March 2023

ALL THAT’S JAZZ

BY CYDNEY HALPIN

Mark your calendars! The next Jersey Jazz LIVE! event is Sunday, March 5th at 3:00PM. If you haven’t yet attended one of these terrific LIVE! events, you’ve been missing out of some spectacular music!

Thanks to the foresight of board members Sanford Josephson and James Pansulla, and the generosity of past donors, June 2022 marked the launch of our Opening Act/Rising Stars initiative. This new feature at our Sunday concerts highlights the incredible talents of young up and coming jazz musicians aged junior high through college. With what has been showcased to date, the future of jazz is indeed bright.

March 5th’s Opening Act/Rising Stars segment will feature members of the Raritan Valley Community College Jazz Ensemble—led by saxophonist Ian Dalida—who will open before author, producer, and music historian

Chuck Granata and noted film producer/director Jim Burns. They will deliver a multimedia presentation on women in jazz—highlighting Women in History month. Joining Granata and Burns will be pianist Leonieke Scheuble performing selections from the jazz canon made famous by notable women. For more information on this LIVE! event, please visit NJJS. org/news/womeninjazz or see page 26.

If you’d like to support our new Opening Act initiative—in part or in full—providing performance opportunities for the next generation of jazz musicians, please contact me at pres@njjs.org or at 973.229.0543.

Jersey Jazz LIVE! is held at Madison Community Arts Center, 10 Kings Road, Madison, NJ. FREE street parking. Refreshments available for purchase. $10 Members, $15 Non-Members (applicable day of event to membership).

There is money to be won! NJJS’s 2023 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 mentorship, the opportunity to perform with an industry professional, and coverage in Jersey Jazz.

This competition 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 31, 2023, 11:59PM. Visit njjs.org/Education/Scholarship Program for complete details.

The board and I would like to thank Nan Hughes Poole and an anonymous jazz advocate for their continued generous support of this initiative.

There’s still time to donate. Our “50 Years and Counting … on you!” annual appeal campaign kicked off in December and we need you to join with us in this collaborative effort.

If you’ve already contributed to this annual campaign we thank you; if you haven’t, please consider a

ALL

tax-deductible gift today. Donations to date total $8,850. We need your HELP to continue our performance and educational initiatives. You can donate anytime online at www.njjs. org—via the red “Make a Donation” button conveniently located on our website home page. You can also donate by mail to: NJJS, 382 Springfield Ave., Summit, New Jersey, 07027.

Please make check payable to NJJS.

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

On behalf of my fellow board members, we thank you for all you do to support jazz music and education. We’re counting on you to partner with us and keep this uniquely American art form swingin’!

Enjoy cornetist Mike Davis and the New Wonders: Bix Bash

2023, Sunday, March 13th, 3:00PM, at the Bickford Theater/ Morris Museum. This annual celebration will feature a mix of hot jazz favorites and Mike’s interpretations of classic songs. Visit morrismuseum.org for details and tickets.

Save the date Sunday, April 16, for the return of the Chicken Fat Ball! Thanks to the generosity of event producers Al Kuehn, Don Greenfield, and Ed Stuart, all net proceeds from this event will benefit NJJS.

This year’s lineup of fan favorites includes: Warren Vaché Jr/cornet, Harry Allen/tenor saxophone, Ken Peplowski/clarinet & tenor saxophone, Randy Reinhart/trombone, Mark Shane/piano, Gary Mazzaroppi/bass, Paul Wells/drums. This beloved event will be held at The Woodland in Maplewood, NJ. Bring a

picnic and share a table with old and new friends. For tickets and more information, please see page 27.

New York Hot Jazz Camp … April 10-16 … Music Camp for Adults 18+. Big Fun in the Big Apple! The NYHJC is an immersive experience with New York’s finest traditional jazz musicians and recording artists.

Camp is a week long intensive in the heart of Greenwich Village where a maximum of 48 participants take part in masterclasses, workshops, private lessons, lectures, and ensemble rehearsals, as well as a final concert of all students and faculty. 10am5pm Daily & Nights on the Town!

Registration is open for: Trombone/Tuba, Banjo, Guitar, Bass, Drum.

Wait List: Vocals, Trumpet, Piano. Scholarships available for ages 18-28.

Special NYHJC Rates available at the DoubleTree by Hilton NYC Chelsea.

Faculty: Catherine Russell-Vocals,

Bria Skonberg-Trumpet; Dan Levinson-Clarinet/Saxophone, Ron Wilkins-Trombone/Tuba; Cynthia Sayer-Banjo/Guitar, Tal Ronen-Bass, Kevin Dorn-Drums

For more information: NYHot JazzCamp.com

NJJS is actively recruiting new board members. If you have computer skills, knowledge of nonprofit management, possess a willingness to volunteer, can think outside the box, and are a results oriented individual, please contact me at pres@njjs.org.

We can’t do what we do without YOU! Members are the heart and soul of this organization and we’d like to thank everyone who renewed their membership this past year, and also those who joined—we’re very grateful for your patronage and support.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

BY SANFORD JOSEPHSON

Lots of Good News – From the Grammys to Jams at Clement’s Place

In the December 2022 issue of Jersey Jazz, I congratulated Jazz Grammy nominees who were featured in recent issues of the magazine. Now, I’m pleased to report that three of them did, indeed, win Grammys on February 5.

The biggest news, of course, was that vocalist Samara Joy not only won a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album, but also for Best New Artist (regardless of category). A huge achievement and well deserved. After winning the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition, she told me in 2021 that people were wondering, “Who is this girl? Where did she come from?” Those questions, it’s safe to say, are no longer being asked.

Congratulations, too, to Arturo

O’Farrill for Best Latin Album, his sixth Grammy; and to pianist Geoffrey Keezer for Best Instrumental Composition. O’Farrill was on the cover of the February 2022 Jersey Jazz, and Keezer was part of the quintet honoring the late Art Farmer at William Paterson, the October 2021 cover story.

I’d also like to applaud bassist Neal Miner for producing the excellent documentary on fellow bassist Bill Crow, one of the honorees at NJJS’ 50th Anniversary Concert last October. Bill Crow Jazz Journeyman is available for viewing on YouTube. The film is delightful, a warm tribute to one of our national treasures.

Kudos to all the Jazz House Kids and Newark Academy student musi-

cians who did so well at the Charles Mingus High School Competition and Festival. See the article on page 38.

Finally, a shout-out to pianist James Austin, Jr. who has been curating the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Jazz Jam Session series for nearly 10 years. The Jam sessions, according to Austin, have two purposes: to engage the local community to come out and hear live jazz; and to provide opportunities for jazz students, local professional musicians, and up and coming jazz stars to perform and connect with some of the top jazz musicians working in the industry today.

In 2016, the series found a permanent home at Clement’s Place, the intimate jazz performance space that is part of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers-Newark. At the February 16th Jam Session, Austin led a house band consisting of saxophonist Matt Martinez, guitarist Dan Nichols,

bassist Dishan Harper, and drummer Aaron Seeber. A special guest was vocalist Nia Ashleigh, who started participating in these sessions while a young teenager. The next Jazz Jam will be held March 16 with vocalist Dermel Warren, saxophonist Jarrard Harris, bassist Ben Rubens, and drummer Jeremy Warren.

“One of the most fulfilling aspects of my role in leading these Jam Sessions,” Austin said, “has been witnessing the development of many of the young musicians who participated while in their high school and college years. These young musicians are now thriving professionals who are performing at the highest levels.”

Doors open at 7 p.m., and the music starts at 7:30. The performances, which are free, will continue on the third Thursday of each month through June. After that there will be a short summer break.

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.

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

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 51 • ISSUE 03

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

Noal Cohen, Bill Crow, David Demsey, Phil Dwyer, Joe Lang, Dan Morgenstern, Dick Oatts, Jay Sweet

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Matt Baker, Roberto Cifarelli, George Kemper, Carol Lo Ricco, Toshi Sakurai, Mitchell Seidel, Anna Weber 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

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Wes Montgomery: One of the Great Jazz Guitar Innovators

Despite His Successful Crossover Appeal, Montgomery Never Abandoned His Bop Roots

BY NOAL COHEN

Jazz guitar as we know it today is largely beholden to three great innovators: Django Reinhardt (1910-1953), Charlie Christian (19161942) and Wes Montgomery (19231968). What renders the contributions of these artists especially significant is the fact that they were achieved during relatively short life spans.

Among the trio, Montgomery lived the longest (45) and was the only one who managed to generate commercial as well artistic success through recordings with crossover appeal, made near the end of his life. He was a family man, an unassuming genius, and his influence on guitarists has been profound.

John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery was born on March 6, 1923, in Indianapolis, a city that produced many other notable jazz musicians including trombonists J.J. Johnson, David Baker and Slide Hampton, saxophonists Jimmy Coe and James Spaulding, trumpeter Freddie

Hubbard, pianist Carl Perkins, organist Melvin Rhyne, and bassists Leroy Vinnegar and Larry Ridley.

The Montgomery family was musical, and two brothers, William Howard ‘Monk’ (1921-1982), a bassist who pioneered the use of the electric version of the instrument, and Charles ‘Buddy’ (1930-2009), a talented pianist and vibraphonist, both had notable careers that outlasted their more famous guitarist sibling. Between 1957 and 1961, the three performed and recorded in a variety of settings, as The Montgomery Brothers. They reunited in 1967 for an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival.

Wes was largely self-taught, although he did receive mentoring from local musicians, particularly a guitarist named Alec Stephens. Inspired after hearing Charlie Christian recordings, his explorations led him to develop a novel way of playing the guitar using his right thumb rather than

JAZZ HISTORY

a plectrum (thin flat piece of plastic). Soon he was playing professionally in Indianapolis. He told interviewers that the use of his thumb was an effort to practice more quietly in his house and avoid disturbing the neighbors.

In 1948, Wes joined the Lionel Hampton band, remaining with that ensemble until 1950. During this period, the band made several recordings for Decca Records and was captured in live performances and broadcasts on numerous occasions. Yet there are few examples of Montgomery solos with Hampton. One can be found in a short film, Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra (Universal International), from August 1949, wherein Wes is heard for 16 bars on the opening, uptempo number. On the April 26, 1949, recording of “Moonglow,” Wes offered an obbligato to Hampton’s theme statement. Although the Hampton experience might have become a stepping stone to greater opportunities, Montgomery opted

issued by Resonance Records in 2015 on Wes Montgomery: In the Beginning (Resonance). It should be noted that Resonance has done an admirable job of documenting Wes’ career in recent years by locating and issuing many previously unknown recordings.

In the mid-1950s, Buddy and Monk Montgomery joined forces with pianist Richie Crabtree and drummer Benny Barth to form a quartet called The Mastersounds that caught the attention of Richard Bock, the owner of the Pacific Jazz and World Pacific labels. This ensemble recorded several albums for Bock, but Wes is only on one of them, a collection of songs from the Broadway show Kismet. However, in December 1957, Bock organized a session featuring an octet of all Indianapolis musicians leading to an album called The Montgomery Brothers and Five Others (1958) that was not only the first recording of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (age to return to Indianapolis to be with his family, a decision that delayed by several years his emergence as the significant innovator he would become.

Back home, he continued to perform, working at various day jobs in order to make ends meet. There were sessions in his home and local clubs such as the Turf Club on West 16th Street. By joining forces with another musical Indianapolis family, The Montgomery-Johnson Quintet was formed during this period and featured Alonzo ‘Pookie’ Johnson

on tenor saxophone, Wes on guitar, Buddy on piano, Monk on bass, and Pookie’s brother, Sonny Johnson, on drums. This ensemble recorded six titles for Columbia Records in 1955, produced by a young Quincy Jones. But what appeared to be a major breakthrough at the time failed to materialize when the label issued nothing from the session. It would be 1983 before “Love for Sale” was released on an LP entitled Instrumentalists Almost Forgotten (Columbia). The remaining tracks were finally

19), but also the debut of Wes Montgomery on an established jazz label.

Montgomery made one additional album for Pacific Jazz in April 1958 (with tenor saxophonist Harold Land) and October 1959 (with alto saxophonist Pony Poindexter), issued as Montgomeryland (1960). But by this time, Julian ‘Cannonball’ Adderley had heard Montgomery and alerted Orrin Keepnews of Riverside Records to the guitarist’s novel approach and immense potential. He was signed by the label in September 1959, a development that opened the floodgates for a spate of classic recordings that would make him one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians to emerge in the early 1960s. Yet this was happening when he was already 36 and a seasoned veteran who had matured and mastered his instrument at home in Indiana rather than New York City or Los Angeles.

Between October 1959 and No-

vember 1963, Montgomery led or was the featured artist on a dozen albums for Riverside Records, the result of 25 recording sessions. The first, taking place on October 5 and 6, 1959, was a trio affair with fellow Hoosiers, organist Melvin Rhyne and drummer Paul Parker, who flew into New York City for the recording session. While The Wes Montgomery Trio (Riverside) was a fine example of the organ trio genre pioneered by Jimmy Smith, it would be the sessions of January 26 and 28, 1960, that really put Montgomery on the map. The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (Riverside), where

he was backed by the stellar trio of pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath, is certainly one of the most influential jazz guitar recordings of all time. On it we hear the solo routine that would become Wes’s trademark: single lines followed by octaves, followed by chords. We are also treated to his compositional skills as exemplified by “West Coast Blues,” “Four on Six,” “D Natural Blues” and “Mister Walker.” The album received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998 and was inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2016.

During his Riverside tenure,

“

Montgomery recorded with a host of established jazz musicians including the Adderley brothers, Kenny Burrell, George Shearing, Barry Harris, and Milt Jackson, to name just a few. The entire output of Wes Montgomery for Riverside and its subsidiary Jazzland Records has been collected as a box set, Wes Montgomery: The Complete Riverside Recordings (Riverside: 1992).

It is intriguing to note that Montgomery attracted the attention of saxophonist John Coltrane who greatly admired his playing. Unfortunately, there are few examples of these two masters ever working together, but one occurred on September 22, 1961,

HE EXCEEDED THE BOUNDARIES OF THE JAZZ MUSICIAN LABEL.”

at the Monterey Jazz Festival in California. Coltrane added Montgomery and iconoclastic multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy to his usual rhythm section (pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman, drummer Elvin Jones) for an earlier engagement in San Francisco, and it was this ensemble that appeared at the festival. Reportedly, three tunes were performed during a one-hour set: “My Favorite Things,” “Naima” and “So What”/”Impressions.” Although recordings of this concert have been the subject of much speculation and wishful thinking over the years, none seem ever to have surfaced. This group never performed again and, given the direction that Coltrane’s explorations took as the decade progressed, it’s difficult to imagine Montgomery meshing comfortably with the radical approach the saxophonist would pursue.

The recognition the Pacific Jazz and Riverside recordings brought

Montgomery allowed his career to take a distinctly more commercial turn beginning in 1964 when he moved to Verve Records with Creed Taylor as producer. These sessions often involved backing by big bands and strings. Many pop hits of the 1960s were included in the repertoire, and top arrangers were enlisted to provide charts. They included Don Sebesky, Johnny Pate, Oliver Nelson, Claus Ogerman, and Eumir Deodato.

Many of Montgomery’s later recordings might be criticized for compromises necessary in order to achieve crossover appeal. These include him being the only soloist, short track durations preventing him from stretching out, and frequent fade outs. And the emphasis on material outside the jazz genre suppressed the recording of his own compositions. During the last four years of his life, Verve released six albums: Movin’ Wes (Verve: 1964), Bumpin’ (1965), Goin’ Out of

My Head (1966), Tequila (1966), California Dreaming (1966) and Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo (with organist Jimmy Smith: 1966) – the last being the most jazz-oriented of the group. After Creed Taylor moved to A&M Records, that label issued three more Wes Montgomery albums: A Day in the Life (1967), Down Here on the Ground (1968) and Road Song

(1968), Montgomery’s last album. Certainly, many more albums would have followed had he lived longer.

Despite the change in direction associated with his later years, Montgomery never abandoned his hard bop roots, and he continued to perform with a quartet and other artists right up to the end. He appeared at the Plugged Nickel in Chicago just a week

Inspired by Smokin’ at the Half Note

Jazz guitarist Jocelyn Gould, a Benedetto-endorsed artist, didn’t decide to pursue a jazz guitar career until she was 18 years old. That’s when a friend introduced her to the 1965 Verve album, Smokin’ at the Half Note, featuring Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio.

That album, she told Jersey Jazz “opened with a 13-minute tune called ‘No Blues’ (written by Miles Davis). I listened to the record for a year straight.” She also changed her major at the University of Manitoba from chemistry to jazz studies and went on to acquire a Master of Music in Jazz Studies degree from Michigan State University.

Gould was the Jersey Jazz Rising Star in April 2021. Howard Paul, Benedetto President, called her “a leader in the next generation of mainstream guitarists.” In 2022, she was part of a six-week tour featuring the music of Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone. She is currently Professor and Head of the Guitar Department at Humber College in Toronto.

before he passed. The year 1965 was especially rich in appearances in the USA and Europe, many of which were documented through both authorized and bootleg recordings. In March of that year, he toured with an outstanding backing trio made up of Harold Mabern on piano, Arthur Harper on bass, and Jimmy Lovelace on drums.

Video of this ensemble performing in the London BBC studios can be accessed on YouTube, and a Paris concert with tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin has recently been reissued by Resonance Records (Wes Montgomery in Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recordings; HCD 2022). In April, Montgomery was part of an NDR (North German Radio) Jazz Workshop in Hamburg, Germany again with Griffin and several European jazz luminaries.

Some of Montgomery’s finest live work was done with a quartet featuring Miles Davis’ stellar 1959-1962 rhythm section, pianist Wynton Kelly,

bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Billed as Wes Montgomery and the Wynton Kelly Trio, Verve Records documented this exciting and hard swinging ensemble in residence at the Half Note Club in New York City, June-September of 1965. The recordings of these sessions were issued on albums entitled Smokin’ at the Half Note and Willow Weep for Me. An appearance at the Penthouse in Seattle by the quartet, in April 1966, with Ron McClure replacing Chambers, was unearthed by Resonance Records in 2017 (Smokin’ in Seattle) adding to the substantial legacy of this important year in Wes’s life.

On December 12, 1967, Montgomery appeared on the Hollywood Palace ABC-TV show alone and with Liza Minnelli. The host was Herb Alpert. Through the first half of 1968 he made other TV appearances as well as concerts at large venues. Clearly, he had exceeded the

boundaries of the jazz musician label, and a variety of career options were available to him. But the pressures of success and travel had taken a toll, and he developed heart problems. His smoking, evident from photos and videos, could only have made things worse. He died of a heart attack on June 15, 1968, at home in Indianapolis and was buried a few days later with a large crowd paying their last respects. In attendance at the funeral were Cannonball Adderley and Billy Taylor. Among the pall bearers were his brothers and drummer Billy Hart. Montgomery’s legacy is substantial. A relatively late bloomer, his major recordings span a period of less than eight years. In addition to his influence and productivity as a unique instrumentalist, several of his nearly 60 compositions have been covered frequently including “Jingles,” “Road Song” (aka “OGD”) and “Full House.” He won the DownBeat

Magazine Readers’ and/or Critics polls in 1961-63 and 1966-67, received six Grammy nominations, winning that prestigious award in 1966 (Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Group or Soloist with Group for “Goin’ Out of My head”) and 1970 (Best Jazz Instrumental Album – Individual or Group for Willow Weep for Me). The list of prominent guitarists influenced by him is impressive and includes Pat Metheny, George Benson, Pat Martino, and John Scofield.

In conjunction with Montgomery’s centennial year, Robert Montgomery, his son, and Kevin Finch of Jukeboxer Productions are working diligently to release Wes Bound, a documentary film about the guitarist. To help finance it, they have established a GoFundMe campaign.

Noal Cohen is an author, musician, jazz researcher, and discographer based in Montclair, NJ.

New Jersey Jazz Society

The New Jersey Jazz Society is pleased to announce the

2023 JURIED SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION

This competition will award two $1000 prizes and two $500 prizes in two categories: Jazz Performance & Original Composition. The competition is open to all New Jersey college students currently enrolled in a college undergraduate music program, as well as to New Jersey residents currently enrolled in an out of state college undergraduate program.

Proof of residency required. Along with the cash award, winners will receive guidance, mentorship and the opportunity to perform with an industry professional, and coverage in Jersey Jazz.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Friday, March 31, 2023, 11:59 PM Eastern Time

Visit   njjs.org/Education/Scholarship Program  for details.

THIS COMPETITION IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED by NAN HUGHES POOLE.

Celebrating Thad Jones’ Centennial at Dizzy’s Club and William Paterson University

As a WPU Faculty Member, Jones Built an Historic Link

Between the “Real World” of Jazz and the World of Academe.

BY DAVID DEMSEY

On March 28, 2023, the great arranger, bandleader, cornetist, and composer Thad Jones (19231986) would have turned 100 years old. As influential as he was during his lifetime, that influence has grown even more pervasive since his death.

Thad was a Detroit native, a member of one of the “royal families” of jazz: His brothers were pianist Hank Jones, giant of the jazz scene as well

as of the New York City recording studios; and drummer Elvin Jones, best known for his membership in the John Coltrane Quartet, but whose music was so much broader than that. After earlier territory band gigs, Thad subbed for Clark Terry with Count Basie’s small group in 1950—which led, four years later, to Basie hiring him for a tenure with the legendary “New Testament” big band. Not

only was Thad a prominent Basie solo voice, few realize that he also wrote nearly 25 arrangements for the band, including four that appear on the iconic Basie Chairman of the Board recording (Roulette: 1959).

In 1965, two years after his departure from Basie, Jones reunited with Stan Kenton drummer Mel Lewis, whom he had met earlier at a Basie/Kenton “battle of the bands.” The two thought that they might form a band—a historic idea, not only musically but also racially. At that time, AfricanAmerican and white musicians knew and respected each other and jammed together informally, but except for a few rare cases, record companies did not believe that the American public was “ready” for racially mixed bands. Despite this, Thad and Mel formed a truly interracial big band, with some of Thad’s former Basie compatriots like Snooky Young and Quentin “Butter” Jackson (who was also with

Ellington), and some of Mel’s former fellow Kentonites such as baritonist Pepper Adams. Village Vanguard club owner Max Gordon gave them “a few Monday nights” beginning on February 7, 1966—and, unexpectedly, the lines into the club went around the corner. The string of Monday nights continues to this day, and the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis big band, now known as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, is in its 57th year. No known engagement has lasted longer, in any musical style. At the height of that Vanguard gig and the popularity of the Thad JonesMel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Jones made another historic commitment. Then living in Teaneck, NJ, he accepted a full-time, tenured faculty position at New Jersey’s William Paterson College (now University, as of 2000). This marked the first time anywhere that a jazz musician of this caliber became a full-time member of any faculty as part of a jazz studies program.

Thad’s appointment at William Paterson in 1973 by Dr. Martin Krivin coincided with the first year of an actual jazz degree program there—one of only five in the nation at that time.

Dr. Krivin (who died at age 81 in 2011) was truly the “inventor” of the Jazz Studies Program on the campus, also the founder of the school’s historic Jazz Room concert series, now the longest-running campus-based jazz concert series in the nation.

As a faculty member, Jones directed the student big band and taught a number of different classes. He also brought in a number of his band members as faculty and guest performers, further building the historic link between the “real world” of jazz and the world of academe. The band members were: Mel Lewis, (pianists) Harold Danko and Roland Hanna, and, later, (bassist) Rufus Reid, (pianist) Jim McNeely, (baritone saxophonist) Gary Smulyan, (drummer) John Riley,

and ( tenor saxophonist) Joe Lovano. Saxophonist Bobby Keller was also on the faculty, often handling rehearsal duties while Jones was away on tour. That campus/band bond between William Paterson University and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is still strong, with current faculty (tenor saxophonist) Rich Perry, (trumpeter) Cecil Bridgewater, and former band member (trombonist) John Mosca.

Also, during this time, the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Quartet/Quintet was an ensemble-in-residence at William Paterson. It periodically appeared at the then new Jazz Room Series, and also could be heard in what would today be called pop-up concerts—in front of the student union, the library, and other locations on campus. That group included Thad, Mel, Danko, and bassist Reid, sometimes along with saxophonist Jerry Dodgion or other band members. (Jerry Dodgion passed away on February 17. See page 48).

THAD JONES ON BASIE:

‘He Would Just Look Around, and He Could Sense How We Felt’

In 1984, I had the opportunity to interview Thad Jones for an article in American Way Magazine on Count Basie alumni, shortly after Basie died in April of that year. At the time, Jones had returned to the United States from Denmark to front the Count Basie Orchestra.

When I spoke to him at the Roseland Ballroom, he said the experience of playing with Basie taught him the meaning of the word, “ensemble. You can listen to soloists all day long,” he said, “but a soloist can perform with any group. When you hear a band play ensemble, you immediately form a picture, and you hear what the band truly is. You understand the personality of it and the power. You understand how the power can be unleashed.

“That band,” he continued, “has always been the number one band for ensemble playing. Each tune had its own balance. If you take it too much to one side, you lose the real force of it. Basie was the master at balancing and finding out the tempo at which a tune should be played. And, he gauged it in many different ways. He would take the meter of the band. He would just look around, and he could sense how we felt. And the first number that he played would be an indication of how he perceived this. It was incredible. He was never wrong. The tempos that he set would be just perfect for the way we felt.”

When Jones smiled, the broadness of his grin seemed to envelop his massive frame. And, the opportunity to head the Basie Orchestra at that stage of his career had him smiling often during our interview. “I just feel so fortunate to be a part of it,” he said. “I feel truly blessed. It isn’t anything you could accept lightly. You have to understand that it requires a full commitment.”

—SANFORD JOSEPHSON

When Jones departed the U.S. to live in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1978, he left the band, and his William Paterson teaching post. Dr. Krivin was as surprised as anyone, but he had seen Rufus Reid’s teaching style during the Thad-Mel Quartet’s campus workshops. When he first asked Rufus if he would be willing to come on as jazz director, Reid’s reply was a flat no: “I didn’t come to New York to be a teacher, I came to be a bass player.” Krivin responded by asking Reid if he might be able to finish out that week of Thad’s unexpected departure. That first week of Reid’s teaching turned into the rest of the semester, which eventually turned into 20 years as the Director of Jazz Studies. Dr. Krivin could be very persuasive. The two worked together to put the Jazz Program on the map, nationally and internationally.

A more recent legacy of Thad Jones on the William Paterson campus

is the creation of the Thad Jones Archive, part of the Living Jazz Archives. These also include personal collections from the legendary Clark Terry (the Living Jazz Archives’ founder), pianists James Williams and Harold Mabern, saxophonists Michael Brecker and Lee Konitz, and the collections of Jim McNeely, Don Sebesky, and Albert Regni. These include thousands of pages of personal music and practice notes, instruments, mouthpieces, letters, awards, photos, thousands of one-of-a-kind gig tapes, and other memorabilia.

The Thad Jones Archive contains over 100 of Thad’s original handwritten scores, and hundreds of original ink parts, including all that were on the bandstand that first night in 1966. The archive also contains many hours of live recordings of the band on tour, photos, tour programs, and more. I have become an inspired “Thad detective,” helping to find lost music

around the world, and to work with Thad’s publisher, Kendor Music, to correct discrepancies between the published and recorded versions of his music. Later this year, I will work with publisher eJazzLines to publish a book, 85 Thad Jones Small Group Compositions, including the “parents” of some of Thad’s most well-

known big band arrangements such as “Three and One,” “Little Pixie,” “Kids Are Pretty People,” and “Tip Toe,” all of which began their lives as small-group pieces. All book royalties will go to the Thad Jones Archive.

On the night of what would have been Thad’s 100th birthday, March 28, 2023, Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at

Thad Jones at 1977 William Paterson commencement. Harold Danko is on piano.

PHOTO BY GEORGE KEMPER FOR THE BERGEN RECORD

Thad Jones: ‘The Risks He Took Were Inspiring to Us All’

BY DICK OATTS

Thad Jones is truly one of the heroes of jazz composition and trumpet performance. I swore to myself that if I got on the band that I would stay long enough to celebrate his 100th birthday to thank him for taking a chance with me in the sax section. Forty-six years later, I am actually a man of my word. I have dedicated my life to creative music thanks to Thad. He gave me an opportunity of a lifetime, and I will always thank him for that.

Thad had never heard me play (since my early years were in Iowa and Minnesota). He was doing a clinic at the University of Minnesota back in 1977 and offered my friend, Randy Pink, who was playing lead alto in the University big band, to come to New York City and join his band. Randy didn’t feel ready for that move yet so he recommended me instead. I initially thought it was a joke that he might have been playing on me. He gave meThad’s telephone number in New Jersey and when I called, a deep voice answered. He asked me when I could move to New York City, and I told him two weeks. I got to La Guardia Airport on a Monday, and he informed me that I was to play that night at the Village Vanguard. It happened so fast that I had no time to get nervous. The following week, he asked me if I had a passport because he wanted me to do a six-week Thad & Mel tour of Europe. This opportunity simply replaced getting a college education. I found out that the real education comes from ex-

perience and admitting that the search never stops. In my short two years with Thad and Mel, my only regret is that it couldn’t have been longer. The toughest moment was when Thad left for Copenhagen and the brightest moments were playing his music and hearing him solo and watching him conduct. He was a true source and influence for all of us. I will never forget his energy and his gift in taking chances. I also will never forget how Thad took such chances with the music and who played the music. The risks he took were so inspiring to us all. You would never know what he might do next. It kept us all respecting the tradition, where, and how this music was in constant evolution. It provided me a depth and understanding of a deeper meaning for this art form. He was a free spirit as a teacher, performer and composer. I feel that Thad Jones wassimply one of the most creative artists in the legacy of Jazz. Thad respected and always played and paid it forward to the next generation.

Dick Oatts is the lead alto saxophonist for the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. He was a member of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1978 when Jones left the orchestra to live in Denmark.

Lincoln Center has invited William Paterson students and faculty to present “THAD AT 100,” featuring the WP Jazz Orchestra performing Thad’s big band compositions in the first set, and two of WP’s 24 quintets and sextets performing his small group music in the second set. That concert will be re-staged at William Paterson University in the Jazz Room concert series on Sunday, April 2 at 4:00 PM. The strength and longevity of Professor Thad Jones’ legacy at William Paterson University is palpable; the Living Jazz Archives are truly that: Thad’s music lives on in the students’ deep study and regular performances of it. This is perhaps best expressed by a slogan that William Paterson jazz students came up with, “THAD LIVES HERE.”

David Demsey is Jazz Studies Coordinator at William Paterson University and Curator of the Thad Jones Archive.

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WOMEN IN JAZZ

Brianna Thomas Will Share the Stage with Two Other Vocalists in JALC’s ‘Songs We Love’ Tour

The 47-City Tour Will Make a Stop at Toms River’s Grunin Center on March 10

BY SANFORD JOSEPHSON

n a review of vocalist Brianna Thomas’ 2020 Breathline Records album, Everybody Knows, Brian Morton of DownBeat admired Thomas’ ability to take a song like “Mississippi Goddam”, so identified with Nina Simone, and “give the impression of inventing the song in the moment, as if it’s never been done before.”

Two years earlier, in 2018, Thomas led a band at the New York Botanical Gardens to note the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King. One of the songs on that program was “Mississippi Goddam”, and Thomas “turned it into a funk because I wanted people to hear every word that was coming out of my mouth. Nina Simone had such an amazing way of writing and expressing herself. That very much influenced me when I thought about how to do the song, how to arrange the song. It put me in a funky mood.”

WOMEN IN JAZZ

The album was called Everybody Knows, Thomas explained, because, “There was so much happening at the time. There were all these cop killings, a lot of rioting going on. It was really an album meant to be calling out the truths that we know. ‘Mississippi Goddam’ had to go on there because of the times we were living in.”

Thomas is currently one of three featured vocalists in the 47-city tour of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Songs We Love”, which will be at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts in Toms River, NJ, on Friday, March 10. The “Songs We Love” concept was first presented in 2016 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. Thomas was part of that production, which also featured Dee Dee Bridgewater. In addition to Thomas, the 2023 Toms River performance showcases vocalists Shenel Johns and Vuyo Sotashe, backed by a band of “next generation”

instrumental stars: trumpeter Gabe Medd, (subbing for Musical Director Riley Mulherkar), trombonist Mariel Bildsten, saxophonist Lucas Pino, pianist Mathis Picard, bassist Mark Lewandowski, and drummer TJ Reddick. The content will focus on “iconic songs from the 1920s to the 1950s.”

Song selection, Thomas said, will include “the music of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland—songs that we love to sing and to share. I think those songs tend to be songs that people know and love as well. We do duets with one another, and we each have our own

portion of the show.” For example, “Shenel will be singing ‘I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good’, and I’ve been doing, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’. We’ve all been listening to one another and learning from one another.”

Growing up in Peoria, IL, Thomas was, “surrounded by music my whole life. My father was a drummer and vocalist, and when my parents couldn’t find a babysitter , they would just take me out to the club with them. My dad was my first music teacher, the first one to teach me harmony, the first one to buy me a keyboard. My first actual instrument, though, was a drum set. I went on to study saxophone, which I played through middle school and college, actually. But, singing is my true passion.”

Fortuitously for Thomas, a fellow Peoria resident was Mary Jo Papich, founder of the Jazz Education Network, Fine Arts Coordinator for the Peoria public schools, and

PHOTO BY MATT BAKER

WOMEN IN JAZZ

Director of the Peoria Jazz AllStars. John Hardesty, Thomas’ middle school band teacher, introduced her to Papich. “I must have been in the seventh grade at the time,” Thomas recalled, “and my eighth grade summer I went to Europe for the first time with a big band. I was 12, and Ms. Papich really opened my perspective about what was possible.”

Thomas was 11 years old when Papich first heard her sing. “I knew she had to be the featured singer with my Peoria Jazz High School AllStars on our upcoming European tour to the North Sea and Montreux Jazz Festivals!” she said. “She is a master song stylist with improv chops, which I believe come from her experience playing in the jazz band on alto and flute. What’s exciting about Brianna Thomas right now is she’s developing her range and style to fit several genres of music, and she’s doing it beautifully! Lucky me as I am so glad our paths crossed.”

Who are Thomas’ inspirations? “I remember being 12, and Ms. Papich handed me a Dianne Reeves CD, The Grand Encounter (Blue Note Records: 1996). I was so blown away by Dianne Reeves because at the time I had been listening to Sarah Vaughan. I was eating up Sarah Vaughan.” And the connection between Vaughan and Reeves was apparent. “You hear people, and there’s a lineage in their sound.

“Of course, I love Ella,” she continued. “And I love Etta Jones. Her ability to swing and bounce a phrase was amazing. I love Nina Simone. Both Ella and Nina Simone are exquisite ballad singers. And, I grew up in the ‘90s, so I loved Whitney. I loved her ability to sing up and down with her voice.”

Thomas left Peoria when she was 21(She’s now “in my 30s”) and moved to Nashville; then, in 2007 she moved to New York, graduating from The New School’s School of Jazz and Contemporary Art in 2011. She’s current-

ly working on an album “that may or may not be all originals. We’re hoping to record a couple of singles this year.” And, she will also be appearing with her band at Cape May’s Exit Zero Jazz Festival on May 5 and 6.

Nearly eight years ago, AllAboutJazz’s Dan Bilawsky spotted Thomas’ potential after she released her debut album, You Must Believe in Love on the Sound on Purpose Records label. In June 2015, he wrote: “Brianna

Thomas is the complete package. She exhibits emotional depth, to-die-for scat skills, incredible pitch control and shading, strong songwriting skills, intuitively elastic phrasing, soulful bearing, and great range.”

For more information or to order tickets to the March 10th performance at the Grunin Center in Toms River, log onto grunincenter.org or call (732) 255-0500.

Mary Jo Papich recruited Thomas for a European tour to the North Sea and Montreux Jazz Festivals.

WOMEN IN JAZZ

Excerpts from SHE’s GOT JAZZ, featuring Brianna Thomas, Will be Shown at NJJS Jersey Jazz LIVE! Program

Brianna Thomas is one of four featured female jazz artists in the film, SHE’s GOT JAZZ, produced and directed three years ago by filmmaker Jim Burns. Burns will be showing excerpts from the film on Sunday, March 5, when music historian Charles L. (Chuck) Granata presents a 90-minute program focusing on the importance of Women in Jazz at the New Jersey Jazz Society’s Jersey Jazz LIVE! program. The other three performers highlighted in the film are saxophonist Grace Kelly, trumpeter/vocalist Bria Skonberg, and vocalist Veronica Swift. The program will also feature a live performance by young pianist Leonieke Scheuble, a student musician from Rockaway, NJ, who is currently a Jazz Studies major at William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ. Scheuble performed at NJJS’ 50th anniversary concert last October and is the leader of the Three Generations of Jazz Trio featuring her father, drummer Nick Scheuble and legendary bassist Bill Crow. At the Women in Jazz program, Scheuble will perform jazz standards written by or made famous by women, such as Dorothy Fields’ “The Way You Look Tonight” and Ann Ronnell’s “Willow Weep for Me.”

At a South Orange performance three years ago, AllAboutJazz’s David A. Orthmann singled out Scheuble’s rendition of the Ronnell classic. “A ballad interpretation of the melody of ‘Willow Weep For Me’”, he wrote, “was a complete, satisfying

WOMEN IN JAZZ

performance . It’s evident that Leonieke, following in the footsteps of many distinguished jazz artists, has taken the time to bond with and internalize them.”

Granata, a resident of Livingston, NJ, has written four books on music and sound recording and has contributed to and supervised the creation of several album projects, including four that were nominated for Grammy Awards.

The Women in Jazz presentation will begin at 3:30 p.m., preceded by a Rising Star opening act featuring a quintet from the Raritan Valley Community College Jazz Ensemble. The quintet will be led by saxophonist Ian Dalida of Somerville, a graduate of Somerville High School. On most Sunday afternoons, Dalida can be found playing from 1-3 p.m. at the Village Brewery on Somerville’s Main Street.

Other band members are vocalist Victoria Mango. A classically trained opera singer, Mango began “my jazz journey as a jazz vocalist” in the fall of 2022. She lives in East Brunswick and graduated from East Brunswick High School. Drummer Payton Teague lives in Flemington and graduated from Hunterdon Central High School. A student of drummer Matt Slocum, his influences include Marcus Gilmore, Elvin Jones, and Morgan Simpson. Pianist Felipe Primero lists Horace Silver and Chick Corea as his piano jazz heroes. A resident of Phillipsburg, he graduated from Phillipsburg High School. Bassist Nicolas Gallegos, now a resident of Ringoes, is originally from Ambato, Ecuador. The South Hunterdon High School graduate lists James Jamerson, Oscar Pettiford, Paul Chambers, and Louis Johnson as his bass influences. Director of the RVCC Jazz Ensemble is bassist John Loehrke.

The Madison Community Arts Center is located at 10 Kings Road in Madison, NJ. Admission is $10 for members and $15 for non-members, payable at the door with cash or credit card. Light refreshmentsare available for purchase. Proof of vaccination is required; masks are optional. Funding for the NJJS Socials has been made possible, in part, by funds from Morris Arts though the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a partner agency of The National Endowment for the Arts.

Stanley Clarke Transformed the Electric Bass into a Solo Instrument

“I Learned About Leadership Skills from Chick (Corea). He was a Very Generous Guy”

BY JAY SWEET

Stanley Clarke transformed the electric bass from its accompanying role and showed the world its possibilities as a solo instrument. He is also a virtuosic double bass player and an accomplished film composer. Clarke is a five-time Grammy winner, with 15 nominations. Three of his Grammys were for his solo efforts, one for the Stanley Clarke Band, and one with the groundbreaking, Return to Forever band, for which he was a founding member. In April of last year, he was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master (Jersey Jazz, March 2022)

At age 71, Clarke is incredibly active today, writing, touring, and presenting his YouTube series Bass Nation. On March 25, he will perform at The Vogel in Red Bank with his band 4Ever, which features Jeremiah Collier (drums), Jahari Stampley (keys), Emilio Modeste (sax), and Colin Cook (guitar). “We have been together for some time, we toured Europe, and we just finished a remarkable album where we took some of Chick Corea’s compositions and reworked them. It’s a double album that will be out sometime this summer. We start touring at the end of March, and after a little

time off, we pretty much go up until the winter. Which is something I am looking forward to. It’s nice to be out on the road and touring after the pandemic. It’s all good; it feels good.

Clarke was born on June 30, 1951, in North Philadelphia. “Eventually, we moved to Roxborough where I went to high school,” he recalled. “Music was always part of my household. My mother was a semipro opera singer and sensed that I would be a musician. I started playing piano, and after that, I played a little violin and then a little cello, but then, eventually, I saw the bass. It was an instrument that I knew I would be challenged to play because it was big, and no one wanted to play it in school.

“I grabbed it and plucked the string, and it had such a wretched sound you just knew it would be hell to play this thing. It was my quest to get a good sound on it—it still is. That is the basis behind my playing. Not so much

the technique, even though I had gotten into studying technique and probably have more technique than I need, but the undercutting thing is to make the bass have a good sound and to make people pleased to listen to it. When you look back at the history of the bass guys who have great sound— like Ray Brown, Ron Carter, James Jamerson, Larry Graham, and Jaco Pastorius— it’s really the sound. You can study all of the scales and things and have all sorts of tech-

niques, but if your sound is not good, all of that stuff goes out the window.”

As a teenager, Clarke picked up the electric bass, the instrument he would transform. “I tell people, ‘I’m an acoustic bass player who plays electric bass.’ I never envisioned being an electric bass God, or someone people admire. Some people know me as an electric bass player and never even realize I play acoustic bass. The electric bass was something to play at parties. I thought it looked cool,

and the girls seemed to like me better when I held an electric bass instead of the acoustic one. It was kind of my attitude about it. I never really studied the electric bass. Now, people really study that instrument, but back in the old days, like in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the electric bass was like a secondary instrument. I always believed that the better electric bass players are guys who can also play acoustic bass. Acoustic bass has a way of grounding you and mak-

Stanley Clarke’s 4EVER band, from left: keyboardist Jahari Stampley, saxophonist Emilio Modeste, drummer Jeremiah Collier, guitarist Colin Cook, and Clarke.

ing you understand in a very acute way the fundamental purpose of the bass. If you want to be a serious bass player, pick up the acoustic bass.”

Clarke’s next move was to continue his classical studies at The Philadelphia Musical Academy. “My plan was to audition for the Philadelphia Orchestra. I wanted to be one of the first African-American musicians to be part of that orchestra, but when I

met Chick Corea, he said, ‘You don’t want to do that. I get that they play the music of the masters, but we are composers, too; and we can write our own music.’ He was a very funny guy. He said to me, ‘There is Bach and Beethoven, but there is also Corea and Clarke.’ So, I dropped the idea of playing in a symphony, but I did study the acoustic bass classically. That was my training. I left school in my third

“

I LEARNED A LOT FROM HORACE SILVER.”

year when I had the opportunity to audition for Horace Silver. I got the gig and went on the road with him. That might have been 1969-1970, really my first taste of being a traveling jazz musician. I learned a lot from Horace Silver. Then I was playing with Joe Henderson and Stan Getz. Chick was filling in on a gig for Joe Henderson, and then Chick Corea and I were together all of the time.

Corea and Clarke formulated one of the most celebrated electric fusion bands, Return to Forever. “After playing with Joe Henderson one of the nights, Chick and I were listening to this Coltrane record. I remember we talked about putting a group togeth-

er that’s somewhat different. We just talked about music and different nuances. He had to go to England, and we put the band together when he returned. Then we involved two Brazilian musicians, Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. We made two beautiful records, Return to Forever (ECM, 1972), and Light as a Feather (Polydor 1973. It became somewhat of a collaborative effort that evolved, especially, when we did Romantic Warrior (Columbia, 1976), our biggest album. It was a platinum album that was rare for an instrumental band. Each guy produces his own track. Chick was always our fearless leader. You have to have someone to have the final say,

Stanley Clarke with George Duke

and that was Chick. He was the oldest guy, so we figured he knew the most.”

Another aspect of Clarke’s career came as a composer. He wrote music as early as 16 and credits Corea for helping to encourage him to compose more. “I knew Chick was a masterful composer, and Chick said, ‘Why don’t you write something for this album?’ So, I wrote the song ‘Light as a Feather,’ and Flora Purim wrote the lyrics. I learned about leadership skills from Chick. He was a very generous guy. If anyone asks me what I have learned from Return to Forever, it is how to have a band and treat musicians to be sure you are getting the best from the group—you have to leave your ego at the door.”

While with Return To Forever, Clarke began recording as a leader and was one of the first to showcase the electric bass on an entire album. He considers Stanley Clarke (Nemporer 1972), his first true solo record. “I always wanted to bring in my feelings on electric music. I was hanging out a lot with Tony Williams and a lot of guys who were doing jazz-rock, which was basically guys playing very loudly. Some of the stuff was wild, but it was fun. I remember Tony encouraging me to put ‘Lopsy Lu’ on the record. We made a shortened single of that tune, and it did well. It was something that gave the bassist something to listen to that wasn’t typ-

“ CLARKE’S MOST IMPACTFUL SOLO ALBUM WAS SCHOOLDAYS.”

ical R&B or rock. It was a new form of music, and it was different. There were no straight-up in-your-face electric bass records at the time, and I wanted to do that as a composer.”

Clarke’s most impactful solo album was School Days (1976, Nemporer), and the title track became an unlikely hit. On the playback, Clarke told the engineer, Ken Scott, that the bass was too loud. “He said, with a heavy English accent, ‘No, mate, the

bass is never too loud when you play.’ That was the first time anyone had ever said anything like that to me. Every little note I played on that song was heard as if I were a vocalist, and that was really the key behind it. It came out, and I was amazed to see a big billboard on Sunset Boulevard promoting the School Days album. It climbed the charts (#34 on The Billboard Charts) and spread worldwide; it was everywhere. I was doing all of these gigs, and I had to put the acoustic bass to the side. I would bring it to the shows and at least play one or two songs on it, but I was turning into this electric bass guy, which was kind of weird. I am glad I did because now so many guys have made solo bass records, and it’s nice. I feel partly responsible and feel good that the electric bass has its place.

After Return to Forever, Clarke continued to remain active as a leader and as a sideman. He toured with

the recently deceased Jeff Beck in 1979. “I spent a lot of time with Jeff. He wasn’t just a good friend but a cool friend. He was special. You meet certain guys, and you feel they are invincible, and you never get the idea that they will pass away. I figured he would live to 100 playing ‘Freeway Jam’. Same with Chick Corea. It saddened me when he passed because the guy was like a big light. He was a real instrumentalist. It didn’t matter if he played in front of 20 people or 20,000 people; he could excite an audience.”

Another successful collaboration was with keyboardist George Duke in the early ‘70s. “I met George around 1971 or 1972, in Europe when he was playing with Cannonball Adderley, and we were friends from that point on. Then when I moved to California, we lived close by, so we hung out almost daily. We made a lot of records and had a lot of fun. When we started making Clarke/Duke records, we

were surprised by the success. We recorded those things pretty fast, and then we had a hit with “Sweet Baby,” (#19 Billboard Charts), and we toured forever because of that tune. I remember George asking me; when will they get sick of this tune?”

Another major part of Clarke’s beginning in the 1980s was film scoring, and it all started with an episode of Peewee’s Playhouse, for which he was nominated for an Emmy. Other projects included films such as Boyz n the Hood, Passenger 57, What’s Love Got To Do With It?, and dozens more.

“I have thought of myself as a composer since I was 16,” he said, “so being a film composer was a natural thing. I can churn out those things, and I can write really fast. Maybe it’s not all spectacular, but it will be adequate and good. I did a lot of films, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a great art form to mix music, literature, and visual arts.”

Houston Person, left, and Terell Stafford at last year’s Sarasota Jazz Festival.

New Stars Join Old Favorites in an Effort to Broaden the Audience

This Year’s Performers Will Reflect “Every Part of the Jazz Community.”

BY SANFORD JOSEPHSON

Trumpeter/educator Terell Stafford begins his first year as Music Director of the Sarasota Jazz Festival, and he is intent on bringing in groups that reflect “every part of the jazz community.” That ranges from festival favorites such as pianist Dick Hyman and tenor saxophonist Houston Person to performers new to the festival such as vocalists

Kurt Elling and Lizz Wright, bassist Marcus Miller, multi-reedist Paquito D’Rivera, and pianist Christian Sands.

“When the Festival committee made the decision to bring me on board,” he said, “it was at the end of August or early September last year. So, I started reaching out to some of the people I knew, like Christian Sands, Lizz Wright, and Kurt Elling. I’ve either worked with all these folks or have a relationship with them. So, I tried to fill the program with people who would be right for the festival and would attract different crowds.”

The biggest change, according to Ed Linehan, President of the Jazz Club of Sarasota, will be the makeup of the headliners’ bands. “In recent years,” he explained, “we had individual artists play with a local rhythm section, mixing and matching all these people. This year, we’re having musicians come in with their own bands.” Stafford described the transition as “moving from a jazz party style to more of a festival style.”

The festival will kick off with the traditional Jazz Trolley Pub Crawl on March 14. For the second year, it will be held at the University Town Center Mall instead of down-

town. There will be 10 different locations, featuring local performers Sands and Wright will perform on March 15. Sands was featured in the November/December 2019 issue of Jersey Jazz when he led a Three Piano Summit at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center as part of a tribute to Erroll Garner’s legacy. In 2019, Sands succeeded the late Geri Allen as Creative Ambassador to The Erroll Garner Jazz Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to Garner’s legacy.

In a review of Sands’ 2018 Mack Avenue album, Facing Dragons, WBGO Radio’s Nate Chinen wrote that he has “a mode of soulful eclecti-

cism that expresses new ideas without abandoning the old.” Sands told Jersey Jazz, “I’m a big advocate for learning from the past. You can only build from the ground up, bringing tradition to the essence of what we call music.”

“

THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER D’RIVERA HAS WON FIVE GRAMMY AWARDS.”

DownBeat’s Frank Alkyer, reviewing Wright’s 2022 Blues & Greens album, Holding Space, Live in Berlin, wrote that, “Lizz Wright comes to her music with equal parts gospel, jazz, r&b and blues. The alto vibrations

of her dark-toned, rich voice would sound at home in any church, jazz club, theater or even arena. She’s just that versatile as an artist.” Wright, in Linehan’s view, is “not essentially a jazz singer,” but he feels she is the type of artist that “will broaden the tent and reach new audiences.”

Bassist Marcus Miller, an in-demand session player in the 1970s, became even better known in the ‘80s as a member of Miles Davis’ band.

Christian Sands

PHOTO BY ANNA WEBBER

SARASOTA JAZZ FESTIVAL

According to AllMusic’s Andy Keller, Miller has worn many hats – “improviser, interpreter, arranger, songwriter, film music composer, bassist, multi-instrumentalist.” He has played with a long list of jazz fusion luminaries including alto saxophonists David Sanborn and Grover Washington, Jr., drummer Lenny White, and flutist/vocalist Bobbi Humphrey.

Marcus will be the headliner on Thursday, March 16. Also appearing that night are the Allen Carman Project and percussionist Gumbi Ortiz.

Vocalist Kurt Elling was profiled in the February 2021 issue of Jersey Jazz. His 2020 Editions Records album, Secrets Are the Best Stories, a collaboration with keyboardist Danilo Perez won a Grammy for Best Vocal Album.

Perez wrote many of the compositions, and Elling wrote many of the lyrics. “I specifically wanted to engage Danilo in a conversation about immigrants, people on the short end of the stick,” he told Jersey Jazz’s Schaen Fox, “so several of the compositions reflect that concern in a direct or indirect way.” Elling was “gratified and humbled to be nominated. Since the recording was released just as the (Covid) shutdown occurred, I am somewhat surprised that anybody even heard it.” He will be joined on the Sarasota stage by guitarist Charlie Hunter.

Elling will be preceded on Friday March 17 by the legendary Hyman, who moved from New York to nearby Venice, FL, in 1995. Hyman, who will turn 96 on March 8, will be performing with guitarist Diego Figueiredo. In 2017 the Sarasota Jazz Festival was dedicated to Hyman in celebration of his 90th birthday. The opening night performance traced his career

Terell Stafford’s New Album: Between Two Worlds

In April, Terell Stafford will be releasing a new album, Between Two Worlds on the Le Coq Records label “During the pandemic,” he said, “I had more time to spend with my family, and I got to know everyone better. I saw sides of them I never saw, so I wrote some tunes about that.”

Music from the album was previewed live in early February at Philadelphia’s South Restaurant & Jazz Club, featuring the other members of the quintet performing on the recording: tenor saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist Bruce Barth, bassist David Wong, and drummer Johnathan Blake. A single was released in February, and the official April release will be celebrated at New York’s Smoke Jazz Club. A special guest on the album is percussionist Alex Acuna.

Lizz Wright

Marcus Miller

from his early days with NBC Radio and The Arthur Godfrey Show to being named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2017. Last year, Hyman and clarinetist/tenor saxophonist Ken Peplowski performed together at Sarasota, delighting the audience with a range of familiar tunes that included Juan Tizol’s “Caravan”, Ray Henderson’s “It All Depends on You”, and Johnny Green’s “Body and Soul”. George Benson has called Figueiredo ‘’one of the greatest guitarists I’ve seen in my whole life. The world needs to listen to his music.”

Paquito D’Rivera, also an NEA

“

Jazz Master, was nominated for a Grammy Award this year for Best Instrumental Composition for his piece, “African Tales”. It was recorded on clarinetist Tasha Warren and cellist Dave Eggar’s album, Ourself Behind Ourself, Concealed (Bright Shiny Things: 2022). Throughout his career D’Rivera has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated for 16.

In 2015, when D’Rivera played selections from his 2014 Paquito/Sunnyside album, Jazz Meets the Classics, at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Nate Chinen, then writing for The New York Times, pointed out that D’Rivera

MY HOPE IS THAT THE FESTIVAL JUST CONTINUES TO GROW.”

Dick Hyman and Diego Figueiredo

“worked mainly on alto saxophone, his most bracing voice, and clarinet, his most effervescent. His bravura turn,” according to Chinen, came during “Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A” performed in a New Orleans gospel style. “Approaching the cadenza,” Chinen said, “he ratcheted into high gear, mixing a fluttery classical phraseology with his own zippy eloquence.”

Earlier in the JALC concert, before playing Beethoven’s “Pathet-

ique” piano sonata, D’Rivera, who was born in Havana, Cuba, told the audience that Beethoven “was really from Machu Picchu. His name was not Ludwig but Luisito.”

On Saturday, March 18, D’Rivera will follow one of the returning Festival favorites, tenor saxophonist Houston Person, playing with organist Tony Monaco. Person was honored last October at the New Jersey Jazz Society’s 50th Anniversary

Sarasota Jazz Festival Schedule

MAR 13 VIP Reception: Invitation Only—Details to be announced

MAR 14 Jazz Trolley Pub Crawl: 5:30-9:30 p.m. at University Town Center (UTC Mall)

MAR 15 Main Stage: Lizz Wright; Christian Sands Trio, 6-9:15 p.m. at Nathan Benderson Park.

MAR 16 Main Stage: Marcus Miller; Allen Carman Project—Gumbi Ortiz, 6-9:15 p.m. at NBP. Jazz Film Event: The Benny Goodman Story, 9 a.m. at Burns Court Cinema.

MAR 17 Main Stage: Kurt Elling-Charlie Hunter; Dick Hyman and Diego Figueiredo, 6-9:15 p.m., NBP. Jazz Film Event: Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, 9 a.m., Burns Court Cinema. Late Night Open Jam: Led by La Lucha, 9:30 p.m.-Midnight, NBP.

MAR 18 Main Stage: Paquito D’Rivera; Houston Person and Tony Monaco, 6-9:15 p.m., at NBP. Late Night Open Jam: Led by Synia Carroll, 9:30 p.m.-Midnight at NBP.

Concert in Morristown, NJ. Last year in Sarasota, Person and Stafford performed together toward the end of the veteran saxophonist’s set, playing George Gershwin’s “Fascinatin’ Rhythm, Buddy Johnson’s “Since I Fell for You”, and Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny”. Person and Stafford also made an album together, 2020’s Moment to Moment on the HighNote label.

Although Stafford is not officially on the performing schedule, he is expected to appear on the stage in addition to his behind-the-scenes responsibilities. “I’ll play a little bit with Houston,” he said, “and Paquito asked me if I’d play a tune or two with him. If another group wants me to play a tune with them, I’ll do that, too.”

Stafford is Director of Jazz and Instrumental Studies at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. Three of his students were recently named the Outstanding Rhythm Section at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s

Jack Rudin Championship (Jersey Jazz, February 2023). One of those students, pianist Anthony Aldissi is from Clearwater, FL, and according to Linehan, “has played for us many times. He’s an exceptional talent.”

Going forward, Stafford would like to find a way “to create an educational experience for the Festival as well. Truly, that’s how the next generation is going to be nurtured. I would like to do some clinics and education and invite the students out to the festival. And, maybe even have a night for younger groups to perform. Those will probably be future conversations. It has been great to work with Ed. He’s really open and flexible. My hope,” he continued, “is that people come out and enjoy the music and that the festival just continues to grow.”

For more information and to order tickets, log onto sarasota jazzfestival.com.

NJ Student Musicians Hit the Right Notes at Mingus Festival

Some of the Award Winners

Performed at Jersey Jazz LIVE! Concerts Last Year

There are lots of familiar names among the local winners in the 15th annual Charles Mingus High School Competition & Festival, held February 18-19 at The New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York. Among the Outstanding Soloists: Combo Categories were three student musicians who appeared at the New Jersey Jazz Society’s Jersey Jazz

Ben Collins-Siegel at Jersey Jazz LIVE! concert in June.

Alvaro Caravaca (on piano) and Ginger Meyer at Jersey Jazz LIVE! concert in August.

LIVE! concert in August: Ginger Meyer, Mendham, alto saxophone; Alvaro Caravaca, Mount Olive, trumpet; and Mecadon McCune, Newark, drums. The fourth member of the quartet that played that day, bassist Sam Konin, also won an award, The Charles Mingus Electric Bass Award, for his performance of Mingus’ “The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines”, performed by Mingus with lyrics by Joni Mitchell on Mitchell’s’1979 Asylum album, Mingus. Konin is from Lawrenceville.

All four of these award winners are members of the Jazz House Kids Ambassadors Combo. Two other members of their group—violinist/ vocalist Jacquie Lee of Montclair and bassist Riley Ying of Verona also won Outstanding Soloist Awards. Lee was also one of three New School of Jazz Scholarship Winners.

Four Members of the Newark

Academy Jazz Combo were named Outstanding Soloists: Combo Categories at the Mingus Competition: pianist Ben CollinsSiegel and drummer Ben Schwartz, both from Maplewood, and trumpeters Shivan Kundra and Jacob Tolentino. Tolentino is from Roselle Park, and Kundra is from Montclair

Schwartz and Collins-Siegel played at the NJJS 50th Anniversary Concert last October in Morristown. Collins-Siegel also performed at the June 2022 Jersey Jazz LIVE! concert, and he and Schwartz, along with bassist Ryoma Takenaga—known as the Baker Street Trio—headlined a virtual NJJS concert during the pandemic. Schwartz and bassist Laura Simone-Martin of Lawrenceville were featured in the July/ August 2022 issue of Jersey Jazz as the two New Jersey high school students invited to play in the 2022

PHOTO BY MITCHELL SEIDEL

RISING STARS

edition of Carnegie Hall’s NYO Jazz Program. Simone-Martin also won a Mingus Outstanding Soloist Award as part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz Collective Combo.

Collins-Siegel first appeared in the pages of Jersey Jazz in the May/ June 2020 issue when he won a Mingus Outstanding Soloist Award as a 12-year-old member of the New Jersey Youth Symphony Jazz Orchestra.

OTHER AWARDS INCLUDED:

Outstanding Soloists Big Band

Category: Newark Academy

trombonist Charlies Kunzweiler and tenor saxophonist Anirudh Chakravarthy; and Jazz House Kids trumpeter Nick Mikhail and pianist James Pakjhomou

Outstanding Combo: Newark Academy Jazz Combo

Outstanding Big Band: Newark Academy Chameleon band

Mingus Spirit Award Combo

Categories: Jazz House Kids

Ambassadors Combo

Outstanding Rhythm Section: Jazz House Kids Big Band

Outstanding Student Arrangements: “Girl of My Dreams”, arranged by Ben Collins-Siegel.

The Newark Academy Band Director is Julius Tolentino. Jazz House Kids Band Directors are Nathan Eklund and Mike Lee

The Charles Mingus Festival & High School Competition is organized and presented by Dr. Keller Coker, Dean of The New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and by Let My Children Hear Music/The Charles Mingus Institute. Twelve finalist ensembles from all over the country were featured in this year’s festival. In addition to New Jersey and New York, finalists were from California, Massachusetts, and Texas.

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BY DAN MORGENSTERN

At presstime, former President Jimmy Carter was receiving hospice care.

During my DownBeat years the fringe benefits included being invited to the White House for jazz related occasions. These spanned Nixon through Bush, with the former’s splendid Ellington birthday party a truly unique event. But Jimmy Carter’s hosting of the Newport Jazz Festival’s 25th anniversary was a very close second. Held on the White House lawn, where an impromptu bandstand had been erected. It sported an impressive cast of stellar musicians and, of course, there were some great sounds.

But what made that balmy, sunny afternoon most memorable were three jazz moments that involved the President in a most direct manner. Though not previously reputed to be a jazz fan, his actions clearly

anniversary.

demonstrated a genuine affection for the music and its makers. Three moments stood out for this observer. First was Dizzy Gillespie persuading ex-peanut farmer Carter to join him on the titular “vocal” on “Salt Peanuts,” which came off perfectly. The second was definitely un-

planned: Cecil Taylor did a solo performance that was a remarkable display of his unique gifts (in my opinion best expressed in this manner). As soon as he was done Cecil rose from the bench and instead of taking bows (the applause was considerable) disappeared from view in the shrubbery behind the instrument. The President, whose response to the music had been visibly intense, jumped up and went off on Cecil’s trail, the Secret Service,

Jimmy Carter with Charles and Sue Mingus at White House celebration of Newport Jazz Festival’s 25th

responding with commendable speed to the wholly unanticipated, in hot pursuit. I was in a perfect position to watch all this; needless to say it ended well with all participants reassembling peacefully. (I do not know if Cecil apologized; knowing him I doubt it, but I do hope he thanked the distinguished fan he’d made.)

The third moment was of a different nature. Among the guests, one was in a wheelchair on the lawn and clearly not in the best of shape, though I’d noted that he responded to the music and the happenings. The President came to his side and put a hand on his shoulder. I could not hear what he said but did see that Charles Mingus’ eyes teared. He had less than six months left. This was in 1978; as I write, Jimmy Carter is still with us, if barely. Bless him for what he did on that sunny summer day

PS: The President who brought

the most live jazz to the White House was the much misunderstood Lyndon Johnson, an Ellington fan and founder of the unprecedented National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities.

Jerry Dodgion was special. There was such a contrast between his gifts and his modesty. I had the good luck to catch him quite often, if not often enough, also in recording action—with that marvel of a singer and pianist Daryl Sherman. On each take he’d come up with a perfect solo—in conception and execution—so choices were hard to make. Fortunately, he recorded quite a bit. One of my favorites is “Beauties of 1918,” shared with Charlie Mariano and the wonderful Jimmy Rowles. I think Jerry and his wife Dottie were the most gifted of musical couples. (See “Big Band in the Sky”, page 48).

Each song is written in notation, tablature, and with chord diagrams. Choose from nearly 50 standards, which are included in two songbooks and available individually. The

Playable, performance-ready arrangements for solo jazz guitar.

Praise from players at all levels ...

“Lots of guitarists who do weddings would benefit from your arrangements. I’ve learned Fly Me To The Moon , and I’ll be playing it at my next gig. Keep arranging, Mark. We need you.”

—MW, THEWEDDINGMUSICIAN.COM

“Mark, I enjoyed your arrangement of My Romance very much. I teach guitar and am always searching for chord melody pieces that are a bit challenging but ‘doable’ by intermediate players. Keep up the great work!”

—GB, MASSACHUSETTS

“I’m so happy with your arrangements! As a beginner, they are accessible even to me and are excellent studies of chord movement. Can’t thank you enough for these excellent arrangements!”

—DL, KENTUCKY

OTHER VIEWS

BY JOE LANG

The Tony Kadleck Big Band, a superb aggregation of first-call NYC area musicians, has released Sides (Alternate Side Records—104), a nine-track album comprising highly listenable arrangements by the trumpeter/leader. The program includes, jazz originals, “Driftin’” and “Dolphin Dance” by Herbie Hancock, “Recorda-Me” and “Caribbean Fire Dance” by Joe Henderson, and “One for Tom” by Paquito D’Rivera; Antonio Carlos Jobim’s bossa nova classic, “Desafinado;” plus Bill Withers’ “Use Me,” Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”, and Paul McCartney’s “Can’t Buy Me Love.” The excellent soloists include trumpeters Kadleck, Greg Gisbert, Marvin Stamm, and Mike Rodriguez; tenor saxophonists Jason Rigby, Charles Pillow, and Andy Snitzer; alto saxophonist Jon Gordon; trombonist Marshall Gilkes; pianist Henry Hey; and drummer Jared Schonig. Kadleck’s charts are wonderfully conceived and executed expertly by his band. TonyKadleck.com

Salutes to the music of Duke Ellington are often chosen as the theme of jazz albums. A new one, Born to Be There (Eastlawn Records—40) by the Planet

D Nonet takes a different tack from the norm by concentrating primarily on selections composed by Ellington and/ or Billy Strayhorn in from 1956-1963. The Detroit-based group, co-led by percussionist RJ Spangler and trumpeter James O’Donnell, delivers 16 tracks of highly entertaining and swinging versions of tunes that would be mostly familiar only to hardcore enthusiasts of Ellingtonia. Other than “Take the ‘A’ Train” and “U.M.M.G.” most of the selections have only been recorded by Ellington. Four of the songs, “Tigress,” “Purple Gazelle,” “Bonga”, and “VIP’s Boogie” are from the 1963 album Afro-Bossa (Reprise: 1963); two, “Pie Eye Blues” and “The Swingers Get the Blues Too,” are from 1960’s Blues in Orbit (Columbia: 1960), while the rest are from a variety of albums. De-

spite the name, this is actually a tentette format that produces a big band sound combined with the intimacy of a small group. EastlawnRecords.com

Autumn Serenade (Sunnyside—1695) finds the Bill Mays Trio playing nine tracks of music that is autumn-themed. For eight of the nine tracks, Mays is joined by Dean Johnson on bass and Ron Vincent on drums. The exception is “’Tis Autumn” which finds Mays performing a vocal with only his piano as accompaniment. The other vocal track has Judy Kirtley singing “Autumn” in medley with Mays vocalizing on “When October Goes.” Mays has recently added an occasional vocal to his performances and proves to be an engaging singer. Like many jazz musicians, he does not have a classic vocal instrument, but his sense of phrasing is impeccable. The instrumental selections include “Autumn

Serenade,” “Autumn with Vivaldi,” an adaptation by Mays of the “Autumn” section of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Wayne Shorter’s “Fall,” “Lullaby of the Leaves,” “Still Life,” a Mays original,” “Early Autumn,’ and a medley of two songs titled “Autumn Nocturne,” the first a theme by Bob James and the latter the more well-known standard by Joseph Myrow. BillMays.net

Since his arrival on the scene in the mid-1950s, Ahmad Jamal has been an inspiration for other pianists who have admired his stylistic eclecticism, his singular technique, and his boundless imagination. All of these

OTHER VIEWS

attributes are in evidence on two recently released two-disc sets, Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse 1963-1964 and Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse 1965-1966. Both are on a new label, Jazz Detective, devoted to making available previously unreleased performances by various jazz giants. The Jamal discs are taken from radio broadcasts from the Seattle club where Jamal frequently appeared. The earlier sets have Richard Evans or Jamil Nasser on bass and Chuck Lampkin on drums, while the later set has Nasser on bass and Lampkin, Vernel Fournier or Frank Grant on drums. There are 10 selections on the first set and nine on the second set, with no repetition of selections from set to set. Jamal preferred performing in a live setting rather than in a studio, and his enthusiasm is evident throughout these. One more set is scheduled to come in the future. These recordings

afford listeners a wonderful sampling of his artistry from this period. Both sets are available on Limited Edition vinyl LP sets (amazon.com as well as on CD. DeepDigsMusic.com

Bassist Harvie S is one of the busiest musicians on the New York scene. In addition to frequent gigs, he has appeared on more than 400 recordings, including more than 40 as a leader or co-leader. The following three releases are illustrative of his consistently acclaimed work. Having played frequently together over the years, a natural empathy has developed between guitarist Roni Ben-Hur and bassist Harvie S. For their second trio recording, Wondering (Dot Time—9124), they have enlisted drummer Sylvia Cuenca to play on 10 jazz tunes by a variety of composers, including one each by Harvie S, “Ray,” and Ben-Hur, “What Was.” The other tunes include “Boplicity” (Gil Evans and Miles Davis), “For

Duke P” (Bobby Hutcherson), “Ligia” (Antonio Carlos Jobim)’ “A Vontade Mesmo” (Raul de Souza), “The Gentle Art of Love” (Oscar Pettiford), “Some Wandering Bushmen” (Herbie Nichols), “The Forks” (Kenny Wheeler) and “Menage Blue” (Frank Wess). There are a variety of tempi and the tunes have different feelings reflecting the disparate composers, but the approaches taken by the trio are consistently spot on. DottimeTecords..com

New York Memories (RVS Records—1003) finds Harvie S in duo performance with pianist Yukimi.

The husband-and-wife team complement each other musically. They play 10 selections that include four standards, “My Shining Hour,” “Autumn in New York,” “All the Things You Are”, and “I Hear a Rhapsody;” three jazz classics, “Time Remembered” by Bill Evans, “Hot House” by Tadd Dameron and Erroll Garner’s “Misty;” two Harvie S originals, “Next Year’s Song” and “Can’t Go Home;” and the folk song, “Danny Boy,” with a vocal by Sheila Jordan, a long-time collaborator with Harvie S. Yukimi is swinging, imaginative and possessed of a beautiful touch. Amazon.com

On You’ve Been Warned (Sunnyside —1675), Harvie S joins the husbandand-wife team of pianist Roberta Piket and drummer Billy Mintz for a scintillating romp through nine engaging originals, three each by Harvie S, Piket and Mintz, with Mintz’s ”Flight “played on one take at a slow tempo

OTHER VIEWS

and then in a speedier manner on a second version. Mintz’s versatility as a composer is particularly evident by the contrast between his lush ballad, “Beautiful You” and his intense “Billy’s Bop.” Harvie S also brings contrasts to his songs with the ever shifting “Pyramid,” the sprightly “Yukimi’s Song” and the politically charged “You’ve Been Warned.” Piket describes her “Remorse and Acceptance” as an “angular burner.” Her two other pieces, “Master Plan” and “A History” also have an angular feeling. SunnysideRecords.com

There is a special feeling and cohesiveness that develops in working jazz groups. When Covid interrupted our lives, musicians, in particular, were hard hit by the lack of opportunities to perform together. The Dave Stryker Trio was no exception. After several months of down time, they recorded a show for livestreaming, the first time in months they had performed

together. The coming together on Prime (Strikezone Records—8823) proved that the magic of their musical relationship hadn’t waned. Guitarist Stryker and his two cohorts, organist Jared Gold and drummer McClenty Hunter, were ripe to record some new music. Stryker chose eight of his compositions plus “I Should Care” to form their program. The energy and enthusiasm resulting from the renewal of this partnership is evident in this recording. Their interaction produces many exciting moments, with Stryker and Gold offering striking solo interludes and Hunter ever a propelling force. Covid was an interruption, but talent will out and Prime proves that. DaveStryker.com

I Hear Music (M&M Records - 1900) finds vocalist Diane Marino offering up a dozen selections backed by herself on piano, Frank Marino on bass, and Chris Brown on drums with a varying cast of supporting musicians playing charts written by Marino, who has a

welcoming voice and a sensitivity to the lyrics which she swings nicely. The program includes songs that are mostly familiar without being overdone. Particularly welcome are “Moonray,” “You Showed Me the Way”, and “Rock Me to Sleep”. Other selections are: “I Hear Music,” “Ain’t No Use,” “Let Me Off Uptown,” “It Could Happen to You,” “Detour Ahead,” “The Late, Late Show,” “I’ll Close My Eyes,” “When Lights Are Low”, and “You’d Better Love Me.” It is always a pleasure to hear a well-chosen group of songs sung by a vocalist who has the voice and approach to make the program feel fresh from start to finish. DianeMarino.com

Mary Foster Conklin, an avowed Jersey Girl, is one of the most distinctive vocalists on the current scene. She has been singing for almost 30 years, but this is only her fifth album. There are few who can deliver a lyric with as much insight as Conklin. Combined with her phrasing, she makes even the most familiar song sound like a newly written piece. The familiar, however, rarely finds its way into her repertoire. She has an affinity for buried gems, often by female writers. Seven of the 11 selections on These Precious Days (Mock Turtle Music—00222) are written or co-written by women: “Summertime,” Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson,;“Just a Little Lovin’,” Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil; “Come in From the Rain,” Melissa Manchester and Carole Bayer Sager; “Scars,” Simon Wallace and Fran Landesman; “Just for Now”, Andre and Dory Previn; “Rainbow,” Melba Liston and Abbey Lincoln; and “Until It’s Time for You to Go,”

OTHER VIEWS

Buffy Sainte-Marie. The remaining songs include two Jerry Lieber/Mike Stoller tunes, “Some Cats Know” and “A Little White Ship,” Alan Broadbent and Dave Frishberg’s “Heart’s Desire” and the Kurt Weill/Maxwell Anderson classic, “September Song.” The magnificent support for Conklin is supplied by pianist John di Martino, who also wrote the arrangements, violinist Sara Caswell, bassist Ed Howard, drummer Vince Cherico, guitarist Guilherme Monteiro, and percussionist Samuel Torres. MaryFosterConklin.com

Another Jersey Girl, vocalist Sharon Sable, with accompaniment from pianist Joe Holt, has recorded a tribute to one of the most revered jazz vocalists to ever bless the scene on Once Upon a Summertime: The Music of Blossom Dearie (self-produced). On seven of the 11 selections, Amy Shook is on bass. Dearie’s repertoire was filled with songs that were also underperformed, even obscure gems to which she gave new life. She even was involved in creating songs for her to sing herself like two of the pieces included here, “Inside a Silent Tear” and “I Like You, You’re Nice,” written with Mirah Blackwolf. Dearie spent several years in Paris where she picked up tunes such as “L’etang” and “Boum.” Of course, she relied primarily on songs by

American songwriters who created the likes of “Little Jazz Bird,” “You Fascinate Me So,” “Down with Love,” “They Say It’s Spring,” “Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” “Gentleman Friend”, and Tea for Two.” The title tune combines a French composer, Michel Legrand and an American lyricist, Johnny Mercer. Sable does impressive renderings of the Dearie catalog, catching the feeling of Dearie’s voice and approach without channeling her subject. Dearie primarily accompanied herself on piano, and Holt has the necessary sensitivity to fill that role behind Sable. If you were a Dearie fan, you will happily accept the efforts of Sable and Holt. (SharonSableMusic.com JoeHoltNotes.com

Cyrille Aimée & Mathis Picard

APRIL 23, 2023 / 7 PM

This concert is made possible, in part, by a generous HEART Grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners, recognizing the importance of culture, history and the arts.

reeves-reedarboretum.org

165 Hobart Avenue / Summit, NJ

Now one more album by a Jersey Girl and a particularly special one. Return to Shore (Strikezone Records- 8825) is a duo recording by vocalist Kate Baker and her late husband, guitarist Vic Juris. While she has been singing for many years and worked frequently with Juris, Baker never made a recording. It was around 2014 when the couple recorded six of the selections on this album in a New Jersey studio. The songs were “I’ve Grown Accustomed to His Face,” Ivan Lins’ “Madalena,” The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress,” “Blackberry Winter,” “Black Crow”,

OTHER VIEWS

and “Both Sides Now,” both of the latter tunes by Joni Mitchell. During the next several years they recorded some songs in their home studio, including Brian Wilson’s “God Only Knows,” a pair that were joint efforts by Baker and Juris, “Moonscape” and “Return to Shore,” and Baker’s “Are You Kind?” After the death of Juris, their friend, guitarist Dave Stryker, encouraged Baker to create an album by adding some of the home sessions to the studio session, thus Return to Shore. It is not only a fitting tribute to the memory of Vic Juris, but should serve to act as a launchpad for Baker. KateBakerandVicJuris.bandcamp.com

It seems that there are at least a couple of dozen female vocal albums for each male vocal album that crosses my desk, so it is nice to have the well sung collection of first-rate tunes found on The Song Is You (MB Records) by Matt Barber. With a trio of either pianist Bradley Young, bassist Brian Ward, and drummer Greg Sadler or pianist Marc LeBrun, bassist David Enos, and drummer Sadler on most of the 11 tracks plus a variety of added players on several other tracks, Barber turns his attention to “Oh! Look at Me Now,” “The Song Is You,” “East of the Sun (and West of the Moon),” “Almost Like

Being in Love,” “I Remember You,” “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “All the Things You Are,” “Love Like You,” “Just the Way You Are,” “For Once in My Life” and “Moon River.” Barber has a pleasant voice, a straight-ahead approach to the material and a natural swing feel. MattBarberExperience.com

Vocalist/saxophonist Darmon Meader is best known as a member of the vocal group New York Voices, but on Losing My Mind (self-produced) he is the featured singer for an eclectic program of 12 selections. There are standards, “It Could Happen to You,” “Losing My Mind,” “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise,” “I Hear Music,” “East of the Sun (West of the Moon)” and “The Song Is You;” some pop tunes,” “The Last Thing on My Mind,” “Lovely Day”, and “All My Loving;” a couple of Meader originals, “Last Call” and “Gaia’s Lament;” and one Brazilian tune, “Lembre de Mim.” Meader consistently displays his jazz roots in his vocalizing. He has unique phrasing, plays with melodies and adds examples of his scat prowess on several tunes. The support varies from a trio to a mid-sized big band, with guest appearances by his New York Voices partners on two tracks. DarmonMeader.com

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Jerry Dodgion: ‘A First-Call Sideman for More than 65 Years’

Trumpeter Randy Brecker came to New York City in 1966 and went to see the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra at the Village Vanguard. Alto saxophonist Jerry Dodgion was a charter member of that band, and Brecker posted this recollection on Facebook: “I still remember Jerry’s slicked back hair and that little smile he always kept when he wasn’t playing. He played on my first record, Score, and we did countless sessions or gigs ... to me, he’ll always be the best lead and solo alto saxophonist around.”

Dodgion died on February 17, 2023, in Queens at the age of 90. In addition to alto sax, he played flute, soprano saxophone, piccolo, and

clarinet. David Adler, writing on wrti.org three days after Dodgion’s death, described him as “a first-call sideman for more than 65 years ... an affable, rock-solid pro, seldom in the limelight, who nonetheless brought a personal and widely admired approach to his role.”

Born in Richmond, CA, on August 29, 1932, Dodgion’s big break came in 1953 when he was hired to play in the saxophone section of Gerald Wilson’s Orchestra. In the mid and late ‘50s, he played with Benny Carter, Frank Sinatra, and the Red Norvo Quintet, among others.

After moving to New York City in the early ‘60s, according to

multi-reedist Ed Joffe (in an interview eight years ago on joffewoodwinds.com), Dodgion became a sought-after studio player “due to his prowess on the single reeds and his ability to fit into any musical situation. His longtime affiliation with the most important jazz big band in the last 50 years – The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra – highlights a career of playing in name big bands led by Benny Goodman, Count

Basie, Duke Pearson, Oliver Nelson, Charles Mingus, Quincy Jones, etc.”

In the 1990s, Dodgion was a member of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, a repertory orchestra founded by the Newport Jazz Festival’s George Wein and led by trumpeter Jon Faddis. That band lasted for 10 years – from 1992-2002 – and when it ended its run, jazz critic Gary Giddins called it “just about the finest traditional jazz orchestra in the world.”

Dodgion worked with Gerald Wilson’s son, guitarist Anthony Wilson, in 1998 on the Mama Records album, Goat Hill Junket. He “seemed to internalize my arrangements in an instant,” Wilson told Adler, “and his gorgeous sound and playing would become determining factors in setting the tone for the whole horn section as they interpreted the music and brought it to life.”

In 2004, Dodgion released an al-

BIG BAND IN THE SKY

bum, The Joy of Sax (Love and Smiles Music), that featured four other saxophonists and a rhythm section. Matt Collar, reviewing it for AllMusic, wrote, “Saxophonist Jerry Dodgion harks back to his early West Coast years playing with such stalwarts of big band cool as Gerald Wilson and Rudy Salvini ... The album showcases Dodgion’s penchant for mellow, polyphonic harmonies, laid-back swing, and deftly melodic improvisations. Mixed in with compositions by Duke Ellington and Phil Woods are such stellar Dodgion originals as the Mulligan-esque ‘The Magic Lizard’ and ‘Thaddeus,’ his gorgeous tribute to trumpeter/bandleader Thad Jones. These are thoughtful, intellectual, and always pretty-sounding arrangements that make the most of Dodgion’s superb all-saxophone lineup.”

Pianist Renee Rosnes, remembering Dodgion on Facebook, called him “a masterful saxophonist, flau-

tist, composer, and arranger who deservedly enjoyed a full career working with the best. He was a very humble, kindhearted, warm person whose positive spirit was uplifting, on and off the bandstand.”

Dodgion’s marriage to the pioneering drummer, Dorothy (Giamo) Dodgion lasted 20 years before ending in divorce. She was a singer as well as a drummer, and in her autobiography, The Lady Swings: Memoirs of a Jazz Drummer (University of Illinois Press: 2021), cowritten with Wayne Enstice, she said her husband “wisely discouraged me from doubling as a singer to protect my reputation in New York as a serious musician who specialized in one instrument.”

Jerry Dodgion is survived by two daughters, Debbie and Michelle Dodgion; Ruby Valme, his partner of 18 years; and three stepchildren from a previous marriage, Eric Weisman, Roy Weisman, and Carol Chenkin.

Butch Miles

Recommended to Basie by Buddy Rich

Drummer Butch Miles joined the Count Basie Orchestra in 1975 and would get a progress report from his friend, former Basie vocalist Joe Williams. When I interviewed Miles in 2008, he told me how that worked. “Joe used to ask Basie how I was doing by saying, ‘Is it soup yet?’ Basie would say, ‘No, not yet.’ Joe told me that, finally,

after I’d been with the band for maybe a year, he asked the question, and Basie just smiled and said, ‘It’s soup.’ That’s when I knew that I finally was a lifetime member of the Basie family.”

Miles, who died February 2, 2023, in Columbus, Texas, at the age of 78, joined the Basie Orchestra on the recommendations of drummer Buddy Rich and vocalist Mel Torme. He stayed with Basie until 1979 and returned in 1997 when the band was under the direction of Grover Mitchell, staying until 2006 (Basie died in 1984).

In between the Basie periods, he spent a year with the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Bassist/trombonist Chris Brubeck recalled, on Facebook, that “Butch was always a spectacular technical drummer and is best known for the big band style exemplified by his long association with Count Basie. I remember that the last concert we played together was in Hong Kong, and on that particular night

BIG BAND IN THE SKY

Butch broke free from the big band approach and played in a dazzling liberated way with the quartet.”

Miles’ versatility was demonstrated in 2003 when he led a hard bop sextet on the Nagel Heyer Records album, Straight on Till Morning. Pointing out that Miles was “most associated with modern swing,” AllMusic’s Scott Yanow added: “With Miles pushing everyone, this is a frequently exciting set full of subtle surprises, including a humorous boppish reworking of ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’.”

Throughout his career, Miles performed with a star-studded list of artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman, and Benny Goodman, among many, many others. He was always indebted to Basie, though, telling me that “Just working every night with the greatest band on earth was a heart-stopper by itself. Basie literally made my name and my career ... Basie taught me when to get

out of the way and support a soloist and when to jump in and take command. That might have been the most important thing I ever learned.”

Quick to acknowledge Buddy Rich’s influence on him, Miles asked, “What drummer wasn’t influenced by Buddy? Rich was Basie’s favorite drummer, and the respect was mutual. Buddy could be on a rant and raving about anything that he hated, but as soon as Basie walked into the room, Buddy became a kind and gentle person. I actually saw that happen.”

There are two Basie performances that stood out as special for Miles: A command performance in London and a 1975 performance with Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald at the Uris (now Gershwin) Theater on Broadway.

He is survived by his wife, Linda Benjamin-Miles, stepchildren Eric Bippen and Christine Peters, sonin-law Eric Peters, and three grandchildren. — Sanford Josephson

Burt Bacharach

Snuck into Jazz Clubs to Hear Gillespie and Basie

Burt Bacharach, who died February 8, 2023, in Los Angeles at the age of 94, was mainly known as a composer of popular music, but he has some roots in jazz. Writing the day after his death, the Associated Press’ Hillel Italie pointed out that Bacharach, “while still a minor, would sneak into jazz clubs, bearing a fake ID to hear such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie.”

Those experiences were recalled

in Bacharach’s memoir, Anyone Who Had a Heart (Harper: 2013). “They were just so incredibly exciting that all of a sudden, I got into music in a way I never had before. What I heard in those clubs turned my head around.”

Bacharach also studied under the classical composer, Darius Milhaud, who was a mentor to Dave Brubeck.

Pointing out that Bacharach’s compositions “began with the melodies, interspersed with changing rhythms and surprising harmonics,” Italie wrote that, “he credited much of his style to his love of bebop and to his classical education. He once played a piece for piano, violin, and oboe for Milhaud that contained a melody he was ashamed to have written, as 12-point atonal music was in vogue at the time. Milhaud, who liked the piece, advised the young man, ‘Never be afraid of the melody.’”

Born in Kansas City, MO, Bacharach moved with his family to New

York City when he was very young. His father was a syndicated columnist, and his mother was a pianist who encouraged him to study music. He graduated from McGill University in Montreal in 1948 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music. After his discharge from the Army in 1952, he became an arranger and accompanist for vocalist Vic Damone, the Ames Brothers, and vocalist Paula Stewart, who became his first wife (He married four times).

Bacharach subbed for a friend who was touring with Marlene Dietrich, and that proved to be serendipitous. The two connected immediately, and Bacharach toured all over the world with Dietrich in the ‘50s and ‘60s. While with Dietrich, he met Hal David, who would become his songwriting partner, providing the lyrics for Bacharach’s music. Their first hit was “Magic Moments”, recorded by Perry Como; it became a million-seller in 1958.

In 1962, Bachrach and David dis-

covered Dionne Warwick, who was a backup singer for The Drifters. Bacharach liked to experiment with time signatures and arrangements, and, according to The New York Times’ Stephen Holden, he discovered “the rare vocalist with the technical prowess to negotiate his rangy, fiercely difficult melodies, with their tricky time signatures and extended asymmetrical phrases.” Among hits from the Bacharach/David/Warwick team: “Don’t Make Me Over”, “Walk On By”, and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”.

Bachrach won two Academy Awards for Best Song: “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”, written with David, in 1970; and “Arthur’s Theme”, written with Peter Allen, Carole Bayer Sager (his third wife), and Christopher Cross, in1982. His score for the 1969 film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, won an Oscar for Best Original Score for a Nonmusical Motion Picture.

Marc Myers, writing on his blog,

JazzWax, on February 13, listed 12 of his favorite jazz covers of Bacharach compositions. Among them were “Wives and Lovers” by guitarist Wes Montgomery and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” by pianist Bobby Timmons.

“Wives and Lovers”, originally recorded by Montgomery in 1966, appeared many years later on a reissue of the Verve album, Tequila. It was performed in a trio setting with Ron Carter on bass and Grady Tate on drums. “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” was the title track on Timmons’ last studio album, released on the Milestone label in 1968. The album also contained one other Bacharach/David tune, “This Guy’s in Love with You”. Timmons was accompanied by guitarist Joe Beck, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. (See centennial tribute to Wes Montgomery on page 09).

“Songs by the late Burt Bacharach worked neatly as instrumental cov-

ers,” Myers wrote, “especially when jazz artists were compelled by labels to record with-it albums of contemporary hits in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Like Henry Mancini’s music, Burt’s melodies were clean and catchy ...”

Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Camille Thurman mentioned, on Facebook, that she and the Darrell Green Quartet celebrated Bachrach’s songbook this past summer at the Caramoor Jazz Festival and at Jazz at Lincoln Center. “Burt’s songbook,” she wrote, “was the soundtrack to so many of our lives. Thank you for your gift of song.” The JALC concert on June 3 was entitled “Burt Bacharach Reimagined”. Among the songs performed were: “The Look of Love,” “Going Out of My Head,” and “Close to You.”

Bacharach is survived by his fourth wife, Jane Hansen; their son, Oliver and daughter, Raleigh; and a son, Christopher, from his marriage to Carole Bayer Sager.

Guido Basso

Guido Basso, founding member of Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, died February 13, 2023, at the age of 85.

Following is a personal tribute from Canadian saxophonist Phil Dwyer.

Guido’s music career is well documented. Over 30 years or more I had a very good fortune to work with him in all kinds of musical situations, but there are a couple of personal stories that say a little more about who he was personally and might shed some light on why his loss is felt so keenly by those of us who knew him.

out a living in what was (and still is) a competitive music scene full of great talent, Guido found out that my wife Theresa was expecting our first child. At one point, Guido took Theresa aside and said “Don’t you worry, I’m going to make sure that Phil stays busy, and that baby is never going to want for anything.” And, he was as good as his word, inviting me into the inner circle to get an absolutely top-notch apprenticeship alongside the best players in the country.

stage, and the prospect of arranging an introduction seemed to be evapo rating as Dad’s stamina wasn’t great and he needed to leave. Somehow, Guido sensed this, and I could hear him say from across the room, “Sorry, I can’t talk right now, there’s some one I have to say hi to”, and with that he navigated his way through the crowd to where we were standing, introduced himself, and had a beauti ful, warm, conversation with my dad that, quite frankly, was probably one of last happy moments of his life, as he passed about six months later.

Renowned Canadian Trumpeter SandySasso.com

When I was still in my mid-20s, new to Toronto, and just scratching

About seven or eight years later, my dad had come to visit from the West Coast. He wasn’t in the best of health but was very excited that the Boss Brass was playing while he was in town, and we got tickets. Among the things that impressed my dad the most about my music career was that I knew and worked with Guido Basso; and I knew that he would love to meet Guido. Guido was mobbed getting off the

So, while I’m listening to Guido’s brilliant playing on “Portrait of Jenny”, and other highlights from his 60+ year career, I’ll also be reflecting on the generosity and encouragement that he showed me throughout our time as friends and colleagues and will try and pass that along to honor his memory. —Phil Dwyer

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