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Our One HundredThirty-ninth Program 1999-2000 "Do Nothing'T YouHear From Us" Sponsoredby the Departmentof Musicand the New Hampshire Library of Traditional Jazz 8 p.m. Monday,April 10,2000, Johnson Theatre Paul CreativeArts Center.Durham. NH TTIEARTISTS
Buddy DeFranco,Dave McKenna and JoeCohn
The jazz world is replete with storieswhich provide a backgroundof human color and teKure to the soundingevents themselves; the music of coursestands alone, but doesnot happenin a vacuum. Many suchtales (tall or otherwise)are lost to history, but the genesis oftonight'sevent deserves a better fate.
WhenBuddy DeFranco appeared on this seriesin the springof 1996(in a quintetincluding Joe Cohn),seacoast jazz aficionadoand zealouspromoter of worthy causes,Joe Stellmach, wasreminded of Buddy'sremarkable duo performancesin the 1950'swith both Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson,and could visualizehim paired with Joe's favorite pianist, Dave McKenna (who gave the first concefi in this seriesin October, 1979). A new causehad emerged,and by the following October,Buddy and Dave were featuredin the annualHarry W. Jones,Jr. concertat Portsmouth'sMusic Hall. A weeklater thdy recorded an albumfor Concord Jazz called You Must Believe In Swing for which a Grammy nomination was 'Til forthcoming,and the momentumcontinued with Do Nothing YouHear From (ls, Joe Cohnadding spice to the mix. Tonightit all leapsto life on our stage,with the indefatigable Mister Stellmachbeaming benignly from the audience,(undoubtedly undergoing an attack of acuteembarrassment because of thesewordsl)
Buddy'stechnical command of his instrumentis matchedonly by his sweepingexperience in the wholeevolution of tlrcjan language;as we notedin 1996,'he is practicallythe only 'name' clarinetist from the swing era who imaginatively absorbedthe newer musical dialectsinto his style and fused every'thinginto a languagecharacterized by universality, contemporaneity,integrity, and taste." His art rangesfrom the peakofthe swingera, most notably the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra,and later the post-war Glenn Miller aggregation, which he actuallyfronted, to moremusically intimate interaction with muchluminaries as Count Basie,Art Blakey,Billie Holiday, Terry Gibbs, and Lennie Tristano. He firsr appearedhere in 1978,at theIINH JazzFestival, and some of that visit is memorializedon theUNH JazzBand's first recording(a truecollector's item!)
Davehas performed here on numerousoccasions. the most recent being with DonnaByrne in 1996. He is noted for being a self-containedrhythm machine, making even the klowledgeable among us wonder how just two hands can produce such a pervasive swingingatmosphere while at the sametime providingcopious melodic and harmonic activity,always refreshingly inventive. Dave attributes his exhaustiblelyric senseto his -.-r{1oNAL 11r:.4 a-Zr - , -./-t .t- a t, t-- a.-tv
- a' ll l-- BuddyDeFranco, clarinet DaveMcKenna, piano .' JoeCohn, guitar early conlactwith suchhorn playersas Bobby Hackettand stan Getz; he also professesto be self-taught(ponder that, guysl), yet one of his most exuberantfans is Kurt Masur, renowned conductorofthe New York PhilharmonicOrchestra.
Joe cohn's recognitionby Buddy and Dave is as muchofa recommendationas one could possiblywant; thosewith long memorieswill recall his father,Al, as one of the tenorsfrom woody Herman's Four Brothers period. And when Joe was here n 1996,he was also practicingBach preludesand fugueson the piano (ponderthat, guys!)
Poslscript: The decline in popularity of the clarinet as a jazz instrument among younger playershas often beencommented upon. weli, from this writer,s recentexperienie-there is goodnews and badnews. The latter involveshearing an Ellington anniversaryprogram by an excellentensemble in a major musiccollege where the definitive clarinetparts were playedon the sopranosax becausenone ofthe school'sbest reedplayers doubled on the clarinei. The good news is hearingtwo high school groups play Duke's The Mooche with three clarys. apiece.Maybe what goesaround does come around! 'l'ape recordcrsand camqas are not permitted,d,ue to contra.ctuolatrangem,ents. Pleasetwn oJJ' beepersand ualch alarms. Yourcooperatinn is requated. Visit Buddy DeFrancoon his web sitewww.buddydefranco.com THE SBRIES
The UNH Traditional Jazz Series began in 1979. h promotesthe enjoymentand understandingof the art throughconcerts featuring musicians of regional,national. 4nd intemationalprominence. The plogramrepresents a uniqueendeavor to expandint€rest and honor outstandingtalent and achievement. i
Musicianswishing to do so are encouragedto offer their recordings for sale or mail order during intermission;a brief arnouncementmay be made. The sponsorshave no financial interest in such sales beyond offering a courtesy service to the artists and the pub[c.
' hogra- Notes -- Paul Venet'te Ptod.uaion - Daoid' Seilet
1999-2000SCTTEDULE
September13: The RealHerb Pomeroy Quintet, fbatudng John La Potta
October 25: "The Men They Will Become";EIi Newberger,Jimmy Mazzf,, & Butch Thompson
Novenber 22i The ProdigiousKenny Wemo
Janurry 24: A Tributcto RedNorao; Ed Saindon,Howard Alden, & SteveNovosel
February2Er Fabulousl iddle lest: Tl[ee Cenerations;Claude Williams, Billy Con$eras,& LesaTerry
April 10: "Do Nothing 'Til You HearFrom Us"; BuddyDeFranco, Dave MaKenn4 & JoeCohn
May l: BennyPowell and Jane Jarvis
OTHNR SPECIAL JAZZ PERFORMANCESAND EVENTS
October2: Fqmil! WeekendConcet SetcooslBlg Banl Dwe Seiler,directing ThisrLight of swiag music includesdancihg and rejleshments.Granite Stste Room, Memorial UnionBuilding t January18: Earry JoneEMenfrrlal EdacationFun l Coru:erl"Seacoast Big Band" DoveSeiler, dirccting, t'tith speciol,surprise guest artistl Prcceedsto assistsenior high schoolstudants who will fiajor in nusic. Johwon Thestre,Paul CreqtiveAlts Center,PCAC. t March 12: Gqla Juz Conced, Dr. Cld* Terry, trumpetandlugel horn; Bud Shank, alro [email protected]; with Mark EU guitar; Chris Nwille, piano; aNE Jaa Band, Colin Mqsoq dirccting. JohnsonThealre, Paul Creaive Arts Center.Ur'lH.
For tickas call 603)862-2290