ening s l list pace ifu . ut ea ed to pres b Fall 2014 cat enti a edi ng n d th i is e zz t ve Ja a ry best in Board of Directors h t t i f o r p President
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APFJ’s Season Opener is a Must-see! Don Nania Trombonist Clifton Anderson’s Quintet will kick off our 2014 season on Sept. 12. Secretary Jerry Gordon Anderson grew up surrounded by music. His father was a church organist and choir director, and his mother a singer and pianist. When he was Beverly Elander just seven years old he got his first trombone, a gift from his uncle, Sonny Rollins. Al Haugen He attended the Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music and Art. In 1974, he spent a year at Leslie Hyland The State University of New York at Stony Brook studying under Simon Karasick and Dave Schech- Mark Kleinhaut ter.
He was instrumental in the development of Doxy Mike Lategano Art courtesy of Tony Avacato Records and produced four releases for the Sonny Rollins’ label. They include the CDs Sonny, Please, Road Shows Vol. 1, Anderson’s own Jeff Nania Decade and the live DVD Sonny Rollins in Vienne.
After a long, rewarding and privileged association with his uncle, he left Rollins’s Bill McCann group in 2009 to further establish his own music and himself as a leader. His most re- cent release, And So We Carry On was voted “One of The Top CD Releases of 2012” by Patti Melita Jazz Inside Magazine. The CD reached #4 on nationwide Jazz radio and along with his live shows continues to receive stellar reviews. Alice Rudnick He will bring his working group to our stage: Eric Wyatt, saxophones; Victor Gould, piano; Paul Beaudry, bass; and Steve Williams, drums.
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Long-time Jazz Host Signing Off
There’s a torch being passed at the long-running and replace Jim, but I’m looking forward to continuing his well-loved radio program Jazz After Hours, created by work, playing the great jazz that is being recorded and Jim Wilke 30 years ago in Seattle. The show has been performed today, and maintaining the show’s carried on WAMC, 90.3 FM in Albany for many years. important place in the international jazz scene.” The man picking up the torch this fall is Jeff Hanley, Wilke noted in a post on the Jazz After Hours Face- also a well-known name in the Seattle, Bay Area, Los book fan page “After 3,100 shows, I think it’s time Angeles and Santa Barbara radio markets. Jazz After to quit while I’m ahead and still healthy. Jeff Hanley Hours airs twice weekly on more than 60 Public Radio will be the new show host and he’s an old friend (and International stations. a darn nice guy). You’ll hear him on some shows this summer as I do some traveling and then he takes over Forty years ago this winter, Wilke gave Hanley his full time in October.” Wilke concluded by saying, “Be first professional radio job on KING-FM/Seattle. nice to him and he’ll play you some great music.” Hanley engineered more than 500 jazz shows for Wil- ke, hosted a Sunday morning jazz show on KZAM/ Steeped in radio, Hanley’s broadcast career comprises Seattle, and created the 24/7 jazz station KJZZ/Seattle. stints at KLOS Los Angeles, KOME San Jose, KZAM Seattle, KTYD Santa Barbara, and KJZZ Seattle when “To say I’m excited about hosting Jazz After Hours those call letters debuted in the Northwest jazz scene. is an extraordinary understatement. No one can ever Albany Jazz Fest Lines Them Up! September 6 - Jennings Landing, Albany MARIA ZEMANTAUSKI 1 - 1:45 pm Maria Zemantauski is one of the world’s most her- for over a century” (All About Jazz), The Professor’s alded female flamenco-style guitarists and composers. syllabus is taken from the finest New Orleans reper- She’s brought her nylon-string guitar fusion to Spain, toire, from Sidney Bechet to Fats Domino. Italy and across the continental United States to great acclaim. Metroland named her the “Capital Region’s CATHERINE RUSSELL 5:15 – 6:30 pm Best Acoustic Guitarist.” The Wall Street Journal calls Catherine Russell “one of the outstanding singers of our time,” her voice MICHAEL BENEDICT JAZZ VIBES 2:15 - 3:15 pm “drenched in emotion, drama, experience and pure A unique project from celebrated local vibraphonist swing.” and drummer Michael Benedict, Jazz Vibes features a wealth of Capital Region talent melding Brazilian, JACK DEJOHNETTE TRIO featuring Ravi bossa nova and straight-ahead jazz sounds. Coltrane and Matt Garrison 7 – 8:30 pm “Generally regarded as one of the finest living jazz PROF. CUNNINGHAM & HIS OLD SCHOOL drummers” (Los Angeles Times), NEA Jazz Master 3:45 – 4:45 pm & Grammy winner’s career spans five decades and Led by Australian reedman Adrian Cunningham, “a includes collaborations with some of the most iconic young jazz artist who plays as if he has been playing figures in modern music.
We’re looking for brief items from our readers. If you have a jazz item, a CD you have enjoyed, a jazz book you’ve read, a concert or performance you heard, an upcoming musical engagement, anything, Send us tell us about it. We reserve the right to edit contributions and cannot guarantee their inclusion, but will stuff welcome them all. Send to A Place for Jazz, PO Box 1059, Schenectady NY 12301 or [email protected] 2 APFJ Fall 2014 Series All Performances begin at 7:30 pm Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady, 1221 Wendell Avenue
September 12 Trombonist Clifton Anderson began performing with his uncle, Sonny Rollins, in 1983. He now leads his own dynamic quintet, which has a repertoire that ranges from swinging bop to Latin grooves and calypso.
September 26 Tenor saxophonist George Garzone is a member of The October 10 Fringe, a trio founded in 1972 Award-winning jazz vocalist Alexis that performs regularly in the Cole has made an impressive Boston area and has toured impact on audiences ever since she world wide. He has appeared first took the stage as a on over 20 recordings, teenager. She won the 2007 including as a member of the Jazzmobile competition and Grammy-winning Joe Lovano Nonet. received an award in the Montreux He will bring a quartet to our stage. Jazz Vocal Competition. She will be backed by a quartet that in- cludes the outstanding tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander and the great pianist Harold Mabern.
October 24 Bassist John Menegon has been November 7 a mainstay of the regional jazz Trumpeter and vocalist Bria scene for years. He will head the Skonberg covers jazz from swing lively quartet that is featured on to modern. Her stage presence, his latest CD I Remember You. coupled with her husky singing voice and trumpet chops, have garnered a “Rising Star” spot in DownBeat Magazine’s 2013 Critics Poll and an “Up and Coming Star” nod from the Jazz Journalists’ Tickets: $15. One child under 12 admitted Association. She will close out for free when accompanied by an adult. the season with a quintet. Series ticket: $60 until September 12. To purchase tickets or become a member: aplaceforjazz.org 518.393.4011 [email protected]
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Local Jazz Venues A full performance and venue calendar can be found at aplaceforjazz.org 9 Maple Ave Saratoga Springs, Max London’s 466 Broadway, 518.587.7759 Saratoga Springs, 518.587.3535 Radio Jazz Shows WVCR 88.3 FM The Crossroads of Athos Restaurant 1814 Western More Bread and Jam Café Jazz, Darrin Scott and Ted Avenue, Albany, 518.608.6400 130 Remsen St, Cohoes, 518.874.4272 Moisides, Saturday 12-2 pm. A mix of the essentials and the Blu Stone Bistro 661 Albany- One Caroline Street Bistro contemporary. Shaker Road, Colonie, 518.869.9976 Saratoga Springs, 518.587.2026 WAMC 90.3 FM Tim Coakley, Route 9P Bread Alone, 45 East Market Panza’s Restaurant Saturday 11 pm – 12 am Street, Rhinebeck, NY, 845.876.3108 Saratoga Lake, Saratoga Springs, 518.584.6882 WAMC 90.3 FM Jim Wilke, Jazz Bull and Buddha, 319 Main After Hours, Saturday and Sunday Street, Poughkeepsie, 845.337.4848 Portofino’s Italian Ristorante 831 New Loudon Rd 1-5 am; Afro-Pop Worldwide, 4 pm (in the Travelodge at Latham Circle), Sunday; John Pizzarelli and Jessica Café Capriccio 49 Grand Street, Latham, 518.608.4675 Albany, 518.465.0439 Molaskey’s Radio Deluxe, Saturday 2-4 pm Prime 677 677 Broadway Albany, Carmen’s Café 198 First Street 518.427.7463 (corner of Adams), Troy, 518.326.2064 WCDB 90.9 FM Bill McCann, Saturday 8 am–12 pm; Bill Goss, Provence Restaurant TGIF Jazz Party, Friday 4-6 pm; Castle Street Café 10 Castle Stuyvesant Plaza- Western Avenue at Street, Great Barrington, MA, Fuller Road, Albany, 518.689.7777 DJ MJ’s Beat Street Jazz, Jazz South 413.528.5244 of the Border, Monday Prime at Saratoga National 10 am - 12 pm Century House 997 New Loudon Golf Club 458 Union Avenue, Road (Rt 9), Latham, 518.785.0834 Saratoga Springs, 518.583.4653 WRPI 91.5 FM Rich Berkley’s Dusty Corners heavy with, but not The Desmond Albany Shaker Pub at Cooper’s Cave exclusively jazz, Tuesday 8-10 pm; Road, Colonie, 518.869.8100 2 Sagamore Street, Glens Falls, Kevin Roberts, Thursday 8-10 pm, 518.792.0007 varied theme show Druthers Brewing Company 381 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, 518.306.5275 Speakeasy518 42 Howard St, WSPN 91.1 FM J Hunter’s Albany, 449-2332 Jazz2K: America’s Music in the
The Fountain Restaurant 21st Century Tuesday 6-8 pm 283 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, Stockade Inn 1 No. Church Street, Schenectady, 518.346.3400 518.482.9898 WVPR 94.3 FM (Vermont Public taste 30 South Pearl Street, Albany, Radio) Friday Night Jazz 8-11 pm The Falcon 1348 Rte 9W, 518.694.2332 Marlboro, NY (85 miles south) WQAR 101.3.FM Smooth jazz Van Dyck 237 Union Street, and jazzy vocals with Walt Adams, First Reformed Church of Schenectady, 518.346.7999 Sunday 10 am-1 pm Schenectady 8 N. Church Street, Schenectady, 518.377.2201 Vermont Jazz Center Waby 1160 AM Chris Martin’s 72 Cotton Mill Hill, Studio 222, Radio Archives Sat 10 am-4 pm Make Grappa ‘72 Ristorante 818 Believe Ballroom Sunday 11 am- 3 Central Ave, Albany, 518.482.7200 Brattleboro, VT, 802.254.9088 pm; Dick Wood’s Jazz Tracks Sun 4-5 Justin’s 301 Lark Street, Albany, Wishing Well Restaurant pm; Sid Mark’s Sounds of Sinatra 518.436.7008 745 Saratoga Road, Wilton, Sun 5-7 pm 518.584.7640 4 Fall Jazz Preview For other festivals within about a day’s drive, see aplaceforjazz.org/festivals.htm
Lake George Jazz Weekend winner, and a national treasure in her country. She Shepard Park, Lake George Village returns to Lake George with MAQUEQUE, a female band of six Cuban All-Stars, with their synthesis of Sep 13: 1 pm Manual Valera Cuban Express modern jazz with a Cuban soul. 2:45 pm Cyrille Aimee Gypsy Jazz Quintet RAYMOND SCOTT (1908-1994), was a musician, com- 4:30 pm Sexmob Plays Fellini poser, bandleader, and inventor. His orchestral works 7:30 pm Anat Cohen Quartet could bounce like the popular Swing Era dance bands Sep 14: 1 pm Billy Martin’s Wicked Knee or veer into idiosyncratic concert-jazz. His antic 2:45 pm Jane Bunnett & Maqueque melodies were adapted in Warner Bros. cartoons. 4:30 pm Raymond Scott Orchestrette The RAYMOND SCOTT ORCHESTRETTE was put togeth- er in 1999 by IRWIN CHUSID in tribute to the father Havana-born pianist/composer MANUEL VALERA of an idiosyncratic lineage that defies description. breaks new ground with his quintet The New Cuban Their debut CD, Pushbutton Parfait, presents all-new Express, nominated for a 2013 Grammy Award in the takes on an old master, but the impishness of the Best Latin Jazz Album category. originals remain.
Growing up in Samois-sur-Seine, birthplace of Django College of Saint Rose Reinhardt, vocalist CYRILLE AIMEE was drawn to local Gypsy caravans where she learned that music from Albany Reinhardt’s descendants, and can link it to Monk and Sep 27: John Pizzarelli Quartet Sondheim. Dec 15: A Jazzy Christmas Slide-trumpeter, arranger STEVEN BERNSTEIN follows The Egg, Empire State Plaza his 2012 performance of jazz versions of Sly Stone, with a tribute to composer Nino Rota, the genius who Albany scored Fellini’s films as recorded in his latest CD, Oct 7: Hugh Masekela & Vusi Mahlasela SEXMOB PLAYS FELLINI, The Music of Nino Rota. This Oct 17: Habana Sax is familiar territory for Bernstein who has scored Nov 14: Hiromi — The Trio Project music for movies including Get Shorty, Fishing with Nov 20: Nels Cline & Julian Lage John, and Robert Altman’s Kansas City. Nov 22: The Touré-Raichel Collective According to Paquito D’Rivera, Israeli-born ANAT Dec 14: Brad Mehldau Trio COHEN “is one of the greatest players ever of the clarinet.” The Jazz Journalists Association voted her Schenectady County Community College Clarinetist of the Year for the last seven years. Nat Oct 14: Empire Jazz Orchestra Hentoff sees her as an artist who can “connect lis- teners to their own dreams, desires, and longings.” As Anat tells it: “When I share music with people, it always feels like a celebration to me.” Skidmore College Saratoga Springs Drummer/composer BILLY MARTIN created Wicked Sep 26: Eric Harland Knee, with tubist Marcus Rojas, trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, and genre busting trumpeter Steve Bern- stein, to explore the possibilities of brass and drums. Swingtime Jazz Society The result is hilarious and profound, worthy of three The Railyard, Albany old Lounge Lizards. Oct 12: Brian Melick Presents Heard Soprano saxophonist/flutist JANE BUNNETT is a two- time Grammy nominee, four-time JUNO award
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solos to which Cole’s vocalizing provides an unforced, natural response.
I Carry Your Heart (Alexis Cole Sings Pepper Adams), as one might surmise from the title, is a very different Two concept from the previous CD, with conventional love Contrasting song lyrics. But this one (depending on the listener) Alexis Cole CDs can also be compelling. with Eric The previous work, using the Great American Song- Alexander book, is clearly an Alexis Cole CD, although One For All plays a hugely key role. I Carry Your Heart on the review by Tom Pierce other hand, as Ms Cole summed up for me in a recent interview, is in some respects, a Pepper Adams CD. It contains seven songs that this revered baritone sax The warmly & artfully delivered songs on these two master composed as instrumental ballads during his interestingly different CDs demonstrate why Jazz career (ending in his 1986 passing). They comprise Vocal lovers have circled Oct 10 to see Alexis Cole at the fifth of a 5-volume recording project by Producer APFJ. She’s backed on both by the superb saxophon- Gary Carner, of Adams’ 43 total compositions, ist Eric Alexander, who’ll be a very welcome returnee culminating in a 2012 release. The lyrics to Adams’ after his 2009 concert, supporting her at the beautiful, complex creations are poems commissioned Whisperdome. by Carner from Jazz-oriented poet, Barry Wallenstein. You’d be So Nice to Come Home To released in 2010, These lyrics/poems are likewise themselves complex, features the straight-ahead super-group, one For in that they are both intellectual and emotional, with All, who appeared at APFJ in 2000. This superb, a poetic non-rhyming metric flow and ambiguously NYC-based Hard Bop sextet founded in 1997 consists obscure (although at times inspiring and thought of Eric Alexander, tenor sax; Jim Rotundi, trumpet; provoking) references. Steve Davis, trombone; David Hazeltine, piano. John Ms Cole went through the intense, laborious several Webber, bass and Joe Farnsworth, drums. Their 18 month process of adapting the poems into flowing, CDs to date as this unit, plus slightly over 100 in total sing-able lyrics. It was a commendable job, utilizing as individual leaders, reflect the esteem both her taste & experience as a singer and musician- audiences have held them in. ship as a pianist. The arranger changed some of the One quickly hears the exceptionally attractive tone songs to create an engaging variety of musical styles and tastefully mature phrasing that almost immedi- and tempos. The quintet on the date is fronted by ately sold me on Ms Cole on first hearing her. Two of powerful tenor saxophonists Eric Alexander & Pat the slower standouts were her intimately measured LaBarbera (who played with Adams while both were in ode to the sly temptress “Delilah,” and a master- Elvin Jones’ band). ful ballad reading of “You’ve Changed,” evoking the All in all, after several listens, I found the CD convincing artistry of Carmen McRae, one of her acknowledged influences. stimulating and emo- tionally absorbing, due But, as one might expect, most of the 11 songs are to Adams’ vibrant solid “groovers,” in medium to fast tempos, where compositions, the band’s the band’s enormous experience as a unit is con- power and Ms Cole’s sistently evident. Ms Cole easily settles into this captivating & dramatic quite comfortably, starting with a smartly swinging vocal projection. Music, “Golden Earrings,” followed by Michel Legrand’s “I mood & feelings can Will Wait For You,” on both of which she charmingly transcend words, as intersperses just a touch of well-placed scat in the occurs when we enjoy lyrics. The closing title track is also a standout with vocals in a language we the rich-textured ensemble 3-horn line, and robust don’t speak. 6
Order Form 2014 APFJ Concert Series
All concerts are on Friday nights at 7:30 PM at the First Unitarian Society in Schenectady. Tickets are $15. Save 20% with a series ticket for only $60! (Offer valid until September 5, 2014) For members: Two children under 12 are free with member's full price ticket; ages 12-18, 1/2 price. Please give at least one week advance notice as seating is limited and we may be unable to accommodate you if the house is sold out. Still got questions? Contact Tim Coakley at (518) 393-4011 or [email protected].
Concerts Quantity Price Total
Sep 12 Clifton Anderson Quintet $15
Sep 26 George Garzone Quartet $15
Oct 10 Alexis Cole Quintet $15
Oct 24 John Menegon Quartet $15
Nov 7 Bria Skonberg Quintet $15
All Five Concerts - Save 20% (deadline: Sep 5, 2014) $60
Membership Benefits Quantity Price Total
♪ Under $50
♫ Two free concert tickets $50-99
♫♪ Five free tickets (one series ticket or five admissions to $100-199 one concert)
♫♫ Ten free tickets $200-499
♫♫♪ Fifteen free tickets + Meet & Greet at concert of your $500-999 choice + Free autographed CD + Designation as “Concert Underwriter” for one concert or educational program
♫♫♫ Twenty free tickets + Meet & Greet at concert of your $1000+ choice + Free autographed CD + Designation as “Concert Underwriter” for one concert or educational program + Lifetime membership
Total
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A Place for Jazz is made possible with public A Place for Jazz is a nonprofit organization funds from the New York State Council on the dedicated to presenting the best in jazz. Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, In addition to grant funding, revenue creative communities in New York State’s 62 is generated through ticket sales and counties. membership contributions. Funded in part by grants from National Grid, Programs include concerts, student Schenectady County scholarships, public workshops, school-based Initiative Program and the clinics, a website and general support of William Gundry Broughton Jazz and its musicians. We welcome Charitable Private announcements and comments. Foundation, Inc. In-kind donation from the Price Editor: Tim Coakley Contributors: Tim Coakley, Tom Pierce, William Gundry Broughton Chopper Golub Foundation. Al Brooks, Leslie Hyland, Leesa Perazzo Charitable Private Foundation Inc. Web Master: Jerry Gordon Newsletter: Leesa Perazzo
A full up-to-date performance and venue A Place for Jazz, PO Box 1059, calendar can be found at Schenectady, NY 12301 www.aplaceforjazz.org 518.393.4011 | [email protected]
Don’t Forget...Concerts at APFJ will begin at 7:30 pm this fall!!!
PO Box 1059, Schenectady NY 12301 Membership is Where It’s At!
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