September/October 2004 • Issue 270
September/October 2004Issue 270Free
30th Anniversary Yearwww.jazz-blues.com
Lead Bel ly
Ninth Annual American Music MastersShine A Light On Me,
the Life and Legacy of Lead BellyNovember 1-7, 2004
September/October 2004 • Issue 270PAGE TWO
Published by Martin WahlCommunications
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ContributorsMichael Braxton, Mark Cole, ChrisHovan, Nancy Ann Lee, DavidMcPherson, Peanuts, MarkSmith, Duane Verh and RonWeinstock.
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Lead Belly was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fameand Museum in 1988. TheRock Hall will celebrate Lead Belly’slegacy in their Ninth Annual AmericanMusic Masters, this November. LeadBelly was one of the most influential art-ists of the twentieth century. An emblemof American Folk music, Lead Belly hada profound influence on artists such asMuddy Waters, Pete Seeger, Neil Young,Bob Dylan, George Harrison and KurtCobain.
Huddie Ledbetter, better known tothe world as “Lead Belly,” survived a lifethat included brutalizing poverty and longstretches in prison to become an em-blematic folk singer and musician. He isrenowned for his songs - the best knownof which include “Rock Island Line,”“Goodnight, Irene,” “The Midnight Spe-cial” and “Cotton Fields” - as well as hisprowess on the 12-string guitar. In hissixty-plus years, he essentially lived twodistinctly different lives: first, as a fieldworker, blues singer, rambling man andprisoner in the rural South; second, as acity-dwelling folksinger, performer andrecording artist in the urban North. It was,however, not until shortly after LeadBelly’s death that a broader public cameto know his songs and the mythic outlineof his life.
Born circa 1885 in rural northwestLouisiana, Lead Belly rambled across theDeep South from the age of 16. Whileworking in the fields, he absorbed a vastrepertoire of songs and styles. He mas-tered primordial blues, spirituals, reels,cowboy songs, folk ballads and prisonhollers. In 1917, Lead Belly served asBlind Lemon Jefferson’s “lead boy” - i.e.,his guide, companion and protégé - onthe streets of Dallas. A man possessedwith a hot temper and enormous strength,Lead Belly spent his share of time inSouthern prisons. Convicted on chargesof murder (1917) and attempted murder(1930), Lead Belly literally sang his wayto freedom, receiving pardons from thegovernors of Texas and Louisiana. Thesecond of his releases was largely ob-tained through the intervention of Johnand Alan Lomax, who first heard LeadBelly at Angola State Prison while record-ing indigenous Southern musicians forthe Library of Congress.
Lead Belly subsequently moved toNew York, where he worked as a chauf-
Ninth Annual American Music MastersShine A Light On Me,
the Life and Legacy of Lead BellyNovember 1-7, 2004
Presented by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Case
feur (for John Lomax) and occasional per-former. During the last 15 years of his life,he found an appreciative new audience inthe leftist folk community, befriending thelikes of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.Much like Guthrie, he performed for politi-cal rallies and labor unions in his lateryears. His keening, high-pitched vocals andpowerful, percussive guitar playing com-manded attention, and he became knownas “the King of the Twelve-String Guitar.”Lead Belly recorded for a variety of labels,including Folkways, and performed tire-lessly, though still subsisting in relativepoverty, until his death in 1949 of LouGehrig’s disease.
Ironically, the Weavers sold 2 millioncopies of their recording of Lead Belly’s“Goodnight, Irene” shortly after his death.“It’s one more case of black music beingmade famous by white people,” PeteSeeger, one of the Weavers, said in 1988,the year of Lead Belly’s induction into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame. “It’s a puretragedy he didn’t live another six months,because all his dreams as a performerwould have come true.”
TIMELINEJanuary 20, 1889Lead Belly was born in Mooringsport, LA.1930-34Folklorist John Lomax travels the South,recording and collecting blues, recordsLead Belly.1932The Lomaxes record Lead Belly.June 15, 1949Lead Belly performs his last concert.December 6, 1949Lead Belly dies in New York, NY.1950The Weavers score a double-sided hit with“Tzena, Tzena, Tzena” (#2) b/w LeadBelly’s “Goodnight Irene” (#1 for 13 weeks).May 26, 1950The Weavers record Lead Belly’s“Goodnight, Irene,” which becomes a popu-lar hit for them.1988Lead Belly is inducted into the Rock andRoll Hall of Fame.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTSMonday, November 1Movie Screening of Gordon Park’s
“Leadbelly” Cleveland Cinematheque
Continued on page 14
September/October 2004 • Issue 270 PAGE THREE
By Mark Smith
Is September really here al-ready? What happened to allthe BBQ and beer I promised
myself this summer? While you’rereading this in September, deadlinesrequired that it be written in Augustwhen there was still a chance at a fewmore runs at the grill so please excusethe brevity this month… Back toSchool Blues…. Hey kids, here’s afew new blues releases to tuck intoyour back to school back pack:Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown-Timeless; Duffy Bishop- Ooh Wee!;Crossroads Blues Band- Live; NewGuitar Summit (Gerry Beaudion, J.Geils and Duke Robillard)- New Gui-tar Summit; RL Burnside- A BotheredMind; Mavis Staples- Have a LittleFaith; Junior Brown- Down Home;Albert Cummings- Ture to Yourself;Guy Davis- Legacy; Amos Garret-The Acoust ic Album; Ian Moore-Luminaria; Pinetop Perkins- LadiesMan ( featur ing Marc ia Bal l , AnnRabson, Ruth Brown, Susan Tedeschi,Angela Strehli, Odetta and DeborahColeman) ; Bill Perry- Raw Deal; RayCharles- Genius Loves Company; theKingsnakes- Live at Copperfields;Ivory Joe Hunter- the Kings Sides-volume 1; Jackie Greene- SweetSomewhere Bound; Janiva Magness-Bury Him at the Crossroads; EricBibb- Friends (with guests Taj Mahal,Charlie Musselwhite, Odetta, GuyDavis, Ruthie Foster, Harry Manx andothers); Bruce Katz- A Deeper Blue;Cyril Lance- Live From the Outskirts;Gary US Bonds- Back In 20; Readabout it blues…. While you’re goingback to school, here’s something toread that’ll give you a deep educationabout one of the legends of the blues––Moanin’ At Midnight- The Life andTimes of Howlin’ Wolf , PantheonBooks, 2004. ..... Watch ‘em blues….Stevie Ray Vaughan and DoubleTrouble will be the subject of a new 2DVD set recorded Live at Montreux in1982 and 1985. Also taking a bow onDVD are Memphis Slim and SonnyBoy Williamson who will be appear-ing on a release entitled Blues Leg-ends- Live in Europe. Well, the grillcalls.
That’s it for this month. Catch youat the tailgate parties!!
Jazz on the Circle2004-05 season schedule
The tenth season of the award-win-ning Jazz on the Circle concert serieswill kick off in October. A collaborationbetween Severance Hall, the ClevelandMuseum of Art, the Northeast Ohio JazzSociety and Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland,the four-concert season features inter-nationally-acclaimed guest artists. Jazzon the Circle concerts are presented inthe Concert Hall at Severance Hall andin Gartner Auditorium at the ClevelandMuseum of Art.
The 2004-05 season begins on Oc-tober 16 with the Yellowjackets andKevyn Lettau in Gartner Auditorium at theCleveland Museum of Art. The Grammy-nominated ensemble Yellowjackets isone of today’s most original quartets, andKevyn Lettau is an international jazzsinger who first developed her uniquestyle performing with Sergio Mendes.
On December 4 Paquito D’Riveraand New York Voices will present “Bra-zilian Dreams” in Gartner Auditorium atthe Cleveland Museum of Art. Cuban-born Paquito D’Rivera brings his uniqueblend of American vocal quartets andBrazilian music to Cleveland, with helpfrom the vocal stylings of New YorkVoices.
On February 13, 2005, legendarypianist Ahmad Jamal performs in Sever-ance Hall’s Concert Hall. Mr. Jamal isone of the most popular artists in jazzhistory, with a hit single, Poinciana, onthe charts for an unprecedented 108weeks. Ahmad Jamal performs withbassist James Cammack and drummerIdris Muhammed.
The tenth season of Jazz on theCircle concludes on April 24, 2005, asTri-C JazzFest Cleveland presentsSergio Mendes Brasil 2005 in SeveranceHall’s Concert Hall. Mendes first put Bra-zilian music on the Top 10 Hit Paradewith Brasil ’66, and always captures themusical idiom of Portuguese song in hiswork.
Series subscriptions for Jazz on theCircle 2004-05 are currently on sale.Jazz on the Circle offers a four-concertsubscription with prices of $88 and $136.Subscription prices offer savings of 8 to24 percent over individual ticket prices.
For more information or to order sub-scriptions, call the Cleveland OrchestraSubscription Office at 216-231-1111 or1-800-686-1141 or visitwww.clevelandorchestra.com.
Single tickets for all Jazz on the Circleconcerts go on sale Tuesday, September7, 2004. Tickets will be available in personat the Severance Hall Ticket Office, byphone at 216-231-1111 or 1-800-686-1141,or online at www.clevelandorchestra.com
Jazz vocalist Jane Monheit will be appear-ing at Night Town on Friday and Satur-day, October 8 and 9.
Cleveland Jazz Orchestrabegins its 21st seasonEd Partyka, a composer, arranger,
bandleader and trombonist who hasbeen living and working in Germanysince 1990, will be the special guestartist when the Cleveland Jazz Orches-tra kicks off its 21st season Saturdaynight, September 18, at 8 p.m. Theconcert will be at a new location, theCuyahoga Community College EasternCampus Performing Arts Center atRichmond and Harvard Roads in High-land Hills.
Partyka, who studied with formerClevelanders Jiggs Whigham and BillDobbins and played bass trombonewith Bob Brookmeyer’s big band andthe Woody Herman Orchestra, will leadthe CJO in a concert of his creative new
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September/October 2004 • Issue 270PAGE FOUR
compositions and arrangements.The Partyka concert will be the first
of six concerts in this season’s subscrip-tion series - World Class by the Cleve-land Jazz Orchestra. The other Saturdaynight concerts in the series include:
October 16 - Dan McMillion and hissoaring trumpet will team up with the CJOto perform a tribute to Maynard Ferguson- at the Fairmount Temple Auditorium at23737 Fairmount Boulevard, Beachwood.
December 11 - CJO Music DirectorJack Schantz leads the band performingDuke Ellington and Billy Strayhom’s jazzversion of The Nutcracker Suite with danc-ers from the Cleveland ContemporaryDance Theatre - at the Masonic Audito-rium, East 36th and Euclid, Cleveland.
January 29 - Trumpeter KennyWheeler, a longtime resident of England,will lead the CJO in performances of hisMusic for Large Ensembles - at theFairmount Temple Auditorium.
March 26 - The CJO will performGeorge Russell’s highly-acclaimed NewYork, New York and Jazz in the Space Age- at the Fairmount Temple Auditorium. May14 -The CJO plays Bob Cumo’s big bandarrangements of the music of Pat Methenyand Lyle Mays - at the Fairmount TempleAuditorium.
Tickets for the subscription seriesconcerts are available from the ClevelandJazz Orchestra, P.O. Box 810, WilloughbyOH 44096, (440) 942-9525 and on theweb at www.clevelandiazz.org.
JazzFest’s The Song Is You!returns for a third season
Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland’s thirdseason of The Song Is You! begins Sun-day, September 19 at 3 p.m. Hosted byBill Rudman and Joe Hunter, the pro-gram will feature vocalists Helen Welchand Greg Violand in “Jerome Kern: Mas-ter of Melody.” The show will take placein the Cuyahoga Community CollegeMetro Campus Main Stage Theatre,gate 6, near the corner of E. 30th St. andWoodland Ave.
Following is the season schedule forThe Song Is You!
September 19: Jerome Kern: Mas-ter of Melody
November 7: George and IraGershwin: Teamwork
December 12:Irving Berlin: TheProud Father of 20th-Century Song
Tri-C Eastern Campus.February 2, 2005: Hoagy
Carmichael: Up a Lazy RiverApril 3: Duke Ellington: Giant of
JazzMay 15: Harold Arlen: Happy with
the BluesTickets are $15 at the door. Call
216-987-4400 for more information anda season brochure.
WWWWWe only bring you thee only bring you thee only bring you thee only bring you thee only bring you theCream of the Crop!Cream of the Crop!Cream of the Crop!Cream of the Crop!Cream of the Crop!
ERNIE KRIVDAFocus on Stan Getz
Live at Severance HallCADENCE JAZZ RECORDS
I have been a fan of tenor saxophonistErnie Krivda’s music since his Inner Cityalbums of the late seventies. It was, in fact,impressive enough to bring him in to theTralfamadore Cafe in Buffalo - a small base-ment jazz dive of the highest calibre whereI happened to be booking the national jazzacts at the time. He was fantastic and thesold out crowds went nuts, just as they didfor some of the other visiting artists...mostnotably Dexter Gordon, Woody Shaw,Sonny Fortune, Lee Konitz and Elvin Jones.
I have also been a longtime fan of thelate/great Stan Getz. In fact, I booked himto officially open Peabody’s Downunder inthe Cleveland Flats in the early eighties -my new venue for concerts at that time.
That being said, I have often found thatartists I am a fan of are the ones I am themost critical of when a new album is re-leased. The fact that an artist I was a fan ofwas doing an album of music associatedwith another I was a fan of left me in apickle. What if I were disappointed? Whatthen? Perhaps that is why I did not playthis CD for almost a full month...because Idid not want to deal with that possibility.Egads!
Well I am relieved to report that theworst scenario did not take place. Quitethe contrary...it is just the opposite...I can’t
stop playing it.Krivda recorded this tribute to Getz in
late 1988 at Cleveland’s Severance Hall,known to Clevelanders and fans of classi-cal music worldwide as the home of theCleveland Orchestra. It was part of the Jazzon the Circle Concert Series.
The first part of the concert consists ofthree extended pieces strongly associatedwith Getz – Gigi Gryce’s “Stan’s Blues,” An-tonio Carlos Jobim’s “El Grande Amore,”and Jerome Kern’s beautiful ballad “Yes-terdays.” Krivda along with pianist AndyLaVerne, bassist Rufus Reid and drummerAdam Nussbaum, perform these songs ina manner that would definitely leave Mr.Getz smiling from far away.
The rest of the album is the third streamclassic “Focus Suite,” written by EddieSauter and recorded by Stan Getz in 1962.Krivda changed the order of the move-ments–opening with “Night Rider” and clos-ing with “I’m Late, I’m Late,” instead of theoriginal order which was just the opposite.He points out that it seemed that the recordcompany opened with “I’m Late, I’m Late”for commercial reasons, which I’d have toagree makes sense knowing the crazy ideasrecord labels have been known to comeup with. I also very much agree that thisorder flows much better.
For the suite Krivda is heard by a groupof classical musicians with Conductor JohnRusso of the Akron Symphony Orchestra.The string orchestra here was assembledby violinist Terri Pontremolli, who is knownto Cleveland’s jazz community as the man-aging director of the Tri-C JazzFest, whichjust celebrated its 25th year. The orches-tra accompanying Krivda includes nine vio-lins (including Pontremolli), five violas,three cellos, double bass, harp and percus-sion. As good as the first part of the albumis, the second is even better. Simply gor-geous, magnificently performed musicfrom all involved. And the quality of therecording is superb as well.
I can come up with no other conclu-sion than that all fans of Krivda, Getz, thethird stream and first class music will all bemore than pleased with this music - startto finish. Obviously then...this disc is veryhighly recommended
While I have tried to keep this as shortas possible, there was much that wasneeded to be said about this project, and ithad to be done. I know that my editor isgoing to have my head on a platter for a683 word CD review, but I’ll cross thatbridge when I come to it. Unfortunately, weboth run at the exact some speed. So wishme luck! Bill Wahl
September/October 2004 • Issue 270 PAGE FIVE
September/October 2004 • Issue 270PAGE SIX
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DUKE ELLINGTON - 3 REISSUESBlues In Orbit
Piano in the BackgroundPiano in the Foreground
COLUMBIA/LEGACYReissue producers Michael Brooks and Michael Cuscuna
continue the Ellington series with the above three titles, ex-panded editions to commemorate the 30th anniversary ofEllington’s death in 1974. These three discs follow the threeFebruary 2004 releases of Masterpieces by Ellington, EllingtonUptown, and Festival Session.
Recorded mostly in 1959, Blues In Orbit features the DukeEllington Orchestra performing 11 swinging numbers includ-ing “C Jam Blues,” “In A Mellow Tone,” the title tune and anadditional eight tracks that include some reprises. This discexpands upon the 1988 CD to include five alternate takes, oneof which, the title tune, is previously unreleased. Soloists, morethan sections, are prominently featured.
Piano In the Background (1960) includes selections out-of-print in the U.S. for decades and tunes are characterized byEllington’s piano intros and closes on every number. The CDcovers two swinging Los Angeles studio sessions from 1960and includes favorites such as “Perdido,” “Take the A Train,”“Rockin’ In Rhythm,” “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t GotThat Swing)” and other pieces lesser known but equally en-gaging. Three more tracks from the same sessions were addedto the CD reissue. One track, “Harlem Air Shaft,” recorded ayear later in L.A. and found in the Columbia archive is previ-ously unreleased. The three other bonus tunes were tracked
down on a rare LP from CBS France. For the swinging rhythms,dense section work, few solos and ace arrangements, this is aspectacular disc and you’ll be tappin’ your toes to the end.
Piano in the Foreground documents a rare trio session in1961 with Ellington drummer San Woodyard and bassist AaronBell. To the 11 original tracks are seven bonus numbers from1957, which include Billy Strayhorn’s “Lotus Blossom,” twotakes of “All the Things You Are” and four piano improvisa-tions. As Duke demonstrates on Gershwin’s “I Can’t Get Started”and the lightly swinging standard “Body And Soul” and othertunes, he exudes elegance in this tidy trio setting. Their versionof “Cong-Go” is a blues-beat treat and there’s even more totantalize your ears here. Nancy Ann Lee
ROOSEVELT SYKESChicago Boogie
DELMARKWhatever the mood of a tune that Roosevelt Sykes would
take on, whether “up” or “down”, the dapper blues-and-boogiemaster underpinned his powerful vocals with an undeniablecongeniality and his highly influential piano work with an exu-berance that betrayed a mostly “up” personality. “TheHoneydripper” was a good time bluesman and it shows onthis offering culled primarily from sessions from 1950 and -51. Sykes’ splendid lyrical craft is also displayed on tracksincluding the classic “Drivin’ Wheel” and slow tracks such as“West Helena Blues” and “Security Blues”.
A change-up comes periodically in the form of four1963 tracks on which Sykes accompanies “St. Louis” JimmyOdom’s deadpan delivery on tongue-in-cheek and semi-seri-ous subject matter. Sykes own brand of lyrical cleverness,immortalized in “Dirty Mother For You” appears here on thecloser, “Kickin’ Motor Scooter”. Chicago Boogie makes for anice intro to an artist that inspired and influenced scores ofblues pianists. Duane Verh
PATRICIA BARBERA Fortnight In France
BLUE NOTERecorded live during March and April 2004 at clubs in
three cities in France, pianist-vocalist Patricia Barber deliversa stunning set of five originals and unique interpretations offive standards. This is her eighth album and her first CD to bereleased exclusively on Blue Note.
Chicago-based Barber and her team have been travelingtogether a lot since her 2002 CD, Verse, and you can hearimprovements. Trust makes for some tight, flexible playingand adventurous improvisations from Barber, guitarist NealAlger, bassist Michael Arnapol, and drummer Eric Montzka.
Barber’s dark-shaded alto voice is ultra-appealing, espe-cially on her somber reading of the standard “Laura,” enhancedby Alger’s guitar musings. However, she’s even more a pre-mier pianist capable of taking listeners on fresh, new jour-neys, which she does on her original funk-grooved instru-mental, “Crash” and her light, bouncy interpretation of thewarhorse favorite, “Witchcraft.”
There isn’t a dull tune in the bunch. Barber and her creware in top form throughout and it’s easy to understand whyshe has been so successful in building her career as a classyinterpreter of songs and a songwriter of witty and luxuriantoriginals. Nancy Ann Lee
September/October 2004 • Issue 270 PAGE SEVEN
■ FourplayBob JamesNathan EastHarvey MasonLarry CarltonPalace Theatre
September 15Wednesday, 7:30 PM $30 & $25
An Evening with
■ Tony BennettPalace Theatre
September 24Friday, 6:30 PM $75, $65 & $35
■ A Peter WhiteChristmasfeaturing
Rick Braun &Mindi AbairPalace Theatre
December 15Tuesday, 7:30 PM $30 & $25
■ TICKETS: Box office, 216-241-6000or 800-766-6048 and at playhousesquare.com
Cool Nights—
HotJazz Cool N
ights—
HotJazz
TAD ROBINSONDid You Ever Wonder?
SEVERN RECORDSTad Robinson is an exceptional
blue-eyed blues and soul singer whorecorded some years back on Delmark,and I was privileged to write the notesfor one of his discs. David Earl’s Severnlabel has just issued his latest disc, DidYou Ever Wonder?
Robinson has really grown as asinger and along with the veteran BillyPrice, label-mate Darrell Nullisch andalso Curtis Salgado has emerged as afirst-rate exponent of blue-eyed soul.There is more than a tinge of Memphisin the feel of these songs with WillieHenderson contributing the first ratehorn arrangements for these tracks.Benji Porecki and Kevin McKendreehandle the keyboards while AlexSchultz adds some hot guitar as on theremake of Jimmy McCracklin’s TheBitter & the Sweet on which Robinsontosses in some harp. The legendary OtisClay even provides backing vocals onthe Cornelius Brothers’ hit, Too Late toTurn Back Now. Other covers includeRobert Ward’s marvelous Your Love isAmazing and the Little Willie John Suf-fering With the Blues. On both of theseRobinson puts forth his own distinctiveinterpretation of the song. The high-lights on a consistently excellent albummay be two of the originals by Robinsonand lyricist John Bean, Woman Troubleand Pockets Full of Nothing.
Perhaps its the exceptional lyricsthat standout, but this whole disc shouldappeal to fans of modern urban bluesand soul. Ron Weinstock
JESSICA WILLIAMSLive at Yoshi’s. Volume One
MAX JAZZ PIANO SERIESPianist Jessica Williams has such
a nice keyboard touch, light sense ofswing, and sweet imagination, she’s atreat to hear in this trio setting live-re-corded with illustrious colleagues,drummer Victor Lewis and bassist RayDrummond.
Engaging at all times, Williams var-ies her approaches. She plays withrhythms and harmonies in intriguingways. She mixes an array of single linenotes, upper register runs, full blockchords, trills, staccato notes, rhythmi-cally displaced notes, swirling right-hand lines, and other techniques.
Williams has plenty to say, ex-
presses herself exceptionally well andshows emotion and warmth. She’s at herbest on swingers such as “You Say YouCare” and the album launcher, “I’mConfessin’ That I Love You,” which Lewisand Drummond tidily propel with theircombined and individual artistry. Theassortment of nine standards, originalsand lesser-known tunes includes gemssuch as Billy Cobham’s “Heather,”Thelonious Monk’s “Mysterioso,” a freshrendering of the time-worn standard“Alone Together” that’s full of surprises,and the bluesy, throbbing original, “Tutu’sPromise.”
This is Williams’ third CD for MaxJazzand it’s one of the recent best piano triorecordings to cross my desk.
Nancy Ann Lee
JUNIOR WELLSDon’t Start Me Talkin’The Junior Wells StoryCOLUMBIA LEGACY DVD
The chief harpster Junior Wellsreigned in Chicago for five decades. Hepartnered with Buddy Guy for twenty oddyears as well, and he was a mentor andteacher to many others. His innovativebreathing, his flash and dance, and hiscomplete persona have been imitated toperfection.
Junior’s give and take with guitaristsis superb, whether primary, secondary, orsupport. This DVD has some notablecompany in force, as commentators B.B.King, John Lee Hooker, Carlos Santana,Jimmy Vaughan, Charlie Musselwhite,and even comedian Dan Aykroyd are allon hand. A couple of well-known hits are‘Hoo Doo Man Blues’, ‘Little By Little’,and ‘Messin’ With The Kid’. This 88minute documentary contains parts ofsome of Junior’s best performances. Mark A. Cole
JACOB FRED JAZZ ODYSSEYWalking With Giants
HYENAThere is a temptation to shorthand
the JFJO’s craft by calling it “jazz formultitaskers”. The relatively brief dura-tion (by jazz standards) of just about ev-ery track here (under five minutes) andthe trio’s proclivity for morphing, pack-ing most tunes with multiple motifs, cancast the impression that this is creativemusic for the time-constricted. The ob-vious skill and ingenious instincts of pia-nist Brian Haas, drummer Jason Smartand bassist/cellist Reed Mathis couldstretch any of these puppies to greater
September/October 2004 • Issue 270PAGE EIGHT
Weekend Shows 9:30; Weekdays 8:30
216-902-4663812 Huron Rd E.. • Cleveland
Serving Delicious FoodLunch & Dinner
SEPTEMBER
Friday 10OTIS TAYLOR
With Otis Taylor, it’s best to expect theunexpected. While his music, an
amalgamation of roots styles in its rawestform, discusses heavyweight issues like
murder, homelessness, tyranny, andinjustice, his personal style is lighthearted.
Saturday 11SNAKE OIL MEDICINE SHOW
Friday 17 MAGIC SLIM & THE
TEARDROPSMagic Slim and the Teardrops are theepitome of raw-edged Chicago blues.
Saturday 18 CARLOS JONES
Legendary local reggae artist
Wednesday 22JABALI AFRIKA
Originating from Kenya, Their originalsound is attributed to its own unique
mixture & special fusion of African rhythms.
Friday 24W.C. CLARK
W.C. continues to dish out gritty blues andintoxicating soul. Alligator recording artist.
Thursday 30 BUDDHA’S BELLY
OCTOBERFriday 1
LUCKY PETERSON $12
Saturday 9MOOT DAVIES
Friday 15 LITTLE ED AND THE BLUES
IMPERIALS (tentative)
Saturday 16WEBB WILDER
Wednesday 20BILLY BACON
Thursday 22The bridge
Friday 23HUGH POOL
CALL FOR ADDITIONAL DATES!
length, but these are apparently playerswith too much ground to cover to hangout in one spot too long.
Haas quotes from a jazz vocabularysizable enough to ground the group inclassic piano-trio mode. In tandem withSmart’s spatial sense the dialog at timesevokes the Paul Bley trio when AnnettePeacock was that group’s primary com-poser. Mathis is the wild card. When shift-ing to electronic mode, he becomes thegroup’s “horn” or “lead guitar” depend-ing on his attack. Collectively the com-positions are a cornucopia of jazz refer-ences, intelligently laid out and alwaysengaging, and if any particular onedoesn’t do it for you, just wait a minute.
Walking With Giants rates as one ofthe freshest releases of the year, jazz orotherwise. Duane Verh
J. J. CALETo Tulsa and Back
SANCTUARY RECORDSJ. J. Cale. Do you know who he is?
Well, you will by the time I am done withyou.
J. J. hails from Tulsa Oklahomawhere he played in clubs in the 50s. Inthe 60s he wrote a little tune he titled“After Midnight,” which Eric Clapton re-corded in 1970. That was enough tojumpstart the solo career of Cale, whorecorded his incredible debut albumNaturally in 1971 - which included thesongs “After Midnight,” “Call Me TheBreeze,” “Magnolia,” and “CrazyMama.” Since that time, cale has hadquite the prolific songwriting, perform-ing and recording career, with some-where around 20 albums now on CD.Clapton was not the only one who wastaken by Cale’s laid back singing styleand guitar work. He is also a heavy in-fluence on Mark Knopfler and, there-fore, Dire Straits. And in the songwritingdepartment, songs have been coveredby a slew of artists far too many to
mention here, but a short list would beClapton (Cocaine, After Midnight, I’llMake Love To You Anytime), The Bandand Larry Carlton (Crazy Mama), MariaMuldaur (Crazy Moon), Santana andJohn Mayall (The Sensitive Kind) andBrian Ferry, Bobby “Blue” Bland andFreddie King (I Got The Same OldBlues).
To Tulsa And Back is Cale’s firststudio album since 1996’s Guitar Man,and after 8 dry years it had better beworth the wait. It is.
Cale returned to his Tulsa rootswhere he hired a small studio ownedby an old drummer friend and came upwith with a baker’s dozen new hook-laden songs, any one of which could bedandily covered by other top artists invarious genres. There are many highpoints for you to discover here. One is“Fancy Dancer,” on which it is not hardto detect just what Knopfler picked upfrom Cale’s guitar style.
His instantly recognizable mix ofblues, country and jazz is always a wel-come treat. But this disc offers me thebest Cale meal since 1979’s Five. Inever leave on a driving trip without atleast one Cale album, and this one isgoing to see a lot of highway miles forsure.
Clapton said of Cale in an interviewthat he is “One of the masters of thelast three decades of music.” Well put.Now someone should bring him to town!Until then, Get this disc. Bill Wahl
DON BYRONIvey-DiveyBLUE NOTE
This 12-tune disc by one of theworld’s most innovative conceptualists,reed man Don Byron, flexes the form witha notable crew featuring pianist JasonMoran, drummer Jack DeJohnette, bass-ist Lonnie Plaxico (5 tracks) and trum-peter Ralph Alessi (2 tracks).
Playing inside and out, Byron drawsinspiration from the classic 1946 Lester“Prez” Young/Nat Cole/Buddy Rich bass-less trio session. The crew reinventswarhorse standards such as “I Want ToBe Happy,” “Somebody Loves Me,” “ICover the Waterfront,” “I Found A NewBaby,” as well as Miles Davis’ “Freddiethe Freeloader,” and “In A Silent Way.”
Byron’s innovative expressions andDeJohnette’s traps versatility make thisan enticing listen for adventurous fans. Nancy Ann Lee
September/October 2004 • Issue 270 PAGE NINE
SMOKIN’ JOE KUBEK AND B’NOIS KINGShow Me The Money
BLIND PIGThe pair of Joe Kubek and B’nois King continue to lay
down some strong blues tracks with their latest Blind Pigrelease. Kubek’s muscular and incendiary guitar playing iscomplemented by King’s soulful vocals (suggestive of acooler Otis Rush) and his own jazzier guitar comping andsoloing.
While one gets a sense of a rock feel to this music attime, possibly a result of Kubek’s tone, they never stray fromthe blues, perhaps because of the solid and never overstatedrhythm section. The album is full of solid new slow bluesand shuffles, including the cautionary She Can Smell An-other Woman, where B’nois warns one that one day he isgonna slip up and she will sense when he has another womanand “you’ll lose her and your girlfriend and wind up all alone.”My Heart’s in Texas is a rocker as King sings about someplaces he’s been, and while he’s seen Big Ben in London,his heart’s in Texas as Kubek takes off on a short concisesolo. Burnin’ to the Ground has a funky little groove with alyric about a love that was too hot and too high and camecrashing down with some hot slide from Kubek, who is quitecapable of playing sheets of sound with his guitar but knowswhen to lay out. In fact this is reflected by the fact that thelongest tracks here extend to slightly more than 4 1/2 min-utes.
There is plenty of passion invested here, but they playwith intelligence and keep their performances focused andconcise resulting in this first-rate CD. Ron Weinstock
SAXOPHONE SUMMITGathering of Spirits
TELARCSaxophonists Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano and Dave
Liebman are joined by a distinguished rhythm team, pia-nist Phil Markowitz, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer BillyHart, on this adventurous six-tune set reminiscent of theuninhibited, free playing of the Jazz at the Philharmonicera.
With the exception of Coltrane’s “Peace on Earth” and“India,” the tunes are originals by group members andgive them opportunities to play a variety of reed instru-ments, especially on “India,” a 14-minute journey thatbuilds from the flutes intro.
Liebman wrote the harmonically free “Tricycle” forthis group and, at 17-plus minutes in length, it show-cases the rhythm section as well as the three saxophon-ists playing tenors, with Lovano doubling on alto clari-net.
Brecker contributes the title tune, which begins withcacophonous squawks and squeaks before the three saxmen meld lines together into a meditative melody theme.
All long-time friends and inspired by John Coltrane’sfinal phase, the three saxophonists display comfortableinteractions and improvisations that can come only fromknowing trust and support.
More than saxophone battles or cutting contests, thesethree musicians work together equitably without overshad-owing each other and each gets plenty of time in the spot-light. Nancy Ann Lee
September/October 2004 • Issue 270PAGE TEN
BARBARA LYNNBlues and SituationDIALTONE RECORDS
One of the pleasures of attending the Ponderosa Stompin New Orleans this past April was the chance to see thelegendary Barbara Lynn perform. Its been four decades sincethe left-handed guitarist, singer and songwriter had a hit with
You’ll Lose a Good Thing, and while she had some otherhits, none reached that level. Yet she is still well rememberedby many from this recording.
Most recently she had albums on Bullseye Blues andAntone’s. The Texas Dialtone label is building a strong cata-log of authentic Texas blues and Lynn is the artist on thelabel’s latest release,
Blues and Soul Situation. This is perhaps the best al-bum of recent years with very strong material and a strongstudio band. She opens with a nice funky groove on the sul-try You Make Me So Hot, where her man is making her burnand she can’t get enough. Against a hot New Orleans rhumbagroove, Lynn tells her man what it mans to treat a women somean on You Don’t Sleep at Night, with Kaz Kazanoff takinga nice tenor solo while Nick Connolly lays down a ProfessorLonghair tinged piano solo. She warns the man on You BetterQuit It before he pushes her too far. Moving on a Groove is adance number with a groovy sixties feel to it (reminds me ofArchie Bell & the Drells) while the following cut He Ain’t GonnaDo Right (by Penn and Oldham) may be the top song here asLynn sings about how the man is using her for his toy, as heain’t gonna do Barbara right, but rather do her dirty...all with
a wonderful accompaniment. She enlivens Slim Harpo’s I GotLove If You Want It and Sugar Coated Love (associated withLazy Lester) with Hash Brown adding the harp on the latternumber.
She adds guitar throughout, but the focus of this record-ing is her singing and the soul she brings to these blues, bluesballads and soul serenades. This is simply a stunning releaseand its great to have Barbara Lynn in such great form.
Ron Weinstock
CECIL TAYLOR & THE ITALIANINSTABILE ORCHESTRAThe Owner of the River Bank
ENJAAvant garde pianist Cecil Taylor abandoned conventional
musical notation forty years ago, and, according to CD linernotes by Marcello Lorrai, Taylor came to this project in South-ern Italy with photocopies of an A3 landscape sheet denselyfilled right up to the paper’s edge with symbols, words andgraphic shapes, all done in pencil.
The live-recorded performance with the 18-musician Ital-ian Instabile Orchestra was made on September 10, 2000during the second of two concerts presented on the 10th an-niversary of the Orchestra at the Talos Festival in Ruvo diPuglia.
The 16-page liner booklet further explains Taylor’s un-conventional approach and one can only imagine the initialreactions of the Italian musicians as they began the manyrehearsals for the concert. Not included in the notes are de-marcations of suites or sections in the 60 minutes of music.Hence, fans of free jazz can sit back unencumbered by listen-ing guidelines and allow to wash over them Taylor’s thrashinginjections, the crescendos, diminuendos, and cacophony ofthe horns, brass and reeds and the subtle use of voices.
Nancy Ann Lee
JW JONESMy Kind of Evil
NORTHERN BLUESCanadian JW Jones’ latest Northern Blues release per-
haps shows how International the blues has become. KimWilson, who helped produce and also guests on several tracks,is among those who mentored the Ottawa-based Jones, whohas developed into a solid guitarist with a disc reminiscent ofefforts coming from several West Coast artists, although thisis a band with a full-horn section and is not led by a har-monica player.
Wilson himself takes two typical fine vocals on WillieMabon’s I Don’t Know and the Smiley Lewis classic, BlueMonday, while Colin James sings on What You Do to Me andYou Got Me (Where You Want Me). Jones himself shows hehas learned his lessons well with B.B. King, Johnny GuitarWatson, Ike Turner and others being detectable influences ashe opens with a rocking original Shake That Mess, with a nicegroove and hot guitar. Jones has really developed as a vocal-ist. With James singing Johnny Watson’s What You Do to Me,Jones plays a homage to Watson’s early twisted guitar stylingsset against a hot New Orleans rhumba groove. A couple ofinstrumentals also display Jones’ skill and thoughtful play-ing, and given his growth as a vocalist, choice covers andsolid original material and first-rate studio band, J.W. Joneshas produced a fine recording. Ron Weinstock
September/October 2004 • Issue 270 PAGE ELEVEN
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LEE KONITZWITH ALAN BROADBENT
More Live-LeeMILESTONE
Saxophonist Lee Konitz and pia-nist Alan Broadbent followup their2003 duo album, Live-Lee, with moreof the same ear-appealing musings.Like the earlier album, this 11-tunedisc captures performances capturedat the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles dur-ing October 2000.
The interaction between the twois like overhearing a friendly conver-sation. Without a rhythm section youget pure Konitz, a treasure full of in-ventiveness. Broadbent’s sensitivity toKonitz seemingly makes easy work ofrendering standards such as “YouStepped Out of A Dream” “I Can’t GetStarted,” “How Deep Is the Ocean,”“You Go To My Head,” “Just Friends”and more. Their duo rendition of“Body and Soul,” a time-worn stan-dard, breathes new life into the tune.
Theirs is a nicely relaxed pairingwithout any audible rancor where onemusician musically steps on theother’s toes.
Konitz and Broadbent seem sowell matched, it seems as though theywere meant to perform together.
Nancy Ann Lee
VARIOUS ARTISTSI Blueskvarter ï 1964 Volune 3JEFFERSON RECORDS (SWEDEN)
Just released by The ScandinavianBlues Association on its JeffersonRecords label, this is the third doubledisc volume in the series which makesavailable recordings that the SwedishBroadcasting Company made in Chi-cago, Memphis and New Orleans in1964 which were broadcast in autumn1964.
The first two volumes were devotedto recordings from Chicago and includedsome by such legendary figures asSunnyland Slim, Little Brother Mont-gomery, Johnny Young, Walter Horton,Willie Mabon, Johnny Young, WashboardSam and Paul Butterfield (on what wereButterfield’s first recordings). This vol-ume includes New Orleans recordingsby Snooks Eaglin and Babe Stovall andMemphis recordings by Johnny Moment,Will Shade, Furry Lewis, Earl Bell andMoose Williams. The second disc con-tains extra recordings from Mabon,Sunnyland Slim, Walter Horton, andJohnny Young among others before con-cluding with three 1961 recordings byBig Joe Williams, and then from Cham-pion Jack Dupree recorded in perfor-mance and conversation in Sweden.
This is a varied set of music open-ing with Snooks Eaglin performing tennumbers in a vein similar to his earlyrecordings as a ‘street singer’ althoughthe opening Yours Truly, a Pee WeeCrayton song he had recorded for Im-perial as a R&B artist. Few could pull offPinetop’s Boogie Woogie on guitar likeSnooks can, and other songs he provideshis unique skills to include My Babe, LetMe Go Home Whisky, and Hello Dolly.Babe Stovall, who also was resident inNew Orleans, presents some more downhome blues on his four songs that in-cludes renditions of Candy Man andGonna Move to Kansas City. The firstMemphis selections are by harmonicaJohnny Moment, whose rendition ofKeep Our Business to Yourself is heavilyindebted to Rice ‘Sonny Boy WilliamsonII’ Miller. He also backs legendary jugband musician Will Shade on a slow IGot the Blues So Bad, Furry Lewis hassounded better than on Baby, I KnowYou Don’t Love Me, which does havemoments of nice slide guitar.
Traditional Mississippi blues are rep-resented by one Earl Bell who does acompetent cover Robert Johnson’s
Terraplane Blues. The selectionsfrom Chicago supplement recordings bythese artists that are on the first two vol-umes in this series. Willie Mabon deliv-
September/October 2004 • Issue 270PAGE TWELVE
ers a strong Somebody’s Got to Pay,while piano blues are also representedby Sunnyland Slim on Leroy Carr’sPrison Bound and Little Brother Mont-gomery, who reprises his immortalVicksburg Blues. Walter Horn, accom-panied by Robert Nighthawk on guitaris heard on three numbers including anicely delivered Tin Pan Alley. Two earlyrecordings by Paul Butterfield withSmokey Smothers on guitar include OneRoom Country Shack, while JohnnyYoung is backed by Slim Willis on harpand Otis Spann on piano for You Got BadBlood, I Think You Need a Shot. The JoeWilliams performances are typically finebefore a Swedish broadcast of Dupreeand Olie Helander in which Dupree re-calls growing up, his big influence andother matters along with a rendition ofhis Drive ‘em Down Special as well asLeroy Carr’s Barrelhouse Woman. Inaddition to being a great pianist, Dupreewas a marvelous conversationalist. Aswith the first two volumes, there are co-pious notes that discuss the artists andhow the recordings were made. This isan invaluable addition to the body ofdownhome blues of this time. It is animportant musical document and con-tains some very strong performances byartists who have mostly passed away.
The Swedish Blues Alliance is to bethanked for the over six hours of vin-tage blues music that they have madeavailable in this series. You probably canonly obtain these by mail order, and Iwould suggest contacting eitherBlueBeat Music atwww.bluebeatmusic.com or TriangleMusic at www.triangle-music.com for
THELONIOUS MONKMonk In Paris: Live at the Olympia
‘Round the WorldTHELONIOUS RECORDS/HYENAT.S. Monk, Jr. and his brother-in-
law, Dr. Peter Grain, have createdThelonious Records as the vehicle forissuing the family cache of unreleasedmaterial by Monk, Sr. Hyena producerJoel Dorn will be working with them asthey complement Monk’s existing legiti-mate discography, mostly on Prestige,Riverside and Columbia, with new au-dio and video recordings. Plans are toalso legitimize and release the manybootleg recordings, as well as record-ings by T.S. Monk, Jr. These two discsare exciting beginning.
The first installment, Monk In Paris:Live at the Olympia, was live-recordedSaturday, March 7, 1965 and capturesthe legendary pianist with tenor saxo-phonist Charlie Rouse, bassist LarryGales and drummer Ben Riley in a top-notch seven-tune set that kicks of witha driving take on “Rhythm-A-Ning.” Allpure Monk, the 52 minutes of vintagegems includes readings of his futureclassics, “I Mean You,” “Well YouNeedn’t” and “Epistrophy,” as well asdistinctive versions of “Body & Soul”(performed solo), “April In Paris,” and“Bright Mississippi.” Included is an en-gaging bonus DVD of Monk perform-ing three tunes (“Lulu’s Back In Town,”“Blue Monk,” “‘Round Midnight”) in aconcert appearance with the same per-sonnel on April 15, 1956 in Oslo, Nor-way. The CD liner booklet includesnotes by Nat Hentoff and an interviewby producer Joel Dorn with T.S. Monk,remembering his father.
Monk ‘Round the World, the secondinstallment in the partnership betweentwo labels, is drawn from five differentconcerts between 1961–1964 and of-fers superb performances of TheloniousMonk with his longtime saxophonist,Charlie Rouse. Three tracks includedrummer Ben Riley and bassist ButchWarren; three other tracks featuredrummer Frankie Dunlop and bassistJohn Ore; and one track, Larry Gales
information on obtaining them. Its twobad that Olie Helander only did a radiodocumentary of the blues forty yearsago, because the musical legacy of thisradio series stands tall compared to therecent over-hyped Martin Scorcese PBSseries on the blues. Ron Weinstock
on bass, with Riley. The seven seam-less recordings include some of Monk’smost popular tunes – “Epistrophy,”“Blue Monk,” “Ruby My Dear,”“Rhythm-A-Ning,” “Bemsha Swing,”“Hackensack,” and a reprise of“Epistrophy.” The bonus DVD featuresMonk, Rouse, Gales and Riley playing“Rhythm-A-Ning,” “Nutty” and “CrissCross” at the Marquee Club in Londonon March 14, 1965.
Everyone is in peak form on bothCDs, but Rouse kicks up the excitementa few notches with facile expressionsand cool demeanor. To hear Monk playis outstanding but to actually see himand the others in action is the excep-tional treat of these CD/DVD combina-tion packages. First-rate productionand attractive packaging containing in-formative liner notes make these tworecordings true treasures.
Nancy Ann Lee
Don’t Miss
John Steinat The Cleveland Bop Stop
Saturday, October 2ndand visit www.johnstein.com
TRIPLE TROUBLETOMMY CASTRO, JIMMY HALL
& LLOYD JONESTELARC BLUES
Unlike all too many super-sessionswhere the sum is less than the parts,this summit meeting between guitaristsTommy Castro and Lloyd Jones andharpist/saxophonist/singer Jimmy Hallstands tall against any of their individualefforts.
Backed by the incomparableDouble Trouble rhythm section (TommyShannon on bass, Chris Layton ondrums and Reese Wynans on b4)Castro, Jones and Hall stretch beyondstandard 12 bar blues and incorporateheavy doses of blue-eyed soul, R & Band even a chunk of honky tonk.
The result is an inspired look backat roots music before corporate mar-keting and radio play lists required it tofit into specific formats. Scorching har-monica driven blues, Be Careful with aFool, fit naturally alongside JamesBrown penned funk, Good Good Lovin’,Sam & Dave style soul, Whole LottaSoul, and end of the night ballads, Mid-night to Daylight.
Working equally well are a virtuallyunrecognizable cover of the Beatles’Help and the Jones penned DelbertMcClinton style rocker Sometimeswhich will have toes tapping and fan-nies shaking from coast to coast.
Top notch stuff from this collectionof seasoned veterans. Mark Smith
September/October 2004 • Issue 270 PAGE THIRTEEN
12387 Cedar Road Cleveland Hts.
Reservations: 216-795-0550
WED SEPT 8 7 PM $20GEOFF KEEZER TRIOPianist from the groups of ARTBLAKEY & RAY BROWN.MaxxJazz recording artist.
SUN SEPT 19 7 PM $20DENA DEROSEVocalist and pianist leads triowith MATT WILSON-drumsand MARTIN WIND-bass.
FRI-SAT OCT 8-9 8 &10 PM $30JANE MONHEITVocalist features music from newCD “Taking a Chance on Love.”
SUN SEPT 12 7 PM $25TERRY BLAINE WithMARK SHANE & ALLEN VACHE.Swingin’ Benny Goodman Songbook.
MON SEPT 20 7 PM $20MARTA TOPFEROVAVocalist sings in Spanish & playsCuatro. EDMAR CASTANEDA-harpfrom Colombia & NEIL OCHOA-percussion from Venezuela.
THUR SEPT 9 8 &10 PM $30
ALTANDirect from Ireland. LegendaryCeltic group hits Nighttown.
TUE SEPT 14 7 PM $10KASSABACIM grads combine Jazz,Classical and World music withmultiple instruments.
TUE-WED OCT 5-6 7 & 9 PM $25
BILLY COBHAM& Culture Mix. MARCOS UHEDA-Sweden, STEPHAN RADEMACHER-Germany, PER GADE-DenmarkJUNIOR GILL-Barbados/London
SUN SEPT 26 7 PM $20GENE LUDWIGREUNION TRIOClassic Soul Jazz group from 60s reunites.GENE LUDWIG-Hammond B-3, JERRY BYRD-Guitar, RANDY GELESPIE-Drums.
10/14 . . . . . . . . . . .JAMES MOODY 10/18-21 . . . . . . . . . . .MORT SAHL
MON SEPT 13 7 PM $25KEN PEPLOWSKIClarinet/saxophonist swings intoNighttown. W/JOE HUNTER TRIO.
MARK MURPHYBop For Miles
HIGHNOTECaptured in a live-recorded concert
performance in Vienna, Austria on May10, 1990, master jazz vocalist MarkMurphy is accompanied by a team oface European musicians as he brilliantlyremakes 10 standards associated withMiles Davis. The 11th track, “Miles,” isfrom 1999, and features Murphy withpianist Peter Mihelich.
Murphy’s voice sweeps, swirls,swoops and yodels as he segues fromtune to tune while pianist Peter Mihelich,bassist Achim Tang, drummer VitoLesczak and saxophonist Allan Praskinkeep up with and enhance his inven-tiveness. In characteristic fashion,Murphy improvises on classics such as“All Blues,” “Summertime,” “AutumnLeaves,” “Bye Bye Blackbird,” “OnGreen Dolphin Street,” “My Ship,”“Farmer’s Market,” “Goodbye Pork PieHat,” “Parker’s Mood,” and “Milestones.”
This is one helluva memorable per-formance and, if jazz is the sound of sur-prise (as Whitney Balliet once describedit), then Murphy is the wizard of song.
Nancy Ann Le
NANCY WILSONR.S.V.P.
(Rare Songs, Very Personal)MANCHESTER CRAFTSMEN’S GUILD
For this project, vocalist NancyWilson selected 12 songs she never re-corded on 67 recordings during her 50-year career. An all-star project re-corded at Manchester Craftsmen’sGuild during the fall of 2002 and springof 2003, the CD spotlights a slew ofguest ar t ists, including TootsThielemans, Phil Woods, an all-star bigband, Kenny Lattimore, Ivan Lins, GaryBurton, Paquito D’Rivera, Bill Watrous,Rufus Reid, George Shearing and JoeNegri. The rhythm section featuresbassist Dwayne Dolphin (with the ex-ception of the big band track, “Day In,Day Out” where he’s replaced by Reid),pianist Llew Matthews and Cleveland-native Jamey Haddad as drummer.
After decades of giving to the mu-sic world, Wilson, born in Chillicothe,Ohio on February 10, 1937, is still inpeak form, although her voice is just atad thinner in the upper register. Oneof the prettiest tracks, “I Wish I’d MetYou,” by Richard Rodney Bennett,Johnny Mandel and FranklinUnderwood, was arranged Jay Ashbyand features blended background vo-cals.
Her lilting voice is perfect for themelancholy ballad, “Goodbye,” per-formed with the trio and percussionistJay Ashby, who also arranged thesong. Included are favorites such as“Blame It On My Youth” (with GeorgeShearing), “Little Green Apples” (withthe rhythm section), “I Let A Song GoOut of My Heart” (with Woods & thebig band) and more.
A very laid-back, ear-pleasing ven-ture, this is Wilson’s second collabo-ration with MCG Jazz. Her first was a2001 Christmas album.
Nancy Ann Lee
AL COPLEYJump On It
ONE MIND RECORDSAfter a ten year absence from the
domestic record bins former Roomful ofBlues piano man Al Copley checks inhere with ten tracks of top notch fun.Mining the rich catalogs of Smiley Lewis,Someday, I Ain’t Gonna Do It, PercyMayfield, Stranger In My Hometown,Please Send Me Someone to Love, OtisBlackwell Great Balls of Fire, Holland/Dozier/Holland, How Sweet It Is, RoyMilton Hoy, Hoy, Hoy and even theKingsmen, Louie Louie Copley wrapsnimble piano runs around a greasy saxo-phone backbone and punchy trumpetriffs to create versions of these classicsthat are instantly recognizable yet dif-ferent enough to merit the new attention.
In Copley’s able hands, Hoy, Hoy,Hoy sheds the stagnant funk clothes ithas acquired over the years and sparkleswith energy. Someday sounds straightoff a Sinatra disc while Great Balls of Firewill have Jerry Lee looking over hisshoulder. About the only misfire is LouieLouie which never rises above the au-thentically murky garage sound. WhileCopley’s piano skills have never been
in doubt his vocals have never been astrong suit. That all changes here.
The years have been kind to hisvoice which seems deeper, smootherand much fuller than in the past. He singswith conviction and a solid sense ofphrasing in a voice eerily reminiscent ofSugar Ray Norcia who spent timefronting Roomful of Blues as vocalist andharmonica player in the 90’s. Overall,just the disc you need to crank up yournext blues dance party. Mark Smith
September/October 2004 • Issue 270PAGE FOURTEEN
APPEARING AT WILBERT’S FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
Wednesday, November 3An Evening with Kip Hornell, author of the definitive biogra-
phy The Life and Legend of LeadbellyRock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Fourth Floor The-
ater
Thursday, November 4Opening of Shine a Light on MeA special exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum.
Friday, November 5Josh White, Jr. and Oscar BrandBeachland Ballroom
Saturday, November 6American Music Masters Conference, presented by CaseRegistration begins at 9:00amFor Auditorium, Allen Memorial Library, CaseAn interdisciplinary conference on Lead Belly’s music, life
and legacyFeaturing a live interview with Tiny Robinson (Lead Belly’s
niece); presentations by the Lomax Archives, Smithsonian/Folk-ways and the Library of Congress Center; lecture by author ElijahWald and conversations with Oscar Brand and Josh White, Jr.
Sunday, November 7Family Show with Dan Zanes and FriendsHarkness Chapel at Case, 1pm
Lead Belly: American Music Masters SeriesContinued from page 2
Individual price and family price tickets available.
Sunday, November 7American Music Masters Tribute ConcertSeverance Hall,Featuring Robert Plant, Los Lobos, Odetta, Dave Alvin,
Robert Lockwood, Jr and other very special guests to be an-nounced
For ticket information call 216.781-7625 or visitwww.rockhall.com .
Gaetano Letizia CD Release Partyset for September 16
Gaetano Letizia, Jazz Fusion Guitarist will be presentinghis CD Release Party onSeptember 16 from 8:30 – 11:30 p.m.atthe The Bop Stop, 2920 Detroit Avenue in Cleveland.
Thirty-five year Cleveland jazz guitar veteran Gaetano (Tom)Letizia will release his third CD (sixth album) on Thursday, Sep-tember 16th at the new Cleveland Bop Stop. Letizia will be joinedby Bill Ransom on percussion and drum set as well as ClydeDouglass on electric five string bass.
The trio will perform each of Letizia’s eight original compo-sitions from the new CD entitled “All My Brothers”. The mu-sical styles include a fusion of Bebop, Latin, Funk & Blues in amanner significantly different from typical “mechanical” fusioncomposition and performance. Letizia’s concept is to stretchthe boundaries of Bebop with contemporary styles while pre-serving the integrity and quality of the traditional Bebop basedimprovisations.
Letizia’s previous CDs have been favorably reviewed inDownbeat, Guitar Player Magazine, Cadence and numerousjazz journals. Letizia has studied improvisation with Dan Wall,Pat Martino and composition in the Schillinger System with BertHenry.
Letizia has performed with his trios throughout the UnitedStates including multiple performances in Los Angeles at theNAMM show and in New York City at the Classic American GuitarShow.
Further information on Gaetano Letizia and his music canbe had through the following website www.gaetanoletizia.us .
2,500 CD & DVD ReviewsAt Your Fingertips!
www.jazz-blues.com
WaterburyCoach Housein Lakewood
Wednesday Nights 6-10 PM
September/October 2004 • Issue 270 PAGE FIFTEEN
Peabody’s Downunder2083 E.21st
Cleveland, OH 44115
(216) 776-9999
Winter Downunder
Johnny WinterSunday, November 14
Peabody's 27 Year Anniversary!Don’t Miss The Party
Robert Lockwood Jr.Friday Oct 22
September/October 2004 • Issue 270
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You’re one in a million, 22 million, actually.You’re one in 22 million if you didn’t vote in the 2000 election. In 2000, 22 million unmarried women did not vote, according tothe U.S. Census. Vote this year, and you can decide the election and move our country in a new direction.
As one of 22 million single women, you can vote this year and elect people who understand what it’s like to be on your own,stretching a shrinking paycheck over skyrocketing health care costs. Vote this year, and you can elect people who will fight toprotect your job and your paycheck, for affordable health care, great schools and access to college.
Use your right to vote to elect people who will make a difference for you on the issues important in your life. You’re one in 22million. Vote, and you can set our country on a different course.
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