He's Back! - New Jersey Jazz Society

Combining roaring dance-hall excitement,
sophisticated and fast-paced
entertainment and the red-hot musical
intensity of an after-hours supper club,
Haberdashery takes its position as the
crown jewel of New Jersey’s capital-city
nightlife scene.
Haberdashery’s February 14th red-carpet
gala at the George Washington Ballroom in
Trenton’s restored War Memorial promises
to be an evening of elegant and cosmopolitan
jazz courtesy of the show-stopping
vocal talents of the Garden State’s own
Jeanie Bryson. (See ad page 19.)
The night has personal significance for
Bryson, who will perform selections from
her popular “The Dizzy Songbook” concert
program — a loving and fitting tribute to
her father, Dizzy Gillespie, himself a
longtime New Jersey resident.
“This music was selected from the
perspective of a daughter who has listened
to her father’s music her whole life and
chosen specific songs that make a personal
connection,” says Bryson. “It is really
important for me to convey the spirit of
Jazz Trivia
By O. Howie Ponder II
Questions
1. Johnny Mercer hardly needed help writing
songs and lyrics, but he got a suggestion for a song
about a broken heart from Sadie Vimmerstedt of
Youngstown, Ohio. It became a big hit when Tony
Bennett recorded it, and Mercer shared credit —
and royalties — with Ms. Vimmerstedt. Name that
tune. Extra credit — what was Ms. Vimmerstedt’s
original idea for the song?
2. Count Basie recorded two songs dedicated to
fellows named John: “Big John Special” and “John’s
Idea.” Any idea who the Johns were?
JerseyArticlesJazz
Jeanie Bryson Singing “The Dizzy Songbook”
Coming to Trenton’s New Haberdashery
my father’s music in addition to presenting
a program that is at once personal and
universal.”
Haberdashery is a new supper club-style
venue set inside the 500-seat George
Washington Ballroom backstage at the
historic War Memorial’s Patriots Theater.
February 14th’s show at Haberdashery will
be a glitzy, gutsy, swanky and, at times,
deeply moving nightlife affair. Jazz
aficionados and casual fans alike are
anticipating a delicious Cajun-spiced
menu and great music to match the buzz
Haberdashery is generating.
Haberdashery is an exciting milestone in
Trenton’s ongoing revitalization effort. It
will feature original American musical art
forms in New Jersey’s capital, and it heralds
a dazzling new chapter in the cultural
refinement of the state’s rich jazz history,
which runs the gamut from famous homegrown
personalities (such as Count Basie,
Frank Sinatra, Cozy Cole, Joe Pass, and
Sarah Vaughan, among others) to thriving
nightclubs dotting all points from
Newark to the Atlantic City Pier. JJ
Music, Music, Music
Songs, songwriters, lyrics, jazz history and even
some music theory this month to test your memories!
3. Irving Berlin didn’t read music
and wrote his songs by using
(mostly) the black notes on the piano.
This put the music in what keys?
4. Long before the advent of tape
recorders, this Jazz Hall of Fame
saxophonist pioneered multi-track
recording when he recorded “The
Sheik of Araby“ playing clarinet,
soprano sax, tenor sax, piano, bass
and drums himself, on April 19, 1941.
Who was he?
Howie also welcomes suggestions for future questions — or any comments from readers.
Contact him at jazztrivia@njjs.org.
JEANIE BRYSON
Patriots Theater at the War Memorial
Saturday, February 14th, 2009 • 7pm to 11pm
Tickets on sale now! To purchase,
call the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial
Box Office at (609) 984-8400;
on-line at www.thewarmemorial.com
or in person at the Patriots Theater
Box Office M-F, 10 am–6 pm.
Patriots Theater at the War Memorial is
located at 1 Memorial Drive in Trenton, NJ
Attention! NJJS Members get
20% off tickets to this event.
Mention code JerseyJazz when ordering.
Irving Berlin’s transposing
piano, made for him by Wessing
Brothers, New York in 1940, is
in the Smithsonian Institution’s
National Museum of American
History collection.)
12 _________________________________ February 2009
5. “Woe is Me,” written and
performed by Helen Humes, is
the story of a young man
looking for a suitable wife on
the island of Trinidad. His father
nixes every choice, telling him:
“That girl is your sister, but your
mama don’t know.” Finally his
mother clears up the matter
with this final line.
answers on page 39