It Might As Well Be Swing the New Musical Bandstand Brings the Sound of 1940’S Swing Music to the Broadway Stage This Month
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Volume 45 • Issue 4 April 2017 Journal of the New Jersey Jazz Society Dedicated to the performance, promotion and preservation of jazz. Corey Cott and Laura Osnes star in Bandstand. Photo © Jeremy Daniel. It Might As Well Be Swing The new musical Bandstand brings the sound of 1940’s swing music to the Broadway stage this month. Jersey Jazz’s Sanford Josephson has a preview of the show (p. 26) which had its critically acclaimed first run at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Short Hills, NJ last fall. New JerseyJazzSociety in this issue: New Jersey Jazz socIety Prez Sez .......................... 2 Bulletin Board ...................... 2 NJJS Calendar ...................... 3 Jazz Trivia ......................... 4 Prez Sez Editor’s Pick/Deadlines/NJJS Info ....... 6 Change of Address/Support NJJS/ By Mike Katz President, NJJS Volunteer/Join NJJS ............. 41 Crow’s Nest ...................... 42 he Oscars were almost a very good night for jazz, in had a jazz program for quite a few years, although is not New/Renewed Members ............ 44 Tthat the winner of the Best Picture award was a full major as such. Musicians from the program have temporarily announced as La La Land, a throwback to often appeared at the September Princeton JazzFeast storIes the era of Hollywood musicals whose characters included which is co-sponsored by NJJS. They have scheduled Bandstand Opens on Broadway .... cover a jazz pianist (played by Ryan Gosling) struggling to several jazz programs this spring at Princeton which are Big Band in the Sky ................. 8 survive by stringing together various less than satisfying free and open to the public. We wish Professor Don Braden at Luna Stage ........... 16 gigs and hoping to earn enough money to open his own Mahanthappa in his new position. Talking Jazz: Frank Kimbrough ....... 14 club. Although La La Land was not without criticism, it Jazzfest at Sea .................... 25 n should ring true to those are familiar with the difficulties On the negative side, I saw an article about the recent New Princeton U. Jazz Director ....... 27 so many jazz musicians face trying to make a living and decline in coverage of jazz by The New York Times which Two Bites of The Apple .............. 28 stand out from the crowd. There is a New Jersey was published in February on the Salon website. The Rhythm & Rhyme .................. 29 connection: the 32-year old director, Damien Chazelle, article noted the recent departure of the Times’ principal Dan’s Den ........................ 30 grew up in Princeton, and his father and mother are jazz critics, Nate Chinen and Ben Ratliff, and the Noteworthy ...................... 32 professors respectively at Princeton and the College of reduction in coverage of jazz performances and even the reVIews New Jersey. Chazelle and Emma Stone received Oscars listings of jazz events in the Friday weekend arts section. Caught in the Act .................. 34 for best director and best actress and the film also took This was attributed to a number of things, including Bar Hopping ...................... 35 home the awards for best original song and musical budgetary issues, supposed declining interest in jazz as Other Views . ..................... 36 score, composed by Justin Hurwitz. Some scenes in the opposed to other forms of music, lack of relevance to eVeNts film were shot at the Lighthouse Café, a historic jazz club readers outside of the New York metropolitan are, and ’Round Jersey: Morris, Ocean, Mercer ... 40 situated in Hermosa Beach, California, which opened in that “getting readers to click on anything that does not Institute of Jazz Studies ............. 43 1949 with the help of Howard Rumsey, a bassist known have ‘Trump’ in the headline, or at least ‘Beyoncé,’ has Somewhere There’s Music ........... 46 for bringing jazz to the West Coast. I saw the movie the become a Herculian task.” It has been suggested that The Name Dropper ................. 47 night before the Oscar awards, and very much enjoyed it Jersey Jazz take up the slack by covering more (the dance sequence which is set in the Griffith performances, but while Joe Lang and others cover as adVertIsers Observatory planetarium in Los Angeles is absolutely many events as they can, for a number of reasons this is Pennsylvania Jazz Society ............. 4 spectacular), but not yet having seen Moonlight, I am not not practical. (Nate Chinen is now with WBGO, producing Marlene Ver Planck .................. 4 in a position to judge which was the better picture. digital material for their recently revamped website). Shanghai Jazz ...................... 5 WBGO ............................ 7 n Speaking of Princeton, I recently heard from Rudresh n Another sad event to report is the closing this week of William Paterson University ........... 9 Mahanthappa, an saxophonist and music professor who New York City’s legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel, which is Ocean County College .............. 11 was recently appointed to be the Director of Jazz in the going to be renovated over a two to three year period, Morris Museum .................... 13 music department of Princeton University. Princeton has with many of its rooms being converted to condominium Jazzfest at Sea .................... 15 One Night Jazz Festival .............. 17 Amani ........................... 19 CTS Images ....................... 20 Stay tuned to www.njjs.org for updates and details. Arbors Records .................... 21 NJJS Bulletin Board Rutherford Hall .................... 23 Diane Perry ....................... 28 Swingadelic ....................... 30 Member discount Claim your member privilege! Get free admission to NJJS socials, discounts Phyllis Blanford .................... 31 to music events, discounts from partners! Jim Eigo .......................... 32 NJJs Members discounts Hibiscus Restaurant, Morristown and The Crossroads, Garwood Sandy Sasso ...................... 33 offer NJJS members a discount of 10% off their check. The Berrie Center at Ramapo College offers NJJS 1867 Sanctuary at Ewing ............ 33 members 5% off event tickets. $5 ticket discount for monthly Salem Roadhouse Cafe jazz nights. Swingadelic at Solari’s .............. 38 NY Hot Jazz Camp .................. 39 Free Jazz socials…ongoing. Join us for music and mingling. Free for members, $10 non-members WBGO Photo Blog .................. 44 (applicable to membership) with just a $10 venue minimum. Watch calendar page 3 for upcoming dates Cadence ......................... 45 and details. Beyond the schmooze, there are some serious musical prizes raffled off at our socials!! Princeton Record Exchange .......... 48 2 ___________________________________ April 2017 New JerseyJazzSociety residences. For many years, Cole Porter resided in n The New York Hot Jazz Camp returns to the the Waldorf, and his piano graced the lobby where Greenwich House Music School in Greenwich Village it was regularly played by our good friend, Daryl for its second year on May 15-21. Founders and Like this issue Sherman. Just before the hotel closed, Daryl played co-directors Molly Ryan and Bria Skonberg report it one more time. She said on Facebook, “I’d like to that building on last year’s success, they will also of Jersey Jazz? think that I was the last Local 802 member to play be presenting a youth initiative consisting of three Have it delivered ‘Night and Day’ on my old friend.” What will workshops for 10-15 year olds on April 10, 12 and 14. Faculty for the adult camp will include, among right to your mailbox ultimately happen to the Porter piano is not known others, Randy Reinhart, Dan Levinson and Kevin at this time. 11 times a year. Dorn; Vince Giordano and Cynthia Sayer will also n Our monthly Sunday Jazz Socials programmed by participate as guest clinicians. The NJJS strongly Simply join NJJS to get Mitchell Seidel continue to be of high quality and to supports this effort to help adult musicians hone your subscription. attract a good crowd at Shanghai Jazz. The February their jazz chops as well as teaching young See page 41 for details musicians about jazz history and performance. See social featured singer, Elise Axelrod, who gave an or visit www.njjs.org. outstanding performance, accompanied by pianist the Camp’s ad in this issue for more details and Jon Weber and bass guitar and drums. We have contact information. Socials scheduled for April and May (see details n Finally, I am pleased to announce that Jay elsewhere in this issue) and are planning an Dougherty has joined our Board of Directors. Jay additional one for June. has been a member of the NJJS since 2011 and has been a regular attendee at our events. He has been n Joe Lang brought to my attention an event a singer with “Swingtown,” Maplewood’s dubbed “A One Night Jazz Festival,” a fundraiser for A New Jersey Jazz Society community big band, for the past eight years. He the St. Joseph Social Service Center in Elizabeth, spent 27 years as a video editor and cameraman in membership organized by their board member and longtime NJJS the production department of the international makes a great holiday gift! member Bob Findlay. It will take place on Saturday, advertising agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, and currently Plus, if you are already April 29 at Union Catholic High School in Scotch works as a realtor with Keller Williams in Plains. The lineup features folks who are well Maplewood, where he lives. Jay was appointed by a member, a gift membership known to NJJS members, Marlene VerPlanck, Geoff the Board to serve as a director until the