The Jazz Voyager
This week the Jazz Voyager is on his way to landing in Kansas City, Missouri and going to Liberty, Missouri to experience the ambience of Johnnie’s Jazz Bar and Grille. Named after the owner’s daughter, who wanted a son, she was always the life of the party, selling tickets at the theater they owned and loved playing bridge.
The venue offers pub eats, ample bourbons and live music in a cozy club setting named for a female piano player. Johnnie, so named, by the way, since her father had selected Johnny as a boy’s name, was playing at The Lyric Theater in Salisbury, Missouri when Elmer Bills bought the location in 1924. Smitten by her natural charm, love of life, and youthful exuberance, Elmer fell in love and the two married a few years later. Their son Elmer Bills, Jr. would join forces with Sterling Bagby to formally create B&B Theatres.
This week I’ll be listening to a talented saxophonist by the name Herschel McWilliams who grew up and is a lifelong resident of Kansas City, Kansas. The son of musicians, a drummer father and pianist mother, he was introduced to many musical influences at an early age. He started learning piano at 8 and alto saxophone when he was ten years old. He serves on the Board of Directors for Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors as well as running his own jazz website LiveJazzKC.com.
The club is located at 1903 Victory Drive, Liberty, MO 64068 and the number is 816-792-2675. For more info visit notoriousjazz.com/event/herschel-mcwilliams-trio.
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The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is back once more on a flight to the nation’s capital to the Big Apple. I’ll be giving my regards to Broadway before heading up a few blocks to 10 Columbus Circle 10019 where the Appel Room is located within Jazz At Lincoln Center. It will be a night of Brazilian music and romance with vocalist Rosa Passos.
Based on the design of a Greek amphitheater, The Appel Room merges luxuriant splendor with functional accessibility. One glance at the dramatic 50′ × 83′ wall of glass confirms that The Appel Room possesses one of New York City’s greatest backdrops—Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. Several mechanical tiers make up the fluid inner structure of the amphitheater, offering a strikingly adaptable layout. This ingenious design allows for a smooth transformation from supper-club or event mode to theater mode. For additional capability, The Appel Room features a removable stage on its bottom level.
Vocalist Rosa Passos reunites with NEA Jazz Masters Kenny Barron and Ron Carter in the Appel Room for the first time together. While Passos has been called the female João Gilberto, she is a prolific and distinct vocalist and guitarist with a playful yet sophisticated style, marked by perfect pitch and spacious elegance. Enhancing this meeting of these three masters is first-call Brazilian drummer, Rafael Barata.
The Appel Room is located at 10 Columbus Circle, New York City 10019. For more info 212~258-9800 or visit https://2023.jazz.org/rosa-passos-with-kenny-barron-and-ron-carter
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The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is criss-crossing North America once more on a flight to the nation’s capital to take his seat in Studio K at The Kennedy Center for a command performance by vocalist Rene Marie. Opening in 1971 on the east bank of the Potomac River, this voyager first experienced the luxury and superb acoustics at the 1972 homecoming performance of Marvin Gaye as he unleashed his What’s Going On album on his adoring public. It was a magical night in the concert hall. Since then, I have had the pleasure to see a variety of jazz and soul performances like the one I will be privy to this evening. There’s a 7:30pm at 9:30pm tonight.
I met Rene in Atlanta in the Nineties and witnessed her meteoric rise in the city and then the world first hand as she captivated small and large audiences with her style and class. Most intriguing were her original compositions from which she took from life. Imaginative storytelling will take you on a journey within yourself as she relates the similarities we have in common as human beings. Listen carefully and you will reflect upon your own life.
The Kennedy Center is located at 2700 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20566. For more info 202-467-4600 or visit notoriousjazz.com/event/rene-marie-experiment-in-truth.
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The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is off to Canada for a first time experience at Frankie’s Jazz Club in British Columbia. Located in Vancouver at 755 Beatty Street V6B 2M4. This week I’m going to witness three young up and coming musicians, guitarist Alvin Brendan, keyboardist Benjamin Millman, and drummer Trent Otter.
A home to live jazz and blues, Frankie’s features local, national and international world class musicians. They offer an evening of casual intimacy with a selection of spirits and wine coupled with an Italian menu to enjoy music to.
Frankie’s Jazz Club phone number is +1 604-688-6368. For more information on showtimes and tickets visit https://www.frankiesjazzclub.ca/
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The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is being spirited off to Houston, Texas to the Cullen Theater for another performance of one of the hottest bassists on the planet and no it isn’t Ron Carter, though he fits the bill. This time it’s eight-time Grammy Award-winning Christian McBride.
Located in Houston’s Downtown Theater District at 501 Texas Avenue 77002, the theater resides within the Wortham Theater Center is one of the venues that Dacamera utilizes for its jazz performances. Under the artistic direction of pianist Sarah Rothenberg since 1994, DACAMERA programs create connections among musical genres, art forms, and ideas; between people and places; between the past and the present.
A force of nature, fusing the fire and fury of a virtuoso with the depth and grounding of a seasoned journeyman, McBride is powered by a relentless energy and a boundless love of swing. Drawing from the lexicon of his hometown, Philadelphia, he calls his pianoless quartet The New Jawn.
The Cullen Theater’s phone number is 713-524-5050. In order to get more information on showtimes and tickets then visit notoriousjazz.com/event/christian-mcbrides-new-jawn.
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