Joe Block Christmas Extravaganza at Chris’ Jazz Café

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 arrangements for both small and large ensembles, including Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

So, it was interesting to see what he would do with the holiday fare of tunes that we hear everywhere during this season of mistletoe, Chanukah candles, snow, sleighbells, Christmas trees, the Kwanzaa Karamu feast, and so on. His two holiday shows each at Chris' Jazz Café on December 15th and 16th were sold out in advance, so this reviewer was lucky to squeeze in for a Sunday matinee December 17th add-on. Block brought with him a crew of two vocalists and six instrumentalists and persuaded several musician colleagues to complement his holiday arrangements with theirs. The result was a power-packed rendition of holiday classics in which vocalists Stella Katherine Cole and Ekep Nkwelle sang their hearts out accompanied by exceptional musicians with whom Block often works in New York, Philadelphia, and elsewhere.

It soon became clear that Block had successfully shaped his individualist personnel into a coordinated ensemble to back each of the singers with panache. The arrangements had strong hints of the sophisticated swing styles of the likes of Duke Ellington and the generation of arrangers that included Nelson Riddle, Buddy Bregman, and Billy May. Block's septet, consisted of himself, Jarien Jamanila on alto and soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet, Dylan Band on tenor and soprano sax, flute, and clarinet, Noah Halpern on trumpet, Dave Mosko on trombone, Mikey Migliore on bass, and Willie Jones III on drums. Each and all of them gave proof that they were up to the difficult tasks that Block set forth for them. The word "extravaganza" is not too strong for the for the blockbuster of a show that the vocalists and group put on.

Rundown of the Show

The music began with a Block-arranged instrumental medley entitled "Overture" hinting at a musical theater format. It proceeded from the carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem" to songs from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" which Ellington and Billy Strayhorn revised for big band, followed by "Frosty the Snowman," and "Joy to the World." Block achieved a big band sound using a septet, which takes consummate skill to get the right effect. He also added embellishments that were tone poetical metaphors for Christmas symbols like bells, sleighs, and a crackling fireplace.

There followed two "sets," the first with vocalist Stella Katherine Cole and the second featuring Ekep Nkwelle.

Stella Katherine Cole's Set

For starters, Block supplied a very straight-ahead ballad arrangement of "White Christmas" for Cole. She articulated it with a strong, clear voice with little or no embellishments and no scatting, employing her background in musical theater to good advantage. Dave Mosko complemented Cole with a well-honed and lyrical trombone solo that swung. Block recruited a Juilliard-bred fine guitarist, Aaron Matson, to produce a swinging "big band" arrangement of "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" similar to the bouncing version arranged by Johnny Mandel and recorded by Frank Sinatra. Best guess is that Sinatra would have loved the way Cole punched her way through this one.

A second Matson arrangement, "Christmas Dreaming," had the kind of flourishes and classy phrasing of Nelson Riddle, to which a trumpet solo by Noah Halpern and a tenor sax solo by Dylan Band added further degrees of sophistication.

"Santa Baby," as arranged by Block, was similar in feel to the classic Eartha Kitt version with its seductive requests for Santa for a platinum mine, a convertible, a duplex, etc.

"The Christmas Song," a classic composed by Mel Torme and arranged by Jarien Jamanila included some savvy flute soloing and comping of Cole by Jamanila.

"The Christmas Waltz," the Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne song arranged by Block, was one of the best charts of the evening with the reeds and brass jiving against Cole and the rhythm section.

Block's chart for "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" began on piano with a celeste sound reminiscent of Tchaikowsky's "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies" from the "Nutcracker." Cole's soothing, recurring stylings, seeming to compensate for "troubles...that are miles away," brought out a hidden sadness in the song that is suggested in the lyrics. Block's classical music background allowed him to create nuances only a master pianist could achieve.

Ekep Nkewelle's Set

For the second set Ekep Nkwelle served as vocalist. If Cole's singing had the intensity of Judy Garland, Nkwelle brought in a swinging and conversational feel akin to that of Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald. Thus, Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" came forth in the manner of a vamp. A delightful round of solos by Jamanila on alto saxophone, Halpern on trumpet, Band on tenor saxophone, and Mosko on trombone lent class and virtuosity to Nkwelle's channeling of the great jazz divas.

"Winter Wonderland," as arranged by up-and-coming guitarist and Manhattan School of Music student Leo Steinreide, began in the standard way, but soon segued into a heavy duty, double time emphasis on the upbeat, leading to interesting trombone and bass solos by Mosko and Migliore respectively.

"We Three Kings," arranged by Block as if from the Hymnal, made good use of muted trombone and provided a beautiful instrumental chorale for the final chorus.

In Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time is Here" arranged by guitarist, educator, and professional actor Matt Wong, shades of the Ellington band began to appear more strongly with Jamanila's masterful Johnny Hodges-like alto saxophone solo. The second chorus upped the tempo, and there was great piano work by Block in honor of both Ellington and Guaraldi, who was famous for the "Charlie Brown Christmas" score, but also did a stint as a sought-after pianist in the San Francisco area.

"The Secret of Christmas" by Sammy Cahn and immy van Heusen appeared on Ella Fitzgerald' s album "Ella Wishes You a Merry Christmas." Bach-like piano work by Block once again highlighted his mastery of classical styles and also brought out the strong connection between Bach's chromaticism and that of bebop.

Block's arrangement of "My Favorite Things" was inspired by the John Coltrane Quartet album of the same name (Atlantic, 1961). Nkwelle sung it with a fever appropriate to Trane, and the feeling of the John Coltrane Quartet was reproduced by Band's saxophone, Block's piano, Migliore's bass and Jones' drums. Block's solo was one to die for. He started by channeling McCoy Tyner but at a certain point became involved with radically complex improvising within Tyner's chords. Block can sometimes achieve the impossible, and this was one of the occasions in which he did so.

The show ended with the standard "This Christmas" where Block's arranging strived for Stan Kenton-like intensity, and Ekep Nkwelle took it out into the stratosphere.

Set Lists

Overture (arr. Joe Block): Selections: O Little Town of Bethlehem (Phillips Brooks/Lewis Redner); Overture to Nutcracker (Pyotr Illycih Tchaikovsky; inspired by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's big band arrangement); Frosty the Snowman (Walter Rollins/Steve Nelson); Joy to the World (Isaac Watts; Vocalist Stella Katherine Cole's Set: White Christmas (Irving Berlin; arr. Joe Block); I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Irving Berlin; arr. Aaron Matson); Christmas Dreaming (Irving Gordon/Lester Lee; arr. Aaron Matson); Santa Baby (Joan Javits/Philip Springer; arr. Joe Block); The Christmas Song (Robert Wells/Mel Tormé; arr. Jarien Jamanila); The Christmas Waltz (Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne; arr. Joe Block); Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Hugh Martin/Ralph Blane; arr. Joe Block); Vocalist Ekep Nkwelle's Set: Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson/Mitchell Parish; arr. Frank DeVol; transcribed by Skylar Hagner); Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard/Richard Bernhard Smith; arr. Leo Steinriede); We Three Kings (John Henry Hopkins Jr.; arr. Joe Block); Christmas Time is Here (Vince Guaraldi/Lee Mendelson; arr. Matt Wong); The Secret of Christmas (Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen; arr. Joe Block); My Favorite Things (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein; arranged by Joe Block; inspired by the John Coltrane Quartet rendition); This Christmas (Donny Hathway/Nadine Theresa McKinnor; arr. Joe Block)

Personnel

Joe Block: Musical Director/Piano/Head Arranger); Stella Katherine Cole: Voice; Ekep Nkwelle: Voice; Jarien Jamanila: Reed 1 (alto, soprano, flute, clarinet); Dylan Band: Reed 2 (tenor, soprano, flute, clarinet); Noah Halpern: Trumpet; Dave Mosko: Trombone; Mikey Migliore: Bass; Willie Jones: Drums.

Photo

(L to R) Back row: Mikey Migliore, Willie Jones III, Ekep Nkwelle, Dylan Band, Noah Halpern; Front: Jarien Jamanila, Stella Katherine Cole, Dave Mosko, and Joe Block.

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