Cutting-edge art and music herald Lowell's new ... - Vyu Magazine

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Vyü Vyü Vyü Vyü Vyü Vyü Vyü Vyü Vyü Vyü The Bumble Bee’s View of the Garden: finally flowers 770 stevens street, lowell 978.937.5572 fresh and permanent custom floral designs for your home susangadbois@hotmail.com www.finallyflowers.com OPINIONS ON JAZZ AND OTHER TOPICS Warning: The author is highly opinionated, and given his relationship to the main topic, could be accused of having a "conflict of interest." Further, unless otherwise noted, his research is most unscientific. Greetings! I am a musician and educator active on the Jazz scene in New England. Lately I have seen a renewal of interest in Jazz locally and in general, and have decided to take advantage of the space offered me here to try to encourage that interest. Some folks in the area, myself included, have gathered together to create the Merrimack Valley Jazz Society. Our purpose is to facilitate communication among those who have an interest in Jazz in the Merrimack Valley (roughly from Concord, NH to Haverhill, MA), and to further jazz education in this region. On Sunday, October 17, from 1:00 to 3:30 PM, The Society will present its second Jazz Brunch and Membership Call at Madden's Restaurant, 37 Crystal Ave. in Derry, NH, 603-432-8403. Hosting the jam session will be Joan Watson-Jones and her Trio, with special guests Paul Combs and Jay Ford. Also featured will be the art work of internationally known painter, New Hampshire resident, Mel Bolden. Refreshments will be served, and if you are a player, bring your instrument and join in the fun. Although Jazz music is alive and well in all corners of the United States, and most urban centers of the rest of the world, it gets little attention in the mainstream media. Much of the media attention is focused not on those things that people are doing because it matters to them–and often to many others as well–but on the things that make a lot of money quickly. The latest "pop" music star, who may be forgotten in a couple of years, will sell, thanks to the hype, one, two or three million copies of his or her CD. This person will be profiled on TV entertainment news magazines, and invited to shmooz with the late night comedian/hosts. Whereas, artists who have worked all their lives at their music (and made a living at it, too) such as Clark Terry or Tokisho Akioshi, in Jazz, Koko Taylor or Gatemouth Brown, in Blues, are rarely, if ever, seen on TV or mentioned in the press. I have struggled against this trend all my adult life. When I was a child I watched and heard Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and Nat Cole, as well as Leonard Bernstein on "mainstream" TV stations. I first heard Ellington's early music accompanying the old "Farmer Brown" cartoons. Can you imagine a child of today watching cartoons to a sound track of, say, the music of Charles Mingus? How about being able to watch a great symphony conductor sit down with a bunch of kids and talk about Classical music with them on prime-time television? I would raise the "Burn Your TV" banner here, except it sounds too much to me like killing the messenger because one does not like the message. Speaking of Jazz locally, I would like to introduce the work of some of your neighbors whose CDs have come into my possession in a rather random fashion.Whenever I run into a colleague who has just released a CD, I swap one of mine for one of his or hers. The equipment and the process of replication have become relatively affordable, so one no longer needs to wait for a record company in order to make the music available. Joan Watson-Jones’ album, her second release, is titled "One More Year." Some of you may know Joan from her cable TV show "Joan's Jazz Jam." Others of you may know her from her performances over the last twenty years. Stylistically, Joan is very interesting. She performs with a "modern" piano trio and horn players, yet her singing recalls singers from earlier in the century, like Ethel Waters or the "classic" blues singers. Jazz is a continuously developing art, and this stylistic juxtaposition is a bit like the "post-modern" movement in architecture. Joan is accompanied by the trio of Hakim Law, piano, Skip Smith, bass and Gordon Grottenthaler. She also has several fine horn players: Jay Daly, trumpet; Fred Hass and Curtis Rivers, saxophones; David Eure, violin; and Sonny Stanton, flute. 6
Oct. 99 Kathleen Kolman has just released her first CD "The Dreamer." Kolman is returning to the scene after taking several years off to focus on being a parent. Kolman sings not from the "standard" English language repertoire, but also has great affection for the work of Brazilian songwriters. She has studied the Portuguese language and the singing of it with Brazilian singers. At the piano is Mark Shilansky, the bassist is John Lockwood, Les Harris is on drums, Catherine Birrer percussion, and Charlie Jennison is heard on flute and saxophones. Charlie Jennison, also has a new CD available. Jennison has been on the area scene for a long time. "Iridescence" finds Charlie in the company of pianist Jim Butka, bassist John Hunter and drummer Ken Clark, and features his compositions as well as his performance on soprano, alto and tenor saxophones. Whether accompanying someone else or leading his own group, Charlie always plays with taste and a sensitivity to the whole piece. The tunes here are also outstanding. Hey Charlie! Could I have the lead sheets for a few of these? recordings from the artists themselves. More often than not they are worth it; and when you find one that you really like, go back and get one for a friend. Paul Combs c/o BoMuse Music 14 Berkshire Pl. Cambridge, MA 02141 617-576-1004 http://www.paulcombs.com Another veteran saxophonist from our neighborhood is Richard Gardzina. His CD "Play This" features his own compositions, presented in a "radio friendly" adult-contemporary or "smooth" jazz style. As with the other discs mentioned here, we have some more of our musically strong neighbors: Steve Aubert at the keys, Roger Kimball, bass, Dave Berman, drums, and on three of the tracks guitarist Joe Gattuoso. These discs may be difficult to find in your local record store. Only Charlie Jennison's disc is on a label with any kind of distribution; see Web-site: http://www.invisiblemusicrecords.com. Joan Watson-Jones can be contacted at 800-544-2931; Rich Gardzina at Diamond Cut Productions 617-267-1310. You will have to keep your eyes and ears open for Kathleen Kolman; however she’s performing more and more frequently these days. In most cases, you need to get these kinds of UPCOMING Oct 27, 7:30 PM; Kid Rock with Powerman 5000, Tsongas Arena, 300 Arcand Dr., Lowell, MA Thu Oct 28, 5:30-9 PM; Paul Combs Trio, Sidney’s Grille, 20 Sidney St. (University Park Hotel), Cambridge 617-551-0444 Through Oct 30; Watercolor Paintings by Kevin Dadoly, Whistler House Museum of Art, 243 Worthen St., Lowell, MA Sun Oct 31, 7:00-10:30 PM; Workingman’s Jazz Band w/Paul Combs, Sit’n’Bull Pub, 163 Main St., Maynard, MA 978-897-4663 Tue Nov 2, 6:30 PM; Paul Combs/Jay Ford Duo, Hermanos, 11 Hills Ave., Concord, NH 603-224-5669 Nov 14-Jan 2; The Last Picture Show, Whistler House Museum of Art, 243 Worthen St., Lowell, MA Sun Nov 28, 11 AM-2PM; Ray DeMarco/Paul Combs Duo, Poco Diablo, Portsmouth, NH Thu Dec 16, 8 PM; B.B. King, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 50 E. Merrimack St., Lowell, MA 107 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA 01852 Bridal Gowns • Pagent Gowns • Elegant Mothers Gowns & Suits Tel. (978) 446-0700 Fri Dec 31, 9PM; Ray DeMarco/Paul Combs Duo, Mimmo’s, York Beach, ME, reservations required 207-363-3807 Feb 5, 8 PM; Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 50 E. Merrimack St., Lowell, MA Tue March 7, 6:30 PM; Paul Combs/Jay Ford Duo, Hermanos, 11 Hills Ave., Concord, NH 603-224-5669 Apr 8, 7 PM; Bill Cosby, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 50 E. Merrimack St., Lowell, MA Tue. & Thu. 12-8 • Wed. & Fri. 10-5 • Sat. 9-5 7
Page 1 and 2: Vyü MAGAZINE FREE ISSUE #1 ART ENT
Page 3 and 4: Oct. 99 TEXTILE LUNCH Donald McHale
Page 5: Oct. 99 VISIONS OF LIFE WITHOUT RUL

Cutting-edge art and music herald Lowell's new ... - Vyu Magazine

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