August 2024—ISSUE 268

YOUR FREE GUIDE TO THE NYC JAZZ SCENENYCJAZZRECORD.COM

STEVE
NELSONThe Full On Nelson

JOEL
HARRISONERENATERAKUBOGUILLERMOGREGORIOKENNY
DORHAMManaging Editor:
Laurence Donohue-Greene[Co-Founder/Editor Emeritus: Andrey Henkin]

To Contact:
The New York City Jazz Record
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Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520
United States
Phone/Fax: 212-568-9628
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Advertising:advertising@nycjazzrecord.com
Keith Hoffman(Event Calendar Manager):calendar@nycjazzrecord.com
Suzanne Lorge (VOXNews):
voxnews@nycjazzrecord.com

August 2024 – ISSUE 268
NEW YORK@NIGHT
INTERVIEW: JOEL HARRISONARTIST FEATURE: ERENA TERAKUBOON THE COVER: STEVE NELSONENCORE: GUILLERMO GREGORIOLEST WE FORGET: KENNY DORHAMUS Subscription rates: 12 issues, $45
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LABEL SPOTLIGHT: WE JAZZVOXNEWS

Staff Writers
Duck Baker, Dan Bilawsky,
Stuart Broomer, Daniel A. Brown,
Jeff Cebulski, Ken Dryden, Paul Gaita,
Tristan Geary, Pierre Giroux,
Tom Greenland, Anders Griffen,
Jason Gross, Sophia Valera Heinecke,Alex Henderson, Keith Hoffman,
Marilyn Lester, Suzanne Lorge,
Marc Medwin, Bill Meyer, Jim Motavalli,
Russ Musto, Monique Ngozi Nri,John Pietaro, Mike Shanley, John Sharpe,
Elijah Shiffer, Anna Steegman,
Ken Waxman, Scott Yanow

FESTIVAL REPORTALBUM REVIEWSEVENT CALENDARCLUB DIRECTORY
IN MEMORIAM

Contributing Writers
George Kanzler, Ariella Stok
Contributing Photographers
Max Blease, Caroline Conejero, Enid Farber,
Scott Friedlander, Peter Gannushkin, Alan
Nahigian, Luciano Rossetti, Jeffrey Hayden
Shurdut, Neal Siegal, Shigeru Uchiyama,
Francis Wolff © Blue Note Records
IN CORRECTION (July 2024 issue)
The photo for the Dena DeRose Interview(p. 6) was by Roberto Cifarelli. In the Boxed
Set review (p. 27), we incorrectly stated:“the late Robert Crumb”; Crumb turns 81
this month. In the Album Reviews: in Two
Views of Steve Lacy’s The Wire (p. 21),
Henry Kaiser was inadvertently credited as
playing guitar—he exclusively playedelectric bass; in Duck Baker’s Plays Monk
(p. 26), “Jackie-ing” was not named after
Jackie McLean, but rather for Monk’s niece.

nycjazzrecord.com

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by jeff cebulski
by sophia valera heineckeby russ musto
by ariella stokby ken dryden
by ken waxman
by suzanne lorge

BY MARILYN LESTER

Letter from the Editor

If the summer months thus far have shown what we can expect in the sweatiest month of the year, get ready for an uncomfortably
hot, humid and sticky August! Our knee-jerk reaction is to suggest spending your time in a lot of indoor (read: A/C-equipped)venues via this month’s features. You’re welcome.
Veteran vibraphonist Steve Nelson (Cover) welcomes septuagenarian status this month with his annual birthday concert,which will be at Smalls. This issue marks the third time in the past year that a vibraphone player has graced our cover (Ethiopian
legend Mulatu Astatke and nonagenarian Warren Smith being the others)—one sign that jazz is in the midst of a vibraphonerenaissance, as these older masters have paved the way for a wealth of new, young, modern vibraphonists now on the scene,including Sasha Berliner, Patricia Brennan, Chien Chien Lu, Simon Moullier, Joel Ross and Yuhan Su.
August marks another significant birthday: the centennial of Kenny Dorham (Lest We Forget), one of the greatest undersung
trumpeters in jazz history, who passed away in 1972 at age 48. In this issue, we look back at his astonishing and, fortunately, welldocumented career as leader and sideman, in anticipation of the three-night all-star tribute to Dorham at Dizzy’s Club centering on
his Aug. 30 birthday. Conversely, Japan-born, NYC-resident alto saxophonist Erena Terakubo (Artist) has been in the habit of givingmusicians their flowers ever since her auspicious 2010 debut album featuring Kenny Barron. She has since featured a long list oflegendary figures on her six albums to date, including Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb and Lenny White. Terakubo plays The Django thismonth.
And speaking of showing appreciation while they’re here, we are fortunate that Argentine octogenarian clarinetist/alto
saxophonist Guillermo Gregorio (Encore) has called NYC home for the last decade, after having lived in Buenos Aires, Vienna, L.A.
and Chicago. Gregorio has two recent album releases and performs at Ibeam Brooklyn this month. And then there’s guitarist andorganizer Joel Harrison (Interview), who the guitar world cannot be thankful enough for. His Alternative Guitar Summit (AGS) has
not only given a platform to guitarists spanning generations (from Pat Metheny to Nels Cline to Gilad Hekselman), but also gives
close and upfront access for guitarists and guitar fans from around the world. Following AGS Summer Camp week in upstate N.Y.,
get ready for the annual AGS festival at Le Poisson Rouge.
So, get inside, enjoy the A/C, but don’t forget that the outside offers an array of live (and for the most part free) show options,too, including at many of NYC’s parks, from Jazzmobile Summerfest at Marcus Garvey Park and Grant’s Tomb (Riverside Park),
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival at Marcus Garvey and Tompkins Square Parks, Summerstage at Central Park, Piano in the Park series
at Bryant Park and Jazz Foundation of America’s sponsored events at various parks including Hudson River Park’s Pier 84, as well
as Columbus Park, Bushwick Inlet Park, etc. It’ll be worth braving the elements; just remember to bring sunscreen, an umbrella andplenty of water! Keep hydrated, and see you out at the shows.
Onwards and outwards….

On The Cover: Steve Nelson (photo by Alan Nahigian)All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors.

2 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDJAZZFESTARTSWESTCHESTER, THE CITY OF WHITE PLAINS & THE WHITE PLAINS BID

WHITE PLAINSSEPT. 11–15, 2024

Presented by:

F E AT U R I N G :Nicole Zuraitis Quartet | Pasquale Grasso Trio |Vijay Iyer Trio, feat. Tyshawn Sorey & Linda May Han Oh |Anaïs Reno Quintet | Brandon Sanders |Julius Rodriguez | Ekep Nkwelle Quintet | AND MORE!

For Tickets & Concert Details Visit:artsw.org/jazzfest

Sunday, Sept. 15
Ekep Nkwelle

NEW YORK @ N IGHT
What better way to celebrate the birthdays of our nation Multi-instrumentalist Kevin Murray curated a global

SSC 1726 / AVAILABLE 8/2/24

M

NEAL SIEGAL

emoir features Wolff in his trio withlongtime collaborators bassist Ben
Allison and drummer Allan Mednard, the11-track collection is a deeply inspiredcompilation of new music and fresh interpretations of some of Wolff’s favorite unreleased original compositions he decided
to revisit.

GLENN ZALESKISTAR DREAMS
SSC 1744 / AVAILABLE 8/23/24

P

resenting their third release on Sunnyside Records, Star Dreams, Zaleski, bassist
Dezron Douglas, and drummer Willie Jones
III present an ideal contemporary programthat swings but also broadens the language
and repertory of the jazz piano trio.
ianist Glenn Zaleski has quickly become
one of the most important musicians of
his generation and it’s easy to see why.

P

www.sunnysiderecords.com

reunion of path-finding improvisers at Brooklyn’s The
Record Shop (Jul. 8). Aliya Ultan (cello, violin) began with asolo set of three improvised compositions with a triumvirateof pedals, exploring the frontiers of spatial relationships forsound manipulation. She swayed the cello into and awayfrom amp interference, implementing double bows to makesomething simultaneously visceral, orchestral, grunge anddeeply emotional. The improvised centerpiece suite, by
Camila Nebbia (tenor), Camilo Angeles (flute), Santiago
Leibson (keyboard), Kenneth Jimenez (bass) and Murray(percussion), was a wash of telegram sounds, highlighted
by Leibson’s sparse phrases and sustained chords, a distantevocation of dial-up as if trying to find the best alignment
to communicate with an audience stranded between dated
and present technologies. Murray at times blasted on an
odd assortment of metal in addition to a complete kit. Hisvolume felt generative—like a high-rise imploding—thegroup’s responses containing the orchestrated collapse. For
the final set, Balakrishnan Raghavan (vocals) reclaimed the
Carnatic tradition of Southern India, with Simone Baron(accordion) and Nebbia (tenor), delivering a poetic selection
intermingled with versatile and expressive vocalizing. The
text drew from Nina Simone’s fervently anti-war Emergency
Ward! (1972) and poetry by Refaat Alareer and Noor
Hindi. Nebbia frequently utilized a saxophone mufflerand employed pops and clicks that hit alongside thedeep vibration of Raghavan’s lowest octaves and Baron’s
pitchless fingering.
— Sophia Valera Heinecke

PETER GANNUSHKIN / DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NETMICHAEL WOLFFMEMOIRand jazz’ founding father Louis Armstrong than a 4th of
July concert in the backyard of his house (now the Louis
Armstrong House Museum) in Corona, Queens? Keeping
Pops’ legacy live and well were trumpeter/vocalists Bria
Skonberg and Benny Benack III backed by Alicyn Yaffee(guitar), Jon Thomas (piano), Mark Lewandowski (bass)
and Darrian Douglas (drums). The sextet’s hour anda half set included a baker’s dozen of classic swingers.
Both fine singers and instrumentalists with an affinity
for early jazz styles, Skonberg and Benack formed astrong front line, topping each other with tasteful, wellexecuted solos, sometimes improvising at the same timein traditional overlapping New Orleans style; othertimes scatting or singing tricky vocalese, as they did on“In a Mellow Tone”, or singing harmonized duets à laArmstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, as they did on “Cheek to
Cheek”. Skonberg proved herself a creditable disciple ofArmstrong, both as singer and trumpeter, on “Do You
Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?”. Benack
was equally excellent on “I Can’t Get Started”, pausing
when an explosion went off just after he’d sung the firsttwo verses to remark “That’s the first firework of the day,folks!” (it was about 2:30 p.m.), resuming by singing thefirst phrase of the song’s bridge, never missing a beat.
Two more disciples, Summer Camargo and Austin Ford,
were (to their own surprise) called up on stage for theencore, a four-trumpet cutting contest that would’ve
made Armstrong smile.
— Tom Greenland

Alicyn Yaffee, Bria Skonberg, Benny Benack III @LAHM

Camila Nebbia @The Record Shop

After appearing there many times as a sideman totop-shelf talent, pianist/composer Kevin Hays finally
headlined six days at the place he calls “The Church” (akathe Village Vanguard). He opened the second night of therun (Jul. 3) alone at the piano, working at “All Things Are”
(the title track from his 2021 album, an original based on
the changes to Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are”),
his body barely moving, a slight grimace on his face, soon
joined by Larry Grenadier (bass) and Billy Hart (drums).
Another original, “Elegia”, and Jule Styne’s “Just in Time”
also began as piano soliloquys, Hays remaining pensive
and still. His static body language began to uncoil as
the gig proceeded: neck swiveling, shoulders hunchingand shimmying on “Song for Peace”, then shrugging
syncopations to “The Wait”, heels pounding the pulse. Hismusical approach was largely abstract: through-composed
yet teleological, rigorously coherent, devoid of licks orclichés—its artistic impact residing in intelligent design
rather than theatrical delivery. Hart’s highly intuitive,parsed-down accompaniment, on the other hand, wasunderstated yet emphatic, on-point yet unpredictable, theperfect accomplice to Hays’ myriad schemes. Grenadier,
without fuss or fanfare, sinewed the musical muscles andbones. Three last numbers—Lennon & McCartney’s “Witha Little Help from My Friends”, Hays’ “Sweet Caroline”
and “Unscrappulous” (based on Charlie Parker’s “Scrapple
from the Apple”) moved the affective meter from abstract
towards visceral, Hays’ face now alit with a copious grinsoon transferred to the audience.
(TG)

Dreamy yet corporeal, Marianne Solivan delivered an

4 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

upbeat set on a Monday at Mezzrow (Jul. 7). “Tonight weare celebrating,” she said with a smile, though what she
didn’t mention. The vocalist’s set-opener was a swinging
rendition of “Please Be Kind”, with radiant accompanimentby pianist Brandon McCune. Noting her Puerto Rican
heritage, she shared two ballads. “Palabras” (composedby Marta Valdes) silenced the room, as Solivan readthe translations like poetry, the ensuing drama of thecomposition built up meticulously by McCune, Steve Wood(bass) and Jay Sawyer (drums). Following an exquisite
rendition of “If You Could Love Me” (composed by pianist
Norman Simmons, made famous by Carmen McRae)
was “This Is New” (Ira Gershwin, Kurt Weill), featuring
galloping chord progressions from McCune and the leader’svelvety legato phrasing. Noticeably, this band liked a fadeout, with applause consistently flooding in before the lastnote fully resolved and dissipated into silence. Wood wasafforded ample solo space in addition to several rich duetswith the vocalist. A tinderbox of fraying percussion fromthe drummer built enough tension for Solivan to light up
the space with “I Burn for You” (based on Mal Waldron’s“Fire Waltz”) that exposed her lyrical skill and upper
register range, while lightly evoking Billie Holiday’s nasal
quality. There was an air of gratitude around the recent
release of her fifth album, Re-Entry (Mighty Quinn)—turns out that’s what we were celebrating. And the agency
evoked in her well-rounded phrasing and set selection left
the room feeling empowered for the week ahead. (SVH)

Celebrating the release of his new recording, Manifest
Dream, at the Blue Note (Jul. 8), trumpeter Theo
Croker proved himself to be a genuine original—a
revolutionary modernist master of hybridized jazz—
before even touching his horn. Utilizing a “nothing
fancy” analog electronics setup, he laid down asymphonic overture that expansively blended a vastarray of samples of reverberating trumpet, Afro-Cuban
percussion, vocal chants and the spoken words ofSaul Williams, Malcolm X, Jill Scott and Bob Marley,
underpinned by Miguel Russell’s sprawling, hardhitting drumming. The band—also with Idris Frederick(piano, keyboards) and Eric Wheeler (bass)—thenlaunched into a medley of three of Croker’s older
songs, ”4Knowledge”, “To Be We” and “Hero Stomp”.
Speaking in his “NPR voice,” he entertainingly
introduced his colleague Kassa Overall’s ballad “OnePillow”, a soulful love song that he opened by reciting
its lyric, before playing horn in narrative storytelling
cadences, along with Frederick’s beautiful romantic
rhapsodic piano and Wheeler and Russell’s slow easy
grooves. The evening’s special guest, Theophilus
London, rapped potently on “Crystal Waterfalls”, afunky Croker composition from the new album, andSam Rivers’ spiraling freebop composition “Cyclic
Episode”. The energized set concluded tranquilly, with
Croker introducing the band to the wildly enthusiastic
crowd over his “Amen Waters”, then exiting the stage,leaving the band to finish.
— Russ Musto

MAX BLEASEJoe Fonda @Bar LunÀtico

Theo Croker @Blue Note

There’s a new Harlem Renaissance afoot in small jazz A breezy night finish to a hot summer day (Jul. 10)

eateries uptown. At Patrick’s Place (on Frederick Douglass
Blvd.), Patience Higgins, of St. Nick’s Pub fame, holds
court every Friday night. The Red Rooster (on Lenox Ave./
Malcolm X Blvd.) is swinging Sundays through Fridays.
Minton’s Playhouse (on 118th St.), where bebop wasbirthed, has returned. And a few steps on the other sideof St. Nicholas Ave. is Room 623 (on 119th St.), managed
and emceed by vocalist Marcus Goldhaber, which brings
great music to those lucky enough to find the hidden
speakeasy gem beneath the B2 Harlem Restaurant. Lastmonth (Jul. 5) baritone saxophone master Jason Marshallbrought his technical prowess and beautiful melody-basedsolo construction to the club, with Andrew Latona (guitar),
Michael Topping (bass) and Eric Halvorson (drums).
Marshall opened with his favorite tune, Paul Mitchell’s“Hard Times”, a big, soulful churchy romp played most
famously by David “Fathead” Newman on his Ray
Charles-produced album Fathead. Quincy Jones penned
the blues-infused ballad “Fallen Feathers” after Charlie
Parker’s death; Marshall included it on his impressive
New Beginnings (2022), and gave a particularly touching
live performance, topped with a moving cadenza. The
quartet cranked it up for a sizzling “I’ll Remember
April” (Johnston, Raye). Nothing sets a groove quite
like a solo baritone intro (think of Mingus’ “Moanin’”, apiece Marshall routinely opens with for the Mingus Big
Band): his earthy opening of Joe Henderson’s clave stomp“Recorda Me” was particularly effective.
(KH)

W H AT ’ S N E W SMusic Masters Collective presents the Alternative Guitar
Summit Summer Camp (co-produced by this month’s Interview
Feature, guitarist and AGS founder Joel Harrison) on Aug. 19-23
at Full Moon Resort on a 100-acre wilderness retreat in Big
Indian, NY (120 miles northwest of NYC, just due west of
Woodstock). Experience “the most unusual, forward-thinking,open-minded guitar camp on the planet” (as its website states)with master classes, workshops and jam sessions with the likesof Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Scofield, Nels Cline, Mike and Leni
Stern, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Gilad Hekselman, Camila Meza,
Rodney Jones and Harrison. To register and find out more info
visit alternativeguitarsummitcamp.com.
The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (BKCM) recently
announced its 2024-25 Jazz Leaders Fellows, a program now in
its fourth year and developed by the Jazz Leaders Fellowship
Committee, which is led by vocalist Fay Victor (also a past
Fellowship recipient). This year’s two Fellows are each Brooklynborn musicians: Haitian-American pianist, composer, vocalist,
dancer, writer and arranger Goussy Célestin and guitarist,
composer and producer Keyanna “Key” Hutchinson. The
Fellowship program helps to provide resources to Black womenand Black non-binary musicians to help further their craft andcomes with an unrestricted $12,500 award for their musicalendeavors, in addition to free rehearsal space, performance andcuratorial opportunities. Past Fellows include Melvis Santa,
Charenée Wade, Lezlie Harrison, Marika Hughes, LaFrae Sci
and Melanie Charles (curator of BKCM’s Midsummer Nights
Series). For more info visit bkcm.org/jlf.
The Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM) announced its
2024 Armstrong Now Artists-in-Residence: tap dancerchoreographer Lisa La Touche, saxophonists Immanuel Wilkins
and Steven Salcedo, as well as the Soul Science Lab duo. Each
will create a new work based on content drawn from theArmstrong Archives at the Museum, where they will also present
a public performance at the end of their residency. (Past Artistsin-Residence include esperanza spalding and Amyra León.)
Located in Corona, Queens, LAHM was home to Armstrong andhis wife Lucille from the early ’40s, when they first purchased thehouse, until his death in 1971. It is a cultural center of Kupferberg
Center for the Arts at Queens College, CUNY and has becomea National Historic Landmark and NYC landmark, housing theworld’s largest research archives for any jazz musician. For
more info visit louisarmstronghouse.org.

CAROLINE CONEJERO

Having released his first leader date in 1981, you might
say that Joe Fonda has been at it for a very long time.
And given that he’s recorded and toured with some of the
giants of the avant garde—Billy Bang, Wadada Leo Smith,Anthony Braxton—the young, hip crowd at Brooklyn’s BarLunÀtico presumably had no idea what to expect. When theband—Fonda (bass), Sam Bardfeld (violin), Kenny Wessel(guitar) and Rob Garcia (drums)—launched into some of
the groovin’est otherworldly space funk you might everhear, the audience noticeably received it just fine. “Heyman, I’m 69 years old. I grew up on Mahavishnu, funk, theAllman Brothers,” the leader said, laughing. And, in fact,
the set combined all those elements. His original “Brown
Baggin’ It” toggled dynamically between a free groove
and heavy, fast swinging 12/8, with Bardfeld turning in anespecially fiery solo. Fonda dedicated his beautiful ballad“Gone Too Soon” to former collaborator Thomas Chapin,
the great alto saxophonist/flute player who helped build
the downtown experimental scene before passing away
at age 40 in 1998. Wessel’s solo, with Bardfeld gently inthe background, was simultaneously simple and dark,
yet hopeful. On “Syndicate”, the bassist set a jagged funkgroove over backing guitar before the violinist’s initial
spiky lines morphed into long, melodic statements locked
together with Wessel. It was a great night of music andthe venue’s proprietor, bassist Arthur Kell (also a former
Chapin collaborator) made sure his patrons understood
the respect these musicians have earned and continue todeserve.
— Keith Hoffman

brought a large crowd uptown to Grant’s Tomb,
the site of Jazzmobile’s weekly Wednesday evening
Summerfest shows, to hear The Jimmy Heath Big
Band with Antonio Hart, filling the landmark’s
plaza. Speaking endearingly of his 30-year-longmentorship under the late NEA Jazz Mastersaxophonist, composer, arranger and educator, Hart
said that although the man is sorely missed, his spirit
lives on, not only in his own music, but also in that ofhis students, many of whom were in the band. Eachmember of the 16-man ensemble flawlessly played
his part, giving Heath’s urbane compositions andarrangements the rich orchestral sound for which
they are known. With Hart directing the band andlong-time Heath Brothers band member Jeb Patton(piano) out front in the rhythm section, driven by
Mike Migliore (bass) and Jerome Jennings (drums),
the horn players—Frank Greene, Freddie Hendrix,
Scott Wendholt, Shawn Edmonds (trumpets);
Mark Gross, Cleave Guyton, Jonathan Beshay, Sam
Wilson, Frank Basile (saxes); and Jason Jackson,
James Burton, Barry Cooper, Douglas Purviance(trombones)—always knew where they were andwhere they were headed. Highlights included
Gross and Guyton’s twin flutes on “Gemini”, Hart’s
passionate alto on “Stars Fell on Alabama”, and thehorn sections’ fiery round robin soloing on Heath
original “Gingerbread Boy”.
(RM)

A recent tribute portal has been set up in dedication to latesoprano saxophone master Steve Lacy, who passed away 20
years ago, just shy of his 70th birthday. Mauro Stocco, a longtime
Lacy fan who set up the non-profit website, says: “After having
dedicated many years to collecting records, books andmagazines about Steve, having met him several times andorganized gigs for him in solo, trio, sextet and with Musica
Elettronica Viva, I decided it was the time to create a simple, butheartfelt, tribute. Lacy was a genius of our time, a sort of
Leonardo Da Vinci, capable of interacting with Dixieland, Monk,
Ellington, free, Indian music, MEV, Giuseppe Chiari, dance,
painting, sculpture, cinema, poetry, living theatre, philosophy,
Tao, codifying the role of the modern soprano saxophone.”
Currently there are contributions and testimonials from many
past collaborators, admirers and friends, including Alvin Curran,
Gianni Mimmo, Zlatko Kaučič, Andrea Centazzo and others. Toview testimonials, contribute memories and for more info visit
stevelacymemorialscrapbook.org.
The long-running Canadian jazz, blues and gospel label Justin
Time Records, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary,has announced the departure of its founder Jim West. Its
operations will reportedly be taken over by Nettwerk Music
Group, which will help to continue the label’s legacy. Justin
Time’s first two releases were the 1982 debut and 1983
sophomore follow-up by the now-legendary, soon-to-benonagenarian Canadian pianist Oliver Jones; it has since put out
many other albums by Jones as well by the country’s two othermost famed pianists, Oscar Peterson and Paul Bley. The label
has also documented the likes of Ray Anderson, Billy Bang,
Hamiet Bluiett, Dizzy Gillespie, Abdullah Ibrahim, Ingrid Jensen,
Diana Krall, Ranee Lee, David Murray, Ed Thigpen, World
Saxophone Quartet plus many others in its catalogue of nearly
500 titles. For more info visit justin-time.com.
Submit news to: ldgreene@nycjazzrecord.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 5

SCOTT FRIEDLANDER

I NTERVIEWJOELHARRISON
here’s the alternative

quickly and people often come specifically because
they have a passion for one particular artist.
Julian Lage is an extremely empathetic
communicator. Camp enables people to come up tohim during breaks or lunch or whatever and say,“Your music saved my life.” Rodney Jones was
sitting at the lunch table with one of our perennial
campers, and they were talking about Kenny Burrell.
The camper was saying how much he appreciatedBurrell. Rodney said, “Want to talk to him?” So hecalled him up on the phone! I mean, that’s pretty
cool.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 27)

BY JEFF CEBULSKI
J oel Harrison—guitarist, composer, writer, teacher,producer—is a very busy person. Founder of the Alternative
Guitar Summit (AGS), Harrison gathers and organizes
an array of guitarists in a one-of-a-kind summer camp, a
guitar festival and interactive performances throughout
the year. The 66-year-old performs, records, tours, writes
books, creates podcasts and in general acts as a provocateur
for all things guitar. A graduate of Bard College, he wasappointed a Guggenheim Fellow in 2010 and proceeded
to establish AGS, which is led by an advisory board that
includes guitarists Pat Metheny and Nels Cline and featureslesser-known musicians along with name artists such as
Mike Stern, Bill Frisell, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Rodney Jonesand Gilad Hekselman.
The New York City Jazz Record: What came first, theguitar camp or the summit?
Joel Harrison: The concert series started in 2011 at
Cornelia Street Café (in Greenwich Village). One
summer I was asked to program a festival there, andit was so enjoyable that I just couldn’t stop. When thecamp started, in 2016, I was producing from two to fourconcerts a year. We were occasionally doing workshops
in the city, and I had always wanted to start a guitar
camp. I just didn’t know how to do it logistically. And
then I met the person who runs the Music Masters
Collective up in the Catskill region of New York Statethrough a mutual friend. This facility was runningmusic camps all summer. We got to talking and put it
together. The first one had about 23 sign-ups. Intimate,
pretty wonderful. But three or four years later, we had
115. It kept building, partly through the good sense of
my business partner, Michael Densmore. The essential
characteristic is to celebrate the great range of modern
guitar music, free of genre and labels. It’s all about
this community of creative guitar players that I’messentially throwing parties for.
TNYCJR: And you’ve had success getting significant
guitar players to show up.
Harrison: It’s been really exciting to be able to workwith people who are heroes of mine—not just the wellknown people but also some of the lesser-known people
who are also phenomenal. Probably 70 or 80 guitarists
have been involved since the beginning.
TNYCJR: Are there any in particular that have been
regulars?
Harrison: Oh, yeah. In the beginning, for our concerts,
we regularly had Ben Monder, Nels Cline, Steve
Cardenas, Liberty Ellman, for instance. At the camp westarted inviting Kurt Rosenwinkel four or five years ago.
Gilad Hekselman has been a regular. And Bill Frisell a
few times, Julian Lage a few times. Those are the betterknown people. But I have to say that when I started this,it was a way to advocate for lesser-known players.

And a funny thing happened as I was going along,those lesser-known players got much better known.
I’m not saying that their success had anything to dowith me, but I was sort of celebrating these people alittle before others were. I guess I need a new crop!
It’s been really interesting because you have firsttime meetings between people who don’t necessarily
ever play together, don’t even necessarily know eachother, but create this in-the-moment dialog with
the instrument. But commerce becomes part of this,whether I like it or not, trying to balance that as far
as the camp goes and also the concert series. I cancelebrate the little-known people all I want, but if I
can’t get people to come to the camp or to a concert,it’s not going to work out.
TNYCJR: I suspect that part of the camp’s appeal is thatstudents see these established and upcoming guitarists
operate and create together and form a community,
right?
Harrison: That’s exactly right. My business partner
describes the experience of the camps as being allowedbackstage, the curtains parted. You get to hang out withthe creators, it’s up close and personal. You’re dining
with these people, you’re jamming with them at night.
You’re watching these amazing duets unfold between,
let’s say, Julian Lage and Marc Ribot or Steve Cardenasand Miles Okazaki. It’s guitar paradise.
TNYCJR: The website mentions that people who don’t
play are still invited to show up.
Harrison: That doesn’t happen very often, but there are
guitar lovers who don’t necessarily play or don’t playmuch. And to me, this is the greatest guitar party inthe world. Why not just come and see all the concerts
and the jam sessions? I think it should be attractive toalmost anybody who loves improvised guitar music.
Or improvised music, period.
TNYCJR: And I would think that one of the appeals
to the campers is human contact beyond what would
normally be a rudimentary exercise of learning an
instrument and then playing a tune. They get tounderstand that it’s not just music on paper or not justplaying notes, but it’s an embodiment of sorts.
Harrison: I couldn’t put it any better than you justdid. Yes, that’s the real message of the camp, not any
technical exercise. It’s about finding meaning, finding
your own voice.
TNYCJR: When you think of some of the people thatare appearing this year at camp and then at the summit,
they obviously must enjoy it.
Harrison: Oh man, they all contribute so much, andthey love doing it. You know, the camp goes by quite

6 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDHJULY 30TH - AUGUST 4THH

DAYNA STEPHENS QUINTETGERALD CLAYTON (TUES-THURS & SUN) - EMMANUEL MICHAELRICK ROSATO - KENDRICK SCOTTHAUGUST 6TH - AUGUST 11THH

ANDREW CYRILLE QUARTETBILL FRISELL - DAVID VIRELLES - BEN STREETHAUGUST 13TH - AUGUST 18THH

BILL FRISELL FOUR
GREG TARDY - GERALD CLAYTON - JOHNATHAN BLAKE
HAUGUST 20TH - AUGUST 25THH

BILL FRISELL FIVEKENNY WOLLESEN - TONY SCHERR - THOMAS MORGANRUDY ROYSTONHAUGUST 27TH - SEPTEMBER 1STH

JOE LOVANO & DAVE DOUGLASSOUND PRINTSLAWRENCE FIELDS - YASUSHI NAKAMURA - RUDY ROYSTONCOMING IN SEPTEMBERHBILL CHARLAPH
HMIGUEL ZENONHHMARK GUILIANAH

MONDAY NIGHTS ARE RESERVED FOR

THE VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRASHIGERU UCHIYAMAARTIST F EATURE

D iscovering our natural talents in a world withso much competing for our attention is difficult.
Finding inspiration and accessing the tools tochannel this talent is nothing short of a miracle. At
best, this pursuit requires us to accept that we mustremain students even when we become teachers.
Although she discovered her abundant talent at
only nine years old, this lesson has been behindthe success of saxophonist Erena Terakubo (born in1992 in Sapporo, Japan). Riding around in the backseat of her father’s car as he played Miles Davis’
Kind of Blue on repeat, she absorbed more than thealbum’s revelatory solos (including Cannonball
Adderley’s), which she can still sing from memory.
Quickly falling in love with the alto saxophone,
she participated in jazz clinics with pianist Herbie
Hancock and trumpeter Tiger Okoshi in Sapporo,and went on to receive a full scholarship to Boston’sBerklee College of Music Summer Jazz Workshop.
“I met the right people to guide my musicalpersonality. The flow of collaboration is how I learn
the most and the fastest,” Terakubo notes.
After signing with the Japanese label King
Records, she arrived in the recording studio freshfrom high school. Her auspicious debut North Bird
(2010)—with Kenny Barron (piano), Christian
McBride (bass) and Lee Pearson (drums), plus
guest Peter Bernstein (guitar)—reached #1 on
the Japanese jazz charts and was awarded Swing
Journal’s Gold Disc Award. Almost 15 years
later, bassist Ron Carter (who has played on
two of Terakubo’s six albums to date) recently
recalled first meeting the young saxophonist,
her thoughtful style and repertoire and spoke
highly of “her respect for the history of music.”
Under an exclusive license from Four Quarters
Entertainment, King presented her next album,
New York Attitude (2011)—with Barron, Carter,
Pearson and trumpeter Dominick Farinacci. It was
the saxophonist’s American debut album and in its
wake she was chosen as one of just six Presidential
Scholars from across the world to attend Berklee
College of Music, which fortified her commitment
to her craft. “I listened to Cannonball Adderley all
the time, even when I was sleeping!”
Last month at The Django (where she regularly
performs) in Lower Manhattan, worlds away from
Sapporo and the prestigious campus of Berklee,
Terakubo led a sextet. Their sound was big, yet
nuanced, with a set that kicked off with mentor
Vincent Herring’s “Folklore”, a tune she was first
introduced to by the elder alto saxophonist. The
specificities of the younger saxophonist’s talent areeasily identifiable to Herring: “The detail to which
she absorbs, retains and manipulates information
is exceptional. Studying and composing are deeply
useful skills, but Erena has never neglected practice.”
Her practice style is not one of ritual but
immersion. “I practice so I can react quickly,”ERENATERAKUBO

the exchange between new and oldpast; it’s the ability she has to combine styles andadd her own thing.”
For more info visit jamrice.co.jp/erena. Terakubo is at
The Django Aug. 17. See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:• Erena Terakubo—North Bird (King, 2010)• Erena Terakubo—New York Attitude (King, 2011)• Erena Terakubo with Legends—Burkina(Eighty-Eights, 2013)• Erena Terakubo—A Time For Love (Cellar Live, 2015)• Erena Terakubo—Little Girl Power (King, 2017)• Erena Terakubo—Absolutely Live! (King, 2019)

BY SOPHIA VALERA HEINECKE
Terakubo reveals. “It’s about talking together likehaving a conversation, but if I don’t practice, I can’t
deliver what I thought I would.” Though she canplay the flute and piano, Terakubo’s magnetic poleis the alto saxophone. And in her hands, listeners
are reminded that it is a hybrid invention, bringing
a trumpet’s impressive boom to a flute’s emotional
subtlety. Her bright, enunciated leading lines arecommanding and conversational in performance.
From her live set, her group played Jackie McLean’s“Bird Lives”, the opening track of her most recent
album Absolutely Live! (her next album release isplanned for 2025). She burned through a lengthy
solo, versions of which have been transcribed byfans online. The album captures what she loves
about New York: “The environment accepts ouruniqueness. The exchange between new and old
is very enlivening.” Terakubo’s prowess arrives
in full force on another selection from the album,“Little Girl Power”. “It’s a little sarcastic,” she says,“because I’m not trying to highlight identity. WhenI was writing that tune, someone jokingly suggested
the title. It felt catchy.” She adds that she wanted towrite something with the energy of Eddie Harris’“Listen Here”. It also suggests the playful flavorof Quincy Jones’ “Soul Bossa Nova”, and allows
Terakubo to run headlong through her ideas withsoaring fervor.
While her originals draw inspiration from thegreats of Japan and New York, she feels they mustreflect her personality and life experience too.
Having guided her from the start of her journey,
Herring (who Terakubo will join on his European
tour this fall) is fond of what her process has
produced to date. In 2015, he produced her A Time
for Love (Cellar Live), which marked the end ofher time at Berklee and subsequent move to NYC.
The stand-out original “Golden Oolong Tea” hasa layered complexity that Terakubo delivers witha light touch; the energy is unmatched, the notes
moving like organza in a breeze.
It was while she was earning her master’s at the
Manhattan School of Music when she began playing
with trumpeter Jon Faddis’ All-Star Big Band. “Shehadn’t had the experience of leading the section,”
Faddis recalls. “We did a lot of Count Basie, and I
said you should listen to Marshall Royal, and shecame back in a few days with the Marshall Royalstyle of lead playing ready to go.” He asked her
to play as part of an Ellington tribute, Such Sweet
Thunder, at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre
in 2022, with a feature on the Ellington-Strayhorn
composition “The Star-Crossed Lovers”. “Thatballad brought tears to my eyes. Her contribution
was beautiful and very moving,” he recalled. Faddis
has since continued to have Terakubo regularly
participate in his annual July birthday concerts at
Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center and notes,“It’s not just her ability to play the music of the

KERRYPOLITZER.COM

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 7

ON THE COVER

STEVE NELSONALAN NAHIGIANThe Full On Nelson
by russ musto

V eteran vibraphonist Steve Nelson, who celebrates
his 70th birthday this month, got into music in a very
fateful kind of way. One day he was with one of his
buddies, hanging out in his friend’s basement, andthere was a vibraphone there. Nelson recalls, “Hisfather played vibes and it just so happened that this
one time when we were down there, his dad came
down and was playing ‘Days of Wine and Roses’. I
knew from that moment on that was what I wanted
to do.”
Nelson’s friend’s father happened to be noneother than the legendary Milt Jackson-influenced
Pittsburgh vibraphonist George Monroe, who would
soon thereafter teach the youngster how to playthe vibes. Nelson had an old player piano in his
house, and Monroe would come over and the twowould go through changes on the piano. “It was avery different way of learning,” Nelson admits.
“He’d just say, ‘Take this finger, put it here, put
this finger there; now press, that’s the chord. Now
move this finger over and switch.’ And so I would
practice that all night long. I learned pretty fast
because I really fell in love with it.” Monroe would
also take Nelson around to see and hear the manymusicians within the rich jazz scene of Pittsburgh,many of whom worked in the steel mills: “He took
me around to catch the bad cats in Pittsburgh who
people never heard of, tremendous players, but justnever came to New York.” Nelson wound up playing
with many of these musicians, including one who
would become a frequent collaborator, Pittsburghborn Jerry Byrd, the guitarist who played extensively
with such organists as Gene Ludwig, Don Patterson,
Jack McDuff and would become pianist/vocalist
Freddy Cole’s longtime bandmate. Byrd called torecommend Nelson to the great Grant Green afterGreen’s vibraphonist at that time reportedly had
broken his leg and so needed a quick vibraphonist
replacement to go out on the road with him.
Soon after his experience with Green, the next big
step in Nelson’s career came with his decision to enter
the jazz program at Rutgers University. He says, “I
was trying to find what to do with myself. At thattime my brother was in New Jersey going to Rutgers,and he told me that they were starting a jazz program
there, so it seemed like a good thing for me to do.” It
was there that he met professors in alto saxophonist/
flute player James Spaulding, guitarist Ted Dunbar
and pianist Kenny Barron. All three would hire theyoung vibraphonist for their bands, leading to his
first recording opportunities: Spaulding’s Plays The
Legacy of Duke Ellington (Storyville, 1976), Dunbar’s
Secondum Artem (Xanadu, 1980) and Barron’s Golden
Lotus (Muse, 1980). Barron, who Nelson recently
reunited with on the pianist’s newly released
recording, Beyond This Place (Artwork/[PIAS]), says,“I have known Steve since 1973, when I started
teaching at Rutgers University and he was a student
there. In all these years he still blows me away. He’s
an amazing vibraphonist and improviser (and) I’m
happy to be working with him again.”

While at Rutgers, Nelson’s closer proximity to
the burgeoning New York jazz scene quickly led toincreased recognition of his prodigious talent. He
began collaborating with many of the young lionsof his generation including pianists Donald Brown,
Mulgrew Miller and James Williams, bassist Curtis
Lundy and alto saxophonist Bobby Watson. Watson,
who originally met Nelson through Lundy, giggedwith the vibraphonist up and down the East Coast. He
recalls Nelson as also being one of his original musicalpartners upon the altoist’s arrival to New York: “Ilearned so much from him musically, about phrasing
and how to build a solo. He’s on my Jewel (AmigoEvidence, 1983) album from back in those days withboth Mulgrew and Curtis.” The vibraphonist was also
one of the first musicians Lundy met in New Yorkand the bassist’s debut album Just Be Yourself (NewNote, 1987)—with Nelson, Watson, pianist Hank
Jones, drummer Kenny Washington and the bassist’s
vocalist sister Carmen Lundy—is actually named
after the vibraphonist’s composition. As with Watson,
the bassist is also very complimentary of friend andmusical collaborator Nelson: “Steve is one of the mostthoughtful and prolific musicians of our time. He’s aconsummate professional who is able to adapt to anymusical situation.”
Nelson was quite busy during the ‘80s,
particularly his associations with saxophonist David“Fathead” Newman and pianist Mulgrew Miller. He
fondly remarks, “I have to say I was pretty blessed. I
was working quite a bit. I don’t even remember how
I got the gig with Fathead, but I did his record Heads
Up (Atlantic, 1986) and toured all over with him.”
The band at that time included Kirk Lightsey (piano),David Williams (bass) and Eddie Gladden (drums),
and following Heads Up, after frequently performingat the Village Vanguard, the group recorded Fire!
Live at the Village Vanguard (Atlantic, 1988). Nelson
would then join Dave Holland for an extended periodof time, after he was recommended to the bassist by
old friend and collaborator, drummer Tony Reedus.
The vibraphonist played with Reedus in Miller’s
Wingspan group and, as Nelson remembers, “I
recorded on Tony’s Incognito (Enja 1989) album with
Dave, Geoff Keezer and Gary Thomas and that’s
when I first met Dave.”
Playing with Holland pointed Nelson, as well as
Holland, in a completely new direction. Up to thatpoint, the bassist’s bands were working withouta chordal instrument (with the exception of briefly
utilizing guitarist Kevin Eubanks). Nelson says, “I
think he was hearing another chordal instrument,
but something different. So, we got to sit there andtalk. That’s one of the things that helped me being
in that band, because you were actually expected tocontribute something as a composer. I had alreadybeen writing a little bit, but I didn’t really have muchfor that instrumentation, so I had to write some new
stuff. It was an amazing experience; pretty much
nonstop traveling.”
When the Holland tour ended, Nelson was busy

8 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

as ever again back in the States, playing and recording
regularly with his peers, as well as a new batch of
emerging musicians. He additionally made guest
appearances on albums by older masters such as
Johnny Griffin (The Cat) and Jackie McLean (Rhythm of
the Earth), continued his work with Holland over thecourse of nine stellar albums, and for the last 15 years
has maintained a well-documented collaboration withLouis Hayes (having recorded a half dozen albums
under the octogenarian drummer’s leadership,including the newly released Artform Revisited on
Savant).
Key among all of his many associations, however,
was the one he developed with pianist, composer andeducator Mulgrew Miller. Nelson notes, “He hadsuch a big influence, not just on me, but on the whole
scene. It was such a rich period then. The young
guys just loved him, they used to flock around him.
It was a great thing that he had a big, big influenceon them. He had all that experience, going back toplaying with the Ellington Orchestra when some ofthe original cats like Harry Carney were still in thatband. That’s special to get that kind of experience.
And then all the other stuff with Betty (Carter), Art(Blakey) and Tony (Williams). The point I’m making
is: you don’t get that anymore because there are notbands like that today.”
While such bands may not exist anymore, thelessons learned from the players who had tenuresin them are still being passed down. Nelson for hispart has tried to ensure that Miller’s legacy continues.
The close relationship between the pianist andvibraphonist was more than just musical; some might
consider it astrologically fated, as intimated in thetitle of Nelson’s recent album of Miller compositions,
Brothers Under the Sun (HighNote), referencing theircommon Leo birth signs (Miller was born one year
prior to Nelson). The vibraphonist notes, “We’dalways play a double birthday engagement at Smoke,
so when he passed I did several tributes to him there.
I’ve been doing it ever since, often as a Wingspanreunion. This year we’ll be at Smalls with my quartet.”
For more info visit stevenelsonvibes.com. Nelson’s 70thbirthday concert is at Smalls Aug. 13. He is also at Dizzy’s
Club with Louis Hayes Aug. 1-4, The Jazz Gallery with
Miki Yamanaka Aug. 16, and Tompkins Square Park withLouis Hayes Aug. 25 (part of Charlie Parker Jazz Festival).
See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:• Kenny Barron—Golden Lotus (Muse, 1980)• Steve Nelson—Communications(Criss Cross, 1987/89)• Steve Nelson—Fuller Nelson: The Second Time Around(Sunnyside, 1998)• Dave Holland—Extended Play (Live at Birdland)(ECM, 2001)• Steve Nelson—Sound-Effect (HighNote, 2007)• Steve Nelson—Brothers Under The Sun(HighNote, 2016)

JAZZ

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JEFFREY HAYDEN SHURDUT

ENCOREGUILLERMOGREGORIONO NEED FOR LIMELIGHT
BY ARIELLA STOKThe great Argentine-American clarinetist (and alto

saxophonist), composer, architect and graphic artist
Guillermo Gregorio was born in Buenos Aires in 1941
and the influences that shaped him present a rejoinder
to American and European-centric narratives of jazz.
Gregorio started getting into music at age 14 with
hot jazz from New Orleans and Chicago, naming
the discovery of King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band as aparticular inflection point. He later “jumped over” bebop
and went straight to modern jazz via Lennie Tristanoand, at the same time, was listening to 20th-century
composers, such as Arnold Schoenberg. He would
then become curious about a fusion of contemporarycomposition and modern jazz along with modern artbased ideas, inspired by practitioners such as Gunther
Schuller. There is a temptation to label the resulting
music “Third Stream,” but as Gregorio points out, he
was an outlier. “They call that Third Stream—jazz andclassical, America and Europe. And I was neither inEurope nor North America. I was from South America. I
realized there are many more possibilities, and that waswhat excited me.”
Following a military coup and period of politicalunrest, Gregorio left Argentina in 1986 with his wife,
Jorge Luis Borges scholar Sylvia Dapia. In Europe, hecontinued developing his musical ideas, beginninga fruitful partnership with Viennese trumpeter/
flugelhornist Franz Koglmann; he then briefly moved to
Los Angeles (where he studied with legendary Tristanoite tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh) and, in 1991,
to Chicago, where he stayed for 25 years, becoming
ingrained in the city’s creative music community. His
recording career, which began in the late ‘80s (hisdebut as sideman was on four consecutive records with
Koglmann), includes a series of crucial records as leader,starting with Approximately (hatOLOGY, 1995). An
ensuing 15-year-long association with the hatART label
family (Hat Hut, hatOLOGY, hat(new)ART) includes his
examination of the graphic scores of Cornelius Cardew(Treatise, 1998) and Anthony Braxton (Compositions No.

10 & No. 16 (+101), 1997) plus a half dozen other “Hat”
label-related albums as leader.
Gregorio has recorded for a variety of otherlabels such as Balance Point Acoustics, Driff, Fundacja
Słuchaj, New World, Nuscope, Peira and Relative Pitch
and continues apace with two releases on different
labels from the end of last year. Two Trios (ESP-Disk’)frames the current moment in his still-evolving careerby featuring two live performances: one reunites him
with Carrie Biolo (vibraphone) and Fred Lonberg-Holm(cello), partners from his time in Chicago before moving
to New York City almost a decade ago; the second
trio performance, featuring Iván Barenboim (contralto
clarinet) and Nicholas Jozwiak (cello), was recorded at
NYC’s Downtown Music Gallery. The decision to releasea live recording reflects one of Gregorio’s guiding
principles: “music as a sonic event that is produced inreal space, in real time, and reflecting the physicality ofsound.” The Cold Arrow (Balance Point Acoustics), hisother recent release, reprises his trio from Room of the
Present (Fundacja Słuchaj, 2007-8) with percussionist
Jerome Bryerton (the personnel notes specify “no drums
are used”) and bassist Damon Smith. While two of thealbum’s tracks are listed as Gregorio compositions, therest are free improvisations, his oeuvre largely resistingsuch categorization by giving primacy to the moment
and act of creation.
The clarinetist’s music practice is rigorously
governed by a philosophical framework influenced
by constructivism and music concrète via two key
avant garde movements from his native Argentina(Movimiento Madí and Asociación Arte ConcretoInvención) and by his visual art practice. He has
made the convergence of sound and visual art and theestablishment of a musical semiotics his main subjects
and describes a key moment in the early ’60s, when hebegan in earnest to incorporate ideas of modern art inhis music practice: “At home, I started to play on, under,
inside and around the piano, opening the window toallow in the noise from the street so the composition
was made by the ambiance and the context. I learned
to cut the tape, not only to make edits but to produce
effects, cutting on the diagonal, touching the tape to
add grease from my hand.” The resulting music was
documented in his Otra Musica: Tape Music, Fluxus &Free Improvisation in Buenos Aires (1963-70) (Atavistic),
alongside recordings from the Fluxus-adjacent collective
he cofounded in 1969, Movimiento Música Mas, which
staged happening-based performances around Buenos
Aires. “Concretion No 2”, for instance, was a score thatentailed the construction of a table, to be performed live
by skilled carpenters, where the sounds of the hammers
and the voices of the workers became the piece,
culminating in the completed table.
In addition to using conventional notation, Gregorio
frequently employs graphic scores to explore silence,the spatial projection of tones and texture. While themusic is left open, he rejects the idea that it is aleatoricor chance-based à la John Cage, and rather considers it
a structure allowing for dynamic, focused interactions
between the musicians. These methods have endeared
him to his collaborators, who celebrate his compositional
approach, which allows musicians to be themselves.
Bassist Brandon Lopez, who recorded in duo with
Gregorio on 12 Episodes (Relative Pitch, 2017) says, “He’sable to develop the idea and architecture of material
in real time. And he’s a great listener. His music ties
to twelve-tone music and what happens directly
afterwards. That he’s such a great improviser, comingfrom a city that’s as far away as Buenos Aires, frames it
in a completely different, extremely singular context.”
Bassist Damon Smith concurs that Gregorio offers a“different version of modernism that comes not fromthe places where you are usually getting them. That’s
one of the things that makes it so amazing to play with
him is that you get this aspect that his music was formed
differently than anything else. It’s an experience you
couldn’t get elsewhere.”Now in his 80s and with New York City his home,
Gregorio has once again interwoven his musicalcosmopolitanism within the local landscape. He is
playing at the peak of his powers and on any given night
can be found collaborating with musicians generations
younger who regard him with both deep admirationand camaraderie. On a mid-week night in June, at
Ibeam Brooklyn, the intimate practice-cum-performance
space in Gowanus, Brooklyn, his trio (with saxophonist
Jeff Pearing and bassist Charley Sabbatino) played
understated yet decisive chamber jazz, alternating
between compositions by each of the three members
plus collective improvisations. With the venue’s air
conditioning turned off, the pin-drop acoustics allowed
for a full appreciation of Gregorio’s clarion, clear
and melodic clarinet tone, as he engaged in agile andcommunicative interplay. Wearing a white dress shirt
and burnt sienna slacks that matched his acetate frames,
he conveyed a sense of ease and elegance both in his
bearing and playing. Between compositions, he would

York City and played in the bands of Lionel Hampton,
Mercer Ellington and his idol, Dizzy Gillespie. During
1946-47, he played occasional gigs with Bud Powell,
Sonny Stitt and Art Blakey, while also using his G.I. Bill
benefits to study composition at Gotham College.
His first big break, however, happened in 1948,
when Miles Davis recommended him to take his placein Charlie Parker’s quintet. Dorham excelled at the fast
tempos that challenged Davis and continued to play gigs
with Parker into 1950. His style then shifted, beginningwith a tone that emphasized a greater warmth andlyricism. And his career soon took off with recordings
under Max Roach, J. J. Johnson, Thelonious Monk, Sonny
Rollins and the very first edition of the Jazz Messengers.
In 1953, he recorded his first album as a leader(Kenny Dorham Quintet, Debut), and it seemed like hisstar was on the rise when he was then signed to Blue
Note after appearing on sessions for the label led by
Lou Donaldson and Horace Silver. Dorham led a nonet
on his Afro-Cuban (1955), which was the first of nine
albums he recorded for Blue Note over the next decade.
At Blue Note, he struck up an especially fruitful musicalrelationship with tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson,

particularly during the years 1963-64. During this time,
the two collaborated on many now-classic albums under
the trumpeter’s name (Una Mas and Trompeta Toccata)and Henderson’s (Page One, Our Thing and In ‘N Out).
The two would additionally appear on Andrew Hill’s
Point of Departure (1964), widely considered a highpoint of ‘60s free jazz and accentuating an adventurous
element in Dorham’s playing. He had evidently become
more receptive to the advances in the music that became
prevalent in the ‘60s, since the reportedly tense 1958
session with John Coltrane and Cecil Taylor (originallyreleased as Taylor’s Hard Driving Jazz, reissued as
Coltrane’s Coltrane Time), where the trumpeter was
audibly uncomfortable and unhappy with the situation.
By the mid ’60s, however, Dorham’s recording
opportunities had plummeted. Struggling with heroin
usage, by 1970, he was also battling kidney disease. He
was briefly a contributor to DownBeat, which publishedan excerpt from his never to be completed autobiography.
Dorham, commonly recognized as one of jazz’ great, yet
unsung and underrated trumpeters, would eventually(CONTINUED ON PAGE 27)

FRANCIS WOLFF © BLUE NOTE RECORDSLEST WE FORGETKENNYDORHAMQUIET KENNYBY KEN DRYDEN

Trumpeter McKinley “Kenny” Dorham never achieved

the widespread acclaim that he merited during his
lifetime, hampered somewhat by his reserved nature.
Yet he has become recognized as a great by many jazz
instrumentalists active today, and a number of his
compositions (e.g. “Blue Bossa”, “Una Mas”, “Prince
Albert”, “Lotus Blossom”) are still frequently performed.
The Texas native, born 100 years ago this month(b. August 30, 1924), started taking trumpet at age ten,played in his school’s marching band and was alreadyfreelancing before graduation. Though a brief stint incollege was interrupted by being drafted into military
service, after his discharge, Dorham made his way to New

10 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD(CONTINUED ON PAGE 27)

L ABEL SPOTLIGHT

WE JAZZ
CREATING A SPACEBY KEN WAXMAN“I love music in all formats,” says Matti Nives, We

Jazz Records founder and artistic director. Thatsentiment was what prompted him to found the label
in 2016. Today, with nearly 200 titles in the catalogue
and about 25 releases on average per year, the Helsinkibased label has become an outlet for Finnish musicians
and international players. The label was an outgrowthof the We Jazz Festival, which began in 2013, and soonafterwards, he recalls, “the label seemed like a very
interesting thing to do, and I had some experiencein working with labels so I thought we could do it…
There’s always room for more labels that have a passion
and their own vision. It was about being passionate
about finding new music and sharing it in a meaningful
way—and it still is.”Initially the plan was to only release vinyl anddigital product. Buyers requested that CDs be added.
And as graphic designer, Nives is also responsible forthe look of the label’s releases and creates most of thedesigns himself. At first, the label was financed with
contributions by Nives himself; today, it is, in essence,sales of existing releases that pay for new ones. “Wewere looking to make stuff that is well done enoughto interest people that would buy records,” he notes.
Nowadays if a project calls for out of country expenses,

fLuXkit Vancouver (i ts suite but sacred)
Darius Jones

Trio
Timo Lassy

some funding is available, but “it’s still very sales
driven and at my own risk.” We Jazz’ first release wasa self-titled album by the Bowman Trio, which withrepressing sold 500 copies as an LP and CD. Depending
on demand, other sessions have been repressed as well.
“They all sell less than Taylor Swift does,” he says
sarcastically. “But we try to match each pressing to thescope of the release.”
Swedish bassist Petter Eldh has been featured ona dozen of the label’s releases, including those withhis Koma Saxo band. He says, “Matti has created aspace for me and other musicians to take our music
really seriously but at the same time not compromise
the fun and playfulness that is the starting point of itall. We Jazz is the main home for my explorations as
a producer and performer, and I love how Matti and I
have built up a relationship where we trust each otherand evolve together.” His fifth leadership date forthe label, to be recorded in early fall, is a project that
integrates vocalist Sofia Jernberg into Koma Saxo; theresulting ensemble, Post Koma, is a name “coined by
Matti himself,” Eldh notes.
Besides CDs, vinyl and digital, other formats such as
cassette tapes and 7-inch singles are also used. Why so?
“It’s always a conversation with the artist, and they’reusually happy to hear my input,” answers Nives. “Often
stuff is related to visual ideas such as vinyl color. The
budgeting only comes after we have the impulse to dosomething and the vision of how to do it.”
Although there are no contracts for a single
release, a number of artists have done multiple

Branches
Black Motor

Mopocalypse
Moposessions. “There’s no hard feelings if anybody
wants to record for other labels, and many of themdo,” says Nives. Increasingly, artists for the label
are drawn from outside Nordic countries. “I want
to release good music and that comes from all overthe place,” Nives admits. “So instead of planning forinternational focus, it’s about not limiting our focus
to local artists.” Given, there is unquestionably a richpool of local talent from which We Jazz has alreadyrepresented in their catalogue, including the groups
Mopo (Mopocalypse) and Black Motor (Branches), as
well as Juniper, the stunning debut album by Mopo’s
baritone and alto saxophonist (sometimes vocalist)
Linda Fredriksson.
Alto saxophonist Darius Jones, whose sextet
released fLuXkit Vancouver (i ts suite but sacred) on We
Jazz, and Brooklyn-based baritone saxophonist Jonah
Parzen-Johnson are two of the non-Finns. Johnson
has already released three discs for the label, and in
November his fourth will feature a duo with Turkish
drummer-sound designer Berke Can Özcan. “I was
first approached by Matti when he invited me to play
his festival in 2018 and I was so charmed that I asked
about putting out an album,” he recalls. “I was looking
for a relationship, not just a single release, but a place tobuild from and grow together.” For each of his albums,
Nives and Johnson devote time to discuss music, themotivation behind the music and the saxophonist’s
vision for how it should be shared.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 27)

Imagine Giving Up
Jonah Parzen-Johnson

Live
Koma Saxo

VOX NEWSIN PAIRSBY SUZANNE LORGE

Leader and singer Catherine Russell first worked
with uber-talented pianist Sean Mason on her 2022
release Send For Me (Dot Time). A wonderful album,
it was a big affair, with horns and reeds plus hand
percussion complementing Russell’s superlative
vocal performance. For her latest project with Mason,
though, she’s opting for the most reduced of settings—
just voice and piano. This new record, My Ideal (alsoon Dot Time), represents Russell’s first complete foray
into voice-piano duets.
It’s a marvel to hear Russell’s impeccable phrasing
so exposed on the album’s ten tunes, each one a steppingstone through jazz history—from her tongue-in-cheektake on “Porter’s Love Song”, through her restrained
wail on Ray Charles’ “I Don’t Need No Doctor”, to herpoised rendering of the Irving Berlin classic, “The Best
Things Happen While You’re Dancing”. Mason matches
Russell in versatility and imagination, especially withhis subtle reharmonizations on the title track, deftsoloing on the Louis Armstrong hit “You Can Depend
on Me”, and captivating melodic exposition on “Southto a Warmer Place”. Though My Ideal is available thismonth (Aug. 23), the closest stage to hear Russell live is
at Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, NY (Aug. 6).
But check this space next month for info on her
upcoming Birdland album release run (Sep. 3-7).

A one-time substitution on a London booking led
to a new record for UK-based singer-lyricist Norma
Winstone—her first release for ECM in six years. She
and pianist Kit Downes first met when he covereda gig for her regular pianist; on the bandstand thetwo discovered a unique musical synergy. From thatshared vision grew Outpost of Dreams, ten mostly newcompositions that use music by Downes (and others) as
the jumping-off point for Winstone’s impressionistic,
poetic lyrics. It’s a superb listen. Serendipitously, it’s
not the vocalist’s only ECM duo offering this year: theMBE recipient has already recorded her next album
for the label, this time applying her wordcraft tocompositions by bassist Steve Swallow.
Nothing conjures images of sultry summer nights
more than vocals floating atop a thrumming guitar.
Just released, Pepito y Paco (BMG/Paco de Lucía
Foundation) resurrects the earliest recordings of thefamed flamenco duo of singer Pepe de Lucía andguitarist Paco de Lucía (1947-2014), two brothers fromthe Algeciras region of Spain. The album’s 21 tracks,
AI-restored and never heard before, not only recall
the flamenco traditions of the mid-20th century but
reveal how jazz and classical music influenced these
historic musicians—and, in turn, the musicians theyinspired.
More locally, singer-guitarist Raul Midón blends
what he calls “smooth folk, alt-pop and jazz” on Lost &Found (Rekondite), which dropped last month. Midónis an engaging and engaged singer, able to conjure aspectrum of moods with his commanding voice—a skill
that has led to a proliferation of collaborations (mostfamously, a duet with Alex Cuba on the latter’s 2021
Grammy-winning album Mendo on Caracol). Midón will
officially introduce Lost & Found at Joe’s Pub (Aug. 23).
Brazilian guitarist-singer Sergio Pereira brings
selections from his new record BOSSA+ (Tiger Turn)to Jazz Forum (Aug. 4) in Westchester. It promises tobe “an immersive experience,” in the “fusion of bossa
nova with other Brazilian rhythms, all while being
infused with the improvisational spirit of jazz,” says
his press release. His gently rhythmic vocals—withor without words—provide a soothing antidote to the
midsummer swelter.
Breezy outdoor concerts: indie star vocalist
YEBBA pairs up with Robert Glasper at Central
Park Summerstage (Aug. 1), just before he leaves for
the Newport Jazz Festival (Aug. 4). Traditional jazzmeadowlark Daryl Sherman returns to Bryant Park
this year for the Piano in the Park series (Aug. 5-9).
Later, Carmen Lundy headlines the Charlie Parker Jazz
Festival at Marcus Garvey Park (Aug. 24), followedby three dazzling singers at the festival’s next stage,in Tompkins Square Park (Aug. 25): Kurt Elling with
Superblue duo-mate, guitarist Charlie Hunter; vocal
virtuoso Ekep Nkwelle; and gospel master Alexis
Lombre. Award-winning jazz journalist (and Glasper
spouse) Angélika Beener hosts in both locations.
For those who prefer air-conditioned rooms:
Singer LaTanya Hall plays The Django (Aug. 1) before
hitting Dizzy’s Club as part of its Songbook Sundays,
this time in a salute to Duke Ellington (Aug. 18). Rising
newcomer Anaïs Reno will turn out a set that evening,too.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 11

FESTIVAL REPORTFREIHOFER’SSARATOGA JAZZFESTIVALDMCHR 71434

Ray Anderson & Bobby Previte:
Double Trouble© ENID FARBER FOTOSBY TRISTAN GEARY

Yussef Dayes @SPAC

D rizzle turned to downpour on day one of the 47th

DMCHR 71416

Ray Anderson (solo):
Marching On“Anderson’s music is bold, warm,
energetic, melodic, not without
intricacy, abstraction or virtuosity but
not given to showboating either...”- Howard Mandel (Down Beat)
Concert dates:
The Jazz Loft, August 9
Bar Bayeux, September 14
Harbor Jazz Festival, September 21
National Jazz Museum, Harlem,
September 26

mail: info@doublemoon.deDistributed by Naxos
Double Moon Records is a trademarkof Challenge Records.

www.challengerecords.com

annual Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival (Jun. 29-30)
at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), justminutes away from the charming college resort townof Saratoga Springs. Although torrential, the rain
didn’t dampen the spirits of festivalgoers, who hooded
up and popped umbrellas, turning the grounds intoa veritable obstacle course of dodging umbrella
spokes. The opulent multi-tiered amphitheater and thesmaller, rustic Charles R. Wood Discovery Stage, held
headliners and lesser-known (but no less talented)
acts, respectively: 22 acts in all appeared across the twostages. The festival calls itself a “jazz festival”, and it is,for the most part. But the organizers readily admit thatamongst the jazz offerings, the festival incorporates
indie, pop and otherwise jazz-adjacent names. This
other programming is not something that’s veiled, or
awkwardly maneuvered under the jazz umbrella: it’s
openly and unapologetically programmed.
Getting things underway was the downhome jazzflavor of The New Orleans Groove Masters, whichwere first on the docket at the Amphitheater. If you
were still waking up, under-caffeinated, or mildly
hungover, this group, featuring the three drummers(Shannon Powell, Jason Marsalis and Herlin Riley),injected the spirit, post hence. Percussion forward, calland response energy, and plenty of “big 4” fêted thefestival’s opening. Sloppy (the good kind) New Orleans
piano from David Torkanowsky complemented thepercussive avalanche from the drummer triumverate,plus ecstatic tambourine playing and joyous vocals
added to a snowballing groove.
Jazz harmonica is not something even an
enthusiast-level jazzhead hears every day, which is
why Cuban pianist Harold López-Nussa’s Timba a la
Americana project was so ear-perking at the Discovery
Stage. Grégoire Maret offered a non-stop torrentof angular bebop lines and intricate melodies on
harmonica, soaring over Cuban-infused jazz rhythms
and the deft interplay between the leader, Luques
Curtis (bass) and the pianist’s brother Ruy Adrián
López-Nussa (drums).
The rain was unforgiving, but audiences
soldiered on back to the Main Stage to hear 21-yearold Indonesian pianist Joey Alexander, who played
intensely, bringing himself to his feet at the piano
on many occasions. At times sweeping and Liszt-ian,other times frantic and torrential, he favored originalcompositions from his latest album Continuance (Mack
Avenue) that drove forth, not with swing, but with

12 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDNYC JazzRec_DoubleMoon CMYK v2019.indd 1

16/07/2024 10:37

that now not-so-modern in-between thing. Trumpeter
Theo Croker joined the trio as a special guest (looking
like he just came from the set of a sci-fi movie, witha ’90s-style shiny metallic jacket) and launched into
“Blue”, a moody, bassy number awash in blues licks
and exciting outside departures.
Ping-ponging back to the Discovery Stage, StevenBernstein marionetted his Millennial Territory
Orchestra with expressive conducting, whipping
the swaggering horns and pendulous Basie-esqueswing into motion. A fragmented “St. Louis Blues”
introduced the set, the tune presented in medleyedsnippets as if it were a half-remembered dream,
scattered amongst aggressive tenor saxophone soloing
from Scott Robinson, which was as torrential as therain. Bernstein was MC, trumpeter, soprano trombonist(slide trumpet), puppeteer and head-bopping hypeman all rolled into one. The tightly wound horn section
were so far in the pocket no rummaging could ever
get them out. Their not-so-background lines could
get abstract, even uncanny, before resolving to gritty
blues harmony over which uproarious wailing could
commence. The set was soaked in rip-roaring blues,
injecting the festival with freewheeling pep.
Two standout festival sets appeared back-to-backat the Amphitheater. London-hailing drummer Yussef
Dayes came out blazing, with fast rolling intricate
grooves, dotted with blistering lines from a legion of
keyboards played akimbo by Elijah Fox, often the starof the set, including a “Tenderly” interlude played in
stride style. Intensely physical music, the pieces were
full of ceaseless percussion and cinematic builds fromthe ensemble, even if they did risk becoming samey
after a while. Then there was vocalist Samara Joy, who
dipped low and a few high, commanding her entire
baffling vocal range with masterful technique andintimate knowledge of songs such as Charles Mingus’“Reincarnation of a Lovebird” and the standard “YouStepped Out of Dream”. Backed by a powerhouseseven-piece band that emitted the punch of a big band,
Joy was equally an interwoven texture in the band as
well as the standout high-flyer, with acapella sections
to really demonstrate her ability, and tagged endings
to save your soul.
Day two brought blue skies and swelteringsun, opening with trumpeter Terence Blanchard
performing works from his album Flow (celebratingits 20th anniversary). His ensemble was joined by the
Turtle Island String Quartet, which brought a focused
intensity to the music. Sentimental, churning andforceful, but still somehow sweet, melodies from theleader ricocheted off Mark Whitfield, Jr.’s muscular
drumming. Some compositions even verged into
prog-rock territory, with many spindly guitar solos
by Charles Altura plus rollercoaster violin playing
from Gabe Terracciano. A highlight, however, wasBlanchard’s string quartet piece, “Turtle Trajectory”.
On the Discovery Stage, the Miguel Zenón Quartet
stood out. The alto saxophonist’s compositions were
notable for their buoyancy—longform, unfolding
melodies with many narrative sections gave astorytelling quality to the music. Organist Cory Henryat the Amphitheater leaned into his showman side. He
was no doubt blazing on the organ, but the spirit of themusic often got him moving about the stage, singing
and engaging the audience with call and response
energy and joyous loopable funk jams of catchy hooks
and endless soloing opportunities. Vocalist and multiinstrumentalist Laufey performed catchy originals andDisney-fied standards such as “I Wish You Love” torapturous shrieks from the audience. Even if it’s quite
safe, risk-free music, Laufey’s voice was endlessly
disarming.
Stanley Clarke played with his ensemble 4EVER,
offering a masterclass in groove development. Highly
syncopated and bunched tightly together, the music
still had a looseness that allowed for collective soloing
and interplay. Starting on electric bass, he switched toupright a few tunes in, and without sacrificing any of
the speed and punchiness of his bass lines. Melodies
played collectively by Evan Garr (violin), Emilio
Modeste (tenor, soprano), Colin Cook (guitar) andBeka Gochiashvili (piano, keyboards), mirrored by thebassist/leader and Jeremiah Collier (drums), proved afortress of rhythm, with each bandmember contributing
inquisitive solos, Garr’s being particularly electric.
Other appearances at the Amphitheater included
Cimafunk, Lake Street Dive and Norah Jones. Roundingout the Discovery Stage line-up: Sara Caswell, Tia
Fuller, Theo Croker, Coco Montoya, Helen Sung,
Pedrito Martinez, Olatuja (with Alicia and Michael
Olatuja) and the Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty AllStars celebrating the centennials of Max Roach, Bud
Powell and J.J. Johnson with Clay Jenkins (trumpet),
Steve Wilson (alto, soprano), Steve Davis (trombone),
Dave Stryker (guitar), Bill Cunliffe (piano), Todd
Coolman (bass) and Dennis Mackrel (drums).
“I know the rain is coming down, but that’s avibe too,” said drummer Dayes, greeting the audienceduring his set. Through the torrential but sweepingly
atmospheric precipitation, and the subsequent glorious
break-through of sunlight, the festival was endowedwith cinematics. It was a cocooned, immersive andhuddled experience, as if the music itself were battling
against the elements.
For more info visit spac.org

LUCIANO ROSSETTI © PHOCUSAGENCYBY JOHN SHARPE

William Parker @Roulette

N ow in its 27th iteration, New York City’s annual

Vision Festival took place over six nights (Jun. 18-23) at
Roulette in Brooklyn, with a total of 29 sets, presenting
the customary blend of avant jazz, dance and poetry
for which it is famed. A balance of old and new,composed and improvised, accessible and challenging,
resulted in an event rooted in the cultural values andradical aesthetics of the ’60s and ’70s Black American
avant garde that, thanks in no small part to festivals
and outlets like Vision and its presenting organization
Arts for Art, is still thriving. It rightly continues toattract listeners not only from across the nation, butfrom across the globe. Each year Vision honors one ofits own with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Arguably
long overdue, there are few more deserving honorees
than this year’s recipient, bassist William Parker who
on opening night received the honor with its slighttitle variation of “LifeTime of Achievement”.

Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk’), abetted by a crew whichdisplayed a near telepathic simpatico. Newman
Taylor Baker (drums) stripped back to the essentials,
while Michael Bisio (bass) and Shipp indulged in the
sparkling and unpredictable interplay which elevatedthe entire performance.
Trio Plex offered a chance to hear sometimes
under the radar pianist/multi-instrumentalist CooperMoore at his thunderous best. The intense dialogue
with Michael TA Thompson (drums) meant that Ken
Filiano (bass) often resorted to the bow to cut through,though the tender lulls between storms allowed
fuller appreciation. Cooper-Moore forsook the keys
for homemade percussion in another striking outing,this time with violinist Jason Kao Hwang, as the pairsoared, swooped and skittered off the map in glorious
tandem. Notable was the degree of integration between
dance, video, poetry and music. “What Are You
Doing?” by Davalois Fearon Dance demonstrated adisarming synergy between musicians and movement.
Accompanied by bassist Parker, Oliver Lake exclaimed
sardonic free verse meditations, touching in words onpast collaborators such as Hamiet Bluiett and Amiri
Baraka, while the relentlessly morphing video forreedman Isaiah Barr’s Red Zone was as hectic as themusic was mesmeric.
The Sun Ra Arkestra closed the festival, with acelebration of bandleader and saxophonist Marshall
Allen’s 100th birthday, which was almost exactly one
month prior. It was an exuberant mélange of driving
big band, squealing cameos and space chants andmade a suitably uplifting end to an uplifting event,which did Director, Founder, participating spoken
word artist and dancer Patricia Nicholson proud.
For more info visit artsforart.org
88.3 FMTRAVEL & EVENTS

ANNIVERSARYVISIONFESTIVAL

Parker has been at the epicenter of the Visioncommunity from the beginning. He’s explored multiple
avenues of expression since then, and many of themwere represented in the six sets. Among the highlights
were an excerpt from his opera Trail of Tears, which
confounded genre, blending classical, R&B, gospel andjazz to tell unpalatable truths with the composer largely
sitting listening, occasionally conducting. He aired
his free jazz chops in The Ancients, with saxophonist
Isaiah Collier flame-throwing atop a tumult conjuredby pianist Dave Burrell and drummer William Hooker
with guest dancer Miriam Parker who quickly proved
to be as much an ensemble member, reacting to themusic as the musicians, conversely, interacted withher every movement. The indefatigable bounce ofRaining on the Moon proved another flashpoint,
alto saxophonist Rob Brown and trombonist Steve
Swell forging a swaggering chemistry, Eri Yamamoto
washing everything blue and singer Leena Conquest
relaying Parker’s lyrics with style and soul. They
finished with a rousing “James Baldwin to the Rescue”,
presaging a remark later in the week from poet Fred
Moten who hailed Parker and Baldwin as “two of thegreatest talents to emerge from NYC.”
Also noteworthy, on the next night and amid way
too much good stuff to mention, was the incendiarypairing of tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis anddrummer Chad Taylor. With his huge sound, motifdriven lines and vocalized edge, the descriptor thatsprings to mind for Lewis is impassioned, a sentiment
affirmed when he embellished with guttural honks
and keening overblowing. Taylor’s tonal organization
recalled Ed Blackwell in its musicality and cameparceled with inventive grooves, meshing with the
saxophonist’s heavy incantations. They maintainedenergy and focus, even when blowing wilder, varying
the constant multidimensional barrage without everlosing control, to achieve a potent emotional directnessthat garnered a standing ovation. Similarly heartfelt,
alto saxophonist Darius Jones on the third night led
an accomplished quintet through a series of inventive
charts spanning sunny to rootsy to desolate, whichmarried inventive arrangements with feisty individual
forays. Jones retained his signature drenched-in-feelingclout, Christopher Hoffman’s cello winningly emulated
the leader’s expressive inflections, while Jason Nazary’s
jittery drums aerated the whole high-wire act.
Earlier that same evening, saxophonist Ingrid
Laubrock helmed Lilith, a terrific cutting-edge sextet
drawn from a younger generation. In an unbroken
piece which willfully mixed ice and fire, the groupfearlessly followed her into the cracks between jazz,
improv and new music. Adam Matlock’s accordion
played the wildcard. Trumpeter David Adewumi
harked back to the tradition and intertwined withthe principal’s provocative tenor, while Yvonne
Rogers’ piano playing clanked, glissed and chimed,
outstandingly in one mercurial duet with Laubrock’s
bleating soprano. Together they knitted the diverse
materials into a cohesive and enthralling fabric.
Reedman Isaiah Collier confirmed his rise. On closingnight and with a pared-back edition of his band The
Chosen Few with Nat Reeves (bass) and Warren Trae
Crudup III (drums), he blazed deep into Coltrane’s
bag and emerged 100% Collier. Their pleasure in theuntethered explorations and satisfying transitions
from ferocious ruckus to earthy pulse was palpable.
Elsewhere during the festival, Vision stalwarts
Brown and Swell joined with another regular, drummer
Whit Dickey, and pianist Alexis Marcelo to embark
on a collective journey in Watershed Continuum.
Years of experience ensured that whenever theopportunity arose the two horn players probed, called,
responded, flexed and caressed, part of a ceaselessinterchange, buoyed by Dickey’s polyrhythmic
wisdom and Marcelo’s percussive underpinning.
Another mainstay, pianist Matthew Shipp, reprised
the repertoire from his latest album, New Concepts in

ALBUM REVIEWS

A Window Within
Olivia Foschi (s/r)
by Alex Henderson

Born in San Francisco, raised in Northern Italy andbased in New York City (since 2010), post-bop vocalist
Olivia Foschi brings an intriguing range of influences
to her newly released A Window Within. The highlyexpressive, bilingual singer occasionally performs in
Italian, though most of her original lyrics are in English,
as she blends post-bop with everything from Italianfolk to Indian classical music to Brazilian bossa nova
and samba. Foschi incorporates Indian-influenced scatsinging on “John John Joel and Joan” and “Caught Me
by Surprise”, and a strong Brazilian flavor asserts itself
on the gentle, caressing “Pieces of Central Park”, thebossa nova-flavored “Savoring the Rain” and “Livewith It”, the latter an exercise in Brazilian-style scatsinging that recalls Flora Purim and Tania Maria.
The vocalist wrote the gentle English-language
ballad “Nona” for her grandmother, and detours
into an Italian dialect on “Cun la Prema Stela” (atraditional song that goes back to the ’20s). Foschi’s
interpretation, however, is decidedly non-traditional,
and she successfully makes it a vehicle for post-bop
improvisation. “Cun la Prema Stela” is the only nonoriginal piece on the album. She otherwise uses her
own lyrics and melodies to subtly express herself andher material is definitely on the ethereal side, whichworks well with her light, airy, unassuming vocal style.
Thankfully, Foschi has intuitive accompaniment in Matt
King (piano, electric keyboards, melodica), Vinicius
Gomes (guitar), Marco Panascìa (bass) and Mauricio
Zottarelli (drums, percussion). King’s and Gomes’ solos
are consistently lyrical and fit right in with the vocalist’s
understated performances.

Korean beliefs in astrology, reincarnation and karma.
The music itself is propelled by Korean folk rhythms,
led by percussionist Keita Ogawa (of Snarky Puppy)
and drummer Jared Schonig. Often those rhythms aredeveloped and amplified by the brass or reed sections,
their massed chords echoing the vaguely martial,
pulsing beats.
The album kicks off brilliantly with “Surrender”,
the band’s sections jabbing and darting over a persistent,
crisp Korean folk rhythm. Weaving it all together isthe fluid, floating, swerving trumpet of guest soloist
Ambrose Akinmusire, whose approach ranges fromincisive to rubato. He also guests on “You Are My
Universe”, described by Lee as representing “a baby
in a mother’s womb.” Akinmusire is more muffled andbreathy in his solo here, and the orchestra spins eerie
wind sounds reminiscent of the Gil Evans Orchestra’s
1960 rendering of Kurt Weill’s “Bilbao Song”.
The bandleader is constantly innovative in her useof unusual orchestral tones and timbres (another linkto Evans), with some tracks resembling modern atonal
music and others doubling down on the brass and reed
sections’ elaboration of basic Korean folk rhythms.
Pulsing triplets that begin in the rhythm section are
amplified by jabbing trumpets and rocking trombones
on “We Are All From the Same Stream”; trombonist
Alan Ferber and tenor saxophonist Jason Rigby step
off from the triplets in their solos. Lee explores uniquesonorities on “Nowhere Home”, from pianist Adam
Birnbaum, who joins the pulsing rhythms under highbrass and woodwinds, to Carl Maraghi’s bass clarinet
solo, which is engulfed in a swirl of flutes.
Each track here displays a unique sonic palette,enticing us to venture beyond swing.
For more info visit motema.com. The album release concert is
at Sheen Center Aug. 23. See Calendar.

For more info visit oliviafoschi.com. The album release
concert is at The Cutting Room Aug. 16. See Calendar.

The

Infinite Connections
Jihye Lee Orchestra (Motéma Music)
by George Kanzler

Composer-bandleader

Jihye Lee expands theparameters of big band music, foregoing many of thetropes of the genre—none more so than riffs and swing.
There is little of either in her angular, pulsing, multistrain music. If improvised solos were excised, it would
be hard to even classify it as jazz. But it does contain
jazz solos, and her arrangements support and showcase
them. Her music is unpredictable, engrossing andfrequently exciting.
Lee’s descriptions of the nine compositions on
Infinite Connections are almost completely devoid ofreferences to music. She associates each with somethingphilosophical or mystical, often related to her Korean
grandmother and mother, and referencing traditional

Afternoon
BassDrumBone (Auricle)
Marching On (Solo Trombone)
Ray Anderson (Doublemoon-Challenge)
Double Trouble
Ray Anderson & Bobby Previte(Doublemoon-Challenge)
by Jeff Cebulski

music of Chicago native trombonist Ray
Anderson, featured on three recent albums that testify
to his versatility, dexterity, energy and inner drive, hasappealed to generations of jazz aficionados.
The trio BassDrumBone, now in its 47th year,
celebrated its longevity in 2023 with a not-so-rehearsed
concert at NYC’s Zürcher Gallery. Thrilled with the
response, the trio went into Samurai Hotel and recorded
Afternoon (released on drummer Gerry Hemingway’s,
as-old-as BassDrumBone, Auricle imprint), a satisfying
triple-decker jazz sandwich that layers improvisations
with compositions by Anderson, Mark Helias (bass)and Hemingway (drums). The “Afternoon” segments
provide the improv. “Afternoon Begins” starts ina beatnik vibe, with the trombonist in abbreviatedhonking mode over the drummer’s bongos. The bassist
joins with a Latin-tinged statement that turns into aswinging jaunt, leading his bandmates onward like apied piper. Hemingway’s funky “Ain’t Nuttin Butta”
follows, before Helias’ lazy-paced “Shone Eyes”
mellows the mood. On “Afternoon Continues”, thebassist brandishes his bow while Anderson’s muted
whining is intertwined. Helias then takes over withpronounced aggression, his friends adding occasionalpunctuations. The trombonist’s tribute to his hometown,“Bright Wabash”, is typically elliptical; he heightens

14 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

the drama but lightens the spirit as Helias’ bass figures
dance around. The closing “Afternoon Ends”, a tone
poem that evolves into a song, begins with a portentous
bass line, atop which Anderson flits like a mosquito(maybe it’s near dusk), while the two others add colors
from the free jazz palette. Eventually, the trombonist
shifts into a melodic interlude that suggests the passingof dark skies to a glorious dusk, as the trio glides intoa smoother, hipper groove. This adventurous recording
simply exudes collective confidence.
Meanwhile, two austere but invigorating albums
highlight Anderson’s rhythmic intuition and constantmusing. His solo excursion, Marching On (recorded
in 2019) features songs which may sound entirely
improvised due to the artist’s often-truncated delivery.
But Anderson always has his audience in mind and takes
a composerly approach. Notable among the original
selections is the title cut, a tribute to the politician John
Lewis, on which one can feel a funereal street march in
the trombonist’s delivery. His interpretation of standards
always entertains; the intro to “Just Squeeze Me” climbs
between the high and low ranges of the instrument
before yielding to a jaunty, swinging rendition, while“Equinox” is built on a guttural pronouncement thatserves as the comping to the higher-pitched blues
melody. Throughout, Anderson gives the impression heis striving to reach the essence of his material.
Anderson recently joined forces with longtime
accomplice, drummer Bobby Previte, to record Double
Trouble. Its seven pieces rarely lack pace, the twomusicians weaving call-and-responses in different
beats. On “Homage for Charles Moffett”, after a flourishof cymbals, the trombonist buzzes his way througha dirge before funky drums emerge behind a melody
akin to “When the Saints Go Marching In”. The funkcontinues on “Austerity” and Previte’s James Brown-ish

A Aguilar & Stringbeans—In The
R • Annette
North (A Tribute to Northern Manhattan)
Seeks Salmon)e • (Eagle
Tim Armacost Chordless Quintet—
c Something About Believing (TMA)(Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson,o • aRT
Julian Thayer)—m aRT (ScienSonic Laboratories)
Baldwin, Zacc Harris, Pete Hennig—m • Jake
Boundaries (Shifting Paradigm)
Blehar/André Matos—New Moone • Nathan(Robalo Music)n • Nicole Connelly, Zachary Swanson,
Gentile—Stamp in Time (s/r)
d • Kate
Espial (Josephine Davies, David Beebee,
e Martin Pyne)—The Act of Noticing
Music)d • (Discus
Gilbert Holmstrom—Peak (Moserobie)• Ian Hutchison—Bop for Dancing (s/r)

Jordan—World Broadcastn • Louis
Recordings 1944/45 (Circle)e • Brian Landrus—Plays Ellington &(Palmetto)w • Strayhorn
Allegra Levy—Out of the Question(SteepleChase)r • Rob Mazurek—Milan (Clean Feed)
Greens—In Green/We Dreame • Parlor(Colemine)
Rich—Long As You’re Livingl • Lisa(Tritone)e • Harry Skoler—Red Brick Hill (Sunnyside)
Shipp—The Data (Rogue Art)a •• Matthew
Tomasz Stanko—September Night (ECM)s • Kiki Valera—Vacilón Santiaguero
9 Music)e • (Circle
April Varner—April by April Varners (Cellar Music)

rhythm machine on “Ecaroo”, which features a notable
abstract trombone interlude. The drummer continues
the pounding and thrashing on “Rollover”, sounding
like Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham playing jazz (not too
far-fetched, given Bonham’s admitted appreciationand influence of Brubeck drummer Joe Morello).
After Anderson’s musing on “Downgrading”, the duo
arrives at something like swing on “Mumblypeg”.
The closer, “Not Since”, is relatively quiet, offering an
extended solo moment for the trombonist, as well as
another opportunity for listeners to further appreciateAnderson’s greatness.

That traditional jazz palette gives Frisell and Gibbs moreroom for the trio’s deep grooves to develop, notably on
the guitarist’s “Monica Jane”, Ron Carter’s “Doom” andthe traditional “We Shall Overcome”.
For more info visit bluenote.com. Frisell is at Village
Vanguard with Andrew Cyrille Aug. 6-11, and as leader
Aug. 13-18 and 20-25. See Calendar.

AUGUST SHOWSAUG 1
ROBERT GLASPER
FT. YEBBA

For more info visit auriclerecords.bandcamp.com andchallengerecords.com. Anderson plays solo at The Jazz Loft
Aug. 9. See 100 Miles Out.

SUMMERSTAGE

AUG 1-2
DUMPSTAPHUNKaRTaRT (Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson, Julian
Thayer) (ScienSonic Laboratories)
by Bill Meyer

There’s been a lot of noise during the summer of 2024
Orchestras
Bill Frisell (Blue Note)by Stuart Broomer

Bill Frisell has had a long relationship with Michael

Gibbs, the English composer-orchestrator responsible
for the settings in which the guitarist’s trio appears on
the newly released Orchestras. Frisell first fell under
Gibbs’ influence when he heard the Gary Burton Quartet
with guitarist Larry Coryell in 1966, unaware that half
the compositions were Gibbs’. Enrolling at Berklee
College, Frisell found Gibbs was his composition
instructor. In 2013 Gibbs would orchestrate Play a Bill
Frisell Set List, adding the NDR Big Band to Frisell’s trio.
This double album set (available in CD or LP form, as
well as digital download) continues the collaboration,
Gibbs setting Frisell’s trio and repertoire amidst twoorchestras: the 60-member Brussels Philharmonic andthe big-band winds and a cello from the Umbria Jazz
Orchestra. (There is also a limited and exclusive 3-LP
vinyl version, which adds additional material with theBrussels Philharmonic.)
Frisell, Thomas Morgan (bass) and Rudy Royston(drums) retain the guitarist’s own orchestral sense,
while Gibbs’ scores for the Brussels orchestra (conductedby Alexander Hanson) feed the music’s development.
Gibbs’ work complements Frisell’s substantial andsustained sound, both compact and resonant. There are
moments when pizzicato strings seem to dance withguitar lines, while Frisell’s chordal expositions cansound like another section of the orchestra. Gibbs can
expand the subtle, compound moods of the guitarist’s
repertoire, highlighting the dark undertones that subtly
impinge on calm surfaces. A certain darkness in Stephen
Foster’s “Beautiful Dreamer”, the hint of a dead subject,
is fully realized in the play of dissonance between theprotagonist and the orchestra.
Gibbs’ orchestrations often emphasize contrastingelements. Frisell’s hard-edged “Rag”, its fractured
traditional materials split almost evenly between thetrio’s opening exposition, features hints of banjo andsitar within the orchestra’s accelerated fiesta. The
initially somber setting of “Richter 858, Number 7”
is illuminated by the brightness of guitar, until theorchestration takes over, assuming a driving melodic
focus.
On the second disc, the Umbria Jazz Orchestra adds
four reeds, six brass and a cello to Frisell’s trio. The format
gives a looser feel to the music, the core trio taking on a
traditional role as rhythm section, with musical director
Manuele Morbidini playing reeds as well as conducting.

about the simultaneous emergence of double broodsof cicadas. But if seventeen years underground sounds
impressive to you, consider the trio aRT. Drummer
Pheeroan akLaff, multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson
and bassist Julian Thayer have been making music
together since 1988, and have only just now gotten
around to making their first album. Take that, you hasty
bugs.
A number of factors have dictated aRT’s tortoisepaced progress. For a start, everyone’s been busy doingother things. Aside from compiling a collection of
instruments so big he needs a garage to hold the playable
ones and a basement for the spares and busted ones,
Robinson has played with Paquito D’Rivera, the Mingus
Big Band, Tony Coe, Marshall Allen, Roscoe Mitchell,
Milford Graves and led his own various projects
and runs his own record label; akLaff has likewise
drummed for Oliver Lake, Henry Threadgill, Anthony
Davis and Wadada Leo Smith in between bouts of selfemployment. Meanwhile, Thayer is a psychologist who
has pursued a career as a clinician and researcher, mostrecently at University of California, Irvine. When thetrio has convened, it has been to perform, sometimes
in concert, but quite often in multidisciplinary settings
involving dance, video, sculpture and painting. The
enticing images adorning the sleeve (as with most to allalbum artwork of Robinson’s ScienSonic Laboratories
imprint) was made by American science fiction andfantasy fiction illustrator as well as surrealist painter,the late Richard M. “Gorman” Powers.
aRT’s debut is not the sound of performers
defining their sound, but that of a collective wellacquainted with its own potential. The most obvious
variable is Robinson’s instrumentation; he plays fifteen
across the album’s twenty tracks, including the wellknown (tenor, bells, gongs), exceedingly rare (electric
contrabass saxophone) and nearly forgotten (tremoloa,
which combines a zither with a monochord damped
like a Hawaiian steel guitar). But more remarkable thantheir number and novelty is how rarely their unusual
sonorities are the point. Rather, one can savor how his
contrabass sarrusophone figures dance atop a bowedbass drone, the eerie beauty that his dizi (a Chinesetransverse flute) evokes as it navigates spare rhythmic
terrain, or the pointed, Albert Ayler-esque (Spritual
Unity-era) attack he musters when he hoists his tenor.
The tracks are short, but each makes an impression
before yielding to a new possibility. One hopes thatthe trio does not wait a full cicada’s lifespan before
expanding upon the promise of aRT.
For more info visit sciensonic.net. Scott Robinson is at Ear
Inn Aug. 11 and Smalls Aug. 18. See Calendar.

AUG 3–4
KARL DENSON’STINY UNIVERSE
FT. WEEDIE BRAIMAH

AUG 5–7
GHOST-NOTE

AUG 8–11
GARY BARTZ
AUG 12-14
PLUMB

DAVID MURRAY, QUESTLOVE& RAY ANGRY

AUG 15–18
DIRTY DOZENBRASS BAND

AUG 19–20
MICK JENKINS

10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WATERS

AUG 21–25
ARTURO SANDOVAL

AUG 26
ALI SETHI
AUG 27 – SEP 1
DIZZY GILLESPIEBIG BAND
131 West 3rd Street, New York City 10012
212.475.8592 • bluenotejazz.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 15

UNEARTHED GEM

Louis the FirstLouis Stewart Trio (Livia-Hawk)
by Duck Baker

G iven what a strong musical culture the Irish have,it’s surprising that there are so few jazz musicians withany name recognition from Ireland. The exception isbassist Rick Laird (John McLaughlin Mahavishnu
Orchestra), though many who know his music areprobably unaware of his nationality. The only otherIrishman to achieve much international renown was
the great guitarist Louis Stewart (1944-2016), whodied eight years ago this month and remains mostly
unknown on this side of the Atlantic. Stewart wasan astonishing virtuoso in the mainstream modern
tradition, initially influenced in various ways by
Barney Kessel, Tal Farlow and Wes Montgomery,among others. But he was very much his own man,especially in terms of his phrasing, which wasoften punctuated with cryptic, jagged passages that
contrast with the even, cascading flow of most of

his lines. He also stands out for being a remarkably
precise player, even at breakneck tempos, and for his
crisp attack.
Stewart was based mostly in Dublin, except
during 1968-72 when he lived in London. He did
make a strong impression while in England and inEurope during this period, and listeners who enjoy
ridiculous high-octane blowing should track down
Tubby Hayes’ quartet date featuring Stewart (TheSyndicate: Live at the Hopbine, 1968, Gearbox) tohear why. As the title indicates, Louis the First was
the guitarist’s debut as leader, and it made quite asplash when it was first released in 1976. Reissued
here for the very first time, it kicks off with a blazing
version of “All the Things You Are” on which his
overdubbed backing guitar joins John Wadham (bass)and Martin Walshe (drums). This formula is used
on two other tracks and there are also two straighttrio numbers, three solo performances (one of which
has overdubbed guitar backing) and a lovely guitarbass duo version of “Body and Soul”. Stewart’s solo
playing is often praised, with good reason. One hears
the influence of Joe Pass and perhaps George Van
Eps, but again, the style is completely original. The
way Stewart integrates chord melody over almost
independent bass lines is remarkable, and he mixes
in stunning single-note passages seamlessly.
For jazz guitar devotees, Louis the First is highly
recommended.
For more info visit liviajazzrecords.bandcamp.com

16 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Beyond Nostalgia
Akiko Tsuruga (SteepleChase)by Ken Dryden

O ver the past twenty years, organist Akiko Tsuruga
has been building a career that has placed her in the
top echelon of jazz organists active today. Playing
the organ from an early age in her native Japan, she
was influenced by the records of the legendary Jimmy
Smith and had opportunities to play with visiting
Americans. Once Tsuruga moved to the U.S., shewould study with Dr. Lonnie Smith and began to work
as both a sideman (e.g. Lou Donaldson) and leader.
Although on several occasions she has previously
appeared in a supporting role for SteepleChase (e.g.
trumpeter-husband Joe Magnarelli’s New York Osaka
Junction and Ralph Lalama’s Staycation), this is her
first as a leader for the Danish label. Her quintet is apotent force—with Magnarelli, Jerry Weldon (tenor),
Ed Cherry (guitar) and Byron Landham (drums)—and
the set is full of delightful originals, as well as works
by earlier organists plus one standard.
One can hear the influence of various predecessors
in Tsuruga’s approach on the Hammond B3, but it issubtle as she draws snippets from many sources tocreate her own distinctive and personal sound. Herpeppy “Happy Blues” is a great vehicle to showcase
the full band, the baton quickly passed around as thegroove grows more infectious with each chorus. The
organist’s breezy modal “Middle of Somewhere” hasa Miles Davis/John Coltrane vibe to it, with Weldon’ssearing tenor and a nimble organ solo building thetension to a feverish pitch. Tsuruga’s extended
exploration of Dr. Lonnie Smith’s “Back Track” isremarkable for its delicate treatment, giving themusic room to breathe as the quintet explores every
nook and cranny. Magnarelli’s warm flugelhorn is
prominently featured in a laid-back setting of Billy
Reid’s “I’ll Close My Eyes”, then Weldon’s effusive
tenor saxophone playing heats things up to set up
a soulful, playful feature for the leader. Tsuruga’s
meditative title track has a haunting air that conveys
both a sense of loss and remembrance. Kurt Weill’s“Mack the Knife” has been recorded so often that
it is hard to find new paths within it, but Tsuruga
manages to do so with a solid, swinging groove as thehorns lay out.
For more info visit steeplechase.dk. Tsuruga is at Cellar
Dog Aug. 13, Jazz In Times Square Aug. 15 (presented
by Jazz at Lincoln Center) and The Django Aug. 31. See
Calendar.

In the North
Annette A Aguilar & StringBeans(Eagle Seeks Salmon)by Anna Steegmann

M ulti-percussionist Annette Aguilar has thrived

in the male-dominated world of Latin drummers.
Having performed with Tito Puente, Stevie Wonder
and the Grateful Dead, to name a few, she started her
Latin-Brazilian jazz ensemble StringBeans (named forthe string instruments involved) in 1992. A performer,
bandleader and educator, Aguilar has been the Latin
Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department and,ten years ago, created NYC’s now-annual Women in
Latin Jazz Festival.
In the North, her tribute to Northern Manhattan,
features fifteen instrumentalists playing congas, drums,
bata, bongo, coro, violin, cello, trombone, saxophones,
flute, piano and bass, plus one lead vocalist. Listeners
will find rich textures and harmonies in an alluring mix
of styles. The various percussion instruments lay thefoundation for vocals and non-rhythm instruments to
explore melodies; at times, wordless vocals are used as
melodic percussion. Paul Moura’s “Tarde de Chuva”
opens energetically with percussion before the other
instruments join, complementing the tune’s haunting
melody and creating a hypnotic atmosphere (the trackalso includes excellent piano and violin segments aswell as an impressive percussive vocal chorus at theend). “Adoracion” (Eddie Palmieri, Ismael Quintana)
opens with gorgeous piano by Steve Sandberg before
vocalist Debora Resto establishes a romantic mood,soaring above the instruments before being joinedby a chorus of voices. “Keeper of the Flame” (Mark
Levine) offers a novel, innovative arrangement.
Guest artists include Randy Brecker (trumpet) and
Ada Rovatti (tenor, soprano), both enriching “Vendo
Verdade” (Laura Dreyer), which ends in a rousing
crescendo. Album closer “Lianto” (Nicole Denner)
offers contrast to much of the album. Here percussion
instruments remain in the background, joined by theeek!
Open 7 Days a W

leader playing light, feathery drums, which allows forthe lovely melody to rise as violin and piano take thelead.
Aguilar released her last album 14 years ago. In the
North, her fourth with StringBeans, proves definitely
to have been worth the wait.
For more info visit instagram.com/aaabeans. Aguilar is at
Il Sole Aug. 1, and Jazz In Times Square Aug. 8 (presented
by Jazz at Lincoln Center). See Calendar.

Presenting The Return Of

LATIN TUESDAYS

7:30pm & 10:30pm Shows Every Week!

Tomorrow’s Another Day
Jeremy Pelt (HighNote)by Jim Motavalli

T he prolific trumpeter Jeremy Pelt has just released

his 24th album, Tomorrow’s Another Day, and it’s acooly funky exercise with a decided backbeat fromeither drummer Allan Mednard or Deantoni Parks.
It often invites comparison to very late-period Miles
Davis albums such as Tutu (on which bassist Marcus
Miller was composer-arranger.)
The bulk of this recording comes from the leader’spen, though the hard-working Parks (André 3000,
Mars Volta, Meshell Ndegeocello) is writer andproducer (and drummer) on three of the album’s
seven selections. The first track is the drummer’s“Ante Meridiem” with its dolorous chiming, before
Pelt then beautifully emerges in ballad mode (his horn
subtly doubled). Soon the beat gets more insistent andthe sound a little splice-y. The piece then goes throughseveral dramatic changes and some interesting
dynamic turns, with occasional up-front contributions
from the leader, but it’s ultimately Parks’ vision.
“No A.I.”, with echoey trumpet taking the lead,restores the jazz without losing the funk. Vibraphonist
Jalen Baker is heard to good advantage, as is Frank
LoCrasto on Fender Rhodes, while Alex Wintz’ guitar
takes the track into rock territory. Miles-adjacent?
You betcha. “Earl J.” is the progressive swinger, withbassist Leighton McKinley Harrell on acoustic andWintz, in a lengthy solo, forgetting he’s ever heard
ex-Miles guitarist Mike Stern. Baker, in percussive
Bobby Hutcherson mode, is again featured on this one
and Pelt plays the full range of his horn in an audibly
exciting display. Mednard, certainly jazzier thanParks, still brings the funk to the party.
“Amma Is Here”, a gentle mid-tempo groove,goes down easily. Not “smooth,” per se, but smoothfans will like it. The brief, limpid reading of thestandard “People” (Bob Merrill, Jule Styne) is all Pelt.
Parks’ “Milocraft (It’s a Cartoon World)” is, frankly, a
lot like his own “Ante Meridiem”, but not as choppy
and shapeshifting. It features an interesting middle
passage where the trumpeter’s horn interacts withsome studio trickery and big drums from Parks. The
penultimate “Basquiat” (Parks) is, like the painter,kind of splattery, and juiced with more knob twirling,
while the closing, guitar-dominated title track features
the album’s most memorable, hypnotic melody.
If you want simple straight-ahead playing, there’s
plenty elsewhere in Pelt’s catalog. On Tomorrow’s
Another Day, he brings something else to the table.
For more info visit jazzdepot.com. Pelt is at Marcus Garvey
Park Aug. 22 (part of Jazzmobile Summerfest), Mezzrow
Aug. 23-24, and Dizzy’s Club Aug. 30-Sep. 1 (part of“Kenny Dorham Centennial”). See Calendar.

THU
8/1

La Tanya Hall
Joe Magnarelli Quartet

7:30PM
10:30PM

FRI
8/2

Jeffrey Miller Quartet
Mariel Bildsten Septet

7:30PM
10:30PMSAT
8/3

Tommy Campbell Trio
Eric Person Quartet

7:30PM
10:30PMSUN
8/4

Evan Sherman Quartet
Neal Miner Trio

6:30PM
9:30PMMON
8/5

Christopher Bittner Quartet
Marty Scott Quintet

7:30PM
10:30PMWED
8/7

Dan Aran BandJames Carney Quartet

7:30PM
10:30PMTHU
8/8

Loston Harris Trio
Benny Benack III Quartet

7:30PM
10:30PMFRI
8/9

Ed Cherry Quartet
JAson Marshall Quartet

7:30PM
10:30PMSAT
8/10

Jason Tiemann Quartet
Freddy Deboe Band

7:30PM
10:00PMSUN
8/11

Jed Levy Quartet
Dave Stryker Trio

6:30PM
9:30PMMON
8/12

Akili Bradley Quartet
Sofia Kickhofel Quartet

7:30PM
10:30PM

TUE
8/13

Benito Gonzalez Trio
People of Earth

7:30PM
10:30PMWED
8/14

Jonny King Trio
Michael Rabinowitz Quartet

7:30PM
10:30PM

THU
8/15

Luke Carlos O’Reilly Quartet
Mark Whitfield

7:30PM
10:00PM

FRI
8/16

Oz Noy Trio
Ben Stivers Organ Quartet

7:30PM
10:30PM

SAT
8/17

Erena Terakubo Sextet
Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith

7:30PM
10:00PMSUN
8/18

Pete Malinverni Quartet
Cameron Campbell Trio

6:30PM
9:30PMMON
8/19

Simon Mogul Quartet
Jihee Heo Trio

7:30PM
10:30PM

ViewUP-LINE

THE DJANGO N YC

Reserve
RESY

the
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2 av ericas
am

evel

Cellar L

DINNER, LIBATIONS & LIVE JAZZ!
IN THEOF TRIBECA

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 17

Celebration, Volume 1
Wayne Shorter (Blue Note)by Alex Henderson

When Wayne Shorter passed away last year at age 89

Presented by

Celebrating Paul Pines
3pm: Linda May Han Oh
5pm: Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci
8pm: Nicole Zuraitis(he would have turned 91 this month), the distinctive
tenor and soprano saxophonist left behind a rich andeclectic catalog ranging from modal post-bop to electric
fusion, Brazilian jazz and jazz-funk. That catalog
fortunately continues to grow thanks to posthumous
releases drawn from previously unreleased recordings.
One such release is Celebration, Volume 1, recorded
live at the 2014 Stockholm Jazz Festival in Sweden.
Shorter leads his cohesive and lauded acoustic quartet
of Danilo Perez (piano), John Patitucci (bass) and
Brian Blade (drums), and their focus is on probing,
contemplative post-bop. The performances often recall
acoustic ’60s-era Blue Note Shorter, minus the hooks
and melodic immediacy. The leader displays his
more cerebral and angular side on “Smilin’ Through”
and several pieces employing the “Zero Gravity/
Dimension” theme. “Zero Gravity: Unbound”, the eerie“Orbits” and the 20-minute “She Moves Through theFair” even take the quartet into the realm of abstract
outside playing. While these performances don’t go forcomplete atonality, they do offer an appealing blendof the inside and the outside and, as always, it’s goodto hear Shorter in exploration mode. In contrast, theballad “Edge of the World (End Title)” is the album’s
most ethereal and accessible performance.
During his years with pianist-keyboardist Chick
Corea’s Elektric Band, Patitucci established himself as amajor electric bassist. He is of course equally skillful on
the upright bass, which audibly serves him well on thisengaging document of the Shorter quartet’s Stockholm
Jazz Festival appearance a decade ago.
The fact that this release is Volume 1 presumably
indicates that we can look forward to another Celebrationin the future.
For more info visit bluenote.com

Friday, September 13
6pm: Jahari Stampley Family Trio
7:30pm: Jazz Around Town

09/13 - 09/15
2024

Saturday, September 14
10am: Coffee and Jazz
1pm: Michael Mayo
3pm: Ben Wendel Group
5pm:Ulysses Owens Jr & Generation Y
8pm: Nicole Zuraitis
Sunday, September 15
10am: Jazz Cruise
1pm: Daniel Kelly Group Celebrating Paul Pines
3pm: Linda May Han Oh
5pm: Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci & Adam Cruz Trio

18 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Mythos
Altus (Biophilia)
by Mike Shanley

F rom the opening passage of “Embrace”, it’s clearthat the members of Altus have worked to create a
distinct band sound. Despite being a quintet of two
saxophones, trumpet, bass and drums, the New Yorkgroup produces a complex polyphony that sounds asrich as a choral group twice their size. This feelingruns through all nine tracks on Mythos, their fulllength debut. While Dave Adewumi (trumpet) andIsaac Levien (bass) each contribute compositions to thealbum, the arrangements turn each piece into groupefforts where everyone has a distinct role. Nathan
Reising (alto) and Neta Raanan (tenor, soprano) joust

with each other in “Fire Drill”, while melodies in “TheLast Gift” and “Mountain March” feature all threehorns playing phrases that overlap to create a larger
theme.
The less obvious thread that runs through thealbum relates to the source material that inspired
it. Adewumi and Levien see both the Greek myth ofPrometheus and the Yoruba myth of Olodumare asparallels to the history of jazz, drawing on themes ofcreation, power, struggle and love. While the concept
might be hard to adapt musically, the album doesn’t
exactly follow a linear story line and the subject matter
is not a fundamental aspect of the listening experience.
It might add another layer to the sound, but on first
blush, it’s drummer Ryan Sands’ groove on “Origin”,
bolstered by the band’s syncopated handclaps, that
attracts more attention. Sands adds funk to therugged terrain of Raanan’s tenor statement in “Killthe Masters” and nearly blows the lid off of Reising’s
solo in “The Last Gift”. The climax of the latter also
plays up the group mentality at the heart of Altus,
ending with everyone humming the bass line as the
track fades. “Revolt” brings the recording full circle,
creating a peaceful resolution that recalls the mood of
the opening “Embrace”. As Sands builds from a pressroll, the horns work with Levien’s descending bass line,
adding color but never making the sound too crowded
in the process. This kind of group synergy, where noone comes across as a leader or driver, doesn’t happen
too often. Hopefully there’s more to come.
For more info visit biophiliarecords.com. The album release
concert is at Umbra Café Aug. 29. See Calendar.

Songs My Mom Liked
Anthony Branker & Imagine (Origin)by Anna Steegmann

Dr. Anthony Branker (who turns 66 this month) is aman of many talents. He started as a trumpeter with
the Spirit of Life Ensemble and took new musical paths
after brain surgery for arteriovenous malformation. In
the jazz world, he is highly regarded as a composer
and arranger, a leader of three jazz ensembles, andan educator who has taught jazz studies at Princeton
University for 27 years.
Songs My Mom Liked, his tenth album with Origin
and his third with Imagine, is a profound, soulful, anddeeply spiritual album rooted in jazz traditions. Branker
brings new life to songs from his repertoire, explores
new paths and challenges the limitations of the genre.
The album honors the resilience and strong spirit of
his 88-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia.
Branker noticed that his earlier music animated anduplifted her. So, for this project, he assembled brilliant
collaborators: Donny McCaslin (tenor, soprano), Philip
Dizack (trumpet), Fabian Almazan (piano), Linda May
Han Oh (bass), Rudy Royston (drums), Pete McCann(guitar) and guest Aubrey Johnson (vocals). The album
delivers a generous amount of music in a dozen lengthy
tracks. All songs were composed by the leader except“If…”, based on a melody written by his 11-year-old
daughter.
The album is full of gems. The lively “The Houseof the Brotherhood of the Black Heads” is remarkablefor its impressionistic quality and imaginative rhythmic
interplay between McCaslin and Dizack. The gorgeous,
lyrical “Land of Milk & Honey” features exceptionalsolos by Almazan and the trumpeter. For “Imani (Faith)”,Oh and Royston provide a mesmerizing rhythmic basefor the freewheeling, improvisational sections. “Three
Gifts (From a Nigerian Mother to God)” opens withJohnson’s unaccompanied, wordless vocals, whichmake this unhurried, melancholy tune truly hypnotic.
The swinging “When We Said Goodbye” is a nice feature
for McCann. The most captivating and heartfelt track is“The Holy Innocent (for KB and the Children of Gaza)”.
Originally written for Branker’s stillborn daughter, thisrichly textured song and its recurring melodic theme
express a sorrow beyond words.
Songs My Mom Liked is a moving tribute to
Branker’s mother. Sad, bittersweet, and hopeful all at
once, it never fails to captivate.

AUG 1–4

LOUIS HAYES QUINTET
AUG 5

TED NASH BIG BAND:JAZZ MEETS POP
AUG 6

JOHN LUMPKIN BAND

For more info visit originarts.com

AUG 7–10

BEN WOLFE QUARTET
AUG 11CHUCK ISRAEL’S 88TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONAUG 12JAZZ HOUSE KiDSHOSTED BY CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE
AUG 13

JAMES AUSTIN, JR. & LUMINESCENCE:A TRIBUTE TO BARRY HARRIS

Ruminations
Kerry Politzer (PJCE)
by Dan Bilawsky

K erry Politzer has plenty to think on, given the wealthof musical and life experiences leading up to her eighth
leader date. The Portland-based pianist’s gift for living
and creating in the present moment enriches eachstructure with a welcome sense of spontaneity.
Leading a quartet with Tim Willcox (saxophones),
Garrett Baxter (bass), and man-of-many-talents George
Colligan (drums, though more commonly known forhis piano work), Politzer is on her A-game from thestart. The lively opener “Hay Ride”—a beautifully
bumpy, Arcadian swing excursion—recalls childhood
summers spent in Maryland. The first of the album’s
ten originals, it’s a nostalgic offering that sets themood without ever settling. Dialing it down a bit, thegroup moves away from attachment while working
through the concept of acceptance in “Letting Go”.
Willcox’s soprano winds its way through lands offantasy before the leader lights up the mind’s distantskies on “Faraway Dreams”. Baxter works his magicby traveling pensive pathways on the bossa-esque“Saída”. Collective cogitation serves the cycling title
track well, gifting room and appreciation for existential
thought within its relatively vibrant frame.
As the focus turns to the value of mentorship,
Politzer and her bandmates continue to engage in soulsearching. “Cudgel”—written for legendary jazz rebel
Jimmy Giuffre (who served as Politzer’s guide into thewide world of composition)—captures the honoree’s
pioneering spirit while highlighting the pianist’s
wondrous reach into uncharted territories. “Lazy”
delivers a catchy, charming melody over unhurried,
unworried swing. “Persistent Memory” provides realconnection in contemplation without the sedative ofa slow tempo. Spirits run high on the effervescent “A
Breeze Comes”, which gives Colligan plenty of room
for a buoyant solo; he alternately gooses and graces on
drums elsewhere on the recording.
Politzer’s new album reaches its conclusion by
swinging on the beat of an inevitable truth in theclosing with “Things Change or Stay the Same”. Both ameaningful personal endeavor and profound statement
on life, Ruminations proves to have real power andreach.
For more info visit pjce.org. The album release concert is at
Mezzrow Aug. 6. See Calendar.

AUG 14

THE LOST MELODY PLAYS THE BILL EVANS SONGBOOKAUG 15–17

AKIRA TANA’S OSAKA QUARTET WITH ATSUKO HASHIMOTO
AUG 18SONGBOOK SUNDAYS: DUKE ELLINGTON
AUG 19

JARED SCHONIG BIG BAND
AUG 20ROXANA AMED QUINTETAUG 21JOE BLOCK QUINTETAUG 22

GEORGE COLEMAN QUARTET
AUG 23–25

BRUCE HARRIS SEXTET: BYRD IN FLIGHT
AUG 26

ALEX “APOLO” AYALA & THE AFRO PUERTO RICAN
JAZZ BIG BAND
AUG 27–28

MATTHEW WHITAKER
AUG 29LUTHER ALLISON: I OWE IT ALL TO YOU
AUG 30–SEP 1

KENNY DORHAM
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONJAZZ.ORG/DIZZYS
7PM & 9PM
SUNDAYS 5PM & 7:30PM

212.258.9595
BROADWAY AT 60TH ST.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 19

DROP THE NEEDLE

Byrd’s Eye View
Donald Byrd (Transition-Blue Note)by Ken Dryden

Trumpeter Donald Byrd was at the beginning of hislong career at the time Byrd’s Eye View was recorded
in 1955 for the short-lived Transition label, having
replaced Kenny Dorham in the Jazz Messengers only
a few days prior to this recording session. Since theband was probably in Boston for a club date, theyfound time to record. It isn’t Byrd’s first under his own
name, as he had made an earlier album recorded a
few months prior (Byrd’s Word, Savoy), but this album
is far more the impressive date and helped launch his
career. The band includes fellow Jazz Messengers:
Horace Silver (piano), Hank Mobley (tenor), Doug
Watkins (bass) and Art Blakey (drums), along withlocal trumpeter Joe Gordon who, like Watkins, diedfar too young in the early ’60s. The quintet plus theirguest are in fine form, as if the music had been roadtested.

While Byrd would later become known as atalented composer, none of his originals were playedon this occasion. The improvised “Doug’s Blues”,
an extended bop theme introduced by the bassist,
has Byrd playing relatively laid back (in comparison
to the eager Gordon in their exchanges). Silver had
not yet developed his trademark hard bop touch,but he provides a spark within the rhythm section.
“El Sino” is a bit of a surprise, written by Hernifan
Majeed, a trombonist better known under his birthname, Charles Greenlee. It is a blowing vehicle for thetwo trumpeters, with Mobley sitting out. Byrd is thesole trumpeter on the standard “Everything Happens
to Me”, a relaxed lyrical interpretation with just therhythm section, until Mobley enters for a half-chorus
solo before turning it back over to the leader. The
tenor saxophonist contributed the final two numbers:
he gets the lion’s share of the solo spotlight, playing
equally energetic and uncluttered on the fiery bop
vehicle “Hank’s Tune” (followed by Silver thenGordon’s solo); the album closer is the easygoing
mid-tempo “Hank’s Other Tune” (sans Gordon).
The first-rate remastering of this Blue Note
(Tone Poet Vinyl Series) 180g LP reissue brings out
the music in the best light, without surface noise andgiving the listener the feeling of being present in thestudio when it was recorded.
For more info visit bluenote.com. Bruce Harris Sextet’s“Byrd in Flight” Donald Byrd tribute is at Dizzy’s Club
Aug. 23. See Calendar.

20 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Live at Scholes Street Studio
Eli Wallace, Lester St. Louis, Nick Neuburg(Gaucimusic)
Prophecy
Ivo Perelman, Aruán Ortiz, Lester St. Louis(Mahakala Music)
by Ken Waxman

Lester St. Louis has crossed many boundaries as a cellist,

bassist, sound designer and composer. But he’s mostfrequently found as an improviser in bands like these
two on review here. Live at Scholes Street Studio features
him in a specially organized trio with Eli Wallace (piano)
and Nick Neuburg (drums), while Prophecy is his firstrecording with tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman (whohas had more partners than TV’s The Bachelor) in a trio
completed by Cuban pianist Aruán Ortiz, with whom St.
Louis has previously recorded.
Cecil Taylor’s pianism has been described as playing
88 tuned drums, and the single improvisation on Liveat Scholes Street Studio extends the simile in triplicate.
Neuburg wallops all parts of his kit and sandpapers
rasps from wooden boxes placed atop his snare. Alreadya percussive player, Wallace elicits rumbles and stops
from the keyboard, which echo alongside inner piano
string shakes, hand slaps and pings from a metal bowl
collection. Meanwhile, St. Louis uses his bow to generate
lacerating sounds below the bridge or col legno smacks
and maneuvers the cello’s spike to scour the ground.

Despite the number of items being banged, rasped andstroked, this isn’t a noise band, but rather one whichuses skill and taste to broaden timbres. With cello often
outputting a bass-like pulse, the pianist comping and thedrummer occasionally adding march-time inflections,the performance follows a logical and linear evolution.
This remains true even during the last few minutes as thetrio members substantiate the album’s exploratory status
by exploring multiple dissonant tones.
Dissonance is the basis for the other trio’s two
extended improvisations on Prophecy, but rhythmic
solidity and melodic hints add variety to the program.
Perelman’s moaning, altissimo and speaking-in-tongues
melisma lacerate every exposition during speedy or
languid tempos. Yet buried among these abrasive excesses
are instances where he turns to lyricism, projecting
a simple lullaby or engaging in moderate horizontal
development. A more flexible stylist than Wallace,
Ortiz sometimes accelerates tempos or thickens the pacein response to the tenor saxophonist’s note-bending
multiphonics or bagpipe-chanter-like tone-spattering. His
moderated comping and pinpointed clinks become linear
cadences that, especially on the lengthier “One”, relate tounhyphenated modern jazz. St. Louis’ cello thumps also
sometimes take on the connective role of a bass in similar
circumstances. String shrills and woody slaps are also
heard, but to a lesser extent than the prior set. During thealbum’s penultimate minutes, reed stutters, low-pitchedstring reverberations and piledriver piano chording referback to the improvisation’s beginning. Pedal-point piano
accents and soundboard shakes, cello string stretches andout-of-nowhere bell-ringing surround reedy split tones
that become thinner as they descend to dyspeptic stings
in the coda.

that’s at once detached, gritty and bemused. “sponger”,“lunger”, “rejostled” and the verbal wonder of “apicalgropes” and “optical gripes” will readily suggest
unwanted street confrontations, but there’s also a certain
neutrality in their musical development that follows theconsistent use of lower-case titles, “lunger” having thequality of a mathematical problem. Meanwhile, “angular
languor” and “radial mazing” seem to announcecompound freedoms.
Mitchell, Tordini and Weiss’ collective skill in
capturing the city’s psychic abrasions and delights
dovetails with an essential and enduring quality thatfirst made modern jazz “modern,” from Charlie Parker’s
extended “Street Beat” to Thelonious Monk’s “Brilliant
Corners” to Charles Mingus’ score for John Cassavetes’
Shadows, a certain edgy awareness that is its own reward.
Zealous Angles is both alert and speculative, andthe music it may most strongly suggest, whether it’s
“rapacious” or “optical gripes”, is Andrew Hill’s mid’60s run of Blue Note albums. The few longer tracks
take on a floating quality, with repeating figures drifting
across barely articulated pulses, including the ethereal
reveries of “gauzy” and “zeal”, the latter stretching toover ten minutes.

scales and chord changes that will have keen listeners
sitting up to take notice. This bright spot is a contrast
with the master’s output on the rest of the album—fairly
straightforward and rote, even if it is the genius Dizzy.
Soul & Salvation may be a faint blip in the Gillespie
universe, but it is worth a listen for the fun of it. Evenan uninspired Gillespie is still awesome. The album
is available on CD, download and vinyl (the physicalformats feature charts by Bland).
For more info visit liberationhall.com. Gillespie tributes
include Michael Howell Quartet “Plays Dizzy Gillespie” atSaint Peter’s Church Aug. 14 and Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars
Big Band at Blue Note Aug. 27 - Sep. 1. See Calendar.

For more info visit pirecordings.com. The album release
concert is at The Jazz Gallery Aug. 12. See Calendar.

For more info visit gaucimusic.com and mahakalamusic.com.
Lester St. Louis is at The Stone at The New School with
Immanuel Wilkins Aug. 21. See Calendar.
Soul & Salvation
Dizzy Gillespie (Tribute-Liberation Hall)
by Marilyn Lester

There’s probably a reason Dizzy Gillespie never

Zealous Angles
Matt Mitchell Trio (Pi Recordings)
by Stuart Broomer

What musical methodology might best capture thecomplexities and contradictions of contemporary urban
life? On Zealous Angles Matt Mitchell takes one of theemblematic ensembles of jazz, the traditional piano
trio with bass and drums, reimagining and adapting its
structural emphases to create a densely involving musicthat can sometimes float transcendentally through its
own problematics of form. This is the first release of alongstanding group with Chris Tordini (bass) and Dan
Weiss (drums), and it achieves a particular kind of
turbulent momentum through Mitchell’s compositional
method. It’s a combination of polymetrics andpolyrhythmics, the trio members overlaying parts ofdifferent lengths with different rhythmic patterns andtempos, the interactive complexity extending throughthe improvised elaborations.
There are 17 tracks here, 14 of them running between
2:50 and 4:30, but the techniques employed suggest acomplex suite with interactive parts, the character of
one piece seemingly reconfigured in another. There’s
a kind of willed and structuring incongruity here thatwill suspend a listener between anxiety and liberation.
The sense of the collision is already evident in Mitchell’stitling, whether it’s naming street types or mysterious
compound moods to create a special poetics of city streetsmentioned his 1969 release Soul & Swalvation in his
memoir, nor anywhere else for that matter, and why
many Gillespie fans have probably never heard of it. The
album was reissued in 1970 as Souled Out, but it has been
entirely out of print for 15 years. This ten-track releaseamounts to a lightweight novelty item. The musicianshipis excellent, but innovation or serious exploration of newforms is lacking. All of the compositions are by Ed Bland
who also arranged and conducted. Percussive, rhythmheavy and probably highly charted, all that Dizzy had to
do was step in and blow, free to do his thing.
Several of the tunes add a fierce uncredited female
vocal group. On “Pot Licka”, they add a strong, all-out
gospel groove, raising the stakes for Gillespie’s wailingsolo. But on “Turnip Tops” they can add no more thanrepetitive choruses of “yeah, yeah, yeah” throughout.
Repetition is a byword for Soul & Salvation, establishedat the outset in opener, “Stomped and Wasted” with its
heavy bass beat (Jimmy Tyrell). When Gillespie entershe blows a wailing explosion of short phrases, creatinga mood evocative of someone who indeed has been
stomped and wasted. Bland does have a strong suitin composing-arranging. Careful listening in his stewof rhythmic, polyphonic elements reveals some fun
surprises. “Chicken Giblets” subtly creates the cacophonyof a hen house. Gillespie, with another trumpet voicein Count Basie veteran Joe Newman, trade licks thatemulate a pair of roosters among the chickens. The mostsophisticated piece on the album is no doubt “The Fly
Fox”. It is melodic and thematic but has a coolness to it,
particularly when the leader plays a muted trumpet induet with vibes. Cornell Dupree adds to the piece with
top-notch rhythm guitar and, toward the end, a nowinspired Gillespie kicks into the rhythmically creativemode that defined his greatness, shifting between

Tomas Janzon - guitar, Steve Nelson - vibes,
Hill Greene - bass, Chuck McPherson - drums,
Jeff Littleton - bass, Tony Austin - drums“Tomas Janzon continues to surprise as an impressive
guitarist, writer and composer, clearly evident on
Nomadic.” –Ken Dryden, NYC Jazz Record.
“Nomadic is filled with bright moments, subtle
creativity…” –Scott Yanow, Jazz Monthly.
“there is a natural telepathy passing between
the Nelson and Janzon…tasteful and consistently
engaging guitar artistry” -Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz.
“The rhythmic feel of Ascending is hypnotic.”-Oscar Jordan, Vintage Guitar.
www.tomasjanzon.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 21

DROP THE NEEDLE

So Far So Good
Welf Dorr (s/r)
by Elijah Shiffer
Now’s the Time: The Genius of Charlie Parker #3
Charlie Parker (Verve)by Tom Greenland

Although “Bird Lives” graffiti no longer adorns New

York’s subway walls, the alto saxophonist referredto (aka Charlie Parker) is ever extant in the ears ofjazz people, as evidenced by his upcoming birthdayfête (Aug. 29) and an unremittent flood of reissued
recordings and tribute concerts. For audio mavens,the “Verve By Request” series’ vinyl-only re-release of
Now’s the Time is a welcome addition for its excellent
performances and sound quality, available on 180g
black vinyl (or limited edition yellow vinyl!).
Much of the critical ink spilled over this recording
has long since dried, but its many merits bear repeating.
First, the fidelity is superior to most of Parker’s studiowork on Savoy and Dial, not to mention the unevenaudio of his live recordings. The cleaned-up soundmakes it easier to discern individual bass tones, drum
touches and other formerly hard-to-hear subtleties.
Second, the two featured quartets—one with Hank
Jones (piano) and Teddy Kotick (bass), one with Al
Haig (piano) and Percy Heath (bass); both with Max
Roach (drums)—are each in fine form, with Parker’s
alto firmly in the forefront, no other horns to compete
or distract. Parker himself is in excellent form, healthy,
energetic, horn free from squeaks, imagination at full
throttle.
The paradigm for each track rarely varies: after abrief piano intro, the altoist plays the theme followed
by one or two solo choruses over a standard, or fouror more over a blues, followed by a short piano soloand even shorter bass and drum solos, Parker returning
for a final statement of the theme. Within this format,
however, lies the evanescent genius of Parker’s playing,
an amalgam of recurrent signature ideas that, somehow,
get a fresh treatment each time he revisits them. That
stuttering blues lick, those curlicue ornaments, doubletime runs and side-slipping arpeggios, all reappear inslightly different guises. You can hear these creative
machinations on eight different versions of 12-bar blues:
the title track, “Laird Baird”, two takes of “Cosmic
Rays” and four of “Chi-Chi”. On “Cosmic Rays” thetheme itself is improvised, though you wouldn’t knowthat if you hadn’t two versions to compare. Most
astonishing is Parker’s ability to construct intricate
yet elegantly cohesive melodic ‘stories,’ each episodea chorus in length, seamlessly segueing to the next, ascomplex as Beethoven, as basic as blues. It’s somethingthat can’t be taught in a conservatory, a key reason why
new generations will continue to return to Parker for
instruction and inspiration.
For more info visit ververecords.com. City Parks
Foundation’s Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is at Jackie
Robinson Park Aug. 22, Harlem Rose Garden Aug. 23,
Marcus Garvey Park Aug. 23 (co-presented by Jazzmobile
Summerfest) and Aug. 24 and Tompkins Square Park
Aug. 25. “A Tribute to Charlie Parker” (presented by
Jazzmobile) is at Marcus Garvey Park Aug. 22. “Charlie
Parker Birthday Celebration” with David DeJesus is at
Birdland Theater Aug. 29-31. See Calendar.

B eing a successful musician in New York necessitatesa heavy dose of stylistic flexibility, including a knackfor lending authenticity to any genre and a readinessto pivot between genres at any time. The players on So
Far So Good—Welf Dorr (alto), Elias Meister (guitar),
Dmitry Ishenko (acoustic and electric bass) and Kenny
Wollesen (drums)—all have this flexibility, each withhis vast range of styles. Together, their versatility is
on display in the way they combine disparate musicalinfluences to create a unique ensemble sound that
defies easy categorization.
The nine tracks are all Dorr originals; many havefunky, danceable grooves from Ishenko and Wollesen,
but with more than a little avant garde edginess. The
saxophonist is certainly versed in the language ofOrnette Coleman (the lamenting melody of the opening
title track brings to mind Coleman’s “Lonely Woman”)
and Eric Dolphy (notably in the off-kilter rhythms of“Keep On Keeping On” and “Impatience”), but has a
melodic vocabulary all his own. Meister plays tightmelody unisons with the leader, but both in solos andcomping he lashes out in unhinged distortion, evenon the ballad “Eternity”. Dorr matches the guitarist’s
intensity with his own effects, using both delay andharmonizer on “Keep On Keeping On”. All theseelements come together in a particularly effective way
on “Bushwick 16”, over a seedy shuffle beat straightout of the No Wave (that late ’70s fusion of punk, funkand free jazz from such bands as late saxophonist
James Chance’s Contortions). Another album highlightis the well-named “Crazy S”, a multi-tempo barrageof jumpy wide-interval themes less than two minutesin length. The closing “Sweet Dissonance”, also aptly
titled, is a skronky, multiphonic-packed jam in which
everyone cuts loose.
The overall mix on So Far So Good is very satisfying,especially for such a noisy album. Every idea is heard
clearly, and no one gets in each other’s way even when
Meister is at his wildest. It’s easy to imagine that theentire process behind this album was as fun as themusic is to listen to.

following in the footsteps of his musician father who
took him to see many great local musicians and out-oftowners like Count Basie. Coming to New York in theearly ’80s, Person would work with John Hicks, Ronald
Shannon Jackson, Chico Hamilton, Dave Holland andthe World Saxophone Quartet before branching out asa bandleader with his Meta-Four and Metamorphosis,
and most recently, collaborating with Houston Personin their Person2Person project.
In a recent interview for Samo Šolomon’s excellent
Dr. Jazz Talks series, Person explained that, in devotion
to his art and career, he intends to rerelease a numberof albums on his own label, Distinction Records. This
has led him to remaster and reissue his eighth album
as leader, Rhythm Edge (2007), a personal favorite of
his and one which he openly admits and feels is one ofhis best. The musical tour de force includes fourteen
originals (partially resequenced and strangely with one
less track than the original) and amply demonstrates
his compositional variety and flexibility.
The reissue’s album opener (which was originallythe album closer on the 2007 release) is “Tyner Town”,
a tribute to the pianist McCoy Tyner. It’s a fast-paced
composition featuring horns in harmony, with guest
trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. Virtuoso pianist Jarod
Kashkin stretches out in a dazzling solo, followed by
Jensen’s soaring solo. Elsewhere Person pays tributeto his fellow Taureans in the bluesy ballad “Taurean
Majesty”, featuring an excellent solo by bassist Andy
Armstrong. “I’ll Be Just Fine” showcases a fine musicaltexture of Person complemented by Kashkin (electric
piano) and another album guest in Robin Eubanks(trombone). Person’s soprano saxophone mastery is on
display in “Beauty”, where his playing is both lyricaland yearning. In contrast, the fast and furious environsof “Supersonic” highlight lightning-fast exchanges
between the leader (on alto) and Kashkin (electric
piano) as well as Cary Denigris (guitar). The latter has
been a frequent collaborator of Person’s in the bands ofRonald Shannon Jackson and Hamilton; Denigris also
appeared on Person’s leader debut Arrival (1992).
Kudos to Person for revisiting this excellent
example of his earlier work, which will surely guide
him in his future musical adventures.
For more info visit ericperson.com. Person is at The DjangoAug. 3, Umbra Café Aug. 10 and Saint Peter’s Church
Aug. 11. See Calendar.

For more info visit welfdorr.com. Dorr is at The Keep
Aug. 25. See Calendar.
I Owe It All To You
Luther Allison (Posi-Tone)by George Kanzler

Rhythm Edge
Eric Person (Distinction)
by Monique Ngozi Nri

S axophonist-flute player Eric Person is an expert
musician, composer, bandleader, educator andstrategic thinker known for his adventurous musicalspirit. Originally from St. Louis, he first decided that
he wanted to be a saxophone player by the age of seven,

22 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

L uther Allison, one of the stellar crop of today’s
twenty-something jazz pianists, here belatedly debuts(at 28) as a leader, a trio date with Boris Kozlov (bass)
and Zach Adleman (drums). But it is far from his firstrecording, as he has been the pianist (or drummer) on
several sessions by fellow Posi-Tone artists, as well as
playing piano on Samara Joy’s Grammy-winning 2023
single “Tight”.
The album title is a dual dedication, according
to Allison: it pays homage to “the lineage of pianiststhat resonate with me most, affectionately referred toas the ‘Memphis Mafia’” and affirms his commitment
to his Christian faith. The title track album opener isredolent of gospel music, from the organ-like rubato
opening and closing to the soulful, rollicking mid-section, where the pianist’s muscular left-hand chords
underpin a skein of pellucid, quicksilver, single-notelines. Those shimmering right-hand lines also show up
on his tribute to the one non-‘Memphis Mafia’ figure
he honors here, Stevie Wonder (“Knocks Me Off My
Feet”).
The leader’s originals range from a balladdedicated to his fiancé, “Until I See You Again”, toa pair of blues that incorporate advanced harmonies,
reflecting his debt to the ‘Memphis Mafia’. Fourmembers of that group are honored in renditions of
their tunes: Allison captures the funky dribble-bounceof James Williams’ “Say Dr. J“ and the soulfulness ofHarold Mabern’s “There But For the Grace Of…”; hecasts Mulgrew Miller’s waltz “From Day to Day” inalternating rhythms and time signatures; and there
are two tracks dedicated to Allison’s one-time teacher,
Donald Brown. Brown’s distinctive “New York”
features shifting tempos, while the trio expansion ofBrown’s solo arrangement to the Broadway ballad “I
Didn’t Know What Time It Was” (Richard Rodgers)
becomes a funky soul-jazz anthem full of buoyant,down-home swing.
On this debut album, Luther Allison not only pays
affectionate tribute to his forebears, but makes hismark as a soulful pianist in his own right.
For more info visit posi-tone.com. The album release concert
is at Dizzy’s Club Aug. 29. See Calendar.

Aaron Copland. Throughout, however, the ensemble
not only excels in artistry, but crafts this new visionof American music, calling on the legacy of far andrecent past. “Take Over the World” revels in primal
rhythm as branch’s hip-hop-inflected vocal is pairedwith instrumental commentary, but it’s “World War((Reprise))”, the closer, that sobs loudest for bothnation and leader. Her trumpet, backed by groaning
cello and keyboard, emotes over harmonies thathauntingly recall the 1930 German ballad “Fallingin Love Again” (Friedrich Hollaender), carrying thealbum—her last as a leader—to a quite perfect close.
Such aural mastery, however, leads one to imagine thegrand branch catalog that might have been.

The Carnegie Hall Concert
Alice Coltrane (Impulse!)
by Kurt Gottschalk

For more info visit intlanthem.com

Songs of Ascent: Book 2—Steps
Dave Douglas Quintet (Greenleaf Music)
by Jason Gross

A fter decades of being a major fixture in the NYC

Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))
Fly or Die (International Anthem)by John Pietaro

T he ironic prescience in trumpeter (sometimes
vocalist) jaimie branch so naming this ensemble
continues to grow her legend, two years to thismonth from her premature passing at the age of 39.
Fly or Die captured the late trumpeter’s urgency,
her visceral burning. This 2022 recording, in bothreach and persistence, seems to have anticipated thenation’s current divisiveness, speaking back to rightwing Newspeak and the realities enflaming American
politics, as well as the people’s need for a bold new
sound.
Album opener “Aurora Rising”, a brief organ
statement careening with drummer Chad Taylor’s
and guest percussionist Daniel Villarreal’s throbbing
tom-tom and timpani rolls, leads into the Afro-Cuban
strains of “Borealis Dancing”. Keyboards fill thesoundspace like a darkened chapel, with branch’s
mournful trumpet and Lester St. Louis’ always on-themoney cello out front. The programming is less about
separate selections than about the larger whole, as best
explained in the liner notes: “jaimie wanted to playwith longer forms, more modulations, more noise,
more singing, and as always, grooves and melodies.”
This concept continues into “Burning Grey”, branch
conjuring Miles against tireless rhythm by Taylor andhypnotic bass from Jason Ajemian. Her lead vocal,
entering at various points, counters the free sectionsof utter release.
One highlight is “Baba Louie”, propelled by a New
Orleans second line over a samba. Guest musicians
include Nick Broste (trombone), Rob Frye (flute, bass
clarinet), Villarreal (percussion), and Akenya Seymour
and Kuma Dog (vocals). The piece is joyful, with bitsof Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, Charles Ives, even

UNEARTHED GEM

scene, restlessly forming all kinds of bands and doing
extra-curricular work as a sideman, Dave Douglas
circles back to one of his classic groups from roughly
a decade ago. This quintet is arguably one of thebest groups the trumpeter ever assembled, and allof its members—Jon Irabagon (reeds), Matt Mitchell(piano), Linda May Han Oh (bass) and Rudy Royston(drums)—have made names for themselves by now.
Reconvening at the start of the COVID-19 era in May
2020, they recorded over the course of the following
year, each in their own homes, playing a series of
Douglas’ compositions taking inspiration from biblicalpsalms. The end result was two albums first released
in 2022 as part of the trumpeter’s Greenleaf Music
imprint subscriber series—Songs of Ascent: Book 1—
Degrees and this one. He now offers the albums foreveryone else to hear.
“Quiver” has a moody, mournful vibe: Irabagon
and Douglas sound like they’re trying to comfort eachother, aided by Royston’s lovely percussion shadings.
“Olive Shoots” is a swinging, start/stop affair oftrailing horn lines; eventually, they fly off on theirown in a casual, lighthearted way, then run aroundeach other. “Grass on the Roof” is a cool bop balladreminiscent of ’50s Miles Davis, featuring an elegant
Mitchell solo. “Let Your Ears Be Attentive” starts withpunchy, staccato horns before turning into a more
abstract, boisterous groove as the horns swerve aroundthe rhythm section. “A Weaned Child” is a sweet,
lyrical ballad, giving bassist Oh space to solo languidly
in the middle before Mitchell sounds off, managing tobe subtle and dynamic at the same time. “Make a Horn
Grow” is a fast-paced, bouncy horn jaunt atop a lively
rhythm section, giving way to breezy solos by Douglas
and Irabagon. “Dwelling of Brothers” is another slow
brooder, led by Oh throughout; the horns crawl intoview before the trumpeter declaims in the upper
registers. “Lift Your Hands Up” starts like a NOLA
funeral march before Irabagon breaks out into a lyricalsolo, followed by a sad interlude from Douglas.
Here’s hoping that the bandleader doesn’t wait
another decade to reconvene this impressive group.
For more info visit greenleafmusic.com. Douglas is atVillage Vanguard with Joe Lovano/Dave Douglas’ Sound
Prints Aug. 27-Sep.1. See Calendar.

The cusp of 1971-72 was a time of transition for
Alice Coltrane (who would have turned 87 thismonth). Her husband had died four years earlier
and, while she remained committed to keeping
the John Coltrane spirit alive, she was also gaining
recognition for her own musical vision. Ptah, the El
Daoud (1970) and Journey in Satchidananda (1971)—
both released by Impulse!, the label for which she
had recorded with her husband’s band—remain
two of her most acclaimed albums. Her spiritualconnections were deepening, which was increasingly
evident in the music.
On the heels of Journey in Satchidananda’s
release, Alice Coltrane appeared on an odd billat Carnegie Hall with folk singer Laura Nyro andpop band The Rascals’ Felix Cavaliere. All were
followers of guru Satchidananda Saraswati andhad traveled together to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
The concert was actually a benefit for the Integral
Yoga Institute, which Satchidananda had founded
in an Upper West Side apartment in 1966. By 1972,
there was a permanent space in Greenwich Village
and two dozen more centers in North America andEurope. In other words, there was something in
the air. Thankfully, Impulse! seized the momentand recorded the February 21 concert and, at last,it’s ours to imbibe and indulge in: two of her own
compositions (“Shiva-Loka” and the title track from
Journey in Satchidananda) and two of her husband’s,“Africa” and “Leo”.
The set keeps saxophonist Pharoah Sanders andbassist Cecil McBee from the Satchidananda band,but expands from the quintet and sextet of thealbum to a nonet of mostly doubled instruments.
Archie Shepp joins Sanders on reeds and percussion,
McBee and Jimmy Garrison make up a bass section,
Ed Blackwell and Clifford Jarvis fill the drums
and the leader plays piano, harp and percussion.
Kumar Kramer is heard on harmonium and Tulsi on
tamboura. What’s a pleasant surprise on this happily
unexpected album is its relative calm, especially on
the Alice Coltrane originals. For a large group of
mostly fiery players, there’s a respectful restraint.
“Africa” and “Leo” occupy about 50 minutes and,with room for expansiveness and the spirit of theoriginals, get a bit more fast and loose.
The fidelity and separation are quite good for atape left on the shelves so long, although not quite
perfect. It’s a bit flat, and “Shiva-Loka” suffers fromsome volume drops. On the other hand, and in
keeping with family tradition, there’s an extended,unaccompanied Garrison solo which alone would
be cause for celebration. But the celebration reallybelongs to Ms. Coltrane. In what the family has
declared to be the “Year of Alice,” her profile
continues to grow, and most assuredly, deservedlyso.
For more info visit impulserecords.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 23

IN PRINT

Becoming Human
Roxana Amed (Sony Music Latin)
by Alex Henderson
Crossing Borders and Playing with Pioneers:
My Life in Music
Warren Smith (Wispercussion Theatre)by Anders Griffen

T his memoir is the latest achievement in thestoried career of multi-percussionist Warren
Smith—a rare artist who, having mastered abattery of instruments, seemingly has touched
every genre of music. Smith possesses a numberof nuanced ways to convey not only information
deriving from his artistry but also feelings that
extend from his music and from his storytelling.
Those who know him will recognize his voice on
every page of this, his first-ever autobiography.
His chronology brings the reader from Chicago
to New York and from Europe to Africa while
meeting and working with a veritable who’s whoof musical pioneers: John Cage, Nina Simone,
Harry Belafonte, Barbra Streisand, Nat King Cole,
Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin, Duke Ellington,
Charles Mingus, Janis Joplin, Lena Horne andQuincy Jones, among many others.
From the very beginning, the music and thelove and kindness of his family are revealed
as an ongoing inspiration to Smith—and thereader. Themes reflected in the title of thebook surface throughout. “Little did I realize
it then,” Smith writes, “but these experiencesof crossing cultural and social borders in myformative years were building my confidence,
stimulating my curiosity and opening me up asa human being.” His personal history includes
performing state-of-the-art music in collegewith a controversial percussion ensemble,
taking on West Side Story, adapting to conditionsin the studio and on Broadway, performing andrecording with an incredible diversity of artists,and forging his own creative path. Not only
does Smith play with pioneers, but he emerges
as a pioneer throughout his own journey. Owing
to his success, he has “had the opportunity to bein the right place at the right time with the rightskills.”His is an incredible story, told concisely
in its 235 pages, a fitting record for such anaccomplished individual. Additionally, overthe course of his career, Smith kept an archive,
which is now being processed at the Archives ofAfrican American Music and Culture at Indiana
University, where it will become available toresearchers. But right now, Crossing Borders andPlaying with Pioneers: My Life in Music is morethan a lucid, erudite and soulful volume that is awindow into Smith’s life: this memoir stands as asignificant document in the history of Americanmusic. Plus, it’s a lot of fun.
For more info visit https://a.co/d/gJFXRV3. Smith is
at Marcus Garvey Park in “The Centennial Tributeto Max Roach: M’Boom with Horns” Aug. 16(presented by Jazzmobile and Summerstage). See
Calendar.

G reat post-bop explorers such as saxophonists

John Coltrane and Yusef Lateef and pianist McCoy
Tyner not only affected fellow instrumentalists,
but they were an inspiration to vocalists as well.
Post-bop’s spirituality influenced Abbey Lincoln
and many other singers, and Roxana Amed’s
Becoming Human is very much in that vein. Amed,however, approaches spiritual post-bop from a
Latin perspective on contemplative originals suchas “Those Horses Running in the Mist”, “Our Days
of Summer”, “Climbing Up My Spine” and “In This
Lonely Room”. At times, her attractive phrasing
brings to mind Brazilian singer Flora Purim. But
Amed is from Argentina, and her lyrics on several
tracks are in her native language, Spanish. Some ofthe selections, including “Epílogo” and “A Prayer”,
employ both English and Spanish lyrics and Amed isequally expressive in both languages.
The band on Becoming Human includes Mark
Small (tenor, clarinet, bass clarinet), Martin Bejerano(piano), Edward Pérez (bass) and Ludwig Afonso(drums), plus Kendall Moore (trombone) is featured
on three of the eleven tracks. Small is an especiallyvaluable collaborator and Amed wisely utilizes him
extensively. He not only contributes as writer or
arranger on several selections, but moves effortlessly
between three different wind instruments.
Unlike most of the material, “Un Destello” andthe energetic “Wild” have no lyrics and find Amed
sticking to wordless scat singing. She really stretches
out on the latter, which is easily the most aggressive
track on an album that usually favors pensive
introspection over hard swinging.
Latin jazz has come in many forms over the years,
ranging from trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie’s innovative
collaborations with Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo
during the ’40s to the funky, R&B-drenched groovesof Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers during the ’60s
and ’70s. Amed, however, looks for the parallels
between Latin music and post-bop spirituality—adirection that works consistently well for her on
Becoming Human.
For more info visit sonymusiclatin.com. The album release
concert is at Dizzy’s Club Aug. 20. See Calendar.

My World
Diego Figueiredo (Arbors)by Ken Dryden

D iego Figueiredo is first and foremost a master ofBrazilian acoustic guitar, although he has exploredmany standards and jazz classics on earlier
recordings. His latest, My World, is a collection of his

24 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Brazilian-flavored originals that reveal Figueiredo’s
inventiveness as a composer and show off his
considerable chops on his instrument. The rhythm
section will be familiar to fans of Brazilian music,
consisting of Helio Alves (piano), Nilson Matta (bass)
and Duduka Da Fonseca (drums), all of whom havebeen playing in the U.S. for decades, plus appearancesby Ken Peplowski (clarinet, tenor) and Nicholas
Payton (trumpet).
“Malandrinho” is a brief but breezy bossa nova
with just bass and drums accompaniment; it gives
way to the lyrical “Regards From Bahia”, whichadds Peplowski’s clarinet and Alves. Peplowski
has played many gigs with Figueiredo over theyears and sings his praises; and the chemistry
between the two veterans is readily apparent fromthe start. The guitarist’s duo piece “My FriendKen” (the album’s penultimate track) is a poignant
ballad dedicated to Peplowski, written when
the clarinetist-saxophonist was battling cancer.
Together they capture the magic that they have sooften shared on stage together.
Figueiredo’s opening vamp to “Mar Alberto”
hints at a modal setting similar to John Coltrane’sarrangement of “My Favorite Things”. Alves shines
here, and the guitarist’s breathtaking improvisation
proves to be an album highlight. The delicate“Infancia” (“Childhood”) provides a bit of nostalgia,
inspired by the leader’s memories of his father
playing guitar for him when he was a young boy. Yet
this composition is by no means simplistic: it is filledwith intricate interplay between the guitarist and hisrhythm section.
Payton joins on the engaging bossa nova
“Caixote”, a trio rounded out by Da Fonseca’s nimble,
sensitive percussion. The guitarist then pairs with
Matta for a second improvised piece, the mysterious,
somewhat tense “Brain Storm”, which is full of twists
and turns. It’s surprising to learn that Figueiredo’s
solo performance of “Tiramissu” (his favorite dessert)
was improvised in the studio. It sounds throughcomposed: the sign of a true master of his instrument.
For more info visit arborsrecords.com. Figueiredo is at
Mezzrow Aug. 26. See Calendar.

Power Vibe
Steph Richards (Northern Spy)by Mike Shanley

S teph Richards’ staggering technique on trumpet
has landed her gigs with luminaries such as Anthony
Braxton, Henry Threadgill and Ravi Coltrane. On
her own, she has also become a notable leader andcomposer, utilizing space and sound to bold ends.
Her newest release continues down a signature
path, combining familiar elements with unsettlingsonics. This happens immediately in “Prey”, where
Richards plays a semi-sweet melody with a precise
attack that recalls Wadada Leo Smith. A disturbing
sound surfaces behind the quartet, with Joshua White(piano), Stomu Takeishi (electric bass) and Gerald
Cleaver (drums); on vinyl, it might sound like a dirty
stylus is to blame, but the culprit, so to speak, turns
out to be Max Jaffe, whose “sensory electronics”
factor into five of Power Vibe’s six tracks. Initially a
bit obtrusive, his sonic tricks ultimately add an edgy
quality to the sound.

The album’s title comes in part from a series ofmusical cues that any member of the group can use toreshape the improvisation at any given time. On thetitle track, after Richards’ melody calls things to order,
everyone plays with reference to the structure yetseem to gently pull away from it. After the trumpeter
blows low overtones to launch “October for July”, shefashions a tone poem in which she doesn’t exactly getloud but evokes a dynamic feeling nonetheless. This
dynamism blooms even further when White joins forsome quick lines, and Takeishi subsequently becomes
the tune’s anchor.
The group’s skill at shifting gears while
maintaining a free flow reaches an apex during“Supersense”, a 12-minute live performance where
Jaffe takes Cleaver’s spot behind the kit. After aloose opening, the quartet rises and falls together,even creating a dynamic drop that suggests themusic is heading towards a natural fade—until White
unleashes some explosive attacks.
Power Vibe comes a few years after Richards
began suffering from muscular collapse and potential
focal dystonia, a neurological condition which causes
muscular freezing and made it hard for her to playher instrument. Despite this harrowing experience,
the jagged theme and gravelly tone on “Reculez”
demonstrate that she has lost none of her prowess.
For more info visit northernspyrecs.com. Richards is at
The Stone at The New School with Brandon Ross Aug. 8.
See Calendar.

Words Unspoken
John Surman (ECM)
by Daniel A. Brown

T his month, legendary British saxophonist John

Surman turns 80 years old. His contribution tothe overall jazz idiom of a personal modal-folk
vocabulary continues to expand, as can be heard
on his latest release, Words Unspoken. The hourlong collection finds Surman (soprano, baritone,
bass clarinet) and his band—Rob Luft (guitar), Rob
Waring (vibraphone) and Thomas Strønen (drums,
percussion)—approaching a set of understatedcompositions with a gentle grace.
Opener “Pebble Dance” kicks off with asyncopated riff from Waring dissolving into Luft’s
reverb-drenched guitar swells; they create a chiming
underpinning for Surman’s plaintive balladry, whichthen morphs into Middle Eastern-tinged lines that
explode into the aggressive saxophone shards that
fueled his early career. On the title track, the group
cultivates, then discards, a general theme as theleader digs deep into his baritone’s gravelly low
register. The tender canon-like rounds of vibraphoneand guitar on “Graviola” are a force to be reckoned
with, as Surman ascends and descends a staircase of
timbral shifts and thematic ideas.
“Onich Ceilidh”, the most carefree track, is abuoyant waltz showcasing Waring and Luft, thepair weaving around Surman and Strønen. Album
closer “Hawksmoor” plays like a field report of thepreceding music: Strønen’s brushwork goads Surman
into adding fragmented ideas into the pot; with thearrival of Waring, the band invokes late-period Steve
Lacy with a slow-staggering groove, as Luft throws ina flurry of tasty arpeggios.

Considering the compositional and dynamic
variety of the album, Surman shows savviness inaligning himself with ideal collaborators and the everversatile Strønen is a crucial presence. Some fifty years
ago, Surman was a firebrand of the global free-music
community, a collective that arguably strongarmed
the jazz tradition aside (at least temporarily) for thesake of unbridled spontaneity. With Words Unspoken,
he displays the same forward-thinking radiance,
albeit through a more subtle luminosity.

ON SCREEN

For more info visit ecmrecords.com
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes
Sam Pollard/Ben Shapiro (Max Roach Film LLC)
by Paul Gaita

The documentary Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes is

On Their Shoulders: An Organ Tribute
Matthew Whitaker (MOCAT)
by Pierre Giroux

M atthew Whitaker’s new album is a thoughtful

shout-out to the pioneers of the Hammond B3 organ.
At just 23 years of age, Whitaker’s command andprowess over the instrument are quite extraordinary,earning him a well-deserved place among the greats
he honors in this seven-track outing. The release also
underscores his technical proficiency, understanding
and appreciation of the soulful, groovy essence thatdefines the Hammond B3 legacy.
“The Organ Grinder’s Swing”, a number closely
associated with pioneering jazz organist Jimmy
Smith, opens the session. Whitaker’s fingers fly
across the keys with infectious energy from theopening notes. Drummer Johnny Steele’s intricate
rhythms complement the leader’s virtuosity. “Happy
Cause I’m Goin’ Home”, a tribute to another organ
great in Charles Earland, showcases Whitaker’s
ability to channel Earland’s funky soul-jazz grooves.
It receives punchy support from the tight ensemble,
over a solid, pulsating foundation laid down by
percussionist Ivan Llanes Montejo. The chart also
features the bright sound of flute player Antonia
Styczen.
A cover of the inimitable Dr. Lonnie Smith’s“Pilgrimage” opens with guitarist Marcos Robinson
stating the gospel-flavored theme. Whitaker takes
over, and his solo testifies to Smith’s impact on hismusical journey. Joey DeFrancesco died suddenly ofa heart attack two years ago this month, at the age of
51. In the early ’90s, he was credited with bringing
the sound of the Hammond B3 back into the jazz
mainstream. Whitaker performs DeFrancesco’s “In
the Key of the Universe”, backed by an expanded
brass ensemble; he explores it in exuberant style,delivering the intricate passages with technicalability and deep musicality. It is a fitting tip of thecap to the spirit and energy that DeFrancesco brought
to the Hammond B3.
Gospel organist Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark (of The
Clark Sisters) wrote “Expect Your Miracles”, on which
Whitaker plays double duty on organ and piano. With
his thoughtful reimagining, Whitaker breathes newlife into this classic genre. Two original compositions,“Yessaah” and “Don’t Count Me Out”, complete thealbum, rounding out its tribute to the giants of thepast with a peek into the future of jazz organ.
For more info visit matthewwhitaker.net. The album
release concert is at Dizzy’s Club Aug. 27-28. Whitakeralso plays at Central Park Great Hill Aug. 10 (part of
Jazzmobile’s Summerfest). See Calendar.

actually two films in one: co-directors Sam Pollard—anOscar nominee as co-producer/editor of Spike Lee’s 4
Little Girls—and Emmy/Peabody Award winner Ben
Shapiro worked separately on documentary features
about the legendary musician and activist for three
decades before pooling their resources for this project.
The end result is not only a cohesive portrait of Roach,his art, and his contributions to jazz music and Black(and American) culture as a whole, but also a film
which details a sprawling emotional and historicalstory with remarkable conciseness and sensitivity.
The Drum Also Waltzes—which aired in 2023
as part of PBS’ “American Masters” series before
playing the film festival circuit—breaks Roach’s life
down into segments; this traditional documentary
approach works well to encapsulate all that Roachattempted and achieved during his long life (19242007). Those familiar with the legendary drummer willundoubtedly know the breakdown: his tenure withthe bebop movement alongside Charlie Parker, Miles
Davis and others; his rise to stardom with trumpeter
Clifford Brown, which was cut short by the car
accident that claimed Brown and pianist Richie Powellin 1956; his return to the spotlight as a bandleader andin collaboration with vocalist Abbey Lincoln, resulting
in the groundbreaking 1960 album We Insist! Max
Roach’s Freedom Now Suite; and his final decades as an
educator at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
and as a restless experimenter whose many projects
included the percussion orchestra M’Boom, featuring
surviving members Joe Chambers and Warren Smith.
The list of interviewees assembled by Pollard
and Shapiro underscores the old adage about thecompany you keep: comments by such titans of music
and activism as Sonny Rollins, Harry Belafonte andQuincy Jones add mythic context to his biography,
while then-new and archival interviews with
Lincoln, Randy Weston, Abdullah Ibrahim, Dee Dee
Bridgewater and others drive home his importanceas a player and influence on others. More personalcomments by Roach’s children, as well as godson andhip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy, plus Roots drummer
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson speak to the toll taken
by Brown’s loss, as well as Roach’s drive for social
justice and his enduring legacy, as does extraordinary
performance footage, including Roach and Lincoln
performing at the Shiraz Arts Festival in Iran in 1969.
Roach’s life, art and influence remain a shining
example of the nexus of music, social consciousness
and humanism, and cannot be easily distilled intoa single work. However, The Drum Also Waltzes
accomplishes that goal by giving a rich, in-depth
picture of its subject’s ceaseless passion.

For more info visit maxroachfilm.com. The film screening
is at Jackie Robinson Park Aug. 22 (part of Charlie Parker
Jazz Festival). “The Centennial Tribute to Max Roach” is
at Marcus Garvey Park Aug. 16 (presented by Jazzmobile
and Summerstage). See Calendar.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 25

Artform Revisited
Louis Hayes (Savant)by Scott Yanow

L istening to Louis Hayes drive his quintet on his
latest album, Artform Revisited, it is difficult to believethat the drummer recently turned 87. Hayes moved to
New York in 1956 to join the Horace Silver Quintet,
had notable associations with Cannonball Adderley
and Oscar Peterson, and has played with an endlesslist of the who’s who of jazz during the past 65 years
including tenor saxophone royalty in Dexter Gordon,
Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. And while he is best
known for his work as a sideman with nearly everyone,
Artform Revisited represents his 26th album as a leader(counting a few co-led with the likes of Junior Cook or
Woody Shaw).
For this new project, Hayes uses the same
musicians as he had on his two previous albums for
Savant (Crisis and Exactly Right): Abraham Burton(tenor), Steve Nelson (vibraphone), David Hazeltine(piano) and Dezron Douglas (bass). The drummer’s
goal was to revisit music that had influenced andinspired him through the years while rememberingsome of the musicians who were very important in his
life.
The result is a high-quality set of straight-ahead
jazz, with repertoire that includes swinging versionsof Dizzy Gillespie’s “Tour De Force”, John Lewis’“Milestones”, Charlie Parker’s “My Little Suede
Shoes”, “Cheryl” and “Dewey Square”, and Ray
Brown’s “Ray’s Idea”. Nelson has a ballad feature on
Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing”, andBobby Troup’s “You’re Looking at Me” (which recalls

Nat King Cole’s version) showcases Burton in exquisite
form. Hayes’ composition “Ruby” is dedicated to hismother; he also contributes the lowdown blues “G”(co-written with Douglas), which was inspired byhearing Red Garland on the radio.
Suffice it to say, a joyful spirit can be felt throughout
the set. Each musician plays at a high level and nosolo overstays its welcome. As for the ageless leader,whether soloing on “My Little Suede Shoes” (which istaken quite uptempo), or swinging the band—he could
pass for a drummer one-third his age!
For more info visit jazzdepot.com. The album release
concerts are at Dizzy’s Club Aug. 1-4, and Tompkins
Square Park Aug. 25 (part of Charlie Parker Jazz Festival).
See Calendar.

3+3
Tomeka Reid Quartet (Cuneiform)by Marc Medwin

T here are albums that provide a point of definition.
3+3 is a significant breakthrough for cellist andcomposer Tomeka Reid’s quartet featuring Mary
Halvorson (guitar), Jason Roebke (bass) and Tomas
Fujiwara (drums). On this, the group’s third album(its second for Cuneiform), its past accomplishments
are synthesized and expanded, creating a whole that
defies easy summation.
Three lengthy compositions tell the story. Each issectional, a series of vignettes in unified juxtaposition;
piece titles are also thematically conjoined. The
opening Gargantuan salvo “Turning Inward—
Sometimes You Just Have to Run With It” balances“Exploring Outward—Funambulist Fever”. To suggestthat the first and third pieces begin in ametric territory
but transition through ballad and modal vamp toward
dynamic diversity and power is true but not the wholetruth. In “Turning Inward”, it is stunning to hear the
dyads popping out with pointillistic fervor beginningat 0:46, while still woven into its harmonic fabric; theyfirst follow the dramatic pause at 2:08, and at 5:08
others set the swung section ablaze with their open
implications. These relationships occur throughout thedisc, but it’s the slow build and burn housing them thatpropels the music to its heights and depths of discovery.
Dig the multi-hued peaks that are scaled, as grooving
melody gives way to psychedelically effected modal
stretching toward that piece’s conclusion. During“Sauntering with Mr. Brown’s” explosive second half,a magic carpet of strings steeped in reverberant delay
is rolled out, as Fujiwara and Roebke keep a pumpand-piston groove alive.
Solos and ensemble playing merge and diverge
as naturally as breathing. Reid’s solo at almost
seven minutes into “Turning Inward” grows rightout of the melody just as Halvorson and Reid’s
dialogic improvisations frame and recontextualize
their outward explorations amidst fierce swing
and jaggedly Monk-ish composed interludes.
Roebke’s pizzicato solo is a marvel of phrasing
and invention. It leads brilliantly into Fujiwara’srolled and syncopated interjections as those dyads
return. He’s given a more substantial chance to tearloose on “Exploring Outward”, but just as powerful
are his malleted toms and gorgeously transparent
cymbal work, which underpin that composition’sballadry. Halvorson’s exquisite harmonies contrast
her blistering solos and orchestral accompaniment;
they are sometimes adorned with electronics and thewarping effect that is one of her trademarks, offering
support while pushing sonic aggregates outward,
especially in the music’s freer sections. While thequartet can still groove hard, form and structure are
now symbiotically complete.
For more info visit cuneiformrecords.com. Reid is at The
Stone at The New School with Brandon Ross Aug. 8. See
Calendar.

G LO B E U N I T Y

Especially For You
Harri Sjöström/Erhard Hirt/Philipp Wachsmann/
Paul Lytton (Bead)
Due Mutabili (Live at MUG 2022)
Sestetto Internazionale (Amirani)
Two
Philipp Wachsmann/Trevor Taylor (FMR)
by Daniel A. Brown

This month, Kampala, Uganda-born, Londonbased violinist Philipp Wachsmann turns 80 years
old, a personal milestone that also marks more thana half-century of fearless musical explorations. As
an improviser equally comfortable in acoustic andelectronics-imbued settings, Wachsmann has appearedon more than 100 releases, collaborating with kindred
experimental stalwarts including Roscoe Mitchell,
Tony Oxley, Barry Guy and Evan Parker, while also
signposting subsequent, younger players into the most
expansive realms of spontaneous composition. We
explore three recent releases that find the violinist fully
engaged in the truly global avant-jazz community.

Recorded at the tenth anniversary celebrations ofEinstein Kultur, a cultural center in Münich, Especially
For You contains four pieces and features Wachsmann
in full flight with worthy allies Harri Sjöström(soprano, sopranino), Erhard Hirt (guitar, computer
treatments) and Paul Lytton (drums, cymbals,
percussion). The half-hour “For You Part One” leads
off with a salvo of collective sound, the ensemble
blasting forward as Hirt’s guttural electronics divethrough Lytton’s frantic scattershot beats; the groupdissolves into pools of sound at midpoint, Wachsmann
and Sjöström offering up a kind of alien dialogue. “ForYou Part Two” continues the pummeling from theplayers and features an extended albeit minimal solo
by Wachsmann. “For You Encore” is a wind-down of
the previous onslaught, while “For You Lullaby” is thesole piece that hints at discernible themes, held downby the saxophonist’s pensive explorations.
An ensemble dedicated solely to collective
improvisation, the sextet Sestetto Internazionale
welcomes Wachsmann into the fold for the blunt
and unrelenting Due Mutabili, recorded in Münich in2022. The Finnish-German band—Sjöström (soprano,
sopranino), Veli Kujala (quarter-tone accordion),
Achim Kaufmann (piano, prepared piano) andIgnaz Schick (turntables, sampler)—deals in vast
soundscapes. “Mutabile I” clocks in at nearly 40
minutes and is both a demanding listen and object

26 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

lesson in truly selfless playing; the variation of timbral
shifts and dynamics seem to engulf the violinist andcompany as they sacrifice identity for the sake ofmonolithic tonal density. Underpinned by Kaufmann’s
rumbling keyboards, “Mutabile II” sounds almost
placid compared to the preceding track, until theclosing crescendo, when the band is rightfully met
with loud applause.
Two is a duo between Wachsmann and Trevor
Taylor (percussion), where both players also process
their instruments electronically in real time. Theseeight pieces were recorded in London in 2022, and theirminimalism is a welcome counterpoint to the largescale intensity of the other two albums. Album opener“First Landscape” is an exercise in shifting perceptions
created through the use of musical tension and release;
it’s a slow-building dialogue between Wachsmann’slong, weeping bowed lines and Taylor’s scattershot
vibraphone. “Butterfly” is a careening performance
where the two add tasteful echo and delay to a volleyof bowed strings, cymbal hits and percussive rolls;“Origami” is an inversion of this approach, as thepair create shifting, high-frequency drones that are
eventually carried away by Taylor’s dulcet marimba
melodies.
For more info visit beadrecords.com, amiranirecords.com
and fmr-records.com

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)TNYCJR: You have a record coming up soon, I
understand, a gathering of guitar players.
Harrison: Yeah. This is the first collective enterprise,
if you will, of the Summit, where I asked members of
our community to do solo pieces. This was somethingthat took place originally during the pandemic. We dida virtual concert series of solo performances, and it waswonderful to see what people were coming up with. I
decided to collect some of these and add a few others.
It is called The Middle of Everywhere. We’ve got Fareed
Haque, the legendary guitarist from Chicago. Nguyên
Lê, one of my favorite guitarists of all time. Nels Cline,
Liberty Ellman, Anupam Shobhakar, who plays electric
fretless guitar and is a classical Indian musician and a
metal player, Camila Meza, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Anthony
Pirog, Cecil Alexander, Miles Okazaki and Henry
Kaiser. You’ve got to have pretty eclectic tastes to truly
appreciate the record. We celebrate the release thismonth at Le Poisson Rouge.
TNYCJR: I also understand that you have a new book.
Harrison: I did a guitar book a couple of years ago,
interviews with 27 visionary guitarists, and I wanted
to follow up with something different. The new book iscalled Pity the Genius: A Journey through American Guitar
Music in 33 Tracks (Cymbal Press)—it’s short essays
on guitarists from 100 years ago to the present, somethat would not be very well known but are incredible,
again celebrating the singular position of the guitar in
American music and history. It’s about this remarkablelandscape of unique players, all of whom have played apart in making our music the beacon that it is around theworld. I try to make it personal. There’s people I studied
with who I think were incredibly influential, like Mick
Goodrick, who’s probably the most impactful andinfluential jazz guitar teacher of our lifetimes. There’s
Danny Gatton, who has, to me, truly earned the title of
the world’s best unknown guitarist, although people
referred to Roy Buchanan that way, too. I wrote about
them both, and they’re both from my hometown, so it
was close to my heart.
You find these pockets of influence that people
are in danger of forgetting. Sister Rosetta Tharpe: aphenomenal person, not just a player, so ahead of hertime. John Abercrombie: I mean, we should reallycontinue talking about him into the future. A young
man named Arthur Rhames, who grew up in Brooklyn
and died at a very early age, but was a huge influence on
a portion of the Brooklyn community. He left us so soonthat his full impact was not able to be borne out. I talk to
people who knew these individuals: Vernon Reid about
Rhames; Gil Goldstein about playing with Pat Martino;
John Previti, Gatton’s bass player of 20 years. I try to getto the heart of these people.
TNYCJR: So, for you, their music is not just a product oftechnique. There’s a lot of people who play guitar, but
not a lot of people who play guitar in a way that goesbeyond just hitting notes.
Harrison: It’s so true. This book is more about theinside of people rather than anything academic. Here’s
an example. Allan Holdsworth is especially known for
his technical bravura. But when I took a closer look andtalked to people who knew him, I saw the profundity of
his contribution to the guitar world in a new way. Someof Allan’s pieces are heartbreakingly beautiful. The man
did not have an easy life. There’s a ton of feeling in a
lot of his work, something bittersweet. When you lookdeeper you begin to see the soul illuminated behind thenotes, and that is, to me, everything. Why are we here?
Why do we make music? What do these artists, whoproperly could be called shamans, reveal to us about thetruth of life?

TNYCJR: What motivates you to get so involved withthe guitar world?
Harrison: It’s a means of discovery and enlightenment
for me. I’ve learned an unbelievable amount. It’s a wayof hanging out with my friends and heroes. The world
needs outlets for creative music. We all do our part. It’s
also just a lot of fun. I guess you have to wonder why I
would volunteer, essentially raise my hand and go, “Oh,I’m going to do all this stuff.” I think it’s because I truly
believe in the idea of community being a restorative
function in the world we live in. People wonder about thename “alternative.” What does it mean? It’s purposefullyvague. It’s in opposition to the status quo. What I can say
is this: 15 years ago I saw that few festivals invited me
to participate. Almost none espoused the virtues I holddear. Most are timid, predictable, just fucking boring. So
I started my own!
For more info visit alternativeguitarsummit.com. The
Alternative Guitar Summit featuring Harrison with Kurt
Rosenwinkel, Mike Stern, Nels Cline, Wolfgang Muthspiel,
et al. is at Le Poisson Rouge Aug. 24. See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:• Joel Harrison—3 + 3 = 7 (Nine Winds, 1995/96)• Joel Harrison—Harrison on Harrison (Jazz Explorationsof George Harrison) (HighNote, 2005)• Joel Harrison—The Wheel (Intuition/Innova, 2008)• Joel Harrison String Choir—The Music of Paul Motian(Sunnyside, 2010)• Joel Harrison 5—Spirit House (Whirlwind, 2013)• Joel Harrison, Anthony Pirog, Stephan Crump,
Allison Miller—The Great Mirage(AGS Recordings, 2023)(LEST WE FORGET CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10)
quit dialysis, dying a short time thereafter on December
5, 1972.
Alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, an admirerof the trumpeter long before they played together onwhat was one of Dorham’s final studio recordings,
pianist Barry Harris Sextet’s Bull’s Eye! (Prestige, 1968),
explained “Kenny’s melodic, linear line in his playing
is just beautiful. His improvisations are great for theirharmonic accuracy and logical, seamless connections toeach song. He is one of the greatest.” And important
to McPherson was Dorham’s contribution to bop: “Ilike all of his records with Bird… They were as great
as the ones Bird did with Miles. To me, he is the mostCharlie Parker-playing trumpet player: he understood
the language of Parker better than anyone and was nota copycat.”
French horn player and multi-instrumentalist
David Amram had a long friendship and working
relationship with Dorham. The two met in 1952 when
he was introduced to Charlie Parker after a concert.
“When Charlie learned I was a classical composer,
he suggested I talk to Kenny, since he was a hell of awriter. Kenny took me downstairs and showed me stuff
on trumpet and voicings on the piano. He was a natural
mentor and remained that way even when he worked ina music store before he passed away. When we finally
got to play together on a record, Blue Spring (Riverside,1959), Philly Joe Jones didn’t show up for one dateand instead of getting upset, he sat down and wrote
two more arrangements. Watching him play piano, his
harmonic knowledge was staggering, and I appreciatedover the years how that enabled him to play all thosegorgeous notes and amazing phrases on trumpet. He
was an improviser in the highest sense of the word.”
Many of today’s trumpeters who weren’t yet
even born by the time of Dorham’s death, also havegreat appreciation for this overlooked master’s
contributions. Says Jeremy Pelt: “Dorham is as essential
to the development of the language as any more often

celebrated trumpeter. His level of invention andharmonic acuity is something we should all aspire toachieve.” And Mike Rodriguez reaffirms: “His deep
melodic, incredible sense of harmony and soulfulness
continue to influence my playing and I feel he should
be remembered as one of the masters of modern
improvisation.”“Kenny Dorham Centennial Celebration” (featuring Jeremy
Pelt, Mike Rodriguez, Tim Hagans, Josh Evans, Jimmy
Owens, Brandon Lee and Joe Magnarellli) is at Dizzy’s Club
Aug. 30-Sep. 1. See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:• The Jazz Messengers—
At The Café Bohemia, Volume 1-2 (Blue Note, 1955)• Kenny Dorham—Afro-Cuban (Blue Note, 1955)• Max Roach 4—Plays Charlie Parker (Mercury, 1957-58)• Kenny Dorham—Quiet Kenny(Prestige New Jazz, 1959)• Kenny Dorham—Matador(United Artists Jazz, 1961-62)• Kenny Dorham—Una Mas (Blue Note, 1963)(LABEL SPOTLIGHT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11)
We Jazz’ worldwide distribution is handled by!K7 (except in Nordic countries where We Jazz doesit) and direct-to-customer sales are through the label’s
bandcamp page. Another outlet is the label’s online
record store, digelius.com. The name is from the now
defunct Helsinki record outlet. “I love record stores,”says Nives. “We already ran a small record shop outof our office and Digelius was about to close so we justconnected the dots. For now we’re doing online sales
and event pop-ups. My goal is to one day re-open the
Digelius physical store in a meaningful way.”
With all of We Jazz’ projects, does Nives sometimes
feel overwhelmed? No, he says: “I suppose it’s about
the drive and how to manage it. I have the same hours
in my day as everyone. I’m just trying to do interesting
stuff that feels right and learn more each day.”For more info visit wejazzrecords.bandcamp.com. We Jazz
artists performing this month include Jonah Parzen-Johnson
at Nublu 151 Aug. 29. See Calendar.
(ENCORE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10)
break from his focused concentration to glance up at theapplauding audience and issue a shrug—a gesture ofhumility. Given his significant achievements, perhaps
it’s humility why he is not more widely known.
Despite the esoteric concepts that drive his music,
Gregorio underscores everything he does with a deep
sense of melody and beauty. As Lopez explains, “He
doesn’t seem to give a shit about being in the limelight.
He’s just interested in making music, and that’s reallyadmirable.”
For more info visit guillermogregorio.bandcamp.com.
Gregorio is at Ibeam Brooklyn Aug. 22. See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:• Guillermo Gregorio—Otra Musica: Tape Music,
Fluxus & Free Improvisation in Buenos Aires(Atavistic, 1963-70)• Guillermo Gregorio—Ellipsis (hatOLOGY, 1997)• Guillermo Gregorio, Pandelis Karayorgis, NateMcBride—Chicago Approach (Nuscope, 2005)• Guillermo Gregorio/Paul Giallorenzo—
Multiverse (Peira, 2012)• Guillermo Gregorio/Brandon Lopez—
12 Episodes (Relative Pitch, 2017)• Guillermo Gregorio—Two Trios(ESP-Disk’, 2018/2020)

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 27

CALENDAR
Thursday, August 1• Russ Lossing/Satoshi Takeishi with Adam Kolker, Jeremy Stratton
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Green Mambo with Stefan Zeniuk Barbès 10 pm $20
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $40-50• John Pizzarelli• High Society New Orleans Jazz Band; Hayley Sales

Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45• Dumpstaphunk
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Dan Manjovi• Frank Basile Quartet; Mariel Bildsten Quartet Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $5• Robert Glasper/Yebba
Central Park Summerstage, Rumsey Playfield 6 pm $80-193êLouis Hayes Quintet with Abraham Burton, Steve Nelson, David
Hazeltine, Santi Debriano Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $25-55• La Tanya Hall; Joe Magnarelli Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êBrandee Younger with Makaya McCraven, Rashaan Carter, DJ Spinna
Industry City 6 pm
• Annette A Aguilar & String Beans Quintet Il Sole 5:15 pm
The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $40-50• Roy Hargrove Big Band
• Alex Wintz, Matt Penman, Jimmy Macbride; Theo Hill Trio
Mezzrow 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Keith “The Captain” Gamble Minton’s 7, 9 pm $25• Will Graefe; Martin Nevin Trio with Craig Weinrib, Sam Harris
The Owl Music Parlor 8 pm $12
Patrick’s Place 7 pm
• Karen Maynard QuintetêBill Ware with Rez Abbasi, Jay Anderson, Matt King, Taru Alexander
Shapeshifter Lab 7 pm
• Curtis Nowosad Quintet Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êEddie Henderson Quintet with Vincent Herring, Peter Zak, Nat Reeves,Mike Clark
Smoke 7, 9 pm $25-55
êMatana Roberts, Fay Victor, Rebekah Heller
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êDayna Stephens with Emmanuel Michael, Gerald Clayton, Rick Rosato,
Kendrick Scott
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $35• Misha Piatigorsky

Friday, August 2
449 La Scat in Harlem 8 pm
• Denton Darien• Johnny O’Neal Trio; Bobby Harden with Off Da Hook

Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pm
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Caleb Wheeler Curtis• Gregory “Organ Monk” Lewis Trio Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Pierre de Gaillande; Big Lazy with Stephen Ulrich, Andrew Hall,
Yuval Lion
Barbès 8, 10 pm $20• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm
• Birdland Big Band; John Pizzarelli Birdland 5:30, 8:30 10:30 pm $25-50
êTia Fuller Quartet with Shamie Fuller-Royston, Eric Wheeler,
Koleby Royston
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45• Dumpstaphunk
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Dan Manjovi• Michael Olatuja & Lagos Pepper Soup Bryant Park 7 pm
• James Austin Quartet; Matt Martinez Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êLouis Hayes Quintet with Abraham Burton, Steve Nelson, David
Hazeltine, Santi Debriano Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-55• Jeffery Miller Quartet; Mariel Bildsten Septet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Jazzmobile Summerfest: Amina Figarova Sextet and LiberianChildren’s Choir
Marcus Garvey Park 7 pm
• Bill Goodwin Trio; Charlie Sigler Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Ephemera with Olin Clark, Nathan Riesing, Dan Montgomery,
Evan HydeNublu 151 7 pm $20• Jazz Jam with Patience Higgins Patrick’s Place 8 pm
Prospect Park Bandshell 7 pm
• Meshell NdegeocelloRoom 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Ray Blue
• Marius Van Den Brink Quintet with Greg Glassman, Stacy Dillard,Matt Penman, Ari Hoenig; Randy Johnston Quartet with Benny Hill,
Elias Bailey, Pete Siers; Round About Midnight Jam with Eric Wyatt
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êEddie Henderson Quintet with Vincent Herring, Peter Zak, Nat Reeves,Mike Clark
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $35
êMatana Roberts, Pauline Roberts, Brandon Lopez
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Jill McCarron Quartet; Carmen Romano & The Nick Palumbo Stompers
Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêDayna Stephens with Emmanuel Michael, Gerald Clayton, Rick Rosato,
Kendrick Scott
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Saturday, August 3
449 La Scat in Harlem 8 pm
• Denton Darien• Seydurah & Her Avecmoi Band of Blues; Strange Majik
Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pmêIngrid Laubrock/Andy Milne Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Alvaro Benavides Group Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Pakula Surprise with Eric Pakula, Blake Lindberg, Nick Cudahy; Shoko
Nagai’s TOKALA with Satoshi Takeishi, Frank London; Tipa Tipo with
Adele Fournet, Felipe Wurst, Jordan Auber Barbès 3, 8, 10 pm $20

ê = Recommended Shows• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm
Birdland 8:30, 10:30 pm $40-50• John Pizzarelli• Christopher Bittner Quartet; Marty Scott Quintet

The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25

êTia Fuller Quartet with Shamie Fuller-Royston, Eric Wheeler,• Spike Wilner Trio; Chris Flory Trio

• Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe with Weedie Braimah• Charlie Ballantine Quartet Silvana 10 pm• Jonathan Barber Quintet; Mike Boone Quartet

Koleby Royston

Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45• Chris Beck Quartet; Ai Murakami Quartet Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êLouis Hayes Quintet with Abraham Burton, Steve Nelson,

David Hazeltine, Santi Debriano Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $25-55

êTommy Campbell Trio; Eric Person Quartet

The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
Faber Park 2 pmêStan Michels Memorial Jazz Festival: Marjorie Eliot, Rudel Drears,
Joseph Miller Trio
Fort Tryon Park 1 pm
• Bill Goodwin Trio; Johnny O’Neal Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êELEW with Eric Lewis
Minton’s 7, 9 pm $25• Marcelo Cardoza with Letrice Arlene Patrick’s Place 7 pm
Shrine 10 pm• Andrew Danforth Band
• Eden Bareket Quartet with Julian Shore, Tamir Shmerling, Jay Sawyer;
Randy Johnston Quartet with Benny Hill, Elias Bailey, Pete Siers;
Round About Midnight Jam with Stacy Dillard
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êEddie Henderson Quintet with Vincent Herring, Peter Zak, Nat Reeves,Mike Clark
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $35• Jazzmobile Summerfest: Bobby Sanabria Nonet
Snug Harbor Cultural Center 3 pm
Soapbox Gallery 8 pm $25• Russell FisherêMatana Roberts, Tomas Fujiwara
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Michelle Collier Swingtet; Bill Malchow Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêDayna Stephens with Emmanuel Michael, Rick Rosato, Kendrick Scott
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Ginetta’s Vendetta

Sunday, August 4• Dariada David Jazz Brunch; Jazz Jam 449 La Scat in Harlem 1, 4 pm
• Creole Cookin’ Jazz Band Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Miles Tucker & Many Blessings Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10
Barbès 7 pm $20• Leni Stern• Rich Townsend & The Magnificent NighTrain; Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Birdland 5:30, 8:30 10:30 pm $20-40êTia Fuller Quartet with Shamie Fuller-Royston, Eric Wheeler,

Koleby Royston

Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35• World Famous Harlem Gospel Choir; Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe with
Weedie Braimah

Blue Note 1:30, 8, 10:30 pm $30-45
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5êLouis Hayes Quintet with Abraham Burton, Steve Nelson, David
Hazeltine, Santi Debriano Dizzy’s Club 5, 7:30 pm $25-55• Evan Sherman Quartet; Neal Miner Trio with Chris Byars,
Jason Tiemann
The Django 6:30, 8, 9:30, 11 pm $25
êEarRegulars with Jon-Erik Kellso, Matt Munisteri The Ear Inn 8 pm
• Elias Meister, Dmitry Ishenko, Rob Mitzner The Keep 9 pmêCaroline Davis’ Aula with Val Jeanty, Qasim Naqvi, Chris Tordini,
Timothy Angulo Lincoln Center: Underground at Jaffe Drive 6 pm
• Anna Kolchina Trio with JinJoo Yoo, Paul Gill;
Richard Cortez Polite Jam Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Kirk Bailey’s Next Level Band Minton’s 7, 9 pm $25• Val Hawk Louis Armstrong Birthday Tribute with Steve Berger,
Ralph HamperianNorth Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Jazz Brunch with Boncellia Lewis Patrick’s Place 12 pm
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Mimi Jones and JamSaint Peter’s Church 5 pm
• Mark Wade Trio
Shrine 8 pm
• Shrine Big Band
• MTF Unlimited; Antoine Dowdell Group Silvana 8, 10 pm• Johnny O’Neal Trio; Duane Eubanks Quintet; Round About Midnight
Jam with Aaron Johnson Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $35-40
êEddie Henderson Quintet with Vincent Herring, Peter Zak, Nat Reeves,Mike Clark
Smoke 7, 9 pm $35• Mina Cho’s Grace Beat Quartet with Insoo Kim, Yeonglin Kim,
Max Ridley
St. Paul’s Chapel 2 pm
• George Gee Swing Orchestra Swing 46 9 pmêDayna Stephens with Emmanuel Michael, Gerald Clayton, Rick Rosato,
Kendrick Scott
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35

êVanguard Jazz Orchestra with Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry,

Ralph Lalama, Gary Smulyan, John Chudoba, Brian Pareschi,
Terell Stafford, Scott Wendholt, Dion Tucker, Jason Jackson,
Robert Edwards, Douglas Purviance, Adam Birnbaum, David Wong,John Riley
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Tuesday, August 6• New Moon Acoustic Blues Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Jam with Adam Birnbaum, Matt Penman, Diego Voglino
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Eden Bareket’s ZAMAN• Tamar Korn; Slavic Soul Party with John Carlson, Kenny Warren, Peter
Hess, Peter Stan, Tim Vaughn, Adam Dotson, Ken Bentley, Matt Moran,
Chris Stromquist
Barbès 7, 9 pm $20
êDelfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Jazz Orchestra
Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $35-45
Birdland Theater 5:30 pm $30• Bryan Eng
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-35• Ghost NoteêDaryl Sherman
Bryant Park 12:30 pm
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Nick Hempton Trio
• Jazzmobile Summerfest: Jaambo with Baba Don Eaton
Dizzy Gillespie Mural 7 pm
• John Lumpkin Band with Wayne Tucker, Caleb Curtis, Chris Pattishall,
Barry Stephenson
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $20-45
êMusique Libre Femmes with Cheryl Pyle, Ayumi Ishito, Yuko Togami;
Ben Goldberg, John Hebert, Hamir Atwal; Aaron Quinn, Diego Hedez,
Deric Dickens
Downtown Music Gallery 6:30 pm• Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild EastGantry Plaza State Park 7 pm
• César Orozco with Samuel Torres Klavierhaus 7, 8:30 pm $15-25• Kerry Politzer, Alexander Claffy, George Colligan; John Merrill Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Gil Schwartz; Lindsey Holloway Silvana 7, 8 pmêRalph Alessi Quartet; Benny Benack Quintet
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
Swing 46 9 pm
• Rob Edwards Big BandêAndrew Cyrille Quartet with Bill Frisell, David Virelles, Ben Street
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Wednesday, August 7• Saul Rubin Trio

Monday, August 5
Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Grove Street Stompers• Brian Drye Trio with Matt Pavolka, Jeff Davis

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Los Gaiteros De San Jacinto Barbès 9 pm $20
Birdland 8:30, 10:30 pm $35-45• Scott Alan
• Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks

Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-35
êDaryl Sherman
Bryant Park 12:30 pm
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Brandi Disterheft TrioêTed Nash Big Band with Steve Kenyon, Veronica Leahy, Chris Lewis,
Daniel Cohen, Paul Nedzela, Tatum Greenblatt, Kellin Hanas,
Anthony Hervey, James Zollar, Jacob Melsha, Jen Krupa, Gina
Benalcázar López, Adam Birnbaum, Luques Curtis, Domo Branch,
Kristen Lee Sergeant
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-55• Ghost Note

28 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDêUgonna Okegwo Quartet with Rich Perry, Isaac Wilson,

Anthony Pinciotti

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Franklin Rankin• Andy Statman Trio with Larry Eagle, Jim Whitney; Mamady Kouyate
and his Mandingo Ambassadors Barbès 8, 10 pm $20

êDelfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Jazz Orchestra

Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $35-45

êDavid Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band; Frank Vignola’s

Guitar Night with Jimmy Bruno, Pasquale Grasso
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $25-35
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-35• Ghost NoteêDaryl Sherman
Bryant Park 12:30 pm
Café Erzulie 7 pm
• Wednesday Night Jazz
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Vanderlei Pereira TrioêBen Wolfe Quartet with Nicole Glover, Orrin Evans, Aaron Kimmel
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-45
êDan Aran Band; James Carney Quartet with Ralph Alessi, John Hébert,
Kate Gentile
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êMingus Big Band
Drom 7:30, 9:30 pm $30
êJazzmobile Summerfest: Brianna Thomas Grant’s Tomb 7 pm
• Alden Hellmuth’s Tether with Yvonne Rogers, Tyrone Allen,
Timothy Angulo
The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $25-35• Ben Rosenblum Quartet with Laura Anglade, Marty Jaffe, Ben Zweig;
Wilfie Williams, Jerome Gillespie, Nikos Chatzitsakos
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
Pangea 7 pm $25• Deanna Kirk Duo
Pier 84 7 pm
• Whitney Marchelle• Harlem Jazz Session with Peter Brainin
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20
Saint Peter’s Church 12:30 pm• Paul Jost Quintet
Shrine 8 pm
• Moon Ray Quartet• Peter Brendler/Jon Irabagon Quartet with Luis Perdomo, Dan Weiss;David Sneider Quintet with Kendric McCallister, James Austin, Ilya
Osachuk, Aleksi Heinola Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êJohnathan Blake Quintet with Steve Wilson, Chris Potter, Sullivan
Fortner, Dezron Douglas Smoke 7, 9 pm $15-45
êBrandon Ross, Stomu Takeishi, Craig Weinrib
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Kevin Blancq Big Band; Swingadelic Big Band Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêAndrew Cyrille Quartet with Bill Frisell, David Virelles, Ben Street
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Thursday, August 8• Secret Drive; Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pmêCamila Meza Trio

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êDelfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Jazz Orchestra

Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $35-45• High Society New Orleans Jazz Band; Tyreek McDole Quintet

Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $25-40
êGary Bartz
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45êDaryl Sherman
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Cellar Dog All Stars; Chris Flory Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $5êBen Wolfe Quartet with Nicole Glover, Orrin Evans, Aaron Kimmel
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-45• Loston Harris Trio; Benny Benack III Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êKris Davis/Ingrid Laubrock The Jazz Gallery7:30, 9:30 pm $35-45• Annette A Aguilar & String Beans with Ariacne Trujillo Durand,
Nicki Denner, Eddie Venegas, Karen Joseph, Renato Thoms,
Benny Koonyevsky, Ruben Rodriguez Jazz In Times Square 5 pm
• David Cook Trio; Jesse Green, Gene Perla, Willie Bowman
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
Minton’s 7, 9 pm $25• Marius Van Den Brink• Towner Galaher Organ Trio with Seydurah Avecomoi
Patrick’s Place 7 pm
• Bill Warfield and The Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra Shrine 8 pm
• Audrey Silver; Manny’s Boogaloo Crew Silvana 7, 9 pm
• Willy Rodriguez Quintet with Jason Palmer, Hery Paz, John Hebert,
Jonathan Elbaz; Jovan Alexandre Trio
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êJohnathan Blake Quintet with Steve Wilson, Chris Potter, Sullivan
Fortner, Dezron Douglas Smoke 7, 9 pm $25-55
Sony Hall 7 pm $65• Michelle WillisêBrandon Ross, Tomeka Reid, Steph Richards, Hardedge
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
Swing 46 7 pm
• Alfredo DelafeêAndrew Cyrille Quartet with Bill Frisell, David Virelles, Ben Street
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Friday, August 9449 La Scat in Harlem 8 pm
• Denton Darien• Johnny O’Neal Trio; Bobby Harden with Off Da Hook
Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pm

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Jonathan Scales• Eszter Balint with David Nagler, Marlon Cherry Barbès 8 pm $20• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pmêBirdland Big Band; Delfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Jazz Orchestra

Birdland 5:30, 8:30 10:30 pm $25-45
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êGary Bartz
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45êDaryl Sherman
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Will Terrill Quartet; Avi Rothbard Trio Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êBen Wolfe Quartet with Chris Lewis, Orrin Evans, Aaron Kimmel
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-45
êEd Cherry Quartet; Jason Marshall Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êJazzmobile Summerfest 2nd Annual Afro-Latino Jazz Festival
Marcus Garvey Park 3 pmêUri Caine, Mark Helias, Ben Perowsky; Matthew Fries Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
Minton’s 7, 9 pm $25• Harmony Bartz• Jazz Jam with Patience Higgins Patrick’s Place 8 pm
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• David Gibson• Cold Fujon; Ithaki; OJ Mountain Silvana 8, 9, 10 pmêBilly Mintz Quintet with Adam Kolker, Noah Bless, Roberta Piket,
Don Falzone; Peter Slavov Quartet; Round About Midnight Jam with
Eric Wyatt
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $40
êJohnathan Blake Quintet with Steve Wilson, Chris Potter, Sullivan
Fortner, Dezron Douglas Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $25-55• Brandon Ross, Mauro Refosco, Hardedge, Charlie Burnham,
Kevin Ross
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Janice Friedman; Swingadelic Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêAndrew Cyrille Quartet with Bill Frisell, David Virelles, Ben Street
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• String Queens

Saturday, August 10• Denton Darien• Alex Hamburger

449 La Scat in Harlem 8 pm
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pmêJudith Berkson
Barbes 8 pm
• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pmêBruce Harris; Delfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Jazz Orchestra
Birdland 5:30, 8:30 10:30 pm $20-45
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35• String QueensêGary Bartz
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45• Philip Harper Quintet; Rafi D’Lugoff Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êJazzmobile Summerfest: Lezlie Harrison, Matthew Whitaker,
Christian Sands, Orrin Evans and Captain Black Big Band
Central Park Great Hill 3:30 pmêBen Wolfe Quartet with Chris Lewis, Orrin Evans, Aaron Kimmel
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-45• Jason Tiemann Quartet; Freddy Deboe BandThe Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25

Tuesday, August 13• BBQ Blues Fest Phil Young Blues Experience; Tina Fabrique;Charlie Burnham; Beareather Reddy; Gordon Lockwood
Hudson River Park 1 pmêUri Caine, Mark Helias, Ben Perowsky; Dave Kikoski Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Counterbalance; Ken Kobayashi Project; Koleurzz Band
Shrine 7, 8, 10 pm• Tom Blatt Project; Charley Gordon Sextet with Ted Kooshian, Paul
Livant, Chip Jackson, Scott Neumann, Peter Brainin Silvana 7, 8 pmêBilly Mintz Quintet with Adam Kolker, Noah Bless, Roberta Piket,
Don Falzone; Matt Pavolka Septet with Charlotte Greve, Adam Kolker,
Curtis Hasselbring, Olli Hirvonen, Santiago Leibson, Steven Crammer;
Round About Midnight Jam Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $40
êJohnathan Blake Quintet with Steve Wilson, Marquis Hill, Sullivan
Fortner, Dezron Douglas Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $25-55
êBrandon Ross, Charlie Burnham, Warren Benbow
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Michelle Collier Swingtet; Carmen Romano & The Joe Rizzolo Group
Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêEric Person Quartet
Umbra Café 7 pmêAndrew Cyrille Quartet with Bill Frisell, David Virelles, Ben Street
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Sunday, August 11• Dariada David Jazz Brunch; Jazz Jam 449 La Scat in Harlem 1, 4 pm
• Creole Cookin’ Jazz Band; Charlie and the Tropicales
Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pm• Reginald Chapman’s Chaphouse with Maxx Spinelli, Ben Allen, Ryan
Easter, CJ McPhatter

Barbès 10 pm $20• Wayne Tucker Sextet; Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra

Birdland 5:30, 8:30 10:30 pm $25-40
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êGary Bartz
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Tony Davis TrioêNing Yu, Cory Smythe, Levy Lorenzo DiMenna Center 7:30 pmêChuck Israels 88th Birthday Celebration Dizzy’s Club 5, 7:30 pm $20-50• Jed Levy Quartet with Luis Perdomo, Peter Slavov, Alvester Garnett;
Dave Stryker Trio
The Django7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êEarRegulars with Jon-Erik Kellso, Matt Munisteri, Scott Robinson
The Ear Inn 8 pm
• Anna-Lisa Kirby, Jeb Patton, Obasi Akoto; Vanisha Gould Polite Jam
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Elizabeth Lohninger with Walter Fishbacker, Cliff Schmitt
North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Jazz Brunch with Boncellia Lewis Patrick’s Place 12 pm
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Mimi Jones and JamêEric Person Organ Trio
Saint Peter’s Church 5 pm
• Joshua Davis, Ivanna Cuesta, Gilad Hekselman ShapeShifter Lab 7 pm
Silvana 7 pm
• Aiden WoodsêSally Gates, Zoh Amba, Brian Chase; Human Rites Trio Sisters 8:30 pm• Philip Harper Quintet; Hayes Greenfield Quartet with Jim Ridl,
Dean Johnson, Tim Horner; Round About Midnight Jam with
Aaron Johnson
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $35
êJohnathan Blake Quintet with Steve Wilson, Marquis Hill, Sullivan
Fortner, Dezron Douglas Smoke 7, 9 pm $25-55• George Gee Swing Orchestra Swing 46 9 pmêAndrew Cyrille Quartet with Bill Frisell, David Virelles, Ben Street
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• String Queens• Jam with Adam Birnbaum, Matt Penman, Diego Voglino
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Joel Forrester; Slavic Soul Party with John Carlson, Kenny Warren,Peter Hess, Peter Stan, Tim Vaughn, Adam Dotson, Ken Bentley, Matt
Moran, Chris Stromquist Barbès 7, 9 pm $20
êJames Carter Lookin’ at Lock with Satish Robertson, Gerard Gibbs,
Hilliard Greene, Kahil Kwame Bell Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-40• Lucy Wijnands Trio; Lew Tabackin
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-30êPLUMB with David Murray, Questlove, Ray Angry
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Joel ForresterêAkiko Tsuruga Trio
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• James Austin Jr. Tribute to Barry Harris with Mason James,
Matt Martinez, Daniel Cohen, Josh Lee, Adam Gay, Lewis Nash
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-50• Benito Gonzalez Trio with Michael Ode, Jeremiah Edwards;
People Of EarthThe Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Takuma Kanaiwa, Daniel Carter, Ayumi Ishito, Jonathan Wilson;
Max Arsava/James Paul Nadien; Nick Fraser
Downtown Music Gallery 6:30 pm
Gantry Plaza State Park 7 pm
• Lulada Club
Iridium 8:30 pm $35-40• Bonerama• Neal Kirkwood Trio; Neal Miner, Chris Byars, Jason TiemannMezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êSteve Nelson Quartet with Rick Germanson, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Charles
Goold; Nick Masters Quartet with Oscar Williams II, Marvin “Bugalu”
Smith, Ben Frank
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
Swing 46 9 pm
• Rob Edwards Big BandêBill Frisell Four with Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Wednesday, August 14
êEri Yamamoto Trio

Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm

Eric McPherson

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pmêElevation with Lucian Ban, Abraham Burton, John Hebert,• Wild Midwest with Michael Thurber, Jon Lampley, Joe Saylor
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Mamady Kouyate and his Mandingo Ambassadors Barbès 10 pm $20

Monday, August 12
Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Grove Street Stompers• Alfredo Colon Quartet with Jonathan Paik, Steve Williams,
Connor Parks

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Anthony Coleman plays Ellington; La Mecanica Popular
Barbès 8, 9 pm $20

Birdland 7 pm $40• Julie Benko• Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks

Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40êPLUMB with David Murray, Questlove, Ray Angry

Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45

Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Joel Forrester
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Ehud Asherie Trio
• Jazz House Kids with Christian McBride Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-45• Akili Bradley Quartet; Sophia Kickhofel Quartet
The Django 6:30, 8, 9:30, 11 pm $25• Killick Hinds/HR; Eyal Maoz; Sally Gates/Simon Hanes

Downtown Music Gallery 6:30 pmêMatt Mitchell Trio with Chris Tordini, Dan Weiss

The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $25-35

êTim Berne with John Hebert, Gregg Belisle-Chi, Tim Angulo

Lowlands 7 pm $10• Chris Pattishall Trio; Ed Cherry Trio

Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Mark Sherman Quartet; Obasi Akoto Trio with Steve Wilson,
E.J. Strickland

Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35

êVanguard Jazz Orchestra with Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry,

Ralph Lalama, Gary Smulyan, John Chudoba, Brian Pareschi,
Terell Stafford, Scott Wendholt, Dion Tucker, Jason Jackson,
Robert Edwards, Douglas Purviance, Adam Birnbaum, David Wong,John Riley
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

CATHERINE RUSSELL
SEAN MASON my ideal
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THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 29êJames Carter Lookin’ at Lock with Satish Robertson, Gerard Gibbs,

Hilliard Greene, Kahil Kwame Bell Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-40êDavid Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band; Frank Vignola’s
Guitar Night with Vinny Raniolo Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $25-35
êPLUMB with David Murray, Questlove, Ray Angry
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Joel Forrester
Bryant Park 3:30 pm• Trio Arrebol
Café Erzulie 7 pm
• Wednesday Night Jazz
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Bebop Collective• The Lost Melody Plays Bill Evans Songbook with Joe Davidian, Jamie
Ousley, Austin McMahon Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-65
êJonny King Trio with Dezron Douglas, Allan Mednard;
Michael Rabinowitz Quartet The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êMingus Big Band
Drom 7:30, 9:30 pm $30• Louis Armstrong Legacy Jazz Jam Flushing Town Hall 7 pmêJazzmobile Summerfest: Willie Villegas & The Joe Cuba Sextet
Grant’s Tomb 7 pm
• Angela and Anna Webber/Morris Big Band with Jay Rattman,
Charlotte Greve, Adam Schneit, Lisa Parrott, Tim Vaughn, Zekkereya
El-magharbel, Jen Baker, Reginald Chapman, Nolan Tsang, Ryan
Easter, Jake Henry, Kenny Warren, Marta Sanchez, Yuhan Su, Dustin
Carlson, Adam Hopkins, Jeff Davis
The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $25-35• Bennett Paster, Gary Wang, Tony Mason; Angela Roberts Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Jazz House Ladies with Patricia Walton, Zakiyyah, Kim Lehmann
Pangea 7 pm $25• Debbie Knapper and the Knappertime Band Pier 84 7 pm
• Harlem Jazz Session with Peter Brainin
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Michael Howell Quartet Plays Dizzy Gillespie
Saint Peter’s Church 12:30 pm
Silvana 9 pm
• Peter Knoll• Tim Collins Quartet with Dan Kaufman, Matt Clohesy, Jochen
Rueckert; Jon Beshay Quartet Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Laurin Talese with John Ellis, Mike King, Jonathan Munir-Cotton,
Anwar Marshall
Smoke 7, 9 pm $25-45
êKevin Hays/Ben Wendel
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Kevin Blancq Big Band; Swingadelic Big Band Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêBill Frisell Four with Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Thursday, August 15
êTerry Waldo’s Gotham City Band Arthur’s Tavern 10 pm• Pre-War Ponies with Daria Grace, J. Walter Hawkes, Jim Whitney,

Willie Martinez
Barbès 8 pm $20
êJames Carter Lookin’ at Lock with Satish Robertson, Gerard Gibbs,
Hilliard Greene, Kahil Kwame Bell Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-40• High Society New Orleans Jazz Band; Donald Vega Quartet with
Carlos Carly Maldonado, Luques Curtis, Jerome Jennings
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40êDirty Dozen Brass BandBlue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Joel Forrester
Café Erzulie 7 pm
• Jazz NightêFrank Lacy Quartet; Clovis Nicolas Quartet Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $5êAkira Tana’s Osaka Quartet with Atsuko Hashimoto, Hideki Kawamura,
Yutaka Hashimoto
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-50• Luke Carlos O’Reilly Quartet; Mark Whitfield
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Sam Martinelli & The Brazilian Jazz Collective
Flushing Town Hall 7 pm
The Jazz Gallery7:30, 9:30 pm $25-35• Emmanuel MichaelêAkiko Tsuruga Organ Quartet with Joe Magnarelli, Myron Walden,
Byron Landham
Jazz In Times Square 5 pm
• Art Hirahara Trio; Ray Gallon Trio Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
Patrick’s Place 7 pm
• Karen Maynard Quintet• Sam Martinelli & The Brazilian Jazz Collective Rockaway Beach 7 pm
• Mike Handelman Deconstruction; Paul Austerlitz Band Shrine 9, 10 pmêAdam Kolker Quartet with Marc Copland, John Hebert, Billy Hart;
Jason Brown Quartet
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êJoe Farnsworth Quintet with Nicholas Payton, Sarah Hanahan, Luther
Allison, Peter Washington Smoke 7, 9 pm $25-55
êKevin Hays/Kenny Wollesen The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Stan Rubin with Joe Politi Swing 46 9 pmêBill Frisell Four with Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Friday, August 16
449 La Scat in Harlem 8 pm
• Denton Darien• Johnny O’Neal Trio; Bobby Harden with Off Da Hook

Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pm
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Mathias Jensen
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• TropicalesêLucian Ban/Mat Maneri
Barbes 8 pm
• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm
• Birdland Big Band; James Carter Lookin’ at Lock with Satish
Robertson, Gerard Gibbs, Hilliard Greene, Kahil Kwame BellBirdland 5:30, 8:30 10:30 pm $25-40

êBilly Hart Quartet with Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson, Ben Street

Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $30-40êDirty Dozen Brass BandBlue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Joel Forrester
Bryant Park 7 pm
• La Excelencia• Jade Synstelien Quartet; Carol Morgan Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10• Olivia Foschi with Matt King, Guilherme Monteiro, Marco Panascia,
Fernando Saci, Mauricio Zottarelli The Cutting Room 7 pm $20
êAkira Tana’s Osaka Quartet with Atsuko Hashimoto, Hideki Kawamura,
Yutaka Hashimoto
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-50• Oz Noy Trio; Ben Stivers Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êMiki Yamanaka Quartet and Steve Nelson with Anthony Orji, Kiyoshi
Kitagawa, Jimmy Macbride The Jazz Gallery7:30, 9:30 pm $25-35
êJazzmobile Summerfest’s Centennial Tribute to Max Roach: M’Boomwith Horns featuring Warren Smith, Bobby Sanabria, Jay Hoggard,
Bryan Carrott, Reggie Nicholson, Lyndon Achee, Jimmy Owens,
Patience Higgins, Camille Thurman, Craig Harris, Donald Nicks;
Kojo Melché Roney
Marcus Garvey Park 7 pm
• Ehud Asherie, Dezron Douglas, Jason Brown; Jon Davis Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
Minton’s 7, 9 pm $25• Tony Glausi Quartet• Jazz Jam with Patience Higgins Patrick’s Place 8 pm
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Nick Biello• Nice Brass; Steven Blane Trio; Bill Warfield and The Hell’s Kitchen
Funk Orchestra
Shrine 7, 9, 10 pmêDave Scott Quintet with Rich Perry, Gary Versace, John Hebert, Jeff
Williams; Donald Edwards Quintet; Round About Midnight Jam
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $40
êJoe Farnsworth Quintet with Nicholas Payton, Sarah Hanahan,
Sullivan Fortner, Peter Washington Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $25-55
êKevin Hays/Craig Taborn
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Janice Friedman; Bill Malchow Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêBill Frisell Four with Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Saturday, August 17
449 La Scat in Harlem 8 pm
• Denton Darien• JT Bowen & The Mighty Kings of Soul Arthur’s Tavern 10 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Modupe Onilu
Barbès 8 pm $20• Blue Dahlia• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm
• James Carter Lookin’ at Lock with Satish Robertson, Gerard Gibbs,
Hilliard Greene, Kahil Kwame Bell Birdland 8:30, 10:30 pm $30-40êBilly Hart Quartet with Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson, Ben Street

Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $30-40êMichael Dutra Strictly Sinatra; Dirty Dozen Brass BandBlue Note 1:30, 8, 10:30 pm $30-45• Cristina Vane; Slavic Soul Party; Guachinangos Bryant Park 7 pm
• Richard Clements Quintet; Simona Premazzi Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êAkira Tana’s Osaka Quartet with Atsuko Hashimoto, Hideki Kawamura,
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-50
Yutaka Hashimoto• Erena Terakubo Sextet; Craig Handy and 2nd Line Smith
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êJazzmobile Summerfest: Tribute To Louis Armstrong with
Anthony Hervey Quartet Louis Armstrong House Museum 2 pm
• Ehud Asherie, Dezron Douglas, Jason Brown; Steve Ash Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Shanelle Jenkins and The Youngbloods Patrick’s Place 7 pm
• Connor Sobieri Group; Mojo & The Mayhem; Danaya Band
Shrine 7, 8, 10 pm
Silvana 7 pm
• Michael Morgan• Peter Bernstein Quartet; Donald Edwards Quintet; Round About
Midnight Jam
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $40
êJoe Farnsworth Quintet with Nicholas Payton, Sarah Hanahan,
Sullivan Fortner, Peter Washington Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $25-55
êKevin Hays/Gilad Hekselman The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Michelle Collier Swingtet; Ron Sunshine Swing Orchestra
Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêBill Frisell Four with Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Sunday, August 18• Dariada David Jazz Brunch; Jazz Jam 449 La Scat in Harlem 1, 4 pm
• Creole Cookin’ Jazz Band Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Max Light Quartet with Julian Shore, Walter Stinson, Steven Crammer

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Juancho Herrera/Franco Pinna; Stephane San Juan with Eduardo Belo,
Barbès 6, 8 pm $20
Jake Owen• Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra Birdland 8:30, 10:30 pm $30-40êBilly Hart Quartet with Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson, Ben Street
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $30-40êWorld Famous Harlem Gospel Choir; Dirty Dozen Brass BandBlue Note 1:30, 8, 10:30 pm $30-45
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Ray Gallon Trio
• Songbook Sunday - Ellington with Richard Cummings, LaTanya Hall,
Darius De Haas, Anaïs Reno Dizzy’s Club 5, 7:30 pm $25-50

30 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD• Pete Malinverni Quartet; Cameron Campbell Trio

The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25

êInwood Jazz Festival: Kevin Nathaniel Hylton & Spirit Ensemble;

Alfredo Colon Quartet; Imani Winds; Steve Turre Sextet;
Elio Villafranca’s Jass Syncopators with Brianna Thomas;
African Rhythms Alumni Sextet; Melvin “Tiger” Vines Quintet and Jam
Inwood Hill Park 12:30 pm• Nick Lyons, Adam Lane, Billy Mintz The Keep 9 pm
• Deanna Kirk/John DiMartino; Jamile Polite Jam
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Lew Tabackin Trio with Jason Tiemann, Yasushi Nakamura
Michiko Studios 7, 8:30 pm $20• Kate Baker Trio with Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson
North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Jazz Brunch with Boncellia Lewis Patrick’s Place 12 pm
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Mimi Jones and JamSaint Peter’s Church 5 pm
• Ron Ben-Hur Trio
Silvana 8 pm
• Dan Willis
Sisters 7:30 pm• Juntas ChicasêScott Robinson Quartet; Sasha Dobson Quartet; Round About
Midnight Jam
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $35
êJoe Farnsworth Quintet with Nicholas Payton, Sarah Hanahan,
Sullivan Fortner, Peter Washington Smoke 7, 9 pm $25-55• George Gee Swing Orchestra Swing 46 9 pmêBill Frisell Four with Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Monday, August 19
Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Grove Street Stompers• Jochen Rueckert Quartet with John Ellis, Mike Moreno, Matt Penman
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Steve Ross: The Songs of Alan Jay Lerner Birdland 7 pm $40• Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks

Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40

Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45• Mick Jenkins
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Larry Ham
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Organ Grooves• Jared Schonig Big Band Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-50• Simon Mogul Quartet; Jihee Heo Trio

The Django 6:30, 8, 9:30, 11 pm $25

êNoa Fort, Kenny Warren, Santiago Leibson; Patrick Golden

Downtown Music Gallery 6:30 pm• Spike Wilner, Paul Gill, Anthony Pinciotti; Pasquale Grasso Trio with
Ari Roland

Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35

Hawkins

Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35

êAri Hoenig Trio; ELEW Trio with Eric Lewis, Leighton Harrell, DavidêVanguard Jazz Orchestra with Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry,

Ralph Lalama, Gary Smulyan, John Chudoba, Brian Pareschi,
Terell Stafford, Scott Wendholt, Dion Tucker, Jason Jackson,
Robert Edwards, Douglas Purviance, Adam Birnbaum, David Wong,John Riley
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Tuesday, August 20• Tamar Korn; Slavic Soul Party with John Carlson, Kenny Warren,Peter Hess, Peter Stan, Tim Vaughn, Adam Dotson, Ken Bentley, Matt
Moran, Chris Stromquist Barbès 7, 9 pm $20
Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-40• Birdland Big Band
Birdland Theater 5:30 pm $20-30• Lucy Wijnands Trio
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45• Mick Jenkins
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Larry Ham
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Greg Glassman TrioêRoxana Amed Quartet with Mark Small, Martin Bejerano,
Edward Perez
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-50• Tim Ries Latin Quartet; Manuel Valera Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êBen Stapp, Josh Roseman, Earl McIntyre, Matt Crane; Daniel Galow,
Tyler Neidermayer, James Jones; Sandy Ewen
Downtown Music Gallery 6:30 pm
Joe’s Pub 9:30 pm $40• Yulia Musayelyan• Larry Ham, Lee Hudson, Tom Melito; Michael Kanan Trio with
Neal Miner, Billy Mintz
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Ben Meigners/Hillai Govreen Quintet with Steve Cardenas, Noah
Stoneman, Willie Bowman; Jason Clotter Quintet
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
Swing 46 9 pm
• Rob Edwards Big BandêBill Frisell Five with Tony Scherr, Thomas Morgan, Rudy Royston,
Kenny Wollesen
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Wednesday, August 21• Giuseppe Cucchiara Quintet with Ben Solomon, Chris McCarthy,
Simon Moullier, Adam Arruda Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Firas Zreik Quartet with Ramiro Marziani, Bashar Farran, Alber Baseel
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Buck And A Quarter Quartet with John “Sir Scratchy” Landry,

Chris Bannon, Angus Loten, Ben Mealer; Mamady Kouyate and his
Mandingo Ambassadors Barbès 8, 10 pm $20
Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-40• Birdland Big BandêDavid Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band; Frank Vignola’s
Guitar Night with Sheryl Bailey Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $25-35

êArturo SandovalBlue Note 8, 10:30 pm $45-65
Bryant Park 12:30 pmêTerry Waldo’s Gotham City Band Bryant Park 3:30 pm
Café Erzulie 7 pm
• Wednesday Night JazzêVictor Gould Trio
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Ron Jackson Trio with Ashley Pizzotti Dante Park 12 pm• Joe Block Quintet with Noah Halpern, Chris Lewis, Christian X.M.
McGheeDizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-45• Hendrik Meurkens Quartet with Spike Wilner, Chris Berger, Steve
Johns; T.K. Blue Quartet The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Charlie Parker Jazz Festival: Cucho Martinez & Friends
El Sol Brillante Community Garden 6:30 pm• Danny Tobias Trio; Nadav Nazarathy Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Val Hawk with Nicki Adams, Yoshi Waki Pangea 7 pm $25• Harlem Jazz Session with Peter Brainin
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Miki Yamanaka Quartet Saint Peter’s Church 12:30 pmêDan Blake Quartet; Sarah Hanahan Quartet
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êFred Hersch Trio with Alex Claffy, Jochen Rueckert
Smoke 7, 9 pm $15-45
êImmanuel Wilkins, Lauren Cauley, gabby fluke-mogul, Jessica
Pavone, Lester St Louis The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Kevin Blancq Big Band; Swingadelic Big Band
Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêBill Frisell Five with Tony Scherr, Thomas Morgan, Rudy Royston,
Kenny Wollesen
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Larry Ham

Thursday, August 22êTerry Waldo’s Gotham City Band Arthur’s Tavern 10 pmêJacob Sacks/Jeff Williams with Adam Kolker and Jeremy Stratton

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Jessica Fichot Quartet with Chloe Feoranzo, Tom Moose,Alexis Soto Jr; Brain Cloud with Dennis Lichtman, Tamar Korn,
Raphael McGregor, Skip Krevens, Kevin Dorn, Andrew Hall
Barbès 8, 10 pm $20
Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-40• Birdland Big Band
• High Society New Orleans Jazz Band; Ada Pasternak
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $25-40
êArturo SandovalBlue Note 8, 10:30 pm $45-65
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Larry Ham
Café Erzulie 7 pm
• Jazz Night• Samba de Gringo; Miki Yamanaka Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $5êGeorge Coleman Quartet Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-50• Richard Baratta Quintet; Lee Taylor
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êGuillermo Gregorio Ensemble with Sarah Bernstein, Iván Barenboim,
Ken Filiano, James Paul Nadien Ibeam Brooklyn 7:30 pm $20
êCharlie Parker Jazz Festival: Calvin Hill Quartet
Jackie Robinson Park 10 amêRoxy Coss with Caili O’Doherty, Russell Hall, Bryan Carter
Jazz In Times Square 5 pmêJazzmobile Summerfest Tribute to Charlie Parker: Jeremy Pelt
Marcus Garvey Park 7 pm
• Julian Shore Trio; Thomas Linger Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Towner Galaher Organ Trio with Seydurah Avecomoi
Patrick’s Place 7 pm
• Mary Ann McSweeney Quartet; David Gibson Quartet
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êFred Hersch Trio with Alex Claffy, Jochen Rueckert
Smoke 7, 9 pm $25-55
êImmanuel Wilkins, Nia Drummond, Cooper-Moore, Eric McPherson
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Stan Rubin with Joe Politi Swing 46 9 pmêBill Frisell Five with Tony Scherr, Thomas Morgan, Rudy Royston,
Kenny Wollesen
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Friday, August 23
449 La Scat in Harlem 8 pm
• Denton Darien• Johnny O’Neal Trio; Bobby Harden with Off Da Hook

Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pm
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Gil Defay
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Urban Achievers
Barbès 8 pm $20• Mamie Minch• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm
Birdland 8:30, 10:30 pm $30-40• Birdland Big BandêCharles Mingus Orchestra Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êArturo SandovalBlue Note 8, 10:30 pm $45-65
Bryant Park 12:30 pm• Larry Ham• Wayne Tucker Quintet; Jamale Davis Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êBruce Harris Sextet’s Byrd in Flight with Chris Lewis,
Jason Marshall, Tyler Bullock, Jayla Chee, Chris Beck
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-55• Ron Jackson Trio; Bruce Williams Quintet

The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êCharlie Parker Jazz Festival: Bertha Hope Quintet Elmo Hope at 100
Harlem Rose Garden 5:30 pm
Iridium 8:30 pm $35• Tom GuarnaêRaul Midón
Joe’s Pub 7 pm $35
êJazzmobile Summerfest Charlie Parker Jazz Festival: Christian
McBride Big Band; Wallace Roney Jr Marcus Garvey Park 7 pmêJeremy Pelt Quartet; Jeremy Manasia Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Jazz Jam with Patience Higgins Patrick’s Place 8 pm
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Camila Cortina BelloêJihye Lee Orchestra
Sheen Center 8 pm
• Corey Wallace Dubtet; Fabio Morgera Octet with Jason Jackson,
Bruce Williams, JD Allen, Frank Basile, Brandon McCune,
Gregg August, Jared Spears; Round About Midnight Jam
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $40
êFred Hersch Trio with Alex Claffy, Jochen Rueckert
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $25-55
êImmanuel Wilkins, Keyanna Hutchinson, Jeff Tain Watts
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Janice Friedman; Swingadelic Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêBill Frisell Five with Tony Scherr, Thomas Morgan, Rudy Royston,
Kenny Wollesen
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Saturday, August 24• Denton Darien• David Gibson• Super Yamba Band

449 La Scat in Harlem 8 pm
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êMarco Cappelli
Barbes 8 pm
• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm
Birdland 8:30, 10:30 pm $30-40• Birdland Big BandêCharles Mingus Orchestra Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êMilo Z; Arturo SandovalBlue Note 1, 8, 10:30 pm $25-65• James Burton Quintet; Jinjoo Yoo Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êBruce Harris Sextet’s Byrd in Flight with Chris Lewis,
Jason Marshall, Tyler Bullock, Jayla Chee, Chris Beck
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-55• AC Lincoln Quintet; Richard Cortez BandThe Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êAlternative Guitar Summit 2024: Joel Harrison, Kurt Rosenwinkel,
Mike Stern, Nels Cline, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Camila Meza,
Anupam Shobhakar, Rodney Jones, Gilad Hekselman
Le Poisson Rouge 6 pm $45
êJazzmobile Summerfest Charlie Parker Jazz Festival:
Carmen Lundy; Helen Sung; Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few;
Tyreek Mcdole; DJ Kulturedchild aka Angelika Beener
Marcus Garvey Park 3 pmêJeremy Pelt Quartet; Anthony Wonsey Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Yael Acher KAT Modiano with D Wash Nublu 151 7 pm $20• Robb Roberts Jazz Connection Patrick’s Place 7 pm
Shrine 7 pm
• Satyrdagg
Silvana 8 pm
• Ryan Huston Quartet• Ron McClure Quartet; Fabio Morgera Octet with Jason Jackson,
Bruce Williams, JD Allen, Frank Basile, Brandon McCune,
Gregg August, Jared Spears; Round About Midnight Jam
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $40
êFred Hersch Trio with Alex Claffy, Jochen Rueckert
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $25-55• Immanuel Wilkins, Laraaji, Burniss Earl Travis
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Michelle Collier Swingtet; Bill Malchow Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêBill Frisell Five with Tony Scherr, Thomas Morgan, Rudy Royston,
Kenny Wollesen
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Ben Waltzer Quartet; Naama Polite Jam

Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Ben Cassara Trio with Nicki Adams, Dean Johnson

North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm

• Jazz Brunch with Boncellia Lewis Patrick’s Place 12 pm
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Mimi Jones and JamSaint Peter’s Church 5 pm
• Ronen Itzik
Shrine 8 pm
• Peter Louis Octet• Hendrik Meurkens Quintet with Nick Hempton, Misha Tsiganov,

Eduardo Belo, Portinho; John Sneider Quintet; Round About
Midnight Jam
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $35
êFred Hersch Trio with Alex Claffy, Jochen Rueckert
Smoke 7, 9 pm $25-55• George Gee Swing Orchestra Swing 46 9 pmêMichael Sarian
Threes Brewing 6 pmêBill Frisell Five with Tony Scherr, Thomas Morgan, Rudy Royston,
Kenny Wollesen
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Monday, August 26• Grove Street Stompers• Karen Mack

Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
Birdland 7 pm $20-30êVince Giordano and the Nighthawks
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45• Ali SethiêDanny Mixon
Bryant Park 12:30 pm
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Ehud Asherie Trio
• Alex “Apolo” Ayala and the Afro Puerto Rican Jazz Big Band
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-50
êDiego Figueiredo; Pasquale Grasso Trio with Ari Roland
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Tony Moreno Trio; Tyler Mitchell Trio
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êVanguard Jazz Orchestra with Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry,
Ralph Lalama, Gary Smulyan, John Chudoba, Brian Pareschi,
Terell Stafford, Scott Wendholt, Dion Tucker, Jason Jackson,
Robert Edwards, Douglas Purviance, Adam Birnbaum, David Wong,John Riley
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Andy Bianco with Wayne Escoffery, Brad Whiteley, Allan Mednard
Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $35

Sunday, August 25• Dariada David Jazz Brunch; Jazz Jam

449 La Scat in Harlem 1, 4 pm

• Creole Cookin’ Jazz Band Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Jihee Heo Quartet; Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra

Birdland 5:30, 8:30 10:30 pm $20-40êCharles Mingus Orchestra Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êWorld Famous Harlem Gospel Choir; Arturo SandovalBlue Note 1:30, 8, 10:30 pm $45-65

êRachiim Ausar-Sahu and Jazz/Espiritu with Will Calhoun, Neil Clarke,

Brandon McCune, Irwin Hall, Bryan Carrott Brooklyn Museum 2 pm
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5êBruce Harris Sextet’s Byrd in Flight with Chris Lewis,
Jason Marshall, Tyler Bullock, Jayla Chee, Chris Beck
Dizzy’s Club 5, 7:30 pm $25-55• Welf Dorr, Nitzan Gavrieli, Dmitry Ishenko, Dave Miller The Keep 9 pm
• Charlie Parker Jazz Festival: Louis Hayes with Steve Nelson,
Abraham Burton, David Hazeltine, Dezron Douglas; Kurt Ellingwith Charlie Hunter; Ekep Nkwelle; Alexis Lombre; DJ Kulturedchildaka Angelika Beener
Tompkins Square Park 3 pmêNed Goold Trio

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 31

Tuesday, August 27
êBrian Marsella’s Gatos with Itai Kriss, Jason Fraticelli, Tim Keiper

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êRenku: Michaël Attias, John Hébert, Satoshi Takeishi;

Slavic Soul Party with John Carlson, Kenny Warren, Peter Hess,
Peter Stan, Tim Vaughn, Adam Dotson, Ken Bentley, Matt Moran,
Chris Stromquist
Barbès 7, 9 pm $20
êKen Peplowski’s Bird With Strings Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $35-45
êTroy Roberts Quartet with Paul Bollenback, Massimo Biolcati,
Jimmy Macbride
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-30êDizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45êDanny Mixon
Bryant Park 12:30 pm
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Ed Cherry TrioêMatthew Whitaker
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $25-45• Ana Gamboa; Aaron Pond; John Hagen/Todd Capp
Downtown Music Gallery 6:30 pm• Silvano Monasterios Trio; Benny Benack Quintet
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Tim Ferguson Quartet; Mike Bond Quintet
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Rob Edwards Big Band Swing 46 9 pmêJoe Lovano/Dave Douglas Sound Prints with Lawrence Fields,
Yasushi Nakamura, Rudy Royston Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Wednesday, August 28• Tim Norton Group with Bill McHenry Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Luca Benedetti Trio
• Damian Quiñones; Mamady Kouyate and his Mandingo
Ambassadors

Barbès 8, 10 pm $20

êKen Peplowski’s Bird With Strings Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $35-45

êDavid Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band; Frank Vignola’s

Guitar Night with Janus Siegel Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $25-35

êDizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45êDanny Mixon

Bryant Park 12:30 pm
Bryant Park 3:30 pm
Café Erzulie 7 pm
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5êMatthew Whitaker
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-45
Drom 7:30, 9:30 pm $30• Mingus Big BandêJazzmobile Summerfest: Donald Harrison Grant’s Tomb 7 pm
• Nate Radley Trio; Dabin Ryu Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êRoseanna Vitro Trio
Pangea 7 pm $25• Harlem Jazz Session with Peter Brainin
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20
êBilly Harper Quintet
Saint Peter’s Church 12:30 pm• BenHitsDrums; Beserat Tafesse Silvana 8, 9 pmêGilad Hekselman Quartet; Asaf Yuria Quartet
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Brandon Goldberg Trio with Dezron Douglas, Aaron Kimmel
Smoke 7, 9 pm $25-45
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Jennifer Choi
• Kevin Blancq Big Band; Swingadelic Big Band Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêJoe Lovano/Dave Douglas Sound Prints with Lawrence Fields,
Yasushi Nakamura, Rudy Royston Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• East Village All Stars• Wednesday Night Jazz
• Our DelightThursday, August 29êTerry Waldo’s Gotham City Band Arthur’s Tavern 10 pm• Steve Cardenas/Billy Mintz with Adam Kolker and Jeremy Stratton

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Akiko Pavolka with Olli Hirvonen, Matt Pavolka, Bill Campbell
Barbès 8 pm $20
êKen Peplowski’s Bird With Strings Birdland 7:30, 9:30 pm $35-45
êHigh Society New Orleans Jazz Band; Charlie Parker Birthday
Celebration with David DeJesus, Brandon Lee, Donald Vega, Ricky
Rodriguez, Chris Smith Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $25-40
êDizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45êDanny Mixon
Bryant Park 12:30 pm
Café Erzulie 7 pm
• Jazz Night• Darrell Green Quartet; Jon Davis Trio Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $5êStephanie NakasianChelsea Table + Stage 7 pm $25
êLuther Allison
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-50• Marius Van Den Brink Quartet; Nick Di Maria Quintet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Jesús Ricardo Quintet with Manuel Valera, Raul Reyes, Julian
Miltenberguer, Mara Navas Jazz In Times Square 5 pm
• Greg Ruggiero Trio; Tardo Hammer, Lee Hudson, Steve Williams
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êSofia Rei/Jorge Roeder

32 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDêJonah Parzen-Johnson

Nublu 151 7 pm
Patrick’s Place 7 pmêGilad Hekselman Quartet; David Gibson Quartet
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Either/Or with Jennifer Choi, Richard Carrick, John Popham, Bahar
Badieitabar, Rafael Herida The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Stan Rubin with Joe Politi Swing 46 9 pm
Umbra Café 7 pm
• AltusêJoe Lovano/Dave Douglas Sound Prints with Lawrence Fields,
Yasushi Nakamura, Rudy Royston Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Karen Maynard Quintet

Friday, August 30
449 La Scat in Harlem 8 pm
• Denton Darien• Johnny O’Neal Trio; Bobby Harden with Off Da Hook
Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Tyler Blanton• Mandingo Ambassadors Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm
• Birdland Big Band; Ken Peplowski’s Bird With Strings

Birdland 5:30, 8:30 10:30 pm $30-45êCharlie Parker Birthday Celebration with David DeJesus,

Brandon Lee, Donald Vega, Ricky Rodriguez, Chris Smith
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êDizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45êDanny Mixon
Bryant Park 12:30 pm
Bryant Park 7 pm
• Gyedu-Blay AmbolleyêVijay Iyer Trio with Devon Gates, Jeremy Dutton Bryant Park 7 pmêAbraham Burton Quartet; Jihee Heo Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êKenny Dorham Centennial with Bruce Harris, Joe Magnarelli,
Jeremy Pelt, Josh Evans, Jimmy Owens, Mike Rodriguez,
Tim Hagans, Brandon Lee, Jeb Patton, David Wong, Jayla Chee,
Kenny Washington, Billy Hart, Joe Farnsworth
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm $25-50• Judith Owen; Dwayne “Cook” Broadnax Quartet
The Django 6:30, 8, 9:30, 11 pm $25• Gabriel Guerrero & Quantum El Barrio Artspace 8 pm
• Jazzmobile Summerfest: Bobby Sanabria Band
Marcus Garvey Park 6:30 pmêMichael Wolff Trio; Jon Davis Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Jazz Jam with Patience Higgins Patrick’s Place 8 pmêJerome Sabbagh Quartet with Joe Martin, Kayvon Gordon;
Alex Sipiagin Quartet; Round About Midnight Jam
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $40• Jennifer Choi, James Moore, Kathleen Supove
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• George Gee Swing Orchestra Swing 46 9 pmêJoe Lovano/Dave Douglas Sound Prints with Lawrence Fields,
Yasushi Nakamura, Rudy Royston Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Saturday, August 31
449 La Scat in Harlem 8 pm
• Denton Darien
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Belo & The Beasts• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pmêKen Peplowski’s Bird With Strings Birdland 8:30, 10:30 pm $35-45
êCharlie Parker Birthday Celebration with David DeJesus,

Brandon Lee, Donald Vega, Ricky Rodriguez, Chris Smith
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êPaul West and Bethune Big Band; Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big BandBlue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-45• Swing Collective; Kyoko Oyobe Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êKenny Dorham Centennial with Bruce Harris, Joe Magnarelli,
Jeremy Pelt, Josh Evans, Jimmy Owens, Mike Rodriguez,
Tim Hagans, Brandon Lee, Jeb Patton, David Wong, Jayla Chee,
Kenny Washington, Billy Hart, Joe Farnsworth
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9pm• David Gibson Quartet; JC Hopkins Biggish BandThe Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êMichael Wolff Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Derrick Barnett and Jamaican Jazzmatazz Patrick’s Place 7 pm
• Alex Sipiagin Quartet; Round About Midnight Jam
Smalls 6, 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12am $40• Jennifer Choi, Michael Nicolas, Kyle Armbrust, Stephen Gosling
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Michelle Collier Swingtet; TKO Swingin’ Dance Party
Swing 46 5:30, 9 pmêJoe Lovano/Dave Douglas Sound Prints with Lawrence Fields,
Yasushi Nakamura, Rudy Royston Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

100 MILES OUT
CONNECTICUT
Back Country Jazz @ A Great Lawn (Greenwich, CT)classy.org/event/greenwich-jazz-festival-2024-july-14/e599083
8/4 (6 pm) Greenwich Jazz Festival with Bennie Wallace, Joe Magnarelli, Akiko Tsuruga,
Ed Cherry, Carmen Intorre, Jr.
Bill’s Seafood (Westbrook, CT) billsseafood.com
8/2, 8/9, 8/16, 8/23, 8/30 (7 pm) Bill’s All-Star Jazz Band
Branford Jazz (Branford, CT) branfordjazz.com
8/1 (6:30 pm) Willie Bradley
8/3 (6:30 pm) Sherry Winston Band
8/8 (6:30 pm) David Davis
8/15 (6:30 pm) Jeff Kashiwa
8/22 (6:30 pm) Blake Aaron
8/29 (6:30 pm) Lao Tizer
Butler-McCook House (Hartford, CT)
ctlandmarks.org/properties/butler-mccook-house-garden
8/8 (6 pm) Will Goble Quintet with Dave Adewumi, Nathan Edwards, Ryan Sands,
Willerm Delisfort
Owl Shop (New Haven, CT) owlshopcigars.com
8/7, 8/14, 8/21, 8/28 (9 pm) Kevin Saint James Band
Parkville Sounds (Hartford, CT) parkvillesounds.com
8/31 (7 pm) Doobie Powell
Side Door (Old Lyme, CT) thesidedoorjazz.com
8/2, 8/3 (8:30 pm) Christian Sands Trio
8/9 (8:30 pm) Steve Davis with Abena Koomson-Davis, Tony Davis, Rick Germanson,
Nat Reeves, Neal Smith
8/10 (8:30 pm) Matthew Fries with Andrew Rathburn, Carlo De Rosa, Keith Hall
8/16, 8/17 (8:30 pm) Aaron Goldberg Trio with Kendrick Scott
8/23 (8:30 pm) Pat Bianchi Organ Trio
8/24 (8:30 pm) David Kikoski, Joe Martin, Billy Hart
8/30, 8/31 (8:30 pm) Sarah Hanahan Quartet
NEW JERSEY
Brothers Smokehouse (Ramsey, NJ) brotherssmokehousenj.com
8/2 (7 pm) Kahlil Kwame Bell
8/9 (7 pm) Calvin Hill
8/16 (7 pm) TK Blue
8/23 (7 pm) James Stewart
8/30 (7 pm) George Gray
Candlelight Lounge (Trenton, NJ) candlelighteventsjazz.com
8/1, 8/8 (3:30 pm) Jazz Jam
8/3 (3:30 pm) Jerry Weldon
8/10 (3:30 pm) Josh Lee
Englewood Public Library (Englewood, NJ) englewoodlibrary.org
8/1 (7:30 pm) Richard Baratt and the Gotham City Latin Jazz Sextet
8/8 (7:30 pm) Darryl Yokley Tribute to Wayne Shorter
8/15 (7:30 pm) TK Blue
8/22 (7:30 pm) Vince Ector
8/29 (7:30 pm) Sharp Radway GroupMontclair State University - Kasser Theater (Montclair, NJ)
jazzhousekids.org
8/17 (12 pm/6 pm) Jazz House Kids Student Workshop Bands / Julian Lee Quartet;
Christian McBride
Morris Museum (Morristown, NJ)
morrismuseum.org/outdoor-concerts-on-the-back-deck
8/10 (7:30 pm) Laura Anglade with Ben Rosenblum, Marty Jaffe, Ben Zweig
8/17 (7:30 pm) Fumos with Jack Walsh, George Wurzbach, Tony Orbach, Paul Vercesi,
Kevin Bachelor, Charlie Sands, Gary Ciuzio
8/24 (7:30 pm) Vanisha Gould
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (New Brunswick, NJ) nbpac.org
8/10 (7 pm) Jerry Weldon Quartet with Joy Brown
Newark Museum of Art’s Alice Ransom Dreyfuss Memorial Garden (Newark, NJ)
jazzhousekids.org
8/2 (6:30 pm) Mecadon McCune New Age Quintet; Galo Inga Quintet
Shanghai Jazz (Madison, NJ) shanghaijazz.com
8/2 (7 pm) Axel Tosca & Friends
8/6, 8/27 (5:30 pm) Rich Court
8/6 (6:30 pm) John Bianculli with Hal Slapin, John Vourtsis
8/27 (6:30 pm) Bob Himmelberger with Hal Slapin, John Vourtsis
Tavern on George (New Brunswick, NJ) tavernongeorge.com
8/1 (7/8:45 pm) Ark Ovrutski Brazilian Quartet
8/6 (7/8:30 pm) Kristen Field Quartet and Jam
8/8 (7/8:45 pm) Mark Gross Quartet
8/13 (7/8:30 pm) Charlie Barber Quartet and Jam
8/15 (7/8:45 pm) Keith Franklin Quintet
8/20 (7/8:30 pm) Sam Wilson Quartet and Jam
8/22 (7/8:45 pm) Joe Magnarelli Quartet
8/27 (7/8:30 pm) Tristan Voitcu Quartet
8/29 (7/8:45 pm) Dave Schumacher & Cubeye
Triumph Brewing (Red Bank, NJ) triumphbrewing.com/red-bank
8/1 (7:30 pm) Andy Rothstein Trio
8/2 (8 pm) Andy Bianco Trio
8/4 (1 pm) Abe Ovadia Trio
8/8 (7:30 pm) Gabe Plotkin Trio
8/9 (8:30 pm) DLG 3
8/15 (7:30 pm) Keith Chasin Trio
8/17 (8:30 pm) Brian Richburg Trio
8/29 (7:30 pm) Jim Josselyn Quartet
8/30 (8:30 pm) Cody McCorry Quintet
8/31 (8:30 pm) Craig Dreyer & Friends
Wellmont Arts Plaza (Montclair, NJ) jazzhousekids.org
8/22 (6 pm) Vanessa Perea & Robert Edward Big BandNEW YORK
Alvin & Friends (New Rochelle, NY) alvinandfriendsrestaurant.com
8/10 (7:30 pm) Leslie Pintchik Trio with Scott Hardy, Michael Sarin

8/24 (7:30 pm) Leslie Pintchik Trio with Scott Hardy, Alvester Garnett
8/16, 8/23 (6:30 pm) Dinah Vero

The Lace Mill (Kingston, NY) facebook.com/TheLaceMill
8/25 (4 pm) Kirk Knuffke Trio with Tani Tabbal, Michael Bisio

The Falcon (Marlboro, NY) liveatthefalcon.com
8/1 (7:30 pm) FORQ with Henry Hey, Michael League, Chris McQueen, Jordan Peters,
Jason “JT” Thomas, Kevin Scott
8/2 (7:30 pm) Los Gaiteros De San Jacinto
8/8 (7:30 pm) Chris O’Leary Band
8/9 (7:30 pm) Danielia Cotton
8/11 (7:30 pm) David Torn; Blade Of with Jeremy Carlstedt, Tim Motzer, David Torn
8/15 (7:30 pm) Glen David Andrews
8/17 (7:30 pm) Joe Louis Walker
8/18 (7:30 pm) Scary Burton with Dave Dreiwitz, Jonathan Goldberger, Kevin Kendrick,
Jeff Davis
8/24 (7:30 pm) Ed Palermo Big Band

Lydia’s Café (Stone Ridge, NY) lydias-cafe.com
8/3 (7 pm) The Trio with Bob Meyer, Steve Frieder, Bryan Copeland
8/10 (7 pm) Jimmy Madison with Tim Regusis, Tarik Shah, Awan Rashad
8/17 (7 pm) Mark Usvolk Sextet with Ron Horton, Tim Armacost, Mark Dzubia,
Peter Tomlinson, Peter O’Brien
8/24 (7 pm) David Gilmore Quartet

Front Street Tavern (Kingston, NY) frontstreetkingston.com
8/21 (6 pm) Teri Roiger Trio with Pete Smith, John Menegon
Green Growler (Croton-on-Hudson, NY) thegreengrowler.com
8/6, 8/13, 8/20, 8/27 (6:30 pm) Tuesday Night Jazz Sessions
Hudson River Museum (Yonkers, NY) hrm.org
8/4 (2 pm) Afro-Polka Ensemble with Maciek Schejbal, Kaïssa Doumbè,
Jason Marshall, Anders Nilsson, Jerome Harris

Otto’s Full Service (Piermont, NY) ottosfullservice.com
8/6 (6 pm) Kevin Lovejoy, Antoine Drye
8/13 (6 pm) Kevin Lovejoy, Cameron Brown
8/20 (6 pm) Kevin Lovejoy, Scott Robinson
8/27 (6 pm) Kevin Lovejoy, Cameron Brown, Tony Jefferson
Peekskill Riverfront Park (Peekskill, NY)
cityofpeekskill.com/239/Parks-Recreation
8/11 (1 pm) Jazz in the Park with Clifton Anderson; Kristina Koller Band;
Ray Blue Quintet; Carl Allen Band
Stanley Demming Park (Warwick, NY) hudsonvalleyjazzfest.org
8/9 (7 pm) Hudson Valley Jazz Ensemble with Rave Tesar, Jeff Ciampa, Steve Rubin,
J. Brunka, Rick Savage, Jerry Vivino

Uncle Cheef (Brewster, NY) unclecheef.com
8/1 (7:30 pm) Rae Simone with Chogyi
8/2 (7:30 pm) High and Mighty Brass Band
8/3 (7:30 pm) Steve Einerson
8/4 (12 pm) Jamile
8/9 (7:30 pm) Alison Shearer
8/11 (12 pm) Matt King
Jazz Forum (Tarrytown, NY) jazzforumarts.org
8/15 (7:30 pm) Floodgates
8/2, 8/3 (7/9:30 pm) Ted Nash Quartet with Adam Birnbaum, Martin Jaffe, Domo Branch 8/16 (7:30 pm) Eric Binder
8/4 (4/6/8 pm) Sergio Pereira with Matt King, Oriente López, Gili Lopes,
8/17 (7:30 pm) Steve Shapiro
Maurício Zottarelli; David Janeway Trio and Jam
8/18 (12 pm) Eduardo Mercuri
8/22 (7:30 pm) Dawn Dero
8/9, 8/10 (7/9:30 pm) Dave Douglas Quartet “Plays Strayhorn” with Geoffrey Keezer,
8/24 (7:30 pm) Pat Bianchi
Yasushi Nakamura, Rudy Royston
8/25 (12 pm) Leandro Pellegrino
8/11 (4/6 pm) Emilie-Claire Barlow
8/29 (7:30 pm) Tyler Blanton
8/16, 8/17 (7/9:30 pm) Bob Baldwin Quartet
8/31 (7:30 pm) Junco Partners
8/18 (4/6 pm) Akira Tana Organ Quartet
8/23, 8/24 (7/9:30 pm) Ingrid Jensen Quintet
Waryas Park (Poughkeepsie, NY) jazzinthevalley.org
8/25 (4/6 pm) Nanny Assis Birthday Bash
8/18 (12 pm) Brandee Younger, Charles McPherson, Mitch Frohman & The Bronx Horns,
8/30, 8/31 (7/9:30 pm) Dave Stryker Group
Javon Jackson with Nikki Giovanni, Nnenna Freelon
Jazz Forum Arts presents Dobbs Ferry Summer Music Series (Dobbs Ferry, NY)
Westchester Collaborative Theater (Ossining, NY)
jazzforumarts.org/summer-concerts/dobbs-ferry
wctheater.org/music-in-the-box
8/7 (6:30 pm) Barbara Martinez Group
8/3 (7:30 pm) Music of Gigi Gryce with Alexis Cole, Haneef Nelson, John DiMartino
8/14 (6:30 pm) Patience Higgins Quartet
PENNSYLVANIA
8/21 (6:30 pm) Houston Person Quartet
Chris’ Jazz Café (Philadephia, PA) chrisjazzcafe.com
8/28 (6:30 pm) Sangha Tierra
8/1 (7:30/9 pm) Ben Singer Band
Jazz Forum Arts presents Jazz at Henry Gourdine Park (Ossining, NY)
8/2 (7:30/9:30 pm) Lafayette Gilchrist Sextet
jazzforumarts.org/summer-concerts/gourdine-park
8/3 (7:30/9:30 pm) Katie Oberholtzer with Matthew Rotker-Lynn
8/12 (6:30 pm) Cameron Brown & Dannie’s Calypso
8/6 (7:30/9 pm) Matthew Fries Trio with Carlo De Rosa, Steven Tyler Perry
8/26 (6:30 pm) Eric Person Quintet with Ingrid Jensen
8/7, 8/14, 8/21, 8/28 (7:30/9 pm) Philadelphia Jazz Orchestra Led with Joe Bongiovi
8/8 (7:30/9:30 pm) Warren Wolf Quartet
Jazz Forum Arts presents Jazz at Horan’s Landing (Sleepy Hollow, NY)
8/9 (7:30/9:30 pm) Sasha Berliner & Her All-Star Quintet with Jaleel Shaw, Joe Block,jazzforumarts.org/summer-concerts/horans-landing
Ben Williams, Justin Faulkner
8/6, 8/13, 8/20, 8/27 (6:30 pm) Mark Morganelli & The Jazz Forum All-Stars with
8/10 (7:30/9:30 pm) All Star Vibraphone Jam Session with Sasha Berliner,
Eddie Monteiro, Roni Ben-Hur, Nanny Assis
Chien Chien Lu, Christos Rafalides, Behn Gillece, Morgan Walbridge,
Jazz Forum Arts presents Jazz at Pierson Park (Tarrytown, NY)
Tony Miceli, Lee Smith, Byron Landham, Tom Lawton
jazzforumarts.org/summer-concerts/pierson-park
8/15 (7:30/9 pm) Olivia Perrin with Greg Masters, Eli Pace, Sean Butkovich
8/2 (6:30 pm) Mel Nusbaum’s Jazz Zone
8/16 (7:30/9:30 pm) Wayne Shorter Tribute: Darryl Yokley Quintet with Sean Jones
8/9 (6:30 pm) Ginetta’s Vendetta
8/17 (7:30/9:30 pm) Duane Eubanks Quintet with Abraham Burton, Santi Debriano,
8/16 (6:30 pm) Dominique Bianco Quartet
Byron Landham
8/23 (6:30 pm) Tony Jefferson Quintet
8/20 (7:30/9 pm) Larry Shaw Trio with Anthony Aldissi, Gabe Godoy
8/30 (6:30 pm) Amina Figarova Sextet & Matsiko World Orphan Choir
8/22 (7:30/9 pm) Mogi Taylor-Sheinman Quintet with Andrew Esch, Benjamin Byrd,
Sam Harris, Donovan Pope
Jazz Forum Arts presents Sunset Jazz at Lyndhurst (Tarrytown, NY)
8/23, 8/24 (7:30/9:30 pm) Ari Hoenig Trio with Tivon Pennicottjazzforumarts.org/summer-concerts/lyndhurst
8/29 (7:30/9 pm) Hudson River Band
8/1 (6:30 pm) Naama Quartet
8/30, 8/31 (7:30/9:30 pm) Grant Stewart & Aidan McKeon with Tim Brey Trio
8/8 (6:30 pm) Obasi Akoto & SPARX!
8/15 (6:30 pm) Sam Dillon Quartet
City Winery (Philadelphia, PA) citywinery.com/philadelphia
8/22 (6:30 pm) Nancy Kelly Quartet
8/11 (12 pm) Hot Club of Philadelphia
8/29 (6:30 pm) Bruce Williams Quintet
8/29 (7:30 pm) Jeff Bradshaw
The Jazz Loft (Stony Brook, NY) thejazzloft.org
Deer Head Inn (Delaware Water Gap, PA) deerheadinn.com
8/2 (11 am) Kristin Benson
8/1, 8/8, 8/15, 8/22, 8/29 (7 pm) Bill Washer & Friends, and Jazz Jam
8/2 (5/7 pm) Art of the Guitar Festival with Laurence Juber; Antony Wilson Organ Trio
8/9 (7 pm) Jon Ballantyne Trio with Evan Gregor, Bill Goodwin
with Gary Versace, Kenny Wollensen
8/10 (7 pm) Billy Test Trio with Evan Gregor, Ian Froman
8/3 (5/7 pm) Art of the Guitar Festival with Frank Vignola/Pasquale Grasso;
8/11 (7 pm) Billy Test/Jay Rattman
Martin Taylor/Allison Burns
8/16 (7 pm) Jamey Haddad
8/7 (1/7 pm) Tom Manuel & the Young at Heart Trio with Tom Manuel, Steve Salerno,
8/17 (7 pm) Emilie-Claire Barlow
Keenan Zach; Jam Session
8/18 (7 pm) Sizzlin’ Jazz Apples with Marti Lantz, Dave Lantz, Jesse Green,
8/9 (7 pm) Ray Anderson solo
Daniel Gonzalez
8/10 (7 pm) Nick Natalie Quartet with Maxwell Howard, David Uhl, Ronald Stockwell8/23 (7 pm) Stephanie Nakasian with Phil DeGreg, Karl Kimmel
8/24 (7 pm) Tony Miceli Quartet with Elijah Cole, Tony Marino, Dan Monaghan
8/14, 8/21, 1/8 (7 pm) Jam with Jazz Loft Trio with Keenan Zach
8/25 (7 pm) Patrick Poladian Trio with Christopher Dean Sullivan, Eric McPherson
8/15 (7 pm) Bad Little Big Band
8/30 (7 pm) Mark Woodyatt Trio with Jesse Green, Tony Marino
8/22 (6/7 pm) Jazz 101: NOLA with Dr. Darrell Smith; Jazz Loft Big Band
8/31 (7 pm) Chuck Redd
8/23, 8/24 (7 pm) Nicole Zuraitis “Sings the Ella Fitzgerald - Keely Smith Songbook
8/29 (7 pm) Interplay Jazz Orchestra
Hawthorne Park (Philadelphia, PA) jazzbridge.org
8/15 (7 pm) Mike Boone & Friends
Jazz on Main (Mt. Kisco, NY) jazzonmain.com
8/2 (7 pm) Joyce Dicamillo Trio
Settlement Music School (Germantown, PA) jazzbridge.org
8/4 (12 pm) Ron Drotos
8/20 (6 pm) John Dimase
8/8 (7 pm) Peyton Griffin Trio
Settler’s Inn (Hawley, PA) thesettlersinn.com
8/9 (7:30 pm) Suzanne Pittson
8/14 (6 pm) Teri Roiger with Bruce Arnold, John Menegon, Matt Garrity
8/10 (7 pm) Laura Meade Trio
Solar Myth (Philadelphia, PA) arsnovaworkshop.org
8/16 (7 pm) Alicyn Yaffee Duo
8/8 (8 pm) The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
8/17 (7 pm) Andrea Wolper Trio
8/9 (8 pm) Magic Tuba Stringband with Evan Morgan & Courtney Werner
8/18 (12 pm) Jaana Narsipur
8/23 (8 pm) Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few with Julian Davis, Micah Collier,8/22 (7 pm) Ilhan Saferali Quartet
Michael Shekwoaga Ode
8/23 (7 pm) Natalie Hamilton
8/24 (7 pm) Stephanie NakasianSouth Jazz Club (Philadelphia, PA) southjazzkitchen.com
8/29 (8 pm) Killdeer Trio
8/1 (7/9 pm) Ragan Whiteside with Gerald Veasley Band
8/31 (7 pm) Anderson Brothers Trio
8/22 (7/9 pm) Bobby Lyle
Jazz at The Lodge (Ossining, NY) jazzatthelodge.com
8/8, 8/22 (7/8:30 pm) Thursday Organ Groove featuring Chris Morrison withPaul Connors, Jon Doty
8/15 (7/8:30 pm) Steps Behind with Sarah Cion, Mike Rubino, Dan Asher, Bill Reeve
8/29 (7/8:30 pm) Jesse Lewis Organ Trio with Alex Smith, John Wikan

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 33

C LU B D I RE C TO RY• 449 La Scat in Harlem 449 Lenox Ave.
Subway: 2, 3 to 135th Str.
• Arthur’s Tavern 57 Grove Str.
(212-675-6879) Subway: 1 to Christopher Str.
arthurstavernnyc.com• Bar Bayeux 1066 Nostrand Ave.
(347-533-7845) Subway: 2, 5 to Sterling Str.
barbayeux.com• Bar LunÀtico 486 Halsey Str.
(917-495-9473) Subway: C to Kingston-Throop Ave.
barlunatico.com• Barbès 376 9th Str. at 6th Ave., Brooklyn(718-965-9177) Subway: F to 7th Ave.
barbesbrooklyn.com• Bill’s Place 148 W. 133rd Str. btwn. Lenox and 7th Ave.
(212-281-0777) Subway: 2, 3 to 125th Str.
billsplaceharlem.com• Birdland/Birdland Theater 315 W. 44th Str. btwn. 8th and 9th Ave.
(212-581-3080) Subway: 7, A, C, E, F, N, Q, R, to 42nd Str.
birdlandjazz.com• Blue Note 131 W. 3rd Str. at 6th Ave.
(212-475-8592) Subway: A, C, E, F, V Grand Str. Shuttle to W. 4th Str.
bluenotejazz.com• Bryant Park 5th and 6th Ave. btwn. 40th and 42nd Str.
(212-768-4242) Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 42nd Str.
bryantpark.org• Café Erzulie 894 Broadway, Brooklyn
Subway: J, M, Z to Myrtle Ave.
cafeerzulie.com• Cellar Dog 75 Christopher Str. at 7th Ave.
(212-675-6056) Subway: 1 to Christopher Str. /Sheridan Sq.
cellardog.net• Central Park Great Hill 105th St.
Subway: B, C to 103rd St.
jazzmobile.org• Central Park Summerstage, Rumsey Playfield 72nd Str. and Fifth Ave.
(212-36O-2777) Subway: B, D to 72nd Str.
summerstage.org• Chelsea Table + Stage Hilton Fashion District Hotel, 152 W 26th St.
(212-434-0499) Subway: C, E to 23rd St.; R, W to 28th St.
chelseatableandstage.com• The Cutting Room 44 E. 32nd St.
(212-691-1900) Subway: 6 to 33rd St.
thecuttingroomnyc.com• Dada Bar 60-47 Myrtle Ave., Queens
Subway: M to Forest Ave.; M to Fresh Pond Rd.
dadabar.nyc• Dante Park Columbus Ave. and West 63rd St.
Subway: 1, 2 to Lincoln Ctr.; A, B, C, D to Columbus Circle
nycgovparks.org/parks/dante-park• Dizzy Gillespie Mural 229 W. 135th St.
Subway: 2, 3, A, B, C to 135th St.
• Dizzy’s Club 33 W. 60th Str., 11th floor(212-258-9800) Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle
jazz.org• The Django 2 Sixth Ave.
(212-519-6600) Subway: A, C, E to Canal Str. ; 1 to Franklin Str.
thedjangonyc.com• Downtown Music Gallery 13 Monroe Str.
(212-473-0043) Subway: F to East Broadway
downtownmusicgallery.com• Drom 85 Ave. A(212-777-1157) Subway: F to Second Ave.
dromnyc.com• The Ear Inn 326 Spring St. at Greenwich St.
(212-246-5074) Subway: C, E to Spring St.
earinn.com• El Barrio Artspace 215 E. 99th St.
Subway: 6 to 96th St.
artspaceps109.org• El Sol Brillante Community Garden 522 E. 12th St.
Subway: L to First Ave.
elsolbrillante.org• Faber Park Richmond Terrace, Staten Island(212-639-9675) Subway: SIMC3C Bus to Faber Park
nycgovparks.org/parks/faber-pool-and-park• Flushing Town Hall 137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing(718-463-7700) Subway: 7 to Main Str.
flushingtownhall.org• Gantry Plaza State Park 49th Ave. and Center Blvd.
Subway: 7 to Vernon-Jackson Boulevard
liveatthegantries.com• Grant’s Tomb 122nd St. and Riverside Drive
Subway: 1 to 125th St.
jazzmobile.org• Harlem Rose Garden 6 E. 129th St.
Subway: 2, 3 to 125th St.
• Hudson River Park 555 12th Ave. at 44th St.
(212-627-2020) Subway: A, C, E, F, V to 42nd St. -Port Authority
hudsonriverpark.org• Ibeam Brooklyn 168 7th Str. btwn. Second and Third Ave.
Subway: F to 4th Ave.
ibeambrooklyn.com• Il Sole 233 Dyckman St.
Subway: A to Dyckman St.
ilsolenyc.com• Iridium 1650 Broadway at 51st Str.
(212-582-2121) Subway: 1,2 to 50th Str.
theiridium.com• Jackie Robinson Park Bradhurst & Edgecombe Ave., W. 145th toW. 155th St.
Subway: D to 145th St.
• The Jazz Gallery 1158 Broadway, 5th fl(212-242-1063) Subway: N, Q, R, W to 28th Str.; F, M to 23rd Str.
jazzgallery.org• Jazz In Times Square 46th St. and Broadway
Subway: A, C, E to 42nd St.; 7 to Times Square; S to Times Square;
N, Q, R, W to Times Squarejazz.org/swinginthestreets• Joe’s Pub 425 Lafayette Str.
(212-539-8770) Subway: N, R to 8th Str. -NYU; 6 to Astor Pl.
joespub.com• The Keep 205 Cypress Ave., Queens(718-381-0400) Subway: L to Jefferson Str.
thekeepny.com• Klavierhaus 549 W. 52nd Str., 7th Floor(212-245-4535) Subway: C, E to 50th Str.
klavierhaus.com• Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 33 University Pl. at 9th Str.
(212-228-8490) Subway: N, R to 8th Str. -NYU
knickerbockerbarandgrill.com• Le Poisson Rouge 158 Bleecker Str.
(212-228-4854) Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, V to W. 4th Str.
lepoissonrouge.com• Lincoln Center: Underground at Jaffe Drive Jaffe Dr.
Subway: 1, 2 to 66th Str.
lincolncenter.org• Louis Armstrong House Museum 34-56 107th St., Queens(718-478-8274) Subway: 7 to 11th St.
louisarmstronghouse.org• Lowlands 543 Third Ave., Brooklyn(347-463-9458) Subway: R to Prospect Ave.
lowlandsbar.com• Marcus Garvey Park 120th St. bt. Mt. Morris Park and Madison Ave.
(212-201-PARK) Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 to 125th St.
jazzmobile.org• Mezzrow 163 W. 10th Str.
(646-476-4346) Subway: 1 to Christopher Str.
smallslive.com• Michiko Studios 15 W. 39th St. Floor 7(212-302-4011) Subway: N, Q, R, W to Times Squaremichikostudios.com• Minton’s 206 W. 118th Str. btwn. Str. Nicholas Ave. and Adam
Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd
(212-243-2222) Subway: B, C to 116th Str.
mintonsnyc.com• North Square Lounge 103 Waverly Pl. at McDougal Str.
(212-254-1200) Subway: A, B, C, E, F, V to West 4th Str.
northsquareny.com/about-jazz.php• Nublu 151 151 Ave C
Subway: L to 1st Ave.
nublu.net• Ornithology Jazz Club 6 Suydam Str., Brooklyn(917-231-4766) Subway: J, M, Z to Myrtle Ave.
ornithologyjazzclub.com• The Owl Music Parlor 497 Rogers Ave.
(718-774-0042) Subway: Subway: 2 to to Sterling Str.
theowl.nyc

34 August 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD• Pangea 178 Second Ave.
(212-995-0900) Subway: L to First Ave.
pangeanyc.com• Patrick’s Place 2835 Frederick Boulevard(212-491-7800) Subway: B, D to 155th Str.
patricksplaceharlem.com• Pier 84 W. 44th Str. and Hudson River
Subway: A, C, E, F, V to 42nd Str. -Port Authority
jazzfoundation.org• Prospect Park Bandshell
Subway: F to Prospect Park
• The Record Shop 360 Van Brunt Str.
(347-668-8285) Subway: Bus: B61to Van Brunt Str./King Str.
360recordshop.com• Red Rooster Harlem 310 Malcolm X Blvd.
(212-792-9001) Subway: 2, 3 to 125th Str.
redroosterharlem.com• Rockaway Beach 97th St.
Subway: A, S to Beach 98th St.
• Room 623 at B2 Harlem 271 W. 119th Str.
(212-280-2248) Subway: B, C to 116th Str.
b2harlem.com• Saint Peter’s Church 619 Lexington Ave. at 54th Str.
(212-935-2200) Subway: 6 to 51st Str.
saintpeters.org• ShapeShifter Lab 837 Union Str., Brooklyn(646-820-9452) Subway: D, N, R, W to Union Str.; B, Q to 7th Ave.;
shapeshifterplus.org• Sheen Center 18 Bleecker St.
(212-219-3132) Subway: Subway: 6 to Bleecker St.
sheencenter.org• Shrine 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. btwn. 133rd & 134th Str.
(212-690-7807) Subway: B, 2, 3 to 135th Str.
shrinenyc.com• Silvana 300 W. 116th Str.
(646-692-4935) Subway: B, C, to 116th Str.
silvana-nyc.com• Sisters 900 Fulton Str.
(347-763-2537) Subway: C to Clinton-Washington Ave.s
sistersbklyn.com• Smalls 183 W 10th Str. at Seventh Ave.
(212-252-5091) Subway: 1 to Christopher Str.
smallslive.com• Smoke 2751 Broadway btwn. 105th and 106th Str.
(212-864-6662) Subway: 1 to 103rd Str.
smokejazz.com• Snug Harbor Cultural Center 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island(718-448-2500) Subway:
jazzmobile.org• Soapbox Gallery 636 Dean Str.
Subway: 2, 3 to Bergen Str.
soapboxgallery.org• Sony Hall 235 W. 46th Str.
(212-997-5123) Subway: N, R, W to 49th Str.
sonyhall.com• St. Paul’s Chapel 209 Broadway(212-233-4164) Subway: 4, 5, A, C to Fulton St.
trinitywallstreet.org• The Stone at The New School 55 West 13th Str.
(212-229-5600) Subway: F, V to 14th Str.
thestonenyc.com• Swing 46 349 W. 46th St.
(646-322-4051) Subway: A, C, E to 42nd St.
swing46.com• Threes Brewing 333 Douglass St.
(718-522-2110) Subway: R to Union St.
threesbrewing.com• Umbra Café 785 Hart St., Brooklyn
Subway: M to Central Ave., Knickerbocker Ave.; L to DeKalb Ave.
umbrabrooklyn.com• Village Vanguard 178 Seventh Ave. South at 11th Str.
(212-255-4037) Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 14th Str.
villagevanguard.com• Zinc Bar 82 W. 3rd Str.
(212-477-8337) Subway: A, C, E, F, V, Grand Str. Shuttle to W. 4th Str.
zincbar.com

I N ME MORIAM

BY MARILYN LESTERCHARLES “LOLO” BELLONZI (Jan. 14, 1941 - Jul. 11,2024) The Nice, France-born drummer died at age 83.
Bellonzi began on accordion, and took up drums at age
14, playing both instruments in the Nice brass band,
La Renaissance, with his uncle, a helicon player. He
discovered jazz at age 17, soon moving to Paris where
he began playing with the likes of Art Simmons andRaymond Fol. In 1960 he recorded with the Golden
Gate Quartet and a year later was hired by Georges
Arvanitas as part of a quintet in residence at Club SaintGermain. Bellonzi played on the Ellington-Strayhorn
film soundtrack Paris Blues and later was affiliatedwith pianist Martial Solal’s trio. He had leader dates
beginning in the late ’60s, the last being Abracadadrums(2006). Bellonzi worked with Stéphane Grappelli, Guy
Lafitte, René Thomas, Lou Bennett, Paris Jazz All Stars,
Buck Clayton, Bill Coleman, Sonny Grey, Jack Diéval,Richard Galliano, Steve Grossman and others.

THOMAS WILLIAM FOWLER (Jun. 10, 1951 - Jul.
2, 2024) Born in Salt Lake City, UT, the bass guitarist
died at age 73. Part of a musical family, he had fourmusic thatbrothers,
shocked including trombonist Bruce and trumpeter
Walt Fowler. He’s best known for his association withFrank Zappa, after which he had a stint with Zappa’s
Mothers of Invention’s violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, thenSteve Hackett, The Fowler Brothers, Ray Charles andothers. He co-led Air Pocket and had credits withkeyboardists George Duke (another Zappa alum) andThom Teresi.
RICHARD RASHEED HOWARD (1957 - Jul. 7, 2024)
The NYC-based trumpeter and composer died at age
67. He performed in various NYC venues as well as
being a presence in Washington Square Park where hedelighted listeners playing two horns simultaneously.

MILTON LEE JOHNSON (May 25, 1948 - Jul. 2, 2024)
The trumpeter/flugelhornist died at age 76 in Hopewell,
VA. Johnson toured with the Million Dollar Movement
and with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. In later
years he served in music ministry and was principal
trumpeter of the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra.
LARRY MONROE (1939 - Jul. 1, 2024) The alto
saxophonist, who was closely associated with Berklee
College of Music in Boston, died at age 84. He worked
with Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie, Gary Burton and led
an octet. His 42 years at Berklee encompassed teachingclasses in arranging, ear training and ensemble, to later
being named head of the Performance and Ear Training
departments and producing concerts and helping
to develop the Berklee on the Road international
clinic series and Berklee International Network ofcontemporary music schools. His sole leader date wasthe co-led At Long Last: Plays the Music of Cole Porter(Sterling, 1993) with trombonist Tony Lada.
JIM ROTONDI (Aug. 28, 1962 - Jul. 7, 2024) Born
in Butte, MT, the trumpeter, composer, arranger,
conductor and educator died at age 61 in Le Crest,
France. He began on piano at age 8 and switched totrumpet at 12, inspired by hearing a Clifford Brown
recording. He won first place in the International
Trumpet Guild’s Jazz Trumpet Competition (1984) andsoon moved to New York City, touring and recordingwith Ray Charles, Lionel Hampton, Toshiko Akiyoshi,
Bob Mintzer, Charles Earland, Lou Donaldson, Curtis
Fuller and Joe Chambers. At his death he had been alongtime Professor of Jazz Trumpet at the Universityof Music and Dramatic Arts, Graz, Austria and led twogroups, the electric outfit Full House, featuring pianist
David Hazeltine, and a quintet with vibraphonist

Joe Locke. A founding member of the sextet One For
All (with Eric Alexander, Steve Davis, Hazeltine, Joe
Farnsworth and rotating bassists Peter Washington,
Ray Drummond and John Webber), Rotondi had
numerous releases on Criss Cross, Sharp Nine, Venus,
Posi-Tone, smallsLIVE, Smoke Sessions and Cellar
Music. His many other credits include Bill Mobley,
Giacomo Gates, Paul Bollenback, Dena DeRose, Cecil
Payne, Mike DiRubbo, Mike LeDonne and Alexis Cole.
IRÈNE SCHWEIZER (Jun. 2, 1941 - Jul. 16, 2024) Cofounder of Intakt Records and the Taktlos Festival,
Schweizer died at age 83 in Zurich, Switzerland after
a long illness. A proverbial force of nature, the jazzpianist helped shape the international jazz scene andSwiss music landscape with over 75 albums sincesome of her first mid-to-late ‘60s recordings, including
Pierre Favre’s Santana (Pip, 1968) and Manfred
Schoof’s European Echoes (FMP, 1969). She was anactivist, fighting for artistic autonomy and stood up
to apartheid and for women’s rights, including lesbian
issues and gender fluidity. Performing internationally,
she led the female trio Les Diaboliques (with Joëlle
Léandre and Maggie Nicols) and collaborated with anumber of fellow jazz greats: from Don Cherry andGeorge Lewis, to saxophonists John Tchicai and Fred
Anderson, and a series of piano/drum duos with Joey
Baron, Han Bennink, Andrew Cyrille, Hamid Drake,
Louis Moholo-Moholo and Gunter “Baby” Sommer.
She established the first women’s jazz festival in
Switzerland and in 2018 was awarded the Swiss GrandPrix Music. In 2021, after her 80th birthday, Schweizer
retired from concert life for health reasons and selfpublished her biography This Uncontainable Feeling of
Freedom: Irène Schweizer–European Jazz and the Politics of
Improvisation (by Berlin journalist Christian Broecking).

charlespillow.com

Electric Miles 2, the follow up to the acclaimed Electric Miles (2018), is a further explora on ofMiles Davis’ early electric period. The NYC ensemble features soloists
such as trumpeters Tim Hagans, Clay Jenkins and Sco Wendholt;
saxophonists Jimmy Greene and Alexa Tarran no; trombonists Alan
Ferber and Michael Davis; guitarist Pete McCann and pianist Henry Hey,backed by bassists Chuck Bergeron and Ugonna Okegwo and drummer
Jared Schonig.
‘‘With skill andimagina on,
Pillow arranges
the music thatshocked the jazz
establishment
in 1969”—Doug Ramsey

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2024 35