[Dixielandjazz] NYC - Jazz Capitol of the World?

[Steve barbone]

Just in case we thought Jazz was dead, here is a partial sampling of Jazz
events this week in NYC. Not to mention, OKOM by Gully Low at Birdland, and
Vince Giordano's Nighthawks at Charlie O's and Gotham Jazzmen at Donnell
Branch of the public library etc., etc.

BTW, note the Toshiko Akiyoshi listing. A few years ago, I was invited to
Philadelphia's Clef Club to hear her. Ended up having dinner with her, and
Barbone Street trumpeter Paul Grant and his wife Shohom1 (also Japanese).

Later, Ms. Akiyoshi sent us some of her big band charts as a momento. Let me
tell you that they are among the most difficult to play that I have ever
seen. Woowee, she is some player as well as a VERY demanding band
leader/jazz artist.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone  


Selected Jazz Listings By THE NEW YORK TIMES

TOSHIKO AKIYOSHI TRIO (Wednesday through July 2) A year and a half ago Ms.
Akiyoshi retired her acclaimed big band, ending a longstanding Birdland
engagement. Returning to the club with a trio, she places emphasis on her
articulate piano playing. 9 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street,
(212) 581-3080. Cover: $30, plus a $10 minimum.

MOSE ALLISON (Through Sunday) Mr. Allison is best known for his songs, which
combine cosmopolitan wit with a folksy worldview. As a singer and pianist he
enacts a similar fusion, recasting the Delta blues in bebop's hipster argot.
8 and 10 p.m., with an 11:30 p.m. set tonight and tomorrow, Iridium Jazz
Club, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street, (212) 582-2121. Cover: $35 tonight and
tomorrow night, $30 on Sunday, with a $10 minimum all nights.

RONI BEN-HUR (Tonight) Mr. Ben-Hur, a talented guitarist and composer, pays
homage to the pianist Elmo Hope, with a quartet that includes Hope's widow,
Bertha, on piano. 8 p.m., New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, 333
Adams Street, Downtown Brooklyn, (718) 222-6543. No cover.

TIM BERNE'S PARAPHRASE (Monday) This trio engages in an interplay that is
unscripted but hardly formless; Mr. Berne, an alto saxophonist, has creative
partners in Drew Gress, bassist, and Tom Rainey, drummer. 7 and 10 p.m., 55
Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212)929-9883. Cover: $8.

DAVE BINNEY'S BALANCE (Tuesday) The alto saxophonist Dave Binney heeds an
avant-gardism that embraces harmony, melody and rhythm, along with
amplification; he receives sinuous support from the keyboardist Craig
Taborn, the bassist Thomas Morgan and the drummer Dan Weiss. 7 and 10 p.m.,
55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212) 929-9883. Cover: $10.

CLIFFORD BROWN 75TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION (Tuesday through July 3)
Clifford Brown was a bebop trumpet player of unsurpassed skill, and his
premature death has haunted jazz for 50 years. The vitality of his legacy
should be evident at this tribute, which enlists the trumpeters Tom Harrell,
Nicholas Payton, David Weiss and Jeremy Pelt. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., with an
11:30 set Fridays and Saturdays, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose
Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center, (212) 258-9595.
Cover: $30, with a minimum of $10 at tables, $5 at the bar.

DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET/ and JOHN PIZZARELLI QUARTET (Tonight) Mr. Brubeck, now
in his mid-80's, plays the piano with undiminished vigor; what he shares
with the 35-year old guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli is a style of
performing that needn't condescend to entertain. 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall,
(212) 247-7800. Tickets: $30 to $75, JVC Jazz Festival.

DON BYRON (Through Sunday) This clarinetist, conceptualist and composer
finishes a week's engagement with two groups: Ivey-Divey, a trio, with
guests (tonight and tomorrow); and the Don Byron Quintet (Sunday). 9 and 11
p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West
Village, (212) 255-4037. Cover: $30, JVC Jazz Festival.

FRANCESCO CAFISO QUARTET (Tonight through Sunday) A precocious bop-leaning
alto saxophonist from Sicily, matched with a fine New York rhythm section.
7:30 and 9:30 p.m., with an 11:30 set tonight and tomorrow, Dizzy's Club
Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, 60th Street and Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln
Center, (212) 258-9595. Cover: $30, with a minimum of $10 at tables, $5 at
the bar.

HARRY CONNICK JR. AND BRANFORD MARSALIS and /MIGUEL ZENÓN (Sunday) Mr.
Connick has always been a pianist as well as a singer; here, as on the new
record "Occasion" (Marsalis Music), he'll play a round of duets with Mr.
Marsalis, the saxophonist and fellow New Orleans transplant. The evening's
highlight, however, just might be "Jíbaro," a suite for jazz quartet by the
Puerto Rican saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenón. 8:30 p.m., Carnegie
Hall, (212) 247-7800. Tickets: $39 to $66, JVC Jazz Festival.

KURT ELLING (Tonight and tomorrow) Tonight Mr. Elling, a superbly skilled
jazz singer, augments his trio with the vibraphonist Stefon Harris. Tomorrow
he welcomes several elder-statesmanlike vocal influences: Jon Hendricks,
Mark Murphy and Andy Bey. 9 and 11 p.m., Birdland, 315 West 44th Street,
(212) 581-3080. Cover: $40, with a $10 minimum.