winning spins by George Kanzler Two very different ensembles with downtown roots make up this Spins entry. An octet with a classic little big band instrumentation - and a trio with a most unusual configuration. Night Owls (Smalls Records), presents a Chris Byars octet that has had a long gestation period of regular weekly gigs at Smalls, the Greenwich Village club that's been an incubator of jazz bands of various sizes for over a decade. Tenor saxophonist Byars not only leads the band but also writes most of the charts (11 out of 12 here). Those are a smart mix of originals plus older pop and jazz standards, played with authority and cohesion by a mix of veterans and younger players: Gary Pribek, alto sax; Mark Lopeman, baritone sax; John Mosca, trombone; Richie Vitale, trumpet; Sacha Perry, piano; Neal Miner, bass, and Andy Watson, drums. The octet's modus operandi is encapsulated in Byars' approach to two familiar standards. "All or Nothing At All" is typical of the band's multi-jointed swing and polyphonic treatment of themes, with leads shifting between brass and reed instruments as other horns play counter-riffs. Such a way makes maximum use of the complete range of voices available in the band - use that on other tracks is multiplied as sax players double on flutes and clarinet. Then there's Jerome Kern's "The Way You Look Tonight," simultaneously contemporary and a blast from a past where mid-size combos like this had to put down a tune in little more than three minutes so that it would fit on a 78 rpm disc. Taken at a flagwaver tempo as fast as Kern has probably ever been done, it's a 3-minute and 8-second romp with the quicksilver theme bookended around short, hip solos from every member of the octet. The only thing not typical of the octet on that Kern flagwaver is the lack of orchestral movement and backgrounds during the solos. Throughout most of the CD Byars has devised ensemble passages, cushions, kickers and riffs around, behind and between improvised solos. So even when only one or two soloists are featured - Mosca's trombone on "Nancy," Byars' tenor sax on Tadd Dameron's "Gnid" - the octet's other members have important roles to play. And this is a group as adept at the impressionistic colors of ballads like "Blue Gardenia," hard swingers like the title track, Latin-rhythmed pieces like Vitale's composition and feature, "Village Beauty," and the sophisticated cool-bop of "Conception," a tune from the Miles Davis "Birth of the Cool" sessions. Singing To A Bee (Clean Feed Records), presents a very different and quite ensemble. Leader Will Holshouser is an accordionist. His cohorts here are trumpeter Ron Horton and bassist David Phillips, who divides his time between plucking and bowing. The music they make is as unique as the instrumentation, almost unclassifiable. Chamber jazz, new folk, jazz folk are all terms that come to mind. Holshouser's originals - the bulk of the repertoire - are rhythmically quirky but also have folksy melodic elements. His playing evokes both squeezebox gestures as old as a monkey grinders and as advanced as new tango or avant-jazz. Although Holshouser is the leader, composer and arranger, it's Horton's trumpet that almost steals the show. It's a strong, lyrical voice on the title track; a wonder of fluid invention on "North Star," and a mini-history of trumpet approaches and techniques (including a reprise of a famous Louis Armstrong break) on "Brooklyn Research." Phillips (son of the bassist Barre Phillips) is also a strong presence, emphasizing rhythms and, when bowing, adding another eerie strain to the accordion pipings. Chris Byars' octet holds forth at Joe's Pub on September 3 and at Smalls on September 8-9. Will Holshouer's trio plays at the Bowery Poetry Club on September 19 and at Barbès on September 21. SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL BLAIR AND GEORGE KANzler JOHN PIZZARELLI BIRDLAND/SEPT. 26-30 AND TRIBECA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER/OCT. 19 It's difficult to imagine anyone not liking this guy's guitar playing and singing immensely. His latest disc, Dear Mr. Sinatra (Telarc) emphasizes his vocals. But his instrumental skills will no doubt be on full display at the opening concert in Jack Kleinsinger's 2006-2007 series. For company, he'll have dad Bucky on second guitar, brother Martin on bass and Ray Kennedy on piano. Also appearing that evening is a duo comprising trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and bassist Jay Leonhart. At Birdland, John will bring his Swing 7 unit - a septet that includes four horns. PB JOHN SCOFIELD BLUE NOTE/SEPTEMBER 5-10 Scofield has been, along with Bill Frissell and Pat Metheny, one of the most influential and ubiquitous guitarists in today's jazz. During his fusion period he added subtle distortions and wah-wah effects to Miles Davis' 80s bands. He's also explored funk-jazz with Medeski, Martin & Wood as well as soul jazz in an organ trio context. But at this Blue Note gig Scofield promises something more classic right in the title he's given this trio: Real Jazz. Joining him will be drummer Bill Stewart plus Steve Swallow on electric bass, a veteran of Scofield's 70s and 80s bands. GK DAVE GLASSER KITANO/SEPTEMBER 20 The mezzanine performance space at this classy Park Ave. hostelry is ideal for a group like alto saxophonist Glasser's quartet. But Dave doesn't play chamber music. Instead, he's pretty much reflecting the whole jazz alto tradition, from Carter and Hodges through Parker to Konitz and Desmond. They all loved melody and tunes with meaty changes, and so does he. Clark Terry, who's been employing him for years, is a big fan. The most recent CD under Dave's own name is Above the Clouds (Arbors). He's also heard to good effect on Swinging the Blues, another newish Arbors release under bassist Earl May's leadership. PB RUSS KASSOFF KNICKERBOCKER/SEPTEMBER 21-23 This keyboard man's work at the Bucky Pizzarelli birthday gala during the JVC fest was a knockout. He's also been serving as musical director of the delightful now-annual Sackets Harbor Jazz Festival upstate. And though he's accompanied (and written arrangements for) big-timers like Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., Helen Merrill and Tony Bennett, we'd much rather hear him in a spot like the Knick, which has been welcoming wonderful pianists since 1984. It'll be a trio thing, with Bucky himself on guitar and the redoubtable Steve Gilmore playing bass. These three evenings will also serve to introduce Somewhere, a pleasing new disc under Russ' name. PB DENNY ZEITLIN IRIDIUM/AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 3 Jazz has had its share of professionals - lawyers, doctors, scientists - who've decamped to follow a jazz career, but Zeitlin may be unique. For long stretches of his life, he's both practiced psychiatry and played jazz piano. Moreover, he's combined aspects of both professions in his lecture-demonstration: "Unlocking the Creative Impulse: The Psychology of Improvisation." Although Zeitlin's latest album, Solo Voyage (MaxxJazz), finds him in a somewhat New Age mode, with synthesizer orchestrations on some tracks, his earlier Slickrock (also MaxxJazz) had him in a swinging modern mood, with the fine rhythm team of Buster Williams, bass, and Matt Wilson, drums. GK 3 COHENS JAZZ GALLERY/SEPTEMBER 1 AND 2 Yes, there's definitely a hot Israeli jazz scene. And much of it seems to be centered in New York these days, given the presence of three talented siblings who constitute the core of this group. Yuval plays soprano saxophone; his younger brother Avishi (no, not the bassist Avishai Cohen) is a trumpeter; and their sister Anat has a growing reputation around town as a tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. She's been a standout with the Diva and the quintet called Five Play. Her own CD Place and Time (Anzic), on which Avishai was also featured, deserved the enthusiastic reviews it garnered. And now all three do the Gallery together. PB KERMIT RUFFINS JOE'S PUB/SEPTEMBER 17 Trumpeters who sing have been synonymous with New Orleans since Louis Armstrong. And no one exemplifies that category today as much as Ruffins, a native son of the Crescent City now in his early 40s who's been at the heart of the new traditionalist movement in that city since he was co-founder of the ReBirth Brass Band in 1982. Like Armstrong, Ruffins is a sterling entertainer as both singer - in a gravelly, Satchmo-flavored voice - and trumpeter. Since leaving ReBirth he's led bands both big and small, most frequently a quintet that can delve into - as well as way beyond - trad jazz styles. GK BILLY HART JAZZ STANDARD/SEPTEMBER 5 AND 6 Hancock, Tyner and Getz all valued his services highly. And this drummer's as much in demand today as he has been for decades. He's part of Richie Beirach's trio at Birdland (August 30-September 2). He'll return to that club on September 16, too, for an evening with a promising Dave Liebman sextet playing Coltrane-inspired material. But this gig at the Standard, under Billy's own leadership, will be special, since he'll feature music from an outstanding new High Note CD called, yep, Billy Hart. The other members will be those heard on that sterling album: Mark Turner (tenor), Ethan Iverson (piano) and Ben Street (bass). PB BILLY BANG SWEET RHYTHM/SEPTEMBER 15 AND 16 Few musicians on today's scene served in Vietnam. But violinist Bang did - and the experience altered his life in myriad ways. Recording a 2001 CD called Vietnam: The Aftermath and its 2005 successor Vietnam Reflections (both Justin Time) helped him come to terms with those years in the military. Much of what he saw, heard and felt ended up on those albums. This music, which expresses a broad range of textures and moods, is invigorating and provocative. We're not really sure who'll be playing with Billy on these two evenings or what his choice of material will be. But any chance to hear him live is worth grabbing. PB PETE McGUINNESS GARAGE/SEPTEMBER 12 McGuinness, a trombonist, has performed nobly as a sideman in large ensembles led by Woody Herman, Maria Schneider and Jimmy Heath. Now he's organized (and written charts for) a big band of his own. They're recording their first CD this month and making an initial local spash with this Garage gig. Numbered among its members are Bill Mobley, Dave Pietro, Mike Holober, Charlie Pillow, Jason Rigby and a bunch of other standouts on the NYC scene. Ask anyone who ever played with Woody and he'll tell you, guaranteed, he was "on the band" (rather than "in the band"). We predict these guys will continue that honored tradition. PB JAZZ IN JERSEY BY FRED McINTOSH MARTY GROSZ WATCHUNG ARTS CENTER/SEPTEMBER 15 Guitarist Grosz, strictly an acoustic player, specializies in an impossibly strong four-beats-to-the-bar style which outlines any song's harmony in perfect detail. What's more, his singing and spoken intros demonstrate the same panache, erudition and humor so apparent in his instrumental work. Marty has long been mining for treasure in the American songbook's back pages, consistently finding gold in old vaudeville numbers, movie novelties and show tunes rarely recalled these days. Paired with Marty this time will be reedman Dan Block, who's just as capable a swinger. Marty's newest on Arbors is Marty Grosz & His Hot Combination. VIC JURIS OSCAR SCHINDLER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER/SEPTEMBER 10 Juris and his trio (Jay Anderson on bass and Adam Nussbaum on drums) join a cast of headliners for the OSCAP’s 4th annual festival. Formerly a student of Pat Martino's, he's now teaching himself at local colleges. He's collaborated with Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Smith, Sarah Vaughan, Mel Torme, Eddie Jefferson, Sonny Stitt and Phil Woods - and worked in partnership with fellow guitarists Birelli Lagrene, Emily Remler, and Larry Coryell. A DVD issued by Mel Bay captures Vic and guitarist Corey Christiansen live at a Smithsonian concert. You can also hear Vic plus bassist Mike Formanek and drummer Jeff Hirshfield on Songbook 2 (Steeplechase). DON BRADEN CECIL'S/SEPTEMBER 15 AND 16 The spot some called New York's best jazz club (although it's located across the Hudson) brings in tenor man Braden with a trio that also features organist Kyle Koehler plus bossman Cecil Brooks III himself on drums. The trio recently recorded a live set entitled Workin' (High Note) at the club; and their previous CD, The New Hang, was actually dedicated to the place, so you know they're comfortable working there. Braden's big-toned playing shows some of Benny Golson's influence. Past collaborators include Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, Betty Carter, Jack McDuff and the Mingus Big Band. VALERY PONOMAREV STATE THEATRE/SEPTEMBER 13 He's the personification of hard bop excitement. After defecting from the USSR in 1973, Valery made his way to the U.S., met Art Blakey and beautifully filled the Jazz Messengers' trumpet chair between Bill Hardman's departure and Wynton Marsalis' arrival. He's also played with Joe Henderson, Walter Bishop, Kenny Barron, Warne Marsh, Bob Berg and John Hicks. Among the trumpet influences he cites are Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. His quartet will include the aforementioned Don Braden, bassist Martin Zenker and a wonderful young drummer named Jerome Jennings. Their winning new Reservoir release - Beyond the Obvious - certainly is. GLORIA LYNNE IN THE HOUSE by Paul Blair You've probably read lots of sto- ries - some surely apocryphal - about this performer or that one having launched a career with an Amateur Night win at Harlem's Apollo Theater. In singer Gloria Lynne's case, it really happened. "I was just fifteen," she recalls, "and I didn't want my mother to know, so I had myself billed as Bobbi Wilson. But she found out, even while I was still onstage singing. They used to broadcast those Wednesday night shows live on the radio. And the lady who lived upstairs from us told my mother, 'You know, I think that's really Gloria!' Everybody in the neighborhood knew I sang because they'd heard me at church and in the school glee club. I still don't know how I thought I was going to get away with this. My mother actually met me backstage at the Apollo after I got off. I guess we were living up on W. 134th St. at the time, not so far away. Anyhow, my prize for winning that night was fifteen dollars in cash, plus a chance to appear nightly at the Apollo for the next week. My name was printed in really teeny letters at the bottom of the showbill - and since I was the opening act, you'd have missed me if you arrived even a few minutes late. Still, though, I think I'm one of just a few career singers who worked at the Apollo before they became well known." If you dote on fine singers with distinctive vocal styles, you surely know Ms. Gloria Lynne already. Perhaps you first heard her on a whole series of LPs she cut for the Everest label between 1958 and 1963. These got loads of airplay and served to introduce her treatments of several songs now associated with her: "Soul Serenade," "Love, I Found You," "June Night" and "I Wish You Love." That last one has, in fact, become her musical signature and she well recalls how it happened to end up on a top-selling 1963 album called Gloria, Marty & Strings. "I flew out to California for a recording session that involved about forty musicians altogether, including a large string section. Marty Paich, who'd done the arrangements, asked me if I knew a tune called "I Wish You Love." Well, I didn't - and was reluctant to do it on short notice. But he said, 'Hey, don't worry, you'll do fine.' So I learned it literally overnight and we cut it the next day. Honestly, though, I was never totally satisfied with the recording. If I'd had just a bit more time to master the song, I think that track would have been better." She has some songwriting credits of her own, too - as a lyricist. "I got started when Herbie Hancock gave me permission to add some crazy childlike words to his song 'Watermelon Man.' I've also written a lyric to Kenny Burrell's 'All Day Long.' You can hear that one on a CD called This One's On Me that High Note released in 1998." There'll be a new album out soon on High Note, she adds. One track from it - a song called "So Good to Be in Love" - is already available to downloaders through iTunes. Ms. Lynne was the guest of honor during a recent seminar at the Jazz Museum in Harlem, where she talked about her earlier years in the recording industry, as well as her memories of peers and inspirations like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughn. And the upcoming evenings at Trumpets? "Well, they've been trying to book me for years. I guess it was Roy Meriwether who talked me into it. He's the pianist I've been lucky enough to use for the last two decades. When I moved from California back to New York, someone recommended his talents to me and it's worked out just fine. He leads my quartet. I'm lucky to have a loyal band - and some loyal fans, too." Gloria Lynne commands the bandstand at Trumpets on September 8-9. (She'll also be serving as celebrity judge for the Jazzmobile Vocal Competition finals at The River Room, W. 145th St. and Riverside Dr., beginning at 6:00 PM on September 28.) THE DROWNED PIANO: HENRY BUTLER SURVIVES AND THRIVES by Robert Abel A series of dramatic photos on Henry Butler's website (www.henrybutler.com) shows the devastation that Hurricane Katrina brought to New Orleans' Ninth Ward where the celebrated pianist and singer had long lived. At the heart of this sequence are shots of Butler's home studio. Black lines of mold and grime are at almost ceiling level, and in the center is a ruined piano, keys soiled, frame warped, lid askew. "That was my beautiful 1925 Mason Hamlin," Butler says. "And Katrina rendered it obsolete." What Katrina could not do, however, was to damage Butler's accelerating reputation as one of New Orleans' musical legends in the making. Since the hurricane, Butler has moved to Colorado, "which has turned out well, actually," he says. He's returned to New Orleans for engagements since the storm, "but obviously there are fewer venues now," he says. Asked about the famous Tipitina's, Butler says, "They're doing well. They maintain their regular schedule in the evenings, but during the day they're feeding people and providing shelter." Of his upcoming concert as soloist at Merkin Hall, on a bill alongside clarinetist Dr. Michael White, the Xavier professor who's another celebrated New Orleans musician, Butler says, "I've done numerous concerts, and I like them because you know people have come to listen. I enjoy club dates, too, but you realize some folks are there just to prepare their partners for getting laid later on." And he's no stranger to New York. "I lived in Brooklyn for more than three years," he adds. This Merkin evening will celebrate the music and musicians of New Orleans, and although Butler has not decided on a program as yet - he thrives on relating to and responding to his audiences - listeners can expect a truly innovative, complex but swinging blend of rocking New Orleans-style jump blues filtered through the lens of Butler's unique musical imagination and training. As a youth at the Baton Rouge School for the Blind, Butler mastered several instruments before focusing on the piano - the result of discovering he had perfect pitch. Why he gave up classical music and turned to blues and jazz was nicely captured in a May 19 interview with radio host Sara Fishko (www.nyc.org/arts/fishko): "In order to sight read classical music," Butler said then, "a blind person has to keep one hand on the music. Blind pianists have to memorize everything from the very beginning." Meanwhile, Butler "sat at the feet" of hometown jazz and blues greats like Professor Longhair and James T. Booker. Though he was working professionally at age 14, Butler attended college at Southern University where he studied with clarinetist Alvin Batiste, who pointed him in the direction of other musical traditions: Latin, Caribbean and Afro-Cuban. He followed this with study in both piano and voice at Michigan State; and soon found himself gigging with New York jazz giants like Charlie Haden, Billie Higgins, Jack DeJohnette and Ron Carter. He's also performed with bassist-leader Dave Holland and trombonist Steve Turre. Butler says he has no favorites among his many CDs, the first cut in 1986, the most recent (Homeland on Basin Street) in 2004. "I like them all," Butler says, "because they all have such different musical personalities. There's an evolution, yes. Hey, if I can't evolve this thing, let me get out of here!" A seminal disc, however, might be Vu Du Menz (issued on the Alligator label in 2000) with Delta blues guitarist/vocalist Corey Harris. This CD finds Butler "bringing it all back home." Alongside his performing, Butler has also been, through the years, a mentor and teacher at both the high school (New Orleans Performing Arts) and college (Eastern Illinois U.) levels. "I love teaching," he says. "I really do. But these days teachers exist just beyond the poverty level. They're expected to do so much and have such a great deal of responsibility, and what they get is basically a knife in the back." In his website "Reflections" he's written: "Through teaching, I fully get to see - if only symbolically - how people's eyes can open when something I've said reaches them and the light goes on." Or, as he sings in the rocking "Jump to the Music" from Homeland: "When I play this music I can give sight to the blind." Henry Butler shares the bill with Dr. Michael White's Quartet at Merkin Hall on September 2. JAZZWOMEN! BY ELZY KOLB Havin' a good time? While recording her new CD Radio Guanatanamo: Guantanamo Blues Project Vol. 1 (EMI) in Cuba, flutist/soprano saxophonist Jane Bunnett "was carted off to the police station - twice!" She says, "That area is so sensitive, because of the naval base there. We were watched so much. Then they came to the door and told us we had to stop, so the recording stopped. We didn't finish the record. There's a lot more material to do." Jane would like to go back to Cuba to record Volume 2, but is thinking of doing it in her native Canada instead, bringing in the Cuban changui group, along with musicians from New Orleans and elsewhere who were part of the original project. Word on the street, literally, is good on Volume 1: People have told Jane they listen to it while running. "That is the biggest compliment," she says. "Exercising is one of the most unpleasant experiences, so when you hear somebody actually puts your music on then, that's a really good feeling!" Jane appears at Dizzy's on Sept. 12, part of the 2nd Annual Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival. Not young at art Though she's only 22, bassist Esperanza Spalding has already gigged with Joe Lovano, Regina Carter, Charlie Haden, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Michel Camilo and others. "When you meet them, they're such beautiful people you forget they're jazz giants," she says. "I just try to do my best, even though I'm in awe." Esperanza celebrates the release of her new CD Junjo (Ayva) at the Jazz Standard on Sept. 27. The first set will feature compositions from Junjo played by her trio; her quintet will play new material during the second set. In addition to original pieces, Esperanza has written arrangements for standards including "Body and Soul" and "Autumn Leaves." She says, "People write off certain tunes because they've been played so much, but they're such beautiful tunes they should be heard. In every age, we pay homage to what people did in the past decades. When you hear this, you'll like it!" Room to move Singer/composer Ayelet Rose Gottlieb's new CD, Mayim Rabim (Tzadik) consists of a song cycle inspired by the love poems in Song of Songs in the Bible. At her Sept. 12 Makor gig, she'll do material from the new release, along with compositions from her earlier sextet recording. "It sounds different, but the music all comes from the same core, so it doesn't feel that different," Ayelet says. She hopes to be able to present a concert focusing on the song cycle. "I see it almost as a theater piece," she adds. "I'd like to perform it with a larger ensemble in a multimedia setting, with video art, perhaps some movement, and with some translation involved." Great expectations When it comes to audiences, "New Yorkers are great," says Chicago-based singer Patricia Barber. "New Yorkers are very similar to Parisians: Tough. They sit there and say, 'Dazzle me, impress me.' They wait until about halfway through the set, and if they think you've given them enough, they start throwing love at you. But they do wait." Patricia will be performing compositions from her new song cycle Mythology (Blue Note) as well as other material at the Jazz Standard Sept. 1-3. A little night music Bassist Nicki Parrott appears with Les Paul every Monday night at Iridium … Tenor saxophonist Virginia Mayhew is all over the place this month: at the Garage on Sept. 2, 15, and 30, at Trumpets with the Ellington Legacy on Sept. 6 and 20, and at the Cornerstone on Sept. 29 … How can singer Ann Hampton Callaway have Blues in the Night (Telarc), when Sherrie Maricle and the Diva Jazz Orchestra appear on her CD? Ann's at Dizzy's with "very special friends" on Sept. 6-10 … Guitarist Sheryl Bailey celebrates the release of Live @ The Fat Cat (Pure Music) at - where else? - Fat Cat on Sept. 7 … Tanya Kalmanovitch plays viola and violin at 5C Café on Sept. 8 … Mary Foster Conklin sings at Iridium's brunch on Sept. 10 … Asha Puthli - who sang on Ornette Coleman's Science Fiction - will be at Joe's Pub on Sept.13, celebrating the release of her best-of CD Space Talk … Singer Barbara Sfraga and Center Search Quest with Mala Waldron on keyboards play 55 Bar on Sept. 14 … Karen Oberlin sings at the Metropolitan Room on Sept. 14-17 … Take a trip to Hartford on Sept. 16 for Nicki Mathis' annual Many Colors of a Woman fest; it's a stellar lineup, as always, including Adela Dalto's Mujeres Latinas … Pianist Eri Yamamoto celebrates the release of Cobalt Blue with brunch at the Blue Note on Sept. 17 … Linda Ciofalo sings at the Priory on Sept. 17 … Jazz is back at Enzo's at the Jolly Hotel Madison Towers. The lineup includes Jody Sandhaus on Sept. 27 and Gabriele Tranchina singing on Sept. 29. Hear, hear Pianist Satoko Fujii is releasing four CDs of her big band compositions this month, each with a different orchestra: Undulation (NatSat) with Orchestra New York, Live! (Libra) with Orchestra Tokyo, Maru (Bakamo) with Orchestra Nagoya, and Kobe Yee! (CrabApple) with Orchestra Kobe … Singer/percussionist Fran McIntryre declares herself Lucky in Love (CAP) … Pianist Amina Figarova joins vocalist Jackie Ryan on This Heart of Mine (OpenArt) … Composer/spoken word artist/vibes player Cecilia Smith includes Gwen Laster (violin) and Maxine Roach (viola) on Dark Triumph (CEA) … Jazz legend Nancy Wilson has Turned to Blue (MCG Jazz) … Violinist/violist/ singer Meg Okura has released Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble (DM-pacje) … Joan Jonas plays percussion and Alicia Hall Moran sings on Jason Moran's Artist in Residence (Blue Note) … and Hope is All Around Us, according to singer Ellen O'Brien. HOT FLASHES BY PAUL BLAIR JAZZWOMEN STORM DIZZY'S Dizzy's hosts the 2nd Annual Diet Coke Women-in-Jazz Festival this month that includes, between September 4 and October 1, appearances by René Marie's quartet, Ann Hampton Callaway, Jane Bunnett's Havana Spirits group, Marian McPartland's trio, French singer Ann Ducros, pianist-vocalist Eliane Elias, keyboard star Patrice Rushen and (for the final six evenings) singers Karrin Allyson and Nancy Henry with backing by Bruce Barth's trio. Note, too, that other women headline throughout the month during the club's increasingly popular After Hours Sets - for instance, Deanna Witkowski, Lenore Raphael, Ayako Shirasaki, Barbara Sfraga, Michelle Walker and Mala Waldron. For the entire lineup, you'd best consult www.jalc.org, a site well worth checking on a regular basis. COLTRANE SALUTED To mark what would have been his eightieth birthday, three of the city's classiest venues recall John Coltrane's enduring legacy this month. At the Rose Theater on September 14-16, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra under Wynton Marsalis' direction will perform selections from Trane masterworks such as My Favorite Things, Africa Brass and A Love Supreme. Meanwhile, on September 15-16 in the adjoining Allen Room, a smaller ensemble (Todd Williams, Eric Reed, Reginald Veal and Herlin Riley) will back singer Kevin Mahogany in recreating material from that wonderful ballads album on which Coltrane collaborated with singer Johnny Hartman. As a visit to www.jalc.org will confirm, there's also a book reading on September 16 and a Coltrane-focused panel discussion on September 20 ... For its part, Birdland offers, on September 20-23, a most intriguing quartet: Joe Lovano (saxophones), Steve Kuhn (piano), Andrew Cyrille (drums) Lonnie Plaxico (bass). A second bassist, Henry Grimes, will make it a quintet on the final two evenings. JC will, of course, be on all their minds. AT THE SMITHSONIAN If you're a pianist eager to win the $10,000 grand prize in this year's Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, sorry. It's too late to apply. But you can attend both the semi-finals and the final concert down in Washington on September 16-17. Tickets are free. Consult www.monkinstitute.org for details; it’s a fascinating website that lists past winners on various instruments (you'll recognize lots of names) plus additional tidbits on other Monk Institute doings. FOR MUSICIANS ONLY! Yes, jazz is an art. But the needs of jazz artists involved in the tough jazz business are foremost in the minds of those who've put together a new series of workshops on the biz aspects of the art form. These no-cost 3:00-5:00 PM "First Tuesday Seminars" (jointly sponsored by Chamber Music America, the Midtown Arts Common and the Saint Peter's Church Jazz Ministry) will be held monthly through May at the church. The first, on September 5, offers an overview of CMA's grant and awards program. Future sessions cover online publicity, copyright, grantsmanship, securing airplay, lining up overseas work and much more. For info on this worthwhile series, contact William Pace: 212-242-2022, ext. 14 or wpace@chamber-music.org. OTHER ROOMS, OTHER VOICES Vibist Tom Beckham, who's also a composer of distinction, debuts a new CD entitled Center Songs (Apria) at Fat Cat on September 22-23. Tom also plays at Bar 4 in Brooklyn on September 24 ... Dave Liebman brings four different groups - one of them a big band - into Birdland on September 13-16 ... Two pace-setting trumpeters - Roy Campbell and Dave Douglas - honor the Don Cherry legacy at Merkin Hall on September 16 ... Jason Moran's Bandwagon pulls into the Blue Note for a September 12-17 stint, in part of mark the release of Artist in Residence, his new one on a label quite coincidentally called Blue Note ... The estimable Jody Sandhaus sings at Enzo's on September 27; her latest is A Fine Spring Morning (Consolidated Artists Productions) ... Soprano-alto specialist Jason Rigby leads a quartet at Minton's Playhouse on September 2 ... Player-composer at Joe's Pub this month include Joel Harrison on September 11 and Susie Ibarra on September 27 ... And here's a comer: Matt Savage, a pianist who's just fourteen but already exhibiting some remarkable keyboard skills. To mark the debut of a new disc called Quantum Leap, he'll play with his trio at Bosendorfer New York (200 Lexington Ave., 9th floor) on September 14, beginning at 7:30 PM. (Confirm via rsvp@savagerecords.com) FALL FESTIVAL WATCH The Chicago Jazz Festival (August 31-September 3) includes lots of free events, with Messrs. Konitz and Lovano each heard in a variety of musical circumstances. For full lineup go to: www.jazzinstituteofchicago.org. The Detroit International Jazz Festival (September 1-3) offers, among other attractions, an all-star band that includes local notables like Barry Harris and Curtis Fuller. There are riverboat cruises as well. (www.detroitjazzfest.com.) Also taking place on Labor Day weekend are the annual extravaganza up at Tanglewood (www.bso.org) and the Vail Jazz Festival in Colorado (www.vailjazz,org). The Guelph Jazz Festival (September 6-10) brings great music to one of Canada's most beautiful cities. All the details are posted on www.guelphjazzfestival.com. Another getaway idea: the four-day West Coast Jazz Party & Cruise, being held at a Marriot hotel in Irvine, CA as well as aboard a liner beginning August 31. (www.westcoastjazzparty.com). UP-CLOSE JOE Admirers of Joe Lovano's talents - and those wanting new insights into the jazz craft - will be interested in a workshop being offered by Roberto's Winds on September 16. Mr. Lovano will head up a master class in the banquet room of Rosie O'Grady's (149 W. 46th St.) beginning at 3:30 PM. There'll be food and drink as well as music. This is just the first in a series of such events, being offered on a monthly basis by the staff at Roberto's, with equally distinguished jazz people already booked for future workshops. For more info - or to reserve a place - query brian@robertoswinds.com or phone 212-391-1315.