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2012 Jazz in June
Jazz Forecast
Tomfoolery
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June 2012
Feature Articles
Music news, interviews, memorials, commentary |
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The Lao Tizer Band (now
called TIZER) will open the 2012
Jazz in June
series on Tuesday, June 5.
Courtesy Photo. |
Feature Story
2012 Jazz in June
series brings familiar faces
By Tom Ineck
LINCOLN, Neb.—The 2012 Jazz
in June lineup is largely comprised of faces and music familiar to
Lincoln audiences. Of the four Tuesday evening concerts, two promise a
smooth and cool stylistic approach, while the other two will feature
local talents.
As always, the free performances begin at 7 p.m. in the Sculpture
Garden west of the Sheldon Museum of Art on the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln city campus, near 12th and R streets.
The Lao Tizer Band,
now performing under the one-word moniker TIZER, returns to the Jazz in
June stage June 5, four years after the group’s popular reception in
2008. As Jesse Starita wrote of that performance, “Equal parts funk, groove, soul and smooth, the Lao Tizer band gave Jazz
in June a breath of fresh air and a freewheeling atmosphere just when it
was most needed.”
(Click here for the complete
review.)
Since that appearance, Tizer has performed internationally at such
diverse locales as Joy of Jazz in Johannesburg, South Africa; the Dubai
Jazz Fest; the Barbados Jazz Fest; the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta,
Indonesia; and The Caribbean Sea Jazz Fest in Aruba. In 2010, the group
released “TIZER Live,” adding to a recorded
output of a half dozen releases since the keyboard artist’s 1993 debut.
The group also features Jeff Kollman, guitar;
Rufus Philpot, bass; Raul Pineda, drums; and Steve Nieves, saxophone,
percussion and vocals.
Tizer began playing piano and improvising at an early age in his hometown
of Boulder, Colo. Relocating to Los Angeles in 1997, he developed a
fusion style
 that has been favorably compared with Spyro Gyra, the
Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny, David Sanborn and Joe Sample, who directly
influenced Tizer’s keyboard style.
The Darryl White Group
will take the stage June 12, with special guest saxophonist Bobby
Watson, a Kansas City native and Lincoln favorite. White’s stellar
trumpet and flugelhorn playing has been heard at Jazz in June many
times. According to advance publicity, this year’s set list
will include standards by Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, in addition to
original compositions by members of the group, which will also feature
pianist Jeff Jenkins of Denver, bassist Hans Sturm of Lincoln, drummer
Brandon Draper of Kansas City and percussionist Michael Pujado of Omaha.
![Bobby Watson [Courtesy Photo]](media/612BobbyWatson.jpg) Hailing from Warren, Ohio, White has been a professor of trumpet at UNL
since 1997 and has performed in a variety of classical and jazz
settings. His albums as leader include “In the
Fullness of Time” and “Ancient Memories.”
Watson, a professor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, is a
world-renowned saxophonist, composer and arranger. After formal training
at the University of Miami, he cut his teeth as musical director of Art
Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Since then he has appeared on more than 130
recordings. He latest is 2010’s “The Gates BBQ
Suite,” a seven-part, original composition.
(Click here for the BMF review.)
The UNL Faculty Jazz
Ensemble with
guest vocalist Jackie Allen will perform June 19. Returning from
the previous week are trumpeter Darryl White and bassist Hans Sturm,
both members of the UNL faculty. In addition, the
![UNL Faculty Jazz Ensemble [Courtesy Photo]](media/612UNLFacultyJazz.jpg) group
includes saxophonist Paul Haar, trombonist Eric Richards, guitarist
Peter Bouffard, pianist Tom Larson and drummer Chris Varga. Over the
last couple of years, the ensemble—with evolving personnel—has
crystallized in numerous recitals and other appearances, most notably
the March 2010 “Jazz Cabaret” program of performances and musician
interviews presented by the UNL School of Music and filmed live at the
NET Television studios with funding from the Berman Music Foundation.
(Click here for that story.)
![Jackie Allen [Courtesy Photo]](media/612JackieAllen.jpg) A
Wisconsin native with extensive jazz and cabaret credentials in
Milwaukee and
Chicago, Jackie Allen’s received considerable attention in Lincoln since
she settled here a
year ago with husband Hans Sturm, professor of bass at the UNL School of
Music. Allen conducts classes for aspiring torch singers and has been
booked for the occasional benefit concert or house concert, in addition
to guest appearances with the UNL faculty ensemble. She has compiled an
impressive discography of nine releases, including 2009’s “Starry
Night,” recorded live with the Muncie (Indiana) Symphony Orchestra.
Smooth jazz saxophonist and
composer Will Donato and his band will take
![Saxophonist Will Donato [Courtesy Photo]](media/612WillDonato.jpg) the
stage June 26 for the final Jazz in June concert of the season. Donato’s
2010 release, “What It Takes,” is his fourth CD. He
has performed with some of the best-known musicians of the smooth jazz
genre, including Al McKay of Earth, Wind and Fire, Bruce Conte of Tower
of Power, and Steve Reid of The Rippingtons. Donato fronted Reid’s
Bamboo Forest for four years. He also worked with Gerald Levert and
Richard Marx, and appeared on the soundtrack for “Under
the Boardwalk,” “No Man’s Land,” “Thelma
and Louise,” and “The Wedding Planner.”
Jazz in June patrons are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs
and picnic dinners, but leave the pets at home as they are not allowed.
To ensure the continued presence of Jazz in June, goodwill cash
donations also are urged and expected.
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Jazz
Forecast
Jazz weather report for upcoming months |
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By Tom
Ineck
LINCOLN,
Neb.—Below are the best of area shows scheduled for upcoming
months. In addition to Lincoln and Omaha concerts, we also
suggest venues and events farther afield, most notably Brownville, Neb.,
Kansas City, Mo., and Columbia, Mo.
Let us
know if you have any calendar events you would like us to feature.
Lied Center for Performing Arts
301 N. 12th St., Lincoln,
7:30 p.m.
![Chris Botti [Courtesy Photo]](media/612ChrisBotti.jpg)
Friday, Nov. 2
(Carson Theater)
Jackie Allen Jazz
Quintet, jazz singer
Friday, Feb. 1, 2013
Terrance Simien and
the Zydeco
Experience
Thursday, Feb. 21,
2013
Chris Botti, jazz
trumpet
Holland Center for Performing Arts
1200 Douglas St., Omaha, 8 p.m.
![Donny McCaslin [Courtesy Photo]](media/612DonnyMcCaslin.jpg) Friday,
Sept. 28 (Kiewit Hall)
Esperanza Spalding, jazz bassist and
singer
Friday, Nov. 9 (Kiewit Hall)
Branford Marsalis, jazz saxophonist
Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013 (1200 Club)
Lucky Peterson, blues guitarist and organist
Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 (1200 Club)
Donny McCaslin Group, jazz saxophonist
Friday, March 1, 2013 (1200 Club)
The Bad Plus, jazz trio
Friday, April 12, 2103 (Kiewit Hall)
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
![The Iguanas [Courtesy Photo]](media/612Iguanas.jpg) Friday,
April 19, 2013 (1200 Club)
Hot Club of San Francisco, gypsy jazz
Saturday, May 11, 2013 (1200 Club)
Gretchen Parlato, jazz singer
Friday, May 17, 2013 (1200 Club)
The Iguanas, New Orleans R&B
Brownville Concert Hall
160 Atlantic, Brownville, Neb.
Friday-Sunday, Aug. 10-12
7:30 p.m. cabaret (Fri.-Sat.) and 2 p.m. concert (Sun.)
Joe Cartwright, jazz piano, with Danny Embrey, jazz guitar, and
Stephanie Moore, jazz singer
Lincoln Jazz Society
Brewsky's Jazz Underground
201 N. Eighth St., Lincoln, Neb., 7:30 p.m.
Monday, July 16
Monday Night Big Band, director Dean Haist
Wednesday, July 18
Jim Williamson Trio, jazz piano
Stransky Park Concert Series
17th
Street and Harrison Avenue, Lincoln
Thursdays 7:30-9 p.m.
May 31,
Darryl White, jazz trumpet
June 7,
Mezcal Brothers, rockabilly
June 14,
Blues Messengers, with Emily Bass & Anna Degraff
June 21,
Mac McCune, jazz trumpet
June 28, Lloyd McCarter and
the Honky Tonk Revival
July 05, Toasted Ponies,
bluegrass
July 12,
Jackie Allen, jazz singer
July 19, Sandy Creek,
bluegrass
July 26, Jarana, Latin
rumba, flamenco and fusion
Aug. 2, :
Baby Needs Shoes, acapella vocal harmony
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Tomfoolery
Enjoying live jazz both near and far
away |
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By Tom Ineck
In recent months, there has been a
wealth of live jazz performances either
in Lincoln or within a relatively easy
drive. The Performances page of
this website contains separate reviews
of recent concerts by Chris Washburne
and SYOTOS, the Doc Severinsen Big Band,
the SF Jazz Collective, the Tierney
Sutton Band, the Kenny Barron Trio and
two shows by the Nebraska Jazz
Orchestra, with special guests Kirk
Garrison and Kerry Strayer respectively.
This edition of Tomfoolery will
attempt to tie up a few loose ends also
deserving of recognition. One of them
indicates to what lengths true jazz fans
will go to hear the music they love, and
the other two exemplify local jazz
offerings at their finest. For a listing
of upcoming jazz performances in the
area, see the Jazz Forecast
column above.
![Matt Wilson's Arts & Crafts [Courtesy Photo]](media/1011MattWilson.jpg) Over
the years, numerous recordings by
drummer Matt Wilson and a March 2010
appearance by Wilson and his quartet at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln made
true believers of Lincoln fans,
including local drummer John Scofield,
pianist John Carlini and me. Adding an
equally adventurous music
aficionado—multi-percussionist
extraordinaire Joe Holmquist—we set out
March 18 for a road trip to Columbia,
Mo., where Jon Poses and his “We Always
Swing” jazz series had booked Matt
Wilson’s Arts & Crafts band for two
intimate sets at Murry’s restaurant and
lounge. With Wilson on drums, Terell
Stafford on trumpet, Gary Versace on
piano and Hammond B-3 organ, and Martin
Wind on bass, Arts & Crafts were touring
on the heels of their latest release,
“An Attitude for Gratitude.”
We attended the 7 p.m. set so we could
settle into our hotel room after the
five-hour drive from Lincoln and enjoy
dinner at Murry’s before the music
began. We were seated in the
upper-level, where it was difficult to
see the band, but we could hear and
enjoy nonetheless. Over in an hour, the
performance seemed to fly by, from the
swinging opener, Nat Adderly’s “Little
Boy with the Sad Eyes,” to the ballad
“Beija-Flor” from their 2001 debut
record, to the Versace original “Poster
Boy,” to Wilson’s “Bubbles,” a Carl
Sandburg-inspired poem set to a
typically quirky melody, and an
ironically melancholic version of “Happy
Days Are Here Again.”
The music was over far too soon, but the
impression lingered through the evening
and into the next day as we made the
five-hour return trip to Lincoln,
listening to a newly purchased copy of
“An Attitude for Gratitude.”
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The UNL Faculty Jazz
Ensemble performs with guest
vocalist Jackie Allen. Photo by
Tom Ineck. |
A March 27 performance by the UNL
Faculty Jazz Ensemble at Kimball
Recital Hall on the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln city campus was an easy
drive, approximately five minutes from
home rather than five hours. The faculty
ensemble featured Paul Haar, saxophone;
Darryl White, trumpet and flugelhorn;
Eric Richards, trombone; Peter Bouffard,
guitar; Tom Larson, piano; Hans Sturm,
bass; and Joey Gulizia on drums and
percussion.
![Trombonist Bill Watrous makes a special appearance with the UNL Facutly Jazz Ensemble. [Photo by Tom Ineck]](media/612UNLJazzEnsemble2.jpg) The
concert was planned in conjunction with
a residency by famed trombonist Bill
Watrous, who performed on “I Remember
You” and added a Chet Baker-style vocal
on “I Fall in Love Too Easily.” Also
making a guest appearance was
Lincoln-based singer Jackie Allen, who
performed “El Bateria,” Gershwin’s “My
Man’s Gone Now,” and Gerry Rafferty’s
“Stuck in the Middle with You,” an early
‘70s rock song that proved equally
effective in Allen’s soulful treatment.
The music was top-notch, despite
occasional glitches and feedback in the
sound system and sub-par acoustics,
which were at least partly due to the
absence of any sound-directing
partitions on stage.
Brewsky’s Jazz Underground was the
setting for a wonderful performance
April 4 by a quintet co-led by
saxophonists Rob Scheps and
Frank Basile and featuring the
expert Kansas City rhythm section of
pianist Roger Wilder,
![Frank Basile on baritone sax solos with KC rhythm section and Rob Scheps (right). [Photo by Tom Ineck]](media/612SchepsBasile1.jpg) bassist
Bob Bowman and young drummer Brian
Steever.
Scheps is well-known to longtime friends
of the Berman Music Foundation, which
brought him to Lincoln venues three
times in 2004-2005 and also to the final
Topeka Jazz Festival in 2005. It was a
joy to see him in action again with a
dynamite band. Basile, a young Omaha
native who has been living in New York
in recent years, plays baritone sax
exclusively, following in the footsteps
of others who have favored the horn’s
robust sound—Serge Chaloff, Gerry
Mulligan, Pepper Adams, Ronnie Cuber,
and Gary Smulyan—and he already ranks
among the best of his generation.
The band played two long sets, which
allowed the audience to settle in and
truly enjoy the evening. The set list
was heavy with hard-bop tunes played
with plenty of energy and fire. Among
the highlights were Basile’s uptempo
original “Rabp’s Delight,” the loping
Scheps ballad “Hazy Seattle,” a blazin![Rob Scheps solos on soprano sax at Brewsky's Jazz Underground. [Photo by Tom Ineck]](media/612SchepsBasile2.jpg) g
take on Jerome Kern’s “Smoke Gets in
Your Eyes,” and two tunes by Thad Jones,
“Let’s” and “Elusive.”
They also chose a pair of fine tunes by
the great tenor saxophonist Billy
Harper—“Somalia,” and “Thine Is the
Glory,” which was given a treatment as
Pharoah Sanders might have done it. Cole
Porter’s well-worn “Easy to Love” got a
very hip arrangement by Scheps that
included a sly quote from “Autumn in New
York.” Scheps favored the tenor sax most
of the evening, but switched to soprano
sax on “You’re Getting to Be a Habit
with Me,” done in waltz time and
featuring a great bass solo by Bowman.
Throughout the evening, Scheps and
Basile blended their horns almost as
one, often taking the melodies in
unison, varied with tight harmonies and
always imaginative solos. What a treat!
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Editor’s Note:
At your request, we will mail a printed version
of the newsletter. The online newsletter also is available at this
website in PDF format for printing. Just click here: Newsletter
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