Herman Leonard's Stolen Moments June 6,7,8 - New Jersey Jazz ...

’Round
Jersey
Morris Jazz
The Bickford Theater at the Morris Museum
Morristown, NJ 07960
Tickets/Information: 973-971-3706
Dan Levinson is well known to audiences here, having put together
programs involving music from the earliest jazz through the Swing Era.
He led the full re-creation of Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Hall concert
that sold out the Bridgewater site a few years back, and has put
together some clever concerts since then, including a Prime Reeds
segment that paired him with Joe Midiri on every sort of clarinet and
saxophone imaginable.
His appearance for the Wyeth Jazz Showcase on Monday, June 9 will
resemble Prime Reeds, but on an international level. He’s invited alto
sax luminary Alex Mendham to come in from England for the date,
and also drafted Arbors/Stomp Off recording star Nik Payton, Bob
Wilber’s protégé, now residing in Brazil, who will play clarinet and
tenor sax. They’ll be backed by an exceptional rhythm section: versatile
pianist Mark Shane, tasteful drummer Kevin Dorn and stellar bassist
Brian Nalepka.
This concert carries the usual $13 advance/$15 door ticket pricing, even
as it is being promoted by the NJJS as an “afterglow” adjunct to Jazzfest,
immediately preceding it. Starting at 8 PM, it runs as a single 90-minute
set, so the next day’s activities are not impaired. Just one show, so don’t
miss it. Keep jazzing after Jazzfest!
In jazz as in other fields, who is considered “the best” is subject to debate.
Dick Hyman and Tex Wyndham, who probably agree on little else, have both
identified Bob Seeley as the best boogie-woogie pianist on the planet, and
many others agree. He rarely travels, but when he does, his destination is likely
to be Europe, where hot piano styles such as boogie-woogie are still popular
with young people, and gatherings require very large halls. At European
festivals, Seeley is considered the guy to watch, study and learn from.
“Boogie Bob” will make a return visit to the Bickford on Monday evening, June
30, with a program of boogie, stride and other forms of “industrial strength”
piano. The late Dick Wellstood, himself among the all-time stride greats, called
Seeley (in admiration) “that steel-fingered monster from Detroit.” If you haven’t
experienced one of Bob’s concerts, don’t let this one pass without you.
The intensity here doesn’t let up over the summer. The 7-piece Summit
Stompers return on July 7. Their Turk Murphy tribute last time delighted the
audience, so they’ve made some of those exciting West Coast ensemble pieces
part of their regular repertoire. That’s followed on July 21 by the largest band
ever to take part in this series, the 24-piece (yes, really) Silver Starlite
Orchestra, with great vocals and instrumentals, as with past visits.
Unfortunately, there’s really no place to dance at the Bickford!
Then Australia’s world class Wolverines, considered by many to be the best
Bix band anywhere, arrives on August 4. They achieve a sound somewhat like
the Nighthawks, while their repertoire has grown and diversified well beyond
the Bix favorites. The very next day (yes, a Tuesday) the popular Paris
Washboard returns (after skipping a year). Previously the mainstay of the Great
Connecticut festival, they’re enroute (with the Wolverines) to the acclaimed
Orange County (CA) Classic Jazz Festival, making this their only East Coast
appearance. Jeff Barnhart will be guest pianist here, while Louis Mazetier plays
at the OCCJF. Summer closes with the Palomar Quartet returning on August 18
to play more goodies from the Benny Goodman legacy.
JerseyEventsJazz
right: Brian
Nalepka on bass
and Kevin Dorn
on drums with
Dan Levinson.
below: “Boogie
Bob” Seeley!
Jazz For Shore
NOTE temporary venue change!
Mancini Hall, Ocean
County Library,
Toms River, NJ 08753
Tickets/Information:
732-255-0500
When “Boogie Bob” Seeley
first appeared for MidWeek
Jazz, it seemed a risky venture.
Boogie-woogie piano is, after all, an acquired taste, far from the mainstream of
jazz. The audience was surprisingly large, and Bob really charmed them. They
reciprocated by not letting him stop after the advertised 90 minutes, and it was
nearly 11 PM before the staff could get him off the stage.
MidWeek Jazz is now in a smaller space at the Toms River Library while its
home on the Ocean County College campus is being renovated. Taking
advantage of the intimacy of that space, organizers will have Bob Seeley playing
in-the-round when he returns on Wednesday, June 25. No seat will be more
than four rows from the action, and most people will have a view of his hand
motions…if they can follow them!
“Every year, our Piano Showdown concerts have been among the first to sell
out. Crowds clamor for the boogie-woogie wizardry of icon Bob Seeley,” says
Rob Gibson of the Savannah Music Festival, typical of presenters who are
thrilled with his infrequent ventures outside of the Detroit area. Seeley’s skills
are also praised at length in A Left Hand Like God, an entire book about hot
piano practitioners. Clearly a unique talent, not to be missed. Buy early!
Tickets continue to be $13 in advance and $15 at the door for this series,
located within a mile of Garden State Parkway exit 81. Plenty of free parking
is available along adjacent streets and in the garage/deck behind the library
building.
MidWeek Jazz continues on July 30 as drummer Kevin Dorn returns, backed by
his Traditional Jazz Collective, the energetic band that, on their first visit to
the series, had to play multiple encores to satisfy the audience. Cornet favorite
Dan Tobias takes the stage on August 20, fronting an all-star quartet featuring
clever guitarist Vinnie Corrao, versatile bassist Frank Tate and Jim Lawlor,
familiar as drummer with the Midiri Brothers groups. More concerts to
follow in the fall.
JJ
Photos by Bruce Gast.
’Round Jersey concerts are produced
by Bruce M. Gast in conjunction with the New Jersey Jazz Society.
52 __________________________________ June 2008