Our beloved staff writer Shaun has posted on the Jazz scene in town a number of times before, but I feel it’s time to give a little update, especially with the arrival of new readers that, among other things, the beginning of the semester shall hopefully bring. (We do need indeed more people to write about music, art, theatre, literature etc. to give this site more variety. Shaun cannot do it all by himself!)

So here is my subjective preview of Jazz for the next week and a half. Before people feel the need to point it out: yes, some of my own bands will be in it, but I’ll make sure to give a fair overview, including the latest jive-talk of the town.

So this Friday, August 22nd, we’ll start with a rare Jazz treat. John Carden and the Greenwich Swing Time will play at Friday’s after Five at the Pavilion. Those who have never heard him perform surely missed out on something rare. It is not necessarily the most swinging or avant-garde of all ensembles in town but they are a lot of fun. Think: Billy Eckstine meets Broadway career and then gets endorsed by the Charlottesville Jazz society. The backup band features Humberto Sales of Beleza Brazil fame. His playing alone will, I think, make this a nice Summer evening event.

Also at Friday’s after Five the local jack-of-all-trades Matthew Willner will perform with his Jazz quartet. Who knows what instrument he’ll be playing here. Every time I have seen him in the past I have been astonished how creative and sophisticated his playing is and he surely surrounds himself with great musicians. He deserves the big stage.

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07/22:  Song of the Day.  Herbie Mann–Summertime

As I sat down to write another Song of the Day post I really had no idea what direction I wanted to head in.  I stared at my computer screen for a while, scanned through a couple YouTube videos, and I even stopped by a couple of the more well-known music blogs to see what new videos are out there, but nothing seemed to grab me.  So I just gave up trying and decided instead to thumb through my vinyl collection, not in search of  inspiration, but more as a form of purposeful procrastination.  And wouldn’t you know it, the first record I put my hand on has led me here.

Herbie Mann’s At the Village Gate is one of my favorite live albums of all-time.  Recorded at the Village Gate in New York City and released in 1961, At the Village Gate features Mann, who at the time was the lone jazz flutist in the business, at his very finest.  The album only contains three songs, bassist Ben Tucker’s “Comin’ Home Baby” and two Gershwin numbers, “Summertime” which you can hear after the break, and the nearly twenty minute version of “It Ain’t Necessarily So”.  That’s the album on the surface.  But between the grooves is where the groove lies and this album to me is the grooviest of them all.

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Thursday Night in Charlottesville Offers Plenty for Jazz Heads:  Jive Katze, John Carden and Greenwich Swing Time, and John D’earth

As we have mentioned in previous posts, Thursdays are truly fantastic evenings to experience live jazz here in Charlottesville.  Tonight is no exception as there are two fantastic shows on tap for jazz lovers featuring three equally fantastic bands.

Kick off your evening at the Gravity Lounge as the Jive Katze, featuring Jenn Rhubright on vocals and Gerritt Roessler on piano, open up for John Carden and Greenwich Swing Time, which will feature Humberto Sales of Beleza Brasil on latin guitar.  Showtime is at 7:30pm and the cost at the door is $10.

By the time the show at Gravity wraps up, you’ll have plenty of time left to head up and check out the Thompson D’Earth Band, as the all-star line-up of Charlottesville jazz musicians, featuring local legend John D’earth on trumpet, continues its Thursday night residency at Miller’s.  Showtime is at 10:30pm.  No cover.

[As an added bonus, let me throw out a third scheduled performance as the One Giant Step Quartet Granville Mullings Project performs from 8 -11pm tonight at enoteca.  No cover.  Are you jazzed yet?]

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In Town Sound:  Frank Vignola at Gravity Lounge 

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Here’s one for fans of jazz, acoustic music, and masterful guitar playing as the Gravity Lounge welcomes The Frank Vignola Quintet to Charlottesville on Thursday, May 15.

Frank Vignola, who also happens to be the guitarist for the David Grisman Quintet, has received rave reviews from audiences, peers, and critics alike.  Guitar legend Les Paul named Vignola as one of his Five Most Admired Guitarists” and Modern Guitars Magazine had this to say:

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“Vignola lives in a music world without boundaries. He and his group dial into …music from all over the planet and wrestle, cajole, and seduce it into a harmonious and sometimes quirky melting pot.”

Show time is at 7:30pm this evening and admission price is $20.  For more on the Frank Vignola Quintet and for a taste of the band’s sound….

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May 13:  Song of the Day.  Miles Davis–Blue in Green

Finally, at long last, the clouds have parted.  And not a moment too soon.  The rain and chilly temps were starting to wear on my mind a little bit.  Now it looks like a beautiful day is on the way.

Throughout my house there are a number of large picture windows, most of which face eastward.  Waking up this morning and walking through the living room all I could really see was a sea of blue and green.  As soon as I said it out loud, I immediately thought of this song.  So here’s a taste of jazz for your Tuesday morning from one of the jazz masters, Miles Davis. »Read More

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This is a companion piece to my earlier piece on “The State of Jazz“.  Miles and Traine.  While I know we’re not breaking any new ground here, this is still an amazing piece of film.  Recorded live in 1958, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, et al. with “So What“, my choice for Song of the Day.

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Anyone who has strolled Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall on a Thursday night has more than likely heard the sounds of John D’Earth and friends tearing through a set of blazing jazz from their perch on the window stage at Miller’s.  D’Earth’s weekly performances are just one example of the kind of quality jazz that can be found in Charlottesville on an almost nightly basis.  A quick scan of the week’s concert calendar turned up eight listings in a seven day period that feature jazz performances of one style or another here in town.  Jazz it would seem, is alive and well.  After all, didn’t Herbie Hancock just win a Grammy for Record of the Year for his latest album River:  The Joni Letters?  It’s the first time a jazz record has won the award since 1963!

Which is why I was caught a little off guard by this story I recently came across on NPR.  It’s an audio interview with Jae Sinnett, who not only hosts a jazz show called “Sinnett in Session” on radio station WHRV out of Norfolk, VA, he’s also a jazz drummer and composer as well.  And he believes that jazz is dying.

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How ’bout a taste of cool for what has been, up to this point, a very cool and at times, downright chilly week.  The Song of the Day comes from the Dave Brubeck Quartet, featuring Paul Desmond on sax, Joe Morello on drums, Gene Wright on bass, and of course, Dave Brubeck on piano.  From 1961 here’s the Dave Brubeck Quartet with “Take Five“.

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