FEBRUARY2010

B.B. King Joe Lovano

Edward SimonMatt Wigler

Otis Taylor

Buddy Guy

Larry Coryell

Sugar BlueHoneyboy Edwards

Charles Tolliver

Stamm/Mays

THIS EDITION IS DEDICATED TO THE LIFE OF PATRICK “JOE” McCARDLE. JAZZ IN PEACE.

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WINNING SPINSSAXOPHONIST JOE LOVANO’S 2009proved to be a year of highs and lows. The lowscame in late October and early November, ashe suffered hairline fractures in each armduring separate falls while touring in Europe.The remainder of the tour had to be canceledas he underwent surgery, but the resilientCleveland-born, Berklee-trained saxophonistrecovered and is thankfully now back on the road.

Back in May, the Joe Lovano Us Five hadreleased Folk Art (Blue Note), a far-reachingeffort that appeared near the top of many 2009year-end critics' polls—including numberone in JazzTimes magazine. The ever-search-ing bandleader, 57, rounded out his quintetfor the disc with another veteran in pianistJames Weidman and a youthful, unorthodoxrhythm section. Bassist Esperanza Spalding,only 25 (who has a solo appearance scheduledfor February 20 at Palm Beach CommunityCollege’s Lake Worth campus), joined dualdrummers Otis Brown III and FranciscoMela—each of whom also plays ankle bells,gongs and other percussives.

No two Lovano albums, or even composi-tions, sound alike, something that becomesobvious early in the disc. On the energeticopener “Powerhouse,” he uses the tenor sax-ophone within harmonic structures thatintermittently recall John Coltrane, CharlieParker and Ornette Coleman. The leaderthen develops a loping theme on the lengthytitle track that appears to break down afterthree minutes. But that's when Brown andMela—panned right and left for completeseparation between their drum kits—use acreative double-drum solo to introduce theswinging midsection. Lovano then re-enters,using his tenor to downshift back to theopening theme for the song's coda.

“Folk Art” hints at the outside nature ofthings to come—avant-garde leanings that, inthe hands of lesser musical explorers, mightsound trite. On the free-time ballad “WildBeauty” the drummers use brushes and malletsto accentuate Spalding's pulsating bass line andLovano’s singing tenor. Weidman plays sparsechords until his middle solo. Here he unleashesa mad rush of notes, creating a tension that’sreleased upon the return to the main

theme. The pianist also plays a beautifulintro to “Song for Judi,” a ballad Lovanowrote for his wife, vocalist Judi Silvano.

“Us Five” turns Weidman loose on anotherstatement-making middle solo, but onlyafter Lovano plays call-and-response with bothdrummers in an introductory, New Orleans-influenced march. It’s a pattern that’s alsorepeated near the end, complete with amature-beyond-her-years solo by Spalding.

The album ventures even further “outside”on “Drum Song,” as the two percussionistscreate a controlled cacophony that's accentu-ated by Lovano on multiple instruments. Inaddition to his saxes, he plays gongs andtaragato, a Hungarian folk instrument hedescribes in the liner notes as “half clarinetand half soprano saxophone, with many colorsand a human-voice sound.” Lovano one-upshimself on “Dibango” by playing anaulochrome, a new polyphonic, chromaticwoodwind instrument that resembles twosoprano saxophone bodies with the keysdown the middle. The results often sound like

JOE LOVANO

By Bill Meredith

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dueling saxes on the track, which is dedicated toCameroonian saxophonist and vibraphonistManu Dibango.

Lovano uses an alto clarinet to create asparse, folkish mood on “Page 4,” which featuresmore Spalding brilliance through her unac-companied bass break. The saxophonistwears his open-form heart on his sleeve onthe album-concluding “Ettenro”—Ornettespelled backwards. Weidman is again stellar,as is Lovano, who switches between tenorand alto saxes. Not a standard, curvedalto, mind you, but rather an unorthodoxstraight horn. All in keeping with thiscurveball-throwing artist's unbroken linkto the pioneers of jazz freedom.

Joe Lovano performs on Feb. 18 at the University ofNorth Florida’s Robinson Theater in Jacksonville. For more information, call 904-620-2878 or visit unf.edu/coas/music/calendar.html.

WINNING SPINS

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B.B. KING AND BUDDY GUYHARD ROCK LIVE, HOLLYWOOD/FEB. 2“B.B. is the only person who has ever shown me any-thing on the guitar,” Buddy Guy relates in his 1993biography Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues. “Otherthan what he taught me, I’m completely self-taught.”As an up-and-comer making his name in Chicago, Guyrevered the already-famous King, copping many of hislicks and even performing some of his signaturetunes. Mightily impressed, B.B. gave Buddy his firsttheater gig in 1958, opening for his band at Chicago’sTrianon Ballroom. The pair have been close friendsever since. Both King, 84, and Guy, 73, continue tocreate plenty of excitement. King’s Grammy-winning2008 recording, One Kind Favor, ranks among his best.

Guy, who performedin South Florida withDr. John in November,graced the cover ofthis month’s Downbeatmagazine and hisname pops up on EricClapton’s Fender edi-tion T-Mobile phone in a recent TV com-mercial. Expect plentyof reminiscences, aswell as the singularblues styles that haveinspired generationsof blues artists. BW

S P O T L I G H TEDWARD SIMON, TIPTONS SAX QUARTETJAZZ ON EDGE, GARDEN THEATREWINTER GARDEN/FEB. 6This annual festival features two intriguing headliners,a preceding performance by the Lakeview Middle SchoolJazz Band, and an after-hours jam with New York-basedtrumpeter Brian Groder. The New York Times has praisedVenezuelan pianist Edward Simon’s touch as “light andwarm,” and Jazz Journal International hailed his “dramaand invention.” Simon’s latest two CamJazz CDs, Unicityand Poesia, have furthered his name recognition. Eachdisplays his heralded touch supported by the all-starrhythm team of John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade.The Tiptons Saxophone Quartet features the frontlineof saxophonists Jessica Lurie, Tina Richerson, Amy

Denio and Sue Orfield,plus drummer LeeFrisari. The Seattle-based group’s unortho-dox instrumentationcreates a full andunique sound, and theband takes its namefrom a musician with abizarre back story. Saxplayer Billy Tipton(1914-1989) was DorothyTipton ’til she realizedshe could play more gigsas a he. The cross-dress-ing reed-player took hersecret to the grave. BM

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LARRY CORYELL-DR. LONNIE SMITH TRIOMINIACI CENTER, FT. LAUDERDALE/FEB. 13Texas-born guitarist Larry Coryell quit studying jour-nalism at the University of Washington and moved toNew York City in 1965, starting a career that wouldcause Downbeat editor Dan Ouellette to dub him the“Godfather of Fusion.” He formed the seminal fusionband The Eleventh House (with trumpeter Randy Breckerand Weather Report drummer Alphonse Mouzon) in theearly 1970s, and has recent high-octane releases withbassist Victor Bailey (Weather Report) and drummerLenny White (Return to Forever). Replacing the orig-inally scheduled Joey DeFrancesco, Coryell’s foil for hisSouth Florida Jazz concert will be Hammond organistDr. Lonnie Smith. The Buffalo native, whose 1960s Blue

Note efforts and workwith George Bensoncemented his legacy asa funky and inventivepresence on the B3,has been one of SouthFlorida’s leading key-boardists for decades.Coryell is also adept atthe organ-trio format,as can be heard on his2008 Chesky recordingImpressions: The NewYork Sessions. Thedrummer for this FortLauderdale show willbe Marty Morrell. BM

S P O T L I G H TCHARLES TOLLIVERMELTON MUSTAFA JAZZ FESTIVALFLORIDA MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY, MIAMI GARDENS/FEB. 13Now in its 14th year, the Melton Mustafa Jazz Festivalwas founded by its namesake trumpeter. The Miaminative and Basie band alum hosts the annual event atFlorida Memorial University, where he serves as headof the Jazz Studies Program. One of the festival’s starclinicians and performers this year is also one ofMustafa’s influential forebears. 67-year-old trumpeterCharles Tolliver taught himself how to play whilemajoring in pharmacology at Howard University. He hassince been featured in bands led by Jackie McLean, MaxRoach, Roy Haynes, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey and McCoy

Tyner. Tolliver now leadsa big band that canalternately boil andsimmer, as evidencedon its 2009 live CDEmperor March. Priorto the all-star concert atthe Lou Rawls Theater,Tolliver, Mustafa, sax-man Jesse Jones Jr.,pianist Edward Simon,vocalist Yvonne Brown,bassist Ed Howard anddrummer Victor Lewiswill participate inFriday workshops andmaster classes. BM

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Log on to www.bostonsonthebeach.comfor our complete lineup, menus, photos and more!Located on the waterfront in Delray Beach, Boston’s is the ideal place

for casual dining, live music and sports viewing in our first-floor restaurant, The Beach. Or enjoy great cuisine and cocktails

upstairs at our fine dining restaurant, The UpperDeck. And be sure to check out our Back Bay Tiki Bar for a tropical cocktail

while listening to some of the area’s finest musicians on our outdoor stage. Boston’s… something for everyone!

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MARVIN STAMM AND BILL MAYSHARRIET HIMMEL THEATER,WEST PALM BEACH/FEB. 23Trumpeter Marvin Stamm and pianist Bill Mays onlyappear to be jazz’s version of The Odd Couple. WhenMemphis native Stamm eschewed Tennessee blues to studyat North Texas State University, and Sacramento productMays chose the Naval School of Music over northernCalifornia’s stereotypical cool jazz scene, the two even-tually bonded through bebop and traditional jazz. Eachhas a storied history—Stamm has worked with FrankSinatra and Benny Goodman; Mays with SarahVaughan and Gerry Mulligan—and leads his owngroups. However, during the past 10 years, they’vecollaborated on outstanding duo and quartet CDs (2000’s

By Ourselves, 2007’sAlone Together), as wellas formed two-thirdsof the Inventions Trio,which marries jazz andchamber music. Forthe JAMS 10th anniver-sary celebration, Stammand Mays will playoriginals and standardswith bassist RichardDrexler and drummerMarty Morrell. Stammand Mays also willperform at Lakeland’sBranscomb Auditoriumon Feb. 24-25. BM

S P O T L I G H TMATT WIGLERTARPON LODGE, PINELAND/FEB. 11At age 15, blues and jazz pianist Matt Wigler displaysthe musical maturity of a seasoned vet. And no wonder:Before he could even drive a car, the Baltimore prodigyhad already shared stages or opened for the likes of BuddyGuy, Bobby Rush, Marcia Ball and even South Florida’sown Joey Gilmore. On Epiphony, his sophomore release,Wigler showcases his natural fusion of slinky soul-jazzand butt-shaking boogie-woogie on acoustic piano, aswell as Hammond organ and Wurlitzer. A disciple offellow Baltimorean Deanna Bogart—who blows sax ona few tunes and produced the album—Wigler pennedsix of the 10 tracks here. The talented teen also boastsa jazzy, terrifically engaging vocal style, which can be

heard to great effecton a version of RobbenFord’s “Lateral Climb,”sung in duet withBogart. Wigler rips theivory from the keys onhis exuberant CharlieParker update “BoogieAu Privave” as well ason his own spirited“High Five Boogie,” andhis speedy Hammondruns on the self-penned“Mac and Cheese” fur-ther astound. Expectgreat things from thisdeveloping talent. BW

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SUGAR BLUE, OTIS TAYLORRIVERWALK MUSIC & BLUES FESTIVALDOWNTOWNER/FORT LAUDERDALE/FEB. 13The 21st edition of this event boasts a couple of singularheadliners in harmonica virtuoso Sugar Blue andmesmerizing tale-spinner Otis Taylor. James “SugarBlue” Whiting gained his greatest prominence when herecorded the hit “Miss You” with the Rolling Stones in1978. But he had truly earned his blues cred on sessionswith genre giants such as Johnny Shines, LouisianaRed and Honeyboy Edwards. A dazzlingly skilled musi-cian and fine, soulful singer, Sugar Blue adds a varietyof colors and flavors to his blues. On his latest recording,Threshold, the chromatic harp wizard incorporates jazz,pop and R&B into the mix. But he can still kick the hell

out of the blues on tuneslike “Messin’ With theKid” and “Trouble.”Taylor similarly usesblues as a launchingpoint. The guitarist andvocalist has created agenre of his own withoften-harrowing storysongs that personalizethe plight of the dispossessed andimpoverished. Taylorexpands his palettewith jazz textures on2009’s Pentatonic Warsand Love Songs. BW

S P O T L I G H THONEYBOY EDWARDSCOLONY THEATRE, MIAMI BEACH/FEB. 20The title of David “Honeyboy” Edwards’ 2008 recordingRoamin’ and Ramblin’ could hardly be more fitting.As recounted in his invaluable 1997 autobiography,The World Don’t Owe Me Nothing, the 94-year-old hitthe road while in his teens, hopping trains and learningthe rudiments of the itinerant blues life from none otherthan Big Joe Williams. Although their friendship wasbrief—Honeyboy was there the night Robert Johnsonwas fatally poisoned in 1938—the tragic bluesman’simpact on him was profound. Edwards eventually settledin Chicago, his home of more than 50 years, and hasbeen globally celebrated as blues royalty. In fact, hetook Blues Music Awards in 2005 and 2007, and won a

Grammy for the 2007multi-artist album Lastof the Great MississippiDelta Bluesmen: Live inDallas. The RecordingAcademy also presentedhim with a LifetimeAchievement Awardin January. Even athis advanced age,Edwards’ ghostly vocalsand eloquent pickingare startlingly affecting.For his Miami concert,he will be accompa-nied by guitarist SteveArvey. BW

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