Jazz News

'Sammy' at the Old Globe

Source: Michael Ricci
October 6, 2009

His shoulders are slumped from too many gigs, too many drugs and way too many women. The bags around his eyes droop nearly to the bottom of his cocktail glass. His whole body is haloed in the cigarette smoke that would contribute to his death from throat cancer at 64.

As channeled by Obba Babatund, Sammy Davis Jr. finally concedes to the exhaustion that hes been postponing since his days as an adorable child dancer working the vaudeville circuit with ...

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A Real Boy, Seven Decades Later: Dick Jones, the Voice

Source: Michael Ricci
October 6, 2009

Next year marks the 70th anniversary of “Pinocchio," my favorite Disney film, and Dick Jones, the actor who gave voice to the beloved title character, will be a special guest at the Lone Pine Film Festival next weekend (Oct. 9-11).

If you're not familiar with that festival, it's got a wagon-wheel ethos with its emphasis on Old West fare, frontier imagery and the great old cowboy serials. So, um, how does the star of “Pinocchio"--which is based on the 19th ...

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Truth & Soul's Michael Leonhart & the Avramina 7 Joe's Pub Residency

Source: All About Jazz
October 6, 2009

Trumpet player, producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and singer-songwriter Michael Leonhart and his band “the Avramina 7" are pleased to announce their monthly residency at New York’s Joe’s Pub, beginning Wednesday, October 7, and continuing though the rest of 2009. Despite being the newest group on Truth & Soul Records, the band is anything but inexperienced. Michael himself, a New York native, won a GRAMMY at 17 for being most outstanding musician in a US high school, and plays trumpet for ...

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Prestige Releases New Coltrane Box Set - Side Steps

Source: On Target Media Group
October 6, 2009

Side Steps the third and final set in a series of Coltrane Box Sets, hits stores today via Prestige Records. The 5-CD set captures Coltrane in a supporting role, as a sideman to leaders like Sonny Rollins, Gene Ammons, Red Garland, Tadd Dameron and others. The collection of 43 tracks represents the entirety of Coltrane’s session work as a Prestige sideman, from mid-1956 to early 1958, with the exception of his work with Miles Davis (which is featured in The ...

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Trumpet Phenom Joey Pero to Perform Acclaimed 'Resonance' CD Live at Feinstein's

Source: All About Jazz
October 6, 2009

On October 15th and 16th, New York's Feinstein's at Loews Regency the celebrated mecca for outstanding music performance - will host world-renown trumpeter Joey Pero and his high-energy ensemble performing selections from his recently highly-acclaimed CD, Resonance.

These live performances by Pero's ensemble are expected to continue and amplify the significant media interest and tremendous audience buzz emanating from Pero's recent live New York performances.

This is a very special treat for the band and me to bring 'Resonance' from ...

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Jazz & Blues Florida October Online Edition Posted

Source: Michael Ricci
October 6, 2009

The October edition of Jazz & Blues Florida has been posted online at

Many of Florida's seasonal jazz series are announced in this issue as well as new CD releases, expanded music programs in venues, and other matters of musical interest.

Our listing section contains current information on hundreds of venues from Key West to Pensacola.

This month's featured artists, all playing in Florida in the coming month, include:

Winning Spin - Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussein (The ...

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MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra and Bobby Sanabria to Honor Maestro Ray Santos: A Life in Latin Music

Source: Michael Ricci
October 6, 2009

The recently Grammy nominated Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra directed by Maestro Bobby Sanabria honors another Maestro, the legendary composer, arranger Ray Santos on Friday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the School's John C. Borden Auditorium. That evening, showcased will be music that will span Maestro Santos's entire prolific career. Performed will be specific pieces that he either composed and/or arranged for such legends as Machito & The Afro-Cubans, Tito Puente, Mario Bauza' as well as his ...

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Sinan Bakir Quartet at the Buttonwood Tree (CT) on October 17th

Source: All About Jazz
October 6, 2009

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