ARTS 56
JAZZ
SANTAN SUN NEWS | MAR 17 – APR 6, 2018
from page 54
Romania, Ireland and Russia. From 10:30 p.m. to midnight an After Hours Jam Session, hosted by Big Daddy D, will take place at West Alley BBQ, 111 W. Boston St. Excitement is also building over the headliner April 7, when the Francine Reed-Lewis Nash All Star Band will work its magic 9-10:30 p.m. Singer Reed and drummer Nash are legends whose roots in the jazz community go back to the 1970s and 1980s, Goldenthal said. Reed has been singing with Lyle Lovett for about 30 years and has been on the bill as a supporting act for Miles Davis, Smokey Robinson and Etta James. “There’s only one Francine Reed,” Goldenthal said. “Francine sings ‘Wild Women Don’t Get The Blues.’ She’s the most charismatic, engaging performer. She has the most unique, identifiable voice and engaging stage presence. Nobody generates the kind of excitement she does.” Goldenthal, a longtime professional jazz pianist, has worked with Reed since their careers began in Phoenix and said she’s “tremendous to work with.” Nash is on about 500 CD recordings and “performed with every jazz luminary who has been on the scene for the last three decades,” Goldenthal said. “Modern Drummer” magazine named Nash “Jazz’s Most Valuable Player.” Nash got his start in Phoenix and went to New York, hitting the national jazz scene in the early 1980s, Goldenthal said. Back in the Valley now part-time, Nash
Courtesy of The Nash
World-renowned jazz drummer Lewis Nash, who got his start in Phoenix, will headline April 7.
teaches at Arizona State University and The Nash is named after him. “Lewis is magical to play with, which is why he is the first choice of so many great jazz musicians,” Goldenthal said. “He absolutely brings out the best in everyone he plays with. He’s a sweetheart of a man. “Every time I meet a jazz musician and mention Lewis’ name, the first thing they say is, ‘Let me talk about Lewis’ and they talk about what a fine person he is. He is so admired and respected.” Despite their long careers, this is Reed and Nash’s first gig together, Goldenthal added. “This will be an electrifying show,” he said. Before Reed and Nash join forces at the festival, Marcos Crego’s Tribe will shake up the crowd 7:30-8:30 p.m. April 7. Goldenthal said Crego, a Cuba-born pianist, and his band are “sure to get
people up and dancing.” Crego, who lives in north Phoenix, describes his band as performing “Cuban jazz fusion.” The Grammy-nominated pianist said the group he put together for the Chandler show is made up of diverse musicians with heritage from Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. “That gives me the opportunity to try to explore playing all the type of music where you can enjoy the Cuban rhythms, fusion with jazz, bebop,” Crego said. “I have a couple of songs where people are gonna dance for sure.” A piano teacher for the New School for the Arts & Academics in Tempe, Crego also plays in a band called The AfroCuban All Stars. He is excited to play at the Chandler event. “I really think it’s a great festival where local musicians have the opportunity
to express themselves like me,” he said. “Every year it’s getting better. I think the Chandler Jazz Festival could be the main jazz festival in Arizona. Joel (Goldenthal) is doing a great job.” The fact that Chandler still holds the concert shows “they really care about the jazz festival and they feel jazz is important,” Crego added. Before Crego’s Tribe plays, an all-female group will entertain the crowd on the main stage at the Chandler event: We3 and Company will play 6-7 p.m. April 7. “We3 and Company is a band comprising four amazingly talented women artists,” Goldenthal said. “The pianist is Nicole Pesce, who has an extraordinary local following based on her amazing command of the instrument and repertoire. “The vocalist is Renee Grant Patrick, who is the daughter of a Motown singer,” he added. “Her father was in the Ink Spots. Violinist Suzanne Lansford, she is just incredible…and the drummer is Sheila Earley. They’re dynamite.” On the blues side, guitar and slide guitar player James Robertson in the group True Flavor Blues, is looking forward to playing at the festival. Robertson of central Phoenix said his band is “a blues band but we do stuff a little bit on the jazzy side of blues.” He played with another band in the Chandler festival previously, as did other members of True Flavor Blues. “It’s a nice evening show; it’s a different thing than we normally do,” Robertson said. “It’s a good time. I just think it’s really a fantastic thing that Chandler is supporting this type of music.” Information: chandleraz.gov.
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9/20/17 12:01 PM