Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Frank Isola was born on February 20, 1925 in Detroit, Michigan and was heavily influenced by Gene Krupa. He played in the U.S. military during World War II and then studied and performed in California with Bobby Sherwood and Earle Spencer.
Moving to New York City he played with Johnny Bothwell and Elliot Lawrence in 1947. Following this, in the Fifties Frank played with Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan, as well as with Mose Allison, Eddie Bert, Bob Brookmeyer, Jimmy Raney, Johnny Williams and Tony Fruscella.
By the late 1950s Isola returned to Detroit and kept working periodically with local bands or in jam sessions but well out of the spotlight. He was active in the Cass Corridor area of Detroit in the 1970s playing jazz standards with pianist Bobby McDonald and others at Cobb’s Corner Bar.
He worked as a drummer briefly at Captain Hornblower’s in Key West, Florida in the late 1980s with pianist Johnny Williams. By the early Nineties, he moved back north and was playing weekly at Tom’s Steamer’s Bar in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. In 1994 and 1995 Isola played at The Windsor Jazz Festival in Ontario, Canada backing Franz Jackson and Marcus Belgrave. The 1994 concert was released on Parkwood Records as Live at Windsor Jazz Festival III with Jackson and Belgrave as co-leaders.
He recorded fourteen albums between 1954 and 1981 with Getz, Mulligan, Mose Allison, Bob Brookmeyer, Dick Garcia, Franz Jackson, Charlie Parker and Bob Szajner. Drummer Frank Isola, who never led a recording session, transitioned on December 12, 2004.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ronald “Ronnie” Zito was born on February 17, 1939) in Utica, New York, into a musical family including his pianist brother Torrie Zito. He began playing drums at the age of 10 and at age 14 took a year and a half of formal lessons.
He has played with Woody Herman, J.R. Monterose, Frank Rosolino, Peggy Lee, Cher, Roberta Flack and Eartha Kitt. Zito was Bobby Darin’s personal drummer for four years.
Ronnie has recorded with David Pomeranz, Barry Manilow, Irene Cara, Frankie Valli, Roberta Flack, Jake Holmes, Cher, and Don McLean.
Drummer Ronnie Zito continues to perform and record.
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Three Wishes
While hanging out one evening during the conversation with Al Dreares, the Baroness asked him his three wishes. He told her this:
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- “I wish that I may become a great musician.”
- “And I also wish that I can be successful with my fellow musicians.”
- “And I wish my son grows up to be a fine young man. He’s four and a half months old.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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JOHNATHAN BLAKE
Johnathan Blake, one of the most accomplished drummers of his generation, has also proven himself a complete and endlessly versatile musician. Blake’s gift for composition and band leading reflects years of live and studio experience across the aesthetic spectrum. Heralded by NPR Music as “the ultimate modernist,” he has collaborated with Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Tom Harrell, Hans Glawischnig, Avishai Cohen, Donny McCaslin, Linda May Han Oh, Jaleel Shaw, Chris Potter, Maria Schneider, Alex Sipiagin, Kris Davis and countless other distinctive voices. DownBeat once wrote, “It’s a testament to Blake’s abilities that he makes his presence felt in any context.” A frequent presence on Blue Note records over the past several years, Blake has contributed his strong, limber pulse and airy precision to multiple leader releases from Blue Note artists including Dr. Lonnie Smith’s Breathe (2021), All in My Mind (2018) and Evolution (2016) and Kenny Barron’s Concentric Circles (2018), the latter whose trio Blake has been a vital member for nearly 15 years.
Born in Philadelphia in 1976, Blake is the son of renowned jazz violinist John Blake, Jr. — himself a stylistic chameleon and an important ongoing influence. After beginning on drums at age 10, Johnathan gained his first performing experience with the Lovett Hines Youth Ensemble, led by the renowned Philly jazz educator. It was during this period, at Hines’s urging, that Blake began to compose his own music. Later he worked with saxophonist Robert Landham in a youth jazz ensemble at Settlement Music School. Blake graduated from George Washington High School and went on to attend the highly respected jazz program at William Paterson University, where he studied with Rufus Reid, John Riley, Steve Wilson and Horace Arnold. At this time Blake also began working professionally with the Oliver Lake Big Band, Roy Hargrove and David Sanchez. In 2006 he was recognized with an ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award, and in 2007 he earned his Masters from Rutgers University, focusing on composition. He studied with the likes of Ralph Bowen, Conrad Herwig and Stanley Cowell. Deeply aware of Philadelphia’s role as a historical nerve center of American music, Blake has immersed himself in the city’s storied legacy — not just jazz but also soul, R&B and hip-hop. In many ways he’s an heir to Philadelphia drum masters such as Philly Joe Jones, Bobby Durham, Mickey Roker and Edgar Bateman, not to mention younger mentors including Byron Landham, Leon Jordan and Ralph Peterson, Jr..
Fridays at 7pm & 8:30pm – Running time for each set is 90 minutes
Reserved Seating – $20
All Access Ticket – $35
Premium Reserved Velvet Couch/Chair – $38
Blue Velvet Loveseat for 2 – $50
Dinner & A Show – $55 – updated prix fixe menu here
$15 food and beverage minimum – Full menu can be found here!
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Clark Tracey was born February 5, 1961 in London, England and began his music journey playing piano and vibraphone before switching to drums at age 13, studying under Bryan Spring. He played in several ensembles with his father Stan Tracey including a quartet called Fathers and Sons with John and Alec Dankworth in the 1990s. In addition to his work with his father, which took him around the world, he has played with numerous visiting American musicians, notably Bud Shank, Johnny Griffin, Red Rodney, Sal Nistico, Conte Candoli, Barney Kessell, John Hicks and Pharoah Sanders throughout his career.
Through the 1980s Clark performed and recorded with Buddy DeFranco, Martin Taylor, Charlie Rouse, Alan Skidmore and Tommy Smith. The Nineties saw him with Claire Martin into the new century. During the decade and beyond he led his own ensembles with a host of recognized names like Django Bates, Nigel Hitchcock and Jamie Talbot. Concentrating on promoting the music of his late father, his final group under his own name included Mark Armstrong, Tom Ridout, James Wade Sired, Gareth Williams and James Owston.
Drummer, band leader, and composer Clark Tracey, has received several honors and was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to music and the promotion of jazz. He continues to pursue excellence in the genre.
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