1. art and entertainment
2. shows and events
3. festival

Volume 60,
Number 4
March/April 2015
Denver Jazz Club in operation for 62 continuous years
Established 1954
Neil Bridge Seven + with Karen Lee
Sunday, March 17
Neil Bridge is a classic American jazz musician, who has
accompanied Mel Tormé, Anita O'Day, Nancy Wilson,
Dakota Staton, Johnny Smith, the Mills Brothers, Clark
Terry, Sonny Stitt and many more. He was a pianist with
the Denver Symphony and performed with Henry
Mancini, Richard Hayman, Steve Allen, Rich Little and
Nelson Riddle. This nine piece band consists of piano,
bass, drums, congas, trumpet, trombone, sax, and male
and female vocalists. All the musical arrangements for
The Neil Bridge 7+ were written by Neil himself. He has
always been well-received at his Denver Jazz Club
performances.
•
Where, when, how much:
Admission is $8 for members of any jazz club, $10 for
anyone who isn’t a jazz club member, free for age 12
and younger.
•
Denver Jazz Club, 2:00–5:00 PM Sunday, March 17.
Amenities:
•
Westminster Elks Club, 3850 Elk Drive.
•
Cabaret-style seating, dance floor, cash bar, and food.
Annual Ron Cope Rent Party Fundraiser
with the Hot Tomatoes, Queen City Jazz Band, CU-Denver Claim Jumpers
and Denver Jazz Club Youth All-Stars
Sunday, April 19
An annual event, this concert and
raffle raises money for the Ron Cope
Scholarship Fund, which benefits a
deserving young player to further
his or her jazz aspirations. Named for the late pianist
and founder of the Hot Tomatoes, Ron Cope (who also
led the UCD Claim Jumpers), the Denver Jazz Club is
happy to continue this tradition each year with two of
Denver’s most popular bands and two of the country’s
best student bands – ALL DONATING THEIR
PERFORMANCE! Thank you very much!
We need your help!
Many of the funds raised at this Rent Party are through
raffle ticket sales, and we are looking for more raffle
items. Please ask a merchant you do business with to
contribute something – a gift certificate, a car detail, a
perm or haircut, theatre tickets, or what-have-you. All
proceeds go to an outstanding young jazz player. Please
help make this a big success!
Where, when, how much:
•
Denver Jazz Club, 2:00-5:00 Sunday, April 19.
•
Westminster Elks Club, 3850 Elk Drive.
•
Admission is $10.00 per person.
Amenities:
•
Cabaret-style seating, dance floor, cash bar, and food.
Page 2
Denver Jazz Club News
March/April 2015
Watch Your Step
Saturday, April 4
“It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”
The History of Swing Dancing
Your Step! in their entertaining and lively performance of
"It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing."
Saturday, April 4, 2015, 7:30 pm, FREE!
When, Where, How Much:
When you hear the term swing dance, do you think of
lindy-hopping to Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" or rocking
to "Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On" by Jerry Lee Lewis?
Swing is all that and much more. Considered a truly
American folk dance, swing can trace its origins to San
Francisco's Barbary Coast at the turn of the last century,
and new forms continue to emerge from those roots
today.
7:30 – 9:30 PM Saturday, April 4.
The Avalon, 6185 Arapahoe Road, Boulder. Free parking.
Free admission (sponsored by the Alex “Tink” Wilson
Legacy Fund).
Volunteers needed: call 720-ONE-STEP or go online to
https://www.facebook.com/events/420373344795445/
Come learn how evolving musical styles and social
paradigms influenced how we danced through the 20th
century--and maybe try some steps yourself--with Watch
Amenities:
Mini dance lessons during the program. Open dancing
after the program.
Snack/dessert potluck: bring a snack or dessert to share
and BYOB.
Note: Walt Hewitt’s column A Little Bit of This and That will return in our next issue.
March/April 2015
Denver Jazz Club News
Page 3
By Peter Robinson
Denver Jazz Club Guest Columnist
LIQUORICE STICKS
Sometimes I feel that I’m producing too much detail in
these pieces. I can hear you nodding and saying “Yes!”
So I’ll try and bear that in mind.
This broad survey is of the other main component of the
New Orleans ‘front line’ together with the trumpet and
trombone -- the clarinet. Apart from club members, I’m
sure that not everybody knows what a clarinet looks like
or sounds like, particularly younger people seeped in
popular music. My first appreciation of the sound of this
instrument came from the big bands of the 1930/40’s –
Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman. These
leaders played the clarinet and each had a distinctive,
identifiable sound. They also had excellent arrangers to
produce fine section work for the backing of the
orchestra’s soloists. The high register of the clarinet could
ride over the section work of the band or, in some cases,
have the backing of tom-toms, as in the Goodman classic
“Sing, Sing, Sing” from their Carnegie Hall concert in 1938.
All three of these leaders fronted small groups from
within the band – the Goodman Trio, Quartet and Sextet,
Artie Shaw’s Gramercy Five and Woody Herman’s Four
Chips. Wonderful recorded sessions during that
1930/40’s period.
At the turn of the 20th century, the marching bands of
New Orleans had clarinet players for street parades, fetes
and dances. The clarinet player had the advantage of
pulling the instrument apart at the end of the gig and
putting it in his coat pocket, thereby being first at the bar.
Yes, I made that bit up, but it’s possibly true! Names from
the past such as Creole players Alphonse Picou and
Lorenzo Tio taught Sidney Bechet, Barney Bigard and
Albert Nicholas. These early jazz players influenced many
others. A leading player in the New Orleans style was
Johnny Dodds who played with Kid Ory and eventually
with the historic sessions of Louis Armstrong’s Hot 5.
At the top of my long list are two players for both historic
and pleasant listening – Irving Fazola (1912-1949) and
Edmund Hall (1901-1967). Fazola was a foul-mouthed,
hard-drinking, womanizer and glutton but played like an
angel. He also weighed 300 lbs. when he died. It is said
that when another musician bought his clarinet the
mouthpiece reeked of garlic. He had played in a variety of
bands including Glenn Miller and the famous Bob Crosby’s
Bobcats, outstanding is his solo on “Spain”. Ed Hall was a
natural soloist with the Louis Armstrong All Stars from
1955 and with Eddie Condon’s Jazz Sessions recorded in
1954 with the well-known gang of Billy Butterfield, Lou
McGarity and Bud Freeman. Their rendering of “How
Come You Do Me like You Do” is a superb thirteen minute
track. (CBS). I loved all clarinet solos in the low register
and that included the historic Jimmie Noone, a New
Orleans player with a smoother tone.
There is a range of clarinets that includes a bass clarinet -when overblown, the instrument produces quite an
unorthodox sound to make an audience believe that an
animal has arrived! Otherwise it has a beautiful lower
tone often used to great effect in a ballad by more
modern musicians, e.g. Eric Dolphy. An early example of
the bass clarinet was produced by Omer Simeon playing
“Someday Sweetheart” in Jelly Roll Morton’s 1926 band.
Remember that our Denver Jazz Club events begin at 1:30 PM on the third Sunday of the month. Each session begins
with the UCD Claim Jumpers performing. Over its 30-plus-year career, this band has received two Downbeat awards,
been honored by the Governor of Colorado, made 25 plus national jazz festival appearances, played at about 200
University of Colorado events, and made four CDs. The band has also toured in Germany, performed at the Moscow
Conservatory, and performed at the international Enkhuizen Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. Under the direction of the
Queen City Jazz Band’s trombonist Eric Staffeldt, the Claim Jumpers provides real world experience in networking,
gigging, team building, and musicianship. In addition, being part of this ensemble teaches students the importance of
preserving America’s true art form, and helps promote traditional jazz as relevant both in the musical and historical
realms. Generous support from UC Denver, the Denver Jazz Club, the Queen City Jazz Foundation and other individual
and corporate donors keep the band alive and allows us to continue spreading our passion for traditional jazz.
Page 4
Denver Jazz Club News
March/April 2015
YOUTH ALL-STARS
Although the DJC Youth All-Stars and their families are paying for most of their upcoming performance tours to
California and Europe, your contributions greatly assist our youth band in meeting its goals. The 2014-15 DJC Youth AllStars will be performing at the Sacramento Music Festival and Jubilee over Memorial Day Weekend, and the Montreux,
Switzerland Jazz Festival, from July 3rd through 4th, 2015. Performances will also take place at the 2015 Brienz Meets
Montreux Jazz Festival on July 5th & 6th. They will also perform in the Milan, Italy 2015 Expo in Citta on July 8th!
Please go to: http://youthallstars.denverjazzclub.com/donate/ to make a donation or purchase any of our 5 CD's!!
A special thanks to all of you in the Denver Jazz Club for your unending support!
The DJC Youth All-Stars continue to need your financial support. Thanks to the 14 individuals who participate in the King
Soopers gift card fundraiser – this program continuously helps our DJC Youth All-Stars (approximately $150/month in
fundraising dollars!!!) Just imagine if we could double or triple the number of gift card participants - please purchase a
$25 King Soopers Gift Card at the next monthly DJC session. There's no cost to you.
You can mail donations to: Denver Jazz Club Youth All-Stars, Ed Cannava, Director, 6388 S. Dexter St, Centennial, CO
80121.
Catch our upcoming performances:
Sunday, March 15th: (3:50-4:15pm) DJC March Session (Westminster Elks Lodge)
Sunday, April 19th: (3:50-4:15pm) DJC April Session (Westminster Elks Lodge)
DJC YOUTH ALL-STARS ARE LOOKING FOR DEDICATED, HARD-WORKING, 9TH, 10TH and 11TH GRADE CLARINET, TENOR
SAX, TRUMPET, TROMBONE, PIANO, BASS OR TUBA, AND DRUM SET PLAYERS
We have 7 players graduating this year, so we’re looking for replacement 9th, 10th and 11th grade musicians to take
their spots.
THE AUDITION MUSIC AND RECORDING HAVE NOW BEEN POSTED AT: http://bandresourcesunlimited.com/downloads/.
AUDITIONS WILL TAKE PLACE FOR THE 2015-16 DJC Youth All-Star Band during the month of April at the Flesher-Hinton
Music Store, 3936 Tennyson St. in Denver. Please go to: www.bandresourcesunlimited.com for further information and
to download the audition materials. Please contact Ed at: [email protected] to schedule an audition date and time.
March/April 2015
Denver Jazz Club News
Page 5
THANKS TO ALL THESE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE
DENVER JAZZ CLUB YOUTH ALL-STARS OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS!
Premier Plus ($1750+)
Anonymous, in honor of Walt Hewitt
& Joanne Baggs
Tom & Betsy Smith
Premier ($750-$1750)
Richard Eggleton
Loretta West
Bill & Dawn Darling
Diamond Plus ($500-$749)
Jim, Lori & Rebecca Lugg
Ken & Mary Kloewer
Diamond ($350-$499)
Paul & Nona Chamberlin
James & Bette Hurlbut
Kristi Flesher
Platinum ($200-$349)
Philip & Wendy Lot
Lori & Jim Lugg
Rodney & Nancy Sauer
Boulder Friends of Jazz
Colonel Cecil Rigsby
Greg & Petra Johnson
Jim & Joni Janak
Kent & Janet Moore
Virginia Sheldon
Gold ($100-$199)
Les Gaylord
Northern Colorado Traditional Jazz
Society
Kenneth & Katherine Hartz
David Peterson (Bull & Bush Pub)
Robert Karow-The Polite Jazz Quartet
Sidney Burwell
Barbara Charnes
Ted and Jeannie Mann
Dale Benesch
John & Dottie Sobott
Bradley Gaylord
Jerome & Karen Maddock
Debra & Christopher Thomas
Rebecca Echeverria
Joe Arrigo
Ernest Martinez, Sr.
Alma & Emil Weiler
Rachel Paull
Mary Grace Murphy
Silver ($51-$99)
Cliff Dodge
Vic & Joyce Johnson
Bronze (Up to $50)
Marilynn Bouma
Margaret Burgess
Mr. & Mrs. Levy
James and Barbara Pitts
Donna Sorensen
Mr. & Mrs. Steineker
Irene Hyatt
Julie Kryshak
Carl Bassett
Ron Moewes
Dr. & Mrs. Donald Owen
Richard Waltzman & Jill Stoll
Ronald & Joan Bobinsky
Ann & Decker Westerberg
Jack LaForte
Vatsala Venkatachalam
Pat & Bill Nottingham
Elaine Baum
Judy Kautz
Carol O'Brien
Mary Pittman
Margery Fridstein
James & Loretta Gresham
Patsy McLean
Trudy Kriese
Shirley Greer
Dee DeVries
Gift Donors
The Denver Jazz Club
Flesher-Hinton Music Store
Al Nesbit
Sgt. Peppers Photography Studio
John Devitt
Rory Thomas
Kim Blomstrand
John Pratt
Beth Worthington
Sterling Nelson
Alan Frederickson
Independence Hall Jazz Band
Mike Johnson
Your Fathers Mustache Band
Climax Jazz Band
Queen City Jazz Band
Lance Acker
Clark Burnside
Gary Buss
Joni Janak
Ron Moewes
Shelley McMillion
Jack LaForte
Jack Fredericksen
Richard Waltzman
Judy Fester (Doofus LaRoo)
Big Mama Sue Quartet
Dr. Bach and the Jazz Practitioners
Bob Draga
The 101st Army Dixieland Band
Lance Christensen
Kristy Reed's Valley Finest
Charlie "Dr. Bach" Gehlbach
Jay Paulus
Bart Levy
Rodney Sauer
Poudre River Irregulars
Special thanks to our clinicians: Bill Clark, Wende Harston, Lance Acker, Todd Reid, Jack LaForte, Chuck Schneider,
Charlie Smith, Tony Pantelis, Chris Calabrese, & Ron Bland.
Page 6
Denver Jazz Club News
March/April 2015
Denver Jazz Club Youth All-Stars youthallstars.denverjazzclub.com
Sundays, March 15 and April 19
3:50 PM – Denver Jazz Club, Westminster Elks Lodge, 3850 Elk Dr.
Hot Tomatoes Dance Orchestra www.hottomatoes.com
Saturday, April 4
8:00 PM – Lakewood Elks, 1455 Newland Street, Lakewood
Saturday, April 25
6:30 – Ascension Lutheran Church, 1701 W Caley Ave, Littleton
Joni Janak and Centerpiece Jazz
Wednesdays, March 25, April 8 &
5:30 PM - Luke’s, A Steak Place, 4990 Kipling
22
Poudre River Irregulars www.prijb.com
Friday, March 6 and April 3
4:00 PM – Avogadro’s Number, 605 S. Mason St., Fort Collins.
Queen City Jazz Band www.queencityjazzband.com
8:00 PM – Mercury Café, 2199 California St.
Sundays, March 8 and April 12
Sundays, March 15, 29, and April 19 6:00 PM – Bull and Bush Pub, 4700 Cherry Creek Drive South, Glendale
Sunday, April 26
4:00 PM – Fund Raiser for Fort Collins Symphony, Hilton Hotel,
425 W Prospect Rd, Ft Collins
Summit Hot Seven
Sundays, March 1 and April 5
6:00 PM – Bull and Bush Pub, 4700 Cherry Creek Drive South, Glendale
Your Father’s Mustache Band www.mustacheband.com
Sundays, March 8 & 22 and
April 12 & 26
6:00 PM – Bull and Bush Pub, 4700 Cherry Creek Drive South, Glendale
To include your band’s scheduled performances, please e-mail the editor at [email protected]
Remembering Ted Mann
On January 17, 2015, longtime jazz club member Ted Mann passed away. Ted
was an Evergreen resident and community leader, and in 2000, he became one in
a small group of organizers and a driving force behind the Evergreen Jazz Festival.
He worked tirelessly for the Festival then and every year since, selling program
ads, working sound boards, hauling beer, or attending community meetings as
the festival representative. In an official capacity Ted served two terms as festival
president, several terms on the board of directors and also worked tirelessly on
fundraising for the event. He was passionate about sharing his love of traditional
jazz with others and keeping this art form alive. Shortly before health issues
developed, Ted and Jeannie, his wife of nearly 40 years and the Production
Manager of the Evergreen Jazz Festival, very appropriately enjoyed a jazz cruise
through the Panama Canal.
Memorial contributions may be sent to: Evergreen Jazz Festival, PO Box 3775,
Evergreen 80437; Evergreen Animal Protective League, PO Box 2517, Evergreen
80437; Cornell College, 600 First Street SW, Mt. Vernon. IA 52314
March/April 2015
Denver Jazz Club News
Page 7
By John Sobott
Denver Jazz Club President
This year has started off with a bang. We had the Crystal
Swing Band in January and recently the Queen City Jazz
Band for our Mardi Gras celebration. Both events were
well attended and the weather did cooperate because it is
winter time in Denver.
band. Our members really like to hear these up and
coming jazz musicians under the direction of Eric Staffeldt
(Claim Jumpers) and Dr. Ed Cannava (youth band). We
always ask; who will play our kind of music in the years
ahead and these young folks will certainly fill the bill.
When the Crystal Swing Band played their last number of
the day the dance floor folks erupted in applause. It was
their show of appreciation for an afternoon of good music
and fun.
We are also saddened by the loss of a real classic jazz
enabler, Ted Mann. Ted was instrumental in the
operation of the Evergreen Jazz Festival and was also a
backer of the Denver Jazz Club. We will miss him.
Our Mardi Gras celebration on February 15th featured the
Queen City Jazz Band and the folks that attended were
treated to some fine chicken gumbo, cake and good trad
jazz. It was a great afternoon to ring in Fat Tuesday and
Lent. Both events were attended by the CU-Denver Claim
Jumpers and our own Denver Jazz Club Youth All Star
If you’re not on our e-mail list, we’d love to add you to it.
Please e-mail a note to: [email protected] to be
added to the list.
So we'll see you at the Elks Club in March, and bring a
friend!
Welcome to these new Denver Jazz Club members from our January and February events: Roy Krughoff, James Hurlbut,
J. J. Jehoreu, T. J. Molinaro-Friedman, Christopher Baum, Joan Clark, Cliff and Laurel Rullman. We’re happy to have you!
Now heard every
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Denver Jazz Club
Denver Jazz Club News, published every two months by the Denver Jazz Club
7898 Applewood Lane, Denver CO 80221-3204
Denver Jazz Club officers and board members
Officers:
Board members:
• President: John Sobott (2015), 303-430-5606
• Casey Hayes (2015), 303-288-5869
• Vice President: Bill Clark (2015), 303-726-4101
• Paul Chamberlin (2015), 303-237-4619
• Secretary: Dottie Sobott (2015), 303-430-5606
• Ed Cannava (2015), 303-328-7277
• Treasurer: Walt Hewitt (2015), 303-791-3337
• Eric Staffeldt (2015), 303-394-4552
• Corresponding Secretary: Kristi Flesher (2015), 303-429-2307
(Parentheses indicate year term ends.)
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Are you a musician?
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❑ Individual $20/year
❑ Student $10/year
❑ Musician $15/year
❑ Family $30/year
❑ Patron $80/year (get 2 free jam session passes!)
Denver Jazz Club Membership Application
Boulder Friends of Jazz
(phone 303–449–1888, website www.boulderfriendsofjazz.org)
1:00–4:00 PM, first Sunday of every month at Boulder Elks Lodge, 3975 28th St., Boulder.
$6 for members of any jazz club, $8 for non-members, $2 for
students, free for musicians who wish to play in jam session.
Northern Colorado Traditional Jazz Society
Sunday, March 1 – John Bredenberg, tenor sax, clarinet, banjo
Sunday, April 5 – Vern Baumer, clarinet, vocals
(phone 1–970–498–8616, email [email protected])
4:00–7:00 PM, first Friday of every month at Avogadro’s Number, 605 S. Mason St., Fort Collins.
$7 for members of Northern Colorado Traditional Jazz Society,
$10 for non-members, $3 for students, free for ages 18 and
younger.
Pikes Peak Jazz & Swing Society
Fridays, March 6 and April 3 – Poudre River Irregulars
(phone 1–719–685–9451, website www.ppjass.org)
1:00–4:00 PM, second Sunday of every month at the Olympian Event Center, 975 S. Union Blvd., Colorado
Springs.
$5 for members of any jazz club, $10 for non-members, $3.50 for
students, free for children age 12 or younger.
Sunday, March 8 – Hidden Agenda
Sunday, April 12 - Pikes Peak Jazz Mentors – with selected Jazz
Students