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New-Trad Octet mixes brass bands and jazz

New-Trad Octet continued on page 2

April 2010Vol. 15, Number 2

LINCOLN, Neb.—More than 30years have passed since jazz saxophon-ist Jeff Newell left Nebraska for morefruitful career opportunities—first inChicago, then in New York City—buthe has never forgotten the places andpeople who so influenced his formativeyears in the Cornhusker State.

He soon will return to Lincoln forthe first time in four years, leading hisNew-Trad Octet for a June 22 perfor-mance at this year’s Jazz in June se-ries. In addition to Newell’s alto sax,the octet also features trumpet, basstrumpet, tuba, keyboards, bass anddrums, a modern brass band lineup thatshould be perfect for the outdoor venue,a grassy sculpture garden just west ofSheldon Museum of Art on the Univer-sity of Nebraska-Lincoln’s city campus.

Newell last performed here inJanuary 2006, when he appeared as aguest artist with the Nebraska JazzOrchestra, along with fellow NJO alum-nus and saxophonist Frank Basile. Onthe following night, they performed atthe now-defunct P.O. Pears, fronting aquintet that also consisted of guitaristPeter Bouffard, bassist Rusty White anddrummer Joey Gulizia.

Newell joined the NJO in the late1970s, when it was known as the Neo-

classic Jazz Orchestra, and even touredEurope with the big band. In addition tothe 2006 concert, he returned as guestsoloist in 1991 and 1994.

The New-Trad Octet has nevermade the trip to Nebraska, thoughNewell formed the group some 16 yearsago as a vehicle for his arranging skills.Initially, it blended the traditional “sec-ond line” New Orleans brass band witha modern rhythm section and a freshapproach to harmony and improvisa-tion. Gradually, Newell’s interest in earlybrass bands began to influence theoctet’s repertoire, a shift best exempli-fied on the band’s 2007 CD “Brown-stone,” which occasionally marriesSousa marches with the exotic rhythmsof the Caribbean.

By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Courtesy P

hoto

Jeff Newell brings his New-Trad Octetto Lincoln for June 22 performance.

Singer Angela Hagenbach will front aKC sextet June 15 in Lincoln.

File Photo

In this issueFive concerts in Jazz in June....................3Clawfoot House brings arts to hood.....4King Sunny Ade set to rock Lincoln......6Tomfoolery: Heading to festivals........7Mary Pipher pays tribute to Jarvis.........8Jane Jarvis leaves legacy of music........9Essay on “Invisible Man”....................102nd Berman Ping Pong tourney...........11Matt Wilson Quartet review.................12NET’s “Jazz Cabaret”.........................14BMF adds “Jazz Icons” DVDs.............15Charlie Hunter Trio review................16“In the Mood” review.........................17Bela Fleck and the Africa Project...........18Amy Denio celebrates Women’s Week....19Brewsky’s site for jazz exploration.......20NJO/Paul Haar review........................20Jazz on Disc reviews.......................21Jazz Essentials, Part 3..........................25From the Photo Archives....................28

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Page 2 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

Sunny Ade continued from page 1

Newell continues to mine thosedisparate influences for traces of mu-sical gold.

“I’m still working around the samesort of things. I’m trying to dig a littledeeper into things that are maybe notas close to the surface,” he said in arecent interview from his Brooklynhome. “I’m getting really interested ina lot of the music of early brass bandsthat weren’t famous. I’m trying to fig-ure out the connection between theearly brass band movement—which, ofcourse, was a huge movement acrossthe country—and the evolution of jazz.”

Making that connection is an am-bitious undertaking, especially consid-ering that brass bands have a history ofmore than two centuries and jazz ismore than 100 years old. Both stylesbegan in small, unassuming ways, of-ten played by uneducated musicians, anesthetic that Newell strives to retain.

“A lot of people in these smalltowns and little out-of-the-way placescouldn’t read music and they were justlearning it by ear, which is sort of whatI tried to incorporate with what I didwith the Sousa marches. I could veryeasily have gone to the music libraryand copied all the stuff out, but insteadI got a hold of some CDs of the originalVictrola recordings of Sousa’s band,which were done in the late 1890s.Then, I transcribed from that.”

But that wasn’t all. As he beganto fit the music into the new harmonicand rhythmic contexts he envisioned,Newell intentionally altered the tunes,much as the first musicians must havealtered them to conform to their spe-cific ethnic backgrounds.

“We all fit it into our own culturalcontext,” he said. “It’s like a game oftelephone. We all hear something dif-ferent, and then we pull it together. I’mreally interested in how those bandsevolved within that tradition and howthat came across in early jazz.”

Newell’s interest in the history of

brass bands began in relatively recentyears. Born in Bennington, Neb., aDouglas County town now largely ab-sorbed in the Omaha metropolitan re-gion, he received a music degree fromthe University of Nebraska-Lincoln andpursued graduate studies for a yearbefore heading to Chicago in 1978 tocontinue his education in classic jazzfashion, playing at clubs and festivals.

“When I was in school back inNebraska, I just wanted to be a reallycool, hip urban sophisticate, since Icame from this small town,” he recalled,laughing. “But, I was always interestedin history and the Civil War and 19th

century life and the westward expan-sion.” That interest was rekindled in1994, when he made the leap to NewYork to study privately with saxophon-ists Bunky Green, Joe Daley and, witha fellowship from the National Endow-ment for the Arts, David Liebman. Hetook up residence in a classic Brooklynbrownstone, which inspired the CD title.

“Our apartment is one floor of abuilding that was built in 1877, with allthis beautiful craftsmanship. When Ifirst moved to Brooklyn, I jokingly say,I felt like I’d moved into the ruins of aonce-great society. When it was being

built, Bennington, Nebraska, was a col-lection of tents with a mud street, andhere was this ancient civilization thatI’d moved into.” That immersion in the19th century started him on a path thatled to his current fascination with theevolution of American music among theworking class.

“People who were not trainedmusicians still had the need inside ofthem to make music.”

Newell recently has been sharingthe fruit of his research into America’smusical evolution with students in theBrooklyn school system, through resi-dencies funded by Chamber MusicAmerica and the Doris Duke Founda-tion. With an additional grant from a lo-cal organization, he is visiting four dif-ferent schools.

“I’m going in once a week for sixweeks. I’m bringing small groups ofmusicians, doing a ragtime trio thing andthen I do some blues, and then I bringin the New-Trad Quartet and we playbrass band music. It all culminates witha concert by the full octet.”

So that he’s able to offer flexiblebooking arrangements for the large en-semble, Newell maintains contacts inChicago as well as New York. Theoctet that will appear in Lincoln June22 also features young Chicago fire-brand Victor Garcia on trumpet, RyanShultz on bass trumpet, Mike Hogg ontuba, Steve Million on keyboards, NealAlger on guitar, Tim Fox on bass andRick Vitek on drums.

The Lincoln audience can expectto hear Sousa compositions performedin a manner not usually associated withthe military march genre. The concertalso will include some Crescent Citysounds and Newell’s take on 19th cen-tury hymns, another historical interest.

No family members remain inNebraska, but Newell still feels a kin-ship to his home state, perhaps mostimportantly for the early musical bondshe forged here. Many of those friendswill be on hand for his return visit.

The New-Trad Octet combines themusical styles of the classic brassbands with the improvisation ofmodern jazz.

Courtesy P

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Page 3April 2010○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

The BMF NewsletterThe BMF NewsletterThe BMF NewsletterThe BMF NewsletterThe BMF Newsletter ispublished online at:www.bermanmusicfoundation.orgThe offices and museum of TheTheTheTheTheBerman Music FoundationBerman Music FoundationBerman Music FoundationBerman Music FoundationBerman Music Foundationare in the Skylight Gallery, TheBurkholder Project, 719 P St.,Lincoln, NE 68508.

Editor and Designer:Editor and Designer:Editor and Designer:Editor and Designer:Editor and Designer:Tom Ineck

Contributing writersContributing writersContributing writersContributing writersContributing writers: TomIneck, Brad Krieger, MaryPipher, Grace Sankey-Berman,and Jesse Starita

Photographers:Photographers:Photographers:Photographers:Photographers: Tom Ineck,Grace Sankey-Berman, JesseStarita and others (CourtesyPhotos and File Photos)

For inclusion of any music-related events, letters to theeditor or suggested articles,mail them to the office, call (402)261-5480 or e-mailbmf@bermanmusicfoundation.org.

To be added to our mailing list,call (402) 261-5480 or e-mailbmf@bermanmusicfoundation.org.

The Butch BermanThe Butch BermanThe Butch BermanThe Butch BermanThe Butch BermanCharitable MusicCharitable MusicCharitable MusicCharitable MusicCharitable MusicFoundationFoundationFoundationFoundationFoundation is a non-profit, taxexempt, 501(c)(3) privatefoundation recognized by theInternal Revenue Service andthe Nebraska Department ofRevenue. It was established inthe spring of 1995 to protectand promote unique forms ofAmerican music.

Trustee:Trustee:Trustee:Trustee:Trustee: Tony Rager

Consultants:Consultants:Consultants:Consultants:Consultants: Grace Sankey-Berman, Russ Dantzler, KayDavis, Dan DeMuth, Tom Ineck,Gerald Spaits, Leslie Spaits andWade Wright

Five concerts in 2010 Jazz in June

LINCOLN, Neb.—For the sec-ond consecutive year, the popular Jazzin June concert series will feature fiveTuesday evening performances. Con-sidering the hit-an-miss nature of livejazz in Lincoln during the rest of theyear, that is a very good thing for fans.

As in recent years, the BermanMusic Foundation will play a majorrole in sponsoring the series, now inits 19th year. Each 7 p.m. concert rou-tinely draws thousands to the sculp-ture garden outside Sheldon Museumof Art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Four of the five artists in the2010 lineup have performed in Lin-coln and have ties to the BMF.

Trumpeter Darryl White re-turns to the stage June 1 with a groupresembling the one he fronted twoyears ago. Featured again are pianistJeff Jenkins of Denver, bassist CraigAkin of New York and drummerBrandon Draper of Kansas City, Mo.The new addition is veteran saxophon-ist Dick Oatts, who over the last 30years has performed and recordedwith such greats as Lou Rawls, theThad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, theVanguard Jazz Orchestra, JoeHenderson, Red Rodney, Joe Lovano,Eddie Gomez, and Jack McDuff. Healso has seven recordings under hisown name on the Steeplechase label.

In conjunction with a celebrationof Cuban culture at Sheldon, the SanDiego-based combo Otro Mundowill perform June 8. Blending thesounds of Brazil, Spain, the UnitedStates, Cuba, Africa, and the MiddleEast, Otro Mundo is a five-piece out-fit consisting of founders DustyBrough on guitar, Kevin Freeby onbass, and Steve Haney on percussion.Flutist and vocalist RebeccaKleinmann and drummer JulienCantelm recently joined the band.

Their debut, self-titled recording wasreleased in February.

Singer Angela Hagenbach ofKansas City will front a sextet June15. A longtime favorite in Lincoln, shehas appeared here many times overthe last 15 years, most recently as aguest artist with the Nebraska JazzOrchestra at the 2007 Jazz in June.The BMF has followed her careerwith enthusiasm, covering perfor-mances in Lincoln and in her home-town, as well as reviewing her record-ings. Backing her sultry vocals will besaxophonist Matt Otto, guitaristDanny Embrey, pianist Roger Wilder,bassist Steve Rigazzi and drummerDoug Auwarter.

Jeff Newell’s New-Trad Oc-tet will bring their unique blend of jazzinnovation and brass band tradition tothe Jazz in June stage June 22. Thesaxophonist last performed here inJanuary 2006 with the Nebraska JazzOrchestra and the following night witha small group at P.O. Pears. The oc-tet also will feature Victor Garcia ontrumpet, Ryan Shultz on bass trum-pet, Mike Hogg on tuba, Steve Mil-lion on keyboards, Neal Alger on gui-tar, Tim Fox on bass and Rick Vitekon drums.

After five years, jazz and jazzfusion guitar great Jerry Hahn re-turns to Lincoln June 29 with a quar-tet also featuring Kansas City stal-warts Joe Cartwright on piano, TyroneClarke on bass and Mike Warren ondrums. Born in Alma, Neb., thefretmaster grew up in Wichita, Kan.,before moving away for a few de-cades. He returned to the Wichita areain 2004 and now lives in Lenexa, Kan.The BMF and Dietze Music Housebrought Hahn to Lincoln in February2005 for guitar workshops and a trioperformance at P.O. Pears.

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Page 4 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

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LINCOLN, Neb.—EmberSchrag is living, lively and music-lovingproof that one inspired person with apassion can make a difference.

In Schrag’s case, that passion isfor making music and sharing the mu-sic of others with the Lincoln commu-nity. For seven years, she had beenguiding her own music career and—like many other local artists—strugglingto find venues, booking gigs, travelingand recording. A North Platte native andUNL graduate who majored in Englishand music, Schrag considered a moveto the Pacific Northwest to immerseherself in Portland’s music scene, butshe decided to stay in Lincoln to awaitthe arrival of daughter Lillian.

Her inspiration was to create avenue out of her own home, a rentalduplex in Lincoln’s Everett neighbor-hood that she christened ClawfootHouse. She began working with BryanDay, an improviser, inventor and “soundsculptor” who also runs Public EyesoreRecords. Day had extensive experi-ence in the music business worldwide.That led to a series of house concertsfeaturing experimental music, whicheventually morphed into other genres.

With Day’s connections and ex-perience gained by promoting her ownshows over the years, Schrag turned1042 F St. into a house concert stagefor other musicians. She opened thedoors to the public in January 2009,promising and delivering a homey spacewith low admissions and high-qualityacts. In its first year, Schrag bookedsome 45 acts there, a notable accom-plishment considering that she still per-forms, works full-time at the Univer-sity of Nebraska-Lincoln and is raisingan infant daughter.

“I’m really busy,” she said in a

recent phone interview conductedwhile Lillian napped. “But ClawfootHouse is so much fun, and Lincoln re-ally had a need for this, or it wouldn’thave come out of nowhere and sud-denly become this big thing.”

Clawfoot House quickly estab-lished a reputation for adventurous book-ing, ranging from avant-garde improvi-sation, indie-folk and traditional old-timey artists to a classical quartet, po-etry readings, theater, workshops, lec-tures, puppet shows, jugglers and visualartists. Nothing is out of the question,as long as it gives voice to artistic ex-

pression, a philosophy summed up in theClawfoot mission statement: “We striveto provide hospitality and fair pay fortalented artists—locals and those ontour—who perform at Clawfoot House,as we believe these individuals deservesupport for the risks they take to maketheir art and bring it to us.”

It is a mission not unlike that ofthe Berman Music Foundation, es-tablished 15 years ago: “The founda-tion realizes the difficulties involved inmaintaining a career as an artist andwill assist those individuals who yearnto create according to their own heartsand not simply to become a commer-cial success.”

That common goal recently re-sulted in a $2,200 BMF grant to Schragfor a series of presentations by Seattle-based singer, songwriter and multi-in-strumentalist Amy Denio, in collabora-tion with the UNL Women’s Center.Denio’s Lincoln stay included a lun-cheon presentation on “Music and So-cial Change” at the UNL Student Union,an evening performance at ClawfootHouse and a special edition of the

Feature Story

Clawfoot House brings lively arts to the hood

Chiara String Quartet performs at Clawfoot House.

Courtesy P

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Ember Schrag performs her own music.

Page 5April 2010○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

monthly Clawfoot Salon, featuringDenio in a lecture and performance.Grace Sankey Berman attendedDenio’s appearance at the salon andoffers her account elsewhere in thisnewsletter.

The salon, another Schrag inspi-ration, is a gathering of female musi-cians and artists who share knowledge,exchange views, receive feedback onnew work and jam. A lecture seriesoffers aspects of the history of womenin the arts and skills useful to artists.

“It seems there aren’t as manyopportunities for female musicians tolearn from other women about techni-cal stuff and other things. I just thoughtthat would be really cool to create asituation where they can learn fromeach other and also play music, all to-gether. The jam, with women, is verydifferent, very organic. It’s very com-munal.”

Schrag added an occasional FrontPorch Potluck Grill that brings togethermusicians, friends and neighbors for acommon purpose. Recently, she hasbeen shepherding Clawfoot Housethrough the arduous process of incor-porating as a non-profit organization.Perhaps most important in directing anintimate, low-budget, live music venuewith little hope of ever turning a profit,Schrag loves her work.

“I really like doing it. I really likecurating the series. I like picking stuffout and bringing good music togetherto share it with other people. And theperformers appreciate it. That’s a bigpart of the reason why things have goneso well. Performers really want to havethat kind of experience. Increasingly,even big-name performers want to dohouse shows because you connect withpeople better.”

Lincoln’s location, midway be-tween Denver and Chicago, makes it alogical stop for artists on the road, a factthat Schrag and others have capitalizedon. In fact, she now gets at least one e-

mail message every day from musiciansseeking a gig in Lincoln.

“People want to play here,” shesaid. “This town can definitely supportmore house venues like this.” Last Au-gust alone, Schrag booked eight shows,often providing lodging and meals formusicians.

“There was one morning where Iwas making breakfast for a dozen men.I used two dozen eggs and four or fivepots of coffee, and I was having such agood time! I know what it’s like to beon the road. We know that people ap-preciate a salad and some orange juicebecause it’s hard to get good food onthe road.”

Once Clawfoot House has 501c3status, it will be able to accept tax-de-ductible donations to offset some ofthose expenses and even expand theseries of house concerts. Schrag andDay already are studying the possibilityof bringing in experimental, avant-gardemusic artists from New York, MexicoCity, China, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Clawfoot House audiences, shesaid, tend to be a little younger than theaverage LAFTA crowd, alluding to theLincoln Association for Traditional Arts,the city’s longtime folk-music series ofconcerts. While some regulars are intheir 50s, most are in their 20s.

“We have a little of the LAFTAatmosphere, but not the same kind ofmusic. For the trouble that we’re tak-ing to open up our home, we want to dosomething that’s really unique.” Schraghas an understanding with her landlordthat allows the live music venue’s ad-venturous spirit to flourish.

“Since we have this communityaspect, our landlord has decided thatwe’re actually doing the city a favor,we’re cleaning up the neighborhood andcreating more positive vibes in theEverett neighborhood. He said he thinksthe city owes us a thank-you, and he’svery supportive of what we’re tryingto do.”

For more on Clawfoot House, visitwww.clawfoothouse.com.Clawfoot House features summer front porch potluck grills and performances.

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Page 6 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

LINCOLN, Neb.—King SunnyAdé and His African Beats should bethoroughly warmed up and well settledinto their 2010 North American tour bythe time they arrive at the Bourbon The-atre for an April 18 performance, a ben-efit for KZUM Radio.

The tour begins exactly one weekearlier, with an April 11 concert inMontreal. Additional shows in Toronto,Ann Arbor, Milwaukee, Chicago, andMinneapolis will prepare the 16-pieceband for its Lincoln appearance at theBourbon, 1415 O St., where the 6 p.m.concert promises to be the music eventof the year. Doors open at 5 p.m.

The Berman Music Founda-tion is a principal sponsor of the con-cert. Local Cuban and salsa band SonDel Llano will open.

The undisputed king of “juju mu-sic,” Adé has been honored with titleslike “Chairman of the Board” and “Min-ister of Enjoyment” in his home coun-try of Nigeria, and his crossover popu-larity has earned him billing as “the Af-rican Bob Marley.” Juju music is adance-inspiring hybrid of western popand traditional African music with rootsin the guitar tradition of Nigeria. A hyp-notic blend of electric guitars, pedal-steelguitar, synthesizers and multi-layeredpercussion, it found wide favor in the1970s when Adé combined Yorubadrumming with elements of West Afri-can highlife music, calypso, and jazz.Adé also brought many other innova-tions to the traditional sound and pre-sentation.

“When I met juju music musicianswere still sitting down, with instrumentsarranged in front,” Adé says in his offi-cial biography. “I found it hard becauseI knew people were not getting full valuefor their money. So I started standing

and dancing. I moved the instrumentsbackwards to allow them enjoy theirmoney and gave my boys a microphoneeach to dance and sing. At that timetoo, they were playing only one guitar. Iincreased to two, three, four, five andthe present six. I dropped the use ofthe accordion and introduced keyboards,the manual jazz drum and now the elec-tronic jazz drum. I introduced the useof pedal steel otherwise known as Ha-waiian guitar, increased the percussionaspect of the music, added more talk-ing drums, introduced computer into jujumusic and de-emphasized the use ofhigh tone in the vocals.”

Adé and His African Beats cre-ated a worldwide sensation in the early1980s with three recordings on MangoRecords—“Juju Music” (1982), “Syn-chro System” (1983), and “Aura”

(1984). He was the first African to benominated twice for a Grammy Award,first for “Synchro System” and mostrecently for “Odu,” a 1998 collectionof traditional Yoruba songs. In July 2009he was inducted into the Afropop Hallof Fame.

After their Lincoln performance,the African Beats will continue withscheduled stops in St. Louis., Houstonand New Orleans, where they will per-form April 25 at the popular New Or-leans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Lin-coln is one of the smallest cities on thesix-week tour, which includes Seattle,San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Di-ego, Washington, D.C., Boston, NewYork City, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.

The April 18 Lincoln concert ismade possible by Star City Blog withadditional support from Southeast Com-munity College, Dietze Music, U.S.Bank, The Holiday Inn Downtown, andthe Parthenon Greek Taverna and Grill.Net proceeds go to KZUM.

Tickets are $25 for general ad-mission, $50 for reserved seats. Topurchase tickets, visit Star City Blogat www.starcityblog.com.

King Sunny Adé and His African Beats set to rock the BourbonConcert Preview

King Sunny Adé and His Aftican Beatswill perform April 18 in Lincoln.

Courtesy P

hotos

King Sunny Adé on stage

By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Page 7April 2010○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

As live music goes, 2010 is look-ing like an embarrassment of riches. AndI’m not as easily embarrassed as I usedto be. If plans pan out, I will attend thesecond weekend of the New OrleansJazz and Heritage Festival, April 29-May 2, and also cover the second weekof the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, June7-13 in Northern California, where I hadsuch a memorable visit last year. The16-piece band of King Sunny Adé andhis African Beats will perform April 18right here in Lincoln, Nebraska, and inJune, five Tuesday night concerts willcontinue the grand tradition of Jazz inJune, the 19th year for the free series.

After that, who cares?The Crescent City Jazz Fest, now

in its 41st year, celebrates a range ofmusical styles far beyond jazz and thoseother ethnic sounds native to New Or-leans—Cajun and zydeco music. Thecity also has a unique take on the blues,rock ‘n’ roll, r&b, soul and gospel mu-sic, and all are represented on stage.But even though its emphasis remainson the area’s considerable musical heri-tage, Jazz Fest has grown in scope toinclude hugely popular artists of manytraditions.

For example, this year’s festivalfeatures Simon and Garfunkel, B.B.King, The Allman Brothers, Pearl Jam,King Sunny Ade and His African Beats,Gipsy Kings, Widespread Panic, theFour Freshmen, the Levon Helm Band,Anita Baker, Keely Smith, The BlackCrowes, Irma Thomas, Lionel Richie,George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, Jose Feliciano, Richie Ha-vens and Shawn Colvin.

Among the artists I hope to hearin my four-day visit are Van Morrison,Aretha Franklin, Jeff Beck, comedianSteve Martin doing his bluegrass thing,

Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band,Dee Dee Bridgewater celebrating themusic of Billie Holiday, Allen Toussaint,Elvis Costello, the Wayne Shorter Quar-tet, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, thesubdudes, Ivan Neville’sDumpstaphunk, and Astral Project.

The problem with planning yourday at Jazz Fest is that it requires ma-neuvering among 11 different stagessimultaneously. Conflicts are inevitable,

but that’s part of the fun, not to mentionthe great ethnic food, and the arts andcrafts on display and for sale at the fes-tival, which is located at the 145-acrecounty fairgrounds.

Festival hours are from 11 a.m.until 7 p.m., so much of the morningand evening hours are free to explorethe French Quarter, dine at one of themany fine restaurants, go on a riverboatcruise or take in some more live musicat one of the city’s clubs, which areopen to the wee hours.

While at the 12th AnnualHealdsburg Jazz Festival in early June,I hope to enjoy the music of pianistGeorge Cables, bassist Charlie Hadenwith Ravi Coltrane and Geri Allen, bass-ist and singer Esperanza Spaulding, andpianist Jason Moran and the Band-wagon, featuring guitarist Bill Frisell.Making the experience even more sig-nificant is that I will share it with oldfriends, some of whom live nearHealdsburg and others who will travelfrom San Diego.

The brainchild of founder and in-defatigable director Jessica Felix, theHealdsburg event is a more mainstreamjazz affair, true to its mission to presenthigh-quality music that still challengesand intrigues the listener. Billed as “thebest jazz festival north of San Fran-cisco,” it brings world-class jazz to anon-urban environment where it is pre-sented in a variety of imaginative ven-ues, from wine-tasting rooms and open-air greens to cafes, hotel lobbies andhistoric theaters. The year’s festival runsJune 4-13.

Expect a full report from NewOrleans and Healdsburg—as well asreviews of local performances by KingSunny Ade and the Jazz in June con-certs—in our July online news!

Tomfoolery

Soon heading south and west for festivalsBy Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Esperanza Spaulding is scheduled toperform at Healdsburg jazz fest.

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Page 8 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

Memorial

Lincoln writer pays tribute to friend JarvisBy Mary Pipher○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

In 1997 Jane Jarvis came to Lin-coln with Benny Waters. I first heardher play with a trio at the Zoo Bar.Jane was bedecked in satin and pearlsand she played piano with great skilland heart. In their first set, the groupbrought down the house. At the break,Jane shook hands, signed CDs andconnected easily with her fans. But,after a short while, she hunted downBenny’s manager and said, “Let’s getgoing.” He said, “You get a half hourbreak.” Jane said firmly, “I don’t wanta long break. I came to play.”

While Jane was in town, I inter-viewed her for my book, “AnotherCountry: Navigating the EmotionalTerrain of Our Elders.” She had liveda remarkable life in her 81 years. Shewas the only child of loving parents.The family lived a cultured life of artgalleries, classical music andShakespeare. However, when Janewas 13 years old, her parents werekilled in a train accident. After that,she was alone in the world. She foundher peace and happiness in music.

Jane told me, “Music was a natu-ral part of me, like my nose. My coreidentity was as a musician. My musi-cality was a gift and all I had to dowas push it along.” All of Jane’s life,when she needed sanctuary, musicoffered her a safe and cherishedplace. She said, “I feel bad for peoplewho have no art in their lives. I don’tknow how they cope.”

When she was in high schoolJane played piano for a radio station.It was there that she heard jazz musi-cians for the first time. After she lis-tened to them rehearse, she asked ifshe could join them in a song. Theywere bemused, but agreed. She said,“Let’s play what you last played.” She

kept up with them. Later she playedorgan for baseball games in Shea Sta-dium. She was a vice president andproduction manager for Muzak andtraveled all over the world to recordmusic. Her greatest musical honorwas to be included in the illustriousgroup of old players called TheStatesmen of Jazz.

After our first meeting, Jane andI remained friends until her death.When I gave a reading from “AnotherCountry” in New York, my publisherrented a grand piano and Jane playedat the event. Once a month, Janecalled me from her small apartment.We would talk for a few minutes abouthow happy she was and what a goodlife she had lived. During these callsshe laughed a lot and said that shewas at age when “externals don’tmatter. The joy is all inside my head.”

After our talks, she would askme, “What do you want to hear to-day?” I usually asked for a sad song,such as “Autumn Leaves” or “Returnto Sorrento.” She’d improvise a longversion of whatever I wanted. Thenshe’d say, “Now, I am going to play

you a happy song. That’s what I liketo play and you need to cheer up.”

I last saw Jane when I wasworking in the city. I visited her at herapartment on East 50th Street. On myway up, I passed a flower vendor andI debated whether to buy her redroses or white. Finally, I decided tobuy a dozen of each. When Jane’sassistant opened the door for me, Iwas hidden behind all the roses. I toldJane the white roses were for purityand the red for passion. She laughedand said she had more of one virtuethan the other.

Jane lay on her small bed in alovely silk dressing gown. Her luxuri-ant silver hair was brushed down overher shoulders. She had a window thatlooked out on the street. Well-wornbiographies of jazz greats filled herbookcases. We talked about her hap-piness and her acceptance of old ageand death as part of “the great songcycle.” Then she asked her assistantto help her to the piano. She treated

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Jane Jarvis

Mary Pipher

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○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○By Tom Ineck

me to an hour-long concert of pas-sionate, effervescent music. Her fin-gers had forgotten nothing.

Jane believed in God. “Other-wise,” she asked, “how do you un-derstand a life like mine?” She toldme, “I embrace all religions. Theprayers of Muslims are good prayers,and so are those of the Presbyteri-ans. I can drop into any place of wor-ship anywhere in the world and feelat home.” But, Jane did not anticipate

an afterlife. Life on this earth wasmiracle enough for her.

Still, it comforts me to imagineher in heaven. Jane’s heaven wouldlook like a nightclub in Midtown Man-hattan. She and her favorite musicianswould be on a cramped stage, play-ing to a packed house. Jane would bewearing high heels, a showy velvetdress, and pearls. Her long blond hairwould stream behind her as sheplayed. Poets, bankers, publishers, and

Jane Jarvis, a longtime friend ofthe Berman Music Foundation, diedJan. 25 at the Lillian Booth Actors’Home in Englewood, N.J. She was94.

The Berman foundation firstbrought Jarvis to the attention of jazzfans in Lincoln, Neb., in 1997, whenshe appeared on March 9 at the ZooBar, sharing the billing with saxo-phonist Benny Waters, who was 95at the time. Jane was a relativelyyoung and sprightly 81. Indeed, sheboasted of being a month youngerthan my mom when they were intro-duced during intermission.

During their stay, Jarvis alsoconducted master classes with stu-dents at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and at Park Middle Schoolin Lincoln. In October 1999, she re-turned to the city with trombonistBenny Powell and bassist Earl Mayfor a benefit performance at theCornhusker Hotel, funded in part bythe BMF.

In a 1997 interview, she told meenthusiastically about her lifelonglove of jazz.

“I’m not sure when I heard thefirst jazz recording. It could havebeen at an uncle’s home. He had a

phonograph. I didn’t have a phono-graph when I was a child. In fact,when I was young, not every familyhad a radio. But I did, for reasonsI’m not able to explain, pick up im-mediately on everything I heard thatwas jazz, and studied it without know-ing I was studying it, and catalogedit in my mind without being awarethat I was putting it in my musicalcomputer. I took advantage of ev-erything I heard, and it influenced myplaying.”

Born Jane Nossett Jarvis onOct. 31, 1915, Jane formed a jazzband in her native Indiana as a teen-ager, and continued to work as a jazzpianist from her mid-60s into her 90s.But for more than two decades she

BMF friend Jane Jarvis leaves a legacy of musicMemorial

was best known as a ballpark organ-ist, first with the Braves at CountyStadium in Milwaukee, then at SheaStadium from 1964 to 1979, mixingjazz tunes like “Scrapple from theApple” with more conventional farelike “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”She also worked for Muzak, eventu-ally becoming vice president of pro-gramming and recording and hiringjazz musicians like Lionel Hamptonand Clark Terry to record sessionsthat produced some swinging “eleva-tor music.”

After leaving Muzak and theNew York Mets in the late 1970s, shebegan finding gigs as a jazz pianist,eventually becoming a regular atZinno, a West Village nightclub andrestaurant, where she worked withMilt Hinton and other jazz bassists.She recorded her first album as aleader the year she turned 70.

Jarvis had lived at the LillianBooth Actors’ Home since she wasforced out of her East Side apart-ment in 2008 after an adjacent build-ing was destroyed in a crane col-lapse. Butch Berman had continuedto stay in touch with Jane throughthe years, right up until his own deathin January 2008.

other jazz musicians would be in thecrowd, dancing or sitting at little tableswith their gin gimlets and black Rus-sians. The crowd would be sophisti-cated enough to applaud in the rightplaces, to ooh and aah at the reallyhot riffs and to hush and listen whensomething magic was happening. Bythe end of the night, Jane’s musicwould soar across the galaxies andnobody would want to take a break.

Butch Berman and Jane Jarvis in 1997

File Photo

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Page 10 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

The following essay was written fora class in African-American litera-ture that I’m taking at the Univer-sity of Nebraska-Lincoln. I wrote itafter reading Ralph Ellison’s mas-terful and highly acclaimed novel“Invisible Man,” published in1952. It was one of four short pa-pers required by course instructorMegan Peabody. Since it deals withthe use of music as a symbolthroughout the book, I thought itappropriate for BMF readers. I alsoliked the idea of recycling the es-say for a broader audience. I havealtered the scholarly formattingand page citations for a more jour-nalistic approach.

“Invisible Man” deals largely insymbolic imagery, the perceptions ofothers, self-observance and self-iden-tity, but one way in which RalphEllison examines these visual con-cepts is through music, its multi-fac-eted influence throughout our lives andits impact on our emotions, our spiri-tual growth, the way we define our-selves, and our social and politicalconsciousness. In the course of thenovel, he cues important scenes withreferences to the melody, harmony,lyrics and rhythms of song, from suchdiverse sources as jazz recordings, aChristmas carol heard from a collegechapel, a spontaneous expression ofthe blues and a funeral march inHarlem.

Attempting to describe hisprotagonist’s feelings of invisibility ashe “hibernates” in his undergroundrefuge from the real world, Ellisoninvokes the power of jazz as trum-peter Louis Armstrong sings and playsFats Waller’s bluesy lament “What

Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue,”writing, “Perhaps I like LouisArmstrong because he’s made poetryout of being invisible. I think it mustbe because he’s unaware that he isinvisible. And my own grasp of invis-ibility aids me to understand his mu-sic.” Like Armstrong’s syncopatedrhythm, being invisible, he notes,“gives one a slightly different senseof time, you’re never quite on thebeat.” He equates the visual with theaural when he writes, “…You hearthis music simply because music isheard and seldom seen, except bymusicians. Could this compulsion toput invisibility down in black and whitebe thus an urge to make music of in-visibility?” Even in the quandary ofhis invisibility, he defines the dilemmain terms of the racial colors of blackand white.

A choir of trombones perform-ing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”inside a college chapel inspires sad-ness in the passing listener. You canalmost see the waves of music whenEllison writes, “The sound floats overall, clear like the night, liquid, serene,

and lonely.” Less refined are theprimitive spirituals sung in the chapelby a country quartet: “We were em-barrassed by the earthy harmoniesthey sang, but since the visitors wereawed we dared not laugh at the crude,high, plaintively animal sounds JimTrueblood made as he led the quar-tet.” In psychic agony after he rapeshis daughter, Trueblood spontaneouslyraises his voice in song, beginning witha spiritual. “I don’t know what it was,some kinda church song, I guess. AllI know is I ends up singin’ the blues. Isings me blues that night ain’t neverbeen sang before, and while I’msingin’ them blues I makes up mymind that I ain’t nobody but myselfand ain’t nothin’ I can do but let what-ever is gonna happen, happen.” In theact of singing this primal music, heacknowledges the baseness of hisnature and its ultimate consequences.

Ellison likens the delivery of acollege debater to a brass ensemble,as he voices his argument in resonat-ing tones, writing “…listen to me, the

Essay

Hearing the music, seeing the truthBy Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Louis Armstrong

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bungling bugler of words, imitating thetrumpet and the trombone’s timbre,playing thematic variations like a bari-tone horn.” During a choir perfor-mance, a girl rises to sing a cappella,“standing high against the organ pipes,herself become before our eyes apipe of contained, controlled and sub-limated anguish, a thin plain face trans-formed by music.” The loyal follow-ers of a fallen black leader mourn hispassing, “bugles weeping like a fam-ily of tender women lamenting theirloved one. And the people came tosing the old songs and to express theirunspeakable sorrow.” Failing to findwords to describe their misery, musicbecomes the medium through whichthey articulate the fullness of theirhearts.

The quest to find himself and hisplace in the world takes the protago-nist to Harlem, where a funeral pro-cession for a black leader is emblem-atic of the profound power of musicin the lives of black Americans, andof all people. A lone, elderly malevoice and a euphonium render an im-promptu version of “There’s Many aThousand Gone,” like “two black pi-geons rising above a skull-white barnto tumble and rise through still, blueair.” Others take up the song, follow-ing the old man, “…as though the songhad been there all the time and heknew it and aroused it; and I knewthat I had known it too and had failedto release it out of a vague, namelessshame or fear. …I looked at the cof-fin and the marchers, listening to them,and yet realizing that I was listeningto something within myself.” The oldman’s song and its message seem toemanate from the listeners, as theyrespond to something beyond religionor politics. “It was not the words, forthey were all the same old slave-bornewords; it was as though he’d changedthe emotion beneath the words whileyet the old longing, resigned, transcen-dent emotion still sounded above, nowdeepened by that something for which

the theory of Brotherhood had givenme no name.”

Ellison’s protagonist eventuallyresigns himself to the diversity andabsurdity of life, as in the contradic-tions inherent in the blues and itsmyriad variations or in LouisArmstrong’s evocations of palpablegood and evil when he sings, “Openthe window and let the foul air out…

Of course Louis was kidding, hewouldn’t have thrown old Bad Air out,because it would have broken up themusic and the dance, when it was thegood music that came from the bellof old Bad Air’s horn that counted.”In other words, music tempered bythe fires of hell may be the most heav-enly sound of all.

Friends celebrate 2nd annualBerman Ping Pong tournament

The Second Annual ButchBerman Memorial Ping Pongtournament was hosted by DanielNelson, a long-time friend of theBerman Music Foundation.

Present at the gatheringwere Daniel Nelson, DylanNelson, Elizabeth Nelson, RuthAnn Nahorny, Brad Krieger,Catherine Patterson, Bob Doris,and Miles Kildare.

For the past 30-plus years,we would gather at Butch’s house

on Saturday or Sunday for a full-out assault on the Ping Pong table.Butch was always the gracioushost, providing fine wine—andfood, if it happened to be a foot-ball Saturday. We kept a runningtotal on who won, and would havea final tally at the end of the yearto see who wound up on top.

In the end, wins and losseswere not important, but added tothe excitement of the competition.

By Brad Krieger ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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Brad Krieger, Dylan Nelson, Bob Doris, Daniel Nelson and Miles Kildare

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Page 12 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

Concert ReviewMatt Wilson Quartet brings skill and wit to jazz

LINCOLN, Neb.—Who saysthat jazz can’t be fun? Who says ithas to be dry, academic, loftily cere-bral and utterly humorless? Well, who-ever says it, the Matt Wilson Quartetis out to prove them wrong.

With eight recordings under hisown name—all on PalmettoRecords—and dozens of guest ap-pearances with other jazz artists (withLee Konitz, Dewey Redman, Jane IraBloom, Larry Goldings, CharlieHaden and many others) Wilson, 45,has earned the respect of adventur-ous listeners and fellow musiciansalike for his technical skills, his fear-less forays into the wonderful worldof free-bop, his improvisational in-stincts and his incessant sense ofwhimsy.

Wilson and his sidemen—reedman Jeff Lederer, cornetist KirkKnuffke, and young bassist PaulSikivie—brought all of those perfor-mance elements into their work andplay the evening of March 26 atWestbrook Music Building on theUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln cam-pus, where the quartet also conductedworkshops with area high school stu-dents during the Honor Jazz Week-end, funded in part by the BermanMusic Foundation. Predictably, thesmall concert audience consistedlargely of those students, their teach-ers and UNL music school faculty. Apublicity snafu that misidentified theconcert time—by two days!—sadlyprevented a wider segment of thegeneral public from attending or evenknowing about this brilliant perfor-mance.

“Gathering Call” was also awakeup call for the uninitiated, withLederer leading the charge on wail-

ing tenor sax. The opening medley alsoincluded “Some Assembly Required”and “Arts and Crafts,” the title trackof Wilson’s 2001 release and thename of one of the drummer’s other

bands. A different version also ap-pears on the quartet’s most recentrelease, 2009’s “That’s Gonna Leavea Mark.” It’s jaunty, loping tempo andsimple chord changes make it a ver-satile vehicle for rhythmic and har-monic improvisation.

Lederer switched to clarinet for“Rear Control,” a tune written bysaxophonist Andrew D’Angelo, aformer member of the quartet who isrecovering from cancer. It began withan ominously funky backbeat, andthen accelerated to a harrowing swingtempo that took the listener on a wildride, with occasional rumbling flour-ishes from Wilson on toms. As themusic veered sharply into the avant-garde, Lederer reached the outer lim-its of his instrument. Throughout the90-minute performance, Wilson ex-pressed his rhythmic impulses withassorted rim shots, cymbal crashes,hand slaps on the snare drum, and allsorts of percussive devices, includingthe clever use of a Chinese gong

By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Matt Wilson Quartet at Westrbrook Music Building

Photos by Tom

Ineck

Matt Wilson at play

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placed on the head of a tom-tom andscraping a drumstick across the snaredrum to simulate the turntable tech-nique of a demented hip-hop deejay.

Wilson took up the brushes forthe odd, but lovely “Lucky,” a cham-ber-like tune composed by Ledererand his young daughter, who “gavehim the notes and he put them in theright order,” according to Wilson.“Chirp” was the title given a brand-new composition “work-shopped” thatafternoon. It featured Lederer on so-prano sax. One of the highlights ofthe show was a rendition of “Choose,”based on a poem by Carl Sandburg,from a grant-funded project that Wil-son did a few years ago. Describedby the composer as “socialist marchfree-bop,” it did, indeed, march alongwith righteous moral fervor, eventu-ally provoking Wilson into a recitationof the poem’s central question—“Thesingle, clenched fist lifted and ready,or the open, asking hand held out andwaiting?”—and answering, with fistraised as the rest of the band and au-dience members joined in the chant,“Choose!” In the grand tradition ofpolitical oratory, the drummer left hisdrum kit and strode to the front of theband, stilling shouting the one-worddemand.

From this lofty rhetorical peak,the band then descended to tongue-in-cheek banality with a simple butcatchy tune by Beyonce, America’scurrent pop diva. The quartet some-how carried if off with a degree ofpanache as Knuffke played themelody with sensitivity on the cornet,Lederer accompanied on tenor saxand the rest of the band and audiencemembers punctuated with ultra-hipfinger-snapping.

Any doubts about the fun factorin Wilson’s band-leading style fell bythe wayside from the start of the nine-minute “Schoolboy Thug,” a hilarioussend-up of heavy metal pretense,with Wilson donning a black wig, spin-ning his drumsticks, hammering thedrums and cymbals with wild aban-

don, and generally taking the cave-man approach to rock rhythm.Lederer joined in the spree by kick-ing over the music stands as he honkedand squealed on the tenor sax, insert-ing a quote from Black Sabbath. Inclassic rock style, the rest of the bandthen left the stage to Wilson for anextended solo shtick, which involvedtossing his sticks in the air with eachcymbal crash and catching them(sometimes), finally pretending to beimpaled by one in the eye and pullingit out. The finale act in this farce wasthe “birth of a rock star,” in whichWilson removed his glasses andstretched his drumsticks along eitherside of his face in a simulated entryfrom the birth canal, a routine so out-rageous it had the audience nearlyrolling in the aisles.

After leaving the hall, the quar-tet returned to a standing ovation fora wonderful rendition of “Mopti,” aLatin tune by trumpeter Don Cherryfrom a 1980 recording of the groupOld and New Dreams, a quartet offour Ornette Coleman alumni, alsoincluding saxophonist DeweyRedman, bassist Charlie Haden anddrummer Ed Blackwell. It began withWilson on mbira, or thumb piano, aninstrument that he had purchasedwhile in Lincoln, and ended with theband, still playing, slowly exiting theroom to applause, then reenteringfrom the opposite door to finish thetune.

The BMF awarded a $7,000grant for the second annual UNLHonor Jazz Weekend, which gatheredhigh school musicians from Nebraskaand surrounding states for a compre-hensive playing and learning experi-ence, including master classes withUNL faculty and guests. Among otherthings, the grant covered expenses forfive Berman Music Foundation JazzFellows—high school educators whoparticipated in the entire weekend ofactivities.

Matt Wilson Quartet leads the chant,“Choose!” inspired by Carl Sandburg.

Drummer Matt Wilson dons wig for rock-star turn on “Schoolboy Thug.”

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Page 14 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

LINCOLN, Neb.—A modestplan to tape a 30-minute performanceby the UNL Faculty Jazz Ensemble forlater broadcast on NET Television ex-panded into a more ambitious and edu-cational “Jazz Cabaret,” at a perfor-mance March 21 at NET’s Studio One.

The fruitful Sunday afternoon col-laboration between NET and the UNLSchool of Music yielded an hour-longperformance and a subsequent ques-tion-and-answer session with musiciansthat will be posted on the NET website.The broadened scope of the project wasmade possible by a $10,000 grant fromthe Berman Music Foundation.

Studio One was decked out withsmall, round café tables, colored moodlighting and large potted plants to give itthe right cabaret ambience. Severaldozen invited “patrons” provided theenthusiasm and give-and-take responseessential to a live jazz performance. Sixstudio cameras—including one on amovable boom above the audience—would capture every movement, and ahigh-definition mobile recording studiowould ensure high-quality sound.

Of course, the most importantcontribution to this project came fromthe Faculty Jazz Ensemble, an eight-piece group featuring several veteransof the Lincoln jazz community, includ-ing trumpeter Darryl White, bassistRusty White, pianist Tom Larson andguitarist Peter Bouffard, and more re-cent additions to the UNL faculty, suchas saxophonist Paul Haar and trombon-ist Eric Richards. Added to the mix weredrummer Steve Helfand and saxophon-ist Brandon Holloman, an outstandinggraduate teaching assistant at UNL.

Once the cabaret atmosphere wasestablished, the septet (minus Holloman)took the stage for the opener, “The Third

Degree,” a composition by New York-based trombonist and Big Band leaderJohn Fedchock. The tune was difficultand contained some minor fluffs as theplayers got their bearings, which canbe problematic when considering theconstant distraction of lights and cam-eras. They quickly resolved the prob-lems and launched into a gorgeous ren-dition of Gershwin’s “A Foggy Day,”with Holloman added on alto sax.Bouffard had imaginatively arrangedthe old chestnut in a manner that madeit brand new and allowed for nice con-tributions by Darryl White on flugelhornand Tom Larson on piano.

The ensemble was reduced to asix-piece group and White remained onflugelhorn for “Ancient Memories,” thetitle track from his 1999 debut record-ing. Written by Fred Hamilton, it was ashowcase for Holloman’s stirring altosax work, plus solos by White andLarson. With a slightly different lineup,Paul Haar introduced Hank Mobley’s1957 classic “Funk in Deep Freeze,” a

suitably soulful number with Haar ex-celling on tenor, Richards soloingwarmly on trombone, Bouffard turningin a Wes Montgomery-style guitar solo,and Rusty White maintaining the groovewith a stunning walking bass line and athumping solo. The sextet also deliv-ered a mournful rendition of J.J.Johnson’s ballad standard “Lament,” asarranged by Richards, who stated thefamiliar melody with call-and-responsecounterpoint by Haar on tenor andBouffard on guitar.

The band returned to its octet for-mation for Nat Adderley’s celebrative“Fun,” with Holloman back on alto sax,admirably taking the part that Cannon-ball Adderley played on the live 1966recording “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.”Adding to the fun were Darryl Whiteon trumpet and Bouffard comping sol-idly on guitar. A couple of the musicianshad a chance to showcase their owncomposition, beginning with TomLarson on his beautiful “Luke.” Thecomposer stated the theme on electronic

Concert Review

NET’s Studio One becomes “Jazz Cabaret”By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

NET Television collaborated with UNL School of Music with funding from BMF.

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keys before turning to the piano, assistedby Haar on soprano sax, White onflugelhorn, and Richards on muted trom-bone. The rhythm section accompaniedwith aplomb, and Bouffard delivered alovely solo. The guitarist’s “Petite Pas(Little Steps),” is the composer’s an-swer to Coltrane’s notoriously difficult“Giant Steps.” Recorded a few yearsago as a duet by Bouffard and RustyWhite, here it was performed by a quar-tet adding Haar on tenor sax and

The most recent addition to theBerman Music Foundation librarymay also be its most important acqui-sition ever. It is the first four boxedsets of DVDs in the ongoing “JazzIcons” series, featuring full-lengthconcerts and studio sessions with thelegends of jazz history.Now totaling more than30 individual DVDs, theseries is a goldmine ofrare recordings of supe-rior quality, many of themfilmed during the artists’peak years—the 1950s,1960s and 1970s.

Reelin’ in the YearsProductions has beenseeking out and licensinglive recordings from all over the world,releasing annual sets since 2006.Many of the performances had neverbeen released on DVD and, in somecases, were never even broadcast.Many were created for TV programsin Scandinavia, Western Europe andEngland, places where jazz has tradi-tionally found more public support thanthe music does in the very country inwhich it was born.

Each DVD is nicely packagedwith a 20-page booklet containing an

essay by a jazz historian, photographsand details on personnel and sessionhighlights. They are produced with thefull support and cooperation of the art-ists’ families or estates and, in manycases, family members contribute pho-tographs and write illuminating fore-

words. Takashi Blakeywrites about father Art,T.S. Monk writes aboutfather Thelonious, PaulBaker writes about fa-ther Chet, Cathy Richwrites about fatherBuddy, and Lisa SimoneKelly writes aboutmother Nina Simone.

Unlike the flawedapproach of Ken Burns’

“Jazz” series, the beauty of these re-cordings—and their historical andeducational value—is that they es-chew critical narration and lecture forsimple, straightforward performance.They allow the viewer to draw his orher own conclusions by simply listen-ing and watching these great artistsat work.

The boxed sets generally runfrom about $100 to $150 each. DVDsmay also be purchased separately forabout $18.

As jazz critic Nat Hentoff com-mented, “This is like the discovery ofa bonanza of previously unknownmanuscripts of plays by WilliamShakespeare.” I couldn’t agree more.

The first four boxed sets:Jazz Icons, Vol. 1 (2006): Louis

Armstrong, Chet Baker, Count Basie,Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers,Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, QuincyJones, Thelonious Monk, and BuddyRich.

Jazz Icons, Vol. 2 (2007): DaveBrubeck, John Coltrane, DukeEllington, Dexter Gordon, CharlesMingus, Wes Montgomery, and Sa-rah Vaughan, plus a bonus disc ofBrubeck, Coltrane, Gordon andVaughan.

Jazz Icons, Vol. 3 (2008): Can-nonball Adderley, Bill Evans, LionelHampton, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Os-car Peterson, Sonny Rollins, and NinaSimone, plus a bonus disc of Kirk,Rollins and Simone.

Jazz Icons, Vol. 4 (2009): ArtBlakey, Art Farmer, Erroll Garner,Coleman Hawkins, Woody Herman,Anita O’Day and Jimmy Smith, plusa bonus disc of Garner, Hawkins andSmith.

Helfand on drums.Bringing the taping to a close was

“Sweet Georgia Brown,” with the fulleight-piece ensemble gathering on stagefor the familiar, foot-stomping, feel-good finale. After a short break, themusicians returned to take questionsfrom the audience. Emphasizing theeducational aspects of music and per-formance, they related their own expe-riences as young students who werefirst introduced to jazz, rock and classi-

cal music. They talked about how theychose their respective instruments andshared advice for today’s young musicstudents.

After considerable post-produc-tion work, “Jazz Cabaret” will have itspremiere screening at 7 p.m. May 25at the Sheldon Museum of Art audito-rium and will be broadcast on the state-wide public television network some-time in June.

New Acquisitions“Jazz Icons” an important addition to BMF libraryBy Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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Page 16 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Near thecorner of 13th and Main streets, I rolleddown my window. What’s going on to-night?” The determined pedestrians andanimated conversations suggested anevent of some significance. Over thecommotion, a ticket hawker elevatedhis voice: “Billy Joel and Elton John.”He said this as though I’d asked if thesun would come up tomorrow. KansasCity has just over two million residentsand tonight it looked like all of them weretaking the Yellow Brick Road for a com-munion with the piano men. But mybusiness was elsewhere, east, along aless gilded path towards 18th and Vine.

Driving down the Paseo—a lushboulevard with broad, elegant medi-ans—I wondered if Kansas City hadenough left to populate a jazz concert.The line snaking out the Blue Roomquickly answered that. Jazz in KansasCity reached its zenith in the 1930s and’40s, when saxophone icons LesterYoung, Ben Webster and CharlieParker transformed The Blue Roominto a temple for musical worship. Inthe 1990s, city council members movedto preserve that heritage, rescuing thearea and its history from decades ofdecay. Perched underneath the neonglow and moonlight, I thought about thathistory. Seventy years later, I was hereto see a different Charlie.

My two previous trips werestraightforward affairs. Easy-going fe-male vocalists. Surplus chairs. A one-to-one waitress-to-table ratio. TheCharlie Hunter Trio would have noneof that. A packed house forced staff toborrow chairs from the neighboringAmerican Jazz Museum. Eventually, Inestled into a corner table, surroundedby the eclectic audience that Huntercourts—tidy, middle-aged management

types and shaggy-haired jam banddevotees.

Last August, Hunter released his20th studio album, cheekily titled“Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform YouYou Will Not Be Getting Paid.” Themagnificence of Hunter’s guitar play-ing is not entirely revealed on iTunes orcompact disc. I spent the first few songstrying to figure out who was playingbass. Hunter was—while playing gui-tar. He’s the jazz equivalent of a foot-ball player who throws a touchdown

pass to himself. How does he do this?It’s an amalgam of immeasurable hoursof practice and superior dexterity chan-neled through a custom-built seven-string that simultaneously churns outbass lines, rhythm and solos.

Striking the evening’s first note, heimmediately drove the trio in a funkydirection. Through myriad effects ped-als, Hunter’s guitar took on the soundof a Hammond B3 organ. DrummerEric Kalb clutched a thick backbeat,melting his snare and crash cymbal intoa separate instrument. Kalb and Hunterworked this terrain for a few minutes,ironing over the groove, removing

Concert ReviewBlue Room reverberates with Charlie Hunter TrioBy Jesse Starita ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Curtis Fowlkes, trombone; Charlie Hunter, guitar; Eric Kalb, drums

Photos by Jesse S

tarita

The Blue Room at the corner of 18thand Vine streets in Kansas City

Blue Room continued on page 17

Blue Room is packed for Hunter Trio.

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LINCOLN, Neb.—Sometimesadventurous patrons of the arts cravethe visceral stimulation of avant-gardejazz, the metaphorical gymnastics ofmodern dance or the cerebral dramaof cutting-edge theater productions.Other times we are simply in the moodfor the warm blanket of nostalgia andthose comfy pillows of the familiar.

Such was the case March 9when 1,900 people turned out for “Inthe Mood,” a 1940s musical revue atthe Lied Center for Performing Arts.An unabashedly sentimental journeythrough the Big Band era, the retro-spective combined the 13-piece Stringof Pearls orchestra with a group ofsix singers and dancers to documentthe evolution of the swing decade fromthe mid-1930s to the end of World WarII. In classic revue fashion, it deliv-ered the goods in rapid-fire succes-sion, squeezing some four dozen tunesinto two hours.

The entire brass section enteredthe hall from the audience, marching

up to the stage to the tune of “St.Louis Blues.” A brief tribute to earlybig bands went from Glenn Miller’ssignature “In the Mood” to Ellington’s“C Jam Blues,” Goodman’s “JerseyBounce,” Les Brown’s “I’ve Got MyLove to Keep Me Warm,” Shaw’s

Concert Review“In the Mood” revue appeals to crowd of 1,900By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

“Moonglow,” and Basie’s “Jumpin’ atthe Woodside.”

A “class of 1940” vignette wasa clever device to introduce “Juke-box Saturday Night,” “Saturday Nightis the Loneliest Night of the Week,”“Taking a Chance on Love,” “Don’tGet Around Much Anymore,” therumba “Green Eyes,” “Accentuatethe Positive,” and a jitterbug dancesegment with some lively rug-cutters.

With a dramatic change of cos-tumes, the singers returned for a setof romantic favorites, including“Moonlight Serenade,” “Laura,”“Blue Moon,” and a very effectiverendition of “At Last,” introduced bya solo trumpet cadenza and sung by alone woman in dramatic spotlight. Thewhole chorus joined in on “I’ll NeverSmile Again,” “Sentimental Journey,”and “Tuxedo Junction,” which alsofeature a nice trumpet exchange.

The first half of the show endedwith “The House I Live In”—a patri-otic song first introduced by FrankSinatra—which extols the Americanvirtues of equality and community, fol-lowed by an announcement of the1939 invasion of Poland. That set thestage for a second-half nod to war-time songs like “Over There,” “WhatDo You Do in the Infantry?” “BoogieWoogie Bugle Boy,” and “He’s 1-Ain the Army and A-1 in My Heart,”eventually leading to the hopefulnessof “I’ll Be Seeing You,” “We’ll MeetAgain” and “When the Lights Go onAgain (All Over the World).”

After moving performances of“America” and the memorial “DannyBoy,” active duty and veteran mem-bers of the military were asked tostand and be recognized, a fitting sa-lute to “the greatest generation.”

Popular “In the Mood” revue appealsto “the greatest generation.”

Courtesy P

hoto

coarseness. The trio’s lanky trombon-ist, Curtis Fowlkes, finally balanced theequation, jabbing and slicing over thebeat the way an air horn does over athe hum of an auditorium.

After a lengthy intermission, thegroup opened set two with a slower,deliberate tone. Kalb’s drumming tradedpunch for polish. Fowlkes, utilizing hiselastic wingspan, extended slurs an ex-tra step. And although Hunter’s attemptat late-night serenade was sincere andmelodious, even his superb talent couldnot mask what they lacked—a big, richacoustic bass. The Blue Room’s antiq-

uity and my jazz sentimentality, surelythe latter one more, missed the reas-surance that emanates from those fourstrings.

In any case, two hours into theset, Hunter kept churning. As the trioreached their final number, Hunterflashed a mischievous grin. He lookedlike a train conductor ready to call ev-eryone on board. In fact, few had de-parted all night. And, on the heels of a12-minute blues jam, 18th and Vine re-verberated with the notes of jazz pastand present.

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Blue Room continued from page 16

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Page 18 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

OMAHA, Neb.—It has been theworst winter in many years, and thesnow and cold did not seem to be let-ting up but, undeterred by the weather,my girl friends and I were eager to dosomething fun. On Feb. 20, a concertby Bela Fleck and The Africa Projectat the Holland Performing Arts Centerprovided a great opportunity for such anight out.

A night out wouldn’t be completewithout a good meal and some libation.We agreed to check out The TwistedCork, which The Food Network saysserves the best-tasting burgers in Ne-braska. It has convenient parking andit’s just a few minutes from the concerthall. None of us had been there beforeso we were eager to see what the hypewas about. It was a small space, butcozy, and a couple tables were alreadyseated. The wine list was decent andthe menu had a variety of other staples,but we all ordered the hamburger.Ruthann said it was the best burger sheever had. However, the hamburger wasserved with only a taster’s portion ofdelicious coleslaw and some potatochips, which was disappointing, and thebun could have been more wholesome.Overall, it was a decent meal becausethe hamburger was delicious.

The Africa Project was born outof a trip Fleck took to Africa to learnabout the roots of the banjo, an instru-ment introduced to America by slaveswho brought the prototype from theirhomeland. While in Africa, Fleck col-laborated with some incredible musi-cians from Gambia, Mali, Uganda, andTanzania, some of whom performedwith Fleck at the Holland Center.

The concert hall was almost soldout, and at 8 p.m. Bela Fleck walkedonto the stage with his banjo and im-

mediately lightened the mood when heplayfully performed his rendition of “TheBeverly Hillbillies” theme song. Theappreciative audience erupted intogiggles, laughter and applause.

I have never been to a banjo con-cert before and was not sure what toexpect. We were in for a real treatwhen the Tanzanian musicians came onstage—the incredible, blind thumb pi-ano player and singer Anania Ngoligaand his very talented accompanist, gui-tarist and vocalist John Kitime.Ngoliga’s pure voice was rhythmic andsoothing. He sang about the Ngorogo“cradle,” which has the highest concen-tration of wildlife in Tanzania, and aboutMount Kilimanjaro. His voice, ringingthrough the hall, almost painted a pic-ture of how wild and free that part ofthe world is.

The next song was “Home isBest.” Even though he sang in his na-tive language, the emotions clearly con-veyed how much he loved and missedhis homeland. Fleck teased that Ngoligawas in a bad mood because of the coldweather. Ngoliga was serious, yet veryplayful, in his delivery, punctuating hissongs with chicken-like quakes. JohnKitime, the guitar player, and Fleck onbanjo played along with him, trying to

mimic Ngoliga’ssounds. It certainlywas not your every-day concert, but itwas great and uniqueimprovisation. Theyperformed most ofthe songs in their na-tive language, but theemotions were raw,real, and soulful. Itfelt like I was on ajourney to an exotic

land, without the passport and planeride.

Next was the Malian band of thegreat Bassekou Kouate and N’goni Ba.N’goni is the Malian banjo master. Theband consisted of four banjo players andthe bigger the banjo, the bigger thesound. His instrument is rectangular andlooked like it was carved out of wood.There was also a calabash player anda beaded gourd player. The big soundof the calabash was a cross between aJapanese taiko drum and a bass guitar,yet uniquely different.

On vocals was Ami Sacko,bandleader Kouate’s wife. The chem-istry between them was undeniablewhen they sang together. Ami’s vocalrange was showcased in a traditionalMalian song that was a tribute to anancient King. Starting out almost qui-etly, her voice slowly soared with asound that had a vibe that beautifullyblended Middle Eastern and Africaninfluences. The band was tight, playingjust enough to compliment and show-case this unique art form.

Some of the music was up-tempodance tunes that built up to almost-hyp-notic crescendo. The African tamas, ashoulder drum that fits under the arm,was a crowd-pleaser. The crowd may

Concert Review

Fleck’s Africa Project is “girls’ night out”By Grace Sankey-Berman ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Bela Fleck and the Africa Project

Courtesy P

hoto

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have been unfamiliar with the style ofthe drum and its unique sound, but it isarguably the most widely used drum inWest Africa. I particularly enjoyed itbecause it took me back to my home-land. The beautiful purple and yellowcostumes and elegant dance alsobrought some color to a cold winternight.

After the intermission, Fleckplayed a banjo solo, seducing the audi-ence with deep, yet sparse and gentlenotes. Again, the Tanzanian musiciansNgoliga and Kitime joined him on stageto play some bluegrass and Tanzanianmusic, which they called “Blackgrassand Bluegrass,” also featuring Ameri-can fiddler Cassey Driessen. The fiddleand hand-held piano proved to be a greatcombination in the song “I Wanna GoHome.” Cassey slowed the traditionaltempo of bluegrass to blend with the

slow, melodic African singer, creating aperfect harmony of music from oppo-site spectrums.

The Malian musicians also joinedin for more blue- and blackgrass mu-sic. The musicians got down to busi-ness, producing a robust and sophisti-cated blend of bluegrass and exoticAfrican music. They seemed to be en-joying themselves, and their energy was

infectious. They concluded with a sortof anthem called “Africa,” again fea-turing Ngoliga on vocals, making for athrilling night of jazzy music unlike anyI have heard.

Bela Fleck’s Africa Project iscompiled in a three-volume CD called“Throw Down Your Heart” and in adocumentary movie of the same name,which earned him Grammy Awards inFebruary for best contemporary worldmusic and best pop instrumental per-formance. His ability to explore newforms of music and to integrate greatmusic, regardless of genre or origin, intobrilliant compositions makes it hard tobox him into a strict category. His dis-cerning taste keeps his music fresh andsets him apart. This explains why he isthe artist with the most diverse Grammynomination in history, including jazz, pop,bluegrass, country and classical.

LINCOLN, Neb.—Seattle-basedmusician, composer and producer AmyDenio was on hand to perform at a spe-cial edition of the Clawfoot Salon March10 at the Nebraska Union, during theUNL Women’s Week celebration. Theannual event celebrates and reflects onthe progress of women’s rights. EmberSchrag of Lincoln’s Clawfoot House,in collaboration with the Berman Mu-sic Foundation, brought this accom-plished musician to town for the event.

Denio, a self-taught accordionplayer and guitarist, was flanked byyoung female musicians and one or twomen who played a variety of instru-ments, including congas, guitars andaccordions. She played the accordionwhile directing the group in a sing-a-long of a variety of songs. The jam ses-sion was relaxed and interactive andincluded folk, tango, Scottish music, andwhat Denio described as an Algerian

waltz, all donewith a twist.And that is hermusical style.She does notrestrict hermusic to a par-ticular genre,but will let theins t rumen tbring out dif-ferent aspectsof her musi-cality. For ex-ample, shesaid the saxo-phone brings out her jazzy side and theaccordion brings out the folk side.

Denio spoke about her experienceas a musician, how she started in thebusiness by organizing concerts. Whileperforming, she traveled to Japan, SouthAmerica, Hong Kong and throughout

Europe. Along the way, she met a net-work of independently thinking peoplewho along with her life experiences helpshape her mission of using music as atool for social change.

Denio said she wants musiciansto be more interactive. She and othersemploy very creative and unconven-tional ways to engage people. In Se-attle she plays with a band that sits inthe middle of the audience in order topromote interaction. They play live inpublic buses, or even audition the busdrivers to sing opera while driving or touse the horn or brakes as musical in-struments. She said, “The buses camealive like cartoon characters, it becamea musical experience to ride the bus.”

Amy concluded her lecture bysinging a few solos while playing theaccordion. She encouraged women topursue their dreams and not worryabout potential setbacks.

Photo by G

race Sankey-B

ermanBela Fleck (upper left) and African

musicians visit with fans.

Concert ReviewAmy Denio celebrates Women’s Week at UNLBy Grace Sankey-Berman ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Amy Denio

Photo by G

race Sankey-B

erman

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Page 20 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

Brewsky’s is setting for jazz experimentationBy Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

LINCOLN, Neb.—Of late, theCapital Jazz Society has been present-ing some very provocative and inter-esting music Thursday nights atBrewsky’s Jazz Underground, also thevenue for a big band gathering everyMonday eve.

The lower level room at 201 N.Eighth St. in the Haymarket Districtwas the setting for the March 31 re-union of trumpeter Bryan McCunewith old bandmates Tom Larson onkeys, John Scofield on drums, DanaWheary on guitar, and Bill Wimmer onsaxophones, with Mark Luebbe addedon bass. Also joining in the fun wasBryan’s dad, trumpeter Mac McCune,

and Larson’s son, guitarist Will Larson.The performance—which was

recorded in both audio and video for-mats—alternated straight-ahead stan-dards such as the Bobby Timmons’

“Moanin’,” “Caravan,” “All the ThingsYou Are and “What Now My Love,”with the younger McCune’s edgy fu-sion compositions and arrangements,aided by his adept use of electronics. Itwas especially instructive to hear theMiles Davis and Harry James schoolsof trumpeting bridge the McCunes’generational gap.

Group Sax brought its formidablebrand of brash brass attack to bear in asparsely attended April 7 performance.The saxophone quartet’s founder andbaritone saxophonist Scott “The Beast”Vicroy has pursued this difficult musicfor nearly 20 years, much of that timewith veterans Ed Love and MarkBenson. With newcomer Paul Haar,director of jazz studies at the Univer-sity of Nebraska-Lincoln, they continueto yield exciting results performing themusic of such legendary sax foursomesas Itchy Fingers and Bobby Watson’s29th Street Saxophone Quartet.

Yes, it is often challenging music,for both performer and listener, but thejoy of discovery is latent in every tune,whether it’s Gershwin’s “Love is Hereto Stay,” Monk’s “’Round Midnight,”or Mingus’ “Jelly Roll.” Benson’s no-table contributions included imaginativearrangements of Queen’s “BohemianRhapsody” and George Harrison’s“Taxman.”

Bryan McCune Combo (from left)Scofield, Bryan McCune, Luebbe,

Wimmer, Wheary and Mac McCune

LINCOLN, Neb.—With so muchtalent in its ranks, the Nebraska JazzOrchestra is featuring some of theband’s stellar soloists this season. Saxo-phonist Paul Haar took honors Feb. 5at The Cornhusker hotel with a programcalled “Sax and the City.” Director ofjazz studies at the University of Ne-braska-Lincoln, Haar is a regular mem-ber of the NJO sax section, but this washis first night in the limelight.

“Perdido,” a favorite from theDuke Ellington songbook, warmed upthe band and the audience of 320, whichwere relegated to the rather inferiorlower-level Lancaster Room for theconcert due to a conflicting event.

The guest soloist first took thestage for a lilting version of the stan-dard “There Will Never be AnotherYou,” arranged by former Haar men-tor Don Galley. On alto sax, Haar dem-onstrated the self-assurance of a vet-eran, stating the melody and soloing with

ease and inspiration. Guitarist PeterBouffard also contributed a tasteful solo.

A Dirk Fischer arrangement ofCole Porter’s “You’d Be So Nice toCome Home To” followed in a lightlyswinging tempo. Tom Harrell’s lovely“Sail Away” was a pleasant surpriseas arranged by UNL composer-in-resi-dence Eric Richards for tenor saxo-phone, flutes, bass clarinet and mutedtrumpets. True to its title, the tune wasbreezy, wind-driven and warm.

By way of dedication, Haar intro-duced his wife before launching into theromantic ballad “Hey There.” On altosax, Haar’s beautiful melody was aidedby Bouffard on guitar. “Friends Again”was a modern take by Lanny Morganon the old standard “Just Friends.”Haar, Ed Love and Andrew Janakstated the melody on tenors before turn-ing it over to Haar, Tom Harvill on pi-ano and Bob Krueger on flugelhorn.

Photos by Tom

Ineck

Group Sax (from left) Haar, Benson,Love and Vicroy

Concert ReviewSaxman Haar shines in limelightBy Tom Ineck○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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Jazz on DiscFor talent, no one keeps up with the JonesesBy Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

For poise, sophistication, tech-nique and taste, no one can keep upwith the Joneses. That is, OliverJones and Hank Jones, who join theirtalents here for a momentous col-laboration that is as much memorialhomage to Oscar Peterson as it istestimonial to their own, enduringreputations.

“Pleased to Meet You” was inthe planning stages when Petersondied in December 2007. It was re-corded in June 2008 in Montreal, thehometown of both Peterson andOliver Jones and—aptly—appearson the Justin Time label, a Montreal-based company with which OliverJones has been associated for morethan 25 years. The result is a relaxed,genial atmosphere that comes acrosson the recording, the first featuringthese two keyboard giants.

Hank Jones, almost 90 at thetime of this recording, is Oliver’ssenior by about 17 years, but theirstyles are eminently compatible. Thatis especially apparent on the opener,the stately Ellington tune “What AmI Here For?” where they build themelody line at a gentle, strolling gait.The soulful Jerome Richardson stan-

dard “Groove Merchant” fully ex-ploits the blues influence in both pia-nists, capably abetted by bassistBrandi Disterheft and drummer JimDoxas, who are aboard on the firstthree tracks only. The last of theseis “Ripples,” a delightful Hank Jonesromp that features Disterheft andDoxas trading solo breaks.

The rhythm section steps downas the pianists go head-to-head on“Makin’ Whoopee.” The Joneses il-lustrate the rare ability to listen andrespond appropriately, never gettingin each other’s way as they “con-verse.” On the uptempo “I’ll Re-member April,” one delineates thetheme while the other provides arubato introduction, then they eachgo on dazzling solo flights before re-turning to the melody. Another tunethat suits the duo well is “Star Eyes,”with its intriguing changes and lushchords.

The elder Jones has two briefsolo features, including “Monk’sMood,” and the closer, “LonelyWoman,” a moody piece by WilliamStegmeier that clocks in at less thantwo minutes.

The spotlight turns squarely onPeterson with his “Blues for BigScotia,” a broad, two-fisted bluescomposition that allows both of theJoneses to show their chops as theytrade solos and keep the powerfulgroove churning. Peterson’s“Cakewalk” is a more light-heartedaffair, bouncing along and keepingboth pianists on their toes. But it isOliver Jones’ “I Remember OP” thatmost intimately pays the duo’s re-spects to their late friend and fellowpiano legend.

As the title so cleverly implies, thelatest release from the Matt WilsonQuartet definitely leaves an impressionon the listener. Whether you’re new tothe Wilson esthetic or a long-time fan,“That’s Gonna Leave a Mark” is a tan-talizingly unique experience. For thosein the know, its blend of catchy melo-dies, free-bop improvisations, rhythmsthat alternately swing and rock with abackbeat, and an overall sense ofwhimsy are typically unconventional—or is that unconventionally typical?

Over the course of his 14-yearrelationship with Palmetto Records, thewily drummer has consistently main-tained a quartet format, sometimes withsaxophone, keyboards and bass, some-times with trumpet and keys, and some-times with two saxophones and bass,which is the case here, with AndrewD’Angelo and Jeff Lederer on assortedreeds and Chris Lightcap on bass. Hiscurrent touring foursome, which per-formed March 26 in Lincoln, changesthat equation yet again by pairing saxo-phone and trumpet.

D’Angelo on alto sax and Ledereron tenor sax manage to sound like a

Jazz on Disc continued on page 22

OLIVER JONES/HANK JONESPleased to Meet YouJustin Time Records

MATT WILSON QUARTETThat’s Gonna Leave a MarkPalmetto Records

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Page 22 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

Jazz on CD continued from page 21

Released in late 2008, this CDpairs idiosyncratic bassist CharlieHaden with Laurence Hobgood, a pia-nist best known for his work as accom-panist and arranger for Chicago song

whole brass section while setting up theopening romp, “Shooshabuster,” beforeengaging in solo excursions, with shoutedencouragement from Wilson. “Arts andCrafts,” the stop-and-start title track ofWilson’s 2001 release, is given a newlease on life as the two saxophonesharmonize then merge with Wilson’sinsistent snare-drum pulse for a three-way dialogue. This recording is dedi-cated to bassist Dennis Irwin, a formerWilson bandmate who died a couple ofyears ago.

D’Angelo’s “Rear Control” fea-tures Lederer soaring on clarinet, as thetempo escalates. The time signatureshifts again, and the composer joins thefray on bass clarinet. “Getting Friendly”is a sweetly melodic love song pennedby Wilson. The quartet has a ball inter-preting the bebop classic “Two BassHit” by the MJQ’s John Lewis.Lederer growls on tenor, Lightcapprowls on bass and Wilson drives thetempo and skips lightly over the changesin a bravura percussion performance.

A heavy backbeat moves Wilson’s“Area Man,” while saxophones com-bine in raucous abandon. Lederer’sdaughter, Maya, choose 12 notes thather dad then fashioned into the beauti-ful chamber piece for clarinets called“Lucky.” As Wilson writes in the linernotes, it is a song that “resounds of hon-esty, hope and optimism.” The brief titletrack has Wilson roving over the drumkit like a man possessed as Lederer andD’Angelo make their impression witha vengeance. Lightcap contributed thelilting free-bopper “Celibate Oriole” tothe quartet’s songbook.

The traditional 19th century hymn“Come and Find the Quiet Center” andthe 1974 song by War called “WhyCan’t We Be Friends?” close the re-cording on a note of contemplation andworld unity, with “The Swayettes” andthe entire Wilson family joining in on thefinal tune’s vocal chorus.

With “Another Night in London,”Resonance Records continues to payhomage to the lasting legacy of pianogreat Gene Harris, whose career wasrevived in the 1980s and 1990s withnearly 20 releases on the Concord la-bel, extending right up to his death inearly 2000. Always an exciting key-board stylist with roots deep in the blues,Harris is at his most riveting in concertwith a quartet. Such is the case here,another set from his 1996 club date atPizza Express. Resonance released thefirst volume, “Live in London,” in 2008.

Like that previous CD, “AnotherNight” showcases six extended perfor-mances with a solid band consisting ofScottish guitarist Jim Mullen (of BrianAuger’s Oblivion Express and AverageWhite Band) and two Brits, bassistAndrew Clyendert and drummer Mar-tin Drew, who worked extensively withOscar Peterson. In tracks ranging fromeight minutes to more than 13 minutes,they delve intensely into such soul clas-sics as “Sweet Georgia Brown” and“Georgia on My Mind,” plus a soulfulrendition of the ballad “That’s All” andstunningly original versions of Jobim’s“Meditation,” Gershwin’s “Lady BeGood,” and Leon Russell’s “This Mas-querade.”

Mullen ignites “Georgia” with asubtle string-bending introduction, withHarris taking up the challenge, first witheasy-swinging poise then increasingpyrotechnics and blues power, as therhythm section intensifies the groove.“Meditation” gets an especially excit-

ing reading, with Mullen storming outof the gate and Harris pushing thetempo as he builds momentum with aninspired flurry of notes. Mullen returnsfor an equally outstanding solo.

Harris deftly teases all the bluesypossibilities from the ballad “That’s All,”again building to a soul-stirring finish.Perhaps “Lady Be Good” takes theprize for its raucous and rollicking in-terpretation, placing Harris squarely inthe pantheon of great jazz keyboard styl-ists—such as Peterson and RayBryant—who swing with a titanic, two-fisted passion. Mullen again sets thesoulful tone for an exquisitely beautifultake on “This Masquerade,” with Har-ris slowly building intensity in less-is-more style. Mullen’s solo takes off intothe stratosphere while maintaining thetune’s melodic essence.

“Georgia on My Mind” is just aplain old flag-waver for Harris, incor-porating all the trademark slash-and-burn soul piano technique for whichHarris is known. In the set’s longestperformance, he takes chorus after in-spired chorus, never lacking for ideasand never lagging in swinging energy.

The question now is: Are there anymore “Nights” yet to be discovered andreleased? If so, Resonance Records issure to find them.

GENE HARRIS QUARTETAnother Night in LondonResonance Records

LAURENCE HOBGOODWhen the Heart DancesNaim Records

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stylist Kurt Elling. The piano-bass duois favorite setting for Haden, who hasrecorded similar projects with HankJones, Kenny Barron, GonzaloRubalcaba and Chris Anderson. “Whenthe Heart Dances” joins that elite com-pany as another sterling example of ajazz “dialogue.”

“Que Sera Sera” makes for aninteresting opener, a promise of moregood things to come. After all, “what-ever will be, will be” is a very jazz-friendly philosophy. Rather than thebright, waltz tempo usually deployed onthis chestnut, Hobgood and Haden giveit an introspective treatment. By con-trast, the pianist’s title track is a waltzvariation that beautifully showcases thecomposer’s keyboard skills.

Elling joins the duo on three of the11 tracks here, including the ubiquitous“First Song,” without a doubt the mostfrequently recorded Haden composi-tion. With a haunting melody and lyricsthat recount that time when “love isnew,” it is worthy of repeated record-ings and a range of interpretations.

Hobgood goes solo on two origi-nals. “Sanctuary” is a stately, lyricalpiece, delivered with great emotionalimpact in a style reminiscent of the bestKeith Jarrett. Haden and Hobgood col-laborated on “Chickoree,” a probablereference to pianist Chick Corea, es-pecially when considering its leaping,crab-like keyboard meanderings.

Elling returns for a bold readingof the ballad “Stairway to the Stars,”with sustained passages where hestretches or repeats words, as thoughslowly climbing those stairs, eventuallyrising to a final falsetto note. Next,Hobgood dusts off the old HoagyCarmichael tune “New Orleans” withan imaginative solo introduction beforebeing joined by Haden for the ever-so-slow theme.

“Why Did I Choose You?” is ayearning ballad that gets just the rightemotion-laden treatment from Hobgoodand Haden. Hobgood takes a master-ful solo turn on his sprightly composi-

tion “Leatherwood.” The tempo slowsand Elling returns for a resonant andresourceful reinterpretation of theEllington/Strayhorn classic “Day-dream.” Hobgood deftly inserts darkharmonies as though suggesting anomen of sadness.

The concluding track is the exquis-itely beautiful “The Cost of Living,” bypianist-composer Don Grolnick. Re-corded by saxophonist Michael Breckeron his 1987 self-named release (withHaden on bass), it was also includedon Grolnick’s 1992 masterpiece,“Nighttown.” Sadly, those artists havedied—the composer at age 48 in 1996and Brecker at age 57 in 2007. This isa fitting memorial tribute to both.

My introduction to drummer DanaHall was his March 2009 appearanceas guest soloist with the Nebraska JazzOrchestra. The concert’s advance pub-licity touted his degree in aerospaceengineering, music composition andmusic arranging, an impressive resumethat left me wondering if he was justanother academic who dabbled in jazz.

His performance that night and hisdebut recording as a leader, “Into theLight,” leave no room for doubt. Hallhas all the percussion chops, compos-ing skills and soulfulness that you couldask for, and his heavyweight bandmateslend him additional credibility. They aretrumpeter Terell Stafford, saxophonistTim Warfield Jr., keyboardist BruceBarth and drummer Rodney Whitaker.

“Into the Light” begins with Herbie

Hancock’s “I Have a Dream,” the onlytune not written by Hall or a colleague.Barth’s bright, harmonic punctuation onFender Rhodes recall Hancock’s fusionprojects of the late 1960s and early1970s. Urged along by Hall’s powerfuldrumming, Warfield soars into the strato-sphere on tenor sax, followed by anequally exciting solo by Stafford.

The quintet at times sounds likean updated edition of Art Blakey’s JazzMessengers, especially on Hall’s re-laxed, swinging “Conversion Song,”where Warfield and Stafford solo withthe hard-bop vigor of Wayne Shorterand Lee Morgan. “Orchids” is a lovelyjazz waltz featuring Whitaker’s lyricalbass, a lilting soprano sax solo byWarfield and a penetrating piano state-ment from Barth.

Hall drives the title track with theinsistence of a slightly mad metronome,reaching a euphoric high with Staffordadding electronic trumpet effects toBarth’s electric keys and some studioreverb and sequencing on the drums.Again, it harkens back to some of themore imaginative space-age venturesof late-‘60s jazz. “Black Mountain” hasa modal feel that allows much improvi-sation and rhythmic shifts as Hall keepsthe steady pace and soloists Stafford,Barth and Warfield on soprano saxcircle around it.

“The Path to Love,” named aftera Deepak Chopra book, has an undeni-ably spiritual quality, further elevated bya lively, upbeat tempo. Hall’s “Jabali”is his loving tribute to mentor Billy Hart,drummer on those classic Hancock re-cordings of the early 1970s. It is, indeed,a workout for Hall. Whitaker contrib-utes the rather solemn, moody “ForRochelle,” a tune written for his daugh-ter. The closer is Warfield’s “Tin Sol-dier,” which begins with a thunderingdrum solo that sets the stage for anuplifting, rhythmic journey. Trumpet andsoprano sax harmonize with the pianoin tightly-locked synchronicity, all thewhile driven by Hall’s wide-rangingrhythmic barrage.

DANA HALLInto the LightOrigin Records

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Page 24 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

The prolific and prodigiously tal-ented vibraphonist Joe Locke contin-ues to stretch his wings on “For theLove of You,” where he appears chieflyas accompanist for singer Kenny Wash-ington, though he gives himself plentyof solo space between lyric verses.

Locke, who has more than adozen recordings under his own namein the last decade alone, has proven him-self Milt Jackson’s heir apparent. Hepossesses a technical proficiency andbluesy authority equaled by few andsurpassed by no one on. That makeshim a perfect foil for Washington’s soul-inflected pop balladry, from the tendersentiment of Henry Mancini’s “Two forthe Road” to the upbeat lilt of “Old DevilMoon.”

The title track, though nicely ren-dered by the band, remains a tepid IsleyBrothers tune, another indication thatthis recording strives—with mixed suc-cess—to transcend the boundaries ofjazz. On the other hand, Washingtondoes great justice to Locke’s composi-tion “Verrazano Moon,” a beautifulhomage to late friend and bandmatesaxophonist Bob Berg, who died in anauto accident in 2002 at age 51.

A harmonically rich arrangement,imaginative solo statements and a sen-sitive vocal lift Neil Young’s melodic“Birds” beyond its folk-rock pedigreeto the level of jazz standard.Washington’s pure tenor voice seemsideally suited for the tune. The bandreturns to the Mancini songbook for“The Shadow of Your Smile,” with

Washington’s versatile and inspired vo-cal excursions resembling StevieWonder’s. Locke appreciates thebeauty inherent in the theme from “Cin-ema Paradiso,” which has been cov-ered by many jazz artists, including avocal rendition by Karrin Allyson.

“Pure Imagination” proves a goodchoice for Washington’s soaring vocaland positive, uplifting approach. Locke’s“Bright Side Up” closes the affair onan upbeat affirmative note and has thelistener yearning for more of thecomposer’s original material.

Along with Locke, the rest of theband is more than up to the task. Pia-nist Geoffrey Keezer, bassist GeorgeMraz and drummer Clarence Penn cre-ate a powerful rhythm section that de-livers its own memorable contributions.Keezer turns up the heat on “Old DevilMoon,” and Mraz states the theme of“Cinema Paradiso” with a gorgeousbowed bass intro and follows up with asolo later in the performance. The wholeband cuts loose on Locke’s swinginginstrumental “I Miss New York (WhenI Been Gone Too Long),” with Penn’srhythmic flourishes and embellishmentsespecially impressive. Keezer also con-tributes stunning solos on “The Shadowof Your Smile” and “Bright Side Up.”

JOE LOCKEFor the Love of YouE1 Music

The follow-up to 2008’s excellent“Energy Fields,” the latest release bythe largely unheralded tenor saxophon-ist Ralph Lalama is another authorita-tive collection of tunes turned every

which way but loose. It is Lalama’ssecond CD on the Mighty Quinn label.

Boasting the same rhythm sec-tion of its predecessor—guitarist JohnHart, bassist Rick Petrone and drum-mer Joe Corsello—”The Audience”continues the quartet’s bluesy approachfrom the swaggering opener, WayneShorter’s “Marie Antoinette,” withLalama and Hart doubling the melody.Stevie Wonder’s tale of urban strife,“Livin’ for the City,” gets an apt soul-jazz treatment, and the sly “Love ThyNeighbor” features some very hip, butsubtle work from both Petrone andHart.

In an interesting exercise in con-trasts, Lalama pairs off with eachsideman for a short improvised tune.He and Hart perform “Jonme,” whichsegues neatly into the standard “Por-trait of Jennie.” The duo of Corselloand Lalama connect on “Jome” lead-ing into the Latin bounce of “Kiss andRun.” Predictably, Petrone joinsLalama for “Ricme,” with Lalama lay-ing out a bare-bones flurry of notesaround which the bassist weaves hislines.

Another rarity, Duke Pearson’s“Minor League,” gets a swingingworkout that shows off Lalama’s hugetone and effortless improvisation as henavigates through the changes. Hartand Petrone follow with equal aplombbefore the whole outfit goes through abracing round of four-bar breaks.

Lalama nods to mentor SonnyRollins on a breezy rendition of JohnnyMercer’s “I’m an Old Cowhand,” donein classic fashion by Rollins on his 1957release, “Way Out West.” In his play-ing, Lalama is more relaxed but simi-larly adventurous in his snaking linesand sudden surges in tempo.

After too many years in the shad-ows, the 59-year-old Lalama may fi-nally be stepping into the limelight.Let’s hope he continues his fruitful col-laboration with the folks at MightyQuinn Productions.

RALPH LALAMAThe AudienceMighty Quinn Productions

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Jazz Essentials continued on page 26

In the second installment of “JazzEssentials,” we recommended fiverecordings showcasing early archi-tects of jazz. Among them, of course,was Louis Armstrong, who was in-fluential not only for the bravura trum-pet playing that set the standard forjazz improvisation in a group setting,but also for his impact on the jazz vo-cal art. He vocalized with the rhyth-mic swing and phrasing of an instru-ment and introduced the use of scat-singing, often employed when wordsfailed to impart the proper lilt or witto a given piece of music.

Using Armstrong as a spring-board to the great jazz singers whofollowed, we turn our attention to siximportant vocalists of jazz history.

Bing Crosby is best known forhis huge popularity as a singer of popand novelty tunes, a star of radio andTV, and an actor of incredible range,from wacky comedy to heart-rend-ing pathos. But he began as a jazzsinger greatly inspired by LouisArmstrong. A contemporary ofArmstrong, Crosby influenced count-less crooners, including Frank Sinatra.

Despite her limited vocal range,Billie Holiday combined an appre-ciation for the blues, an innate senseof swing, unusual phrasing and a giftfor conveying and evoking intenseemotions. Unlike most singers whohad come before her, she occupied ahigh, middle ground between thestraight blues interpretations of sing-ers like Bessie Smith and the dull,uninflected delivery of most Tin PanAlley songsters.

There was no greater swingeramong singers than Ella Fitzgerald.A near-contemporary of Billie Holi-day—born two years later—

Here are six essentials of the jazz vocal artJazz Essentials, Part 3

By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

This four-disc set from 1994 is thebest package of Crosby’s best years.It documents the arc of his career fromthe early jazz years, through the croon-ing radio and film years of the 1940sand into the modern pop-song televi-sion era. In doing so, it accomplishesthe monumental task of representing allstyles with which he is most often as-sociated—swing, ballads, novelties,cowboy songs, holiday tunes and eventhe travel trifles of Hawaii and Ireland.

Among the early gems includedare “I Found a Million Dollar Baby,”“Dancing in the Dark” and “Stardust.”From Crosby’s popular holidaysongbook are “White Christmas,” “Si-lent Night,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,”and “Silver Bells.” But the lion’s shareof this 101-song collection is devoted tothe standards of the Great AmericanSongbook as interpreted with that mar-velous, unmatched Crosby baritone.

For listeners who want more of

BING CROSBYBing! His Legendary Years,1931-1957MCA Records

Fitzgerald raised the vocal art to a pin-nacle with her unerring pitch, her widerange and her sense of irrepressiblejoy in every tune. Throughout a ca-reer spanning nearly 60 years, sheintroduced new material with a curi-ous zest, even when it seemed inap-propriate or beneath her talents.

Sarah Vaughan possessed pipesof operatic potential, capable of multi-octave leaps with a wonderfully con-trolled vibrato. A transitional jazzsinger, Vaughan began her career inthe swing era but adapted well to thenew sounds and rhythms of bop.

Like Armstrong, Nat King Coleis equally important as an instrumen-talist and a singer. His influential pi-ano trio of the late 1930s and 1940swas one of the few to eschew a drum-mer in favor of a guitarist. LikeCrosby, he became a singer of popstandards and occasional noveltysongs and was a multi-media star ofrecords, television and movies.

I was going to wait until a lateredition of “Jazz Essentials” to featureFrank Sinatra. Like Crosby, his popu-larity is legendary, putting him in aclass of his own. Crosby was in manyways the model for Sinatra, so weinclude him here. Influenced by thefluid trombone tone and phrasing ofemployer Tommy Dorsey, he soaredbeyond his early success as a teen-age idol to become an immortal amongsong stylists of the 20th century.

As with other early artists wehave recommended, we focus chieflyon multi-disc anthologies. Recordingsof the 1930s and 1940s were avail-able only on 78s, and even later LPscan be uneven and incomplete ex-amples of the artist’s work, so we sug-gest more representative collections.

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Page 26 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

When it comes to Billie Holiday’smost fruitful years on Columbia records,fans have several formats from whichto choose. Those on a limited budgetcan go with the single-disc “God Blessthe Child” from 1996 or 2001’s double-disc “Lady Day: The Best of BillieHoliday.” For the completist, there isthe 10-CD “The Complete Billie Holi-day on Columbia (1933-1944),” also re-leased in 2001.

We recommend the middle path,the wonderful four-disc 2007 entry en-titled “Lady Day: The Master Takesand Singles,” a collection of 80 superbrecordings made between 1935 and1942. The sound is great, the selectionsare unimpeachable, and the perfor-mances are flawless, reaffirming Holi-day as likely the greatest jazz singer ofall time.

Of course, it helps that she is ac-companied by some of the great play-ers of the era, including pianist Teddy

Wilson, saxophonists Lester Young, BenWebster, Chu Berry and JohnnyHodges, clarinetists Benny Goodman,Artie Shaw and Jimmy Hamilton, trum-peters Harry “Sweets” Edison, RoyEldridge, Buck Clayton and CharlieShavers, guitarists Freddie Green, DaveBarbour and John Collins, bassists MiltHinton, John Kirby and Walter Page,and drummers Jo Jones, Kenny Clarke,and Gene Krupa.

Jazz Essentials continued from page 25

Crosby from a particular period, werecommend additional jazz recordingsfrom the late 1920s and early 1930sand—for that nostalgic sleigh ride downSanta Claus Lane—a whole album ofChristmas music.

BILLIE HOLIDAYLady Day: The Master Takesand SinglesColumbia Legacy Records Fitzgerald recorded from the early

1930s well into the 1980s—an incred-ible output—and much of it is first-rate.But we give the nod to this 1999 two-disc collection of 30 songs, ranging from1935 to 1966. “Something to Live For”is a companion to the TV documentaryof the same name, which appeared onthe PBS series “American Masters.”

Importantly, it contains eight se-lections from her early years withDecca, including the iconic “A-Tisket,A-Tasket.” Among the other careerhighlights are “How High the Moon,”“But Not for Me,” “Ridin’ High,” “An-gel Eyes,” a live and swinging versionof “Oh, Lady Be Good,” “The Lady isa Tramp,” “Body and Soul,” the scatmasterpiece “Airmail Special,” “Mackthe Knife,” “Mr. Paganini,” and one ofher many excellent renditions of“’Round Midnight.”

Like Holiday, Fitzgerald got thesidemen she so richly deserved. Amongthose included here are pianist OscarPeterson, saxophonists Colman

Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster,Stan Getz, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillipsand Sonny Stitt, trombonist J.J. Johnson,trumpeters Harry “Sweets” Edison andRoy Eldridge, guitarists Herb Ellis andBarney Kessel, and bassist (and formerhusband) Ray Brown.

ELLA FITZGERALDSomething to Live ForVerve Records

We can recommend 2001’s“Young Sassy,” without reservation, fora number of reasons. Whereas earlyrecordings of Holiday and Fitzgeraldwere often inferior to their laterwork—usually due to weak material—Vaughan’s beginnings were more aus-picious. Her voice was always magi-cal, and the tunes here are largelydrawn from the standards. Also, thisfour-disc collection contains her entireoutput between 1944 and 1950, anamazing 94 songs, at the very reason-able cost of less than $30.

Few can complain about a set listthat includes “East of the Sun (andWest of the Moon),” “Lover Man,”“Mean to Me,” “You Go to My Head,”“It Might as Well Be Spring,” “I’ve Gota Crush on You,” “Body and Soul,”“Time After Time,” “I Cover the Wa-terfront,” “Tenderly,” “Love Me orLeave Me,” “The Nearness of You,”“Come Rain or Come Shine,” and“Black Coffee.”

Great thanks are due the folks atProper Records, a UK label that hasreleased dozens of modestly priced col-lections of jazz, blues, country and othergreat American music in recent years.

SARAH VAUGHANYoung SassyProper Records

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Since Nat Cole’s later recordingsoften suffer from a poor choice of ma-terial and overproduction, it is wise tostart at the beginning. The three discsincluded in “Best of Nat King Cole: TheInstrumental Classics/The Vocal Clas-sics” present 62 tracks from the trio’sproductive years of 1944 to 1950. Theinstrumental and vocal excellence pre-sented here may come as a surprise tothe unfortunate listener who knows onlythe Nat King Cole of “Ramblin’ Rose,”“Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days ofSummer” and “Cat Ballou.”

Among the most notable selec-tions here are “Sweet Georgia Brown,”“Honeysuckle Rose,” “How High theMoon,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,”“It’s Only a Paper Moon,” “SweetLorraine,” “Frim Fram Sauce,” “Route66,” “Meet Me at No Special Place,”“When I Take My Sugar to Tea,” “TooMarvelous for Words,” and “For all WeKnow.”

Cole’s satiny voice, impeccable pi-ano playing and warm delivery requireno strings, horns or other production“values,” which often weakened hislater recordings. That is what makesthese trio sides so important and so su-premely listenable. By the way, wemust pay our respects to the other play-ers that make these recordings so time-less: Oscar Moore and Irving Ashby al-ternating on guitars, and Joe Comfortand Johnny Miller alternating on bass.

Few critics disagree thatSinatra’s middle period, his Capitolyears from 1953 to 1961, producedhis finest hours of recorded music ina career than spanned six decades.You can’t go wrong with any of theindividual releases of the Capitol de-cade, so why not own them all? Ei-ther save up your money and pur-chase this 21-CD boxed set or buythe CDs individually, as I have overthe last decade or so.

This 1998 EMI British importgets the nod for its purportedly supe-rior sound over the individual domes-tic re-masters that were issued in thelate 1990s and early 2000s. The boxcontains each of the original LPs pack-aged as a separate CD, with an addi-tional disc compiling bonus tracks en-titled “The Rare Sinatra.”

The mammoth 272-track collec-tion is also outrageously expensive,upwards of $600. Proponents claimthat Sinatra’s voice is brighter, morealive, here than on the U.S. versions,but these esoteric arguments are sub-jective and fail to justify the cost, un-less you happen to be independentlywealthy.

For those of us who have towork for a living—and who have othermusic on our wish list—the way togo is to acquire the U.S. Capitol reis-

sues as singles, for around $12 each.That way, you also get the bonustracks that are added to each CD,expanding the length beyond the origi-nal 30 minutes or so. Most of Sinatra’sCapitol recordings are classics, so youcan’t go wrong by either purchasingthem chronologically or by going foryour favorites first.

Eventually, you should own“Songs for Young Lovers/SwingEasy” (1954), “In the Wee SmallHours” (1955), “Songs for Swingin’Lovers” (1956), “A Swingin’ Affair”(1957), “Where Are You?” (1957),“Come Fly With Me” (1958), “Onlythe Lonely” (1958), “Come Dancewith Me” (1959), “No One Cares”(1959), and “Nice and Easy” (1960).These 10 recordings represent aseven-year string of brilliance unpar-alleled in popular song.

Once you have satisfied your ap-petite for Sinatra’s greatest period,supplement your collection with some-thing from his early years with Co-lumbia Records and his later years onthe Reprise label. Try to find the four-disc, 97-track “Best of ColumbiaYears 1943-52,” released in 1998, andgo with either 1990’s, four-disc “TheReprise Collection” or “The VeryBest of Frank Sinatra,” an excellentdouble-disc, 40-track overview of theReprise years released by WarnerBros. in 1997. Happy listening!

NAT KING COLEBest of Nat King Cole: TheInstrumental Classics/TheVocal ClassicsBlue Note Records FRANK SINATRA

The Capitol YearsCapitol Records

Sinatra’s Capitol recordings

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Page 28 Berman Music Foundation Jazz

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The Berman Music Foundation brought guitarist JerryHahn to Lincoln for workshops and a performance at P.O.Pears in February 1995. He returns June 29 for a Jazz inJune concert also featurinig pianist Joe Cartwright.

From the Archives

Jerry Hahn returns forJazz in June performance

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