PLAYBOY JAZZ FESTiVAL ANNOUNCES 2010 LiNEUP

Below is the artist lineup for the 2010 Playboy Jazz Festival.
Click here for ticket information.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

2:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Chick Corea Freedom Band with Christian McBride, Roy Haynes, Kenny Garrett

Sax for Stax featuring Gerald Albright, Jeff Lorber and Kirk Whalum

Kurt Elling

Los Van Van

Marcus Miller Band with featured guest artist Christian Scott

The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra Salutes Louie Bellson

Javon Jackson Band with special guest Les McCann

Naturally 7

Jake Shimabukuro

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue

El Dorado High School under the direction of Richard Watson

Sunday, June 13, 2010
2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

George Benson

Manhattan Transfer

Bobby Hutcherson and Cedar Walton Quartet

Salif Keita

Robert Randolph & The Family Band

Esperanza Spalding

Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra

Tiempo Libre

Cos of Good Music with Dwayne Burno, Ndugu Chancler, Mark Gross, Jay Hoggard, D.D. Jackson and Ingrid Jensen

Jazz Mafia’s Brass Bows and Beats

L.A. All District High School Jazz Band under the direction of Tony White and J.B. Dyas

Master of Ceremonies: Bill Cosby

Another Goodin - Nina Simone Live ?

UPLAND CALiFORNiA MUSiC AND ARTS FESTiVAL 2009

JAZZ CLUB OF SARASOTA

The Jazz Club of Sarasota is celebrating its 30th anniversary and planning a spectacular season. The JAZZ AT TWO series continues in the Bayfront Community Center, 803 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Admission is $10; $5 for Jazz Club members.
Scheduled to perform in October is:

October 2, 2- 4 p.m. Young Zach Bartholomew Trio from Tallahassee
October 9, 2 – 4 p.m. Pianist Mike Markaverich with The Mike Markaverich Trio
October 16, 2 – 4 p.m. Vocalist Kitt Moran & The Mike Moran Trio
October 30, 2 – 4 p.m. Pianist Johnny Varro with The Johnny Varro Trio

JAZZ AT TWO SUNDAYS AT THE GLENRIDGE starts off the new season swinging with The Venturas at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center, 7333 Scotland Way, Sarasota. The Venturas will perform on Sunday, October 18, at 2 p.m. Admission is $12.50; $7.50 for Jazz Club members. Call 941-552-5325 for reservations.

The OCTOBER JAZZ FEST, October 23 – 25, at the Holiday Inn Sarasota/Bradenton Airport, 8009 15th St. Sarasota, is a new event for the Jazz Club. There will be four concerts Friday through Sunday in the hotel ballroom and a jazz brunch on Sunday. Seating is limited to 200 and advance purchase of tickets is suggested either through the Jazz Club office (941-366-1552) or the hotel (941-358-3800).

The exciting line-up for the weekend follows:

Fri., October 23, 8 – 10 p.m. Pepper & Fine Thyme
Sat., October 24, 2 -4 p.m. Katt Hefner Group featuring Kenny Drew Jr. & John Lamb
Sat., October 24, 8 – 10 p.m. The Dan McMillion Group
Sun., Ocober 25, 10:30 – 12:30 Jazz Brunch with guitarist Ben Roberts and vocalist Phil Picciotti
Sun., October 25, 2 – 4 p.m. The Valerie Gillespie Trio

Ticket prices are $20; $15 for Jazz Club members for the night performances and $15; $10 for Jazz Club members for the afternoon concerts. To purchase a package for all four concerts (and have seats in the front rows) the price is $60; $45 for Jazz Club members.

Where Have I Known You Before

The quintessential jazz fusion band of the 1970's, Return To Forever," is reuniting.  Yes, you heard right, the epic combination of Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola and Lenny White will be touring together for the first time in almost thirty years for a summer tour of North America and Europe. 

"Its actually happening, says booking agent Jack Randell with Boston based Ted Kurland Associates. After meeting several times last summer and early fall, Return To Forever members ultimately decided the timing was good to do it. "What made me want to do it," Corea told the Times Don Heckman, "was just recalling how great the feeling was playing with these guys."

Return To Forever started out as more of a Latin-tinged jazz ensemble in 1971, but Corea, influenced by John McLaughlin's  Mahavishnu Orchestra and some of the progressive rock bands of the 1970's, steered the group towards a rock-jazz-fusion sound that ultimately achieved considerable commercial success with the releases of Light as a Feather-1973, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy-1973, Where Have I Known You Before-1974, No Mystery (1975 Grammy Award), Romantic Warrior-1976 and Musicmagic-1977. A final re-orientation of the group that gave it more of a big band sound occurred prior to the 1978 folding of the group.

The foursome will play more than fifty dates across North America and Europe, featuring primarily classic music from their 1970's chart topping albums. The tour includes top outdoor festivals such as the Montreux Festival, the Montreal International Festival, Spain's San Sebastian Festival, France's Nice Festival and the Freihofer's Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Additional Return To Forever Tour Information

Road House

Arguably one of the most recognized blues-rock guitarist of the early 90's and beloved around the world, Jeff Healey passed away in a Toronto hospital today after a long bout with cancer. He was 41.
Blinded at birth with a rare form of cancer, retinoblastoma, Healey began playing guitar at age three developing the unique style of playing the guitar flat on his lap. Though known primarily as a guitarist, Healey also played trumpet and clarinet proficiently.

Healey burst on the scene after his appearance as leader of a bar band and a integral part of the movie soundtrack in the Patrick Swayze movie "Road House." The movie along with the single would garner a Best Instrumental Grammy Award and propel Jeff Healey and his trio, The Jeff Healey Band" into Canada's highest honor, the Juno Award, for Entertainer of the Year for 1990. 

With the turn of the century, Healey found himself also turning pages. Healey always had loved and preferred the early jazz of the twenties through the forties. He had been sitting in with jazz bands around Toronto since the beginning of his career so his next move made perfect sense with the formation of The Jeff Healey Jazz Wizards and the release of three jazz CD's on Stony Plain Records.

Healey, a family man, a husband and a father of two, preferred to stay home in Canada whenever he could while remaining active in the local music scene hosting multiple jazz-oriented radio shows for Canada's CBC and playing live around the Toronto area.

Healey was on the verge of releasing his first rock-blues album in almost ten years, Mess of Blues, which is being released in Europe on March 20, and in Canada and the U.S. on April 22. The album was the result of a joint agreement between the German label, Ruf Records, and Stony Plain, the independent Edmonton based label that released his jazz cd's.

Early last year, Healey underwent surgery to remove cancerous tissue from his legs, and later from both lungs. Aggressive radiation treatments and chemotherapy ultimately failed to halt the spread of the disease.

Despite bis battles with cancer, he continued to tour with both his jazz group and his blues based band. He was set to tour Germany and the U.K. and be a special guest on the BBC's famed Jools Holland Show in April.

Jeff Healey will always be remembered by his audiences and by his musicians for his abilities, his wry sense of humor and playfulness. Healey was a unique musician who bridged completely different genres with ease and a masterful assurance.....

Seawind Reunion

Here is one for all you late 1970's early 1980's Jazz & Fusion buffs. 

The group "Seawind", with Pauline Wilson, is back in the studio with their soon to be released Reunion CD. 

The group is and will be spending time in more than 1 Los Angeles recording studios while perfecting new material and updating some of their classic arrangements including "Free" and "Follow Your Road". Also looks like the entire group of Bob Wilson - Drums, Pauline Wilson - Vocals, Larry Williams - Keyboards, Sax & Flute, Jerry Hey - Trumpet & Flugelhorn, Kim Hutchcroft - Sax & Flute, Bud Nuanez - Guitar and Ken Wild - Bass are back.  Al Jarreau will be making a guest appearance on multiple songs. 

Here's some Seawind trivia for you. Does anyone know the original name of the band before the Harvey Mason, Bob Wirtz, CTI Record explosion years ?

Let me know and I will let you know of the upcoming release date and purchase info.....

Additional Seawind Information

Jazz up your Nitelife

Count Basie on Horseback

Had a chance to see Bruce Forman and Cow Bop the other night at the High Desert Center for the Arts in Victorville, CA., and if a similar opportunity arises in a town near you, I would highly suggest that you attend.

After fighting snow and ice, I finally arrived at a small but intimately refurbished 150 seat WWll era USO building. The truth be told, this structure also houses many music lovers of the same aforementioned era that have irrevocable lifetime leases, if you know what I mean. (ghost) Anyway, after arriving late and shedding some layers I found a seat in the rear of a nearly sold out acoustically inviting venue. The first thing I heard was this way out west, western, hot, jazzy sound with a very distinctive drawl that would soon prove to me that these guys and gals had some scoobie-doo in their wahooo.

Cow Bop, formed in 2003 by internationally acclaimed guitarist Bruce Forman is the very best of a little known category called Cowboy Jazz and or Western Bee Bop. Mix swinging extended grooves, thrilling harmonic improvisations, sweet sassy vocals and tons of on stage fun and you have only begun to describe Cow Bop.  

The group consisted of Bruce Forman up front on guitar drawing you in with memories of a Wes Montgomery, Pat Matheny and a Django Reinhardt all mixed into one. Then you have the small in stature, big on sound, special guest, Kristen Korb on stand-up bass keeping a tight Ray Brown influenced groove filled bottom while intermittently teasing you with Ella type scatting during her solos. The Fiddler, Phil Salazar, continually dazzled the room with a Bluegrass provincialism that made you think that Bill Monroe and Stephane Grappelli were both in the room. Pinto Pammy on lead vocals showcasing a variety of moods, shades and tones, and constantly reminding you "That There's No Place Like Home." And rounding out this quintet was Mike McKinley on drums. Kinda at a loss for words here due to the fact that at one point towards the end of the first set an impromptu break was announced and the drummer left the stage. This concluded soon after with a glowing McKinley returning from outside, somewhere near the dumpster area of the venue with a simple cardboard box, and promptly proceeded to sit right back down, with group in tow, and finished off the first set playing his newly acquired drums, al-la Clayton Cameron, ultimately with what was to be the 1st of many standing ovations for the evening.

While only performing Country and Bluegrass standards there was still an ever present up-tempo swinging groove that displayed the groups unparalleled harmonic cohesiveness as well as its predilection for Bop.

Upon hearing Cow Bop for the first time be prepared to join the ranks of those who sing praises to the artistry, talent and creative sensibilities of Bruce Forman and Cow Bop.....

Jazz and Blues Nitelife