Another of the wondrous ballad medleys that used to begin and end the splendid jazz weekend, Jazz at Chautauqua: here, from 2013. And, because it’s daylight, it was the medley that sent us all home, exhausted by pleasure, on a Sunday afternoon.
The roadmap: After a few of the usual hi-jinks, the rescue squad finds a second microphone for Marty Grosz, Harry Allen plays EASY LIVING; Dan Block, DAY DREAM; Bob Havens essays CAN’T HELP LOVIN’ THAT MAN; Duke Heitger finishes off this segment with I KNOW WHY (And So Do You):
I had to put a new battery in at this point, so I missed a few choruses (you’ll see Dan Levinson leaving the stage — my apologies to Dan and the other musicians I couldn’t capture).
Then, Randy Reiinhart plays MY FUNNY VALENTINE; Andy Schumm follows, politely, with PLEASE; Andy Stein calls for LAURA; Marty takes the stage by himself for the Horace Gerlach classic IF WE NEVER MEET AGAIN; Rossano Sportiello plays SOPHISTICATED LADY, so beautifully:
Those would have been the closing notes of the 2013 Jazz at Chautauqua: another unforgettable interlude of music and friendship. Bless the musicians, bless the shade of Joe Boughton and bless his living family, bless Nancy Hancock Griffith and Kathy Hancock. Those experiences are unforgettable evidence that once, such things were beautifully possible, and we witnessed them — me, with a video camera. How fortunate we were!
The dashing fellow above (from a 2009 photograph) is the jazz scholar-devotee Enrico Borsetti. I know him as a fine fellow, although we have never met in person. His generosity is remarkable, but this is a new example: Enrico’s video-recording of music from the 2002 Ascona Jazz Festival, specifically this wonderful band, the Blue Rhythm Makers. For this date, they were Keith Nichols, piano and vocal; René Hagmann, cornet, reeds; Matthias Seuffert, reeds; Christoph Wackerbarth, trombone; Martin Wheatley, guitar;
Frans Sjostrom, bass sax, with guest appearances by Andy Stein, violin; Jon-Erik Kellso, trumpet. This music was created at the Ristorante Tamaro, Ascona, on Sunday, July 7, 2002.
WHEN DAY IS DONE and POISON:
THE MAN FROM THE SOUTH and I WISH I WERE TWINS:
with guest star Andy Stein, violin, DOIN’ THE NEW LOW DOWN:
And the poignant I’LL NEVER BE THE SAME:
ONE HOUR (Keith sings the lovely verse):
Jon-Erik raises the temperature, even for July, with a rousing SWING THAT MUSIC:
and Andy returns to close the first half of this performance with THAT’S A PLENTY, certainly an accurate description of these wonderful videos.
(Incidentally, I am pleased and amused to note that Enrico’s world is much like mine in the matter of videos: umbrellas and people with cameras obscuring the view, crashing dishes and more — but the sound blazes right at us, and these videos are true gifts.) Here‘s Enrico’s YouTube channel, where all varieties of beauties blossom.
About seventy-five minutes into this gratifying portrait of Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, trombonist and keen observer Jim Fryer describes its subject as “an intense man . . . a driven man . . . consumed” by the ideals he’s devoted the last forty years to. And his goal? As Vince says in the film, it is “to get the great music out there for the people.”
From his early introduction to the music — the hot jazz 78s on his grandmother’s Victrola — to the present moment, where he is the inspired creator of a ten-piece Jazz Age big band possibly without equal, Vince’s ideal has been complex. Reproduce live the sound, accuracy, and vitality of the music he heard on the records, and add to that repertoire by playing, vividly and authentically, music that never got recorded. His quest has been to have a working band, the contemporary equivalent of the great working bands, sweet and hot, of the Twenties and Thirties, visiting the Forties on occasion. Add to this the constant schlepping (you could look it up) of the equipment for that band; finding a new home after Sofia’s could no longer stay open; finding gigs; keeping this organization running against the odds. The film wholly captures how difficult Vince’s consuming obsession is to accomplish, and to keep afloat day after day.
Many readers of JAZZ LIVES are fervent Giordanians or perhaps Vinceites, and we crossed paths for years in the darkness of Sofia’s, at the Christmas teas. I have a long history with this band, going back to a Nighthawks gig in the preceding century, in the eastern part of Long Island, New York, where the night sky darkened, the thunder rumbled louder than Arnie Kinsella’s drum set, lightning flashed, but the band kept playing until the last possible minute before the deluge. So I’ve experienced Vince’s dedication firsthand.
Here’s the film’s trailer — a delightful encapsulation that doesn’t give away all the surprises:
The narrative follows Vince and the band over two years and more, from Sofia’s to Wolf Trap for PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION with Garrison Keillor, to Aeolian Hall with Maurice Peress for a recreation of Paul Whiteman’s presentation RHAPSODY IN BLUE — the opening clarinet solo brilliantly played by Dan Block — to the Nighthawks’ search for a new home, which they found at Iguana. The film brings us up in to the present with the New York Hot Jazz Festival and a band led by Nighthawk Dan Levinson (his “Gotham Sophisticats”) as well as a new generation of musicians inspired by Vince, who has shown that it is possible to play hot music at the highest level with accuracy and spirit.
So much credit for this beautifully-realized film, must, of course, go to its intensely-charged subject, the Nighthawks, and their music. But filmmakers Dave Davidson and Amber Edwards are expert visionaries.
Even given this vibrant multi-sensory material, formulaic filmmakers could have created something dull. They might have been satisfied to simply document performance: aim cameras at the Nighthawks and record what they play, as videographers like myself have done, which would have been accurate but limiting as cinema. Or, given the many people willing to talk about Vince and the Nighthawks, Edwards and Davidson could have given us a pageant of New York’s most erudite talking heads, some of whom would have been happy to lecture us.
Instead, by beautifully combining both elements and adding some surprises, they have created a wholly engaging, fast-moving portrait of Vince, the Nighthawks, and their world. THERE’S A FUTURE IN THE PAST never seems to stand still, and the cameras take us places that even the most devoted fans have never gone. We get to peek in at Terry Gross’s interview of Vince, to travel downtown for a Nighthawk-flavored session of the EarRegulars at The Ear Inn and a recording session for BOARDWALK EMPIRE.
One of the film’s most pleasing aspects is candid, often witty commentary from people who know — the musicians themselves. Edwards and Davidson have fine instincts for the telling anecdote, the revealing insight. We see and hear Jon-Erik Kellso, Dan Levinson, Mike Ponella, Mark Lopeman, Peter Yarin, Andy Stein, Cynthia Sayer, Jim Fryer, and others, people who have worked with Vince for twenty-five years and more, and their stories are as essential to the film as is the music.
Edwards and Davidson quietly capture telling details, visual and otherwise: the box of doughnuts brought on the bus; the rivets on Vince’s aluminum double bass; Jon-Erik Kellso’s hand gestures — contrapuntal choreography — during SHAKE THAT THING; the voices of the Nighthawks joking about being fired as they head into a band meeting. The film is admiring without being obsequious, so we also see a short, revealing episode of Vince losing his temper. But the details ever seem excessive. In this era of fidgety multi-camera over-editing, the film’s charged rhythm — appropriately, a peppy dance tempo — is energetic but never overdone, never cleverly calling attention to itself.
There’s vivid photographic evidence of the spectacle at Sofia’s and the Iguana: the tuxedo-clad Nighthawks not only playing hot but enacting it; the dancers jubilantly embodying what they hear in ecstatic motion. A documentary about Vince would be empty without the music. I noted SUGAR FOOT STOMP, THE MOON AND YOU, PUBLIC MELODY NUMBER ONE featuring Catherine Russell, WHITE HEAT, SWEET MAN, Kellso burning up the cosmos on SINGING PRETTY SONGS, THE STAMPEDE, ONE MORE TIME, YOU’VE BEEN A GOOD OLD WAGON, even BESAME MUCHO at a rainy Midsummer Night Swing at Lincoln Center. And the sound recording is just splendid.
One of the secret pleasures of this film, for the true believers, is in spotting friends and colleagues: Matt Musselman, Will Friedwald, Tina Micic, Jim Balantic, John Landry, Molly Ryan, Sam Huang, Chuck Wilson, and a dozen others. (I know I’ve missed someone, so I apologize in advance.)
In every way, this film is delightful, a deep yet light-hearted portrait of a man and an evocation of a time and place, a casual yet compelling documentary that invites us in. First Run Features is presenting its New York theatrical premiere at Cinema Village on January 13, 2017, and I believe that Vince and the filmmakers will be present at a number of showings.
JUST FRIENDS — when it was originally performed in 1931 — was a sad love ballad, appropriate to the beautifully mournful tones of Red McKenzie — and notice how hip and expansive his second chorus is. He had known and heard the Chicagoans, Jimmie Noone, and of course Louis:
If you prefer the 1932 Russ Columbo version, it’s beautiful also.
At some point, JUST FRIENDS was treated less as a lament and more as a song to play on. (One could point to the Charlie Parker with Strings recording in 1949, and subsequent performances, but Bird often treated it as a medium-tempo ballad.) And that tradition — swing rather than sobbing — prevails today.
I present an extended swing meditation on this song, performed on Thursday, September 10, 2015. The participants, the creators, are Ehud Asherie, piano; Frank Tate, string bass; Pete Siers, drums; Howard Alden, guitar; Bill Allred, trombone; Randy Reinhart, cornet; Dan Block, tenor saxophone.
That is the sort of wonderful music that happens every year at this party, whether it’s at the informal jam sessions of Thursday night or the sets on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This year, the Party takes place from September 15 to the 18th.
A word about names. When I started attending this party, it was held in Chautauqua, New York, and was called Jazz at Chautauqua; then it moved to Cleveland and temporarily was called the Allegheny Jazz Party; now it has become mature and changed its name to the Cleveland Classic Jazz Party. You can find out more details here, on Facebook, or at the Party’s www.alleghenyjazz.org, or even by calling 216.956.0866.
The Party takes place at the InterContinental Hotel and Conference Center, 9801 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106. You can call 216.707.4100 or 855.765.8709 to make reservations, but be sure to use the Group Code YOO when you call or reserve online.
Musicians who will be there . . . are the Faux Frenchmen, Rebecca Kilgore, Wesla Whitfield, Andy Stein, Hal Smith, Pete Siers, Ricky Malichi, Frank tate, Kerry Lewis, Jon Burr, Rossano Sportiello, Mike Greensill, James Dapogny, Ehud Asherie, Marty Grosz, Howard Alden, Bill Allred, Dan Barrett. Scott Robinson, Dan Levinson, Dan Block, Harry Allen, Jon-Erik Kellso, Andy Schumm, Randy Reinhart, Duke Heitger.
Come by, hear some wonderful music, eat and drink, and make friends.
I can precisely document the time and place my admiration for Sarah Spencer began. The site was the second floor of Casa Mezcal(86 Orchard Street, on the Lower East Side of New York City) around 3 PM on Sunday, June 5 — an event I’ve documented here. Witnessing this was Tamar Korn (it was her gig), violinist / baritone saxophonist Andy Stein and pianist Ehud Asherie. Then, happily, Sarah brought her tenor saxophone to the Wednesday, June 10 gig of the Hot Jazz Rabbleat the Tryon Public House(4740 Broadway).
Her friends in the Rabble were Jim Fryer, trombone; Mike Davis, trumpet; Glenn Crytzer, banjo; Jennifer Vincent, string bass.
A word before readers jump into the videos. To tenor saxophone aficionados who have grown up on Hawk, Ben, Lester, and their modern descendants, Sarah’s playing may take sixteen bars to get used to. If, however, you know the New Orleans tradition of Cap’n John Handy and Emmanuel Paul, Sarah’s bubbling, exuberant work will make you feel at home immediately.
She told me that she doesn’t see herself as a member of the front line, alongside trumpet and trombone, but rather as part of the rhythm section, energizing it in naturally. What you’ll hear in her joyous ensemble playing sounds like a cross between water rushing over rocks and a very dark, ferocious Bud Freeman who’s been boling crawfish.
With that as preface, here she is on MARIE:
And here Sarah sings DOWN IN THE MOUF’ BLUES, which is a late Clara Smith performance. Please note that she does more than copy the recorded performance. Even better, she varies her phrasing from chorus to chorus with lovely shifts of emphasis and meter. There is the surface appearance of don’t-care roughness, but underneath there is many subtle variations on the simple theme:
Sarah’s authenticity and enthusiasm are very winning. Her personality doesn’t come through entirely in the videos, so you have to see and hear her for yourself. I think of her as a youthful Earth Mother of New Orleans stomp by way of the UK and Connecticut.
And she and her Transatlantic Band are playing a gig this June 20th: details here!
I feel so fortunate to have met the delightfully authentic Sarah Spencerabout 72 hours ago.
Although Sarah didn’t bring her tenor saxophone to Tamar Korn’s Sunday afternoon soiree at Casa Mezcal, she did sit in and sing a 1928 Ma Rainey blues, HEAR ME TALKIN’ TO YOU. Her singing initially hits with the force of a phenomenon that should be reported on the Weather Channel, but those who listen closely will hear an entreaty, a tenderness beneath the seriously forthright power. She’s accompanied by Andy Stein, baritone saxophone; Ehud Asherie, piano (the latter bringing some Ellington and Hines down to New Orleans):
If you weren’t at Casa Mezcal, you have another chance right away to immerse yourself in Sarah’s swinging world — a Saturday-night gig on June 20 from 8 to midnight. It’s at the Windmill Tavern at 400 Hollister Street, Stratford, Connecticut. The phone number for reservations is 203-378-6886. No cover, no minimum.
Sarah explains, “The band is Sarah Spencer’s Transatlantic Band and we play New Orleans Music – from Piron to Professor Longhair (and always hot and dirty!) People can check out my website here. The personnel for the gig is Sarah Spencer, tenor sax and vocal; Fred Vigorito, cornet; Bill Sinclair, piano; Art Hovey, tuba and string bass; Molly Sayles, drums. It looks like there is a load of room to dance so people should come with their dancing shoes and be prepared to shake it in good New Orleans fashion (or any other way they see fit)!”
You know what to do. And obviously so does Sarah.
P.S. I told Sarah that her photograph was terrifying, and she grinned and said, “That’s my best butt-kicking, hard-blowing, get outta ma way cos I’m comin’ through photo — my cutting contest face. But I’m a big squishy inside.” She is both of those people, and I hope you get a chance to find out for yourself.
If you are reading this in the Northeast United States, you might be coming out of a sustained depression caused by several weeks of snow and cold. It’s all melting, and I feel a thaw in my psyche. There’s something about seeing the sidewalk that gives me hope.
What better way to celebrate our survival — that we didn’t have to break open the pemmican — than with some free heartfelt jazz coming tomorrow, Monday, March 9, at 7:30 PM, in New York City?
I said free. But you do have to RSVP them. The venue is the JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue, New York 10023, and the event is being put on by the Balassi Institute.
Revisit the music of Louis Armstrong and Joe Murányi as interpreted by the cream of today’s trad jazz scene! Joe Murányi (1928-2012), affectionately called “Hungarian Joe” by his bandleader, the great Louis Armstrong, was not just a traditional jazz clarinetist extraordinaire, but a record producer, activist and jazz writer. Born to Jewish Hungarian parents, his legacy is a testament to the cultural impact of immigrants of Hungary to the United States.
Joe Murányi was legendary for his skills and his kindness, no wonder that an all-star line-up of traditional jazz players has come together to commemorate him. Performing their tribute only once in New York, catch the great Scott Robinson, US Jazz Ambassador, collaborator on two Grammy-winning albums, Jon-Erik Kellso, Matt Munisteri and Pat O’Leary with Béla Szalóky, standout trombone and trumpet player for the the world renowned Benkó Dixieland Band, one of the several “ambassadors” of Hungarian jazz making a visit to NYC.
The performance is free, seating guaranteed only with RSVP to the Eventbrite page. (Hereis the Eventbrite link.)
You will notice that the band is a version of our beloved EarRegulars, and it is a rare chance to hear them in a concert setting.
I’ll be there, but I take up only one seat — which means there might be room for more of the faithful.
Imagine an interval where the band plays that 1929 pop hit, LIVE FOR TODAY (But Think of Tomorrow).
To think too much of September 2015 would be to rush away the joys of spring and summer to come, but it’s always nice to make plans, to have something rare to look forward to. So I urge you to make a small space in your thoughts for the second annual Allegheny Jazz Party— taking place September 10-13, at the Inter-Continental Hotel and Conference Center in Cleveland, Ohio. I was a very happy audience member (and camera-operator) at last year’s event, which was just like the hallowed Jazz at Chautauqua . . . but even better — under the benignly serious guidance of Nancy Griffith and Nancy Hancock.
The musicians? How about Duke Heitger, Jon-Erik Kellso, Randy Reinhart, Andy Schumm, Harry Allen, Dan Block, Ken Peplowski, Scott Robinson, Bill Allred, Dan Barrett, Howard Alden, Marty Grosz, Ehud Asherie, James Dapogny, Mike Greensill, Rossano Sportiello, Jon Burr, Nicki Parrott, Frank Tate, Ricky Malichi, Pete Siers, Hal Smith, Andy Stein, Rebecca Kilgore, Wesla Whitfield, the Faux Frenchmen. Our friend Phil Atteberry will be giving a morning talk on the music of Cole Porter.
For more information, visit the AJSwebsite, or call 216-956-0886. And if you’re like me — an eager early adopter of such things, the Inter-Continental Cleveland Hotel is at 9801 Carnegie Avenue . . . and there is a special rate of $189 per night plus tax. (It’s a very comfortable hotel, I assure you.) Call 855-765-8709 and mention the Allegheny Jazz Party or Group Code YON to receive the special rate.
In my deepest jazz self, I hold to what I would call the Condon aesthetic: that nothing beats a group of like-minded musicians assembling for a common purpose — creating swinging lyrical improvisations — on the spot, with no arrangements, nothing more formal than a mutually agreed-upon song, tempo, key, and perhaps someone volunteering to play lead in the first chorus. After that, the players live utterly in the moment. Sometimes this freedom makes for collisions, but more often it results in the kind of pleasure one lives for, the moments when the tight collars have been unbuttoned, the painfully fashionable shoes have been kicked off.
Last September, at the Allegheny Jazz Party (debuting with great success in Cleveland, Ohio) these impromptu delights happened many times in the three-day banquet of sounds. But one session has remained in my mind as a high point of playful unfettered collective improvisation — a trio set led by Dan Levinson, clarinet and tenor, with two of The Singular Elders, Bob Havens, trombone; Keith Ingham, piano. The combination of a reed instrument and trombone works beautifully but isn’t often attempted these days. There were bebop precursors and swing ones, but the tonal ranges of the two instruments are delightfully complementary. The trio of piano and two horns requires a certain orchestral approach to the piano, although I am sure that Monk or Herbie Nichols would have done splendidly here, too — but Keith is a full band in himself.
With pleasure, then —
(WHAT CAN I SAY, DEAR ) AFTER I SAY I’M SORRY:
SEPTEMBER SONG:
A SHANTY IN OLD SHANTY TOWN:
Thank you, Messrs. Dan, Bob, and Keith.
And, although it’s only January, the 2015 Allegheny Jazz Partyis a sure thing for September 10-13, with a delightful lineup (although there is the asterisk that indicates “All programs subject to change”: Duke Heitger, Jon-Erik Kellso, Randy Reinhart, Andy Schumm, Harry Allen, Dan Block, Ken Peplowski, Scott Robinson, Bill Allred, Dan Barrett, Howard Alden, Marty Grosz, Andy Stein, Ehud Asherie, James Dapogny, Mike Greensill, Rossano Sportiello, Jon Burr, Nicki Parrott, Frank Tate, Ricky Malichi, Pete Siers, Hal Smith, Rebecca Kilgore, Wesla Whitfield, Faux Frenchmen. To keep up to date with what’s happening at the AJP, visit here.
Norman Granz took credit for inventing what came to be called “the ballad medley” for his concert performances. Rather than have everyone stand onstage and take solo choruses on what might be a fourteen-minute BODY AND SOUL, Granz proposed — for variety’s sake — that each of the musicians would emerge from the wings, hastily tell the rhythm section what (s)he had chosen, both song and key, and play or sing a chorus of it, then exit.
For the audience, it is a parade of small memorable delights. First, it reminds us what great players and singers can create within the space of one chorus of a song — note that, at their most leisurely, these performances are two minutes apiece. They offer us subtle embellishments on enduring melodies. And the tempos! Once upon a time, there was a precious little thing called the RHYTHM BALLAD, which meant that even if the lyrics said, “I am throwing myself out of the window because you don’t love me,” the rhythm ticked quietly underneath in medium tempo. The ballad medley requires a perfectly attentive and wise rhythm section, especially a pianist who can respond in a second to something muttered, “WHEN DAY IS DONE, three flats,” modulate in to the proper key and be ready.
The late Joe Boughton, who delighted in jazz ballads, made sure that his jazz parties always included such interludes.
On September 22, 2013, at the closing set of Jazz at Chautauqua, a series of small miraculous evocations came and went in front of our eyes. I am honored to have been there and privileged to capture much of the ballad medley for you.
The participants are Rossano Sportiello, piano; Marty Grosz, guitar / vocal; Frank Tate, string bass; John Von Ohlen, drums; Jon-Erik Kellso, Andy Schumm, Randy Reinhart, Duke Heitger, trumpets; Dan Barrett, Bob Havens, trombones; Andy Stein, violin; Harry Allen, Dan Block, reeds; Rebecca Kilgore, vocal.
EASY LIVING (Harry Allen), DAY DREAM (Dan Block), CAN’T HELP LOVIN’ THAT MAN (Bob Havens), I KNOW WHY (Duke Heitger):
I’LL NEVER BE THE SAME (Jon-Erik Kellso):
MY FUNNY VALENTINE (Randy Reinhart); PLEASE (Andy Schumm); LAURA (Andy Stein); IF WE NEVER MEET AGAIN (Marty Grosz); SOPHISTICATED LADY (Rossano Sportiello):
And a wonderful closing serenade, OHIO by Rebecca Kilgore and Dan Barrett:
OHIO offers a perfect transition. Jazz at Chautauqua has changed its name and moved west — to Cleveland, Ohio — but I know its essential musical nature will not diminish or change. It’s now the Allegheny Jazz Party, beginning on Thursday, September 18, and concluding (with a ballad medley) on Sunday, September 21. I hope your life-path and travel plans allow you to be there!
For the preceding nine years, I made the journey to Jazz at Chautauqua to hear the finest hot jazz and sweet ballads among friends — on the stand and off. Now, as many of you know, that party has moved west under a new name — the Allegheny Jazz Party, taking up residence in Cleveland, Ohio, for September 18-21. I found out that the discounted hotel rates will come to an end on August 19, so I wanted to encourage people to join in. Details here. And the musicians who will be there this year are certainly an august crew: Randy Reinhart, Jon-Erik Kellso, Andy Schumm, Duke Heitger, Dan Barrett, Bob Havens, Dan Block, Scott Robinson, Harry Allen, Dan Levinson, Rossano Sportiello, James Dapogny, John Sheridan, Keith Ingham, Mike Greensill, Marty Grosz, Howard Alden, Andy Stein, Frank Tate, Kerry Lewis, Jon Burr, John Von Ohlen, Ricky Malichi, Pete Siers, Rebecca Kilgore, Wesla Whitfield, The Faux Frenchmen.
I could tell you a good deal about the delights of this particular jazz weekend, but I think I will let the information and the music — a small selection — do that for me. There are no jazz songs pertaining to making a move to Cleveland (why is this?) but two beautiful ones are relevant to September.
From September 2011, Harry Allen and Keith Ingham play Percy Faith’s MAYBE SEPTEMBER:
From September 2009, an informal session (somewhat informally captured) where Dan Block, Duke Heitger, Bob Havens, Ehud Asherie, Frank Tate, and Pete Siers play SEPTEMBER SONG:
But all is not melancholy or wistful at this party. Far from it. Here’s a hot one, recorded in September 2012 — Marty Grosz, Dan Block, Andy Schumm, and Kerry Lewis romping through ‘WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS:
And a living sweet evocation of Ella and Louis by Becky Kilgore and Duke Heitger, John Sheridan, Jon Burr, and John Von Ohlen, YOU WON’T BE SATISFIED:
JAZZ LIVES can’t offer guarantees — our legal staff frowns on such things — but I think if you go to the 2014 Allegheny Jazz Party, satisfaction awaits. Find out more hereor here.
And a postscript. I never liked fund-raising of any kind, nor the coercive tactics that are used to encourage people to support this or that enterprise. So perhaps I should not tell you about the festivals that have ended before their time due to lack of support. I will say that I have received a great deal of pleasure from Jazz at Chautauqua and look forward to even more when it emerges, pink and healthy, as the Allegheny Jazz Party. And the race is indeed to the swift — for tickets, for discounted hotel rooms, all those perks that make joyous experiences even better.
I’ve spent the last few days grieving for Duncan P. Schiedt. And my mourning and appreciation is not something I can put away neatly in the closet of emotions and say, “Oh, well, we must move on.” But I wondered if there was a way I could honor Duncan with some joy leavened into the loss . . . and I present my own version of the eternal flame of hot jazz.
What follows is not “just another set of videos I took.”
“Nay nay,” to quote the Master.
Aside from the mail — and then email and telephone — the only place I ever encountered Duncan in person was at Jazz at Chautauqua, nine years in a row (2004-2013). And I saw him at an adjacent table (with Liz) having a fine time enjoying the music. I know that Duncan was in the room while this set was being created, and it doesn’t take much imagination to add his smiling countenance to the mostly-unseen audience. I don’t think the musicians will mind.
Incidentally, “Jazz at Chautauqua” has now been reborn as the Allegheny Jazz Party — I’m making plans for my maiden voyage to Cleveland in mid-September.
But back to September 21, 2013.
Those musicians! Duke Heitger, trumpet; Bob Havens, trombone; Dan Levinson, clarinet; Andy Stein, baritone saxophone; Rossano Sportiello, piano; Jon Burr, string bass; Ricky Malichi, drums — in a session of Condonesque good-old-good ones going back to Porter Steele and forward to Frank Loesser, in the best way.
ROYAL GARDEN BLUES:
A SLOW BOAT TO CHINA:
MY GAL SAL:
STARS FELL ON ALABAMA (by Mister H for Mister T):
HIGH SOCIETY (wait for the riotous version of the Alphonse Picou chorus):
Our lives are so finite . . . but what we do in those brief spans is so beautiful.
One of the highlights of the jazz weekend formerly known as “Jazz at Chautauqua” — now the Allegheny Jazz Party— is the opportunity to hear and admire the music of James Dapogny. Here he is on September 20, 2013, with a small group of like-minded creators, waxing poetic on three jazz classics. I mean no disrespect to the other four luminaries onstage by writing that a particular pleasure of my vantage point is being able to see and hear the pianist so clearly. All hail!
The Lyrical Fellows are Andy Stein, violin; Dan Levinson, reeds; Jon Burr, string bass; Pete Siers, drums.
SOMEDAY SWEETHEART:
EXACTLY LIKE YOU:
SHINE:
Shades of Joe Venuti and Jimmy Dorsey, of Joe Sullivan and Fats Waller, among others, with a healthy dose of homeopathic Chicago barrelhouse. To be taken as needed. Renew your prescription here.
For some, September means a new crop of apples, the end of summer, fall clothing, going back to school. All of these perceptions are deeply rooted in our genes! But for the last nine years, September has meant more than a new pencil box — it means Jazz at Chautauqua.
This weekend jazz party is a highlight of any year.
I’ve been attending these splendid parties since 2004, and have made new friends, heard excellent music, and had my spirits lifted.
This year, the 16th Jazz at Chautauqua will take place from September 19 to the 22nd. Details here.
For those who have never attended one of these weekends, it is marked by pleasures unique to that spot and that establishment. It’s held in a beautiful 1881 wooden hotel, the Athaeneum, efficiently run by Bruce Stanton and a very genial staff — the very opposite of an anonymous chain hotel.
Walking around the grounds (when you’re not observing the beauties of Lake Chautauqua — which might include Scott and Sharon Robinson, canoeing) you see immaculately kept houses and cottages, mounds of hydrangeas . . . picture-postcard territory. Inside, the guests enjoy substantial meals and an open bar, and music to dream about.
That music! It starts on Thursday night with informal jamming in a cozy room, then moves to the parlor for Friday afternoon piano and guitar recitals, then a full weekend of jazz, hot and sweet, in a large ballroom — with all the amenities a ten-second walk away.
The best musicians, too.
The 2013 players and singers are (in neat alphabetical order for a change) Howard Alden, Harry Allen, Dan Barrett, Dan Block, Jon Burr, James Dapogny, the Faux Frenchmen, Mike Greensill, Marty Grosz, Bob Havens, Duke Heitger, Keith Ingham, Jon-Erik Kellso, Becky Kilgore, Dan Levinson, Kerry Lewis, Ricky Malichi, Randy Reinhart, Scott Robinson, Andy Schumm, John Sheridan, Pete Siers, Rossano Sportiello, Andy Stein, Frank Tate, John Von Ohlen, Wesla Whitfield.
Something for everyone. Good men and women, loyal, faithful, and true.
Nancy Griffith, the Swing Sheriff, makes sure that the jazz train runs on time, that everyone is happy in Dodge, that the little dogies are swinging.
What makes the Chautauqua party different is its wide ecumenical range. It celebrates the great small group style of what many consider the first great period of improvised, swinging music — but as it is played, with great love and individuality, by the best living musicians. Its creator, Joe Boughton, was fiercely devoted to this music and to the great songs — often neglected — that were once everyone’s common property. So one of the great pleasures of a Chautauqua weekend is knowing that people will go home with a newly-discovered Harry Warren or Ralph Rainger song in a memorable performance — or something thrilling from Frank Melrose or Alex Hill.
If Jazz at Chautauqua is new to you, I propose that you type those magic words into the “Search” box of JAZZ LIVES — and you will see beautifully relaxed performances from the most recent five years . . . then go here and look into the details of tickets and prices and all that intriguing (but necessary) detail.
Here are two very delightful performances — to show you what happens there!
Rebecca Kilgore and John Sheridan, performing ‘TIS AUTUMN:
Harry Allen and Keith Ingham, playing MAYBE SEPTEMBER:
Try to move from MAYBE to CERTAINLY!
And a more somber postscript. I hesitate to turn JAZZ LIVES into the blog equivalent of public broadcasting or nonprofit media: “It’s our [insert season] fund drive! If you don’t send your 401K or 403B right away, station ABCD will go off the air!”
But the practical realities exist. The thrill of watching a video online is considerable. But live music — being part of the audience in the room, in the moment, as the artists take beautiful daring risks — cannot be conveyed in front of a computer monitor. And jazz festivals, parties, concerts, clubs require live audiences to survive. The people who put on such pleasures can’t continue them if musicians play to half-empty rooms. So, to paraphrase Eleanor Roosevelt (herself a big fan of the Luis Russell Orchestra), “Better to write a check than complain that your favorite jazz experience isn’t there anymore.” So if you can join us, I urge you to.
I am writing this in high summer 2013. Pardon me if it seems ungrateful to say that I don’t usually look forward to September. Summer is over; I will need to make friends once again with my alarm clock.
But September means that Jazz at Chautauqua will be, once again, a great pleasure. For me, it’s getting to hear my heroes play and sing in the most comfortable surroundings, with the guarantee that great things will happen. That it takes place in the comfortable Athenaeum Hotel, with good food and drink, where one is surrounded by cottages, hydrangeas, and substantial views of a huge blue lake. Some jazz parties present uplifting music but once one ventures outside the ballrom, all is a manufactured cement void. Not at Chautauqua.
I’ve been going to Jazz at Chautauqua every year since 2004, and that weekend is a musical high point of the year.
Here’s some evidence — videos I shot last year. If you search “Jazz at Chautauqua” in my YouTube channel, swingyoucats, you’ll find dozens more.
WAITIN’ FOR KATY, with Andy Schumm, cornet; Marty Grosz, guitar; Bob Havens, trombone; Alex Hoffman, tenor saxophone; John Sheridan, piano; Kerry Lewis, string bass; Pete Siers, drums:
Something pretty: WHAT WILL I TELL MY HEART? — a duet for Scott Robinson, taragoto, and Rossano Sportiello, piano:
Swinging and whimsical: Bob Reitmeier, clarinet, and Keith Ingham, piano, UMBRELLA MAN:
MOONGLOW, featuring Jon Burr, string bass; Howard Alden, guitar; Paul Patterson, violin:
Bill Evans’ FUNKALERRO, by Howard, Scott Robinson, Frank Tate, string bass; Ricky Malichi, drums:
In keeping with the cosmological theme, Becky Kilgore, vocal; Dan Barrett, trombone; Rossano, Frank, and Ricky perform I SAW STARS:
The Faux Frenchmen swing out on a theme from RHAPSODY IN BLUE:
Howard Alden’s Brazilian summit, with Duke Heitger, trumpet; Jon Burr, and Pete Siers rhapsodizing on DOCE DE COCO:
Jon-Erik Kellso, Rossano Sportiello, Alex Hoffman, and Kerry Lewis explore TOPSY:
Pianist Mike Greensill, Harry Allen, tenor; Randy Reinhart, cornet, suggest: WRAP YOUR TROUBLES IN DREAMS:
Duke Heitger, Dan Block, Rossano Sportiello, Marty Grosz, Kerry Lewis, and Pete Siers offer WHEN DAY IS DONE and PENTHOUSE SERENADE:
That’s only a small sample of what happens at Jazz at Chautauqua.
This year, the players and singers will be Howard Alden, Harry Allen, Dan Barrett, Dan Block, Jon Burr, James Dapogny, the Faux Frenchmen, Mike Greensill, Marty Grosz, Bob Havens, Duke Heitger, Keith Ingham, Jon-Erik Kellso, Becky Kilgore, Dan Levinson, Kerry Lewis, Ricky Malichi, Randy Reinhart, Scott Robinson, Andy Schumm, John Sheridan, Pete Siers, Rossano Sportiello, Andy Stein, Frank Tate, John Von Ohlen, Wesla Whitfield.
Although it’s only the end of April, I am excited when I think about Jazz at Chautauqua, once again, which is a highlight of the musical year. I’ve been attending these splendid parties since 2004, and have made new friends, heard excellent music, and generally had my spirits lifted.
This year, the 16th Jazz at Chautauqua will take place from September 19 to the 22nd. For more information, click here. For those who have never attended one of these weekends, it is marked by pleasures unique to that spot and that establishment.
It’s held in a beautiful 1881 wooden hotel, the Athaeneum, efficiently run by Bruce Stanton and a very genial staff — the very opposite of an anonymous chain hotel. Walking around the grounds (when you’re not observing the beauties of Lake Chautauqua — which might include Scott and Sharon Robinson, canoeing) you see immaculately kept houses and cottages, mounds of hydrangeas . . . picture-postcard territory. Inside, the guests enjoy substantial meals and an open bar . . . and music to dream about, starting on Thursday night with informal jamming in a cozy room, then moving to the parlor for Friday afternoon piano and guitar recitals, then a full weekend of jazz, hot and sweet, in a large ballroom — with all the amenities a ten-second walk away.
The best musicians, too. The 2013 players and singers are (in neat alphabetical order for a change) Howard Alden, Harry Allen, Dan Barrett, Dan Block, Jon Burr, James Dapogny, the Faux Frenchmen, Mike Greensill, Marty Grosz, Bob Havens, Duke Heitger, Keith Ingham, Jon-Erik Kellso, Becky Kilgore, Dan Levinson, Kerry Lewis, Ricky Malichi, Randy Reinhart, Scott Robinson, Andy Schumm, John Sheridan, Pete Siers, Rossano Sportiello, Andy Stein, Frank Tate, John Von Ohlen, Wesla Whitfield. Something for everyone. Good men and women, loyal, faithful, and true.
Nancy Griffith, the Swing Sheriff, makes sure that the jazz train runs on time, that everyone is happy in Dodge, that the little dogies are swinging.
If Jazz at Chautauqua is new to you, I propose that you type those magic words into the “Search” box of JAZZ LIVES — and you will see beautifully relaxed performances from the most recent five years . . . then you can go here and look into the details of tickets and prices and all that intriguing (but necessary) detail.
And as the video-soundtrack to such endeavors, let me offer two performances from the 2012 Jazz at Chautauqua — never seen before! — by a strolling group: Harry Allen, tenor saxophone; Jon-Erik Kellso, trumpet; Frank Tate, string bass; Bill Ransom, drums:
Pianist / singer / actor / string bassist / composer Conal Fowkes always delights us — a sly wit, a romping pianist, a propulsive bass player, an all-around civilized man.
So it was a special pleasure to read Conal’s most recent good news, which I pass along to you. He deserves the award and a great deal more.
It is with great pleasure that I can announce that I, along with my dear friends and colleagues Eddy Davis, Yrving Yeras and Lisa Yeras, won a GRAMMY at the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for my work on the Oscar winning film Midnight In Paris. I can be heard throughout the movie as the voice and piano of Cole Porter, played by French actor Yves Heck, and also as part of the Yerason Trio, playing “Barcarolle” by Offenbach, with Yrving and Lisa Yeras (violins) in an arrangement written for the movie by Eddy Davis. The news came as a big surprise but nevertheless a great thrill!
Let me take this opportunity also to tell you of a few up-coming gigs I have in the NY /Tristate area.
Sunday, Feb. 17th, I’ll be playing in duo with the amazing, ridiculously talented, Scott Robinson (various reeds, brass & sonic devices). Shanghai Jazz, Madison NJ. 3:30pm-5:30pm http://www.shanghaijazz.com/ This is an event run by the New Jersey Jazz Society so it doesn’t appear on the Shanghai Jazz website, but we WILL be there!
Thursday, Feb. 21st, I’ll be in a quartet with singer Barbara Rosene http://barbararosene.com/ — and Andy Stein (violin) and Pete Martinez (clarinet). Birdland, 315 W 44th St, NYC http://www.birdlandjazz.com/ This gig will be to release Barbara’s new CD “Nice and Naughty,”at the 5:30 pm show (one set).
Saturday, Feb. 23rd, I’ll be performing with veteran singer Judi Marie Canterino*, guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli, and bassist Jerry Bruno, at the Church of the Holy Communion, Norwood, New Jersey: 5-6:30 pm.
*And a word from JAZZ LIVES: “veteran singer Judi Marie Canterino” sang duets with Jimmy Rushing at The Half Note — Spring and Hudson Streets — when I was there in 1972. That’s a seriously impressive credential.
Violinist / saxophonist / vocalist / composer Andy Stein is very serious about his music but light-hearted about many other things, and this comes through in performance as a kind of ebullient playfulness.
Here’s a refreshing sample of the Stein magic from Jazz at Chautauqua (Sept. 17, 2011): hot jazz, sweet music, and a good dose of hilarity — not in that order, but you will see that for yourself. Andy’s compatriots are Randy Reinhart, cornet; Dan Levinson, reeds; Bob Havens, trombone; Keith Ingham, piano; Glenn Holmes, string bass; Bill Ransom, drums.
From the 1936 Fletcher Henderson book (a comedy-meets-jazz number that we hope was a wow at the Grand Terrace: it must have impressed the Victor people as well), a precursor to JEOPARDY — KNOCK, KNOCK, WHO’S THERE?:
And something pretty — I hear Vic Dickenson in my mind’s ear, since this was the feature number he chose most often, with good reason — IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD:
From the Twenties but still lively – for Bix and Eddie, for Joe Venuti and Joe Sullivan, Lester and Lee Castle, JAZZ ME BLUES:
Long may Andy and his Gang — in whatever version! — prosper.
The varied moods of a hot jazz ensemble, on display at the 2011 Jazz at Chautauqua.
The players: Randy Reinhart, cornet; Dan Levinson, reeds; Bob Havens, trombone; Andy Stein, baritone sax and violin; Keith Ingham, piano; Arnie Kinsella, drums.
The songs:
The moody theme (associated with the deadpan Jack Webb) for a radio series, film, and television series — the trifecta! — (as well as a number of really fine record albums) PETE KELLY’S BLUES:
Something for Bix — a trio version of BLUE RIVER — informally scored for Messrs. Ingham, Levinson, Stein:
And “the 78 version” of that affirmative song, ‘DEED I DO:
Something for everyone in about fifteen minutes: a neat demonstration of casual, moving versatility.
In the words of the Sage, Bulee “Slim” Gaillard, “Very mellow, very groovy.” Here’s a session from the very gratifying musical improvisations at Jazz at Chautauqua, featuring Randy Sandke, trumpet; Dan Barrett, trombone and vocal; Andy Stein, violin; John Sheridan, piano; Jon Burr, string bass; John Von Ohlen, drums — on three leisurely performances of familiar songs made new by their graceful mastery.
First, the classic “drunkard’s request” that is really a fine song at any tempo, MY MELANCHOLY BABY, with two very cheerful vocal choruses from the Pride of Costa Mesa, California, Daniel Barrett:
Then, one of the oldest and most durable of Irving Berlin’s waltzes, ALWAYS:
And a tune that Randy called for its verve, even though its title is hard to take seriously these days, THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE:
Thank you, gentlemen, for stretching out so nobly for our pleasure!
This hot chamber jazz session took place at Jazz at Chautauqua on September 16, 2011, and the estimable participants are James Dapogny, piano; Dan Levinson, clarinet and tenor sax; Andy Stein, violin; Frank Tate, string bass; John Von Ohlen, drums.
DOIN’ THE RACCOON dates from the late Twenties, and is one of those spirited songs chronicling the floor-length raccoon coats that were the height of college fashion. I would ordinarily hear in my mind’s ear (or mental jukebox) the Eddie South version . . . but this happy twenty-first century effusion now stands alongside it:
Frank Signorelli and Matty Malneck’s pretty LITTLE BUTTERCUP (later titled I’LL NEVER BE THE SAME) was first recorded by Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti, then by Billie Holida, Buck Clayton, and Lester Young — a beautiful rhythm ballad with a sweet yearning at its center:
And the theme song for all discussions, I MAY BE WRONG, which was also the song chosen for the Apollo Theatre productions:
Thanks to the gentlemen of the ensemble for creating and evoking music that will outlive the discourse that swirls around it.
Jazz isn’t binary by nature, but occasionally it seems to fit Groucho Marx’s whimsical definition of the two kinds of Broadway plays: Sad or High-Kicking. What was played at Jazz at Chautauqua on September 15, 2011 (the informal Thursday night sessions) went beyond those categories, but they will do for now. Here are two splendid examples.
LOVE, of course, is personified by Harry Allen, tenor sax; Rossano Sportiello, piano, supported by Glenn Holmes, bass; Bill Ransom, drums — whispering through the Rodgers and Hart MY ROMANCE:
SWINGTIME came out to play with Randy Sandke and Duke Heitger, trumpets; Scott Robinson, Dan Block, and Andy Stein, reeds; John Sheridan, piano; Jon Burr, bass; John Von Ohlen, drums — having a good time with STOMPIN’ AT THE SAVOY:
And being someplace where beauty is being created is even more reason to feel joy. Last Sunday, June 19, 2011, was a happy time at The Famous Ear (The Ear Inn, 326 Spring Street, Soho, New York City) for many reasons. The EarRegulars knew it was Father’s Day and played one song — you’ll hear it here — to celebrate our Papas (whimsically, mind you).
The EarRegulars that night were co-founders Matt Munisteri (guitar); Jon-Erik Kellso (trumpet); Pete Martinez (clarinet); Jon Burr (bass) — with a visit from Andy Stein, often playing his violin with Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, but here toting his tenor saxophone for the first set (a surprise!) and his baritone for the second.
The EarRegulars are not a group of antiquarians, “playing old records live.” Nay, nay. But they do honor their creative parents all the time: their jazz Dads and Moms — with great love, in the best way . . . by making something new and fresh and striking out of their own experiences. Every Sunday at The Famous Ear is a kind of spiritual Father’s Day, because Louis and Bix, Roy and Ruby, Eddie and Django, and a hundred others are remembered and cherished in the solos, the ensembles, the tempos, the swing.
And there was another reason to celebrate: the EarRegulars marked a run of steady gigs — four years of glorious Sunday evening sessions — that June 19. Was it their fourth birthday or their fourth anniversary? I can’t tell (someone will surely write in to explain which it was) but it was a sweet occasion, especially in a world where a “steady gig” is usually measured in shorter timespans.
Here are some soul-uplifting performances from that night:
A lilting, sweet SLEEPY TIME GAL that had the pleasure of staying at home with the Beloved in every note:
For Jimmie Noone and all the jam sessions that followed him, a profoundly swinging statement of mutual knowledge, I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW:
From that certainty, a troubling question: HOW COME YOU DO ME LIKE YOU DO?
And a cheerful THREE LITTLE WORDS:
Then (a request from JAZZ LIVES), that romantic entreaty — LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART:
A groovy I COVER THE WATERFRONT, suggesting that the waterfront in question was Danish, circa 1933:
For Fathers everywhere (or forefathers?): I’M A DING DONG DADDY FROM DUMAS, with an utterly unexpected vocal chorus by Herr Stein:
Jon Burr, brave explorer, led everyone into a deep IT HAD TO BE YOU:
And there was HAPPY BIRTHDAY (TO US)* — but since that song is only eight bars long, which is rather like a soliloquy of ten words, Matt led the EarRegulars into adding an I GOT RHTYHM bridge, for variety — I thought of Lester Young’s BLUE LESTER, but there was nothing seriously historical in the air, just jubilation, well-deserved:
May the EarRegulars and The Famous Ear prosper and continue to spread joy!
*I called this version on YouTube LET’S GET HAPPY, in honor of the 1938 Commodore recording featuring Bobby Hackett and Leo Watson, a stunning combination.
JAZZ LIVES 