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The DIVA Jazz Orchestra: Tappin' Thru Life
by Jack Bowers
Tappin' Thru Life is more than the title of a jazz album; it is a philosophy, one that guided Maurice Hines through most of his 80 years and all of his epic career as an acclaimed tap dancer and entertainer. The album is based on Hines' autobiographical stage show of that name whose music director, drummer par excellence Sherrie Maricle, is also a co-founder and leader of The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, a renowned all-woman ensemble. After Hines' ...
Continue ReadingLeigh Pilzer: Beatin' the Odds
by Jack Bowers
Beatin' the Odds. To baritone saxophonist Leigh Pilzer, that is far more than a catchphrase: it is a grim yet ultimately happy reality. In 2017, Pilzer was diagnosed with cancer. After extensive treatments, her odds of surviving more than five years were reckoned as around thirty percent. But six years have gone by, and not only has Pilzer beaten the odds, she is cancer-free, back in the saddle and performing again. And not only performing but writing ...
Continue ReadingDiva Jazz Orchestra: "30": Live at Dizzy's Club
by Jack Bowers
The “30" in the title of the superlative all-woman Diva Jazz Orchestra's latest album stands for 30 years, which, believe it or not, is how long the orchestra and its remarkable drummer and leader, Sherrie Maricle, have been up and running and making beautiful music at home and abroad. Among U.S.-based big bands, it would seem that only Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Woody Herman have had longer runs than that. Fast company indeed. So is Diva ready for comparisons? ...
Continue Reading3D Jazz Trio: 9 to 5
by Dan Bilawsky
One can't help but learn about the meaning of style and sophistication from the 3D Jazz Trio. Since the release of its debut--3Divas (Self-Produced, 2017)--pianist Jackie Warren, bassist Amy Shook and drummer Sherrie Maricle have proven to be a collective paragon of taste. Whether swinging for the fences, setting scenes ablaze in Latin quarters, captivating with balladic charms or taking playfulness to new peaks, this band is always a model for musicality. On this, the group's third ...
Continue ReadingThe DIVA Jazz Orchestra: Swings Broadway
by Jack Bowers
At the ripe old age of thirty (closer to a hundred in big-band years), the superlative New York-based, all-female DIVA Jazz Orchestra remains as frisky as a newborn colt, swinging up, down and around Broadway with abandon on its thirteenth album, a brisk and colorful tribute to the Great White Way that shines brightly from start to finish. The album opens and closes in a mid-1950s vein, raising the curtain with Steven Feifke's breezy, well-grooved arrangement of ...
Continue Reading3D Jazz Trio: Christmas in 3D
by Dan Bilawsky
Still riding high on the release of I Love To See You Smile (Diva Jazz, 2020), the 3D Jazz Trio drops in again to ring in the holiday season. And while it's true that 2020 hasn't left us with much to celebrate, a chance to sit back and reflect while basking in the glow of some joyful jazz is one thing worth raising a glass of eggnog to. Leaning on familiar favorites with personalized twists, 3D immediately ...
Continue Reading3D Jazz Trio: I Love To See You Smile
by Dan Bilawsky
The spirit of sisterhood isn't based on size, but, rather, built on the power of kinship. If anybody in the jazz world truly understands that fact, it's drummer Sherrie Maricle. Way ahead of the curve when it comes to spotlighting the need for female empowerment and equality in the music, she's helmed the Diva Jazz Orchestra for more than a quarter of a century. And while that ensemble remains her flagship, some smaller spin-off combos that have followed it also ...
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