LUCKY TO BE THERE: THE ATLANTA JAZZ PARTY NEARS! (April 25-27, 2014)

April is a-coming in, and so is the 2014 Atlanta Jazz Party.

I offer a beautiful interlude, recorded at the 2012 AJP, of Rossano Sportiello tenderly playing Leonard Bernstein — as a soundtrack while you read more.

At the Atlanta Jazz Party, good music flourishes over the course of a weekend. All the elements are in place before a note sounds: comfort, friendliness, ease, variety.  A well-lit room, good sound, good sight lines, easy access to high-quality food and drink in a clean, hospitable hotel.  Each player or singer gets to lead at least one set, and the stylistic range goes back to King Oliver and forward to the present day, with pleasing stops for up-tempo romps and pretty ballads.

This is the AJP’s twenty-fifth anniversary, proof that they understand the fine art of pleasing both patrons and musicians. I’ve joined the Party twice and found it a banquet each time, supervised with generosity and common sense by Pualani and Philip Carroll.

Details! Here is  the Facebook page for the AJP.

The musicians at this year’s Party are once again enthusiastic, swinging, and surprising:

Ed Polcer, Duke Heitger, Bria Skonberg, cornet / trumpet and an occasional vocal; Allan Vaché, Dan Block, reeds; Dan Barrett, Bob Havens, trombone; Rossano Sportiello, piano; John Cocuzzi, vibes, piano, vocal; Freddy Cole, vocal, piano; Randy Napoleon, Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar; Frank Tate, Paul Keller, string bass; Ed Metz Jr., Danny Coots, drums; Rebecca Kilgore, vocal.

You can look forward to thirty sets of beautifully-conceived jazz: ballads, New Orleans, mainstream, small-band swing, offered in four sessions: Friday night, Saturday afternoon and evening, Sunday afternoon. Guarantors and Patrons get to attend all four sessions plus the exclusive Saturday morning jazz brunch just for patrons, guarantors and musicians. More details can be found at the AJP site. You can sign up for a single session or for all four.  The hotel (the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North) is exceedingly comfortable: it is located at 7 Concourse Pkwy. NE, Sandy Springs, Georgia, 30328 — about thirty minutes from downtown Atlanta. Be sure to mention the Party for the best room rate! Click here to reserve rooms.

May your happiness increase!