Articles by Victor L. Schermer
In Memoriam Richie Beirach: Chronicalling A Magical Encounter With A Jazz Hero I Never Met
by Victor L. Schermer
Note: This story about the late great pianist, composer, and educator Richie Beirach shares the author's feelings and thoughts about him as a result of their four-year email and phone exchange from July 25, 2019 to March 11, 2023. These exchanges followed an in-depth, two-part interview for All About Jazz in which Beirach spoke at length and in detail about his life and musical journey. The interviewer, Victor Schermer, got to know him at a deeper, more intimate level personally ...
Continue ReadingLet Me Be Frank: The Extraordinary Life and Music of Frank Sinatra, Jr.
by Victor L. Schermer
Let Me Be Frank: The Extraordinary Life and Music of Frank Sinatra, Jr.Bruce Klauber and Andrea Kauffman216 Pages ISBN: # 97-1-4968-5865-8 University Press of Mississippi2025 Sid Mark, the legendary Philadelphia broadcaster who for many years hosted the iconic radio show “The Sounds of Sinatra," liked to tell a joke about the Chairman of the Board that inspired instant self-recognition among most men of the time who heard it. “A great musician dies, ...
Continue ReadingRichie Beirach: Indelible Memories and Thought-Provoking Reflections on a Life in Jazz, Part 1
by Victor L. Schermer
This two-part article was first published on All About Jazz on August 13, 2019. Part 1 | Part 2 Richie Beirach hovers somewhat mysteriously in the pantheon of the great modern jazz pianists. Some of the others in that category from his generation (coming up in the 1960s/'70s), like Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, and Kenny Barron have greater celebrity, but Beirach easily qualifies alongside them as one of the most accomplished masters. While the ...
Continue ReadingTessa Souter: Making Connections Between Erik Satie, Jazz, and Personal Identity
by Victor L. Schermer
New York-based vocalist Tessa Souter is deservedly treasured among jazz fans, critics and musicians alike. Equally effective performing live and on her several fine recordings, she is a jazz singer who combines the sonority, vocal range and discipline of a classical mezzo soprano with subtle and sultry jazz inflections. Everything she sings is well thought out and in good taste. Often writing her own lyrics, she is adventurous in bringing out strong connections between the music, her own ...
Continue ReadingUnforgettable Bob Perkins’ Backstory: How The Content of His Character Stamped Him In Our Memory
by Victor L. Schermer
On Sunday, January 19, 2025, WRTI Jazz Radio icon Bob Perkins passed away in the early hours of the morning, at age 91, at Jefferson Abington Hospital, near where he lived for many years with his wife, Dr. Sheila K. Perkins. He will always be remembered for his decades-long work as a radio broadcaster and as a devoted presence in the Philadelphia jazz scene. After pursuing various avenues of broadcasting news and jazz, with some serious writing thrown in to ...
Continue ReadingNorman David: Intention
by Victor L. Schermer
Saxophonist/composer/arranger/band leader Norman David grew up and matured as a musician in Montreal and moved to Boston to study with the late, revered, and multifaceted Herb Pomeroy at the famed Berklee College of Music. While there, in 1980, David founded a large jazz ensemble just a few members short of a full big band called the “Eleventet." It melded the improvisational qualities of a small ensemble with the rich sound and interactional possibilities of a big band. He found it ...
Continue ReadingChad Taylor Quintet at Solar Myth
by Victor L. Schermer
Chad Taylor Quintet Ars Nova Workshop Solar Myth Club Philadelphia, PA July 17, 2024 Chad Taylor is a “first call" drummer who is also a composer, band leader, jazz historian and scholar who was recently appointed to lead the University of Pittsburgh Jazz Studies Program. He came up in Chicago as a founding member of Jazz Underground, and worked in the Chicago jazz scene with the likes of trumpeter ...
Continue ReadingChris Oatts’ Pretty Big Band at Chris’ Jazz Café
by Victor L. Schermer
Chris Oatts' Pretty Big Band Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia, PA May 28, 2024 The nonet, a nine-member ensemble which enables features of both small group and big band arranging and playing, has probably deserved greater use than it has seen in jazz over the years. Among the most notable applications was Bob Brookmeyer's use of it in the 1950s to bring together music and musicians from the big band era and ...
Continue ReadingPete Malinverni Trio Celebrating Leonard Bernstein at Chris’ Jazz Café
by Victor L. Schermer
Pete Malinverni Trio Celebrating Leonard Bernstein Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia, PA May 18, 2024 In 2022, pianist Pete Malinverni released a trio recording, On the Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein (Planet Arts Recordings). Just last year, Bradley Cooper's biopic about Leonard Bernstein, Maestro (Netflix, 2023), made quite a splash and got several Oscar nominations and other accolades, but Malinverni's recording was released prior to and is unrelated to ...
Continue ReadingTony Miceli Quintet at Chris’ Jazz Café
by Victor L. Schermer
Tony Miceli Quintet Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia, PA April 5, 2024 Vibraphonist Tony Miceli has a way of drawing talent around him like a magnet. Of course, it's because of his exceptional musicianship, but he also has a knack for creating interesting situations for playing. This time, he brought together four other jazz masters for a retro take on hard bop. Their virtuosity and musical imagination made the set come alive as ...
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