Manhattnites think theirs is the jazz borough: Harlem, Fifty-Second Street, the Village. Sorry, but no. It’s Queens, home to Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Bix Beiderbecke, James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Clarence Williams, Count Basie, Milt Hinton, Bobby Hackett, Illinois Jacquet, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Heath, Roy Eldridge, Clark Terry, Benny Goodman, John Coltrane, Lester Young, Ben Webster . . .
And the jazz glories of this borough aren’t only historical (read: dusty). Dennis Lichtman proved that vividly in his concert — with his Queensboro Six — at the Louis Armstrong House Museum (34-56 107th St, Corona, Queens, by the way) on August 29, 2015. The band was Dennic, clarinet, compositions, arrangements; Gordon Au, trumpet; J. Walter Hawkes, trombone; Nathan Peck, string bass; Dalton Ridenhour, keyboard; Rob Garcia, drums; Terry Wilson, vocal, with guest stars Ed Polcer, cornet; Tamar Korn, vocal. And there were luminaries not on the bandstand: Michael Cogswell and Ricky Riccardi, Brynn White, Cynthia Sayer, Jerome Raim, among others.
Here‘s the first half of the concert for those who missed my posting. And now the second. Dennis explains it all, so watch, listen, and savor.
UNDECIDED:
MIDNIGHT AT THE PIERS:
STOMPIN’ AT MONA’S:
I CRIED FOR YOU (vocal Terry Wilson):
BLACK AND BLUE (vocal Terry):
THE POWER OF NOT-THEN:
I’D REMEMBER HAVING MET YOU IF I’D MET YOU:
WHAT A LITTLE MOONLIGHT CAN DO (add Terry WIlson, Ed Polcer, Tamar Korn):
May your happiness increase!
JAZZ LIVES 
Michael, thanks so much for this, which I had to miss in person. Nice audio balance, presumably due to your position front and center. Lovely music by
musicians I know and wish were more widely known.
Money well spent by the Queens Council for the Arts. I’m glad you were there to record it. What a talent Dennis Lichtman is!
Pingback: DENNIS LICHTMAN and THE QUEENSBORO SIX: “JUST CROSS THE RIVER” | JAZZ LIVES