 5), Jostein Gulbrandsen (July 12), Mika Pohjola (July 19) and Lage Lund (July 26). Tickets are only seven bucks per pop - and there's a cash bar.

NO-CHARGE JAZZ
Free Thursday midday concerts at the Citigroup Center Plaza (outside Saint Peter's Church at Lexington and E. 53rd) continue throughout the summer. It's Jeanie Bryson's quintet on July 13; Benny Powell's quartet on July 20; and Ron Blake's Sonic Trance on July 27. Music starts at 12:30 PM ... This season's series of jazz showcases in the Museum of Modern Art's sculpture garden are also free of charge. These Sunday-at-7:00 PM presentations involve ensembles from Juilliard and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Consult www.moma.org - or phone 212-708-9491 ... The good people at BMI promise a stimulating evening at Merkin Hall on July 6 when the winner of this year's Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize is announced. Judges for 2006 include Robin Eubanks, Joe Lovano and Dan Morganstern. Also on the bill is a performance of last year's winning piece by Sherisse Rogers. Marlynn Snyder at 212-942-0615 can provide specifics ... And don't forget the pianists playing throughout this month and next at Bryant Park in midtown. Sets lasting 45 minutes each begin at noon and 1:00 PM most weekdays - but not Thursdays. Talented players all, and the price is indeed right.

ELSEWHERE
Both drummer Joe Cocuzzo and the John Lindberg-Kevin Norton quartet (cited elsewhere in these pages) take part in William Paterson University's 13th annual Summer Jazz Week program - July 24-28 - as does Dr. Billy Taylor, whose trio wraps things up with a Friday evening concert. Ten bucks will get you into absolutely everything, according to www.wpunj.edu … Among the choice attractions at the 55 Bar this month is the Ballin' the Jack crew led by reedman Matt Darriau. This eight-man band is definitely capable of swinging listeners into bad health. Catch them on July 12 … At Choice, a new bar/restaurant at Third and E. 27th, trumpeter John McNeil now heads up Tuesday evening sessions, usually with at least one of his talented guitarist friends joining the festivities. Updates: 212-779-1380 ... Meanwhile, a new East Village lounge called Blue Owl (196 Second Ave.) presents jazz on the first Sunday of each month, starting at 6:00 PM. Consult www.blueowlnyc.com ... And have you visited Big Apple Jazz? It's a shop and performance space at 2236 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., just above W. 131st St. in Harlem. They're offering no cover/no minimum music seven days per week, with some sessions beginning at 2:00 PM and others kicking off around the dinner hour. A fascinating spot, this; drop by once and you'll likely return often. (www.BigAppleJazz.com).

CD CELEBRATIONS
Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba holds forth at the Jazz Standard with his trio (Matt Brewer on bass and Tain Watts playing drums) on June 29-July 2. But Solo, his latest Blue Note CD, presents him on his own ... Pianist Aaron Goldberg (whose recent Worlds release on the Sunnyside label is genuinely exciting) is man-of-the hour at the Jazz Gallery on July 28 ... Vibist Tom Beckham plays music from his outstanding new Apria album Center Songs at Cornelia Street Cafe on July 24; he'll also be heard in friends' groups at Night and Day in Park Slope on July 8 and at Willy Bee's in Williamsburg on July 14.
 

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.

When Clark Terry told me that Tiekyo-Westmar University in LeMars, Iowa, was adding a new department called the Clark Terry Institute of Jazz Studies and that they were conferring an honorary doctorate on him, I asked if, as a doctor, he would be allowed to prescribe. Clark said, "Yeah, I'm gonna tell 'em to put on two Charlie Parker records and call me in the morning!"
While I was on the phone with Marty Napoleon recently, we got to talking about his late brother Teddy, who was well known for his colorful expressions. Once while eating spareribs, Teddy finished a rack of them and said to the host, "I'll have another octave!"
The members of Banu Gibson's "New Orleans Hot Jazz" band were relaxing with a few drinks at an outdoor cafι in Syracuse, NY. At midnight, the owner came out and said they would have to move inside, as there was a law in Syracuse against serving liquor outdoors after midnight. Jon-Erik Kellso quipped, "Wow, that's the first time I've ever been thrown into a bar!"


A Moment You Missed by fran kaufman

The late Hilton Ruiz, who was the first performer at Estia Cantina Jazz club when it opened last year, was scheduled to play again June 3rd. But when he was fatally injured in New Orleans, pianist Cyrus Chestnut stepped in to substitute for Ruiz, who, he says, was one of his great mentors. On a moment's notice, Cyrus drove from his home in Baltimore to the club on the tip of Long Island to play the gig.