Volume 8, No. 8 January 2012

A JAZZY VALENTINEBy Tanya Suarez

Hello young lovers, older lovers, former lovers, and never lovers who enjoy good music. February’s Jazz @ the CAM on February 9 will warm your hearts as we hear the music of Stardust—a sextet whose specialty is perform-ing a mix of popular jazz standards. The group is known for its vocal and instrumental talent. The players include Laura McFayden on vocals, Jim McFayden on bass, David Tyson on trumpet, guitar and vocals, Rich Zimmerman on tenor sax, Jack Krupicka on piano and vocals and Dave DiMuro on drums.

To set the stage for Valentine’s Day the group will bring to the Cameron Art Museum “An Evening of Romance.” They intend to play songs such as “The Look of Love”, “The Very Thought of You”, “At Last” and of course, “My Funny Valentine”.

Remember that this Jazz @ the CAM is the second Thursday of the month instead of the first so jazz fans can attend the North Carolina Jazz Festival February 2-4. The performance is from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. Tickets are $10 for the general public, $7 for member of the CAM and/or CFJS and $5 for students. Also remember that it is a celebration of Valentine’s Day—wear red!

MEMBERSHIP ID CARD - GOT YOURS?IF YOU HAVE PAID YOUR 2011-2012 MEMBERSHIP FEES AND DID NOT RECEIVE YOUR ID CARD

FROM US, PLEASE DROP US A LINE VIA OURWEBSITE (www.capefearjazzsociety.org)OUR MAILING ADDRESS (PO BOX 4897, Wilmington, NC 28406)

OR CALL PRESIDENT, TANYA SUAREZ (910-792-9531)

Review: TRIPLE THREAT - JIMMY HEATH Featuring PERCY HEATH and ALBERT “TOOTIE” HEATH

Primus Robinson

There was a time when men wore hats. Not caps cocked to the side, but Stetson, Dobbs and Borsalino hats. Martinis were shaken and stirred. We didn’t just watch “Mad Men”; we lived the life style of Mad Men. It was the time of Cool. And Jazz was its messenger. Cool Jazz reigned before the seeming cacophony of Free Jazz. A dominant “Triple Threat” during this Cool period were the giant Heath Brothers. The Heath Brothers took their strong musical beginnings in Wilmington, NC to the potent mixing cauldron of Philadelphia, PA and developed superb individual skills with Jimmy on sax, Albert “Tootie” on drums and Percy on bass. Every great musician of the fifties and sixties found Philly the perfect shedding ground before moving on to the star making machine of New York City. From Coltrane at Peps Lounge, Billie Holiday at Emersons Bar and Grill, all the way to Grover Washington at the Aqua Lounge; Philly allowed musicians to hone their skills for the world stage. The Heath Brothers to this day are considered Philadelphia Royalty. My jazz auditory and visual encyclopedia are based on “A” through “P” learnings in Philly. Part of the potency of “Triple Threat” comes from a combination of young lions, old Turks and the symbiosis of the Heath Brothers themselves. The cover says the “Triple Threat” is Jimmy Heath’s ability to compose, arrange and play tenor while leading a veteran group. This group evolved through several Riverside recordings. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and pianist Cedar Walton are the young lions beginning what would become trail blazing careers. Julius Watkins on french horn is a savvy veteran on a unique instrument to jazz. Brothers Percy and Albert are peer giants whose works have defined and pushed the envelope of modern jazz. Percy’s work, in fact, is defined by the word “modern” through his work with the Modern Jazz Quartet. Al “Tootie” Heath, even after working with the greatest greats, has found time to work on every one of Jimmy’s Riverside sessions. How ironic these two will continue their fraternal coupling at their upcoming Thalian show. The music on this LP...... IT SWINGS! From the standards of “Make Someone Happy” and “The More I See You” to Benny Goodman’s “Goodbye” the music is imbued with crisp upbeats regardless of underlying tempo. The originals by Jimmy soon became instant classics. Cannonball Adderly grabbed “Gemini” for a re-recording before this wax was even pressed. The paces by soloists like Hubbard are blazing with the desire to prove his dexterity. There is no melancholy here. This Jazz is “Rat Pack” Cool. This kind of jazz does not fade away. It creates Legends.

Farewell to Etta James and Johnny OtisCourtney Merchant

On January 20th the great Etta James passed away at Riverside Community Hospital with her husband Artis Mills and their two sons at her side. The Californian native, well known as a blues, R&B, and jazz singer, was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2011. Etta started her career in the mid 1950’s singing at St. Paul Baptist Church in Los Angeles and received vocal training there beginning at the age of five. With a rough childhood and a distant mother, Etta moved around with ever changing caregivers before settling in San Francisco where she formed her first band, an all girl group, called the Creolettes. The Creolettes, named for their light skin, later came to be known as the Peaches. Originally born as Jamesetta Hawkins, she changed her stage name to Etta James while working under the late Johnny Otis, who passed away at age 90 on January 17th. Otis was a musician who discovered many big artists such as Big Jay McNeely and produced or composed several chart topping songs including “Hound Dog” and “Willie and the Hand Jive.” Upon meeting Etta James at only 14, he took her band, the Creolettes, under his wing. Changing the name of the band and the singer led to great success. Otis produced Etta’s first big hit “Dance With Me, Henry” in 1955. Etta went on to tour with Little Richard and further success hit when she signed with Argo and produced her debut album At Last! This album was later inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame. Etta’s success with songs like “I’d Rather Go Blind” and “A Sunday Kind of Love” (my personal favorite) led her through a long, successful career. Her final album, The Dreamer, was released in November 2011. Etta James and Johnny Otis were quite the pair—changing American music in the fifties with their influences of jazz, pop, R&B and even rock and roll.

JAZZ NITE IS BACK!By Tanya Suarez

Jazz Nite, one of the keystones of the Cape Fear Jazz Society’s calendar year, is back! This is a night when the Jazz Society brings internationally renowned jazz musicians to Wilmington to share their talent with our community. Musicians who have performed at this event include Monty Alexander, the Brubeck Brothers, Rene Marie (check out her latest album) and an all star group that included Houston Person, Mickey Roker, Nicki Parrott, Rossano Sportiello and Chuck Redd. It is also our major fundraising event for the year. This year’s Jazz Nite is not just a concert. It is an event with a celebration of two jazz greats with strong ties to the Cape Fear Region. The Cape Fear Jazz Society is very proud to present the Heath Brothers (Jimmy and Albert “Tootie”) on March 10th, 7:30pm at Thalian Hall. The opening act will be renowned percussionist and UNCW Distinguished Professor of Jazz Studies, Joe Chambers with a group of UNCW All Star alumnae featuring Benny Hill, Doug Irving and Brad Merrit. The Heath family produced three jazz greats. Percy, the oldest brother who is deceased, and Jimmy, spent their early lives in Wilmington, where they not only attended Williston High School, but learned to play their instruments and performed in the school’s legendary marching band. Tootie, the youngest of the brothers, was born after the family moved from Wilmington to Philadelphia. All of the brothers are internationally known and respected jazz musicians. Percy may be best known as the bassist in the Modern Jazz Quartet. Jimmy, a saxophonist, has played with many jazz greats and is a composer/arranger and an educator. Tootie, a drummer, has also played with major jazz musicians, is an educator and an actor. All three came together to form the Heath Brothers group in the mid 1970’s. Now, the two remaining brothers perform as the Heath Brothers with accompanying pianists and bassists. Because of their ties to Wilmington, the Heath brothers will receive recognition and proclamations from the office of the Mayor of Wilmington, the City’s Commission on African American History, the Williston Alumnae Association and the UNCW Upperman African American Cultural Center. Other events leading up to the concert include a screening of the film “Brotherly Jazz” which features and tells the story of the Heath Brothers, a book signing by Jimmy of his autobiography, I Walked With Giants, and a master class open to the public for area college and high school students. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at the Thalian Box Office located inside the main entrance to Thalian Hall at 310 Chestnut Street in downtown Wilmington. The box office is open Monday through Saturday from 2pm until 6pm, or until curtain on performance nights. The telephone numbers for the Center Box Office are 910-632-2285; toll free 800-523-2820. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.thalianhall.com. Ticket prices are $30 for prime seating, $25 for choice seating and $20 for seats in the 2nd balcony. CFJS members and groups of 10 or more get a $3 discount on seats in the prime and choice seating sections. So grab a group of friends, get a discount for all of them and come to Thalian Hall for a very special musical treat.

THE JAZZ LIBRARY:Sidney Bechet (1897-1959)

This column has featured Hawkins, Parker and Young, but we haven’t talked about the first major saxophonist. Think about it: did you ever hear a sax in a traditional jazz band? The tenor, alto and soprano melody instruments in early jazz were, of course, trumpets and clarinets. Who introduced the saxophone? Sidney Bechet did. Bechet was born in New Orleans when Jelly Roll Morton was a young child (estimates of Morton’s birth year vary by 5 years), and four years before Louis Armstrong. But Bechet was a child prodigy and may have matured musically in parallel with Morton. Born into a musical family (his four brothers were also musicians), young Sidney started playing with a family band at age six. By his early teens he was playing the great parade bands of New Orleans, and at 16 he was playing with King Oliver. Bechet started as a clarinetist, with a warm, reedy tone that he maintained all his life. But at 20, he moved to Chicago, where he discovered and became fascinated with the curved-bell soprano saxophone. At 22, Bechet moved to New York and joined Will Marion Cook’s Syncopated Orchestra: shortly afterward, the band went to England and played with great acclaim at the Royal Philharmonic Hall. That was Bechet’s turning point. In London, he discovered the straight soprano saxophone and bought one. In this heretofore exotic instrument Bechet discovered a vehicle for a new kind of vocal expressiveness: he developed a forceful, brassy, emotional sound that could compete with the best of the trumpet players in hot passages. In lyrical pieces, Bechet’s soprano sax is almost clarinet-like, still powerful but as sweet and mellow as that strange little instrument is capable of being. In all styles, a fast, precise, strong vibrato is Bechet’s trademark. Returning to the US, Bechet headed for the Okeh studio and cut his first sides on January 30th, 1923. Pianist Clarence Williams produced those sides, and from 1923 to 1925, Bechet recorded many tracks with Clarence Williams and his Blue Five, later including Armstrong, whom Bechet had known since childhood. Additional recordings with Armstrong were made under the name The Red Onion Jazz Babies. Collectively, these recordings are as good as early-1920s jazz gets, and they were hugely influential among other musicians. In the December 1924 recording of “Cake Walking Babies from Home” with the Jazz Babies, Bechet actually outplays Armstrong, a feat perhaps never repeated by any artist (and not repeated by Bechet in the Blue Five recording of the same tune made a couple of weeks later). At about this time, Bechet also played with an early incarnation of Duke Ellington’s Washingtonians: most regrettably, there were no recordings. In London the Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet had heard the band, and in an article that is often quoted referred to Bechet as “an extraordinary clarinet virtuoso” and an “artist of genius.” Having loved his first European visit, Bechet sailed again in 1925 and stayed overseas until 1931, playing in England, France, Germany and Russia. (This tour included a year in a French jail, as a result of a gunfight among musicians in Paris that wounded three people.) Returning to America, Bechet joined the Noble Sissle orchestra, with which he did some of his best work. Falling on hard times during the Depression, he ran an unsuccessful tailor’s shop with trumpeter Tommy Ladnier. The two jammed with other musicians in the back of the shop, and made some great recordings under the name of “The New Orleans Feetwarmers.” Their 1932 sides, in particular, are essential to the music lover, but their 1940 and 1941 cuts are also wonderful, epitomizing “hot jazz.” Unfortunately, hot jazz by that time was passé. In 1939, Bechet cut some sides with pianist Willie “The Lion” Smith in which jazz stepped for the first time into Latin American territory. Throughout the 1940’s Bechet’s career marked time, with little growth and few notable successes. He had no interest in bebop, although he was close friends with Charlie Parker. In 1949, wrongly convinced that the American jazz scene had gone stale, but correctly judging that he had little more to offer it, he moved permanently to Europe, where Black American jazz musicians always seemed more welcome than they were at home. In France, his popularity soared. There he had no trouble finding work, and he landed a contract with the French Vogue label that lasted the rest of his life. His hit tunes, including “Les Oignons,” “Promenade aux Champs Elysees,” and “Petite Fleur” (the latter well known to American audiences) date from these years. So Sidney Bechet, American music pioneer, lived out his twilight years as a show business and pop star in France, dying of lung cancer on his sixty-second birthday. It’s a little saddening to hear music from these days: it is played with great brilliance by a man, still at the peak of his powers, who had outlived his era by a quarter of a century. Although regarded as a superstar among musicians, and quite influential (notably on alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who studied with him as a teenager), Bechet is not as well-known to today’s listeners as many of his contemporaries, and

his recordings are few by comparison. As is often the case, a great way to start with this artist is the single CD from the Ken Burns collection (Sony, still in print). There is no single CD known to me that adequately covers his entire career, and even this one lacks his final Paris years. As usual, beware of albums titled “Complete” and “Best of.” The Complete Sidney Bechet, Vols. 1 and 2 (Jazz Tribune, out of print but still available new) covers only 1932-1941, although it does so quite well. The Best of Sidney Bechet (Blue Note, still in print) summarizes 1939-1951 quite well. But neither can be truthfully called “Complete” or “Best of.” If you buy both of those albums together with Young Sidney Bechet: 1923-1925 (Timeless, out of print but available as a CD-R reprint from Amazon), you will have a fairly complete survey of Bechet’s American work. Then you must buy Les Jazz RTL (Vogue Europe, still in print), a 3-CD set at a bargain price, to get a sample of his French work in the early 1950s, including his pop hits. If that sounds a bit tame, I suggest you check it out: the music is clearly out of date, but it swings as hard as Armstrong or Basie ever did. A wonderful CD for Bechet aficionados is Runnin’ Wild (Blue Note, out of print but still available new) in which Bechet teamed with cornetist Wild Bill Davison in 1949 and 1950 for fresh looks at twenty Bechet standards. Blue Note’s LP re-release of this material was in simulated stereo, a frequent curse of the early stereo years; but to the publisher’s credit, the CD release reverts to good old mono. To get close to a complete Bechet discography, one would have to buy 16 volumes of the fabulous French Chronological Classics series, but regrettably, most of the Bechet volumes are out of print and not easily available used. In 1941, Bechet experimented in the RCA studios with multi-track recording, laying down “one-man-band” sides of “The Sheik of Araby” and “Blues of Bechet.” Remember that this was in the days before tape, let alone before digital recording. Bechet first cut a 78 rpm disc playing the piano track, then cut another 78 playing drums while the piano disc was played simultaneously, and so on, each version getting worse in audio quality. Bechet eventually played piano, drums, bass, soprano sax, tenor sax, and clarinet, in a musically credible (though sonically awful) performance. No good deed goes unpunished: as a reward for this innovation by Bechet and RCA, the American Federation of Musicians formally protested the recording, putting an end to commercial overdubbing in the US for many years. The acoustic muddle of the “one-man-band” recording of “Sheik” can be heard in an album titled Really the Blues (ASV, still in print), which includes a terrific assortment of other 1932-1941 material. Both of the “one-man-band” recordings appear on Petite Fleur (Phoenix, still in print). This album is actually quite a good single-disc survey of Bechet’s work from the early 1930s onward, working with such stars as Henry “Red” Allen, Sidney Catlett, Kenny Clarke, Sidney de Paris, Earl Hines, Tommy Ladnier, Mezz Mezzrow, Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Shavers, Zutty Singleton, Willie “The Lion” Smith, Rex Stewart, and others. I don’t own this album so I can’t vouch for its quality. In any case, you can hear the “one-man-band” version of “Sheik of Araby” on the internet (http://www.redhotjazz.com/bechet.html). You will find it to be fully as horrible as you would guess. In Verne Buland’s words, “If you can hear the drums, you win a cigar.”

Sidney Bechet, ca. 1950 © Unknown

FEBRUARYThursday, 9th CHRIS BOTTI East Carolina University Greenville, NCFriday, 10th OVERTONE QUARTET (DAVE HOLLAND, CHRIS POTTER, JASON MORAN, & ERIC HARLAND) UNC, Chapel Hill, NCFriday, 10th PAT BERGESON & ANNIE SELLICK Heart and Soul of Jazz Festival at Carolina Hotel Pinehurst, NCSaturday, 11th BRIAN NEWMAN Heart and Soul of Jazz Festival Carolina Hotel, Pinehurst, NCFriday, 24th CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE UNC Chapel Hill, NCSaturday, 25th STEPHANIE NAKASIAN Pamlico Musical Society Oriental, NCTuesday, 28th WYNTON MARSALIS UNC WilmingtonMARCHThursday, 15th WYNTON MARSALIS JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA UNC Chapel Hill, NCWednesday, 21st DAVID BENOIT & BRIAN CULBERTSON Carolina Theatre Durham, NCThursday, 22nd HERBIE HANCOCK UNC Chapel Hill, NC

Thursday, 22nd DIANA KRALL Durham Performing Arts Center Durham, NCSaturday, 24th JOHN PIZZARELLI & JESSICA MOLASKEY NC State University Raleigh, NC APRILThursday, 10th JOSHUA REDMAN & BRAD MEHLDAU UNC Chapel Hill, NCTuesday, 17th STANLEY JORDAN Charlotte, NCThursday, 19th STANLEY JORDAN Charlotte, NCSunday, 22nd KIRK WHALUM Charlotte, NCMAYSaturday, 12th RIPPINGTONS High Point Theatre High Point, NCJUNEFriday, 22nd PIECES OF A DREAM Uptown Charlotte Jazz Festival Charlotte, NC tickets at www.uptowncharlottejazzfest.comSaturday, 23rd BONEY JAMES Uptown Charlotte Jazz Festival Charlotte, NC tickets at www.uptowncharlottejazzfest.com

JAZZ ACROSS THE STATEContributors: Matthew Lilly, Tanya Suarez, and TomtheJazzman Mallison

Come join the32nd Annual

NC Jazz Festival

February 2, 3, & 4, 2012Wilmington Hilton Riverside

www.ncjazzfestival.com

JAZZ IN THE CAPE FEAR REGION

February2nd-4th NC Jazz Festival Hilton Riverside, Wilmington ncjazzfestival.com9th* Jazz @ the CAM with Stardust (Jim & Laura McFayden & Friends) 6:30, Cameron Art Museum (910) 395-5999 www.cameronartmuseum.com24th UNCW Big Band and Combo 7:30 pm Beckwith Recital Hall Cultural Arts building http://www.uncw.edu/music/28th Wynton Marsalis Kenan Auditorium, UNCW (910) 962-3500

March1st* Jazz @ the CAM with the Wahl Project 6:30, Cameron Art Museum (910) 395-5999 www.cameronartmuseum.com10th* Heath Brothers Homecoming Celebration Thalian Hall (910) 632-2285 www.thalianhall.com17th Linda Lavin

with Billy Stritch, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Brown, & Steve Bakunas Kenan auditorium, UNCW (910) 962-350025th* Liz Pina & the FROG Project 3-5, Community Center Southport29th UNCW JAZZFEST: Big Band and Combo 7:30 pm Beckwith Recital Hall Cultural Arts building http://www.uncw.edu/music/30th UNCW JAZZFEST: Chick Corea in Concert 7:30 pm / Warwick Center UNCW Campus http://www.uncw.edu/music/

April5th* Jazz @ the CAM with Benny Hill 6:30, Cameron Art Museum (910) 395-5999 www.cameronartmuseum.com17th UNCW Jazz Guitar Ensemble 7:30 pm / Beckwith Recital Hal Cultural Arts building Randall Drive

http://www.uncw.edu/music/

18th UNCW Senior Recital: Taylor Lee, Bass 7:30 pm Beckwith Recital Hall Cultural Arts building Randall Drive http://www.uncw.edu/music/20th* CFJS/UNCW Scholarship Concert with Karrin Allyson Kenan Auditorium, UNCW (910) 962-350027th UNCW Jazz Combos 7:30 pm Beckwith Recital Hall Cultural Arts building Randall Drive http://www.uncw.edu/music/

May11th John Brown Orchestra 8:00, Thalian Hall (910) 632-2885 * An asterisk indicates events sponsored or co-sponsored by the Cape Fear Jazz Society