The Jazz Culture Feature
"SPRING IS HERE," was the theme of The RICK STONE TRIO at Garage
The Jazz Culture, V.III:116
1
THE RICK STONE TRIO by L.Hamanaka
Caught The Rick Stone Trio, with Harvie S on bass and Joe Strasser, drums, at Garage April 24. Seeming in a spring time mood, and relieved as he had recuperated from a bad cold, Mr. Stone presented “I’ll Remember April,” (Gene de Paul) at about 140=quarter note, with crisp drums from Joe Strasser, trading 8s with the drummer, the bassist’s solo quoting the melody liberally, Mr. Stone voicing some dissonances, yet retaining a Spanish flavor in his tone. A mellow yet swinging trio, an interpretation that saw the past as if through the lens ofAlfred Steiglitz. “Spring Is Here” (Richard Rodgers) followed at about 138=quarter note, the first chorus rubato, then the drummer using brushes with poignant sensitivity, Mr. Stone’s dissonant voicings, playing well in the 6/8 meter, it is a song well suited to Mr. Stone’s lyric swinging style. Rick Stone’s tone is beautiful and warm; he approached the melody scalewise and used neighboring tones. Harvie S seemed to play a melody above the original while retaining the rhythms of the song, anticipating the downbeat. Then they broke into 8s, Mr. Strasser playing airy and feathery brushes with a swing feel while maintaining consistent tempo. Mr. Stone replayed the melody and the song ended with a shimmering cymbal embrace from Mr. Strasser. “It Might As Well Be Spring” (Richard Rodgers) was next played as a fast bossa at 168=quarter note, sounding lilting and optimistic. Mr. Stone retained a dancing feel on his solo, with the busy-ness of hastening the bloom of spring everywhere. Mr. Strasser maintained a forward driving musicality, perfectly balancing the trio with color and spirit. Mr. Stone played with the happy lift of someone in love with life investing melodies that easily fit, with phrases having a call and response effect. They did 2
The Jazz Culture, V.III:116
a 3625 ending, vamping and ending on an In these Pages “Exclamation point!” This trio is a Rick Stone Trio at Garage 1‐4 distinctive guitar trio combining the best April Listings 5‐6 of the old and the new. John Watson Ad Kuni Mikami Ad
They then played “Moose the Mooch,” "F" Spot 8-9 by Charlie Parker at about 200=quarter England Event: 10‐12 note. Playing rhythm changes in a John Watson on Salena Jones distinctive way is a mark of a mature jazz "How To" use a Mike 13‐14 player,. Mr. Stone has his own deep well to draw from; he plucked whole note licks that fit perfectly, displaying virtuosity with melodic interest. Harvie S played a blues infused solo with some substitutions, leading off with a heavily accented note with florid lines that were gritty and kicked the beat ahead. Mr. Strasser has a big resonant sound-in fact he hits a lot of pitches in tune on his drums with his own sound; he has enough kick to excite the audience, and is becoming a more emotional player, his personality emerging in this group. “Baubles, Bangles, and Beads” in ¾ meter at about 126=quarter note, a song whose melody suits Mr. Stone’s sound. He sounded like an explorer, especially when in the lower middle register, extending the song emotionally. This time Harvie S used his lower register more, with more resonance in melodic phrases. The bassist and drummer were provocative and inventive, consistently expanding the dimensions of the musical groove they were in. Mr. Stone played some cerebral runs in his solo, with great taste; the song ended with a shimmer of cymbals. An original which Mr. Stone named “100” tentatively as it was not finished was next, at about 168=quarter note in 5/4. It was a funky tune with jerking accents that created a small, insistent musical tidal wave. Mr. Strasser seemed somewhat provoked, and reacted like a jungle cat which comes out of a corner with some ferocity, and he seemed to enjoy the challenge of the original song. Rick Stone can blend substitutions, dissonances, and whole tone The Jazz Culture, V.III:116
3
scales in a musical way and make it sound natural and musical.
Close up ofRick Stone, Harvie S, view from the back ofGarage, and the Trio again below 4
The Jazz Culture, V.III:116
The Jazz Culture Newsletter Jazz Tours in NYC are available; also music teachers in various countries for students & jazz lovers. email: info@thejazzculture.com. Ads are available in The Jazz Culture Newsletter. The Jazz Culture Newsletter has been read in 76 countries. Brian McMillen is a contributing Photographer. Connie MacNamee and Arnold J. Smith are contributing writers." Countries: US, UK, Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bangladesh, Belize, Brazil, Burma, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam
April Listings Clarence Banks‐ Swing 46 most Thursdays with Felix and the Cats, 346 W. 46 St. Ray Blue: German tour, Paris, Jazz Foundation concert, Cleo's Richard Clements‐ Pianist, 11th Street Bar most Mondays, 8 Kenney Gates, pianist. Philadelphia, Tues., Sun. some Sats.‐ High Note Cafe on Tasker & 13th, 5‐9 p.m. Bertha Hope ‐ Minton's on 206 W. 118 Street, every weekend George Gee Orchestra at Swing 46, every Tues, most Fridays 9:30 Loston Harris: Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle; Tues ‐ Thur 9:30pm ‐ 12:30am, Fri‐Sat 9:30pm‐1:00am Bemelmans Bar Residency 12th year at The Carlyle, 35 East 76th St., New York, NY 10021 (76th St. & Madison Ave.) 212‐744‐1600 Mike Longo: Tuesdays Gillespie Auditorium in the NYC Baha'i Center at 53 East 11th Street 8:00 and 9:30 Joe Magnarelli/Akiko Tsuruga at Memorial Hall, Medford Lakes, NJ
John Mosca & Michael Weiss, Vanguard Orchestra every Monday at the Village Vanguard 8 p.m.
The Jazz Culture, V.III:115
5
David Pearl‐ Mondays at the Thalia, 95 St. bet. B'way & West End 8 p.m. Valery Pomoronov‐ Zinc Bar on April 2, 9:30 p.m. Bill Saxton; Every Friday and Saturday Bill’s Place 133 Street Rick Stone: Bar Next Door on April 15 Murray Wall, bassist, 11th Street Bar most Mondays, 8 p.m. Leroy Williams, drums: Minton's Sun & Tues 2‐6 W. 118 St. Richard Williams, singer/poet: April 5, 8:30 p.m. Nuyorican Poets Cafe 236 E. Third bet. B&C 718‐233‐8048 Kumiko Yamakado: April 7 at Tomi's on East 53rd Street ENGLAND: John Watson Trio at the Palm Court, Langham Hotel, London, 1c Portland, Regent St. 207‐636‐1000 Fri‐Sat Save the Dates: George Gee‐May 23, Frankie Manning's 100th, Edison Ballroom, NYC John Kamitsuka Annual Recital Weill Recital Hall April 30, 8 p.m. Tickets available at Carnegie Hall Box office $15 for students and seniors
Happy Birthday March- April Babies Bob Albanese, Connie Crothers, Chuk Fowler. Don Friedman, Michael Hashim, Stafford Hunter, Lil Phillips, Randy Noel, Eric Lemon, Kenyatta Beasley
Thank You for Bringing Beauty & Love to the World LEEE JOHN LIVE AT HIDEAWAY 17TH APRIL 2014 featuring John Watson on piano/vocal/keyboards!
John will be performing with Leee John & his jazz soul quartet at Hideaway in Streatham on Thursday 17th April. Hideaway was voted the UK's Best Venue 2011 in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. 8.30pm - tickets £20. Call 020 8835 7070 or visit: http://www.hideawaylive.co.uk/leee-john6
The Jazz Culture, V.III:115
thursday-17th-april-2014 JOHN WATSON CD ALBUMS -- YouTube Kudos Records. The JW3 Live At The Langham, Master OfThe Mood, Heaven: A Night At Four Seasons and Easy. Enjoy! COMPLIMENTARY NIGHT AT THE LANGHAM-- The minimoon must be taken by December 2015 and is a 1 night weekend stay. For more information and to make a booking call 020 7965 0195 or visit: http://www.palm-court.co.uk/#/propose JOHN WATSON by Max Garr
KUNI MIKAMI, Pianist is also an acclaimed, talented Videographer Special Introductory Sale: Five Minute Edited (with music) Video Resume for Performers $300 Contact Kuni @: 123mime@gmail.com
Artist must provide: • Good quality HD video on computer file • Good recorded audio sound • A photo of yourself • Text you want to see on the video
The Jazz Culture, V.III:115
7
Robert Brandt, singing, Noriko Ueda, bass, David Pearl, piano and Jarrett Walser, drums
"F" SPOT “F” Spot is the name The Thalia Singers Space gave to the solo spot on Monday nights, and this Monday it was a singer named Robert Brandt, who is a student of the well known singer Marion Cowings. A.C. Lincoln did a delightful tap solo during one of his numbers, and Noriko Uedo complemented the wonderful pianisms of David Pearl and Jarrett Walser. Host D’Ambrose Boyd sang a duo with Mr. Brandt projecting charm and authority, a Broadway tune with pizzazz. Robert Brandt is a strikingly musical singer who can deliver a lyric and has really good intuition about phrasing, most notably on his arrangement of “Old Black Magic,” done first at a Little Jimmy Scott snail’s crawl, and then an exciting up tempo pace. Mr. Brandt has a star quality reminiscent ofTom Jones, with a sort of 8
The Jazz Culture, V.III:116
man on the street sensibility, projects the main feelings of the lyric and courageously focuses, adds fill in notes, (not in the gospel but the jazz style), and trusting his intuition, keeps his focus throughout the song (this arrangement was long). He has a good baritone with dynamic control and knows how to use speech rhythms at times, like Frank Sinatra did. He is a hybrid stylistically, between jazz, Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, with some pop feel.
Rick, Marion Cowings and A.C. Lincoln, tap dancer at the bar, Mr. Brandt with the band, two singers, Sherry Gibson and Judy Canterino listen at the "F" Spot at the Thalia Singers Space.
The Jazz Culture, V.III:116
9
ENGLAND EVENT Salena Jones & Her Sextet!
at The Pheasantry, London - 10th April 2014 John Watson by Max Garr
Review by John Watson
Salena Jones vocals Will Bartlett piano/musical director Jules Jackson bass Matt Skelton drums Hugh Wilkinson vibes/percussion Richard Shepherd tenor and soprano sax Martin Shaw trumpet/flugelhorn
The Pheasantry is located in London’s famous Kings Road in Chelsea and is part of the Pizza Express group of music venues. Like Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho, the music room is in the basement. Art Deco style black and white tiles dominate the stairs down to the room. Large canvas pictures of jazz musicians are on several of the walls plus a striking statue. A sweeping staircase leads down to the stage area at the top of which is a balcony. The baby grand piano, double bass and drums filled the stage area so the trumpet, sax and percussion players were set up on the 10
The Jazz Culture, V.III:16
balcony. The unusual set-up only added to the anticipation of the performance. The musicians took their places and, as the lights dimmed, a voice introduced the Will Bartlett Sextet. ! Will directed the musicians from the piano with confidence and precision and their swing number was a good aperitif for the evening with concise solos from each musician. Will immediately counted in the next number and, over the intro, we were asked to welcome Salena Jones to the stage. Salena looked elegant and glamorous in a white beaded dress and calmly took command of the stage. The first song was Lionel Richie’s Hello but, after a brief ballad section, the arrangement swiftly moved into a bluesy medium swing; a nice twist showing the arranging skills of Keith Mansfield. Keith has arranged for musical luminaries ranging from Dusty Springfield to Maynard Ferguson and it was great to hear what he could achieve with just a sextet.! Rodgers and Hart’s This Can’t be Love swiftly followed and Salena was noticeably enjoying her band and the warm, receptive audience. Salena then moved into Michael Franks’ Antonio’s Song (which she recorded on her Melodies Of Love album). This really got the audience into a mellow latin mood with a great flugelhorn solo by Martin Shaw and subtle but effective percussion from Hugh Wilkinson. It was back to the standards with Imagination (Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Burke). Salena once said to me that you should really speak to the audience with the lyrics and she certainly showed how you do that. Although she always sang the words, you felt as though she was “speaking” to you. Subtle word stresses and glances got her message over to the audience and showed her command of her craft.! !An upbeat version of Day By Day cleared the palate before Salena returned to the latin theme with a medley of three Jobim songs: The Boy From Ipanema, Dindi and Agua De Beber. She explained how she had recorded an album in Rio with the Jobim family. The bossa nova genre really suits Salena’s voice and the sextet delicately and suitably supported her. The mood turned more bluesy with Cannonball Adderley and Nancy Wilson’s Save Your Love For Me; a great showcase for Salena’s mastery of The Jazz Culture, V.III:16
11
phrasing and set ended with I Love Being Here With You.! ! The second set opened with a great swing arrangement of Cole Porter’s Night And Day followedby an interesting musical marriage of Neil Diamond’s Hello Again (in a slow 3/4 time) moving seamlessly into a jazz waltz version of Hello Young Lovers. Billy Paul’s Me And Mrs. Jones became Me and Mr. Jones and there were nice renditions of standards such as All Or Nothing At All, I’ve Grown Accustomed To His Face and Cole Porter’s From This Moment On but the real flavour of this set was the blues. Salena really connected with the audience with numbers such as Since I Fell For You, In The Dark, Someone Else Is Steppin’ In and Every Day I Have The Blues. Salena used a more forceful style of singing for these numbers and, in Every Day I Have The Blues, the last song of the evening encouraged the musicians to take extended solos.! !Salena was radiant and at ease with her band. Keith Mansfield’s arrangements perfectly showcased Salena’s vocal style and, with excellent musicians, made for a slick and well-crafted performance which would work just as well in a theatre. As it was a jazz club, and from a jazz musician’s point of view, I would have liked to hear more extended solos from all the musicians but, from an audience’s perspective (some who were there just to see Salena Jones the singer) the balance was right. After the show, I spoke to Keith Mansfield and he explained how, especially in the first few numbers, he had written pretty tight arrangements that ensured the show got off to a good start but, later on, some arrangements allowed for more personal interpretation by the musicians. The beauty of a venue like the Pheasantry is that you get the opportunity to see artists like Salena Jones in an intimate setting where you can enjoy every subtlety of the performance. For more information on Salena visit: www.salenajones.com and for information about the Pheasantry visit: http://pizzaexpresslive.com/popList.aspx! ! 12
The Jazz Culture, V.III:16
"HOW TO" USE A MICROPHONE (for a Vocalist)
Singer Phyliss Gimpel. Note the natural mouth, eyes open, mike at proper angle for her volume; always do a soundcheck before performing. Judy Canterino below, holds mike at good angle. Cordless mikes sometimes give feedback near amps.
The Jazz Culture, V.III:16
13
With mikestand, Jim Malloy, projects a confident and happy vibe. The mike has a correct angle, and he seems unaware of it.
This singer, Jo Marchese, chooses to use the mike stand. She is holding the stand and mike; it is not necessary; as long as you do not cover your face or block the sound. When singing Forte, singers should pull the mike away from their mouths. 14
The Jazz Culture, V.III:16