October 2023

THE MAGAZINE OF THE NEW JERSEY JAZZ SOCIETY

JerseyJazz

JAZZ@THEPOINT

OCTOBER 2023 VOLUME 51 ISSUE 09

ERENA TERAKUBO

IN THIS ISSUE ARTICLES/REVIEWS 08

ON THE COVER _ Erena Terakubo, photo by y. yoneda

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Jersey Jazz LIVE!: Bill Mays Trio

11

Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon: Swingadelic

12

Detroit Jazz Festival

15

Jazz@ThePoint: Erena Terakubo

20

Jazz at Smoke: Steve Davis’ Sextet

25

Rising Star: Liany Mateo

29

Jazz History: Barney Kessel

35

Other Views

40

Big Band in the Sky

COLUMNS 03

All That’s Jazz

05

Editor’s Choice

33

Dan’s Den

43

Not Without You!

CORRECTIONS: In the September Jersey Jazz, the album Lafayette Harris made with Ernestine Anderson was Love Makes the Changes; the title of the 2022 film that the Hot Sardines contributed music to was Confess Fletch.

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ALL THAT’S JAZZ

BY CY DNE Y HA LPIN

T

he second season of Jersey Jazz LIVE! concerts begin Sunday, October 8th. If you’ve attended a previous LIVE! event, you know they’re great value ($10 - $15 for Members, $15 - $20 for Non Members, $5 Students with valid I.D.), and that the talent of our featured performers and the showcased Rising Stars is incredible.

If you haven’t yet attended a LIVE! event, come be a part of the musical celebration, and bring a friend!

Performances begin at 3:00PM. Fall’s featured lineup is as follows: October 8 - The Bill Mays Trio (pianist), November 12 - The Chuck Redd Duo (vibraphonist), December 10 / NJJS Annual Meeting - The Royal Bopsters (vocal quartet). Please see page 8 for more details about the Bill Mays Trio and our Rising Stars opening act the Violet Mujica Trio.

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The performances are held at The Madison Community Arts Center, 10 Kings Road, Madison, NJ, which is fully accessible and has FREE street parking. Refreshments are available for purchase.

Please note: November’s event will showcase our 2023 Scholarship Winners as the Rising Stars opening act. The future of jazz is well cared for in the hands of these very capable musicians.

We look forward to seeing you this fall at Jersey Jazz LIVE! performances.

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erhaps you’d like to sponsor or co-sponsor a Jersey Jazz LIVE! event? Funding for the Jersey Jazz LIVE! events 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 Nation-

al Endowment for the Arts. While we’re very grateful for this support, this funding doesn’t cover the full costs of our programming. If you or someone you know would like to sponsor or co-sponsor one of these programs, please contact me at pres@njjs.org for more information.

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iven that the federal funding for NJJS LIVE! events doesn’t cover all the event expenses, we’re very appreciative of donations of used LPs, CDs, and books, that we sell to further support our scholarship competition and LIVE! programming.

My fellow Board Members and I would like to extend our most sincere gratitude to Barb Goldman and her daughter, Debbie Korkodilos, for their recent, very generous donation of goods. Their gift will certainly benefit our programming endeavors.

Please join me in thanking Board members Jay Dougherty and James Pansulla for their efforts managing these donations, and participating at events to sell these wares.

This is a labor-intensive project that they make into a labor of love for NJJS. You gentlemen ROCK! njjs.org/Donate/Merchandise

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he past year has brought new successes to NJJS - our Rising Stars initiative showcasing exceptional youth talent ages 12 - 22, and the exponential growth of our Juried Scholarship Competition. But, there is always more to be accomplished. To this end, we’re looking to add members to our Board of Directors. If you feel you have skills, time, vision, nbvband energy to devote to NJJS, please contact me at pres@njjs.org. I look forward to hearing from you.

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Jersey Jazz LIVE! F EAT U R ING

The Bill Mays Trio

with Dean Johnson, bass & Ron Vincent, drums

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8 3:00 PM

Madison Community Arts Center 10 KINGS ROAD, MADISON, NJ FREE STREET PARKING ON KINGS ROAD $

10 MEMBERS | $15 NON-MEMBERS $

5 STUDENTS (WITH VALID I.D.)

NTS E M H S E REFR LE AVA I L A B E CHAS R U P R O F

EDITOR’S CHOICE

BY SA NFO RD JOS EPHSON

Joe Temperley and The Jazz Apple: Some Great Footage of Jazz Legends

T

hanks to an article on pianist Ethan Iverson’s substack.com, I learned of a two-part 1990 documentary called Joe Temperley and The Jazz Apple, recently uploaded by music programmer and editor Simon Singleton onto YouTube. Hosted by Temperley, it contains some great musical footage, interspersed with interviews by the late baritone saxophonist.

I have only watched Part One, but it included performances by Temperley with fellow bari player Cecil Payne, backed by a rhythm section of pianist John Bunch, bassist Rufus Reid, and drummer Connie Kay; the Buck Clayton Big Band (led by Clayton after embouchure problems had forced him to stop playing trumpet); a duo with

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bassist Milt Hinton; a quintet including saxophonist Eddie Barefield, pianist Sammy Price, bassist Arvell Shaw, and drummer Ronnie Cole; and a quartet (sans Temperley) with saxophonist Ralph Moore, pianist Dave Kikoski, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Billy Drummond (Moore is playing at Smoke this month with trombonist Steve Davis’ sextet. See page 23).

Temperley was a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra from 1991 until his death in May 2016 at the age of 86. When I interviewed him in 2008 for my book, Jazz Notes: Interviews Across the Generations (Praeger/ ABC-Clio: 2009), he told me how he was selected to succeed the legendary baritone saxophonist Harry Carney in

the Ellington Orchestra. When Carney died in 1974, Temperley played “Sophisticated Lady” at Carney’s funeral.

“Mercer Ellington was there,” he told me. “That’s how it came about. Next thing I knew, I was in the bus, traveling with the band.” Temperley stayed with the Ellington band until 1990.

One of Temperley’s Ellington bandmates was alto saxophonist Norris Turney, who had replaced Johnny Hodges in the saxophone section. The two would continue to play together in the pit orchestra of Sophisticated Ladies, the Broadway show based on Ellington’s music. Temperley was also a charter member of Duke’s Men, a smaller band created in 1984 to keep Ellington’s music alive. In addition to Temperley and Turney, it included trombonist Art Baron, bassist Arvell Shaw, drummer Ronnie Cole, and Aaron Bell or Richard Wyands on piano. Baron has kept the group alive with varying

personnel, most recently performing in July at William Paterson University (“Keeping a 39-Year Tradition Alive”, Jersey Jazz, July/August 2023).

Before joining Ellington, Temperley played with Woody Herman and the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra.

When I interviewed him, he was very enthusiastic about Jazz at Lincoln Center and its ability to help keep jazz alive. “We’re starting to get a lot of young people coming to our concerts,” he said, specifically pointing to JALC’s Essentially Ellington competition, which, of course, is still thriving today.

After Temperley died, saxophonist Ted Nash, a JALC member, described him as “a teacher, not just in the sense of being in a classroom, but in the sense that he always said and played exactly what he felt and heard.”

If you aren’t familiar with Temperley, log onto YouTube and search for Joe Temperley and the Jazz Apple.

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ABOUT NJJS

F

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

MEMBER BENEFITS

JOIN NJJS

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

Family/Individual $45 (Family includes to 2 Adults and 2 children under 18 years of age) Family/Individual 3-Year $115 Musician Member $45 / 3-Year $90 (one time only, renewal at standard basic membership level.)

Youth $15 - For people under 21 years of age. Date of Birth Required.

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

Applies to New Memberships only.

Fan $75 - $99 Jazzer $100 - $249 Sideman $250 - $499 Bandleader $500+ Corporate Membership $1000

Access to 11 Digital Issues of our Award Winning Jersey Jazz Magazine — Featuring Articles, Interviews, Reviews, Events and More Discounts to our Jersey Jazz LIVE! Sunday Concerts Discounts at NJJS Sponsored Concerts & Events.

MUSICIAN MEMBERS

FREE Listing on NJJS.org “Musicians List” with Individual Website Link FREE Gig Advertising in our Monthly eBlast THE RECORD BIN

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

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

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

Please contact Membership@njjs.org for details.

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

For more Information or to join, visit www.njjs.org

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Magazine of the New Jersey Jazz Society VO LU M E 51 • I SSUE 09

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Editorial Staff

New Jersey Jazz Society, Officers 2021

EDITOR

PRESIDENT

Sanford Josephson, editor@njjs.org

Cydney Halpin, pres@njjs.org

ART DIRECTOR

EXECUTIVE VP

Michael Bessire, art@njjs.org

vicepresident@njjs.org

CONTRIBUTING PHOTO EDITOR

TREASURER

Mitchell Seidel, photo@njjs.org CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Howard Alden, Bill Crow, Joe Lang, Dan Morgenstern, Ed Polcer, Ricky Riccardi, Jay Sweet CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Mike Katz, treasurer@njjs.org VP, MEMBERSHIP

membership@njjs.org

VP, PUBLICITY

Sanford Josephson, sanford.josephson@gmail.com

Loren Chiu, Jack Grassa, Judy Kirtley, Audrey Matuz, Steve Mundinger, Anna Yatskevich, Y. Yoneda

Mitchell Seidel, music@njjs.org

WEBMASTER

RECORDING SECRETARY

Christine Vaindirlis

VP, MUSIC PROGRAMMING

Irene Miller CO -FOUNDER

Jack Stine

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.

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

DIRECTORS

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

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

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Bill Mays Trio to Feature Tunes from His Newest Album, Autumn Serenade

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ianist Bill Mays has recorded 40 albums as a leader, but his newest, Autumn Serenade, released in May on the Sunnyside label, may be his favorite. And, it reunited him with the other two members of a trio that played with Gerry Mulligan in the 1980s—bassist Dean Johnson and drummer Ron Vincent.

Mays will be performing several selections from Autumn Serenade when this trio appears on Sunday, October 8, at the New Jersey Jazz Society’s Jersey Jazz Live! concert at the Madison, NJ, Community Arts Center. There will also be some new original compositions, mostly written by Mays during Covid.

Among the selections from Autumn Serenade likely to be featured at Jersey Jazz Live! are: the title track, written by Sammy Gallop and Peter De Rose and made famous by John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman; Mays’

“Autumn with Vivaldi”, incorporating a melodic theme with the composer’s celebrated “Four Seasons”; Wayne Shorter’s “Fall”; and a spirited transformation of Bernice Petkere’s “Lullaby of the Leaves”, a favorite of the late pianist Jimmy Rowles.

In his review of Autumn Serenade, Dan Bilawsky of AllAboutJazz called it “a bountiful harvest of seasonally-bound beauties ... a musical journey filled with reflection and romance.

As seasonscapes go,” Bilawsky added, “it’s truly hard to beat this set. While approaching 80 years of age, Bill Mays remains at the top of his game.”

In addition to Mulligan, Mays has played with such well-known jazz artists as alto saxophonists Phil Woods and Bud Shank, vocalist Mark Murphy, and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard.

He remembers that when he moved from Los Angeles to New York in the early 1980s, his first East Coast gig

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PHOTO BY JUDY K IRTL EY

JERSEY JAZZ LIVE!

JERSEY JAZZ LIVE! was playing with Shank, bassist Ray Drummond, and drummer Ronnie Bedford at the now defunct New Jersey club, Gulliver’s in West Paterson.

In the September/October 2019 Jersey Jazz, Mays reminisced about his playing days with Mulligan and Woods. “Gerry taught me a lot as a bandleader,” Mays told JJ’s Schaen Fox. Those lessons included “about structuring a set, announcing, pacing, and how to think in terms of brevity.”

Mays played with Woods for the last eight years of the alto saxophonist’s life (He died in September 2015).

“Phil was one of the greatest alto players ever ... To me, Phil’s sound, his rhythmic vitality, the melodic lines he played were unique and stunning. I was excited every night to hear him play.”

The Bill Mays Trio will be preceded by a Rising Stars opening act featuring a trio of William Paterson Jazz Studies students led by trumpeter

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Violet Mujica. The other members of the trio are guitarist Sam Wagner and bassist Julian Rogai. Mujica received Honorable Mention on trumpet at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2022 Essentially Ellington competition.

The Madison Community Arts Center is located at 10 Kings Road in Madison, NJ. Admission to this event will be $10 for NJJS members and $15 for non-members. There will be light refreshments for purchase. To order tickets, log onto madison-arts-and-culture-alliance. ticketleap.com/new-jersey-jazzsociety-concert-oct. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.

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

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Sunday October 8 • 3:00pm For the complete performance schedule, visit grunincenter.org.

Grunin Center Box Office Hours Tuesday-Friday 12:00pm-5:00pm 732-255-0500 College Drive P Toms River, NJ Contact the Box Office four weeks prior to any show to arrange for disability and accessibility services.

JAZZ ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Swingadelic Presents Swing Versions of ‘60s Pop Hits

BY R IC KY RICCA RD I

S

wingadelic returns to the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts in Toms River on October 8 for a 3 p.m. concert, “Swingin’ the ‘60s,” part of Ocean County College’s Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon series. This will be the group’s fourth visit to Grunin since 2016, having successfully paid tribute to Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, Louis Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Fats Domino in previous concerts.

Though perhaps best known for reviving the sounds of the Swing Era, it was the response to the Fats Domino program that inspired the group’s leader, bassist Dave Post, to choose the 1960s as the theme for the band’s October show.

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In jazz circles, the 1960s usually represents the height of the music’s avant-garde phase, the rise of John Coltrane to godlike status, and perhaps even the popularity of the bossa nova craze. But to the rest of the world—including many who attend the jazz concerts at the Grunin Center—the 1960s represented much more. It was a decade where the Beatles revolutionized pop music, and Jimi Hendrix pushed rock ‘n’ roll in a new direction, culminating in the three days of peace and music that was Woodstock. But it was also a time when Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Burt Bacharach, and even Louis Armstrong, regularly appeared on

the pop music charts with some of the most lasting hits of their long careers.

For October 8, Post has selected some of the best-loved pop hits of that decade, including music by Sinatra, Martin, Bacharach, the Beatles, and more; and he will perform new arrangements of them in the best swing tradition. Joining Post in the 11-piece “little big band” will be pianist and vocalist John Bauers and the cream of the crop of the New York and New Jersey swing scene musicians This year marks Swingadelic’s 25th anniversary, as the band was founded in 1998. Its many recordings have achieved worldwide acclaim,

and the band continues to perform weekly at Swing 46 in New York City’s Theater District, among many other venues. October 8 will represent a special opportunity to hear this group in Toms River and, judging by its past performances at the Grunin Center, tickets will go fast, and audiences will go home happy.

Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon is made possible, in part, through the support of the Wintrode Family Foundation. The New Jersey Jazz Society is a media sponsor of the JOSA series. Tickets can be purchased at: grunincenter.org/event/swingadelic

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DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL

Louis Hayes Quintet, from left, pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Dezron Douglas, Hayes, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, and tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton.

Big-Name Event Featured Three Home-Grown NEA Jazz Masters P HOTOS BY TON Y G RAVES

I

t was impressive enough that the Detroit Jazz Festival, held September 1-4, featured three National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters.

But, even more notable, was the fact that all three were Detroit natives.

On Saturday night, September 2, saxophonist Kenny Garrett led a sextet, and violinist Regina Carter performed with Straight Ahead, an all-female band she played in from 1987-1991 before moving to New

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DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL York. Born in Detroit, Garrett initially learned to play the saxophone from his father, who was a carpenter and played tenor saxophone as a hobby.

Garrett’s own career as a saxophonist took off when he joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra, under the leadership of Mercer Ellington in 1978.

Growing up in Detroit, Carter attended Cass Technical High School, then continued her training at the New England Conservatory of Music and at Oakland University in Michigan.

The 86-year-old Hayes also had musical parents. His father, an automaker, played drums and piano. His mother waited tables and played the piano. Hayes got his first drum set at age 10. Playing on Monday night, September 4, Hayes led an all-star quintet featuring pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Dezron Douglas, tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton, and vibraphonist Steve Nelson.

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Regina Carter

Kenny Garrett

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DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL

Clockwise, from left: Samara Joy, Lizz Wright, John Scofield

Reviewing the performance for AllAboutJazz, Paul Rauch wrote that Hayes “was in fine form, playing in an out of changes with his trademark style that has put him at the forefront of the music since his arrival in the mid-‘50s. At the other end of the career spectrum,” Rauch continued, “what followed Hayes’ set was perhaps the diametric opposite. Twenty-three-year-old Grammy winning vocalist Samara Joy has seen her life become a whirlwind over the past two years, including now manning the final set of the 2023 Detroit Jazz Festival. (See “On the Road Again”, an interview with Samara Joy in Jersey Jazz, July/August 2021).

Other performers at the Detroit Jazz Festival included vocalists Veronica Swift and Lizz Wright, guitarist John Scofield, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, alto saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, and tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana.

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JAZZ@THEPOINT Alto Saxophonist Erena Terakubo – from Hokkaido Grove Jazz Camp to International Jazz Day “She was Shining, and She Knew it. She was Determined, Driven, and Already Sounded Like a Young Charlie Parker.”

Erena Terakubo with bassist Marty Jaffe and drummer Evan Sherman at the Morris Museum in August.

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or many years, trumpeter/educator Tiger Okoshi has been directing the Hokkaido Grove Jazz Camp during summers in Sapporo, Japan.

At one of his first camps, he met a 12-year-old alto saxophonist named Erena Terakubo. “She was shining, and she knew it,” he recalled. “She was determined, driven, and already sounded like a young Charlie Parker.”

When Terakubo was 15, Okoshi, a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, awarded her a full schol-

arship to Berklee’s five-week summer program. Terakubo remembers it well. “I couldn’t speak English at all,” she said. “But I was communicating and making friends through music. It was a new experience for me. There were so many people from all over the world—Israel, Europe, everywhere in the States. They were way better musicians than I was. I was shocked by the high level the musicians in the States were. Shocked and inspired.”

Terakubo, now 31, also received a

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PHOTO BY JAC K G RASSA

BY SANFORD JOS E P HSON

JAZZ@THEPOINT

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bassist Ron Carter, Pearson, and trumpeter Dominick Farinacci; and Burkina (Eighty-Eight’s: 2013) with Barron, Carter, and drummers Jimmy Cobb and Lenny White).

The recordings were arranged by jazz producer Yasohachi Itoh, aka “Mr. 88”. “This producer used to work for Sony Records in Japan,” she said. “Everyone knew this guy. He came to one of my concerts in Japan and asked me, ‘What’s your dream band?’ I jokingly said those names, and he said, ‘ok, let’s make it happen.’”

New York Attitude was noticed

by AllAboutJazz’s Edward Blanco, who was impressed by Terakubo’s playing. “Teaming up with a group of accomplished players for a performance will most probably make an average player sound good,” he wrote.

“Here, though, a talented player is made to sound extraordinary. Japanese-born Erena Terakubo is a gifted musician with burnished skills on the

MONK’estra at the 2019 Grammy ceremony in New York. From left: saxophonist Tom Luer, Terakubo, trumpeter James Ford, saxophonist Troy Roberts, organist Joey DeFrancesco, Beasley, drummer Terreon Gully, and saxophonist Bijon Watson.

saxophone who—surrounded by this group of jazz masters—presents a sharp and vibrant musical experience that is a pleasure to hear... New York Attitude captures an exciting new artist delivering the best of straightahead jazz like a seasoned veteran.”

“After Berklee,” Terakubo said, “most of my friends from college

moved to New York (She lives in Riverdale). Shortly after arriving in the city, Terakubo met veteran alto saxophonist Vincent Herring. “My friend, bassist Yasushi Nakamura,” she recalled, “was playing with Vincent and (drummer) Louis Hayes at a place in Riverdale called Linda’s Jazz Café. He introduced me to them.”

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PHOTO BY LOREN C HI U

full scholarship to attend Berklee as an undergrad. She received an Artist Diploma in 2014 and returned to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in 2018.

Terakubo moved to New York after graduating from Berklee, and her career has continued to soar. On October 13, she will be leading a septet at the Tribeca jazz club, The Django, and on November 3, she will be a special guest with the Chad LB Quartet at the South Jersey Jazz Society’s threeday Jazz@thePoint Fall Festival in Somers Point. On November 19, she will be leading a quartet at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Live Arts.

Before moving to New York, Terakubo had an opportunity to record three albums with some of her jazz heroes: North Bird (King Records: 2010), with pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Christian McBride, drummer Lee Pearson, and guitarist Peter Bernstein; New York Attitude (King Records: 201l) with Barron,

Terakubo later studied with Herring while pursuing her Masters degree at the Manhattan School of Music.

Said Herring: “I watched her blossom from a special talent into what must be the world’s best female alto saxophonist. She is amazing.” In 2017, pianist/composer/arranger

John Beasley asked Herring to play at New York’s Jazz Standard for the East Coast performance of Beasley’s MONK’estra big band, celebrating the music of Thelonius Monk in the year of his centennial birthday. Herring couldn’t make the gig, but he recommended Terakubo. After that, Tera-

At 2022 International Jazz Day: From left, Terakubo, Jeremy Pelt, Gregory Porter.

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kubo played in subsequent MONK’estra East Coast concerts. She and Herring have a European tour, “Two Altos” coming up in March 2024.

When UNESCO declared April 30 as International Jazz Day in 2011, Beasley was appointed Music Director of its annual global Gala Concerts. For the 2022 Jazz Day Gala Concert, he recommended Terakubo to join the all-star cast of global jazz stars, representing Japan. “Erena,” said Beasley, “has a unique and beautiful voice on the saxophone with one foot in tradition, and the other has a vision for the future.”

On May 14, 2024, alto saxophonist Charles McPherson is curating two concerts called “John Beasley and the Next Generation” for the La Jolla (CA) Music Society. The concerts will celebrate jazz’s past, present, and future, and Terakubo has been invited to be part of Beasley’s quintet, which will also include trumpeter

Giveton Gelin, bassist Russell Hall, and drummer Anthony Fung. “Erena,” said McPherson, “has a good knowledge of the history of jazz and plays extremely well. LJMS wanted a few young players and some seasoned veterans to take their audience through jazz history. Erena will be able to do that because she’s learned the history!” Terakubo’s major influences, in addition to Herring and McPherson, are Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, Phil Woods, and Sonny Stitt.

(It is said that Woods, after hearing Terakubo play for the first time, exclaimed: “Who the hell is that?”).

At The Django, Terakubo’s septet will include trumpeter David Sneider, trombonist Marty Scott, tenor saxophonist Jacob Chung, pianist Caelan Cardello, bassist Caleb Tobocman, and drummer Hank Allen-Barfield. (Cardello was Jersey Jazz’s Rising Star in January 2022).

Tenor saxophonist Chad LB and

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PHOTO BY STEV E MU ND ING ER

JAZZ@THEPOINT

JAZZ@THEPOINT Terakubo have never met or played together, so her invitation from him to perform at Jazz@thePoint was unexpected. “I was surprised that he called me,” she said. “I knew him on YouTube and Instagram. I see him all the time, but I had no idea he knew about me.

He Instagram-messaged me and said, ‘I’m fond of you, and do you want to do this gig with me?’ Chad LB was a member of the multi Grammy-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) and has toured with Taylor Swift. He studied at the Brubeck Institute and, while there, was selected as a member of the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet.

At Penn Live Arts, Terakubo will lead a quartet including organist Akiko Tsuruga, guitarist Paul Bollenbeck, and drummer Fukushi Tainaka. In August, Terakubo performed with trombonist Peter Lin’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collective as part of the New Brunswick Jazz Project series at Tavern on George in New Brunswick.

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Her latest album, Absolutely Live!, was recorded in 2019 at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Pit Inn jazz club with Mayuko Katakura on keyboards, Motoi Kanamori on bass, and Shinnosuke Takahashi on drums and percussion. It demonstrates her versatility, containing three Terakubo originals, bebop classics such as Jackie McLean’s “Bird Lives” and Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie’s “Shaw ‘Nuff”, Hoagy Carmichael’s “Skylark”, and Edgar Sampson’s “Stompin’ at the Savoy”.

Terakubo began playing the saxophone at age nine in Sapporo, becoming part of the Sapporo Junior Jazz Band when she was 10. “One of the main staff there who organized the concerts,” she recalled, “really liked my playing, and he put me on everything.

I’d be the featured kid in the band, taking solos. The audiences went crazy back then; they were screaming. I had a great time playing for people. And then I met Tiger Okoshi.” And now she plays for audiences all over the world.

Jazz@thePoint Fall Festival Schedule THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 » Tenor saxophonist Troy Roberts

with alto saxophonist Sarah Hanahan, baritone saxophonist Lauren Sevian, organist Pat Bianchi, drummer Jimmy Macbride FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3 » Tenor saxophonist Chad LB with

alto saxophonist Erena Terakubo, pianist Liya Grigoryan, bassist Ben Tiberio, and drummer Charles Goold.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4 » Bassist John Lee’s Dizzy Gillespie

Afro-Latin Experience with alto saxophonist/flutist Sharel Cassity, drummer Tommy Campbell, trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, pianist/ vocalist Abelita Mateus, and percussionist Roger Squitero.

ALL CONCERTS BEGIN AT 7 P.M. and are held at the Gateway Playhouse

in Somers Point. Tickets are available at GatewayByTheBay.org. For more information, log onto SouthJerseyJazz.org or call (609) 289-0326.

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OCTOBER 2023

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Jazz Piano Legend

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JAZZ AT SMOKE Trombonist Steve Davis’ Sextet: A Mix of Originals, Vintage Blue Note, and Songbook Standards “(Jackie McLean) Took Me Under His Wing. He Felt It Was Vital to Understand the Cultural History of the Music.”

BY JAY SW EET

T

rombonists have been part of the jazz tradition from its earliest beginnings. In the 1920s and even earlier, Dixieland groups frequently included trombonists in the front line.

When small group Dixieland jazz gave way in the 1930s to big band swing, orchestras would incorporate a trombone section, and, in fact, trombonist/ band leaders such as Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, and Stan Kenton emerged as major stars. Although trombonists became less utilized

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during the 1940s bebop era, the legendary trombonist J.J. Johnson embraced bebop and advanced the possibilities of the jazz trombone tradition.

With the emergence of cool jazz and hard bop music in the 1950s and beyond, trombonists were common in many jazz ensembles. While they have remained part of the jazz tradition, fewer have been recognized as major stars among casual music fans in the same way many saxophonists and trumpeters have been

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JAZZ AT SMOKE embraced. In recent years, there have been a multitude of talented trombonists who have advanced the jazz tradition and increased the visibility and popularity of trombonists as leaders. One of the most prolific and gifted of those players is bandleader and noted sideman Steve Davis, who

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will be leading a sextet at New York’s Smoke jazz club from October 26-29.

Davis was born in Worcester, MA, but grew up mainly in Binghamton, NY. “My dad had a lot of records including jazz, blues, and rock and roll,” Davis remembered. His grandfather played trumpet as a hobby,

and, “my dad played electric bass as a hobby. My nana on my mom’s side was a real musician who played stride piano. She played semi-professionally, and she could really play.”

Like many adolescents, Davis joined the school band in the fourth grade, but trombone was not his first choice. “I signed up for saxophone in school but was sick on the first day, so I played trumpet instead. I then got braces and wanted to quit because my lips and gums would get cut. My band director suggested switching to a baritone horn because the mouthpiece wouldn’t cut my lips. Instantly, I went from the 11th trumpeter to the only baritone player, and I fell in love with the sound because it was so mellow and rich. In junior high, I made the switch to the slide trombone.” When asked about his earliest trombone influences, he listed several names but settled on “J.J. Johnson,

Curtis Fuller, and Slide Hampton.

They were probably my big three.”

After high school, Davis attended the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford and studied under the guidance of famed saxophonist, Jackie McLean. (In 1970 McLean joined the Hartt School of Music. He helped found the school’s department of African-American music in 1980 and served as its first Director; the department was renamed the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz in 2000).

Learning from McLean, Davis said, “was life-changing; he had this presence, and it was awesome to be around him. He opened so many doors for me. He took me under his wing. He felt it was vital to understand the cultural history of the music. Being situated in a classical conservatory, Jackie fought for his program. He started the program on his own and built an incredi-

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JAZZ AT SMOKE ble legacy and a center for music.

I taught there for many years.”

What came next was a pivotal moment in Davis’ life and career. “Jackie recommended me to Art Blakey before I graduated in 1989. I wound up joining the band, and as it turned out, I was the last Jazz Messenger. I stayed from December 1989 till Art’s last gigs in December 1990. I am forever grateful for that opportunity.

Blakey had a way of guiding you, and on occasion, he would talk to you if need be. One of my first nights after the first set, he put his arm around me and pulled me off to the side, and he said, ‘When you solo, make your statement, build to a climax, and get the f**k out. He said, ‘Simple, right?’ I said, ‘yeah.’ He said. ‘well, do it then,’ and he went to the bar. What I got from that was he was teaching me not to use this opportunity to practice and work stuff out. It was a great

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statement; he helped me get to the point. He played with so much fire and conviction. I am just grateful that I had that opportunity. He was just pure greatness like Jackie McLean, whose band I played with after.”

Another pivotal moment came when Davis met Chick Corea. “I met him through Avishai Cohen, the Israeli bassist. He was producing Cohen’s first record, which I was on. He liked the sound of (reedist) Steve Wilson and me together. When he formed the band Origin, he used us both. After a few years, I played with him on a project called The Continents, and we recorded that with a 26-piece orchestra. Chick was always talking about communication within the band. He fostered the attitude and attention of really playing together.

He was a great listener. He propelled you into playing stuff you didn’t know you had in you. I was a part of Chick’s

Spanish Heart Band, and we won a Grammy for the album, Antidote (Concord Jazz: 2019). He was a complete musical inspiration. I have been fortunate to have such great mentors, and I’d like to mention Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, and Cedar Walton. Another important group that was part of my development is One For All. We played a lot and made many records.

Between traveling worldwide

and performing and recording, Davis somehow finds the time to teach two days a week at Berklee College of Music, something he enjoys very much. He is also a noted bandleader with 20 albums under his belt. His most recent recording, Bluestetic (Smoke Sessions Records), includes 10 original tracks and an impressive cast of musicians: Peter Bernstein (guitar), Steve Nelson (vibes), Geoffrey Keezer (piano), Christian McBride (bass), and Willie Jones III (drums). “Most of the songs were written during the pandemic. I’m very proud of the record. What a great band. Everybody did such a beautiful job of interpreting the record; it was just a dream session. I had just gotten over Covid-19, and we had to postpone the date. I was fine to play, but I wasn’t breathing my best. The band was so good that it took the pressure off me and all I had to do was follow

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JAZZ AT SMOKE Art Blakey’s advice: make a statement, build it to the climax, and get the f**k out. The music really blossomed.”

After being in Europe for the last few weeks, Steve Davis is excited to present his ensemble at Smoke. “The performance will include a real all-star sextet with good friends, colleagues, and some of my musical heroes. The front line will consist of Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Ralph Moore (tenor saxophone), Cyrus Chestnut (piano), Essiet Essiet (bass), and Lewis Nash (drums).

The A team! There will be a few of my originals, but I want to play some of the classics we all grew up listening to and love. We will probably draw from some of the vintage Blue Note songs from the ‘60s and the American Songbook.” Additionally, Davis is excited for the November release of Steve Davis Meets Hank Jones, Volume 1 for (Smoke Sessions Records).

Jones was 90 at the time of the recording, and it is his final session.

The trombonist also wanted to ensure that people know that his wife, vocalist, Abena Koomson-Davis, Musical Director of Natalie Merchant and the Resistance Revival Chorus, completed her jazz debut recording, Where is Love?, which is scheduled for release early in 2024.

Koomson-Davis is appearing on October 4 at Smoke, leading a quintet with Josh Bruneau on trumpet, Carmen Staaf on piano, Danton Boller on bass, and Willie Jones III on drums.

The band will be playing standards inspired by the recordings of legendary vocalist Carmen McRae.

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To hear more of Jay Sweet’s interview with Steve Davis, listen to his podcast “30 Albums for 30 Years” (1964-1994) available on Spotify and YouTube.

OCTOBER 2023

23

RISING STAR

“The Most Curious Kid, Very Intelligent ... You Could Tell She Was So Serious.”

BY SA NFO RD JOS EPH SON

L

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PHOTO BY AU DR EY M ATUZ

Liany Mateo: Born to Play the Upright Bass

iany Mateo started playing the bass when she was 13 years old.

“They opened up a performing arts school in Jersey City,” she recalled.

“At that time, I knew I wanted to play an instrument. I was into ‘70s punk music, and all of my favorite people in those bands were the (electric) bass players. I really liked the idea of being behind the scenes, having a job, and supporting other people.”

At PS 41, the Fred W. Martin Center for the Arts, Mateo was enrolled in a guitar class. “The first day of class, I said, ‘I don’t want to play guitar. I want to play bass.’ Then, I got introduced to jazz music. People at that school would give me compilation CDs. The guitar teacher showed us a video of Wes Montgomery, and I wasn’t paying attention to Wes Montgomery. I was looking at the upright bass player in the back. I had never seen an upright bass before. And this was about a week after I got an

electric bass for my 13th birthday. I remember thinking, ‘That (upright bass) is really what I want to play.”

The summer before Mateo was scheduled to enter Henry Snyder High School, a four-year performing arts public high school in Jersey City, she discovered, “they had an upright bass they hadn’t used in years. They said, ‘If you come here, you can take

the bass home for the summer.’”

When she was 16, Mateo attended the New York Jazz Symposium camp at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, where she met Rodney Whitaker, the bass teacher there. “That,” she said, “changed my life. It was the year before my junior year in high school. That’s when you start thinking about college. At my high

Becoming Quintet: From left, Luther Allison, Eric Wortzman, Mateo, Markus Howell, and Zach Adleman

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school, you’re going to go to community college or to college in-state.

You hope for a conservatory or outof-state college, but you don’t think that’s the goal. Rodney said, ‘I teach at a school in Michigan (Michigan State). We have a camp for prospective students. You should do it next summer.’ That’s how it all started. He took me under his wing. Not only did he encourage me to apply to Michigan State, but he encouraged me to apply to other programs outside of New Jersey that were conservatories.”

Mateo received an academic scholarship to Michigan State where she majored in Jazz Studies. Whitaker remembers her as “the most curious kid, very intelligent, and a natural born bass player. I named her ‘Miss PC’, for Paul Chambers.

You could tell she was so serious.”

Michigan State, Mateo said, was a great experience. She graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Jazz Studies in

2020. During her senior year, she was recognized as the Outstanding Bass player at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s inaugural Jack Rudin Championship, a competition among students from 10 colleges and universities around the country. “Everyone in the big band,” she said, “were some of my closest friends in the world. The vibe was like, ‘We’re just going to have fun.’ I was pretty nervous to do a solo. I was the only bassist to win an award that

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PHOTO BY ANNA YATSKEV ICH

RISING STAR

RISING STAR year, so it was really special to me.”

While at Michigan State, Mateo was also part of the Becoming Quintet, which included trumpeter Eric Wortzman, saxophonist/flutist Markus Howell, pianist Luther Allison, and drummer Zach Adleman.

The group released an album called One-Track Mind on the Posi-Tone label in January 2019. Eight of the 11 tracks are original compositions by the members. There are two compositions by trombonist Michael Dease, an MSU faculty member, and one original tune by trombonist Steve Davis. Allison is now the Grammy Award-winning vocalist Samara Joy’s regular pianist. Adleman, originally from Montclair, NJ, appeared at the New Jersey Jazz Society’s June Jersey Jazz Live! concert as part the Ted Rosenthal Trio.

Meanwhile, the 25-year-old Mateo has been very busy since gradu-

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ation. She was the bassist on pianist Arturo O’Farrill’s Blue Note album, Legacies, released in 2023. Reviewing it for DownBeat, Frank Alkyer wrote that the rhythm section of O’Farrill on piano, his son Zack on drums, and Mateo on bass, “cook through Herbie Hancock’s ‘Dolphin Dance’ with surprising angular twists and turns.

On O’Farrill’s own ‘Blue State Blues’, you can practically hear the smiles from the trio as they rip through these blues with a sense of pure joy.”

Having played with the Afro-Latin Alliance Fat Cats, run by Zack O’Farrill, Mateo reached out to Zack, “when I moved back to New York. Fortunately, Arturo’s band was looking to fill a bass spot. Originally, I wasn’t going to audition because I didn’t think I had the experience.

But Zack was very encouraging, and I realized that I would learn something from the audition process. So, I went

through the audition process, and I got the chair. It’s completely changed my life to play with him and to be on a Blue Note record. It’s surreal. It was a great experience and something I look back on and will reflect on a lot.”

Mateo recently was on the road with violinist Regina Carter. This month, she’ll be playing with vocalist Catherine Russell as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz for Young People

program. And, in November she’ll be in Europe for a month with pianist Matthew Whitaker (no relation to Rodney).

Her greatest influence on bass, Mateo said, is the legendary Milt Hinton. “I fell in love with his bass playing early on,” she added, “and I love reading about him and hearing stories about him and his humanity. I’m reading his autobiography right now (Playing the Changes: Milt Hinton’s Life in Stories and Photographs, published in 2008 by Vanderbilt University Press). He really learned how to give back to people around him. Of course, Rodney and Ben Wolfe, another of my teachers, were great influences.

Christian McBride is a current mentor of mine. And, also Linda May Oh.” Rodney Whitaker is not surprised

by Mateo’s success. “She is a great bass player,” he said. “If you call her for a gig, she starts preparing the music. She’s got everything together.”

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JAZZ HISTORY Barney Kessel: Redefining and Raising the Bar for Guitar Trios Guitarist Barney Kessel, who died May 6, 2004, at the age of 80, would have turned 100 on October 17, 2023. Guitarist Howard Alden remembers his musical inspiration.

BY HOWARD AL DE N

I

was 13 years old, playing the tenor banjo, starting to perform regularly around Southern California and learning how to improvise a little. Visiting the home of a fellow banjo player who also played guitar and was playing with me in a weekend gig, I was exploring his stack of records, pulling out things I recognized like Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong. My friend said, “I’m surprised you’re not listening to my jazz guitar

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records!” I said “What’s jazz guitar?”

He said, “Here, this is Charlie Christian, the first electric jazz guitarist. He only made a few records with Benny Goodman before he died very young,” and the sounds I heard were captivating. Then he said “This is Barney Kessel. He was influenced by Charlie and then developed his own style.”

The records he played for me were mind-blowing and reached me on a very direct and personal way. Be-

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JAZZ HISTORY tween the tone, the time, and rhythmic sense, the way Barney combined single note phrases with chordal phrases and double stops, the combination of very direct blues playing and harmonically complex melody lines, the concept of harmony, I just wanted to hear more and more.

I heard a lot of other great guitarists that afternoon who were also very influential: Django, Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell, George Van Eps, Tal Farlow, Chuck Wayne, Joe Puma, and shortly thereafter, Joe Pass and Herb Ellis. But Barney remained to my ears the most authentic, complete and multi-dimensional package. I filled many cassette tapes and absorbed so much music and guitar magic by listening to them. I built a large part of my vocabulary listening to and emulating his phrases and way of playing.

As the years went on I became more aware of the diverse settings

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In 1996, from left, Bucky Pizzarelli, Barney Kessel, Flip Phillips, Howard Alden

and scenes that Barney added his special voice to: the Artie Shaw Gramercy 5 records from the mid ‘40s; his recordings with Charlie Parker, Dodo Marmaroso and many other artists emerging in the bebop era; his participation in the legendary organized “Jazz at the Philharmonic” jam ses-

sions where he shared the stage with a literal who’s who of several generations of jazz up to that point; his incredibly swinging trio and quartet recordings with Oscar Peterson in the early ‘50s (bassist Peter Washington marveled that Barney was the only person he ever heard out swing

Oscar); the small group recordings Norman Granz made with Art Tatum, Lionel Hampton, and Sweets Edison where Barney’s solos stand out even surrounded by all that virtuosity.

Barney redefined and raised the bar for guitar trios (guitar, bass and drums) performance with the series

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JAZZ HISTORY of albums for Contemporary Records called The Poll Winners with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne. They had great settings/arrangements that showcased all the members’ musicality and kept the listener’s ear always interested. And a recording with budding singer Julie London and bassist Ray Leatherwood provided a model of vocal accompaniment that musicians are still trying to emulate and attain, almost 70 years later. The contributions Barney makes to many of Billie Holiday’s recording from the ‘50s show another aspect and dimension of his musicality. Being part of an ensemble backing her up, he plays some of the most beautiful and poignant obbligatos and fills, as well as some short solos that tell a story in a small amount of time.

And you can find him featured on countless other vocalists’ recordings where he always adds something spe-

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One of the Poll Winners albums: from left, Shelly Manne, Kessel, Ray Brown

cial. These include Peggy Lee, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, and Anita O’Day. Maurice Summerfield’s 2008 book, Barney Kessel— A Jazz Legend (Ashley Mark Publishing) includes as complete a discography of Barney’s playing as a leader and sideman (in just the jazz field) as can be assem-

bled, although I’m sure there have been more discoveries unearthed since then. And speaking of vocalists, his Oklahoma blues and swing was recruited to be a part of many of Elvis Presley’s records, as well as The Beach Boys, Sonny & Cher, and too many other pop/ rock groups from the’60s to mention. The 1960s found Barney playing in the Los Angeles studio scene constantly, on records, movie soundtracks, and television.

By the 1970s and ‘80s he started looking for opportunities outside the studios again, and travels to Europe gave him a chance to reinvigorate his playing and compositional skills, resulting in some joyous live recording and many infectious new tunes. He also spent time presenting jazz/guitar workshops all over the world, sharing insights from his long and rich career.

He had a huge appetite for learning and was a perpetual student himself,

always curious about things and ways he could improve himself. I remember saxophonist Flip Phillips once telling me about Barney: “When I first met him he was this tall kid who never said nothin’. Then I saw him years later, and he must’ve swallowed a dictionary— he never stopped talking!”

Along the way I became aware that Barney’s birthday was the same as mine. I had never had a chance to meet Barney; I did hear him one night in Chicago in 1980 with Herb Ellis but was too shy to approach him then. I was finally introduced to him in 1991

by Flip; we were playing at the Sarasota Jazz Festival together, and Barney was performing there with a trio. I was so thrilled to meet him and talk a little backstage; and being introduced to him by an old friend and colleague like Flip made it more comfortable and very special. Sadly, a couple of months later Barney suffered the

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JAZZ HISTORY

Discover share with me— unissued recordings, various things he wanted me to hear, always taking an interest in what I was up to— it was so inspiring to see him always seeking out something positive in his day-to-day life. To me, he’s been one of the great contributors to jazz, guitar, and American music, and has spread happiness and beauty around the world. And if anyone ever asks me “What’s jazz guitar?”, my answer would be “Barney Kessel!’

stroke which would take away his ability to play. But I stayed in touch with his wife Phyliss and would try to visit whenever I was on the West Coast. Barney had been struggling to get his speech back, but he would always be happy to meet up with me, and would plan things he wanted to

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Howard Alden moved from Los Angeles to New York in 1982 and played with several jazz giants including Joe Williams, Woody Herman, Clark Terry, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1999, Alden recorded the soundtrack for the Woody Allen movie, ‘Sweet and Lowdown’, starring Sean Penn. In addition to playing all the guitar solos, he taught Penn to mime playing guitar for his role in the film.

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Jazz at McCarter

Tickets start at $25!

THU • OCT 5 • 7:30PM

Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily: Love in Exile

FRI • NOV 3 • 8:00PM

Pink Martini featuring China Forbes

THU • JAN 25 • 7:30PM

Blue Note Records 85th Anniversary Celebration Starring The Blue Note Quintet

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McCarter Princeton, NJ

DAN’S DEN

BY DA N MORG ENST ERN

A

n unexpected plethora of jazz and jazz-related books has arrived in the past few months. I won’t attempt to review them but will pass on some hopefully interesting information.

The undisputed champion in size is Aidan Levy’s Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins (Hachette Books: 2022), weighing in at 772 pages (including index), making it the largest jazz biography so far. It is wonderful that the subject is still with us, having celebrated his 93rd birthday on September 7 ( just about a year younger than this writer) in good health and spirits. Based on mere sampling, I feel safe in stating that this is a major contribution to jazz literature (and biographies of Black Americans).

Next, a most startling coincidence: The simultaneous appearance of biographies of Ella Fitzgerald and

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Chick Webb, subjects that are not exactly unrelated—but no sign of awareness by either author or publisher of the other. Anticipated with pleasurable expectation is Judith Tick’s Becoming Ella Fitzgerald (Due

December 2023 from W.W. Norton).

Full disclosure: I know the author, and we’ve been in touch over the numerous years that Professor (now Emerita) Tick has been at work on this exceptionally well researched

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DAN’S DEN (and written) project. We’ve known little of the great singer’s youth and early life, but now we do. No fan of Ella’s (and who is not?) should miss reading this fine volume. It, of course, contains much about Webb, one of jazz’s greatest drummers and leader of a first-rate swing band, who gets his own portrait in Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and the Beat that Changed America (a bit of hyperbole), by Stephanie Stein Crease (Oxford University Press: 2023). Crease is also the author of bios of Duke Ellington and Gil Evans. She has added much to our understanding of the crippled genius of the drums (whose band of course was Ella’s train to fame).

That’s the jazz trio, but two other older works are more than worthy of attention by anyone interested in Americana and specifically the history of minorities. One of these is on a musical subject: James Kaplan’s Irving Berlin: New York Genius (Yale University Press: 2019). Splendidly narrated, it gives us the truly remarkable story of its subject but also of the musical history of which Berlin was part of and contributor to. Aside from what we learn about that amazing man we get a much better understanding of

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what the term “Tin Pan Alley” really means.

Finally, not a book about music but about a significant chapter in the history of Black Americans, strangely neglected. Rising From the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class (Macmillan: 2005) is just what the title says—a strangely neglected and fascinating chapter in that still unfinished chapter.

My guess is that not many are left of us who experienced train travel that included Pullman

service. I just got in under the wire (or rather blanket). Author Larry Tye has done a stupendous job of tracking sources and tracing history, research demanding awards. Not just social but also human history brought to life, among other things reminding us of the importance of A. Philip Randolph, a leading figure in the struggle for civil rights too seldom mentioned these days.

So, some good reading for the coming indoor times!

OTHER VIEWS

BY JOE L A N G

It is hard to believe that The DIVA Jazz Orchestra has been in existence for 30 years. It immediately garnered attention for being an all-female big band, but it was soon apparent that it was simply a great big band that happened to have women occupying all of the chairs. In celebration of this milestone, DIVA appeared at Dizzy’s Club, a venue the band has performed at annually since it opened in 2004.

Selections from DIVA’s latest gig at Dizzy’s are gathered on “30” Live at Dizzy’s Club. The 10-track program includes arrangements from the band’s book stretching back to 1995.

Most of the charts have been recorded before, but some have not been on prior recordings. In some cases, the original charts have been updated. What is apparent throughout this album is the consistency of the writing quality and the players in the current lineup. One other consisten-

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paid to the fine vocalizing of Sue Giles. May The DIVA Jazz Orchestra continue to wow its audiences for many years to come. DivaJazz.com

cy is the swing driven by the leader, Sherrie Maricle, on drums. Among the selections are “Something’s Coming,” “In a Mellow Tone,” “Here’s to Life,” “I’m Gonna Go Fishin’,” “Every Day I Have the Blues,” “I Feel Pretty,” “Three Sisters and a Cousin,” “A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald,” “Inka Dinka Doo” and “Airmail Special.” There are too many wonderful soloists to list here, but special note should be

The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra has an interesting approach to its fourth album, In the Key of KC KCJ Records).

This is a band that swings in the best sense of the word and has played mostly jazz and pop standards on previous releases. For the new album, the band has a seven-song program that includes six original pieces written by members of the KCJI, plus “Moten Swing.” This nicely achieves the objective of paying heed to the tradition of jazz in Kansas City with charts that sound like they could have been played by many bands of the past. But it also has a freshness that shines a light upon the high quality of this band. Trumpeter Clint Ashlock, who is Artistic Director, has engaged

an outstanding crew of musicians who provide tight ensemble playing with sparkling solos.. Vocalist Eboni Fondren adds a touch of the strong Kansas City blues tradition. Overall, the KCJO is a band that provides the kind of music that offers pure joy to big band enthusiasts. KCJO.org Despite all the talk about the marginal popularity of jazz, there are many young players both here and internationally who are involved in the music. One of the best is the Sant Andreu Jazz Band in Barcelona, Spain, where Joan Chamorro has been leading this big band featuring musicians ranging in age from seven to 20 years of age since 2006.

Another entry on the international scene is the JM Jazz World Orchestra, organized in 2012. Each year the band of musicians from all over the world, between the ages of 18 and

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OTHER VIEWS 26, gather in Croatia for a week of intense rehearsals prior to playing concerts at some of Europe’s most prestigious jazz festivals. There are 17 countries represented on its first album, Jazz Pops/Pop Swings (self-produced). JM plays an eclectic program of four originals by Artistic Director Luis Bonilla, a tune by Australian trombonist/composer Dave Panichi, plus five pop songs, “Greedy,” “So Wrong,” “Fast Love,” “Where Is the Love” and “Tapestry,” with vocals by two singers. The challenging charts by a variety of arrangers are well executed by the band with several accomplished soloists taking the spotlight. JMJazzWorld.com Folks in Dallas have a superb outfit to enjoy: Kris Berg & The Metroplexity Big Band. Perspective (Summit—797) is its third release. The album contains nine selections: Randy Breck-

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er’s “Sponge,” Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints,” Stockton Helbing’s “Cool Man Jack” and Joe Henderson’s “Recorda-Me,” plus five original tunes by Berg, each of them enhanced by his challenging and exciting charts. The band swings out fiercely on Berg’s contemporary approach to big band jazz, but there is an accessibility to his writing that many of today’s other big band arrangers simply do not convey. Berg’s charts are attractive enough to bring out-of-towners such as trumpeter Randy Brecker, alto saxophonist Eric Marienthal, and trombonist Tom Malone to Dallas to each play one feature number. While these musicians have extensive experience in the jazz fusion field, Berg only occasionally hints at this genre of jazz, making this an album that should appeal to big band enthusiasts who still like to tap their toes while listening. SummitRecords.com

One of the fascinating aspects of jazz is the interests of some enthusiasts to dig into the often-ignored past players of significance in the development of the music. One of these players who has only recently come to the forefront is Loren McMurray, a pioneer of jazz saxophone whose life was unfortunately cut short by a nasal infected blood poisoning just a month shy of his 25th birthday. Thanks to

the research of British jazz historian Mark Berresford and American trumpeter and early jazz expert Colin Hancock, there is a remarkable twoCD set produced by Hancock, Richard Martin and Meagan Hennessey, The Moaninest Moan of Them All: The Jazz Saxophone of Loren McMurray 1920-1922 (Archeophone—6012), that presents 49 tracks featuring McMurray’s saxophone. The folks at Archeophone have gone all in to produce a special set. They have gathered recordings from several sources which Martin digitally restored and remastered to give the listener sound that is remarkable. The recordings find McMurray in 10 different bands, including his own California Thumpers. There is an accompanying 80-page booklet with notes by Hancock and Berresford that explore McMurray’s life and the individual recordings in detail. To whet your

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OTHER VIEWS interest in this material even further, I suggest that you check out the essay

by Berresford at Vintage Jazz Mart (vjm.biz/loren-mcmurray.html) and a brief video on YouTube by Hancock at (youtube.com/watch?v=yO71fP16vpc&t=67s). For early jazz enthusiasts, this is a set that will settle nicely into your music library. Archeophone.com Celebrating Bix! (Turtle Bay Records—22-005) by The Bix Centennial All-Stars is an expanded reissue of an album originally released on Arbors Records in 2003. That was Beiderbecke’s centennial year, so it is only fitting that this music is once again available 120 years after his birth. The band, organized by Dan Levinson, includes a Who’s Who of musicians who loved playing music of the ‘20s and ‘30s. They include cornetists Jon-Erik Kellso, Randy Reinhart and Randy Sandke; cornet-

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ist/trombonist Dan Barrett; trombonist Harvey Tibbs; reedmen Levinson, Pete Martinez, Scott Robinson, and Jack Stuckey; pianist Mark Shane; guitarists Howard Alden and Matt Munisteri; bassist Greg Cohen; bassist/bass saxophonist Vince Giordano; drummer Joe Ascione; and vocalists James Langton, Barbara Rosene, and The Manhattan Rhythm Kings. Dick Hyman also contributed a solo piano version of “Clementine.

The band plays selections associated with Beiderbecke like “At the Jazz Band Ball,” “Riverboat Shuffle,” “Davenport Blues,” “The Jazz Me Blues,” I’m Coming Virginia,” “From Monday On,” “Clarinet Marmalade”, and ‘Way Down Yonder in New Orleans.” Three tunes, “Trumbology,” “China Boy”, and “Just an Hour of Love,” were recorded on the original sessions, but lack of space on one disc caused them to be unreleased.

Now they can reach listeners, as this music is presented on a two-disc set.

The objective of the recording was to not only capture the spirit of Beiderbecke, but to offer fresh interpretations of the tunes with most of the arrangements by Levinson and Peter Ecklund. On several numbers, Ecklund transcribed the original Beiderbecke solos and scored them for a trumpet trio of Kellso, Reinhart, and Sandke. This music is as exciting today as it was when it was first released 20 years ago. TurtleBayRecords.com Mike Davis & The New Wonders is in the vanguard of the traditional revivalists present on the New York City jazz scene. On The New Wonders (Turtle Bay 23-006) Davis has gathered a group of like-minded musicians such as trombonist Joe McDonough, reedman Ricky Alexan-

der, bass saxophonist Jay Rattman, banjoist Jared Engel, pianist Dalton Ridenhour, and drummer Jay Lepley, to address a program of 13 vintage songs. Aside from “Smile, Darn Ya, Smile” and “She’s Funny That Way,” the other tunes are not ones that are played much these days. They are “Flamin Mamie,” “Reaching for Someone (and Not Finding Anyone),” “I’m More Than Satisfied,” “Poor Papa,” “I’d Rather Cry Over You (Than Smile at Somebody Else),” “Persian Rug,” “I Need Lovin’,” “Clorinda,” “Jungle Crawl,” “I’m Walking Between the Raindrops” and “The Baltimore.” This is vintage jazz played with the spirit of the age by musicians who understand the genre of jazz that they are addressing. An added pleasure is Davis’ vocalizing, nicely understated and reflective of the period from which the material has been gleaned. TurtleBayRecords.com

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OTHER VIEWS Trumpeter Terell Stafford is joined by saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist Bruce Barth, bassist David Wong, and drummer Jonathan Blake on Between Two Worlds (Le Coq Records), an eclectic collection of nine selections. The program includes “Between Two Worlds” by Victor Lewis; a popular hymn, taken with a Latin feeling, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness;” nods to two deceased piano greats with Horace Silver’s “Room 608” and McCoy Tyner’s “You Taught My Heart to Sing;” Billy Strayhorn’s “Blood Count;” a Bruce Barth original, “Manaus at Dusk;” and three Stafford originals, “Mi a Mia,” dedicated to his daughter, a song for his wife, “Two Hearts as One,” and one for his mother, “Wruth’s Blues.” The tempo varies from track to track, some slow, a couple with a Latin rhythm, while others are medium to up tempo. The one piece that has a feeling all its own is “Manaus at Dark,” which sounds like

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it could have been written for a film soundtrack. Stafford’s trumpet playing is magnificent no matter the tempo or style, crisp with superb tone.

There are also notable contributions from Warfield and Barth. The players sound like they are having fun in this session, and it is also fun for the listener. LeCoqRecords.com Edwin Alley (DMAC Music—24) by the Doug MacDonald Trio is the lat-

est release from guitarist Macdonald, who has been extremely prolific as a leader on recordings for the last several years. The title of this album is derived from the name of a restaurant where MacDonald has a weekly gig.

The guitarist has chosen to feature his own engaging originals for eight of the nine selections, the exception being the closing tune, “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To.” MacDonald and his mates, bassist Mike Flick and drummer Kendall Kay have been together for quite a while, playing at the weekly gig mentioned above. This familiarity lends a special quality to their interplay. DougMacDonald.net

peal, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Jason Tiemann. They play a mix of jazz standards, “To Dizzy with Love”

by Barry Harris and Benny Golsen’s “Fair Weather;” a couple of pop standards, “Lonely Town” and “Love Letters; a taste of Brazil with Luiz Eça’s “Alegria de Viver;” and four Ben-Hur originals. Ben-Hur and Jansen share the spotlight and shine as brightly as that role requires. No matter the tempo, these players know just where to be as a unit. Love Letters is truly a musical love letter to those who love jazz that grabs you and will not let go. MightyQuinnRecords.com

Guitarist Roni Ben-Hur is such a fluid player that when you start to listen to him, you feel like you could easily keep on listening for hours.

On Love Letters (Mighty Quinn Records—1161) he is in the company of three other players of a similar ap-

During his big band concerts, Buddy Rich would often give the band a break and keep a piano/bass/drums trio onstage to jam on a standard.

Joining Rich were pianist Barry Kiener and bassists Jon Burr or Tom Warrington. Until the recent release

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OTHER VIEWS of Trios (Lightyear—0064=9450704) there had never been a commercial recording available of Rich in this setting. Fortunately, alto saxophonist Alan Gauvin taped the performances during his time on the band, and with the aid of some amazing audio engineering, 10 tracks have been remastered to form the program on this recording. There are nine trio selections, “Just Friends,” “There Will Never Be Another You,” “Groovin’ High,” “My Romance,” “Secret Love,” “I Hear a Rhapsody,” “Stella By Starlight” and “There Is No Greater Love,” plus a piano solo on “Here’s That Rainy Day” by Kiener. This is music to be treasured. There are two things that deserve special notice.

Rich only plays with brushes in this setting, showing a sensitive side to his playing that is in contrast to the bombastic side of him on display in the big band performances. The pianist, Barry Kiener, is really special,

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but virtually unknown today, having released only one album as a leader and having his life cut tragically short by a drug overdose at the age of 30. LightYearEntertainment.com Cy Coleman was a wonderfully prolific composer of music mostly for the Broadway theater, with many of his songs becoming widely popular. When deciding to put together an album dedicated to his output, the choices are almost intimidating. Jeff Harnar has done a yeoman job of selecting a program of 17 songs spread over 14 tracks for A Collective Cy: Jeff Harnar Sings Cy Coleman (PS Classics—2348). While many of the songs are familiar ones like “”You Fascinate Me So,” “I’ve Got Your Number,” “The Best Is Yet to Come,” “Witchcraft”, and “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” he also dug a bit deeper for “Rhythm of Life,” “Some Kind of Music,” “So Little Time,” a song cut from Barnum, and

“Our Private World.” His two medleys, “My Personal Property”/“My City” and “The Rules of the Road”/”Come Summer”/”I’m Way Ahead” are well conceived. There is a jazzier feel to this program than one usually associates with Harnar. The presence of Mark Phaneuf on flute and alto sax, Tony Kadleck on trumpet, Randy Andos on trombone, Ray Marchica on drums, Sean Harkness on guitar, and Jay Leonhart on bass add to the jazz flavor. Pianist/musical director, Alex Rybeck has put it all together nicely with effective arrangements for the band plus a string section. Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway each add their voice to a duet with Harnar, while there is a trio with Harnar, Nicolas King, and Danny Bacher on “Rhythm of Life”. Leonhart and Rybeck also add their voices on “A Doodlin’ Song”. PSClassics.com See more Other Views reviews on njjs.org on October 1

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SANDY SASSO And her quartet in a benefit concert for the Watchung Arts Center, October 1, 2:30-4:00.

18 Stirling Road, Watchung 07069 Tickets at: watchungartscenter.eventbrite.com October 14, A benefit concert for the Clean Water Fund with her trio at Wequahick Park, Feldman Middleton Comm. Center, Newark 2:00-3:30 For details call 732-895-2502 Two worthy organizations, hope you can swing by. www.sandysasso.com

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BIG BAND IN THE SKY Peter Ballance: A True Lover of Classic Jazz

Peter Ballance, stockbroker and jazz trombonist, died September 11, 2023, at the age of 84 in Montclair, NJ. He was the leader of the Grove Street Stompers, who play every Monday night at Arthur’s Tavern in Greenwich Village. One of Ballance’s long-time band colleagues, trumpeter Ed Polcer, pays tribute to him below.

BY E D P O LCER

Peter Ballance’s passing on September 10 left all of us who knew him with a void in our hearts. Ever since I met Peter over 50 years ago, he reminded me of how one could marvel at both the music and the musicians. To quote Joe Licari, his close friend and fellow musician, “Peter was a sweet guy and got along with everyone”. His life was well-lived and we will miss him.”

Peter’s spirit personified that of Arthur’s Tavern in New York City.

For over 60 years, Arthur’s and Peter continued to welcome musicians to join in the fun and experience of

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playing with the band. Peter was especially kind to younger players. My son, Ben, still recalls Peter welcoming him to sit in with the band when he was 19 years old and still in college. “Royal Garden Blues” was Ben’s introduction to playing with a good band in a New York City jazz club.

Joining the Grove Street Stompers in 1972, Peter continued as the regular trombonist until his passing. I recall how he stabilized the band. He kept a written record of the title of every song that the band played. When he thought it would help, he suggested tunes and tempos to leader Bill Hoagy Dunham.

After Bill passed away, Peter assumed leadership of the band. He was a true lover of classic jazz and the many musicians who played it. To quote Joe Licari once more, “Peter would be the first to tell you that as a jazz trombonist he was very limited, and yet he always played the right notes in the ensemble. As we say, sometimes playing less is more”.

Arthur’s Tavern and Peter Ballance did not change from the way it

was from 1959 when I was first invited to sit in with the band. After my professional life detour (1975-2000), I have always been welcomed to sit in .

Any musician that respected the music was welcomed by Peter to play. I feel certain that the current members of the Grove Street Stompers will maintain the spirit of Arthur’s and Peter.

Peter, we will miss your physical presence, but your spirit will be with us forever.

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BIG BAND IN THE SKY Bassist/Educator Richard Davis

“I Felt It was Time to Spread My Knowledge to the Young Folks.”

Richard Davis, a jazz bassist who played with Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, and Eric Dolphy, among many other jazz greats, died September 6, 2023, at the age of 93 in Madison, WI. In 1977, Davis left New York to teach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and stayed there until his retirement in 2016. In a 2019 interview with Madison365, a Madison-based nonprofit news outlet, he said, “They kept calling me to come here. I finally said okay. I had never heard of Madison. I felt it was time to spread my knowledge to the young folks.”

Davis’ music career began 23 years earlier when he moved to New York City from Chicago. He worked with pianist Ahmad Jamal before becoming the bassist for Sarah Vaughan.

“You could say I went to the Univer-

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sity of Sarah Vaughan,” he told the Madison online newspaper Isthmus in 2014. “She was so musically skilled.

And playing with her brought me to play with her accompanist Jimmy Jones, whose knowledge of chords was phenomenal. And, the great percussionist Roy Haynes was in that band, too, and he had such an amazing concept of rhythm.” Eventually, Davis would become one of the most in-demand bassists in New York.

Among the albums he played on were Eric Dolphy’s Out to Lunch! (Blue Note: 1964) and Iron Man (Douglas International:1968) and Joe Henderson’s In ‘N Out (Blue Note: 1964). In 1967, Davis and drummer Elvin Jones released an album on the Impulse! label called, Heavy Sounds. It also included saxophonist Frank Foster and

pianist Billy Greene, but it contains an 11 ½-minute duet performance

by Davis and Jones of George Gershwin’s “Summertime”. In The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse!

Records (W.W. Norton: 2006), Davis described it. “No discussion, no editing, no plan, I just started playing the melody, and there he was ... and I just

thought there was some very brotherly thing about that particular piece.”

Perhaps Davis’ “most enduring piece,” according to Rolling Stone’s Daniel Kreps (September 7, 2023) was not a jazz recording. “Producer Lewis Merenstein,” Kreps wrote, “enlisted the bassist to pilot the musical landscape for an album by an up-and-coming

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BIG BAND IN THE SKY Irish singer named Van Morrison. The result of those sessions – where Davis and his handpicked band created music for songs they had never heard – was Astral Weeks (Warner Brothers: 1968).”

Rolling Stone’s Griel Marcus called Davis’ work on the album “the greatest bass ever heard on a rock album.”

Astral Weeks’ “resonance was so powerful and influential,” Kreps wrote, “that, over the decades that followed, Davis was soon pursued by rock and folk musicians: Bruce Springsteen, an Astral Weeks acolyte, recruited Davis to play his double bass on Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.’s ‘The Angel’, as well as the Born to Run classic, ‘Meeting Across the River’.”

Davis also performed with classical composers/conductors such as Igor Stravinsky and Leonard Bernstein.

In 1993, Davis and UW Professor Dr. Peter Dominguez (a former student) founded the Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists, an

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“ SOMEONE WHO GAVE THE

WORLD SUCH GREATNESS AND WAS SELFLESS IN HIS MENTORSHIP...” independent nonprofit organization that hosts an annual conference inviting young bass players to learn and perform with masters from around the country. Davis also started a Madison chapter of the Institutes for the Healing of Racism and hosted weekly meetings for more than 25 years. In 2014, he was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master.

Several current jazz bassists posted tributes to Davis on Facebook.

When Leon Lee Dorsey was 19, he met Davis at a University of Pittsburgh Jazz Seminar. “I later studied with Richard at the University of Wisconsin at Mad-

ison for my Masters,” he said. “Tremendous teacher and human being. In tears as I’m writing this about someone who gave the world such greatness and was selfless in his mentorship to this once young bassist. I will ever be thankful for his boundless energy and enthusiasm for music and life!”

Steve LaSpina’s father, also a bassist, told him “what a great player” Davis was. “So I went out and purchased some records with Richard on them.

One of them was Thad Jones, Mel Lewis Live at the Village Vanguard and the other was Heavy Sounds. Those two recordings made big impressions

on me. You could really hear what a great bow sound he had when he played ‘Summertime’ on the recording with Elvin (Jones). The fact that he played both classical and jazz inspired me to continue studying both.”

When David O’Rourke played nightly in the late ‘90s at 27 Standard, the upstairs room of the Jazz Standard, “the artists performing downstairs would often meet at our gig or come up on their break. The great Richard Davis was one such artist. Someone had already told him my name and that I was from Ireland, so when he summoned me with a friendly, ‘O’Rourke!’, I went over excited to meet the man who was the bassist on some of my favorite Pat Martino albums. I remember having the most enjoyable conversations with Mr. Davis while I sat there absolutely starstruck by him!”

Davis is survived by his daughter, Persia Davis.

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NOT WITHOUT YOU! Your membership is vital to NJJS’s mission to promote and preserve America’s great art form—JAZZ!

THANK YOU and welcome

to all who have recently joined or renewed their memberships. We can’t do what we do without you!

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RENEWAL MEMBERS Wayne Chaneski

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EDISON, NJ

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