Jimmy Smith |
Fresh harmony does longtime quartet proud STEVE MARCH TORME GETS MUCH-DESERVED STANDING "O" AT ROPER THEATER The Big Man, A Big Hit John Toomey Trio, Lisanne
Lyons at Roper Performing Arts Center Jazz organist and sidekicks
put on fine show 4 Freshmen make the grade with Norfolk crowd Murphy gets jazz series off to
a smooth start Freddy Cole's Style Oozes the Blues,
With a Bit of Brother Nat
STEVE MARCH TORME GETS MUCH-DESERVED STANDING "O" AT ROPER THEATER Mel Torme must be grinning from ear-to-ear with pride as he looks down on the singing act of his son, Steve March Torme. Each one is absolutely superb in both departments: singing and showmanship. The year's final program for JAZZ ON GRANBY was entitled "Totally Torme." While Steve looks nothing like Mel, there's a strong similarity in the singing. Steve's tone is smooth and velvet like Mel's and his range enables him to express himself like a horn, but with the utmost respect for lyrics. I'm not much for scatting, but make a marked departure for Steve's efforts. The show offered slides, charmingly-told anecdotes, a bit of tap-dancing, and a video of young Steve singing in a club, with Mel at the keys… and just enough solo work by his trio. His gestures, moves, and attire were just right. He deserves extra accolades for doing the exquisite verses to Star Dust, Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, Mountain Greenery, and the killer song, Kern & Hammerstein's The Folks Who Live On The Hill, which David Allyn (sometimes Allen) made a singers' tune in 1957. The seldom-heard Ruby was sung over slides of his first daughter. Blues? He sizzled on Sent For You Yesterday. What taste; This Time the Dreams On Me and I Thought About You were Gems. Pianist Steve Rawlins soloed movingly on the all-too-rare On The Street Where You Live, and Mel's composition Born To Be Blue; although he omitted Mel's Stranger In Town, Steve gave us the Ben Tucker fluke hit, Coming Home Baby (which Mel recorded reluctantly), and of course saved for his encore Mel's The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire). Bassist Mack Hall had several swinging solos, and tasteful drummer Billy Williams provided quiet (thankfully) but swinging backup. Kudos again to Blake Cullen for bringing JAZZ ON GRANBY to us; the 5th season is over; would that this was EVERY month.
The Big Man, A Big Hit IT WAS A BUSY night in Norfolk town: Bruce Springsteen at the Ted, Romeo & Juliet at the Harrison, The Admirals at Scope, an all-star Veteran's Day benefit at the Granby. But the best entertainment value of the evening was probably Kevin Mahogany's performance at the Roper. The premiere male jazz singer of the baby boom generation, Mahogany is a big man with a big voice. Decked out in a double-breasted burnt orange suit with brown shirt and tie, Mahogany wrapped his rich, distinctive voice around a set of standards that ran from the obvious to the obscure. With the bare bones accompaniment of pianist Doug Bickel and acoustic bassist Chuck Bergeron, he reached deep into the set-list's melodies to mine new gold from old veins. Even without a drummer, the music swung all night long. Kicking off with the classic "Nature Boy," Mahogany and crew moved nimbly through the tune most associated with Nat King Cole. Promising to cover familiar territory, he did just that with the swingingest version I've heard of "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter, before bluesin' up "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." Bickel, a former Virginia Tech music prof who currently teaches at the University of New Orleans, threw touches of barrelhouse, ragtime and de blues into his piano solos, while his comping flourishes and chord choices were creative and on-target. Mahogany acknowledged the influence of the late Johnny Hartman on his style, repertoire and even his instrumental lineup, noting that a hard-to-find Japanese recording by Hartman, Summertime Club, was the inspiration for choosing a piano/bass duo backing. He subsequently dove into the beautiful but little known ballad, "If I'm Lucky," a hit for Perry Como in the '40s that was recorded by Hartman in 1963. Mahogany's intimate embrace of the song made the case for its elevation to standard status. Then the trio drove down "Route 66" in a casual blues groove as the folks in the audience snapped their fingers and bobbed their heads. The singer's scat solo whipped the crowd of 400 into a frenzy of shouts and applause. Another seldom heard Hartman chestnut, "Kiss and Run," kept the mood upbeat. Bergeron shone on a totally acoustic "All Blues," just voice and bass, before Bickel reappeared for a gorgeous "Lush Life." Pointing out that he was from Kansas City, where state law required him to sing at least two blues songs each night, Mahogany launched into "Centerpiece," a joyful blues composed by Harry "Sweets" Edison and Jon Hendricks. There was ample room for all three to stretch out, including the singer himself with a cleverly conceived mouth drum solo. The well-worn "Secret Love," a Latin-tinged "My Shining Hour" and an achingly beautiful "For All We Know" closed out the evening in superb style. This was Kevin Mahogany's third visit to Norfolk, and he remembered his first two-- a 1995 Town Point Jazz Festival gig opening for Yellowjackets and Earl Klugh, where he said he was the only acoustic act on the bill; and a visit to ODU last fall to play with John Toomey. Each time he's been terrific-- humorous, personable and incomparable in his vocalizing. Veteran's Night at the Roper was no exception. In its fifth season, Jazz on Granby is off to one of its best starts yet. With Mahogany's show and October opener starring Grady Tate, former baseball executive-turned-jazz impresario Blake Cullen has hit back-to-back home runs.
John Toomey Trio, Lisanne
Lyons at Roper Performing Arts Center Former hockey impresario Blake Cullen is presenting his second year of “Jazz on Granby.” This season’s third concert offered four college teachers doing a program of previously requested songs, including many seemingly forgotten gems by underrated cleffers. ODU’s Toomey has played worldwide and has been designated a cultural specialist by the U.S. Information Agency. One word sums up his balladry: exquisite. Examples included WALTZ FOR DEBBY, MY FOOLISH HEART, HOW DEEP IS THE OCEAN? and BLAME IT ON MY YOUTH. He often rises with glee from the piano bench, probably involuntarily. Special guest-artist Lisanne Lyons, lead voice of the Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet, enhanced the evening with a lovely tone, facility, range, ideas, enthusiasm, good looks, a smart pantsuit, and just-right stage-business. She exchanges “fours” with the band, and did I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU accompanied only by the masterful Jimmy Master on Bass. Lisanne closed the show with the magnificent CHRISTMAS SONG. Hopefully she’ll return soon – with her vocal group. Her website is www.uptownvocaljazzquartet.com. Drummer Howard Curtis’ tour de force was CARAVAN, but the whole night was a lesson in quiet brushwork that most drummers could envy. Unlike most concerts, even the soundman had good taste. On January 17th, Jon Faddis brings his trumpet to town.
On March 7th the Four Freshmen return. Last year they were absolutely
electrifying! Despite the events always falling on Fridays, I’ve
never had a problem finding on-street parking within a few blocks.
Jazz organist and sidekicks
put on fine show Music Review NORFOLK – Wurlitzer organs always make this reviewer want to skate backward, but a few blasts from a Hammond B-3 will make a person leap up and praise the Lord or dance. In the right hands, one Hammond organ is practically a big band or a revival meeting. Friday night, Joey DeFrancesco, a jazz virtuoso on the instrument, brought his trio to the Roper Performing Arts Center downtown as part of the fabulous Jazz on Granby series. Just last month, Downbeat magazine named him the premier jazz organist. His sidekicks – drummer Bryon Landham and guitarist Craig Ebner – were plenty good enough to share the stage. A jazz trio cannot afford a week link, and this trio had none. All three, incidentally, are from Philadelphia. On the opening number, Landham played the kind of extended solo that causes listening drummers to burn their sticks and melt down their cymbals. His sense of time was rock solid. He played his bass drum with total control, as though it were a big tom-tom and he had a third hand. Often, if not usually, the best drum soloists are crummy accompanists, but Landham has been with DeFrancesco for more than a decade, and they played as one. Long sections of songs were essentially organ-drum duets, with a strumming guitar accompaniment. Landham and DeFrancesco intertwined highly complicated counter rhythms, creating jazz fugues. It was as though they were apart and together at the same time. Ebner’s guitar sound was the essence of mellow, and
like everybody else, he swung. If memory serves, every single solo by every
trio member was followed by applause, if not shouts of approval and whistles.
Most of the audience of several hundred was plugged in, though dozens of people
left early. What were they thinking? He played great organ songs like “East of the Sun.” The sounds ranged from ballad rollicking swing to near free form. A great instrument and a great musician make for great music.
4 Freshmen make the grade with
Norfolk crowd Norfolk - more charming evening of jazz there never was. The up-tempo songs swung. The ballads were pretty. Every word was clear. The chords were thick and gorgeous. The Four Freshmen came to town Friday night. They performed as part of the Jazz on Granby series at the Jeanne & George Roper Performing Arts Center in downtown. Obviously, these weren't the original Four Freshmen, a jazz group that started 53 years ago in Indiana, after beginning as a barbershop quartet. On Friday, the four performers' ages ranged from 24 to 31, roughly half the average for the packed house. As did the originals, the singers accompanied themselves, usually on drums, guitar, bass and trumpet. Their names are Brian Eichenberger, Vince Johnson, Bob Ferreira and Curtis Calderon. If you're over 50, you need hear only a couple of Four Freshmen chords, with the lead singer on top, to know which group is singing. It's easy to see that the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas, the Manhattan Transfer and many other groups learned from them. Somehow, Friday, the Four Freshmen never sang "Graduation Day," but they did sing "It's a Blue World," "Poinciana," "Day by Day," "It Could Happen to You," "Get Your Kicks on Route 66," "I Remember You," and "Day In, Day out." Over 80-some minutes, they packed in more than 20 tunes. There weren't any that the listener wanted to end. For an encore, they sang, unmiked, "I'm Forever Chasing Rainbows," with only a guitar for accompaniment. The foursome was funny all night. The drummer tried to whistle and claimed to have eaten crackers before the show. They weren't the originals, but they were very good. The
group still wins jazz polls for best vocal group.
Murphy gets jazz series off to a
smooth start Norfolk - With the top-notch music of jazz vocalist Mark Murphy and 600 people nestled in Roper Performing Arts Center seats, promoter Blake Cullen's Jazz on Granby series got of to an upbeat start Friday. Pre-show chatter set an interesting stage for the evening, with Hampton Roads jazz heads hoping that solid attendance will bring more shows to the promising new venue. Would a healthy downtown mean a healthy jazz forecast for Norfolk? One night does not a pattern make, but - perhaps aided by extensive advertising - the people came. "I'm just tickled to see all these people," Mayor Paul D. Fraim noted as he stepped off Granby Street into the center. "Nice digs, man," said Jae Sinnett, drummer, radio personality and the evening's emcee, as folks filed in to their seats. Then, of course, came Mark Murphy, a 68-year-old jazz singer
Ella Fitzgerald once called her equal. He combined stories, his deft touch
with the ballad and the hot backing of the John Toomey Trio into a show
that overcame early technical difficulties with the onstage monitors to
become a powerful set. The reason is Murphy, who was recently voted top male jazz
vocalist in Down Beat Magazine's annual readers poll. Where his voice
may be faltering (ever so slightly), he reinforces his vocals with tremendous
timing, masterful scat, vocalese flights of fancy and phrasing that is
simply perfect. He breezed through standards including "Angel Eyes" and a moving medley of "Old Folks" and "God Bless the Child," and gave his backing band lots of room on Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage." Toomey, the 43-year-old pianist and Old Dominion University professor, filled his trio's ranks with the able Randall Pharr, a 31-year-old Richmond bassist, and Tony Martucci, a 50-year-old Falls Church drummer. Murphy has raved about Toomey's work, and chose the trio to back his show Thursday in Washington, D.C. After the show, Cullen said he was happy with the evening as a businessman and as a fan of Murphy's music. Judging from the ovation in the Roper Performing Arts Center on Friday, he was not alone. Reach John-Henry Doucette at jhdouc@aol.com
Freddy Cole's Style Oozes the
Blues, With a Bit of Brother Nat Norfolk - When Freddy Cole sings, it is all about love. Blues singer Ruth Brown once said of him, "If you quiet your thoughts and really listen, Freddy Cole will open the door to your heart with a key you did not even know existed." On Friday night at the Roper Performing Arts Center, he turned the key. His was the fifth and final performance of the season for the Jazz on Granby series. Freddy Cole sings with an intimate, almost whispery voice reminiscent of his famous older brother, the late Nat King Cole. But Freddy's style is a little more bluesy, a little less pop. Still, if you closed your eyes Friday evening, on certain phrases you could hear Nat. It was eerie. Freddy did a medley of Nat's mega-hits, including "Sweet Lorraine" and "Mona Lisa." But he did them in his style, and he followed with a specialty song containing the line, "I'm not my brother, I'm me." That brought a standing ovation. Freddy Cole is 70, going on young. His sense of time is perfection, and he swings. On piano, he makes each note pretty and each note count. He was backed by a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer. All were competent. The drummer, Curtis Boyd, seemed to be an extension of Cole. Boyd has what musicians sometimes call "big ears," meaning he listens. On solos, the guitarist, Gerry Byrd, played showers of notes that sometimes sounded like, well, just showers of notes. But like the drummer, he was finely attuned to Freddy. The bassist was solid. Freddy cut his first record 50 years ago. He is popular internationally, probably more popular today than ever before. His quartet is far more sophisticated than raucous, but it swings, in large part because he swings so hard himself. When he just plays quarter notes, they sound good. And the lyrics, they were all about love: The highs the lows, the confusion, the triumphs. Freddy knows.
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