This season’s main jazz attractions lean toward strutting traditional sounds, but a couple of performances lined up from Bill Frisell and Joanne Brackeen should change things up nicely.
Chuchito Valdes Afro-Cuban Ensemble, Boulder Theater, Sept. 14: Talk about living up to the family name. Pianist Chuchito is the son of Cuban piano wizard Chucho Valdes and the grandson of Bebo Valdes, one of that island’s vibrant bandleaders in the 1940s. Chuchito carries on the tradition, not as a nostalgia act but by continuing to press on in the evolution of an art form.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Boettcher Concert Hall, Sept. 28: It’ll take more than a devastating hurricane to wash away the spirit of these veterans who continue to breathe life into the music of the early 20th century. The PHJB has existed for about 50 years, and here’s a chance to hear the music of the New Orleans masters without the hisses and pops of the low fidelity of history.
2006 Summit Jazz, Four Points by Sheraton Denver Southeast, Sept. 29-Oct. 1: Sutton’s Rocky Mountain Jazz Festival, Downtown Marriott City Center, Oct. 6-8: The Sutton is Sunnie, who carries the torch of swing in the wake of her late husband, Ralph, one of the last major stride pianists.
Sutton has been hinting that each year’s gathering of traditionalist’s like Bucky Pizzarelli and Harry Allen will be the last bearing the family name. Luckily she has changed her mind again, presenting another weekend of top-notch swing. The Summit Jazz weekend is just as appealing and very much in the same spirit, with a lineup including Jeff Hamilton and Allan Vache. If you know any of these names, you know what to do.
Bill Frisell, Jack DeJohnette and Jerome Harris, Boulder Theater, Oct. 8: Frisell is an open-minded guitarist whose music can evoke the spaciousness of the Colorado landscapes where he grew up; he has evolved into one of America’s most consistent creative minds. DeJohnette is a heat-generating drummer whose energy reaches back to his formative years working with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Harris made a name for himself as a sideman for titan Sonny Rollins in the 1970s, so he’s well-versed in invention.
Don’t be surprised if the results of this collaboration make for the finest night of improvised music in Colorado this year.
Javon Jackson Quartet, Mount Vernon Country Club, Oct. 11: Saxophonist Jackson is a Colorado-bred artist who has recorded with Art Blakey and for the Blue Note label. He delivers a swaggering, bluesy sound, and his homecoming is enhanced by the presence of his collaborators, including drummer Jimmy Cobb (sole survivor of Miles Davis’ 1959 “Kind of Blue” sessions) and pianist George Cables.
Joanne Brackeen, Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge, Oct. 19: Brackeen makes a rare Colorado appearance as part of Dazzle’s “Women in Jazz Week.” She’s a piano innovator who logged time with Stan Getz and Art Blakey (she was the first female member of Blakey’s Jazz Messengers) while developing her own free-flowing style. Dazzle continues to, well, dazzle by booking nationally recognized names like Brackeen as well as journeyman saxophonist Houston Person (Nov. 16-17), whose new CD, “You Taught My Heart To Sing” (High Note), is an autumnal gem.
Bret Saunders writes about jazz for The Denver Post. Saunders is host of the “KBCO Morning Show,” 5:30-10 a.m. weekdays at 97.3-FM. His e-mail address is bret_saunders@hotmail.com
