The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is on his way to the Midwest to Chicago, Illinois for a stroll around Lakeshore Drive or taking the El across town. This is my town in the summertime and I’ll be arriving a day early to renew memories of Lakeshore Drive, the Field Museum, Millennium Park or take an afternoon cruise down the Chicago River.
However, this trip will be another first time visit to a new venue for this traveler but not for those patrons who have appreciated jazz since 1935 when they first opened their doors. Whether considered famous or infamous the Green Mill Jazz Club was a favorite haunt for mobster Al Capone who turned it into a speakeasy, had his own booth and had some of the most noted musicians of the era to perform. Today it still swings with notable local, national and international acts.
Not only is this a new venue for me but a new musician I’ve never heard before. Pianist and harmonic player Harold Levy will be on stage from 8:00pm to midnight with his trio of players Chris Siebold on guitar, Joshua Ramos on bass, and drummer Luis Ewerling.
The venue is located at 4802 N. Broadway Avenue, 60640. For tickets and more info go to https://notoriousjazz.com/event/howard-levy-4.
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The Jazz Voyager
From the Big Apple to the Carolinas is the next sojourn this Jazz Voyager is taking for a first time visit to the Joseph M. Bryan, Jr. Amphitheater. The 500 seat outdoor venue has lawn seating for 2,800 and is located in Museum Park situated at the heart of the North Carolina Museum of Art campus amid gardens, meadows, woodlands, and site-specific art installations and sculpture.
This week is a two-fer on this voyage with singer-songwriter Gregory Porter is taking the stage as the headliner. Coming out of Bakersfield, California, he cites the Bakersfield Southern Gospel sound and his mother’s Nat King Cole record collection as fundamental influences on his own sound. Opening for him is The Baylor Project, the Grammy nominated duo of Jean and Marcus Baylor, who have built their career on love, family, faith, culture, and community.
The venue is located at 2110 Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh, NC 27607. For tickets and more info go to https://notoriousjazz.com/event/gregory-porter-the-baylor-project.
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HOWARD LEVY 4
Howard Levy, two- time Grammy Award Winner for Pop Music Performance and Instrumental Composition, is an acknowledged master of the diatonic harmonica, a superb pianist, innovative composer, educator and producer. At the age of 19, he discovered how to play the diatonic harmonica as a fully chromatic instrument by developing techniques on it that had never existed before. This enabled Howard to take the harmonica out of its usual role as a Folk and Blues instrument, and into the worlds of Jazz, Classical, Middle Eastern music, and more. His discovery unlocked infinite possibilities for the harmonica world.
Howard Levy – piano, harmonica
Chris Siebold – guitar
Joshua Ramos – bass
Luis Ewerling – drums
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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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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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