The Harmonic Sorcery of Jerry Bergonzi's "Spotlight on Standards":

Jerry Bergonzi Spotlight on Standards SCD 2158

The Boston based tenor magician Jerry Bergonzi returns to the organ/tenor/drums format to spin his harmonic sorcery on his latest offering titled Spotlight on Standards. The saxophonist/educator known as the Gonz, while lauded by the insular community of his peers, is not a household name among the general public. He is known for his muscular, hard edged sound, his exquisite fiery technique and his boundless creativity.

Jerry Bergonzi grew up in Boston and started on clarinet at age eight. He credits a musical uncle who used to live upstairs from him with turning him onto jazz early. In youth bands  he learned from  two of the best instructors, John Laporta and Joe Viola and eventually studied  music education at University of Mass in Lowell, MA.  Bergonzi spent several years in New York developing his sound, jamming and shedding with other notable musicians of his era before getting a call from pianist Dave Brubeck. With Brubeck, Bergonzi traveled and played some of the largest and most prestigious festivals and venues in the world. It was a liberating experience and a steady paycheck. The first recording on his discography is from 1973 on Brubeck’s Two Generations of Brubeck. The now sixty-eight-year-old Bergonzi was the saxophonist with Brubeck’s Quartet from 1973-1975 and then again from 1979 to 1982. By the early eighties Bergonzi was back in Boston and began his teaching career, first with private instruction, then publishing books on improvisation and eventually becoming a full time professor at The New England Conservatory of Music where he teaches to this day. Over the years Bergonzi has written upward of one hundred songs and played as a leader or sideman on over thirty records.

On his latest, Spotlight on Standards, Bergonzi is joined by organist Renato Chicco and drummer Andrea Michelutti. This organ trio format is one the saxophonist last used with organist Dan Wall and drummer Adam Nussbaum back in 1999.

From the opening lines of the Cy Coleman classic “Witchcraft” you can hear Bergonzi’s muscular tenor is not about to play this or anything else straight up. It is his resolute willingness to re-harmonize the theme in his own unique way that makes the music so much more than a re-hash of an old standard. This is a re-imagining of the song where the melody is a mere armature upon which to reconstruct something fresh and new. Coupled with his signature saxophone sound the song takes on a new life.

The next four tunes are all Bergonzi originals. His distinctive technique uses creative articulation, a fluidity of thoughts and innovative dynamics to achieve that most precious of commodities- originality. Listen to the elastic logic of his saxophone on his composition “Bi-Polar.”  The notes gush like a wellspring of exploratory thought from a savant’s mind.  On “Blue Cube” he creates a memorable repeating motif. Chicco and Michelutti sustain the easy shuffle over which Bergonzi offers a series of deliberate, sometimes searing lines. He often takes no easily readable path, but nonetheless he lead you to his intended destination. Chicco’s B3 soloing is subtly but equally probing.

“First Lady” is an interesting composition with an uplifting, almost Bossa feel. Bergonzi’s use of the lower register of his instrument never fails to swing. He drifts over the changes with an airy lightness and solid conviction. Michelutti is a master of interjecting timely accents while maintaining a rock-steady rhythm.

Bergonzi’s mournful “Gabriella” is perhaps his most sensitive ballad on this album. The plaintive tenor sound is quite compelling throughout, offering a window into the deepest recesses of the artist’s soul.  It is a wistful cry that cannot be ignored. Chicco’s deft church-like organ brings a pious, religious quality to the whole proceeding. Bergonzi’s command of his instrument, using it as an extension of the human voice,  is extraordinary.

The program returns to the American Songbook with “Dancing in the Dark,” and “Out of Nowhere.” At all times the group displays a solid swing and a masterful ability to create surprising iterations of the melody.  On Johnny Mercer’s “Come Rain or Come Shine” we find Bergonzi’s at his best. His punchy sound articulates with authority as the rhythm section grooves along. He seems to draw from an inexhaustible well of ideas that never seem to repeat and never fail to surprise.

Ned Washington and Victor Young’s venerable standard “Stella by Starlight” is treated with authority and conviction when Bergonzi and company re-imagine this classic. The solid swing, the aggressive declaration of Bergonzi’s saxophone with his  rapid fire lines and Chicco’s unusual B3 musings that seem to directly descend from Larry Young, make this one special. It’s almost an entirely new song. Bergonzi’s solo is overflowing, bursting with ideas, Chicco’s playing is stellar and Michelutti is so subtly correct as to be transcendent.

Here is a link to hear "Witchraft" from Spotlight on Standards

https://soundcloud.com/highnote-savant-records/01-witchcraft-jerry-bergonzi

The Kenny Werner Trio Explores The Melody

Kenny Werner The Melody Pirouet PIT 3083

There is something magical about a fine piano trio. When musicians are in sync it is amazing how communicative three pieces can be.  When you have the lyrically imaginative leader Kenny Werner on the keys there is no telling where his fertile imagination will lead you. On Werner’s latest The Melody, he is joined in perfect harmony by Johannes Weidenmueller on bass and Ari Hoenig on drums and between the three of them they create an exquisite exploration of what it is to be enraptured by melody in its many enduring forms.

Mr. Werner starts with a wonderfully sensitive rumination on the popular song “Try to Remember” from the 1960 Broadway musical “The Fantastiks.”  He sets the tone showing us the inner beauty of his take on the sentiment before he reveals the actual melody first playing it as a soft lullaby and then letting  it breathe, expanding into a more expansive swings and swaggers at times. Mr. Hoenig and Mr. Weidenmueller are not so much a rhythm section as color commentators painting the song with their own subtle pastels and warm tones.

Mr. Werner is no stranger to composition and here he offers four separate tunes of his own. The first “Who?” is a jagged, rhythmic affair that uses a repeated motif as the basis on which to explore.  The trio seems to intuit the shifts in time with easy aplomb with Mr. Weidenmueller keeping the motif alive throughout. Mr. Werner’s touch is a joy of restraint and delicacy as he moves around the motif with dance-like style

“Balloons,” another Werner original, has a light, airy introduction on solo piano before entering into its captivating melodic core. The theme has a child-like, wanderlust quality to its gentle theme expertly played with wrenching sensitivity. A probing bass solo by Mr. Weidenmueller elicits images of a dance of wood sprites in a hidden forest.  

John Coltrane’s “26-2” is given a jaunty rendering that is probably the most formidable demonstration of how in sync this trio is. The three wind and weave their way through the changes in perfect time, a celebration of one minded playing.  Hoenig’s traps and Weidenmueller’s bass mimicking the same line as Werner’s piano lead, a celebration of symbiosis. Werner’s lead is always perfectly logical but surprisingly unexpected in a sage kind of way. Hoenig offers a syncopated drum solo that is tasteful and unflashy.

Werner returns with another of his own compositions” Voncify The Emulyans.” The composition moves through a series of cadenced vignettes, where Hoenig’s military traps seem to set the pace as Werner’s pianistic overtures find varied directions. The tempo is often changed and the melodic content is hard to follow but the overall effect is of exploratory rumination.  The ending is a gorgeous slow fade on the theme.

Dave Brubeck is an artist whose work seems to have found few followers. Here Werner starts “In You Own Sweet Way” in a decidedly different way. The pianist creates an intro that has a disjointed mechanistic sound which he carries with some dissonance throughout the piece, normally a straight ahead sweet melody. When the trio get down to the melody they do so with a creative flair that employs some swing some syncopation and some style. Werner plays with the melody at times including some quotes from Bernstein. The group prances at different paces throughout the song in a facile display of how different rhythms could dramatically affect the way a song is perceived.  

The album ends with Werner’s “Beauty Secrets” with his solo intro played as a beautiful piano adagio. Werner is one of the most expressive pianists on the scene today and his touch and sense of poignancy is unmatched here.  The texture of Hoenig’s stick and cymbal work is the precise compliment to Weidenmueller’s anchored bass and Werner’s lyrical playing. There is an Americana flavor ala Greensleeves to this one that is very moving.

There is something very beautiful and unpretentious about The Melody and Mr. Werner, Mr. Weidenmuller and Mr. Hoenig have a collectively made listening to it a joy.

My Holiday Season Greetings

Here are a few holiday favorites by some all time great artists.  Please enjoy and
Happy Holidays to all my friends and family!

Michael Franks: Let it Snow



Bill Evans : Santa's Coming to Town



Lou Rawls and Diane Reeves : Baby Its Cold Outside



Bob Dorough and Miles Davis Sextet : Blue Xmas



John McLaughlin : Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel:



John Coltrane Quartet : Greensleeves



Thelonious Monk : A Merrier Christmas:  & Dianne Reeves



Dexter Gordon : The Christmas Song



Oscar Peterson : A Child is Born



Joe Pass : White Christmas



Dave Brubeck : Silent Night



Billy Eckstine : Christmas Eve



Jimmy Smith : The Christmas Song



Modern Jazz Quartet with Orchestra : England's Carol



Dave Brubeck and Gerry Muligan : Santa Claus is Coming To Town



Shirley Horn : Winter Wonderland


Ray Charles : rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer



Chick Corea : What Child is This



Christian McBride : Deck the Halls



Vince Guaraldi Trio : Linus and Lucy

Jazz Up July: The Brubeck Brothers in Columbus Park in Stamford July 17 2013

The Brubeck Brothers Band in Stamford

On a hot, steamy Wednesday evening in July, the sons of piano jazz legend Dave Brubeck entertained a dedicated group of jazz lovers from the Columbus Park stage in downtown Stamford. The Brubeck Brothers band was the second major act in the Jazz in July series. The series brings top notch jazz artists to downtown Stamford. The previously free outdoor concerts now have a nominal ten dollar cover charge. The confusion over the entry charge could have conceivably prevented some people from attending the concert which appeared to be a free event since there was no assigned seating. The concert was somewhat sparsely attended. In addition the public parking garage took advantage of  the event to charge a flat fee of seven dollars whether or not you were attending the event. This less than inviting extra charge sends a mixed message about Stamford's commitment to bringing jazz to the public in an open air event. If these extraneous charges discourage people from coming to these events, it will also discourage top rated performers from committing to  play a venue like Stamford when they play to less than overflowing crowds.

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet featured Chris Brubeck on electric bass and trombone, Dan Brubeck on drums, Chuck Lamb on keyboards and Mike DeMicco on guitar. The first song I heard was a song written by their father Dave titled "Kathy's Waltz." Chris explained that their father was inspired to write this song seeing his daughter Kathy prance around as a young girl in her dance tutu. While most waltz's are in 3/4 time this one was played mostly in 4/4 . The song started out with DeMicco's delicate sounding guitar playing the melody and with Chris on electric bass. Pianist Lamb played a beautiful solo on the black baby grand as the Brubeck brother's carried the rhythm.  Chris played a thoughtful bass solo and guitarist DeMicco finished playing the dancing melody to a bright ending.

Chris introduced the next tune, relating that it was the most recorded song of his father's vast repertoire.
 " In Her Own Sweet Way." was written for Dave's wife Iola, who he was married to for an amazing seventy years. Chris played a mournfully, poignant trombone over the famous melody. Chris Brubeck is a superb trombone player who manages to evoke great emotion through his use of bellowing runs and emotionally laden slurs. Guitarist DeMicco's solo filled the space with beautifully fluid arpeggios. Pianist Lamb and drummer Dan Brubeck anchored the melody throughout.

Before the next song Chris talked about a song not often associated with their father titled "Jazzanians."
The "Jazzanians" was a group of disparate African musicians, some from normally warring tribes, that the eldest brother Darius Brubeck brought together to play music in a school where he taught music in Africa. The Afro-Cuban beat was driven to perfection by Dan Brubeck as he played the complex, dancing rhythm in the most stirring piece of the show. Pianist Lamb seemed to be released from his role as a complimentary musician and played a rousing solo building dramatically to a towering crescendo of sound. Guitarist DeMicco took his turn and was equally torrid in his approach to soloing.The climax of the tune was a series of bombastic, rhythmically diverse solos by the younger Brubeck who demonstrated a intuitive sense of drive and used his entire kit to the delight of the briefly mesmerized crowd.

The group did a beautiful ballad where Chris Brubeck played his most soulful solo on trombone. They followed with the Brubeck classic "Blue Rondo a la Turk," with Lamb, DeMicco and Brubeck playing the staccato melody rapidly in precise 9/8  time. The bluesy 4/4 break in the song, allowed  DeMicco and Chris Brubeck to solo in an extended blues-tinged mode. DeMicco was particularly inventive during his solo. At times he ripped into a rock inspired tirade where he just shredded on his electric guitar in a very gutsy performance that gave the old classic a fusion-like energy.

The finale was topped off with the Paul Desmond classic "Take Five," a tune that single-handedly introduced odd time signatures to the general listening public. The composition's readily identifiable signature line immediately caught the attention of the audience. Chuck Lamb played a ruminative solo that introduced elements of Gershwin's "Summertime" into the piece,  as he wandered in an exploratory excursion.The talented pianist delved into harmonically rich territory that was barely connected to the tune's driving 5/4 line. Guitarist DeMicco took his turn at soloing over the driving time signature that the Brubeck Brothers maintained throughout. Once DeMicco gets started he can create streams of guitar lines that just seem to flow like electrons arcing through the humidity drenched air.

The night air turned out to be appreciatively cooler than when it started, with the music being the most incendiary part of the evening's event. It is certainly laudable that Stamford is attempting to bring top named jazz artists to the City, one would hope that the confusion over the entry and parking fees will be cleared up before the next concert.

The sponsors, which include People's United Bank, Stamford Town Center, Purdue Pharma and Bud Light should be applauded for their generous support of the arts and jazz in particular. The series has a stellar line-up remaining with Poncho Sanchez bringing in his Latin-jazz band to the Park on Wednesday July 24th, the inimitable chanteuse Dianne Reeves brings her wonderful jazz vocals to the Park on Wednesday July 31 and the series ends with the incomparable pianist Chick Corea, bassist Christian McBride, drummer Marcus Gilmore and guitarist Charles Altura.

If we want these world class performers to continue to view Stamford as a vital and thriving community receptive to jazz artists then I truly hope music lovers from the area will turn out in droves to support these musicians and ensure the success of this effort.

Notes on Jazz Third Annual 4th of July Living Legends of Jazz

Roy Haynes photo by Fran Kaufman  ©2012

Once again it is time for my annual Notes on Jazz listing of the Living Legend of Jazz. This is the third annual compilation and with each year we gain some new members and sadly lose some old friends. The list is a celebration of those who have, for so long, graced us with their talents, their creativity and their love of the music.


Last year we saw the passing of some truly venerable legends. Musicians, performers, innovators, teachers and mentors who made an indelible mark on society at large and on the music in particular. Some were famous, some infamous and all will be missed.


This fraternity of Jazz Legends lost two drummers. A onetime member of both the Ellington and Basie band’s drummer Butch Ballard passed at the age of 92. The eclectic rhythm machine, Paul Motian, who together with bassist Scott LaFaro and pianist Bill Evans formed what was perhaps the most influential piano trio of the last fifty years, died this year at age 80. The rhythm and blues drummer/singer.
Johnny Otis, whose true name was John Veliotes, was Greek by birth but chose to live the life of a black man. A man imbued with the music that moved his soul. He passed this year at the age of 90.


The prolific studio musician, teacher and trumpeter Uan Rasey, was one of those players whose name was mostly unknown to the general public. It was Rasey’s playing, however, that will transcend time, especially his haunting trumpet solo on Roman Polanski's Chinatown. Rasey passed at the age of 80. West Coast Dixieland trumpet player Ernie Carson passed at age 74.


 Four saxophonists that made their mark in their own unique ways left us with the passing of legends "Shiny Stockings” composer.Frank Foster at age 82, James “Red" Holloway age 84, Hal McKusick at age 87 and the free spirit Sam Rivers at age 88. Pianist Walter Norris, who played with Charles Mingus and Ornette Coleman, passed in Germany at the age of 80. Pianist Al Vega, a fixture for years in the Boston area died at age 90.The forward looking vibraphonist/drummer/composer Teddy Charles passed this year at age 84.


Three composer/arrangers, who each contributed to the cannon of the music, were lost this year. Their music will survive. Bob Brookmeyer was both a fine trombonist, and pianist as well as a formidable composer and arranger, whose big band arrangements combined the elegance of the Ellington era sound with his own contemporary ideas. He was an influential teacher who mentored a new breed of arranger/composers who are creating a Renascence in contemporary big band music. He died this year at the age of 81. Arranger Clare Fischer worked with such varied artists as Dizzy Gillespie and Prince. The pianist Herbie Hancock has credited Fischer as being a major influence on his own harmonic concept. Fischer passed away this year at the age of 83. Pete Rugulo was a well known arranger who charted songs for the Stan Kenton orchestra and worked with singers Nat Cole, June Christy, Mel Tormé and Dinah Washington. Mr. Rugulo was also active in film music. He passed this year at the age of 95. Lastly we lost the singer Etta James, whose voice on her hit "At Last” will be forever remembered by her legion of followers.Ms. James was 73.


The music has proven time and again that despite losing its legends to the vagaries of time, it is a durable art form, a resilient performance art that is beyond categorization.As some pass through touching us briefly with their artistry, there are always others who come into our orbit introducing new and exciting ideas and fresh musical concepts. The music continues to expand, organically thriving with every generation, as new musicians create from the infrastructure laid down by those who have blazed the path before them.
I continue to believe that Jazz is an art form that has become the most internationally cooperative means of communication in the world today.


On this fourth of July let our passion for the music continue with this yearly celebration of these communicators, those who have been and continue to be so instrumental in bringing us this music we love so much.


Here is my expanded list of veteran players, all at least seventy years of age, who in some way helped shape the music. I am sure to have missed some worthy contributors to the musical canon. My sincerest apologies for any inadvertent omissions. I welcome comments from readers who may know of deserving musicians who I should add to this list so that it can be more complete next year and a great big thank you to each and every one of this year’s celebrants.

LIVING JAZZ LEGENDS: July 4, 2012

Charles McPherson photo by Fran Kaufman ©2012   

 Saxophonists/ Reed Instruments:

Pharaoh Sanders, Gary Bartz, Peter Brotzmann, Roscoe Mitchell and Bennie Maupin (71), Arthur Bythe, Hamiet Bluiett, Wilton Felder, Joe McPhee, Charles McPherson, Carlos Ward, Paul Winter and Lew Tabakin (72), Odean Pope, Zibigniew Namyslowski, Charles Gayle, Sonny Fortune and George Braith (73) James Spaulding, Charles Lloyd, Carlos Garnett, Joseph Jarman (74) Archie Shepp, Nathan Davis, Frank Strozier and Jim Galloway (75) Klaus Doldinger, John Tchicai, Gary N. Foster, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre and Don Menza (76) Giuseppi Logan, Jimmy Woods, Houston Person, George Coleman and Bunky Green (77 Lanny Morgan, and Wayne Shorter (78) Lol Coxhill, Sadao Watanabe, Charlie Davis, Gato Barbieri and John Handy III (79) Phil Woods and Plas Johnson Jr.(80) Sonny Rollins (81), Ornette Coleman and Gabe Baltazar (82)Joe Temperley, Harold Ousley, Herb Geller and Benny Golson (83) Carl Janelli,Lee Konitz and Bob Wilber (84), Big Jay McNeeley, Med Flory, Dick Hafer, Lou Donaldson and Jimmy Heath (85), Marshall Allen and Earle“Von”Freeman (88), Frank Wess (90), Yusef Lateef (91), Harold Joseph “Hal”“Cornbread” Singer (92).

Frank Wess photo by Fran Kaufman  © 2012

Pianists:

Dick Hyman photo by Fran Kaufman ©2012;

Connie Crothers, Stanley Cowell, Armando“Chick”Corea, Mike Nock, Sergio Mendes and David Burrell (71), Herbie Hancock, Bob James, Charles Brackeen and Roger Kellaway (72), McCoy Tyner, Mike Longo, Joe Sample, Gap Mangione, Jon Mayer, Joanne Brackeen and Warren Bernhardt (73) Denny Zeitlin, Steve Kuhn and John Coates Jr. (73), Eddie Palmieri and Kirk Lightsey (75), Les McCann, Carla Bley and Harold Mabern (76), Ramsey Lewis ,Pat Rebillot, Ran Blake, Don Friedman,Oliver Jones, Ellis Marsalis Jr. and Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand), Dave Grusin and Misha Mengelberg(77)Pat Moran (McCoy)

Harold Mabern photo by Fran Kaufman©2012

(78) Cedar Walton, Paul Bley, and Larry Novak (79, Bengt Hallberg , Jack Reilly, George Gruntz, Derek Smith and Michel LeGrand (80, Muhal Richard Abrams and Horace Parlan (81) Amhad Jamal, Frank Strazzeri, Richard Wyands, Claude Bolling, Barry Harris and Toshiko Akiyoshi (82),Cecil Taylor, Horace Silver and Junior Mance (83) Freddie Redd, Martial Solal and Mose Allison (84), Dick Hyman and Claude Williamson (85), Randy Weston (86), Barbara Carroll (87), Paul T. Smith (89), Dave Brubeck and Marty Napoleon (91), Bebo Valdes (93), Marian McPartland (94).


Bassists:
Steve Swallow (71), Ed “Butch” Warren, Don Thompson andEberhard Weber (72), Mario Pavone (73), Larry Ridley, Reggie Workman and Charlie Haden (74), Ron Carter and Chuck Israels (75), Buell Nedlinger and Henry Grimes (76),Gary Peacock and Cecil McBee (77), Bob Cranshaw and Jack Six (79) Ron Crotty and Richard Davis (82), Bill Crow (84), Jymie Merritt (86) Eugene "The Senator “Wright (89), Howard Rumsey (94), Coleridge Goode (97).


Trumpet/Cornet/ Flugelhorn:
Eddie Henderson, Palle Mikkelborg and Chuck Mangione (71), Enrico Rava (72), Marvin Stamm and Hugh Masekela (73), Guido Basso (74), Ed Polcer (75), Chuck Flores, Ted Curson and Bobby Bradford (77) Donald Byrd (79), Jack Sheldon and Dusko Gojkovic (80), Alphonso “Dizzy” Reese, Louis Smith and Ira Sullivan (81), Sam Noto and Kenny Wheeler (82), Carl “Doc” Severinson (84), Joe Wilder (90), Clark Terry (91) Thomas Jefferson (92),Gerald Wilson (93 ).Lionel Ferbos (100)

Bucky Pizzarelli photo by Rick Gilbert 2012

Guitarists:
James Blood Ulmer and John McLaughlin (70), Jerry Hahn (71), Ralph Towner (72), Gene Bertoncini and Joe D’Iorio (75), Sonny Greenwich (76), Ed Bickert (79) Kenny Burrell (80), Jim Hall, Joao Gilberto and John Pisano (81),Martin “Marty” Grosz (82) Eddie Duran and, Bucky Pizzarelli (86), Mundell Lowe and Johnny Smith (90).


Trombonists:
James “Dick” Griffin and Wayne Henderson (72) Billy Watrous (73), Grachan Moncur III, Phillip Elder Wilson and “Big” Bill Bissonnette (75), Roswell Rudd (76), Julian Priester and Curtis Fuller (77) Locksley "Slide" Hampton (80), Santo "Sonny' Russo (83). George “Buster” Copper, Harold Betters and Conrad Janis (84), George Masso and Urbie Green (85) and Eddie Bert (90), Herbie Harper (92).


Drummers/Percussionists:
Jack DeJohnette (70 in August) Billy Hart (71), Andrew Cyrille, Ginger Baker Pierre Courbois and Idris Muhammad (72), Bernard Purdie, Issac “Redd” Holt, Nesbert “Stix” Hooper (73) and Tony Oxley (74),Pete LaRoca (Sims), Horace Arnold, Paul Ferrara, Daniel Humair and Edwin Marshall (74), Louis Hayes, James “Sunny” Murray, Charly Antolini, Colin Bailey and Roy McCurdy (75), Albert “Tootie” Heath and Chuck Flores (77), Donald “Duck” Bailey, Ben Riley and Ray Mosca (78), Mickey Roker Frank Capp and Grady Tate (80) Ronnie Bedford (81),) John Armatage (82), Hal Blaine, Jimmy Cobb, Charlie Persip (83), Joe Harris (85), Roy Haynes and Samuel “Dave” Bailey (86), Armando Peraza (88), Percy Brice and Al Harewood (89), Foreststorn “Chico” Hamilton (90) and Candido Camero (91)


Organists:
Mac “Dr John” Rebbenack (71)“ Papa” John De Francesco), Brian Auger (72), Rhoda Scott (74), Reuben Wilson (77), and Sir Charles Thompson (94).

Mark  Murphy photo by Fran Kaufman©2012

Jazz Vocalists:
Gilberto Gil (70) ,Janet Lawson (71), Astrud Gilberto and Al Jarreau and Mary Stallings (72), Ruth Price and Ellyn Ruker (74), Nancy Wilson, Carol Sloane, Karin Krog and Sathima Bea Benjamin (75) Marlene Ver Planck and David Frishberg piano/vocals (79), Freddy Cole and Mark Murphy (80), Gloria Lynne (80), Annie Ross (81), Sheila Jordan and Ernestine Anderson (83), Cleo Laine,Jackie Cain and Ernie Andrews (84),Tony Bennett (85) Bill Henderson and Jimmy Scott (86) Bob Dorough (88) Jon Hendricks (90), Helen Merrill (92) ,Herb Jeffries (98).


Artists on Other Instruments:
Bobby Hutcherson and Roy Ayers, vibraphonists and Lonnie Liston Smith, keyboardist (71) and Hubert Laws, flautist (72) , Perry Morris Robinson, clarinetist (73) Gunter Hampel, multi-instrumentalist, Charlie Shoemake, vibraphonist , Dave Pike, vibraphonist/marimba and Mike Maineri, vibraphonist (74) Hermeto Pascoal, accordion & keyboards (76) Reuben Wilson, organist (77) Joe Licari, clarinetist, Sonny Simmons sax and English Horn, Warren Chiasson vibraphonist (78),Michael White, violin and Emil Richards, vibes and percussion (79) David Baker composer/cellist (80), Frank Marocco, accordion, Pierre "Pete" Fountain, clarinetist and Sam Most, flautist (81), Rolf Kuhn, clarinetists and Paul Horn, flautist (82), Bernard “ Acker” Bilk, clarinetist, Peter Appleyard, vibraphonist and Andre Previn conductor/pianist (83), Terry Gibbs, vibraphonist and George Wein, Pianist/ Concert Promoter (87), Rudy Van Gelder, recording engineer (87), Sammy Nestico pianist/arranger and Buddy DeFranco, clarinetist (88) Lorraine Gordon music producer and Owner of the Village Vanguard(89),Jean “Toots” Thielmans, harmonica/guitar/whistler (90), Svend Asmussen, violinist (96). 


 Many thanks to photographers Fran Kaufman and Rick Gilbert for graciously allowing me to use their wonderful photographs.

Notes on Jazz Second Annual 4th of July Living Legends of Jazz Celebration

Last July 4^th I decided to assemble a list of some notable musicians, arrangers, impresarios and singers in the world of jazz  who had passed their seventieth birthday. Many are thankfully still with us, enabling us to formally acknowledge and take a moment to revel in their past accomplishments.
A  number  were still actively engaged, robustly performing in their own current endeavors. Music is a rejuvenating tonic, so it is not surprising to see several of these stalwarts going strong well into their nineties, still capable of producing some special moments of magic. As a follow-up to last year’s list, My hope is to make this an annual celebration. An informal honor roll posted on my blog www.notesonjazz.blogspot.com., acknowledging these artists and their contributions to the music; a listing of their names and ages, categorized under their respective instruments or specialty.

This past year,  I was personally fortunate enough to have witnessed some fine performances by some greats of this music. Ninety-Year old pianist Dave Brubeck playing at the Tarrytown Music Hall, just months after undergoing heart surgery, showed he could still produce some memorable moments. Octogenarians Bucky Pizzarelli and Jim Hall mesmerized the audience at the Guitar Heroes exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, as part of a series that honored the great Italian American guitar luthiers of the past.  The 2011 Jazz Journalist Association Awards in New York City, featured eighty-five year young piano legend Randy Weston entertaining the astute crowd of fellow musicians and writers with his own special approach to the instrument. The irascible conguero Candido Camero, who turned ninety years old this year, created a stir  at  JJA gathering as he played his congas with his infectious smile and the enthusiasm of someone half his age. The JJA, at its annual awards, has consistently bestowed honors to the veteran players who have stood the test of time, sometimes to the chagrin of some younger deserving players. But just as new shoots take root in the fertile soil left by the earlier generation, the younger players are standing on the shoulders of those who came before them, and will soon enough have their turn. We are all well served to acknowledge those who paved the way, and it is my hope that we honor these dedicated artists while they are still with us and able to bask in the deserved glory.

Sonny Rollins photo by John Abbott ©2011

This year tenor titan Sonny Rollins, who is eighty, was named tenor saxophonist and musician of the year at the JJA awards ceremony. Another venerable tenor saxophonist, Jimmy Heath, eighty-four, garnered the JJA’s lifetime achievement award for his body of fine work. 

Jimmy Heath by  Fran Kaufman Photo ©2011

The accomplished arranger Bill Holman, another vibrant octogenarian, received the honors for best arranger of the year.

Despite our joy for those still with us, we continue to lose some of the great heroes and pioneers of this music. A partial list of those we lost last year includes; the rock/fusion keyboardist T. Lavitz who passed at the young age of 54. The Poet/Singer Gil Scott Heron was recently lost at the age of 62. The violinist Billy Bang, who posthumously took the best violinist in jazz award at this year’s JJA ceremony, was only 64. Jazz/Funk guitarist Cornell Dupree was 68. Pianist Ray Bryant  and Soul/jazz organist/singer Trudy Pitts were both 79.  Jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln died at the age of 80. The great “Take Five” drummer from the Dave Brubeck band, Joe Morello was lost at the age of 82. The trumpeter/composer Bill Dixon was 84 and the expressive saxophone voice of James Moody who passed at  85 will be sorely missed. The well known pianist and educator Dr. Billy Taylor sadly left us at the age of 89. We also lost the seminal English pianist Sir George Shearing and the trombone sound of Buddy Morrow both were 91. Finally trumpet player Eugene “Snooky” Young left us at the ripe old age of 92. I am sure there were more that I missed.

Lee Konitz photo by John Abbott ©2011

Despite these tragic losses, jazz has proven time and again that it is a durable art form, a resilient performance art that is beyond categorization.  As I have stated previously Jazz is an art form that has become the most internationally cooperative means of communication in the world today.   I truly believe this. On this fourth of July let our passion continue this yearly celebration of these communicators, those who have been and continue to be so instrumental in bringing us this music we love so much.
  
Many of the jazz legends continue to actively perform, teach and sustain the art through their tireless pursuit of making music and carrying on the tradition. Jazz is a living organism that is constantly evolving. It is arguably the only true indigenous American art form and as such it needs to be nurtured and supported by our active participation, especially in these austere economic times when public funding for the arts is being perilously withdrawn.The best way we can honor them is to continue to support the music by experiencing their “live” performances.  Some currently touring or performing artists include Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Dave Brubeck, Sonny Rollins, Randy Weston, Ramsey Lewis, Gerald Wilson, Phil Woods, McCoy Tyner, Gary Bartz, Lew Tabakin, Bunk Green, Charles Lloyd, Gato Barbieri, Lee Konitz, Gary Peacock , Archie Shepp and Richard Davis to name just a few.  

Gary Peacock photo by John Abbott ©2011

Here is my expanded list of veteran players, all at least seventy years of age, who in some way helped shape the music. I am sure I am missing some important players and my apologies for any inadvertent omissions.  I welcome comments from readers who may know of deserving musicians who I should add to this list so that it can be more complete next year. A great big thank you to each and every one of this years celebrants.

LIVING JAZZ LEGENDS : July 4, 2011

Saxophonists/ Reed Instruments :

Phil Woods photo by John Abbott ©2011

Pharaoh Sanders, Gary Bartz, Peter Brotzmann, Roscoe Mitchell  and Bennie Maupin (70), Arthur Bythe, Hamiet Bluiett, Wilton Felder, Joe McPhee, Charles McPherson, Carlos Ward,
Paul Winter and 
Lew Tabakin (71), 
Odean Pope,

Zibigniew Namyslowski, Charles Gayle, Sonny Fortune and George Braith (72) 
 James Spaulding, Charles Lloyd, Carlos Garnett, Joseph Jarman (73),Archie Shepp,

Nathan Davis,  Frank Strozier, Jim Galloway and Nick Brignola (74) Klaus Doldinger,

John Tchicai, Gary N. Foster, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre and Don Menza (75)
Giuseppi Logan, Jimmy Woods, Houston Person, George Coleman and Bunky Green (76)

Lanny Morgan, Gato Barbieri and  Wayne Shorter (77) Lol Coxhill,

Sadao Watanabe, Charlie Davis and John Handy III (78) Phil Woods, Bill Perkins and

Plas Johnson Jr. (79) Sonny Rollins (80), Ornette Coleman and Gabe Baltazar (81)

Joe Temperley, Harold Ousley, Herb Geller, Frank Foster and Benny Golson (82)

Lee Konitz (83),  Big Jay McNeeley, Med Flory, Dick Hafer, Lou Donaldson, Jimmy Heath and Red Holloway (84), Marshall Allen ,Sam Rivers, Hal McKusick and  Earle“Von”Freeman (87), Frank Wess (89), Yusef Lateef (90), Harold Joseph “Hal”“Cornbread” Singer (91) .

Wayne Shorter photo by John Abbott ©2011

Frank Wess  by Fran Kaufman Photo ©2011

Pianists: 

Connie Crothers, Stanley Cowell, Armando“Chick”Corea, Mike Nock and David Burrell (70), Herbie Hancock Bob James, Charles Brackeen and Roger Kellaway (71),  McCoy Tyner, 
Mike Longo,  Joe Sample, Gap Mangione, Jon Mayer and Joanne Brackeen and Warren Bernhardt (72) Denny Zeitlin, Steve Kuhn and John Coates Jr. (73), Eddie Palieri and 
Kirk Lightsey (74), Les McCann, Carla Bley and Harold Mabern (75), Ramsey Lewis, Pat Moran (McCoy) and Pat Rebillot, Ran Blake, Don Friedman,

McCoy Tyner photo by John Abbott ©2011

Martial Solal photo by John Abbott ©2011

Oliver Jones, Ellis Marsalis Jr. and Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) (76), Dave Grusin and Misha Mengelberg (76) Cedar Walton, Paul Bley, Bengt Hallberg and Larry Novak (78)
Jack Reilly, Walter Norris, George Gruntz and Michel LeGrand (79), Horace Parlan, 
Muhal Richard Abrams, Derek Smith and Amhad Jamal (80)

Frank Strazzeri, Cecil Taylor, Richard Wyands, Claude Bolling, Barry Harris and 
Toshiko Akiyoshi (81), Horace Silver and  Junior Mance (82) Freddie Redd, Martial Solal and Mose Allison (83), Dick Hyman and Claude Williamson (84), Randy Weston (85), Barbara Carroll (86), Paul T. Smith and Johnny Otis (Veliotes) (89), Dave Brubeck, Al Vega and Marty Napoleon (90), Bebo Valdes (92),  Marian McPartland (93).

Dave Brubeck photo by John Abbott ©2011

Randy Weston by Fran Kaufman Photo ©2011

Bassists: 

Richard Davis photo by John Abbott ©2011

  
Steve Swallow (70), Ed “Butch” Warren, Don Thompson and Eberhard Weber (71), Mario Pavone (72), Larry Ridley, Reggie Workman and  Charlie Haden (73),

Ron Carter and Chuck Israels (74), Buell Nedlinger and Henry Grimes (75),Gary Peacock and Cecil McBee (76), Bob Cranshaw and Jack Six (78) Ron Crotty and Richard Davis (81), Jymie Merritt (85) 
Eugene "The Senator”Wright (88),Howard Rumsey (94), Coleridge Goode (96). 

  Trumpet/Cornet/ Flugelhorn:

Gerald Wilson and Donald Byrd photo by John Abbott ©2011

Eddie Henderson, Palle Mikkelborg and Chuck Mangione (70), Enrico Rava (71), 
Marvin Stamm and Hugh Masekela (72), Guido Basso (73), Ed Polcer and Ernie Carson (74), Chuck Flores and Ted Curson (76), Bobby Bradford (76) Donald Byrd (78), Jack Sheldon and Dusko Gojkovic (79), Alphonso “Dizzy” Reese, Louis Smith and Ira Sullivan (80), Sam Noto and Kenny Wheeler (81), Carl “Doc” Severinson (83), Joe Wilder and Uan Rasey (89),
Clark Terry (90) Thomas Jefferson (91),Gerald Wilson (92 ).Lionel Ferbos (99) he will be 100 years old on July 17^th. 

Jim Hall photo by John Abbott ©2011

Guitarists:  Jerry Hahn (70), Ralph Towner (71), 
Gene Bertoncini and Joe D’Iorio (74), Sonny Greenwich (75), Ed Bickert (78) Kenny Burrell (79), Jim Hall,
Joao Gilberto and John Pisano (80), Martin “Marty” Grosz (81) Eddie Duran and, Bucky Pizzarelli (85) 
Mundell Lowe and Johnny Smith (89).

Trombonists:

James “Dick” Griffin and Wayne Henderson (71)  Billy Watrous (72), Grachan Moncur III, Philip Elder Wilson and  “Big” Bill Bissonnette (74), Roswell Rudd (75),

Curtis Fuller photo by John Abbott ©2011

Julian Priester (76) Curtis Fuller (76) Locksley "Slide" Hampton (79), Bob Brookmeyer (81), Santo "Sonny' Russo (82). George “Buster” Copper, Harold Betters and Conrad Janis (83),  George Masso and Urbie Green (84) and Eddie Bert (89), Herbie Harper (91). 

Drummers/Percussionists: 

Billy Hart (70), Andrew Cyrille, Ginger Baker and Pierre Courbois (71) and Idris Muhammad (71), Bernard Purdie, Issac “Redd” Holt, Nesbert “Stix” Hooper and 
Tony Oxley (72), Pete LaRoca (Sims), Horace Arnold, Paul Ferrara,  Daniel Humair and Edwin Marshall (73), Louis Hayes, James “Sunny” Murray, Charly Antolini, Colin Bailey and Roy McCurdy  (74),  Albert “Tootie” Heath and Chuck Flores (76), Donald “Duck” Bailey (77), 
Ben Riley and Ray Mosca (78), Mickey Roker Frank Capp and Grady Tate  (79) Paul Motian and Ronnie Bedford (80),) John Armatage (81), Hal Blaine, Jimmy Cobb, Charlie Persip (82), Joe Harris (84), Roy Haynes and Samuel “Dave” Bailey (85), Armando Peroza (87),Percy Brice and Al Harewood (88), Foreststorn “Chico”  Hamilton (89), Candido Camero (90) 
and Edward “Butch” Ballard (92).

Roy Haynes  by Fran Kaufman Photo ©2011

Paul Motian photo by John Abbott ©2011

Organists:

 Mac “Dr John” Rebbenack (70)“ Papa” John De Francesco), Brian Auger (71), Rhoda Scott (73), Reuben Wilson (76), and Sir Charles Thompson (93).   

Miss Nancy Wilson  by Fran Kaufman Photo ©2011

Jazz Vocalists:

Janet Lawson (70), Astrud Gilberto and Al Jarreau (71), Mary Stallings (71),

Etta James, Ruth Price and Ellyn Ruker (73), Nancy Wilson, Carol Sloane, Karin Krog and Sathima Bea Benjamin (74)  Marlene Ver Planck and David Frishberg piano/vocals (78), Freddy Cole and Mark Murphy (79), Helen Merrill( 81),Gloria Lynne (79), Annie Ross (80), Sheila Jordan and Ernestine Anderson (82), Cleo Laine,

Jackie Cain and Ernie Andrews (83),Tony Bennett (84) Bill Henderson and

Jimmy Scott (85) Bob Dorough (87) Jon Hendricks (90), Herb Jeffries (97). 

Tony Bennett  photo by  John Abbott ©2011

Artists on Other Instruments:

Bobby Hutcherson and Roy Ayers, vibraphonists (70) Lonnie Liston Smith, keyboardist and Hubert Laws, flautist (71) , Perry Morris Robinson, clarinetist (72) Gunter Hampel, multi-instrumentalist, Charlie Shoemake, vibraphonist , Dave Pike, vibraphonist/marimba and Mike Maineri, vibraphonist (73) Hermeto Pascoal, accordion & keyboards (74) Reuben Wilson, organist (76) Joe Licari, clarinetist, Sonny Simmons sax and English Horn, Warren Chiasson vibraphonist (77),Michael White, violin and Emil Richards, vibes and percussion (78) David Baker composer/cellist (79), Frank Marocca, accordion and Sam Most, flautist (80),

Jean "Toots" Thielmans photo by John Abbott ©2011

Pierre “Pete” Fountain and Rolf Kuhn, clarinetists and Paul Horn, flautist (81),
Bernard “ Acker” Bilk, clarinetist, Peter Appleyard, vibraphonist and Andre Previn conductor/pianist (82), Teddy Charles (Cohen), vibraphonist and Bob Wilber, clarinetist (83), Terry Gibbs, vibraphonist and George Wein, Pianist/ Concert Promoter (86), 
Rudy Van Gelder, recording engineer (86), Buddy DeFranco, clarinetist (88) 
Jean “Toots” Thielmans, harmonica/guitar/whistler (89), Svend Asmussen, violinist and Pete Rugolo, piano/ French Horn/ arranger/(95).

Composer/Arrangers/Producers: 

Don Sebesky, arranger/trombone and Milcho Leviev (73),Quincy Delight Jones, composer/arranger/ trumpet (78), Claus Ogerman conductor/arranger,

Clinton “Clint” Eastwood, composer/director/pianist (81), Creed Taylor, record producer and Clare Fischer Composer/arranger/pianist/organist (82), Lennie Niehaus, composer/arranger/saxophonist (82), Bill Holman, arranger/composer/saxophone (84),  Johnny Mandell, composer/arranger and Gunther Schuller composer/conductor/French horn  (85), Orrin Keepnews, producer (88), 
George Avakian, producer (92)

My best wishes for a happy and healthy 4th of July to all of you and thank you for your tireless contributions to the music we all love.

PS:  A great big thanks to the wonderful photographers and fellow JJA members Fran Kaufman http://frankaufman.com/and John Abbott http://johnabbottphoto.com/ for graciously allowing me to use their amazing images for this years list.

This article is also posted on the Huffington Post at  
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ralph-a-miriello/living-jazz-legends_b_889397.html