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November 2005
Prez Sez
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Dear
Readers,
Ah fall…the beauty before
the frost, that last second wind to energize and
entice, before we hunker down for winter. Jazz, like life,
has to adapt and change with the seasons in order to
survive.
It still has a fighting
chance as the kids are starting to dig it more, and the
educational scene—always struggling—is still, fortunately,
blanketing the universe with the gifted who choose to teach
as well as perform…instilling, inspiring and spreading the
magic that is music.
Being a true addicted fan of
“Americana,” I can appreciate the talents of the new
Guinness record-holder of the most TV hours, the one and
only Regis Philbin. Now age 56, I was raised on TV in the
‘50s, so Regis takes me back. So…I get a kick out of
starting my day each morning by tuning in to the “Regis and
Kelly” variety/talk show to get my a.m. yuks. Kelly Rippa is
the best female to grace the screen since Lucille Ball for
all the same and right reasons.
Anyway, I started today by
catching the tail-end of a story about Regis and Tony Danza
and someone else going to a club and realizing that there’s
a live jazz group playing. “No wonder a lot of folks think
they really have to understand jazz to like it. Might as
well be hearing aliens playing some strange-sounding stuff
responding to a language only the hip, well-informed can
communicate with.”
It was funny, and maybe a
little bit true. The best part of the whole deal was that
Philbin named the group who caught their attention, my dear
and revered friend…the wonderful George Cables and his
George Cables Project. It was a well-deserved plug for a
prime-time, mostly non-jazz listening audience. George has
been gigging with sax man Gary Bartz of late, so I’m sure
they blew away these TV stars that stopped in for dinner and
got swept up in the music. Great!
The
jazz scene here has been a little light of late, except for
the constant, almost-daily arrival of CDs from jazzy to
attempted jazzy artists from just about everywhere.
Taking advantage of the
slight break in the action, Grace and I headed west on the
old Amtrak Zephyr. Grace had never seen the western portion
of the U.S., and had never been to San Francisco at all. I
hung and lived in the Bay area from about ‘85 to ’89, when
the earthquake shook me out of my beloved San Francisco
Giants World Series seats in the old Candlestick Park to the
wintry plains once again.
Two visits since then still
left an eight-year gap since my last excursion, as
well
as the interesting, mostly dreadful train ride. Marrying
Grace got me back into the air again, but we toughed it out
on the train this time. Once we got to SF, Grace—for the
first time—and me after all these years, fell in love with
the lady that is San Francisco one more time. The city never
looked more beautiful
and inviting—with nippy, yet invigorating ocean air to
cleanse your pores. Even the more menacing neighborhoods I
haunted in my hippie and band eras seemed refreshed and less
full of the former sad assembly of lost souls that would end
up in this free-wheeling environment, unlike anywhere else
in the U.S. Almost another planet unto itself, it always
seemed to me.
I
did most of my jazz ambassadorship on the train, telling
everyone about the Berman Music Foundation, handing out
brochures and a few selected CDs, including the Russ Long
Trio and Norman Hedman and Tropique, and mostly talking
music and baseball, and everyone’s career with the wide
majority of non-flyers who would have to possess the
patience of saints to put up with all the delays, plumbing
problems, and a few crabby train employees that can make or
break you trip. Thank God for the ones that did make a
difference and tried to keep it all together for everyone
concerned. Turns out our trip registered more than 25
complaints to Amtrak for this round-trip adventure.
Anyway,
back in SF we were treated royally by one of my closest
pals, and BMF consultant, Wade Wright. Besides still running
Jack’s Record Cellar, he now helps manage his brother
David’s new eatery on Union and Stockton in North Beach…the
Café Divine. Fabulous food, service and vibe that are
totally San Francisco at its finest. Wade also took Grace
and me on an incredible tour of the Muir Woods and the
wondrous wineries of Napa and Sonoma counties.
We
also took time to revisit some of my old hang-outs and meet
some other buddies like rock legend Roy Loney and record
expert and impresario Jeff Richardson. We saw the Giants
with Barry Bonds (the new SBC Park is fanatically fantastic)
with my fond friend and wine and food maven Carol Seibert
and her mate, and one of my old pals from Nebraska, Terry
Braye, now teaching music to teenagers.
We
visited one of the world’s greatest healers and
chiropractors, Dr. Barbara Berkeley, at her new office on
Valencia. We also spent a lovely day in the Castro district
with another of my “record-people” buddies of many years,
Michael Mascioli of All Music Services, who along with Wade,
Jeff and Roy have turned me on to the cutting edge of great
music of all kinds for years.
Speaking of music…for maybe
the first time ever, I didn’t drag Grace to a million record
stores, nor did we catch any live music. We just walked, ate
and drank the best, and enjoyed these great friends of mine
in their glorious city. At least at the moment, NYC may have
slipped to #2, as I’m still soaking in the Pacific charm
while writing to you all. Of course, when it comes to
jazz…New York rules!
Getting
back to jazz, a new potential hot spot for our music, the
Café de Mai at the
corner of 25th and O streets in Lincoln, had its
debut a few weeks ago to celebrate three years serving the
Asian community with fine dining, a huge market, video
store, real estate, and rentable party space in a splendid
mall once housed by a former grocery chain. Grace and I have
gotten friendly with the owners, Tim and Kim, after going
back to their delicious Vietnamese cuisine time and time
again.
Thinking about how well
sushi goes with jazz at the famed Yoshi’s in Oakland,
Calif., we decided to give it a shot for their anniversary
shindig. With the talented saxophonist Rod Scheps doing gigs
in K.C. and Des Moines the same week, this seemed like the
time. So, with the Rod Scheps Core-tet intact, the gig was
set.
As of late, my rock band The
Cronin Brothers has been on an upswing in playing more clubs
and parties. We got a great corporate birthday bash on the
same night of the Scheps happening, so you’ll have to read
Tom’s review to get the rest of the facts. Tim and Kim said
they just about broke even for their first experience, and
might like to do seasonal gigs of the same vain. We may put
on a New Year’s Eve event there, so watch the Update section
of the website for any late-breaking news concerning this.
We also are doing another
jazz show at P.O. Pears Nov. 10 with Minneapolis trumpet
sensation Kelly Rossum and his swell band. Read all about it
and Tom’s interview with Kelly in this issue.
That’s about all the news
that fits from me for the moment. Groove on the fall, and
have a real decent Christmas holiday from me, Grace and all
the staff of the BMF. We’ll be bringing in the New Year with
another jam-packed Jazz newsletter for your reading
enjoyment. God bless you all, everyone.
Butch Berman
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July 2005
Prez Sez
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Hi Jazz Fans…
Happy summertime and the living is easy, and sometimes not
so easy, as you’ll soon read about. My newest catch phrase,
“a tough biz…this jazz is,” seems to have become a
major-league reality, at least here in the Midwest.
The Topeka Jazz Festival came and went as a complete
artistic success, but lost miserably at the box office. I
know the damage done by the former head honcho’s inability
to gracefully transfer his allegiance and constituents to
help continue funding through sponsorship was big time. Yet,
there are still a lot of other jazz fans who, maybe due to
the former tradition of holding this event on the Memorial
Day weekend, had too many other options available to make
jazz its main priority.
We had sufficient coverage on all media months in advance,
and our Taste of Topeka Jazz Yard Party picnic was well
attended, probably because admission was free. We had to
move inside due to storms brewing, but the energy flowing
between the magnificent musicians and their fans was
spellbinding. Yet, when it came to paying for the actual
festival the following two days…Zippo. I think we had as
many Nebraskans there as folks from K.C., Lawrence and
Manhattan, Kan., combined during some sets.
On the other hand, I want to thank all the wonderful people
that did come and supported jazz and hung around to catch
some of the best music they’ve heard in years. I, my staff,
and the entire crew from TPAC (especially Assistant Director
Mark Radziejeski) can all share in our hearts that we put on
one of the best Topeka Jazz Festivals in its eight-year
history. If it is the last one, we went out on top swinging.
One hundred percent of all the cats that played it this year
said they really enjoyed themselves and felt more creative
and groovin’ under our more relaxed manner of presentation
than ever before. That made me feel like a winner, NO MATTER
WHAT. If you lead with your heart, you get back pure soul
music, whether it’s jazz, blues or rock ‘n’ roll. To all my
monster player buddies who blew their asses off on every
song, every set, every day, a mutherfuckin’ thank you, and I
love you all for doin’ your thang so well.
Tom will fill you in with his blow-by-blow account of all
the hot bops. Yeah, we did stretch a bit, and tried some
different stuff: Gypsy jazz, Afro-Cuban Latin world beat, a
little more bebop, lots of new faces and still a lot of the
same pros that preserved the original jazz party scene the
TJF was first noted for. All in all, I applaud you. BRAVO!
One week after the festival was over I received the shocking
news that the fabulous staff that had made everything
possible for our BMF to flourish and create the jazz in
Kansas that I could never sustain here in my hometown had
been let go by their Ames, Iowa-based bosses, for
undisclosed reasons—but mostly coming from the lack of
enthusiasm toward entertainment in downtown Topeka
sufficient to fill enough seats to maintain its budget and
cost of operations.
This sucks and is so sad for them and their families, as
well, and for the very uncertain future of the TJF and the
Berman Jazz Series. However, after 10 years in this crazy
jazz biz, I’ve become even more determined to be an advocate
of this wild music I’m so passionate about. Have jazz will
travel, I guess, as we’re already in the process of
contacting other foundations dealing with the same kinda
stuff to collaborate in keeping jazz alive, or working with
other educational institutes, hoping to bring or augment
whatever jazz programs they now may or may not have.
Check out my other story in this issue reporting on the
ever-so-successful master class we held in Topeka prior to
the festival. They may take away our venues, but they can’t
kill the curiosity, drive and determination of our youth
towards jazz that is growing all over the country despite
all the bullshit, egos, apathy and bad politics that seems
to try to screw up everything in our world today. We shall
overcome…one day…someday.
Even though we weren’t involved in booking for Lincoln’s
Jazz in June this year, we were instrumental in obtaining,
through the Mid-America Arts Alliance roster of fine talent,
the master himself—saxophonist, composer and educator Ahmad
Alaadeen and his Group 21 from Kansas City, Mo., for this
year’s concert series. I met him and his manager, Fanny
Dunfee, eight years ago at a Mid-America convention in K.C.
and have loved them, and his brilliant music, ever since. It
was indeed a pleasure and honor to have had them headline
the last show of this year and just tear the place up. Tom’s
reviews of that gig and Alaadeen’s sensational new ASR
Records release, “New Africa Suite,” also appear in this
issue.
Some other news before I scram. Got a nice letter from
former Lincolnite Carter Van Pelt, whose job working at the
Lincoln Center in N.Y.C. has become fulltime. A super
journalist, his recent interview with pianist Marcus Roberts
graced the cover of the center’s publication. Carter has
written some great pieces in the past on Bob Marley, Fela
Kuti and Monty Alexander, to name a few, as well as superb
concert presentations such as the one we did together at
Lincoln’s Royal Grove, bringing in Brooklyn’s great
Antibalas. Nice goin’, my friend.
I’m hoping to bring in Minneapolis trumpet player Kelly
Rossum and his band, and Bob Bowman’s new K.C. group,
perhaps to P.O. Pears sometime this fall, as well as
debuting my new buddy, vocalist extraordinaire Giacomo
Gates, hopefully with the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra in 2006.
My dear pal sax player Rob Scheps is also planning to be in
the area around October. We will keep you posted on all the
haps as they appear.
Things on our jazz front may be a little shaky as of late,
but if I survived the San Francisco earthquake of 1989, then
these minor setbacks are only little aftershocks to the
really big picture of protecting, preserving and presenting
this great American music to you for years to come. Have a
very happy and safe summer.
Yours in jazz,
Butch Berman
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March 2005
Prez Sez
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Hello world…my
best to you today.
It’s March 8, just two days from my
56th birthday. Knock on wood, I’m feeling pretty good for
an old middle-aged fart, and completely diggin’ my life of late.
My
gift to myself this year, besides getting a new electric keyboard
for my band road work (I opted for an instrument that weighs 50-plus
pounds less, plus a case with wheels and runners to make the
schlepping easier on my half-century knees) is a new addition to my
family. Enter Kaliber, a seven-year-old chocolate Lab that reminds
me of my old departed pal, Ben, yet is a much mellower guy. My
19-year-old Springer, Sherman, seems to tolerate his new buddy but
my cat, Muggles, is still a little wary, but appears to be
softening. Hopefully, pictures and a happier update will follow soon
for you pet-loving jazz fans.
Oh yea, jazz…let’s see what haps.
Grace and I were both a little too under
the weather to head down to
Topeka, Kan., last month for our fourth concert in the Berman Jazz
Series, featuring Luqman Hamza and Lucky Wesley. Thank God for my
able-bodied staff of editor Tom Ineck and photog/filmmaker Rich
Hoover to make the trip in my place and take care of biz (see
the review in this issue). The March 13 concert ends the series
for this year with a solo piano concert showcasing my all-time fave
jazz keyboardist, George Cables. Check out Tom’s interview and
review in this issue.
In addition to my first presentation
of the Topeka Jazz Festival as artistic
director for four days over the Memorial Day weekend, the Berman
Music Foundation is also celebrating its 10-year anniversary. I’m
hoping to bring in all of my consultants from around the U.S. to
make this festival a real blow-out experience. Grace and I are
sharing our two years of marriage on May 30, so it’s going to be
BIG. Stay tuned for all the details.
Had
a great time hanging with Kansas guitar wiz Jerry Hahn when he was
here recently for a two-day workshop hosted with Dietze Music House
and our best-attended concert ever at P.O. Pears. Dietze co-owner
Ted Eschliman and I were at odds over the rather ungentlemanly way
the Jazz In June committee decided to end my position as main booker
for the festival. Nevertheless, we put that aside to do the Hahn
thing and got along well.
Jazz must come before these personal
hassles, and I realize that maybe I did set the bar too high with my
lofty expectations, but that’s another story for a different time.
Anyway, check out New York vibes master Joe Locke as he makes the
NJO work their butts off trying to keep up with his brilliant chops,
don’t miss former Hellecaster guitar ace John Jorgenson showcase his
Django gypsy jazz, experience the warmth and years of
professionalism surrounding my good buddy, saxophonist Alaadeen with
his crackerjack band, and welcome to Lincoln from Michigan my newest
jazz pal, Kathy Kosins, whose vocal stylings should entertain and
please all in attendance.
Kathy is a rock n’ roll gal with a
jazzy brain and a cabaret heart, whose first two solo efforts—“All
in a Dream’s Work…” on Schoolkids’ Records and “Mood Swings” on
Chiaroscuro Records—run the gamut of many varied genres blended into
a smooth jazz mix caressed by her chameleon-like delivery. Both are
worth picking up if you can still find ‘em. Her newest release,
“Vintage,” due in April, is dynamite. Read Tom’s review in our
next issue.
You read about Teraesa Vinson in our
last issue. Her CD “Opportunity Please Knock” on Amplified Records
is getting rave reviews around the block. The New Jersey/NYC jazz
entertainment publication Hot House recently ran a little piece on
her in its March issue. She wrote me to tell me her first
in-the-air, out-of-state gig in Atlanta is coming up, and I’m very
excited and proud to see her climb the success ladder. She’s fairly
new in the jazz world, but well on her way. Give both Teraesa and
Kathy a listen, and spread the word.
Another new CD worth grabbing is
Greb Abate’s “Horace Is Here: A Tribute to Horace Silver,” on a new
label to watch…Koko Jazz Records. His old teammate and always my and
the BMF’s dear friend, Claudio Roditi, is aboard on trumpet (read
the review in this issue). I’ve
known Greg for nearly 10 years, and his stuff keeps getting better
and better…deeper and richer.
Greg gigged with the Nebraska Jazz
Orchestra and
the Lincoln High School Jazz Band March 15 at the NJO's new digs in the
Embassy Suites, instead of the Cornhusker Hotel. Our review of
the show appears in this issue.
Greg and Claudio are only rivaled by
maybe Bobby Watson and Terell Stafford as one of the best
“frontline” duos in the jazz world today. I’ve booked Bobby, along with his
famed group Horizon, and Claudio at the upcoming Topeka Jazz
Festival. It’ll be a gas to hear them at times all play together.
Check out the festival details on the features page and
consider making it to Topeka in May.
If I may, please let me close on a
rock ‘n’ roll note (that probably would be the note of E). Formerly
the Nebraska Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, the Nebraska Music Hall of
Fame is gearing up to put on some shows this summer after a couple
years off to regroup a little and work on a new budget. There are
still so many senior rockers that should be remembered and
appreciated throughout the ages to come. These music halls of fame
in most states make these high school reunion-type affairs (only
with guitars) living realities that are enjoyed by many and mean so
much to the musicians enshrined.
The Nebraska organization is now
under the astute leadership of Mike “Pinky” Semrad, a member of the
long-standing favorite Nebraska band The Smoke Ring, now residing in
Fremont. The rest of the board consists of newly returned player
from Nashville, guitarist Jim Casey, me, my former band mates from
The Perks, Bob and Judy Letheby, and Norfolk, Nebraska’s most
notorious rock activist, Mel Sanders. We’re in the process of
booking the Pla-Mor for May 20, one week before the Topeka Jazz
Festival, for our first big blow-out. Check our updates for more
info, and also the Rock ‘n’ Roll section of the website for more fun ‘n’ games surrounding my
40-plus years in the rock world. High brow, low brow…that’s moi. I
LOVE it all!
And speaking of digging it all so
much, I’m still having a ball playing with the fun “cover band with
taste”—The Cronin Brothers—and sittin’ in with my ole buddy and
long-time rock-mate Charlie Burton and his Dorothy Lynch Mob.
Charlie, his drummer Dave Robel and I have been playing together in
a variety of groups off and on for more than 30 years. Pop in on us
at either Bob’s Gridiron Grille or the Zoo Bar and we’ll rock your
socks off.
Gotta go now. Thanks for supporting
us and jazz. Keep it up. Jimmy Smith will live FOREVER.
Butch Berman
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