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 Saturday, 8:00 AM SUBSCRIBE TODAY News You Can Use About Traditional Jazz and Ragtime One Year: $27 -:- Canadian $50 U.S. Funds* Two Years: $50 -:- Canadian $96 U.S. Funds (*) Includes Airmail Delivery Make check payable to: The American Rag 20137 Skyline Ranch Dr. Apple Valley, CA 92308-5035 Phone/Fax: 760-247-5145 Name: _________________________________________ Signature: X_____________________________________ (Periodical Postal Regulations require Mailers to maintain a signed card from every subscriber.) Listen online: riverwalkjazz.stanford.edu Address: ________________________________________ City: _______________________ State:_______________ Phone: _____________________ ZIP + 4:______________ 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.) Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Denver, CO Permit No. 687 Mail check, payable to Denver Jazz Club, to: 7898 Applewood Lane, Denver CO 80221 Name Address P.O. Box 9942 • Denver, CO 80209–0924 City State Zip Return service requested Phone Email Are you a musician? ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ 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
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