The Jazz Voyager
Gotta love the friendly skies for another cross-country flight that returns me to the Big Apple where the Jazz Voyager will be hanging at some of the city and my favorite haunts from Midtown to the Village, Rockerfeller Center, Tiffany and Broadway.
In the evening I’ll be heading to the Upper West Side of Manhattan to one of my favorite haunts in the city that is outside of Harlem. The music and the evening will be well spent at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club. The cozy atmosphere, sans smoke, except for the musicians playing adds to the ambience of the venue.
This week another vocalist will be entertaining me and her name is Jane Monheit. This is her highly anticipated debut at the club and will celebrate the release of her new album. Her mastery of the Great American Songbook lends to a wonderful night of music.
The venue is located at 2751 Broadway New York, NY 10025. For tickets and more info go to https://notoriousjazz.com/event/jane-monheit-2.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nikki Anne Iles was born Nikki Anne Burnham on May 16, 1963 in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. Her primary school musical education began when she learned to play the harmonica and the clarinet. At eleven she won a junior exhibition at the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied clarinet and piano from 1974 to 1981. She became a member of the Bedfordshire Youth Jazz Orchestra before going to the Leeds College of Music from 1981 to 1984.
Settling in Yorkshire after graduating from the Leeds College of Music, she married trumpeter Richard Iles and took his name. She joined his band Emanon, with which she played some of her compositions. Iles began playing with several London-based bands, led by Steve Argüelles, Mick Hutton and Stan Sulzmann.
Iles won the 1996 John Dankworth Special Award at the BT Jazz Festival, but following a serious car crash after a gig, she opted to settle in London, England. She went on to be a senior lecturer at Middlesex University, and taught at the University of York, Leeds College of Music, the Guildhall School of Music, and in Bulgaria, Holland, France, and Finland.
Composer, pianist and educator Nikki Iles, who was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) at the 2022 New Year Honours for services to music, continues her career as a composer, educator and musician.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
John Barnes was born in Manchester, England on May 15, 1932. He started out his career as a flügelhorn player in the early 1950s, and adapted his playing skills to the clarinet, an instrument he favored. He played traditional jazz with Alan Elsdon, The Mike Daniels’ Delta Jazzmen and also The Zenith Six.
In May 1964, after a bad car crash Barnes was replaced by Al Gay, until his full rehabilitation as a member of Alex Welsh band. He continued and extended his career musically from 1967 with the Scottish dixieland jazz trumpet and cornet player Alex Welsh and his Jazz Band, which lasted ten years until 1977.
He began playing alto, baritone, soprano saxophone and the flute. During this period he rose to fame in the jazz arena appearing at the Newport Jazz Festival aged 37 in 1969. His skills on baritone saxophone earned him a huge jazz fan base, some suggesting he was the best they had seen in Europe. After leaving Welsh, Barnes worked as co-leader, with trombonist Roy Williams of the Midnite Follies Orchestra, which included many American jazz artists.
John worked with Janet Jackson, Leo Sayer, Humphrey Lyttelton, Gerry Mulligan, Spike Robinson, Bobby Wellins and Keith Nichols. He considered Coleman Hawkins and Johnny Hodges to be his two main saxophone influences throughout his career.
In 2011, while on holiday in Greece, Barnes suffered a stroke. As a result of his stroke, a benefit concert was held for him the following year at the 100 Club in Oxford Street, London.
Saxophonist, clarinetist and flutist John Barnes died on April 18, 2022 at the age of 89.
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MONTY ALEXANDER
Grammy nominated pianist Monty Alexander was born on June 6, 1944 (D-Day!) in Kingston, Jamaica and is one of today’s most sought-after pianists, touring the world relentlessly with various projects, delighting a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message. He began playing the piano at the age of four. Monty is such a virtuoso on his instrument that he can express each of his improvisational ideas at any time. Swinging style, combined with his vitality and subtlety, is defined by his creativity, rhythmic strength and clearly accentuated sounds. Even Frank Sinatra commented “this guy is like dynamite”. In a career spanning seven decades, he has built a reputation exploring the worlds of American jazz, popular song, and the music of his native Jamaica, finding in each a sincere spirit of musical expression.
His musical collaborations span multiple genres and styles. His projects have been as varied as assisting Natalie Cole in her tribute album to her father, Nat “King” Cole in 1991 (that album, “Unforgettable”, won seven Grammy awards), performing George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” under the direction of Bobby McFerrin at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, and recording the piano track for the film score of Clint Eastwood’s “Bird”, a movie about the life of jazz titan Charlie Parker. Monty has performed and recorded with artists from every corner of the musical universe: Frank Sinatra, Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Victor Gaskin, Milt Jackson, Ernie Wilkins, Herb Ellis, Jeff Hamilton, Quincy Jones, Ernest Ranglin, Barbara Hendricks, Sly Dunbar, and Robbie Shakespeare, among many others. In 2000 and 2018 Monty Alexander was awarded the title of Commander in the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government for outstanding services to Jamaica in his capacity as worldwide music ambassador. Alexander maintains a rigorous touring schedule worldwide, from jazz clubs to concert halls and playing at Jazz Festivals from Switzerland to South Africa, Japan and Australia.
To date Monty Alexander has recorded over 75 albums as a leader. Shortly before his 80th birthday this upcoming June, Monty and his trio bring the 49th International Jazzfestival Bern to a close – on a high note!
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ROBERT GAMBARINI
The Band: Roberta Gambarini, vocal | Bill Easley, saxophone | Cyrus Chestnut, piano | Ameen Saleem, bass | Lewis Nash, drums
Roberta Gambarini began singing and performing at the age of 17 in jazz clubs around Northern Italy. In 1997 she worked with French Hammond organ player Emmanuel Bex touring jazz clubs throughout Italy. Shortly after she moved to New York City, and has since been performing with musicians like Jimmy Heath, Richard Wyands, Curtis Fuller, Hank Jones, Thelonious Monk, Jr., Roy Hargrove, Benny Bailey, Ben Riley, Phil Woods, Ron Carter, Larry Willis, Howard Johnson, Russell Malone, Christian McBride, Jeff Hamilton, Jesse Davis, Ronnie Mathews, Alvin Queen and many more.
Born in 1963, Cyrus Chestnut started his musical career at the age of six. He worked as a sideman with some of the leading players in the music including Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Branford Marsalis, Frank Morgan, Lauryn Hill, Chick Corea, Dizzy Gillespie, Jon Hendricks, Joe Williams, Betty Carter, Freddy Cole, Bette Midler, Jimmy Scott, Isaac Hayes and Kevin Mahogany. As a leader, Cyrus has released 24 albums.
Bill Easley has had a diversified career as a professional musician and started playing professionally with his parents at the age of thirteen. He has played with George Benson, Isaac Hayes, Ruth Brown, Jimmy McGriff, Louie Bellson, Wynton Marsalis, Illinois Jacquet, Ron Carter, Frank Foster, Mercer Ellington, Warren Vache and many more. Bill has released seven recording as a leader.
Ameen Saleem is an allround artist. A native of Washington DC, since the start of his career his great compositional and technical skills have been instantly recognized. Although mainly grounded in jazz, Saleem’s music cannot be strictly defined as pertaining to a particular genre but, rather, as a uniquely personal style that spans a vast musical geography.
Universally recognized as one of the great drummers in jazz history, Lewis Nash’ illustrious career now spans over four decades. Nash is one of jazz’s most recorded musicians, appearing on over 500 recordings including 10 Grammy winners and numerous Grammy nominees. Nash toured, recorded and performed with many of jazz’s most celebrated icons, and his resume reads like a “who’s who” of jazz royalty.
Seating is limited. It is highly recommended buying your ticket in advance.
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