NICOLE HENRY

Set For The Season

Songstress Nicole Henry returns to St. Louis! Nicole possesses a potent combination of dynamic vocal abilities, impeccable phrasing, and powerful emotional resonance. Her passionate, soulful voice and heart-felt charisma continue to win over fans worldwide.

Since her debut in 2004, Nicole Henry has established herself as one of the jazz world’s most acclaimed vocalists. Ms. Henry possesses a potent combination of dynamic vocal abilities, impeccable phrasing, and powerful emotional resonance. Her passionate, soulful voice and heart-felt charisma have earned her a 2013 Soul Train Award for “Best Traditional Jazz Performance,” three Top-10 U.S. Billboard and HMV Japan jazz CDs, and rave reviews by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Japan Times, El Pais, Jazz Times, Essence and many more.

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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.

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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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

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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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

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JOE ALTERMAN

Atlanta native Joe Alterman expresses a certain upbeat naivete, with a broad smile and bright eyes that make you feel welcome. One would not guess that this is a man hailed by greats; Ramsey Lewis describes his music as “happy music with tasty meat on the bones,” Les McCann states “Joe’s on a ‘blow your mind’ level,” and Ahmad Jamal calls him “a very special artist.” Journalist Nat Hentoff championed three of Alterman’s albums, as well as his writing (Joe wrote liner notes to three Wynton Marsalis/JLCO albums), calling one of Joe’s columns “one of the very best pieces on the essence of jazz, the spirit of jazz, that I’ve ever read, and I’m not exaggerating.”

He began at NYU with a BA and Masters in Jazz Piano from NYU and has since performed at many world renowned venues including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Birdland and Blue Note alongside Houston Person, Les McCann, Dick Gregory, Ramsey Lewis, and his own trio, among others. Downbeat describes his sound as “rooted in the blues, and with a touch reminiscent of the great pianists of the 1950s—Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans.” It is clear Joe hits all of the necessary points for Jazz critics and fans alike.

But there is more to the story, of course. The 21st century has brought another transition for this thing called jazz; in one moment we see the push and pull between tradition and progression, and in another we see Pop and Hip-Hop musicians emulating and sampling. In Joe Alterman we find none of this struggle; the music just sounds good. Our conscious faculties are instantly disabled as we tap our feet, feeling the intent and joy of his playing. An old classic is new when you feel good in the moment. Or, as Hentoff wrote about Alterman in the Wall Street Journal, “Alterman’s continually evolving presence on the jazz scene surely makes people smile and, if the room is right, dance. There’ll be no need for any last rites of jazz.”

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