January 2024

ALL THAT’S JAZZ

BY CYDNEY HALPIN

Happy New Year!!

Once again, it’s been a privilege to serve the New Jersey Jazz Society as board president this past year, and I’d like to begin the New Year by thanking my fellow board members for their support and dedication to the continued growth and development of NJJS.

I’d also like to acknowledge and thank all of the Jersey Jazz contributing editors and contributing photographers whose volunteerism and expertise have filled these magazine pages this past year.

With much gratitude I’d like to thank the following people and organizations/companies who contributed to the ongoing efforts and operations of NJJS in 2023: Sanford Josephson, editor and Mike Bessire, art director of Jersey Jazz, Christine Vaindirlis/NJJS webmaster, NJJS’s

Advisory Committee members Don Braden, Mariel Bildsten, Ted Chubb, Al Kuehn, and Jason Olaine, Nan Hughes Poole, Rachel Domber/Arbors Records, John Pietrowski & Caroline Romanelli/Madison Community Arts Center, Jay Dougherty, James Pansulla, Cynthia Feketie, Ryan Roberts/1202 Creations, Patti Graham, Castle Printing, Sandwiches Unlimited, and Bob Rizzo.

Advertisers are the sustaining life force for Jersey Jazz, as membership fees alone are insufficient to finance a publication of this caliber. Thank you to all who advertised this past the year, and to the many who have done so year after year. The board and I are so grateful for your continued patronage.

With much appreciation, I’d like to acknowledge Morris Arts whose support—through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National

Endowment of the Arts—helped fund this year’s Jersey Jazz LIVE! events, and who have generously committed to continued funding in 2024. (Please note: Jersey Jazz LIVE! events can be enjoyed anytime for free on the New Jersey Jazz Society YouTube channel.)

Lastly, I’d like to acknowledge and thank our NJJS members and patrons. YOU are the heart and soul of this organization. Lists are tricky and my sincerest apologies if I’ve inadvertently omitted anyone.

Founded in 1972, The New Jersey Jazz Society has diligently maintained its dedication to the promotion and preservation of jazz, and this past year has seen a renewed commitment to these founding tenets, with the expansion of our Juried Scholarship Competition and our Rising Stars Initiative—the opening act of our Jersey Jazz LIVE! events.

We could not have done this without your support through membership dues, event attendance, and the generosity of donors like yourself.

Please consider helping NJJS continue its performance and educational initiatives by donating to our “YOU Make It All Possible!” fundraising campaign either by mail, or anytime online at www.njjs.org. There’s a red “Make a Donation” button conveniently located on our home page for easy giving. We process our payments through PayPal but you do NOT need a PayPal account. Once inside our site, click on the yellow donate button and you can make a donation with your debit or credit card of choice.

Would you like to maximize the impact of your gift? Many of you work for employers that have a matching gift program that will double the impact of your gift for free by complet-

PHOTO BY CYDNEY HALPIN

ALL

ing and submitting a simple form. Check with your Human Resources Department for further information.

You can also make a tax-efficient gift from your IRA today! Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), also known as IRA Charitable Rollovers, are the savviest way for individuals age 70½ or older to use their IRAs to maximize their charitable giving.

Your IRA donation is a generous way to fulfill your required minimum distribution for the year. Gifts generated directly from your IRA will save you on taxes while helping NJJS fulfill its mission to promote and preserve jazz.

Every donation gets us closer to our $25,000 goal. If you haven’t already contributed to this annual campaign, please consider a generous tax-deductible gift today. We need YOU to join with us in this collaborative effort. A very special thank you to those who have already donated to this campaign.

Given your generosity, we’re a 1/4 of the way to our $25,000 appeal goal!

On behalf of my fellow board members, we thank you for all you do to support jazz music and education. YOU make it all possible!

I’m pleased to announce that NJJS is the recipient of a $2,750 grant from The Summit Foundation. This money is granted for 2024 in support of our Jersey Jazz LIVE! events. The board and I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to The Summit Foundation for this gift, as this funding is consequential to our LIVE! programming. For more information about the Foundation visit www.Summitforever.org.

While we’re very grateful for this support, this funding doesn’t fully cover all the costs associated with LIVE! events. Perhaps you or someone you know would like to help offset the

additional costs of our programming by sponsoring or co-sponsoring one of our LIVE! concerts? Please contact me at pres@njjs.org for more information.

NJJS’s 2024 Juried Scholarship Competition—which will award a $1,000 and a $500 prize in each of two categories: Jazz Performance and Original Composition—is accepting entries.

The competition is open to all students currently enrolled in a New Jersey college undergraduate music program, as well as to Jersey residents currently enrolled in an out of state college undergraduate program. Proof of residency is required for Jersey applicants in out of state schools.

Along with the cash award, winners will receive guidance, mentorship, and the opportunity to perform with an industry professional, and coverage in Jersey Jazz. This compe-

tition will be judged by our prestigious panel of professional musicians, educators and industry leaders comprised of:

Don Braden - World class tenor saxophonist, flutist, composer, and educator

Ted Chubb - Vice President, Jazz Education + Associate Producer, Jazz House Kids, trumpeter, composer, and educator

Jason Olaine - Vice President of Programming, Jazz at Lincoln Center

Mariel Bildsten - Trombonist, bandleader, sidewoman, and educator Submission deadline is Friday March 29, 2024, 11:59 p.m. Visit njjs. org/Education/Scholarship Program for complete details.

The board and I would like to thank Nan Hughes Poole for her generous support of this initiative.

Blessings and great jazz to all in the coming year!

Madison Community Arts Center 10 KINGS ROAD, MADISON, NJ FREE STREET PARKING ON KINGS ROAD $ 10 MEMBERS | $ 15 NON-MEMBERS

REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE FEATURING

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EDITOR’S CHOICE

BY SANFORD JOSEPHSON

Appreciating Milt Hinton

When I interviewed bassist Liany Mateo for the Rising Star feature in the October 2023 Jersey Jazz, I asked her who her greatest influence on bass was, and she responded, “Milt Hinton. I fell in love with his bass playing early, and I love reading about him and hearing stories about him and his humanity. I’m reading his autobiography right now (Playing the Changes: Milt Hinton’s Life in Stories and Photographs, published in 2008 by Vanderbilt University Press). He really learned how to give back to people around him.”

Last month, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center announced the creation of the Milt Hinton Institute for Studio Bass, a summer music education program for teens that will be in residence at Montclair State University in July.

In addition to his considerable talent as a bassist, Hinton, who died in 2000 at the age of 90, was a prolif-

ic and talented photographer, taking his camera with him practically everywhere. In February and March 2008, Baruch College presented an exhibit called “Playing the Changes: The Jazz Photographs of Milt Hinton.” The exhibit was shown in connection with the publication of the autobiography Mateo was reading. The 40 photographs on display at Baruch included Cab Calloway with a group of children in Providence, RI (1938), alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges at Beefsteak Charlie’s restaurant/ bar in New York (1960), and Dizzy Gillespie at the Grande Parade du Jazz festival in Nice, France (1981). I interviewed Hinton in 1985 for an article that became part of a chapter in my book, Jazz Notes: Interviews Across the Generations (Praeger/ABCClio: 2009), and he told me about traveling with the Cab Calloway Orchestra and how the band would lit-

erally live on a train for three months of every year because it was difficult for Black musicians in the 1930s and ‘40s to find decent hotel rooms.

When I updated the interview for my book, I spoke to trumpeter Warren Vache who was a young member of Hinton’s band in the ‘80s. “As dumb as I was and all the mistakes I’d make,” Vache recalled, “Milt was so tolerant and willing to help. If you asked him a question, he’d take the time and answer it. There was always this willingness to share both his life and his personality. He was just the most open and caring human being.”

The Milt Hinton Institute for Studio Bass will be directed by Peter Dominguez, bassist and Professor of Double Bass and Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Some of the other faculty members will be Rufus Reid, Marcus McLaurine, and Bill Crow. Lucky kids.

ABOUT NJJS

Founded in 1972, The New Jersey Jazz Society has diligently maintained its mission to promote and preserve America’s great art form—jazz. To accomplish our mission, we produce a monthly magazine, Jersey Jazz ; sponsor live jazz events; and provide scholarships to New Jersey college students studying jazz. Through our outreach program Generations of Jazz, we provide interactive programs focused on the history of jazz. The Society is run by a board of directors who meet monthly to conduct Society business. NJJS membership is comprised of jazz devotees from all parts of the state, the country and the world.

MEMBER BENEFITS

You become an integral part of the NJJS community, and the history and future of jazz

Access to 11 Digital Issues of our Award Winning Jersey Jazz Magazine

— Featuring Articles, Interviews, Reviews, Events and More

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LIVE! Sunday Concerts

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List” with Individual Website Link

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THE RECORD BIN

Visit www.njjs.org or email info@njjs.org for more information on our programs and services

A collection of CDs & LPs available at reduced prices at most NJJS concerts and events and through mail order www.njjs.org/Store

Family/Individual $45

(Family includes to 2 Adults and 2 children under 18 years of age)

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Musician Member $45 / 3-Year $90 (one time only, renewal at standard basic membership level.)

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Give-A-Gift $25 - Members in good standing may purchase unlimited gift memberships.

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Members at Bandleader level and above and Corporate Memberships receive special benefits.

Please contact Membership@njjs.org for details.

The New Jersey Jazz Society is qualified as a tax exempt cultural organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, Federal ID 23-7229339. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. For more Information or to join, visit www.njjs.org

Magazine of the New Jersey Jazz Society

VOLUME 52 • ISSUE 01

NJJS org

Jersey Jazz (ISSN 07405928) is published monthly for members of The New Jersey Jazz Society

382 Springfield Ave., Suite 217, Summit, NJ 07901

973-229-0543 • info@njjs.org

Membership fee is $45/year.

All material in Jersey Jazz, except where another copyright holder is explicitly acknowledged, is copyright ©New Jersey Jazz Society 2020. All rights reserved. Use of this material is strictly prohibited without the written consent of the NJJS.

Editorial Staff

EDITOR

Sanford Josephson, editor@njjs.org

ART DIRECTOR

Michael Bessire, art@njjs.org

CONTRIBUTING PHOTO EDITOR

Mitchell Seidel, photo@njjs.org

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Bill Crow, Joe Lang, Dan Morgenstern, Mitchell Seidel, Jay Sweet, Susan Turner

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Justin Bettman, Christopher Drukker, Eric Ebar, Bruce Gast, John Herr, Alison Luntz, Stephen Pope, Mitchell Seidel

WEBMASTER

Christine Vaindirlis

New Jersey Jazz Society, Officers 2021

PRESIDENT

Cydney Halpin, pres@njjs.org

EXECUTIVE VP vicepresident@njjs.org

TREASURER

Mike Katz, treasurer@njjs.org

VP, MEMBERSHIP membership@njjs.org

VP, PUBLICITY

Sanford Josephson, sanford.josephson@gmail.com

VP, MUSIC PROGRAMMING

Mitchell Seidel, music@njjs.org

RECORDING SECRETARY

Irene Miller

CO-FOUNDER

Jack Stine

Advertising

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING

Cydney Halpin, advertising@njjs.org

ADVERTISING RATES

Full Page: $135, Half Page: $90, 1/3 Page: $60, 1/4 Page: $30

For reservations, technical information and deadlines contact advertising@njjs.org or visit njjs.org/Magazine/Advertise .

Make payment at PayPal.com: payment@ njjs.org, or via check made payable to NJJS, 382 Springfield Ave., Suite 217, Summit, NJ 07901

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

Mike Katz DIRECTORS

Jay Dougherty, Cynthia Feketie, Pete Grice, Carrie Jackson, Caryl Anne McBride, Robert McGee, James Pansulla, Stew Schiffer, Elliott Tyson, Jackie Wetcher

ADVISORS

Don Braden, Mariel Bildsten, Ted Chubb, Al Kuehn, Jason Olaine

Daryl Sherman and Jay Leonhart Pay Tribute to Three Vocal Legends

In the 1970s and ‘80s, pianist/vocalist/composer Bob Dorough was Music Director of Schoolhouse Rock!, a three-minute vignette aired by ABC Television as part of its Saturday morning cartoons. Dorough wrote songs about mathematics, grammar, history, and civics with titles such as “My Hero Zero”, “Three is a Magic Number”, “Conjunction Junction”, and “Sufferin’ Til Suffrage”.

Through his connections in the music business, he was able to recruit other well-known musicians to get involved with some of the songs. Vocalist Blossom Dearie sang “Figure Eight” and “Unpack Your Adjectives”, and pianist/vocalist/composer Dave Frishberg wrote “I’m Just a Bill” about the legislative process.

On Sunday afternoon, January 7, pianist/vocalist Daryl Sherman and bassist/vocalist Jay Leonhart will pay tribute to Dorough, Dearie, and Fr-

ishberg at the New Jersey Jazz Society’s Jersey Jazz LIVE! concert at the Madison, NJ, Community Arts Center. They will be reprising a similar tribute performed at Birdland last August.

Author, historian, and Jersey Jazz columnist Dan Morgenstern, writing about the Birdland appearance, said, “No duo could be better suited to salute those three diversely talented legends. Both Daryl and Jay, being singers, instrumentalists, and songwriters, also share their subjects’ artistry, humor, plus individual mastery of interpretation. Jay Leonhart appears on many Blossom Dearie recordings, and Daryl has recorded with Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough.”

Sherman has been part of the New York City jazz scene since the mid-1970s. She is perhaps best known for her 15 years of playing on the Cole Porter piano at the Waldorf-Astoria. In 2012, Sherman re-

PHOTO BY BRUCE GAST

leased an album called Mississippi Belle: Cole Porter in the Quarter on the Audiophile label. Reviewing it for Jersey Jazz, Joe Lang wrote that, “Sherman’s intimate vocal style, fabulous phrasing, and inventive self-accompaniment on piano produced an album that would surely have pleased Mr. Porter and will have a similar effect on his legions of admirers.”

Leonhart has played with a who’s who of the jazz and pop world. Among the vocalists he accompanied were Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, and Mel Torme, and he has shared the bandstand with jazz leg-

ends such as Duke Ellington, Thad Jones, and Marian McPartland.

DownBeat’s Robert Ham, reviewing Leonhart’s 2020 Sunnyside album, Joy, (with pianist Tomoko Ohno and drummer Vito Lesczak) wrote, “at age 79, Leonhart’s still playing the bass with the nimble hands of a youngster ... His music is pure comfort food, uplifted by his plainspoken delivery and his dry, dad joke-heavy sense of humor.” The New York Times has called him, “one of the most sought-after standup bass players on the New York pop-jazz scene.”

Sherman and Leonhart will be

“ SHERMAN HAS BEEN PART OF THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ SCENE SINCE THE MID-1970S. ”

preceded by a Rising Stars opening act featuring a duo led by violinist/ vocalist Jacquie Lee, a Montclair resident and a freshman at the Manhattan School of Music. She will be accompanied by guitarist Derick Campos, a 2022 NJJS scholarship winner. Lee was the Rising Star in the April 2023 issue of Jersey Jazz. At the Charles Mingus Festival & High School Competition, held last February at The New School, she received an Outstanding Soloist Award. One of the songs she performed was Mingus’

“The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines” with lyrics by Joni Mitchell, who sang it on her1979 Asylum album, Mingus. Asked about her favorite jazz violinist of the past, Lee said, “Stuff Smith, one of the most swinging cats of all time.”

The Madison Community Arts Center is located at 10 Kings Road in Madison, NJ. The Jersey Jazz LIVE! concerts will begin at 3 p.m. Admission will be $10 for NJJS members and $15 for non-members. Student admission is $5 with valid ID. There will be light refreshments for purchase. To order tickets in advance, log onto MadisonArts.ticketleap.com/ jersey-jazz-live-01-07-2024

Funding for Jersey Jazz Live! has been made possible, in part, by funds from Morris Arts through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of The National Endowment for the Arts.

Jacquie Lee

Event Will Feature Pianist Emmet Cohen Along With Several Mix-and-Match All-Star Groups

Bruce Harris, Adrian Cunningham, and Chuck Redd Are Among the All-Stars

BY SUSAN TURNER

The North Carolina Jazz Festival in Wilmington, NC, opens this year on Thursday, February 1, with a presentation of three different styles of jazz. The opening set will feature the Port City Trio, led by Julia Walker Jewell, a group that has been a mainstay for jazz and blues enthusiasts in the Wilmington area for many years. The set will spotlight

violinist and vocalist Annie Jewell, who was in the very first North Carolina Jazz Festival masterclass, given by Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar) and Jonathan Russell (violin) in 2011.

The second set will feature pianist Emmet Cohen and his trio, fresh from a concert at the Havana (Cuba) Jazz Festival. AllAboutJazz’s Mike Jurkovic, in a review of Cohen’s 2022

PHOTO BY JOHN HERR

Emmet Cohen

Mack Avenue album, Uptown in Orbit, called him “one of the guiding lights of 21st century jazz,” adding that, “he may have/could have single-handedly saved our collective sanity and jazz’s continued rise and relevance when, in the face of a world plague, he began streaming Live From Emmet’s Place from his apartment in Harlem.”

The final set of the evening will be a preview of the weekend’s All-Star groups led by multi-reedist Adrian Cunningham.

Friday and Saturday, February 2 and 3, will include seven sets both nights, each with a different leader, culminating in a rollicking, fun-filled weekend of traditional jazz. The musicians performing will be pianists Rossano Sportiello and Champian Fulton, Bruce Harris and Kellin Hanas on trumpet Adrian Cunningham and Ken Peplowski on reeds, Herman Burney and Brandi Disterheft on bass, trom-

bonist Dion Tucker, percussionists Chuck Redd and Alvin Atkinson, guitarist Nate Najar, violinist Jonathan Russell, and vocalist Lucy Yeghiazaryan. It is always a pleasure to introduce musicians new to our stage, so this year we welcome first-timers Kellin Hanas and Brandi Disterheft (See Rising Star feature on Hanas on page 14).

The 44th Annual festival will be held at Wilmington’s Hotel Ballast, and all evening concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the hotel ballroom. For more information or to order tickets, log onto ncjazzfestival.org or call (910) 399-6536. Patronships are available, which include a Saturday morning Patron’s Brunch where you can enjoy the music of our All-Stars and have an opportunity to chat with them and other patrons. If a patron happens to be a musician, he or she is welcome to sit in with the All-Stars.

PHOTO BY STEPHEN POPE

Adrian Cunningham

Rising

Star Trumpeter Kellin Hanas Has Toured with DIVA and Led Her Own Quintet at Birdland

Hanas is One of Two First-Timers at the North Carolina Jazz Festival, Along with Bassist Brandi Disterheft.

BY SANFORD JOSEPHSON

As a four-year-old, growing up in Wheaton, IL, Kellin Hanas was a fan of the TV show, The Wiggles. “There were four Australian guys in colorful shirts, and they would sing songs,” she recalled. “In one of their shows, they brought out this guy with a little trumpet. I guess,

from watching that, I had a dream one night that I was playing trumpet on a stage, and I was a soloist.”

Fast forward three years to when Hanas was seven. “My grandma has been a singer and a choir director forever. She was telling my parents to make sure I played an instrument. So, they took me to a music store, and I knew instantly I had some sort of connection to the trumpet.” Hanas started out playing on a cornet, but, “I hated practicing. My parents had to force me to practice, and there were times I almost quit because I was being classically trained, and it just wasn’t music I was interested in playing.”

Everything changed when she got to Franklin Middle School. The middle school Band Director, Dan Dupree, introduced Hanas to jazz, and she joined the jazz band in sixth grade. When she was preparing to enter eighth grade, Dupree invited her to play with a jazz band he led

PHOTO BY ERIC EBAR

on Monday nights in the basement of a local church. “I remember being 14,” she said, “and sitting in the band, having a light bulb moment and saying, ‘I’m finally enjoying the stuff that I’m playing on my instrument.”

As a student at Wheaton North High School, Hanas made the allstate high school jazz band just about the time that Dupree was diagnosed with brain cancer. “I had just gotten the big solo at all-state when I went over to his house. He was unresponsive. I played the solo for him – Neal Hefti’s chart of ‘L’il Darlin’—and he started to move, but the next day he passed away. I realized how powerful this music was. I kind of decided, ‘Yeah, he would want me to do this’.”

Hanas became aware of national honor programs for high schoolers interested in jazz and applied to some of them. “I ended up getting into the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, the Jazz Band

of America, and Carnegie Hall’s NYO Jazz Orchestra,” she said, “and I really connected with the kids there because we were coming from all around the country. My high school had a good music department, and my high school band director, Kent Krause, was really supportive and gave me the best opportunities. But, at a certain point, your local high school can only get you so far. Once I started making these other bands my junior and senior year, I discovered there were 20, 40, 60 kids just like me, who loved this music and played at such a high level.”

Krause remembered that, “Whatever ensemble Kellin was in, she was 100 per cent invested. Her integrity was unwavering, whether she was playing in the Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, or the Marching Band. It’s not like she focused only on jazz and blew off the rest. One of my favorite stories about Kellin is when she was a senior. She nervously approached me

and said she had to miss playing in the football Pep Band because she was performing at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Needless to say, I excused the absence. Although Kellin showed prodigious talent, it was her work ethic that set her apart. Any chance she got, she was in that practice room, shedding away.

“Kellin,” he added, “never forgot where she came from. Although she maintains a busy performance

schedule, she will not hesitate to let me know when she is in town to work with my ensembles. Even though her jazz vocabulary far exceeded everyone in the ensemble very early, she was always very respectful and supportive of others.”

Before attending the national programs, Hanas was thinking about majoring in music education at a local college. Then, her focus changed. “I

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra at Dizzy’s Club. Kellin Hanas is at bottom left.

saw that everybody else was getting a performance degree in jazz at these conservatories like Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard. I was like, ‘Wow, is that really possible for me?’ I applied to the Manhattan School of Music, and my audition went great. Ingrid Jensen (trumpeter and MSM Dean of Jazz Arts) judged it, and she was so nice to me. I just knew this was where I was supposed to be for the next four years.”

The 22-year-old Hanas is currently in her senior year at MSM, and Jensen calls her “a gem. She started studying with me four years ago, and her growth from then until now is mind-blowing. Her personal sound and approach to the trumpet and music are already setting her apart from many other young people I am seeing and hearing out on our current scene. Kellin is fearless, thoughtful, kind, and intentional with her goals as she works hard daily, chipping away at

mastering all of the necessary skills needed to thrive as a jazz musician in 2023. Her potential goes as deep and as high as the earth and stars will allow.” Trumpeter Scott Wendholt, an MSM faculty member, described Hanas as “already the consummate professional and a joy to be around. I look forward to watching her blossoming career with great anticipation!”

Hanas was planning to apply to graduate school, but changed her mind. “I’m going to take a gap year, stay in New York and just travel and gig,” she said. Already, she has toured with the DIVA Jazz Orchestra and Manhattan Transfer, appearing at DIVA’s 30th anniversary performance and recording at Dizzy’s Club. Said DIVA leader and drummer Sherrie Maricle: “Kellin Hanas is one of the most extraordinary young trumpet players on the music scene today! She has a vibrant, creative, original approach to music, and, equally important, she is

a great presence on and off the stage.”

In March 2022, Hanas was contacted by Birdland to see if she was available to lead a band on Sunday nights. “They said, ‘We’re looking for somebody to fill this Sunday night spot, a small group; and we thought of you. Can you bring your band?’ My band? I didn’t have one, but, of course, I emailed back and said ‘absolutely!’ That forced me to write a ton of music and form my band. We did the Music Mountain Festival in Falls Village,

Connecticut, in August. We’ve played some other venues including the Festival of New Trumpet Music in New York. And, in Ohio, we’re going to be clinicians at Marietta College and do a performance in Marietta for the community.” The other quintet members are multi-reedist Veronica Leahy, drummer Quintin Cain, pianist Ethan Ostrow, and bassist Aidan McCarthy. “We’ve all been playing together for a year and a half,” she added.

Looking forward to the North Carolina Jazz Festival, Hanas is very excited to play alongside fellow trumpeter Bruce Harris. “I’ve been a fan of his since I was in high school,” she said. As for other trumpet influences, “When I listen to Wynton Marsalis, I’m always just so inspired to go practice. His sound is something I want to strive for. I’ve always been a fan of Booker Little and Roy Hargrove, and I learned a lot of my articulation from listening to Lee Morgan.”

PHOTO BY ERIC EBAR

Goal of the Roy Hargrove Big Band: ‘Keeping His Spirit Alive’

“There are No Stars, But You Could Pick Out Any of These Musicians and Put Them on a Solo Stand in the Spotlight”

BY SANFORD JOSEPHSON

In 1991, 21-year-old trumpeter Roy Hargrove appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall with the legendary tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who had played in the 1950s with Hargrove’s idol, trumpeter Clifford Brown. That performance, according to The Washington Post’s Matt Schudel, “gave Mr. Hargrove instant credibility among musicians.”

Aida Brandes-Hargrove speaking to the audience at Dizzy’s Club

Four years later, Hargrove formed a big band, described by The New York Times’ Jon Pareles as “a cautious advance into new territory.”

Hargrove passed away in November 2018 at the age of 49 from cardiac arrest, and in March 2022, his wife, Aida Brandes-Hargrove, relaunched the Roy Hargrove Big Band. “We started it,” Brandes-Hargrove said, “to be able to continue Roy’s music without Roy. We figured that if there were enough of the original people who played with Roy—if you bring 17 of them together, it might work. It

PHOTO

ALISON LUNTZ

did, and it does every time. So many of the original guys show up ready to play and give it their all, bringing their A game. Not only is the music on the level Roy would have liked, but it’s also got that vibe—making sure that Roy’s spirit is kept alive.”

On Thursday, January 18, the Roy Hargrove Big Band will play at the South Orange Performing Arts Center, led by alto saxophonist Bruce Williams and baritone saxophonist Jason Marshall. “Roy’s spirit,” said Williams, “will be in the room. We intend to keep on pushing and representing that music to the best of our abilities. The cast of characters is largely people that were around Roy for many years. There are also some newer ones because Roy often liked to foster the development of younger players through jam sessions or just bringing people into the band. We were all young guys at one time; now we’re

Bruce Williams: “You should leave feeling like you had an experience.”

like elder statesmen. We just like to continue sharing it with the world.”

Hargrove’s first album, Diamond in the Rough, was released in 1990 on RCA’s Novus label. In a May 20, 1990 article, “Young Gifted and Cool”, The New York Times Magazine’s Tom Piazza, reporting on young musicians who were discovering the jazz tra-

dition, wrote, “The one name that everyone mentions is Roy Hargrove. His playing incorporates a wide, rich sound, something like that of the great Clifford Brown. Hargrove is a mixture of shyness and cockiness, boyish enthusiasm and high seriousness.”

Reviewing Hargrove’s 2008 EmArcy big band album, Emergence, John Fordham of The Guardian wrote that, “the arrangements fizz with ingenious variations, and Hargrove’s playing strokes every nuance.” AllAboutJazz’s Robert J. Robbins felt the album represented “Hargrove’s full-fledged emergence into the large ensemble idiom.”

At the time of his death, Hargrove led three bands: the big band, an acoustic quintet, and RH Factor, which mixed mainstream jazz and other styles such as hiphop, rap, and rhythm & blues.

According to Marshall, Hargrove

The Roy Hargrove Big Band

RHYTHM SECTION:

DRUMS Willie Jones III

BASS Danton Boller

PIANO Tyler Bullock

GUITAR Saul Rubin

TRUMPETS Nathan Eklund

Wayne Tucker

Camerahn Alforque

Duane Eubanks

TROMBONES Jason Jackson

James Burton

Nate Jones

Max Seigel

SAXOPHONES Bruce Williams

Jason Marshall

Mark Gross

Keith Loftis

Drummer Evan Sherman

Roy Hargrove’s Influence on Young Musicians

Young jazz musicians are not shy about their admiration and respect for Roy Hargrove.

“Roy Hargrove was one of my top, most influential mentors. When I first heard his records, I fell in love with his music. Davis (pianist Davis Whitfield) and I would go to late jam sessions at Smalls. Roy would remember us. He would help me get up at the jam sessions. I saw him whisper into this guy’s ear, ‘Evan on drums.’ To have him get on my side like that was such a boost to my confidence ... I’m constantly reflecting on our time together and digesting a lot of things he imparted.” (Jersey Jazz, March/April 2020 )

Trumpeter

Anthony Hervey

“I miss Roy all the time. My first two years in New York, I remember seeing him at Smalls. Sometimes, I played with the Evan Sherman Big Band, and Roy would sit in with us. Most people on that level—you’re not going to see them in the clubs every night. Roy was one of the few who was actually there, at the jam sessions with the younger generation.” (Jersey Jazz, April 2022 ).

“seemed to always have these musical personalities running concurrently.

At any one time, it could be RH Factor, big band and quintet. And, he would go out and do a guest spot or go and record some music for a commercial. You had to get with him on that multitude of wave lengths, just to keep up.

He had total recall, completely photo-

graphic memory, remembering everything. I’m reminded of a particular instance where in the same month he had every band that existed under his name out on tour together. We’re talking 30-plus people on the road.”

Added Williams: “We would go from playing RH Factor to a jam session, playing straight ahead to big

Jason Marshall: Roy Hargrove “seemed to always have these musical personalities running concurrently.”

band gigs the next night or the next set. That was very common. That’s who he was—a versatile individual.”

Hargrove was a huge influence on and supporter of emerging young talent. “There are many young musicians that Roy touched,” Williams said. “He would try them out in the big band. In the big bands is kind of how you learn to play, to get around older players. That situation has really stayed alive with this generation of the big band. I fully intend on having as many of the older guys play, but the younger ones that have the interest, integrity, respect, and desire get on base every time. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Pianist Tyler Bullock is typical of a young artist who fits into Williams’ description. Originally from Nashville, he’s a student at Juilliard, was a jazz piano finalist for the YoungArts competition, and was selected for the 2021 edition of Car-

negie Hall’s NYO Jazz Ensemble.

The big band, said Brandes-Hargrove, “serves as a great vehicle for the young ones to learn in the Roy Hargrove tradition—they have to show up and give it their all. I have to say, after two years, this really is a team effort. It’s 17 people. There are no stars, but you could pick out any of these musicians and put them on a solo stand in the spotlight.”

Many of the band members performing at SOPAC on January 18 played with Hargrove. “We’re just looking forward to bringing the heat and the love and the spirit,” Williams said. “That’s what it’s all about. You should leave feeling like you had an experience. We’re bringin’ it.” Added Brandes-Hargrove: “Be warned, New Jersey. If people were expecting a nice sitdown concert, at some point they’re going to be bringing down the house.”

OCelebrating Max Roach’s Centennial with a New Performance of His Freedom Jazz Suite

“Max

was Always About Making a Statement Regarding the Position of the Drums in the Band”

BY JAY SWEET

n January 10, 2024, Max Roach, one of jazz’s most remarkable figures, would have turned 100 years old. The observance of Roach’s centennial has coincided with the recent release of the documentary Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes, which celebrates the drummer’s life and music. While many remember Roach as the pioneering drummer connected to the bebop movement of the mid to late 1940s, a much more incredible story is associated with his mastery,

creativity, conviction, and spirit.

From Pasquotank County, NC, Maxwell Roach spent most of his youth in Brooklyn. Early into his career, Roach was recognized for his ability to play rapid tempos with impeccable technique while providing well-placed accents on the drum kit. At 18 years old, he came to the jazz community’s attention when asked to fill in for Duke Ellington’s drummer, Sonny Greer, at the Paramount Theater in New York City. Following

that performance, Roach became active on the 52nd Street jazz scene, where he began playing and recording with bebop modernists such as Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis. These individuals and the bebop style (a term Roach rejected) moved jazz musicians in a new direction in which the music became more removed from the commercialism of the swing era.

Roach was considered not only the premier drummer of the movement but also one of its co-creators, particularly with regard to how the drums functioned within a bebop ensemble. Also, he became more interested in African and Afro-Caribbean drumming during this era. Through intense studies and continued schooling, he transferred those rootbased traditions onto the drum set.

In 1954, Roach co-led one of the

great jazz quintets with the young trumpet master Clifford Brown. The group served as one of the most influential jazz groups of the 1950s and helped develop a jazz style known as post-bop or hard bop, further incorporating blues and gospel elements into bebop. Sadly, the group ended when Brown and pianist Richie Powell died in a car accident in 1956.

Roach suffered tremendously after the loss and turned inward, leading to a dark period in his life and the breakdown of his first marriage. Despite his struggles, he continued to forge ahead musically and remained one of the most sought-after jazz drummers.

In the early 1960s, Roach grew more focused and began working with vocalist, songwriter and actress Abbey Lincoln. They eventually married, and Roach encouraged Lincoln to move away from her image as a starlet to become more focused on

presenting music that was more personal and connected with the struggles of the African-American lifestyle in America. With Lincoln, Roach released We Insist! -Max Roach’s Freedom Jazz Suite (1960-Candid). The music and lyrics dealt with the African Independence Movement and connected with the American Civil Rights Movement. The record-

ing is a monumental achievement and the first political protest album associated with the jazz idiom. Following the release, Roach continued to present music connected with activism and experimentation through his music and commentary.

In the 1970s, the jazz scene had shifted, and many musicians such as Miles Davis were experimenting

various ensembles, presenting solo drum concerts, and even working for some time with his godson, hip hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy. By 2000, Roach was dealing with illness, and his activities slowed. He passed away on August 16, 2007, at the age of 84. Roach will long be remembered for his innovative drumming, pioneering

spirit, and political outspokenness.

In celebration of Roach’s life and music, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark (NJPAC) will present the Max Roach Centennial Celebration: Freedom Now Suite on January 26. Musical director and drummer Nasheet Waits leads this special one-night-only concert,

which features vocalist Cassandra Wilson, poets Sonia Sanchez and Saul Williams, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, and bassist Eric Revis. I spoke with Waits about Roach’s influence and his connection with the drum legend.

During this period, he became fascinated with the possibilities of a percussion ensemble. He formed the group M’Boom, which showcased the opportunities of a modern percussion band that paid tribute to the African roots of American music. In the early 1980s throughout the ‘90s, Roach remained active by recording and performing with

“My father,” he said, “is Frederick Douglas Waits, a drummer and percussionist (a founding member of M’Boom). I met many great musicians as a child, and many of my earliest memories came when my dad worked with Max Roach in M’Boom! After my father passed away, I moved back to New York City in 1989, and I was again around the music and began playing more, largely thanks to the jazz community around my family. I was very close with Max, who was like a godfather, and he kept watch over me and my brother after my father passed away and I got back into drumming. Max would allow me to roadie for him, and with fusing more electric instruments and rock and roll explorations into jazz music. While it might have served Roach financially to jump onto the electric fusion trend, he refused and continued to explore acoustic music. Following the breakup of his marriage to Lincoln, he married Janus Adams. As he struggled to connect with major record labels, Roach relocated to Massachusetts and began a professorship at the University of Massachusetts, where he remained until the mid-1990s.

Nasheet Waits: “I had box seats to the master, and I learned a lot from being around him.”

JAZZ HISTORY

he brought me along to keep an eye on me because we were going through a difficult emotional time. I went to high school with his twin daughters and even went to a prom with one of them.

“M’Boom was an extraordinary group,” he continued, “and my father was one of the original members; it was a significant group because it gave a large voice to drummers and showcased that percussionists are supremely musical. Max was always about making a statement regarding the position of the drums in the band. In western music, there has long been a stereotype concerning the usage of drums and the role of drummers, and Max was all about breaking down stereotypes. I was around the early years of that group. It was part of my environment, and I had some chances to play a few concerts with them.

“I was always pressing Max when it came to learning, always asking

questions, and he was very generous, but he usually gave me these esoteric answers. It was never like, ‘This is what you do for this.’ It was never that. It was always some story that ended with a theme encapsulated in retaining one’s identity. But I had box seats to the master, and I learned a lot from being around him.”

By reimagining and presenting We Insist!-Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite!, Waits has taken on a monumental task that he does not take lightly. “Max had goals to achieve through his music. So, that impacted some of his choices, and activism was involved with his direction. That prompted a different direction like the Freedom Now Suite-: They were discussing freedom and the question of freedom. Asking have we really attained it? Certainly not. How do we express that through music? A certain discomfort is involved with

the suite, and that’s intentional. The music reflects a certain amount of struggle. The music was pretty open, and that was intentional. So that’s the freedom. You hear the struggles through the song titles and what’s happening through the music.

“The NAACP commissioned the album to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and to address whether we (Af-

rican-Americans) are really free. It was also addressing the issues of apartheid in South Africa. The music was a vehicle to provide support to galvanize the spirit of those people who were protesting inequalities. The pot was boiling then, and Max was brave enough to initiate that protesting spirit in the music. He was a true creative spirit. I was approached to be the Music Director for the event, and I was ecstatic. Cassandra will be the only person who has done it before; she did it with Max 30 years ago, which was completely different from the recording”.

To order tickets to the Max Roach Centennial Celebration, log onto njpac.org or call (888) GO.NJPAC.

To hear Jay’s Sweet’s entire conversation with Nasheet Waits, go to the podcast, 30 Albums for 30 Years (1964-1994).

Blue Note Quintet Celebrates Iconic Record Label’s 85th Anniversary

“ The Name, Blue Note, has Always Been Synonymous with the Vanguard of Music”

Blue Note Records was created in 1939 by Alfred Lion, who had escaped Nazi Germany a few years earlier. The label’s first big hit was a recording of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” by clarinetist/saxophonist Sidney Bechet.

In the 1940s, the label began to record bebop artists such as pianist Thelonius Monk, drummer

Art Blakey, and trumpeters Howard McGhee and Fats Navarro. Eventually artists like trumpeters Miles Davis and Clifford Brown, pianists Horace Silver and Herbie Hancock, and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, among many others, joined the label.

The current Blue Note Quintet, comprised of pianist and Musical Director Gerald Clayton, alto saxo-

phonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, drummer Kendrick Scott, and bassist Matt Brewer will launch a 35-date tour on January 18 to celebrate Blue Note’s 85th anniversary. The fifth date on that tour will be on January 25 at Princeton’s McCarter Theatre Center.

The concert in Princeton, according to Scott (in an email interview),

From left, Gerald Clayton, Immanuel Wilkins, Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott, Matt Brewer

“From the time I was a young musician, Blue Note served as a North Star to me.”

will be a combination of new works by everyone in the quintet, “interspersed throughout with vignettes of classic Blue Note repertoire from wellknown Blue Note artists of yesteryear.”

Scott signed with Blue Note in 2015 and released three albums for the label—We Are The Drum, A Wall Becomes A Bridge, and Corridors. “From the time I was a young musician,” he said, “Blue Note served as a North Star for me. The name, Blue Note, has always been synonymous with the vanguard of music. To be included in this wonderful cadre of artists is humbling and energizing.”

In 2017, Scott was part of a Blue Note All-Stars album, Our Point of View, which included Hancock and Shorter, along with pianist Robert Glasper, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, guitarist Lionel Loueke, and guitarist/bassist Derrick Hodge. “The

experience with the Our Point of View recording,” he said, “was a beautiful melding of different artists from different generations. It was such a blessing to have Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter with us. In the process of making the music, I feel we all gleaned so much about what it truly means to be present every time, to listen and play like it’s the last. With this new group, we build on that commitment, which is the true tradition of Blue Note Records.”

Hancock, Scott said, “has been a huge influence on my life. Getting to be around him has forever changed the way I go about my days. The first day of a 42-date tour with him at the Vienna Opera House, I made a huge mistake. I went to him and apologized at the end of the concert. He said, ‘You thought about that for 2 1/2 hours?’ That lesson has resonated in my being since then. Let go! Stay curious and present!”

PHOTO BY JUSTIN BETTMAN

When asked about his drum heroes, Scott singled out three legends: Roy Haynes, Papa Jo Jones, and Max Roach. “One of my biggest inspirations, Roy Haynes, at 98, is still with us,” he pointed out. “His sound and approach is still as relevant today as it was in the beginning. The range of music he has covered is pretty much the whole history of jazz. I can only hope to create beauty, be malleable and as prolific as he is.

“Papa Jo Jones, one of Roy’s heroes, was one of the most elegant drummers that ever played. He has left an indelible mark on me in my search for beauty in drumming. I remember reading that he had a place on his ride cymbal for every member of the band. I cherish that mindset of using everything in your arsenal to lift up the band.

“Max Roach changed the way I saw the drum set. In a workshop, he

spoke of the drum sets’ origins. The snare and bass drum are European, the toms are African/native drums, and the cymbals are from Asia. He said that, in essence, every time you sit at a drum set, you should be playing democracy. Daily, I ask myself: ‘Am I embodying that principle within music and in my life in general?’”

Gerald Clayton became a Blue Note artist in 2020, releasing two albums as a leader—Happening: Live At The Village Vanguard and Bells On Sand. Ross joined Blue Note in 2019 with the release of KingMaker. Other Blue Note albums are Who Am I? and The Parable of the Poet. A new album, nublues, is due out next month. Wilkins made his Blue Note debut in 2020 with Omega, followed by The 7th Hand in 2022. Brewer has appeared on two Blue Note recordings: Greg Osby’s Channel Three and Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s Avatar.

“The experience with the Our Point of View recording,” Scott said, “was a beautiful melding of different artists from different generations.”

In a promotional video, Clayton said being part of the 85th anniversary Blue Note Quintet tour, “is something really special. You can’t help but think about all those masters that you’ve grown up listening to. That’s certainly the case for me. Wayne and Herbie and all these guys. I’ve soaked up every-

thing they’ve contributed to the music. To get a chance to look back and pay tribute and try to carry some of their essence forward is truly just an honor.”

Current Blue Note President Don Was, also in the video, urged “everybody who loves music to come on out and catch this quintet. From what I know of these players, they’re going to do it differently every single night. Every night, you’ll see some guys up on a high wire, trying to find new roads into the songs, taking the music in a new direction. What I love about all of these guys is, in spite of the incredible technical knowledge and proficiency, they all play from the heart first.”—Sanford Josephson

The Blue Note Quintet concert at McCarter begins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 25. For more information and to order tickets, log onto mccarter.org or call (609) 258-2787.

Festival Favorites Mix with Some New Quirky Combinations

Grammy-Nominated Guitarist Diego Figueiredo Continued His Mastery with Various Sets Throughout the Weekend

Although it started more than three decades ago as something of a banjo-and-dixieland get-together with like-minded jazz fans, the Suncoast Jazz Festival has evolved into a much more sophisticated event, as its most recent incarnation demonstrated in Clearwater Beach, FL.

Held in a pair of neighboring hotels, the Sheraton Sand Key and the Marriott, the festival took what one might expect to be an outdoor event (after all, sun, sand, and Florida begs that thought) and headed indoors for the weekend before Thanksgiving. That wasn’t by chance, but by design. The Florida climate can vary from damp to summery, and this year the emphasis was on rain. That disrupted the only planned outdoor event: a festival-opening Dixieland jam and second-line parade around the outdoor pool. Parasol-toting celebrants were moved inside while everything else

was held inside as previously planned.

The current Suncoast ran the gamut from street busker style washboards, banjos, and vocalists to South Carolina-based low country folk, blues, and jazz. In between there were a good number of swing-based musicians in delightfully quirky combinations.

No mistaking, though, there wasn’t the randomness that one could find at a jazz ballroom party, although those were the general venues. The sets were well-structured and generally proceeded as scheduled. On the other hand, there were no real backstage areas either, which meant audience members were free to interact with their favorite musicians in the lobby, at the snack bar or outside between sets.

A good number of the performers have been to the location before, some at previous Suncoast events and others at Arbors Records’ annual March of Jazz parties. Pianist Rossano

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MITCHELL SEIDEL

Diego Figueiredo, left, and John Lamb

SUNCOAST JAZZ FESTIVAL

Sportiello recalled the wide-amazement he had as a newcomer from Italy 20 years earlier, catching drummer Butch Miles on a bench at a Tampa airport “and then when we got to the hotel, outside was (clarinetist) Kenny Davern. All my heroes.”

Somewhat similarly, clarinetist Dave Bennett, now a repeat festival favorite recalled his first Florida performance 23 years ago as a student musician from Michigan. Then, 10 years later he brought his own band playing Benny Goodman music before also unveiling his Jerry Lee Lewis-influenced Rockabiily chops that he also has alternated with his

swing sets in recent years. After all these visits to Suncoast, he observed, “It’s become like a family reunion.”

It’s obvious that people keep returning to Suncoast to see musicians they’ve heard there before, and festival organizers take advantage of this. One such fan favorite is Australian saxophonist Adrian Cunningham, a talented jazz musician with an entertainer’s soul who knows how to craft a set. His seven-piece band, Professor Cunningham’s Old School, consists of talented mainstream musicians who are just as strong as the sum of their parts. They can mix and match with different players, which makes them

the perfect band for Suncoast. But what also makes them perfectly suited for a long weekend of jazz with multiple performances is their leader’s willingness to mix things up from performance to performance. For example, a performance one year introduced an

“ IT’S OBVIOUS THAT PEOPLE KEEP RETURNING TO SUNCOAST TO SEE MUSICIANS THEY’VE HEARD THERE BEFORE. ”

album of Walt Disney movie themes featured the appropriately Mickey-inspired headgear; a post-Covid performance included a “pajama party.” Every year at Suncoast he pulls something different out of his bag of tricks.

Over the years, some bands have required rules for their members— bandstand choreography during the swing era, for example. Players in the Sun Ra Arkestra dressed like bright holiday packages. The late Spike Jones’ City Slickers featured goofy suits and comic routines. What

Rossano Sportiello, left, and Jason Marsalis

SUNCOAST JAZZ FESTIVAL

could Cunningham do this year?

This year he “unveiled”—no pun intended—his new “sexy calendar” with a launch party set. Suffice it to say that cellphone cameras were forbidden from the performance, and audience members saw a lot more than they bargained for after Cunningham and company removed their bathrobes at various points during the show.

Grammy-nominated guitarist Diego Figueiredo thrilled attendees last year with virtuoso performances, both solo and duet, and was back for more this year. He did not disappoint, with a variety of pairings that included vibist/drummer Jason Marsalis, fellow guitarist Nate Najar, Cunningham, and Duke Ellington veteran bassist John Lamb. The charming player (who performed recently at a Jersey Jazz LIVE! concert) continued his mastery with various sets throughout the weekend.

West Coast fiddler Tom Rigney returned with his band Flambeau, but with something extra in a solo self-narrated set called “How Did I Get Here? Tom Rigney Finally Tells his Story.” The son of former professional baseball manager Bill Rigney explained how he ended onstage with

a bow rather than at the plate with a bat. “I needed to find a career path as far away from my father as possible.” The one-hour set, punctuated with solo playing, told a tale that included sitting in the dugout as a youngster with his father to being in fiddler Vassar Clements’ band during

a West Coast tour. It was interesting to hear the musician’s tale of development that also, incidentally, included a reconciliation with his father.

The festival producers like to sprinkle in different material to keep Suncoast fresh. Last year New Orleans trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers came to town and played just one long set. Fortunately, this year included more performance time for him and his band members. Banjo player Cynthia Sayer and her Joyride Band were a perfect fit for a festival that wanted to pay homage to its past while expanding for the future. She can play in a modern style while also looking back to older music. Another band new to the setting was Ranky Tanky, a Charleston, S.C. Grammy-winning band that no doubt added broader interest to Suncoast.

Their performance, Gullah themed music with connections to the South Tom Rigney

“ BANJO PLAYER CYNTHIA SAYER AND HER JOYRIDE BAND WERE A PERFECT FIT. ”

Carolina lowlands, while good, was something of a stretch for Suncoast.

Another past is present theme could be used to describe New Orleans-based pianist/bluesman Tom Hook, himself a former performer from Central Florida back to reunite with old bandmates for the festival. He was another versatile performer who could be found throughout the event, in particular with his group Tom Hook and the Hounds.

There were many other features

in the festival too numerous to mention. Performances by local high school big bands, local traditional jazz groups, an evening of swing dancing featuring different bands, and master classes for students using festival performances and jam sessions too numerous to mention.

Unlike most festivals, Suncoast is already booked for next year at the same hotels, November 22-24, 2024. For more information, contact SuncoastJazzFestival.com.

Friday, March 15 • 8:00pm

For the complete performance schedule, visit grunincenter.org. Grunin Center Box

Tuesday-Friday 12:00pm-5:00pm

732-255-0500

Giants of Jazz: The Stars

Come Out for Kenny Barron

PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER DRUKKER

It’s really a great honor to have all these musicians here,” said pianist Kenny Barron. “I’ve stolen from all of them.” A prestigious lineup of jazz stars gathered at the South Orange Performing Arts Center on November 25, 2023, and performed for three hours in the SOPAC theatre to honor Barron, who concluded the concert by playing three pieces with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake. He led off with his composition, “Bud-Like”, a tribute to Bud Powell, followed by Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan”, and “Calypso”, a Barron original that appeared on his 2008 Sunnyside album, The Traveler. Afterwards, a jam session continued in the SOPAC Loft until the wee hours of the morning. Here are a few images from the celebration.

Clockwise, from top: John Lee, Kenny Barron, Terell Stafford, Erena Terakubo, Rufus Reid, Renee Rosnes

FROM THE CROW’S NEST

BY BILL CROW

The Gerry Mulligan Sextet was pianoless, like his quartet, and so when there was no piano on the stage, we were using a tuning fork held against the top of my bass for a note to tune to. One day, while we were tuning, Zoot Sims dropped his mouthpiece cap, and it rang a very good A. So, from then on, we tuned to Zoot’s metal cap.

Jeanie Perkins says that her duo often plays at assisted living centers.

She posted the following: When we got there the other day, there was a gentleman in a wheelchair with a pretty little Pearl snare drum and a stick bag, and he asked if he could sit in. He said he’d been a professional drummer all his life. We welcomed him. Right before we started, he said

Bill Crow is a freelance musician and writer. His books include Jazz Anecdotes, Jazz Anecdotes: Second Time Around, and From Birdland to Broadway. This column is reprinted with permission from Allegro , the monthly magazine of AFM Local 802.

“I never played a gig from a wheelchair before.” Bless his heart. He played BEAUTIFULLY. Mostly with brushes, and one rhumba with his bare hands. Not just an average drummer, but a superb and sensitive one. It was a pleasant surprise for us, and he really enjoyed getting to play again.

Mark Maniatt gave me a story that Ronnie Scott used to tell in his London jazz club: A doctor told a jazz musician that he only had three months to live. The jazz musician inquired, “On what?”

Paul Desmond’s amusing essay

“How Jazz Came To The Orange County State Fair” was published in Punch magazine. One of the Brubecks posted it on Facebook: Today we have a contract (an offer we should have refused) for two concerts at the Orange County State Fair in Middletown (NY), 2 p.m.. and

8 p.m. Brubeck likes to get to the job early. So, we pull up behind this hay truck around noon, finally locating the guy who had signed the contract. Stout, red-necked, gruff, and harried (from the old New Jersey law firm of the same name), and clearly more comfortable judging cattle than booking jazz groups, he peered into the station wagon, which contained four musicians, bass, drums, and assorted baggage, and for the first and only time in our 17years of wandering about the world, we got this question: “Where’s the piano?”

Back in the early ‘80s Chuck Erdahl played a big band gig with Alvino Rey at the Avalon Casino on Catalina Island, which is located, as the song says, “26 Miles Across the Sea.” At that time, it was a three-hour boat ride from Los Angeles harbor. That necessitated an afternoon departure around 1 p.m.

FROM

THE CROW’S NEST “

VINNIE BURKE WAS A DEMON ABOUT TEMPOS. ”

was inspired. He had carried his horn on a backpack, so he pulled it out and NAILED Siegfried’s Call. Immediately, from the top of the waterfall, someone called out, “Siegfried, Act 2, Scene 2!”

to leave time for setup and changing and eating before the gig. It also necessitated that the band stop precisely at midnight and make a quick beeline on foot to catch the last boat out at one a.m. Chuck said, “The gig went great and most of us either did a quick change or just wore our tuxes as we fast walked to our boat ride home. There was even time to stop and get a taco on the way. Not for a sax player named Harry though! Just as we were to start boarding, promptly at 12:50, Harry ran up and asked a couple of us at the back of the line to take his horns, because he might not make the boat. He said that he had left his wallet in the dressing

room and had to run back and find it. He then fled back, so we grabbed his horns and told the contractor, who was toward the front of the line. He tried to get the boat captain to delay the departure, but he was unable to do so more than a couple of minutes. Back at the Casino, Harry found it dark and closed with nobody answering. So, he wandered the streets all night, got his wallet the next day, and made it back to L.A. in the afternoon.”

Alex Cauthen posted this: A friend of mine, who plays horn, studied in Germany for a year. He was walking through a national park when he came upon a waterfall, and

Vinnie Burke, a wonderful bass player, was a demon about tem pos. It drove him crazy if one of the other musicians in a group he was playing with rushed or dragged the tempo the slightest bit. On one gig, at a New York jazz club called the Com poser, he was playing with two pia nists, Eddie Costa and John Mehegan. Vinnie was happy with Eddie’s time, which was well centered, but when John got excited about improvising, he often rushed, playing way on the front end of the beat. One night, Vinnie blew up. He started playing ahead of the beat that John was playing. John looked up in alarm. “What are you doing?” he asked. Vinnie growled, “I’m rushin’. How does it feel?”

SandySasso.com for more Sandy info

OTHER VIEWS

BY JOE LANG

The Count Basie Orchestra has had a strong blues underpinning to much of its music over its eight decades of being the most consistently swinging big band on the scene. With singers like Jimmy Rushing and Joe Williams, blues were often front and center. Reflecting the title of one of its early hits, “Swingin’ the Blues,” the latest album from the Basie band is Basie Swings the Blues (Candid – 33312).This 12-track collection features a lineup of current blues and jazz artists including Castro “Mr. Sip” Coleman, Bobby Rush, Shemekia Copeland, Buddy Guy, Charlie Musselwhite, Keb’ Mo’, Lauren Mitchell,” Charlton Johnson, Bettye Lavette, Robert Cray, Ledisi, Jamie Davis, Carmen Bradford and George Benson, a generation-spanning lineup. (See cover story in the December 2023 Jersey Jazz). The swing and power

of the Basie band is on full display thanks to fine arrangements by Andy Farber and Kris Johnson. Each track has a totally individual feeling thanks to the disparate talents of the featured artists. Sit back and be prepared to be swung into tomorrow by this great band and its guests. The album has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Large Jazz Ensemble category. CandidRecords.com

Cory Weeds is not only the founder and guiding light behind the Cellar Music Group but is also a fine jazz saxophonist with an extensive output of recordings. His latest, Home Cookin’ (Cellar Music – 120522) finds him in the company of a little big band comprising 11 pieces—four saxes, two trombones, two trumpets and a three-piece rhythm section, all from the Vancouver jazz scene. The

seven-song program includes “Home Cookin’” and “Metamorphosis” by Horace Silver, “Power Station” by Michael Weiss, “Thedia” by Thad Jones, Weed’s own “Blossoms in May”, and “Corner Kisses” by Bill Weeds, Cory’s father. There is also one standard, Bernice Petkere’s “Lullaby of the Leaves.” The charts are by Bill Coon and Jill Townsend and make

the band sound like a larger ensemble. Weed’s tenor sax is featured frequently and, as usual, his musicianship is superb. All in all, Home Cookin’ delivers a tasty dish. CellarLive.com

Music associated with video games is an unlikely subject for a consistently engaging big band album, but Game Changer (Teamchuck) by the 8-Bit Big Band, a large jazz/pops orchestra that varies from 30-65 pieces including big band and string sections, is its fourth album featuring tunes taken from the background to video games. It requires no familiarity with the music from video games to enjoy the imaginative arrangements expertly executed by the band. Several tracks include vocals. Overall, the material is exciting, and you quickly forget about the source of the music. In fact, if you were just sitting

down to listen to the music with no knowledge of its source, you would just think that you were hearing imaginative charts of tuneful songs. It would be an added benefit if these albums help to develop an interest in big band music among video game indulgers. (the8bitbigband.com.

Reading the liner notes for The Song in Our Soul (Turtle Bay Records – 22004) by The Palomar Trio—Dan Levinson on clarinet and tenor sax, Mark

Shane on piano and Kevin Dorn on drums—you will discover that they first played together as a trio in 1999, and immediately felt the kind of connection that makes for special music. Over the years their musical partnership and personal friendships have deepened, giving them the unity of spirit that infuses their output. They are steeped in the music of the ‘20s, ‘30s and’40s, times when melody was still a consistent element in songs. For this album, they decided not to ad-

“ THESONGINOURSOUL WILL REACH YOUR INNER MUSICAL SOUL. ”

dress the many songs that have been overdone, rather to select good tunes that have mostly flown under the radar for many, many years. The result of their deliberations is an 11-song lineup of melodies that are engaging for both players and listeners. By the time that you proceed through their versions of “Keep a Song in Your Soul,” “Delta Bound,” “In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town,” “Wake Up! Chill’un, Wake Up!,” El Rado Scuffle,” “Roses in December,” “It’s Been So Long,” “The Day You Came Along,” “Rompin’ in ’44,” “Sweetheart o’ Mine” and “River, Stay Away From My Door,” you will find yourself as absorbed with these tunes as the musicians are. The trio members are all possessed of the attributes present in jazz players of the highest caliber, technical mastery of their instruments, a highly developed musicianship, keen improvisational sensibilities, deeply individual styles, and an innate swing feeling. The Song in Our Soul will reach your inner musical soul. TurtleBayRecords.com

Straight-ahead jazz guitar trios can be among the most listenable of formats. On Trio (Thrift Girl Records – 005) guitarist Andy Pratt combines with fellow Chicago jazzers bassist Joe Policastro and drummer Phil Gratteau to swing their way through a nine-song collection that includes a few vocals by Pratt. The songs are “Soon,” “Little White Lies,” “When Joanna Loved Me,” “Patricia,” “We Three (My Echo, My Shadow & Me),” “From This Moment On,” Love Theme from Chinatown,” “There’s Always Something There to Remind Me”, and “Something Big.” Pratt plays masterful guitar and has a nice way with his vocalizing. Policastro and Gratteau

OTHER VIEWS

are first call players on the Chicago scene and combine with Pratt to form a seamless trio. (Release date 1/12/2024) AndyPrattMusic.com

Trombonist Steve Davis is in magnificent form on Meets Hank Jones, Vol.1 (Smoke Sessions Records). This material was recorded in June 2008, but has not been released until now. It was among the last recordings made by pianist Hank Jones, but his always masterful playing was still in superb form as he approached his 90th birthday. The other participant in this session was bassist Peter Washington. There is a natural empathy among these three musicians that is apparent over the six-song program. The selections include a Jones original, “Interface,” “Isn’t It Romantic,” “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” “Cry Me a River,” “But Beautiful”, and “We’ll Be

Together Again.” From first note, this trio draws you in and holds your attention unflinchingly throughout. Davis is a fluid and imaginative player with a beautiful tone. Jones is among the finest of all jazz pianists. Washington’s strong presence has graced a multitude of sessions. Let us hope that there will be at least a Volume 2 on the way soon. This album is available in either digital or vinyl format at Amazon.com

Duo playing is probably the most challenging format for jazz players as they are both exposed and need to establish an immediate and unflagging empathy. The next two reviews cover albums that fall into this format.

Bassist/pianist/vibraphonist Don Thompson and guitarist Rob Piltch have achieved that empathy on Bells… Now and Then (Modica Music). The material on this album comprises the content of an album that they made in 1981/1982, released under the title Bells, plus two new Thompson originals, “Circles” and “Days Gone By.” The original material finds Thompson moving between bass, piano, and vibes on different selections. In addition, Thompson composed most of the music except for three Piltch compositions and one by Mike Malone. This is intimate and gentle

music that sets a relaxed, yet engaging mood, one that demonstrates just how subtle jazz can be. Kudos for the folks at Modica Music for resurrecting this wonderful music. (Digital format only) ModicaMusic.BandCamp.com

A Lovesome Thing (Motema Music

– 0427) finds pianist Geri Allen and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel in concert on September 5, 2012 in Paris. They had performed together in New York City earlier in the year, and Allen was anxious for another opportunity to play in a duo format with Rosenwinkel. This concert in Paris was the result, but it was not released until now. Allen had hoped to do a studio recording with Rosenwinkel, but her unfortunate death from cancer at the age of 60 precluded this from happening. They play extended versions of five songs, “A Flower Is a Lovesome

OTHER VIEWS

Thing,” “Embraceable You, “Ruby My Dear,” Rosenwinkel’s “Simple #2” and Allen’s Open-Handed Reach.” A studio recording would have been welcome indeed, but at least we have this remarkable concert to savor. The music is subtle and enchanting as they complement each other with their two minds working as one. Allen must surely be looking down with happiness that this music is now available for all to enjoy. KurtRosenwinkel GeriAllen.bandcamp.com

When you see a new album from vocalist/lyricist Mark Winkler, you can be sure that you will hear a collection of hip vocals. As is often the case, on The Rules Don’t Apply (Cafe Pacific -6021), Winkler mixes original material filled with his always deft lyrics, and some choice tunes by other songwriters such as Donald Fagen (“I.G.Y

For her fourth album, vocalist Judy Whitmore enlisted arranger/bandleader Chris Walden to write charts for a dozen fine travel-themed standards, for a big band and full string (What a Beautiful World”)), John Lennon and Paul McCartney (“Got to Get You Into My Life “), Eddie Arkin and Lorraine Feather (“The Rules Don’t Apply”), Paul Simon (“Something So Right”), and Randy Newman (“Mama Told Me Not to Come”). In contrast to his usual setting of a trio with a horn or two, this album features five different combinations of

musicians ranging in size from a trio to 11 pieces. The arrangements are by the four pianists on the album, John Beasley, Rich Eames, Greg Gordon Smith and Jamison Trotter. This disparate group size and arrangers creates many moods and musical styles, each of which Winkler handles with aplomb. He can swing out or caress a sensitive ballad and is a master at handling lyrics filled with wry humor. It all adds up to an album that makes you sway and smile as Winkler’s pleasant baritone carries you to a variety of places that you will be pleased to visit. (Release date 1/12/2024) MarkWinklerMusic.com

section. Among her many activities, Whitmore is a licensed jet plane pilot, so Come Fly With Me (Arden House Music – 202301) is a natural choice for the album’s title. Among the selections are “It’s Nice to Go Trav’ling,” “Come Fly With Me,” “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” “There’s a Small Hotel,” “I Thought About You,” “Moonlight in Vermont,” “April in Paris,” “Georgia on My Mind,” a duet with Adam Aejay Jackson, “Autumn in New York,” “Beyond the Sea”, and “Around the World.” Whitmore has a straightforward approach to her vocalizing. Her voice is pleasant and mellow, one that lies easily on your ears. Walden’s charts create a terrific base for Whitmore’s vocals, and she takes full advantage of their often luxurious settings. Come Fly With Me provides an appealing travel guide. (Release date (1/17/2024) JudyWhitmore.com

Trombonist Alan Raph

A Classically-Trained Musician Who Played with Gerry Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band

BY SANFORD JOSEPHSON

In 1960, classically trained trombonist Alan Raph decided to audition for Gerry Mulligan’s new concert jazz big band. The 27-yearold trombonist had played in a couple of Broadway shows, was first trombone in some symphony orchestras, and performed with Larry Elgart’s jazz-oriented dance band.

Raph described the audition experience to me when I interviewed him in 2014 for my book, Jeru’s Journey: The Life and Music of Gerry Mulligan (Hal Leonard Books: 2015). “I got Gerry’s number,” he said, “called him up and told him who I was. Mul-

ligan asked, ‘Where have you played?’

I told him, and he said, ‘But this is a jazz band.’ He sounded annoyed, and I said, ‘’Well, I’m quick.’ And, he said, ‘OK, come on down to rehearsal.’”

Arriving at the rehearsal studio, on the second floor at 89th and Broadway, Raph looked around the room. “There’s Brookmeyer and Zoot Sims, Dave Bailey (drums) and Bill Takas (bass). I sat down next to Brookmeyer, and the first tune was ‘Walkin’ Shoes’. I had the sense not to assert myself. I played exactly what Brookmeyer played. I tried to imitate him; I phrased the way he did. I seemed to

BIG BAND IN THE SKY

Raph died December 8, 2023, in New Haven, CT, at the age of 90. Throughout his career, he played with many other major stars including Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Wynton Marsalis, and Quincy Jones. Shortly before his death (due to an accident), Raph was rehearsing for a concert to be performed on December 17 at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Danbury, CT. He was still conducting the Danbury Brass Band, which he founded 40 years ago. A resident of Candlewood Lake, CT, Raph would often play local gigs. His wife, Mary Ann, told Connecticut Insider’s Jordan Nathaniel Fenster that her husband “used to do cock-

tail piano up here. He would go into the hotel, and they needed a pianist. They’d call him, and he’d do cocktails. He had tons of tunes in his mind, an unbelievable memory for tunes.”

In addition to playing with Mulligan’s original concert jazz band, Raph also performed with the new concert jazz band formed in 1978, appearing on the Grammy-winning DRG album, Walk on the Water. Trombonist Keith O’Quinn was a member of that band and described Raph to me as “a great player and a wonderful guy. I played with him on Gerry’s band, and I played countless other gigs with him over the years. I always enjoyed his playing and his great sense of humor.”

In addition to his wife, Raph is survived by two sons, Robert and Jason; a daughter, Diane; a sister, Ranney Moss; and three grandchildren, Anastasia, Nicholas, and Victor, Jr.

Pianist John Colianni, who played with Lionel Hampton, Mel Torme, and Les Paul, among many others, died November 28, 2023, in Langhorne, PA, at the age of 61.

He is the Essence of a Swinging Pianist, Much as Earl Hines was ...” get by. I started rehearsing with the band, and that kind of put me aboard. At the time, Gerry Mulligan was a big, big name. I thought, ‘Oh, God, I’m playing with Gerry Mulligan.’”

Vibraphonist/drummer Chuck Redd toured with Torme and Colianni

in the mid-1990s and, in a Facebook post, said, “What a shock. I have fond memories of the long tour and NYC concerts. I’m forever grateful that John C. recommended me to Mel. It was a life changing gig for me.” AllMusic’s Scott Janow, reviewing Pianist John Colianni

From left, Colianni, Boots Maleson, Wayne Henderson

BIG BAND IN THE SKY

Colianni’s 1998 album, Colianni & Company (reissued by Dolphin Recordings in 2007), pointed out that the pianist was “best known for his associations with Mel Torme and Lionel Hampton,” but added that, “John Colianni is a superior swing-based pianist whose style is open to more modern influences without losing its personality.”

Growing up in the Washington, DC, area, Colianni became active in the local jazz scene while still in high school, playing in jam sessions at such clubs as Blues Alley, The Pigfoot, and One Step Down. He also performed with Ella Fitzgerald’s bassist, Keter Betts, who recruited him for Jazz Stars of the Future, a group of young, local jazz musicians.

After graduating from high school, Colianni moved with his family to Ventnor, NJ, and met Hampton backstage at an Atlantic City casino. He auditioned successfully in Hamp-

ton’s New York City apartment. After spending three years with Hampton, Colianni joined Torme for four years. Then, he was hired to play with Paul on Monday nights at the Iridium Jazz Club, a gig that lasted six years until Paul’s death in 2009. From 2010-2013, he was part of guitarist Larry Coryell’s trio, and, in 2016, he formed a big band, The John Colianni Jazz Orchestra.

“ A SUPERIOR SWING-BASED PIANIST WHOSE STYLE IS OPEN TO MORE MODERN INFLUENCES. ”

During the last few years, Colianni led a trio with drummer Wayne Henderson and bassist Boots Maleson. Henderson told me Colianni was, “an outstanding, fiery, swinging pianist and friend. When I put together my band and asked John to perform with us, he made the two-hour trek from South Jersey to New Rochelle, New York, 20 consecutive times! He was dedicated, always supportive and encouraging. The audience loved him and he always gave them the best he had to offer. John also had me perform with him and bassist Leon Boots Maleson many times. Those times were very memorable.”

Early in his career—in June 1990— Colianni played with cornetist Ed Polcer and bassist Ed Moring at the Fortune Garden Pavilion, a Chinese restaurant in New York. The performance was reviewed by The New York Times’ John S. Wilson, who wrote, “Mr. Colianni’s piano accompaniment enlarges the swinging energy of Mr. Polcer’s solos with breaks and runs that keep nudging the cornetist along.

In his own solos, smoothly flowing but full of surprises, Mr. Colianni is so relaxed, so seemingly casual that a sudden flurry of complex runs can be finished before the listener is fully aware of what is happening. He is the essence of a swinging pianist, much as Earl Hines was, never settling into mere accompaniment figures, but giving everything a strong swinging pulse.”

Survivors include: his son, Torre; sisters, Karen Johnson and Janice Sosebee; and brothers, James, Jr. and Louis.

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NOT WITHOUT YOU!

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