Articles by Victor L. Schermer
Tessa 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 ...
Continue ReadingGeorge Colligan Quartet at Chris’ Jazz Café
by Victor L. Schermer
George Colligan Quartet Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia. PA March 29, 2024 Chris Hove of All About Jazz once wrote that pianist and multi-instrumentalist George Colligan is “one of the best kept secrets in jazz." It's not clear why he is such a secret, since. as saxophonist Don Braden once said, “As a creative artist, he's really up there... In terms of technique, knowledge of music and improvisational creativity, there aren't a ...
Continue ReadingJoey Alexander Trio at Chris’ Jazz Café
by Victor L. Schermer
Joey Alexander Trio Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia, PA March 8, 2024 All musical genres, and specifically jazz, have produced any number of musicians who blossomed in childhood and already in their teens were performing and competitive with the masters. The greatest historical example of course was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and a latter-day example was Leonard Bernstein. In jazz, Philadelphia's own Pat Martino moved to Harlem at age 14, was mentored by the ...
Continue ReadingJoe Block Christmas Extravaganza at Chris’ Jazz Café
by Victor L. Schermer
Joe Block Christmas Extravaganza Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia, PA December 17, 2023 Pianist Joe Block is a remarkable pianist and band leader born and bred in Philadelphia and its suburbs. He is a graduate of both Juilliard and Columbia, was mentored by legendary pianists like Tom Lawton and Frank Kimbrough, is in demand for gigs everywhere, and is a frequent performer at Chris' Jazz Cafe. He also happens to do superb ...
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