The Jazz Voyager

The Midwest is the next destination for this Jazz Voyager to the city on the Mississippi River with the famous Gateway Arch.  But before that monument was built, St. Louis, Missouri was known as a hub for jazz with many musicians being born or migrating from other regions of the country.  The venue I’ll be visiting began as a small intimate location Jazz At The Bistro. In 2006 the name was changed to Jazz St. Louis and by 2014 was renovated as is the Harold & Dorothy Steward Center For Jazz.

Performing at this center this week is a friend of mine who I always enjoy seeing, especially in performance. She is internationally renowned vocalist Rene Marie. Over two decades of performing and recording eleven albums, she has cemented her reputation as a composer, arranger, theatrical performer and teacher. Her life lessons are an integral component of her compositions as she borrows various elements of folk, R&B, classical, and country to create a captivating hybrid style. Her body of work is musical and is an affirmation of the power of the human spirit.

The venue is located at 3536 Washington Avenue, 63103 and for more information you can visit https://notoriousjazz.com/event/rene-marie-3

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Three Wishes

Pannonica finally got the opportunity to ask Lionel Hampton what he would wish for and his retort was:

1. 1. “To be in tune with jazz. Jazz to me is like the human emotion of the Negro. From the time he was in bondage praying to God to give him freedom – that was the blues then, coming from the spiritual vein – and when he was freed some, he would make jazz more happy. It was coming from the Negroes. From the time of the slave in the cotton fields, swinging up, you dig? From the time it got popularized and commercial, and left the cotton fields and railroad tracks, and they were putting it in the cafes. It was the days of King Oliver and Sidney Bechet..”
   2. “The colored man always has been the one to change the color of jazz. As the country advanced, they changes the music. It’s always been moving along, integrated by Negroes, turning to his feelings as he advanced. From Louis Armstrong up to Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman, Edgar Sampson, and Sy Oliver. They started changing the picture of jaz. It was their orchestrations, their chart that made jazz. They began writing arrangements for Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and so on – for the ofay bands. fats Waller, Jimmie Lunceford, those guys were all great arrangers. Then Monk, Dizzy, Prez, Don Byas, and Charlie Parker, they came in, all influencing the music, all great instrumentalists. As the Negro got free he added more ingredients. You’d need an encyclopedia to tell it all. I hope I’ll always be tuned so I can dig the transitions in jazz. Because there are more transitions coming.”
   3. “Lots of white folks write about jazz, but they don’t know the pains of it. You should be the one to write about it, because you understand. And musicians will talk to you. Gotta get down on that stand now, but I’ll be over to your pad tomorrow, and we’ll do this with the tape recorder. It’ll take another three of four hours, at the very least. I’ve not done more than get started on the first answer yet, you dig?”

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Glen Moore born October 28, 1941 in Portland, Oregon. His performing career began at age 14 with the Young Oregonians in Portland, where he met and played with Native American saxophonist Jim Pepper.

He graduated with a degree in History and Literature from the University of Oregon. His formal bass instruction started after college with Jerome Magil in Portland, James Harnett in Seattle, Washington and Gary Karr in New York, Plough Christenson in Copenhagen, Ludwig Streicher in Vienna, Austria and Francois Rabbath in Hawaii.

His main instrument is an upright bass which was made by Klotz in Tyrol, Austria around 1715. Moore is a founding member of Oregon, but also worked regularly with Rabih Abou-Khalil, Vasant Rai, Nancy King and Larry Karush.

Double bassist Glen Moore, who occasionally performs on piano, flute and violin, continues to perform and record.

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The Jazz Voyager

From Charlotte to New York City is the flight plan for this Jazz Voyager. Landing at LaGuardia I’m taking a private car to just above the theater district on Broadway and 59th Street where Dizzy’s Club sits. Jazz At Lincoln Center has established an intimate venue with panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline where world class musicians come to perform. The club soars high above the expansive views of Central Park.

Trombonist, arranger, composer, bandleader and educator Wycliffe Gordon will be gracing the stage on this trip. Aside from being a stellar trombonist, he also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, tuba, and piano. Always bringing something new I am anticipating his arrival on stage to witness what he will be laying down on this show.

The venue is located at 10 Columbus Circle, 10019 and for more information you can visit notoriousjazz.com/event/wycliffe-gordon-friends

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

John Cocuzzi was born in Camp Springs, Maryland on Andrews Air Force Base on October 26, 1964. Taking a very early interest in playing drums, immediately after graduating from high school, in 1982 he attended Montgomery Junior College in Rockville, Maryland as an applied percussion major. While there he also studied arranging with Bill Potts, who wrote for Buddy Rich and others.

Towards the end of the decade he had established himself, performing in and around the nation’s capital. During these years, in addition to playing drums, Cocuzzi also played piano and vibraphone, gradually advancing his skills on the latter instrument until it became the dominant force in his impressive arsenal.

The early 90s saw John appearing at numerous festivals across the country, as well as  Belgium and the Netherlands. Throughout his career he has mainly led his own small groups and has also played piano with the swing, blues and jump band, Big Joe And The Dynaflows, led by Big Joe Maher.

He has worked and/or recorded with Howard Alden, Joe Ascione, Louie Bellson, Bobby Gordon, Chuck Hedges, Nat King Cole, Milt Hinton, Dick Hyman, Russell Malone, Ken Peplowski, Bucky and John Pizzarelli, Houston Person, Eddie Locke, Barbara Morrison, Peter Appleyard, Russell Malone, Ed Polcer, Daryl Sherman, Warren and Allan Vaché, Johnny Varro, Bob Wilber and Snooky Young. A dynamic and swinging drummer, Cocuzzi is a fluently inventive improviser on piano. His vibraphone playing ably blends the urgent thrust he displays in his drumming with the fluid grace of his piano playing.

On radio, Cocuzzi recorded a session for NPR’s “Riverwalk: Live at The Landing” with the Jim Cullum Band. It was a tribute to Benny Goodman, The Swing Shift: Jazz on Late-Night Radio, and featured Allan Vaché on clarinet with Nicholas Payton on trumpet.

For 15 years, he was the music director for the 219 Restaurant’s Basin Street Lounge in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. He was also music director for the Crystal City Jazz Celebration from 2003 to 2006.

Jazz, blues and swing vibraphonist, pianist and drummer John Cocuzzi, whose influences are Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo, continues to perform

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