The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is heading off to the Big Apple once again to take another seat in the small uptown Manhattan West Side jazz club Smoke Jazz and Supper Club. This intimate space is located at the junction of 106th and Broadway, also known as Duke Ellington Boulevard, offering legends, modern masters and rising stars.
A new player for me to hear is trumpeter Marquis Hill, one of the leading trumpeters of our time. He will be leading an adventurous group featuring vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist Michael King, bassist Junius Paul, and drummer Kendrick Scott. He won the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition and the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition. Both wins helped launch his career.
Smoke is located at 2751 Broadway, New York City 10025. You can get more information at https://notoriousjazz.com/event/marquis-hill.
More Posts: adventure,club,genius,jazz,music,preserving,travel,trumpet
The Jazz Voyager
This week the Jazz Voyager is heading out of St. Louis for the Queen City to a coffee house by day and a jazz lounge by night. It’s a place where folks gather, work, socialize and herald the musical art formgather, work, socialize and herald the musical art form. It’s called Caffè Vivace and is nestled in the Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio.
While savoring a glass of wine I’ll be enjoying the vocal talents of Kat Edmonson delivering a holiday menu of swinging music for her Christmas show. A sample of songs I hope to hear are not only the title track to her latest album but also Yule-tide favorites such as I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm, The Christmas Blues, The Chipmunk Song and the classic The Christmas Song! With an equal foothold in jazz and cabaret, and raised on the music and film of the early-to-mid-twentieth century, she is a rare artist who embodies the spirit of the past while remaining resolutely current.
The caffè is located at 975 E. McMillan Street, 45206. Unfortunately for those of you who didn’t purchase early, the evening is sold out. But if you desire more information, you can call 513-601-9897.
More Posts: adventure,club,genius,jazz,music,preserving,travel,vocal
The Jazz Voyager
Taking a flight from Laguardia to Lambert International to take a seat in the Harold & Dorothy Steward Center For Jazz this week. Formerly known as Jazz at the Bistro, in 2014 along with the building next door was renovated into a two hundred and twenty seat venue that was renamed as the center. Located at 3536 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103 it has become a renowned venue for performance, education and community engagement.
The Jazz Voyager will be occupying one of the seats to witness the talents of trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. Known affectionately as “Pinecone,” the Georgia-born trombonist also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, soprano trombone, tuba, and piano. In 1995, Gordon arranged and orchestrated the theme song for NPR’s All Things Considered.
For more information you can visit https://notoriousjazz.com/event/wycliffe-gordon.
More Posts: adventure,club,genius,jazz,music,piano,preserving,travel,trombone
The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is hitting the friendly skies in Ohio and heading to the Big Apple to go to the Village Vanguard. Located in lower Manhattan at 178 7th Avenue S, New York City 10014. The small room with low ceilings and remarkable acoustics has staged more than 100 live commercial recordings, several of which are essential works in the history of jazz on record. The venue, open since 1935, is the oldest continuously operated jazz club in the world.
So tonight I will be enjoying pianist Jason Moran and Bandwagon with double bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits. Moran has worked with Greg Osby in his New Directions group and out of that band the trio formed The Bandwagon. The trio performs many compositions of Moran’s and some by Mateen.
For more information you can visit https://notoriousjazz.com/event/jason-moran-the-bandwagon
More Posts: adventure,club,genius,jazz,music,piano,preserving,travel
The Jazz Voyager
Saying farewell to DC always gives me a melancholy feeling having spent so many years there having so much fun. This week the Jazz Voyager is heading for a little jazz in the Buckeye State and for those who don’t know I’m talking about Ohio. The city is Cincinnati and it sits at the confluence of Licking and Ohio Rivers, the latter which has the city looking at Kentucky.
The venue is Caffè Vivace, a coffee house by day and a jazz lounge by night. It provides a space for Queen City residents to gather, work, socialize and herald the musical art form of jazz and a destination for jazz lovers. Located in the Walnut Hills neighborhood and has gained a reputation that hosts the area’s finest local jazz musicians, young and old, as well as the occasional regionally or nationally known artists.
So tonight I will be in the audience to check out vocalist Mandy Gaines who has been singing since an early age, getting her initial training school and church. She then continued studies with private vocal instruction and an assortment of workshops that enhanced her skillset. Joining her is pianist Sergio Pamies from Spain who fuses traditional jazz language with flamenco music of his childhood. He has takenhis knowledge and became a college professor at several universities in America, Europe and Asia.
The venue is located at 975 E McMillan Street, 45206 and for more information you can visit https://notoriousjazz.com/event/mandy-gaines-sergio-pamies
More Posts: adventure,club,genius,jazz,music,piano,preserving,travel,vocal