Saturday night I was lucky enough to get finished with my Christmas tree hunting and related activities in time to catch some of the celebration get together for crooner Rick Evans and his Lifetime Achievement Award. Congratulations to Rick! Rick was backed by The Masters of Jazz, the inimitable Jim Smith on guitar, Vinnie on the skinny [Vinny Marshal on bass] and the flugle horn player extraordinaire, Mike Teckenbrock. Rick was also joined by guest vocalist Beverly Jackson - geez, haven't heard her in months and get to hear her twice within just a couple of weeks. All-in-all, very enjoyable.
The first Thursday of this month of December, 2010 I was also able to catch the Dayton Jazz Orchestra (DJO) at Harrigan's South in Centerville. It is always a good night if you get to hear DJO as they are quite the accomplished big band jazz group. Naturally the players change slightly from performance to performance but that never seems to hurt their sound. It was a fun night, got to take my granddaughter for part of it, heard some great Christmas carols and former Stan Kenton trumpet player John Harner played one of the sweetest solos I have ever heard. DJO & Big Band aficianado Bob Young agreed with me that it was a perfect solo. Thank you John Harner and thank you DJO.
While I was glad to catch DJO just a few minutes from my house, I unfortunately missed other accomplished musicians down in the Cincy area at the Redmoor where arguably my favorite bass player, Mike Sharfe, joined piano player Steve Alee. Mike called Steve a great artist and an amazing piano player as he lamented the all to often "very dismal turnouts" - so I hope their turnout was a good one. Speaking of missing a desirable gig, somehow I managed to miss the Eddie Brookshire Quintet when they recently performed at The Liquid Room, a new jazz venue just East of 48 on 725 in Centerville. My apologies Eddie, hope the gig lived up to expectations. well, that's it for now. Hope to see some of you around town at the live jazz performances. We may have lost the Crown Plaza but we have gained The Liquid Room, Harrigan's South, and hopefully Carvers, now hosting the displaced Shawn Stanley Trio (who can lay down some pretty good jazz licks). May have to start calling OH 725 between Yankee Trace and OH 48 the new jazz corridor.
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