“Soul Serenade” “is the title of my newest CD project. Although not exactly a “tribute” album, it is more of a celebration of the music made popular by the great vocalist, Gloria Lynne.
 

While performing on a recent gig with drummer Vince Ector (Gloria’s drummer for 15 years), I sang “I’m Glad There Is You”, and he reminded me it was one of Gloria’s signature songs. So, I began to research more of Gloria’s work and was instantly mesmerized by her voice, style and emotion. Additionally, her choice of material was instantly appealing to me. I tend to look for songs that are “beyond the norm” of the Great American Songbook repertoire. The songs Gloria Lynne recorded during her career stand alone in their originality and uniqueness. Her performances of these particular tunes move me every time I hear them.
 

As with my previous CD’s, I always learn a tune and then work with it at the piano, making it an extension of what I’m hearing and feeling from the lyric and melody. I should note that I had never heard any of these 14 tunes before I was introduced to them by the wonderful Gloria Lynne recordings. My “concepts” for these 14 tunes came about after much study, deliberation and changes!
 

I wanted to step away from the piano for this project in order to collaborate with someone else’s ideas that could influence the way I might want to sing a particular song. I feel that when you accompany yourself on piano the two elements are inseparable and it was time to do a project in a different way.
 

I asked my dear friend Brad Cole to take my concepts and write the arrangements and orchestrations as well as to play piano/keyboards on this project. He seemed to know exactly what I wanted to do with each of these songs. I think we’ve come up with a fresh approach to this material that Gloria Lynne’s recordings influenced me to explore and ultimately record!”

Love… Diane 

Artist: DIANE MARINO
Title: SOUL SERENADE-the Gloria Lynne Project
Label: M&M Records: (MCD 6923)
Street Date: MARCH 19, 2018 
PH: 615-812-1781
SKYPE: tnny527
e mail to:m.mrecords@comcast.net
Artist Website: http://www.dianemarino.com
Radio Release Date: March 19, 2018
UPC Code: 888295692366 

– Track Listing –

1. SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT 4:35 Billy May / Milton Raskin

2. NOTHING EVER CHANGES MY LOVE FOR YOU 4:59 Jack Segal / Marvin Fischer / Fred Fischer

3. SOUL SERENADE 4:34 Curtis Ousley / Luther Dixon 4. FOR YOU 3:30 Joe Burke /Al Dubin
5. BLUE GARDENIA 5:07 Bob Russell / Lester Lee
6. THE JAZZ IN YOU 5:31 Chris Towns / Luther Dixon 7. HAPPY SHOES 4:33 Bobby Scott / Richard Alhert
8. SWEET PUMPKIN 3:47 Dr. Ronnell Bright

9. OUT OF THIS WORLD 4:05 Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer
10. SPEAKING OF HAPPINESS 3:52 Jimmy Radcliffe / Buddy Scott 11. THAT’S NO JOKE 4:08 Joe Bailey
12. HE NEEDS ME 4:57 Arthur Hamilton
13. LET’S TAKE AN OLD FASHIONED WALK 3:27 Irving Berlin 14. SERENADE IN BLUE 6:14 Harry Warren / Mack Gordon 
 

Musicians

Diane Marino: vocals
Brad Cole: piano/keyboards/B-3 organ

Arrangements / Orchestrations Chris Brown: drums

Frank Marino: bass
Mark Christian: guitar-tracks except tracks 2.4
Doug Munro: guitar-tracks 2.4
Dann Sherrill: percussion
Don Aliquo: alto, tenor, baritone & soprano saxophones Scott Ducaj: trumpet-tracks 3.7.11
Harry Kim: trumpet-track 4
Roy Agee: trombone
David Davidson: violin
David Angell: violin
Monisa Angell: viola
Carole Rabinowitz: cello
Tom Moore: bassoon- track 9
Deanna Loveland: harp track 12 

See The Trailer

View An Animated Excerpt

The new documentary on legendary bass player Buster Williams, needs your support. Time is running out (our fundraising campaign ends March 22^nd). We need your help to further proliferate this music and tell Buster’s story – a story that is a totality of artistry, reflection, beauty and jazz. The film also includes some of the greatest living contributors to this music, who trade stories and play with Buster – Benny Golson, Herbie Hancock, Rufus Reid, Larry Willis, Kenny Barron, Lenny White, Carmen Lundy and Christian McBride. Join us in getting these stories and this film out in to the world. We need you! Please click on the Kickstarter link and donate what you can (however large or small). You will be happy you did! Thank you.

Directed and Produced by Adam Kahan.

See The Trailer

View An Animated Excerpt

The new documentary on legendary bass player Buster Williams, needs your support. Time is running out (our fundraising campaign ends March 22^nd). We need your help to further proliferate this music and tell Buster’s story – a story that is a totality of artistry, reflection, beauty and jazz. The film also includes some of the greatest living contributors to this music, who trade stories and play with Buster – Benny Golson, Herbie Hancock, Rufus Reid, Larry Willis, Kenny Barron, Lenny White, Carmen Lundy and Christian McBride. Join us in getting these stories and this film out in to the world. We need you! Please click on the Kickstarter link and donate what you can (however large or small). You will be happy you did! Thank you.

Directed and Produced by Adam Kahan.

Please visit www.mcgjazz.org or call the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild Jazz Box Office at 412-322-0800 for more information.

Tickets can also be purchased with the MCG Jazz free mobile app available through Google Play and the Apple store.  MCG Jazz has a variety of partnerships with local hotels and restaurants to help you plan an exciting weekend in Pittsburgh.  We hope you can join us next season!
 
The concert series is held at the MCG concert hall, 1815 Metropolitan Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15233.

 
Season 32 For You Line-up
Bobby McFerrin: Circlesongs – September 23, 2018
Kurt Elling– October 6, 2018
Veronica Swift featuring the Benny Green Trio– October 20, 2018
Jeff Lorber Fusion + Grace Kelly – November 9, 2018
Here’s to Life: Celebrating Joe Williams Centennial, starring Keith David and Big Band – November 30, 2018
An Albright Family Christmas with Gerald and Selina Albright –December 15, 2018
Kirk Whalum – January 19, 2019
Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez Duo + Edmar Castaneda and Grégoire Maret: Harp vs. Harp – February 2, 2019
René Marie + Delfaeyo Marsalis – February 23, 2019
Take 6 – March 16, 2019
Fred Hersch Trio – April 5, 2019
Latin Jazz Festival featuring Diego Figueiredo, Emilio Solla, Chuchito Valdés, – April 26 and 27, 2019
Booker T. Jones – May 10, 2019
Artists and dates subject to change.
 

Please visit www.mcgjazz.org or call the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild Jazz Box Office at 412-322-0800 for more information.

Tickets can also be purchased with the MCG Jazz free mobile app available through Google Play and the Apple store.  MCG Jazz has a variety of partnerships with local hotels and restaurants to help you plan an exciting weekend in Pittsburgh.  We hope you can join us next season!
 
The concert series is held at the MCG concert hall, 1815 Metropolitan Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15233.

 
Season 32 For You Line-up
Bobby McFerrin: Circlesongs – September 23, 2018
Kurt Elling– October 6, 2018
Veronica Swift featuring the Benny Green Trio– October 20, 2018
Jeff Lorber Fusion + Grace Kelly – November 9, 2018
Here’s to Life: Celebrating Joe Williams Centennial, starring Keith David and Big Band – November 30, 2018
An Albright Family Christmas with Gerald and Selina Albright –December 15, 2018
Kirk Whalum – January 19, 2019
Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez Duo + Edmar Castaneda and Grégoire Maret: Harp vs. Harp – February 2, 2019
René Marie + Delfaeyo Marsalis – February 23, 2019
Take 6 – March 16, 2019
Fred Hersch Trio – April 5, 2019
Latin Jazz Festival featuring Diego Figueiredo, Emilio Solla, Chuchito Valdés, – April 26 and 27, 2019
Booker T. Jones – May 10, 2019
Artists and dates subject to change.
 

See The Trailer

View An Animated Excerpt

Imagine hanging out with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, hearing them jam together, trading riffs, then riffing with words and trading stories.  Bird and Diz are gone, but giants still walk among us. One of those giants is Buster Williams. Buster has played with everyone, from Sarah Vaughan to Miles Davis, Nancy Wilson, Art Blakey, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and on. Join Buster as he tells stories about his life and the lives of other great jazz musicians, and is joined by, and plays with, some of the greatest living contributors to this music – Benny Golson, Herbie Hancock, Rufus Reid, Christian McBride, Larry Willis, Carmen Lundy, Kenny Barron and Lenny White.

We need your support to make this film a reality. If you dig this music and Buster, please consider making a contribution to our film, however large or small.

​

Directed and Produced by Adam Kahan.

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 2018

Contacts: Jo Morello, 941.587.8290; Carline Ash, 941.366.1552 (Wed.-Fri., 9-5)

Musician interviews & photos available. Click HERE for the Sarasota Jazz
Festival website with short soundtracks and detailed event schedule. 

SARASOTA, FL: Jazz, the uniquely American musical art form, was born in New Orleans in the early 20th century and nurtured on a lively diet of music from around the world–the blues of the American South, rhythms from Africa and the Caribbean, classical music from Europe and France, and more. It’s entirely fitting, then, that the Jazz Club of Sarasota–one of the most active jazz societies in the nation–will present “A World of Jazz” for its 38th Annual Sarasota Jazz Festival. The four-day event, from March 7-10, 2018, will feature 14 musicians from seven nations in four concerts, over a dozen locally based musicians for a Pub Crawl by Trolley, and the French art film Django. In addition, at one of the concerts the Club will present its highest honor, the Satchmo Award, to a musician for “unique and enduring contribution to the living history of jazz.” Festival activities will be presented in various Sarasota venues including Marriott’s new Art Ovation Hotel, downtown Sarasota night clubs and Burns Court Cinema. Live jazz will fill the lobby before each concert, and four special VIP receptions—for those who purchase VIP ticket packages–will add to the luster of this star-studded festival.

“We’re pleased to recognize the global impact of jazz, and we’re especially honored that the celebrated Ken Peplowski, one of our audience favorites, is the festival’s music director,” said Peg Pluto, Jazz Club president. “We’re also delighted that our vice president, Ed Linehan, is managing director for the festival. Ken and Ed have both worked with our festivals before so we know we’re in good hands.

 “In keeping with our theme, Ken will present the world of jazz as interpreted by internationally respected musicians and fast-rising young stars from around the world,” Pluto said. “Many of them have never played together before, and they may never share the same stage again. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

Acclaimed reedman Peplowski, based in New York, will both direct the international cadre and frequently join them on stage. “These accomplished performers will play the universal language of jazz, an American language that everyone now speaks,” he said. “They’ll draw on musical influences from their homeland countries—Brazil, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the United States—to present the exciting sound of what jazz has become today.”

Ken has designed a playbook of two sets for every concert, each with a different mix of performers. “We’ll present unique combinations of musicians for every set with a fresh sound for each segment,” he said. He’ll also add another treat: “After each concert, we’ll bring back all of the evening’s musicians for an All-Star jam session number or two—an improvised finale that takes us right into the very essence of jazz.”  
Peplowski has been highly praised and frequently honored. “Ken Peplowski is arguably the greatest living jazz clarinetist,” said Russell Davies of BBC2. Will Friedwald (The Wall Street Journal) wrote, “Mr. Peplowski sounds the way (Benny) Goodman might if he had kept evolving … polishing his craft . . . into the 21st century.”

Among other credits, Ken has been a featured performer at practically every significant jazz festival, was music director of the Oregon Festival of American Music for eight years, has backed dozens of major performers, and has recorded some 50 CDs as a soloist and nearly 500 more as a sideman. He has also been a frequent performer for the Jazz Club of Sarasota, often with Dick Hyman, and in 2014 received the Club’s highest honor, its Satchmo Award, for his “unique and enduring contribution to the living history of jazz.” (Other Jazz Club Satchmo winners since 1990 have included Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Gerry Mulligan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dick Hyman, Branford Marsalis and Family, Four Freshmen, Bucky and John Pizzarelli, and Wycliffe Gordon.)
In addition to Peplowski, several other musicians will make encore appearances with the Jazz Club of Sarasota. These include Houston Person,saxophone; Diego Figueiredo, guitar; and Jeff Hamilton, drums.
The festival’s house band is the Scandinavian Jazztrio: 

• Writer/musician/composer Kristian Leth (Denmark), drums; a Danish Academy Award-nominated film composer and Grammy-winning recording artist who has written, performed and produced scores for TV series, films and commercials.
• Hans Backenroth (Sweden), bass; acclaimed as “one of the best bass players Sweden has developed—ever!” (Arne Domnérus, Swedish jazz legend).
• Ole Kock Hansen (Denmark), piano; “one of the most significant artists in modern Danish Jazz” (Wikipedia).

“Some of our festival musicians currently reside in the United States as well as abroad. We’ve hand-picked performers who beautifully understand and represent the musical influences they bring from their countries of origin,” Peplowski said. In addition to the Scandinavian Jazztrio, festival musicians (in alphabetical order) are:

•  Ehud Asherie, piano, Israel; “a master of swing and stride” (New Yorker); a jazz pianist who integrates the New York piano tradition with his inventive style.
• Graham Dechter, guitar, U. S.; honored in the DownBeat Critics Poll as “Rising Star Guitar” (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017).
• Sinne Eeg, vocalist, Denmark; considered the preeminent jazz vocalist in Scandinavia.
• Diego Figueiredo, guitar, Brazil; a fast-rising star among the world’s greatest jazz guitarists; plays with an infectious, joyful feeling.
• Jimmy Greene, saxophone, U.S.; GRAMMY® Award-nominated saxophonist, composer, and arranger.
• Jeff Hamilton, drums, U.S; known for his versatility as a drummer, composer, arranger, and educator; leads his own trio and performs with other respected groups including the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
• Chiara Izzi, vocals, Italy; described by JazzTimes as “a talent to be heard, admired and anticipated.”
• Jeremy Pelt, trumpet, U.S.; featured by Nat Hentoff in The Wall Street Journal; voted “Rising Star – Trumpet” for five years by DownBeat and the Jazz Journalists Association.
• Houston Person, saxophone, U.S.; a “rock-solid, full-toned” musician, recording artist and winner of the Eubie Blake Award.
• Akiko Tsuruga, organ, Japan; called “Queen of the Organ”; winner of the 2017 Hothouse Magazine Jazz Award for Best Organist.

Festival Schedule
WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 7, 20TH ANNUAL JAZZ TROLLEY & PUB CRAWL, downtown Sarasota.
TROLLEY rides from 5:30 p.m.; JAZZ at downtown CLUBS from 6-10 p.m.
Jazz lovers and club-hoppers will board trolleys for the 20th consecutive Jazz Pub Crawl by Trolley, riding to downtown nightclubs where over 50 local musicians will swing the night away. Trolleys will run continuous loops of the venues throughout the evening. A wristband, available from the Jazz Club office* or at the trolley parking location, is required for admission to the trolley and all clubs.  This is a separately ticket event, not included in Festival VIP or Combo Tickets. Wristband are $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the event.

THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 8: CONCERT and other events, Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 N. Palm Avenue

5-7:30, Local JAZZ MUSICIANS in lobby bar; 6-7:30, VIP RECEPTION; 7:30 p.m., CONCERT; 10-11 p.m., VIP MEET-AND-GREET with FESTIVAL MUSICIANS.
 Co-Hosts: Ken Peplowski and Mike Cornette, director of jazz & on-air host, WUSF 89.7 FM, Tampa

• 1st Set: Scandinavian Jazztrio with special guest vocalist Sinne Eeg.
• 2nd Set: Scandinavian Jazztrio joined by Jimmy Greene on saxophone and Jeremy Pelt on trumpet. Featured performances by Sinne Eeg,vocals, and Ken Peplowski, reeds.
• Finale: All-Star Jazz Jam with all of the evening’s musicians

 FRIDAY MORNING, MARCH 9: Live GYPSY JAZZ,: DJANGO, A FRENCH FILM ABOUT LEGENDARY JAZZ GUITARIST DJANGO REINHARDT, Burns Court Cinema, 506 Burns Court

10 a.m.-10:45, LIVE GYPSY JAZZ;  11 a.m., 2017 FILM DJANGO
Keven Aland (violin) and Jon McLaughlin (guitar) of the Hot Club of SRQ present a Gypsy Jazz performance to set the mood for Etienne Comar’s filmDjango. This new film, called “a plucky historical drama that leverages a famous musician into a story about fighting fascism,” will be screened with English subtitles. The “dazzling biopic,” which had its world premiere at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, depicts the struggles of the famous French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt in German-occupied Paris.
Seating is limited: ALL guests must make reservations. Contact the Jazz Club office* for reservations and tickets. Admission: FREE for holders of VIP Festival Passes; $10 for Jazz Club members; $15 for nonmembers.

FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 9: CONCERT and other events, Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 N Palm Avenue
5-7:30, JAZZ MUSICIANS in lobby bar; 7:30 p.m., CONCERT; 10-11 p.m., VIP MEET-AND-GREET with FESTIVAL MUSICIANS
Co-Hosts: Ken Peplowski and Whitney James, jazz vocalist; on-air jazz host, WUSF 89.7 FM, Tampa 

• 1st Set: Diego Figueiredo, guitar; Chiara Izzi, vocals; Jimmy Greene, saxophone.
• 2nd Set: Scandinavian Jazztrio; Houston Person, saxophone; Graham Dechter, guitar.
• Finale:  All-Star Jazz Jam with all of the evening’s musicians.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, March 10: CONCERT and other events, Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 N Palm Avenue12:30-2, Local JAZZ MUSICIANS in lobby bar;  2 p.m., CONCERTCo-Hosts: Ken Peplowski and  Kayonne Riley, general manager, WUCF 89.9 FM, Orlando; host of “Middays with Kayonne Riley Mix-and-match concert with Scandinavian Jazztrio; Graham Dechter, guitar; Akiko Tsuruga, organ; Jeff Hamilton, drums; Houston Person, saxophone; Diego Figueiredo, guitar; Chiara Izzi, vocals; Ehud Asherie, piano; and Ken Peplowski, reeds.

SATURDAY EVENING, March 10: CONCERT and other events, Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 N Palm Avenue
5-7:30, Local JAZZ MUSICIANS in lobby bar; 7:30 p.m., CONCERT; 10-11 p.m., VIP MEET-AND-GREET with FESTIVAL MUSICIANS
Co-Hosts: Ken Peplowski and Bob Seymour, retired director of jazz and on-air host, WUSF 89.7 FM, Tampa; honorary member, Jazz Club of Sarasota Board of Directors

• 1st Set: Kristian Leth, drums; Hans Backenroth, bass; Ehud Asherie, piano; and Ken Peplowski, reeds       
•  Presentation of the Jazz Club’s highest honor, the Satchmo award, to honor a person selected by the Jazz Club  for “unique and enduring contribution to the living history of jazz.”   
• 2nd Set: Jeff Hamilton, drums; Akiko Tsuruga, organ; Graham Dechter, guitar; and Houston Person, saxophone.
• Festival Finale: All-Star Jazz Jam with all of the evening’s musicians

Sarasota Jazz Festival ticket prices peak at $49, with discounts available for Jazz Club members and through several combination packages including a VIP ticket that includes admission and preferred seating for all concerts and four private receptions. Prices for the movie Django and the Jazz Pub Crawl are lower. Contact the Jazz Club* for Jazz Pub Crawl wristbands ($20/advance; $25/at event), information about the movie, VIP Combo Ticket Packages, and other options. To purchase general admission tickets for single concerts ($39/member; $49/nonmember), contact brownpapertickets.com or 800.838.3006.

The Jazz Club of Sarasota, founded in 1980, is dedicated to preserving, promoting and presenting jazz, America’s original musical art form. The Club has provided over 50 jazz-related events annually for more than 37 years. Chief among them is the highly respected Sarasota Jazz Festival, including the 38th Annual Festival set for March 7-10, 2018. In addition to producing numerous jazz events, over the years the Club has granted more than $200,000in scholarships to aspiring young jazz musicians.

Click HERE for the Sarasota Jazz Festival website.
*Jazz Club of Sarasota: For more information visit http://jazzclubsarasota.org/, e-mail admin@JazzClubSarasota.com, or phone 941.366.1552(Wednesday through Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Monday-Friday during Festival Week).

Jazz and the spoken word have always had a symbiotic relationship. Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti pioneered the beat poet landscape of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. But what of modern day offerings in this genre?

Tony Adamo has been described as a beatnik who arrived sixty years late, but if you ask him, he’s just a raconteur who describes his environment in a unique manner. Adamo celebrates urban life and the jazz masters who have influenced generations with hip monologues recited over the intense rhythms laid down by his New York Crew, headed by drummer Mike Clark.
“Mike is the Scorsese and I’m the Bobby De Niro,” says Tony. “Sometimes I go into the recording studio, I don’t know what I’m going to do or what I’m going to say, and Mike is standing behind the glass. He points to me, and then I’m off. And it’s really a magical thing, because his groove sets the stage for me!”
Although born in the Bay Area, Adamo has spent a lot of time in New York and his cadence and wit reflect his love and respect for the Big Apple. “Once you go to the Apple, man, it doesn’t leave you, it’s in your veins.   In fact, all the cats that made me what I am today are cats from New York; Mike and this whole crew that he put together.”  
Adamo generally salutes the work of jazz masters such as Art Blakey, Clifford Brown, Gerry Mulligan, and Joe Henderson, but he’s also very serious about raising people’s consciousness regarding some of the idiom’s unsung heroes, like Bay Area trumpeter Eddie Gale.
Tony Adamo is an original voice. A voice that keeps reaching for new directions in describing a music without boundaries and its fascinating makers.

Gary G. Vercelli

Jazz Music Director Gary Vercelli produces CapRadio’s terrestrial and online jazz programming, including JazzStream.org. He also hosts Excellence In Jazz and Acid Jazz 

Tony Adamo isn’t one to go unnoticed by the jazz and funk greats who have recorded with him to include James Gadson, Michael Wolff, Eddie Henderson, Kenneth Nash, Richie Goods, Donald Harrison, Bill Summers, Tower Of Power Horns,Lenny White,Mike LeDonne,Jack Wilkins,Roger Smith,Paul Jackson,Delbert Bump, Mike Clark, Mic Gillette, Skip
Mesquite, Doc Kupka,Mark Murphy, Blackbyrd Mcknight,Tim Ouimette,Steve Gadd, and Ernie Watts.

Trombonist Elliot Mason is a leading voice on his instrument and a member of the Jazz at
Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (JLCO). This album celebrates the release of
his debut solo album as a leader, Before, Now & After. As the title suggests, the record reflects on Mason’s most important musical influences, while adding a fresh vision and 21st century insight to them. This takes shape in several ways; in addition to brand new compositions “embodying emotions from favorite recordings,” he also explores specific compositions by John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, McCoy Tyner, Lee Morgan, Antonio Carlos Jobim. 

Elliot has been described as “He’s unbelievable as a trombonist, there’s unworldly facility, virtuosity and clarity in his playing, he can sing a melody out from the trombone; it’s like a human voice the way he plays it” – Wynton Marsalis 

The album, besides the band (Elliot Mason, Sofija Knezevic, Dan Nimmer, Carlos Henriquez & Ali Jackson) is graced by a few of very special guests: Joe Lovano, Tim Hagans, Cyro Baptista and Brad Mason. 

Reserve tickets jazz.org/elliotmason
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola | Broadway at 60th St 5th floor, New York, 10019
January 23rd & 24th, Sets at 7:30pm & 9:30pm Phone: (212) 258-9595

Elliot has been described as “He’s unbelievable as a trombonist, there’s unworldly facility, virtuosity and clarity in his playing, he can sing a melody out from the trombone; it’s like a human voice the way he plays it” – Wynton Marsalis 
Before, Now & After. As the title suggests, the record reflects on Mason’s most important musical influences, while adding a fresh vision and 21st century insight to them. This takes shape in several ways; in addition to brand new compositions “embodying emotions from favorite recordings,” he also explores specific compositions by John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, McCoy Tyner, Lee Morgan, Antonio Carlos Jobim. 

The album, besides the band (Elliot Mason, Sofija Knezevic, Dan Nimmer, Carlos Henriquez & Ali Jackson) is graced by a few of very special guests: Joe Lovano, Tim Hagans, Cyro Baptista and Brad Mason. 
Before, Now & After is available now! 
You can purchase the Album & Charts (CD, MP3’s & High-Res 24/96 kHz FLAC versions) HERE

For more info: http://www.elliotmason.org

If you’d like to check out the music before buying, you can listen to extended clips from all of the tracks on Elliot’s website above. Or you can check out the video of us rehearsing Resolution for the album release. VIDEO
Elliot Mason is celebrating his debut solo album release at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola on January 23rd & 24th, sets at 7:30pm & 9:30pm. 

It will feature: Elliot Mason – Trombone, Sofija Knezevic – Voice, Dan Nimmer – Piano, Johnathan Blake – Drums, Carlos Henriquez – Bass and special guests Eli Degibri – Tenor Sax (Jan 23rd), Tim Hagans – Trumpet (Jan 24th) & Brad Mason – Trumpet. The album has been highly anticipated as Elliot takes a hiatus from The Mason Brothers Quintet with his brother Brad, to release his first solo album. Concert tickets are in high demand, mark your calendars and don’t miss the opportunity to be at the release. 

Reserve tickets jazz.org/elliotmason
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola | Broadway at 60th St 5th floor, New York, 10019
January 23rd & 24th, Sets at 7:30pm & 9:30pm Phone: (212) 258-9595

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 2018

Contacts: Jo Morello, 941.587.8290; Carline Ash, 941.366.1552 (Wed.-Fri., 9-5)

Musician interviews & photos available. Click HERE for the Sarasota Jazz
Festival website with short soundtracks and detailed event schedule. 

SARASOTA, FL: Jazz, the uniquely American musical art form, was born in New Orleans in the early 20th century and nurtured on a lively diet of music from around the world–the blues of the American South, rhythms from Africa and the Caribbean, classical music from Europe and France, and more. It’s entirely fitting, then, that the Jazz Club of Sarasota–one of the most active jazz societies in the nation–will present “A World of Jazz” for its 38th Annual Sarasota Jazz Festival. The four-day event, from March 7-10, 2018, will feature 14 musicians from seven nations in four concerts, over a dozen locally based musicians for a Pub Crawl by Trolley, and the French art film Django. In addition, at one of the concerts the Club will present its highest honor, the Satchmo Award, to a musician for “unique and enduring contribution to the living history of jazz.” Festival activities will be presented in various Sarasota venues including Marriott’s new Art Ovation Hotel, downtown Sarasota night clubs and Burns Court Cinema. Live jazz will fill the lobby before each concert, and four special VIP receptions—for those who purchase VIP ticket packages–will add to the luster of this star-studded festival.

“We’re pleased to recognize the global impact of jazz, and we’re especially honored that the celebrated Ken Peplowski, one of our audience favorites, is the festival’s music director,” said Peg Pluto, Jazz Club president. “We’re also delighted that our vice president, Ed Linehan, is managing director for the festival. Ken and Ed have both worked with our festivals before so we know we’re in good hands.

 “In keeping with our theme, Ken will present the world of jazz as interpreted by internationally respected musicians and fast-rising young stars from around the world,” Pluto said. “Many of them have never played together before, and they may never share the same stage again. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

Acclaimed reedman Peplowski, based in New York, will both direct the international cadre and frequently join them on stage. “These accomplished performers will play the universal language of jazz, an American language that everyone now speaks,” he said. “They’ll draw on musical influences from their homeland countries—Brazil, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the United States—to present the exciting sound of what jazz has become today.”

Ken has designed a playbook of two sets for every concert, each with a different mix of performers. “We’ll present unique combinations of musicians for every set with a fresh sound for each segment,” he said. He’ll also add another treat: “After each concert, we’ll bring back all of the evening’s musicians for an All-Star jam session number or two—an improvised finale that takes us right into the very essence of jazz.”  
Peplowski has been highly praised and frequently honored. “Ken Peplowski is arguably the greatest living jazz clarinetist,” said Russell Davies of BBC2. Will Friedwald (The Wall Street Journal) wrote, “Mr. Peplowski sounds the way (Benny) Goodman might if he had kept evolving … polishing his craft . . . into the 21st century.”

Among other credits, Ken has been a featured performer at practically every significant jazz festival, was music director of the Oregon Festival of American Music for eight years, has backed dozens of major performers, and has recorded some 50 CDs as a soloist and nearly 500 more as a sideman. He has also been a frequent performer for the Jazz Club of Sarasota, often with Dick Hyman, and in 2014 received the Club’s highest honor, its Satchmo Award, for his “unique and enduring contribution to the living history of jazz.” (Other Jazz Club Satchmo winners since 1990 have included Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Gerry Mulligan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dick Hyman, Branford Marsalis and Family, Four Freshmen, Bucky and John Pizzarelli, and Wycliffe Gordon.)
In addition to Peplowski, several other musicians will make encore appearances with the Jazz Club of Sarasota. These include Houston Person,saxophone; Diego Figueiredo, guitar; and Jeff Hamilton, drums.
The festival’s house band is the Scandinavian Jazztrio: 

• Writer/musician/composer Kristian Leth (Denmark), drums; a Danish Academy Award-nominated film composer and Grammy-winning recording artist who has written, performed and produced scores for TV series, films and commercials.
• Hans Backenroth (Sweden), bass; acclaimed as “one of the best bass players Sweden has developed—ever!” (Arne Domnérus, Swedish jazz legend).
• Ole Kock Hansen (Denmark), piano; “one of the most significant artists in modern Danish Jazz” (Wikipedia).

“Some of our festival musicians currently reside in the United States as well as abroad. We’ve hand-picked performers who beautifully understand and represent the musical influences they bring from their countries of origin,” Peplowski said. In addition to the Scandinavian Jazztrio, festival musicians (in alphabetical order) are:

•  Ehud Asherie, piano, Israel; “a master of swing and stride” (New Yorker); a jazz pianist who integrates the New York piano tradition with his inventive style.
• Graham Dechter, guitar, U. S.; honored in the DownBeat Critics Poll as “Rising Star Guitar” (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017).
• Sinne Eeg, vocalist, Denmark; considered the preeminent jazz vocalist in Scandinavia.
• Diego Figueiredo, guitar, Brazil; a fast-rising star among the world’s greatest jazz guitarists; plays with an infectious, joyful feeling.
• Jimmy Greene, saxophone, U.S.; GRAMMY® Award-nominated saxophonist, composer, and arranger.
• Jeff Hamilton, drums, U.S; known for his versatility as a drummer, composer, arranger, and educator; leads his own trio and performs with other respected groups including the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
• Chiara Izzi, vocals, Italy; described by JazzTimes as “a talent to be heard, admired and anticipated.”
• Jeremy Pelt, trumpet, U.S.; featured by Nat Hentoff in The Wall Street Journal; voted “Rising Star – Trumpet” for five years by DownBeat and the Jazz Journalists Association.
• Houston Person, saxophone, U.S.; a “rock-solid, full-toned” musician, recording artist and winner of the Eubie Blake Award.
• Akiko Tsuruga, organ, Japan; called “Queen of the Organ”; winner of the 2017 Hothouse Magazine Jazz Award for Best Organist.

Festival Schedule
WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 7, 20TH ANNUAL JAZZ TROLLEY & PUB CRAWL, downtown Sarasota.
TROLLEY rides from 5:30 p.m.; JAZZ at downtown CLUBS from 6-10 p.m.
Jazz lovers and club-hoppers will board trolleys for the 20th consecutive Jazz Pub Crawl by Trolley, riding to downtown nightclubs where over 50 local musicians will swing the night away. Trolleys will run continuous loops of the venues throughout the evening. A wristband, available from the Jazz Club office* or at the trolley parking location, is required for admission to the trolley and all clubs.  This is a separately ticket event, not included in Festival VIP or Combo Tickets. Wristband are $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the event.

THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 8: CONCERT and other events, Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 N. Palm Avenue

5-7:30, Local JAZZ MUSICIANS in lobby bar; 6-7:30, VIP RECEPTION; 7:30 p.m., CONCERT; 10-11 p.m., VIP MEET-AND-GREET with FESTIVAL MUSICIANS.
 Co-Hosts: Ken Peplowski and Mike Cornette, director of jazz & on-air host, WUSF 89.7 FM, Tampa

• 1st Set: Scandinavian Jazztrio with special guest vocalist Sinne Eeg.
• 2nd Set: Scandinavian Jazztrio joined by Jimmy Greene on saxophone and Jeremy Pelt on trumpet. Featured performances by Sinne Eeg,vocals, and Ken Peplowski, reeds.
• Finale: All-Star Jazz Jam with all of the evening’s musicians

 FRIDAY MORNING, MARCH 9: Live GYPSY JAZZ,: DJANGO, A FRENCH FILM ABOUT LEGENDARY JAZZ GUITARIST DJANGO REINHARDT, Burns Court Cinema, 506 Burns Court

10 a.m.-10:45, LIVE GYPSY JAZZ;  11 a.m., 2017 FILM DJANGO
Keven Aland (violin) and Jon McLaughlin (guitar) of the Hot Club of SRQ present a Gypsy Jazz performance to set the mood for Etienne Comar’s filmDjango. This new film, called “a plucky historical drama that leverages a famous musician into a story about fighting fascism,” will be screened with English subtitles. The “dazzling biopic,” which had its world premiere at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, depicts the struggles of the famous French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt in German-occupied Paris.
Seating is limited: ALL guests must make reservations. Contact the Jazz Club office* for reservations and tickets. Admission: FREE for holders of VIP Festival Passes; $10 for Jazz Club members; $15 for nonmembers.

FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 9: CONCERT and other events, Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 N Palm Avenue
5-7:30, JAZZ MUSICIANS in lobby bar; 7:30 p.m., CONCERT; 10-11 p.m., VIP MEET-AND-GREET with FESTIVAL MUSICIANS
Co-Hosts: Ken Peplowski and Whitney James, jazz vocalist; on-air jazz host, WUSF 89.7 FM, Tampa 

• 1st Set: Diego Figueiredo, guitar; Chiara Izzi, vocals; Jimmy Greene, saxophone.
• 2nd Set: Scandinavian Jazztrio; Houston Person, saxophone; Graham Dechter, guitar.
• Finale:  All-Star Jazz Jam with all of the evening’s musicians.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, March 10: CONCERT and other events, Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 N Palm Avenue12:30-2, Local JAZZ MUSICIANS in lobby bar;  2 p.m., CONCERTCo-Hosts: Ken Peplowski and  Kayonne Riley, general manager, WUCF 89.9 FM, Orlando; host of “Middays with Kayonne Riley Mix-and-match concert with Scandinavian Jazztrio; Graham Dechter, guitar; Akiko Tsuruga, organ; Jeff Hamilton, drums; Houston Person, saxophone; Diego Figueiredo, guitar; Chiara Izzi, vocals; Ehud Asherie, piano; and Ken Peplowski, reeds.

SATURDAY EVENING, March 10: CONCERT and other events, Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 N Palm Avenue
5-7:30, Local JAZZ MUSICIANS in lobby bar; 7:30 p.m., CONCERT; 10-11 p.m., VIP MEET-AND-GREET with FESTIVAL MUSICIANS
Co-Hosts: Ken Peplowski and Bob Seymour, retired director of jazz and on-air host, WUSF 89.7 FM, Tampa; honorary member, Jazz Club of Sarasota Board of Directors

• 1st Set: Kristian Leth, drums; Hans Backenroth, bass; Ehud Asherie, piano; and Ken Peplowski, reeds       
•  Presentation of the Jazz Club’s highest honor, the Satchmo award, to honor a person selected by the Jazz Club  for “unique and enduring contribution to the living history of jazz.”   
• 2nd Set: Jeff Hamilton, drums; Akiko Tsuruga, organ; Graham Dechter, guitar; and Houston Person, saxophone.
• Festival Finale: All-Star Jazz Jam with all of the evening’s musicians

Sarasota Jazz Festival ticket prices peak at $49, with discounts available for Jazz Club members and through several combination packages including a VIP ticket that includes admission and preferred seating for all concerts and four private receptions. Prices for the movie Django and the Jazz Pub Crawl are lower. Contact the Jazz Club* for Jazz Pub Crawl wristbands ($20/advance; $25/at event), information about the movie, VIP Combo Ticket Packages, and other options. To purchase general admission tickets for single concerts ($39/member; $49/nonmember), contact brownpapertickets.com or 800.838.3006.

The Jazz Club of Sarasota, founded in 1980, is dedicated to preserving, promoting and presenting jazz, America’s original musical art form. The Club has provided over 50 jazz-related events annually for more than 37 years. Chief among them is the highly respected Sarasota Jazz Festival, including the 38th Annual Festival set for March 7-10, 2018. In addition to producing numerous jazz events, over the years the Club has granted more than $200,000in scholarships to aspiring young jazz musicians.

Click HERE for the Sarasota Jazz Festival website.
*Jazz Club of Sarasota: For more information visit http://jazzclubsarasota.org/, e-mail admin@JazzClubSarasota.com, or phone 941.366.1552(Wednesday through Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Monday-Friday during Festival Week).

https://wmproject.hearnow.com