Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Jared Ribble was born in Neenah, Wisconsin on May 2, 1979. Growing up in small town America proved the right landscape to cultivate a desire to play drums. His parents bought him his first drum set when he was nine and gave him weekly private lessons through high school graduation.

He went on to attend Belmont University-Nashville, Tennessee and graduated in 2001 where he studied Commercial Music-Percussion Performance, along with private instruction. Ribble went on to perform with trumpeter Phil Driscoll, Broadway artist Jonathan Pierce, singer/songwriter Byron Keith, Denver Bierman, lead singer and founder of Denver and the Mile High Orchestra.

Jared tours and records with the contemporary big band, Denver and the Mile High Orchestra. Holding down an extensive recording schedule in his On Digital Ground recording studio with the On Digital Ground Studio House Band. He composes for the music group Storyteller, and frequently plays on the worship team of Grace Pointe-Nashville.

He is also Vice-President of Reel Loud Records asked Jared to come on their executive staff as Vice-President. In this role he helps find, and promote the recording careers of innovative and talented artists.

Drummer Jared Ribble continues to move forward his career in touring, recording and business.

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The Jazz Voyager

Heading back across the continent west to east to the city that never sleeps for another opportunity to hear a big band at Birdland. This iconic venue has been a major part of the city’s jazz scene since 1949. It was famously nicknamed  by Charlie Parker as The Jazz Corner of the World. Sitting on Broadway, one block west of the 52nd Street scene, which was a hotbed of jazz in the 1930s and 40s, and when The Street lost its luster, Birdland blossomed.

In residence for the night is the Mingus Big Band, performing exclusively the music of composer/bassist Charles Mingus. Building off the strengths of the Mingus Dynasty septet, his widow Sue Mingus formed in 1991. She created this 14-piece band to feature new arrangements of her husband’s compositions in a larger band format that draws from a rotation of the best established and rising musicians.

Birdland is located at 315 W 44th Street, New York City, NY 10036. For more information contact the venue at birdlandjazz.com.

Tickets: $40.61 – $50.91

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Nina Michelle was born on May 1, 1968 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She began studying classical piano at an early age of 5 and after graduating with honours, she received a scholarship to continue her music studies in the music and vocal program at Capillano University in North Vancouver.

In Vancouver she regularly performed with Linton Garner at Rossinis jazz club. Her many tours to Switzerland with drummer Charly Antolini and his Jazz Power. Since 1994 she’s been touring Europe with some of the finest musicians.

In 1998 Nina recorded a soundtrack with the Billy Gorldt Orchestra as well as acted in a Süddeutsche-Rundfunk film production directed by Oliver Storz, Against the End of the Night. Nina’s current work includes a live big band recording with the Munich Swing Orchestra for the Bayerischer Rundfunk as well as a Swinging Christmas recording produced by Max Greger Jr.

She has performed with several big bands, including SWR Big Band in charge of Max Greger, featuring among other solo artists Benny Bailey and Hugo Strasser.

At the moment, Nina’s performing with her own quartet, an international group of well-acclaimed musicians, among them Canadian bassist Rocky Knauer, Tizian Jost and Guido May.

Vocalist Nina Michelle currently lives in Munich, Germany and continues to perform and record.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Elissa Lala was born on April 30, 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a professional trombonist. She began singing professionally at the age of five and by the time she was in her early teens she was doing background vocal sessions at Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios. Although heavily influenced by R&B, she would be quietly singing Michel Legrand’s You Must Believe in Spring while walking to that all girl Italian high school.

Struggling with a hearing impairment never affected her pitch and falling in love with jazz guitarist John Valentino made the jazz thing stick. The couple performed together at every major venue on the east coast, eventually marrying and moving to Los Angeles, California. While singing at a Burbank studios jazz club, Aaron Spellings’ music supervisor heard Lala and hired her to sing All the Things You Are for the ABC miniseries Crossings.

More film and TV studio work came her way and her credits multiplied. A bout with tinnitus led to more hearing loss and learning about hearing loss. Elissa became trained in hearing instrument fitting and helped hundreds of hearing-impaired children and adults hear better through the use of digital hearing instruments.

As a lyricist she wrote for Ralph Towner’s I Knew It Was You. She has written and/or recorded with Blue Note recording artists Pat Martino, Narada Michael Walden, Michel Legrand, Alex Acuna, Tommy Tedesco, and Bennie Maupin. Her approach to improvisation is fresh, moving, and very in the moment, or documented, recorded or live.

Vocalist Elissa Lala continues to perform, work in film and television, and tour.

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Jazz Poems

STARDUST

the blues

the reds, whatever

she can find—

short

changed, a chord—

God bless

the child

that’s got his own

& won’t mind

sharing some—

“BILLIES BOUNCE”

“BILLIES BOUNCE”

Miss Holiday’s up

on four counts

of possession, three-

fifths, the law

—locked up—

licked—the salt

the boot—refused

a chance to belt

tunes in the clubs—

ex-con. Man,

she got it

bad—Brother

can you spare

a dime

bag? MEANDERING

WARMING UP

A RIFF—

she’s all scat,

waxing—

SIDE A

SIDE B

OOH

SHOO DE

OBEE—

detoxec, thawed

in time

for Thanksgiving—live

as ammo, smoking

—NOV. 26 1945—

Day cold as turkey

KEVIN YOUNG

from Jazz Poems ~ Selected and Edited by Kevin Young

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