SARASOTA JAZZ

What’s Inside

President’s Letter .........................2

Sounds Staff ...................................2

Board of Directors ..................... .2

Oktoberfest Venues. ...................3

Ken Franckling Article ................4

Jazz Meets Art. .............................6

Jazz on the Water ....................... .7

Jazz Holiday Concert..................8

Eddie Metz Trio .............................8

2015/2016 Season ........................9

Jazz At Two .................................. 10

Joy of Jazz ................................... 11

Starlite Players ............................. 11

Membership Application ......... 12

Join us for the First Annual Oktoberfest!

FALL/WINTER 2015

330 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 111 Sarasota, Florida 34236

jazzclubsarasota.com

October 7, 2015

Oktoberfest

TICKETS: $15 ($20 day of event)

online at jazzclubsarasota.org or call 941-366-1552

There’s music in the air—everywhere!

Hop on and off our jazz trolley for a happy jaunt to eight popular venues

with a different jazz group playing in each one. Trolleys run from 6 to 10 p.m.

from Old School Bar & Grill (parking available) and the other venues. (See page 3 for the list of venues and musicians.)

Afterwards if you’re still game, jam with us at Old School from 10:30 to midnight.

DON’T MISS A MINUTE OF THE FUN!

FIRST ANNUAL JAZZ CLUB OF SARASOTA

2 FALL/WINTER 2015

SARASOTA JAZZ

Sounds Staff

Editor

Peg McKay Pluto

Contributors

Carline Ash

Ken Franckling

Carol & Brad LoRicco

Jo Morello

Jazz Club Board of Directors

Peg Pluto President

Gordon Garrett Vice President

Keith Goebel Treasurer

Tracey Davis Secretary

Directors

*Dave Walrath Immediate Past President

Carolyn Evans Curry

Sandy Livon

George McLain

Nancy Roucher

Norm Vagn

Bob Weitz

Honorary Board Members

Dick Hyman

*Bob Seymour

*Life Member

President’s Letter

Hello Everyone! This issue is very exciting because we are adding several new events for the fall season. There’s a lot

going on! Besides the information in this issue, we have rack cards for Oktoberfest and will soon have the new brochure for the 36th Annual Sarasota Jazz Festival, and will provide flyers for our Jazz at Two series in the lobby of Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota at 3975 Fruitville Road.

Please mark your calendars, as we live in a city with many arts and cultural events throughout the fall and winter season. One of our new events, Jazz Meets Art, will be held on Friday, September 25 at Art Center Sarasota from 5–7 p.m. with David Pruyn. Cost is $10 at the door. There will be refreshments served at a nominal cost.

Wednesday, October 7, we are hosting our first Jazz Oktoberfest, a Pub Crawl blend of walking and trolley rides to eight popular downtown venues from 5:30 p.m. (check-in) to 10:00 p.m. We will also host an Afterglow party (free) at Old School from 10:30-midnight. Tickets are $15 in advance; $20 on the day of the event. You can identify fellow Pub Crawlers by their bright orange wristbands. Come with your friends for an evening of live jazz and fun.

We resume our popular Jazz at Two series on Friday, October 16, featuring Katt Hefner and will host the concerts on most Fridays through April 15, 2016. Jazz at Two schedules will be out soon. Sunday, November 1, is our annual fall Jazz on the Water cruise. Greg Nielsen will play for us from 2-4 p.m. on Marina Jack II. Boarding is at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 for members; $35 for non-members.

Jazz Meets Art again on Monday, November 16, 5-7 p.m. at Art Center Sarasota featuring Synia Carroll and Billy Marcus. Nate Najar and his All-Star Big Band will bring us some of the Nutcracker Suite and a lot more holiday spirit on Friday, December 18, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Riverview High School Performing Arts Center.

We’ll start the new year with the Joy of Jazz on Sunday, January 10, 2016, in Venice at the Centennial Park Gazebo, where all of our concerts are free and run from 2-4 p.m. We’re back to Art Center Sarasota on Wednesday, January 13, for our last Jazz Meets Art concert of the season. Andres Colin, a Latin guitarist, will entertain at this event, which runs from 5-7 p.m.

The popular Eddie Metz Trio will play for you on Friday, January 15, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Riverview High School Performing Arts Center. We’re back in Venice again at Centennial Park Gazebo for our second Joy of Jazz concert on Sunday, February 7. Then, less than a week later, on Saturday, February 13, you can bring your Sweetheart to our special Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance in the Bayfront room at Marina Jack. Cocktails and appetizers are served from 5:30 p.m., followed by an elegant dinner at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $50 per person. The Patricia Dean Trio will perform for this event.

I would like to personally thank all members who graciously donated to our Giving Challenge fundraiser, which was held on September 1 and 2. A special thank you goes to all our volunteers who give so much of their time and energy to assist with our events. Welcome, too, to our new volunteers. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Peg Pluto, President

FALL/WINTER 2015 3

SARASOTA JAZZ

Oktoberfest TROLLEY STOPS:

Old School Bar & Grill1991 Main Street

Bruce Wallace

The Gator Club 1490 Main Street

Bill Buchman

Sarasota Wine Bar & Bistro1257 Main Street

David Pruyn

Z’s Restaurant & Bar1454 Main Street

Tom Carabasi

Salute!23 N. Lemon Avenue

Al Hixon

Blue Rooster • 1525 Fourth Street

Bob Minor with Joe Bruno Jr. & Synia Carroll

Starlite Room1001 Coconut Avenue

Katt Hefner

Mandeville Beer Garden428 N. Lemon Avenue

James Williams with Joe Bruno Sr.

October 7, 2015

TICKETS: $15 ($20 day of event)

online at jazzclubsarasota.org or call 941-366-1552

4 FALL/WINTER 2015

SARASOTA JAZZ

Editor’s note: Sounds contributor Ken Franckling shares a few stories related to interviews that helped form the basis for his new book, “Jazz in the Key of Light.”

First some background. This

coffee-table style book reflects

more than 30 years of writing about

and photographing jazz musicians.

In this format, each featured musician

is matched with illuminating quotes

from interviews I had with that player

or singer, hence its subtitle: “Eighty

of Our Finest Jazz Musicians Speak

for Themselves.”

There are countless books on the shelves by critics giving their interpretation or opinion of the music. I wanted to take a different approach, because I’ve always felt that what’s most important about jazz is the way it touches each listener through their own visual and listening filters.

I want to share two stories with you here.

The fine pianist and broadcaster Marian McPartland offered a great perspective when I talked with her in Boston one afternoon. In her wonderful British accent and genteel way, here’s what she said about playing jazz piano in the 1980s. “When it seemed a few years ago that there wasn’t as much jazz as there should be, I always thought to myself, ‘Well, I don’t have to worry because the piano will be the last to go,” McPartland said. “They may say they can’t afford to have a six-piece group or a trio, but the piano will always be there. Then I would get pleased when I’d hear somebody in the pop field play piano, like Elton John. I’d say ‘Well, thank God he’s playing on the piano, this is going to help our side.’”

In the summer of 1987, I interviewed singer Helen Merrill at the Overseas Press Club in midtown Manhattan early one evening for one of my jazz columns for United Press International. Helen is a wonderful singer who is far better known and revered in Europe and Japan than here in the U.S. She told me considers her few New York gigs to be “rehearsals” for her overseas tours. As we started chatting, she said she was flattered that I wanted to talk with her, but she said “the person you really need to interview is Tom Harrell.”

Jazz in the Key of Light: The stories behind the images and interviewsBy Ken Franckling

Marian McPartland

FALL/WINTER 2015 5

SARASOTA JAZZ

She explained that the trumpeter, who was then working in saxophonist Phil Woods’ band, was misunderstood because of his on-stage demeanor. In a nutshell: Tom often appeared to be nodding off like a drug abuser on stage, when in fact he was concentrating on listening to the music between his own beautiful and forceful solos. Tom was no druggie, but he was taking powerful medications to control the severe schizophrenia that was first diagnosed back in the 1960s when he was in college.

I took Helen’s advice when Phil Woods brought his quintet to Boston that fall. In the interview, Harrell talked about his music and his illness. He had turned his “catatonic” need to shut off outside distractions into a musical asset, allowing him to focus on his playing, improvising and composing. He has become one of the finest jazz trumpeters and composers of his generation. He’s also one of the most prolific.

Tom often writes entirely new material for his bands’ concerts and club gigs. I see a lot of photos of Tom that his wife Angela posts on social media these days. Those images usually were taken in an airport terminal while waiting for his plane, or sitting in his hotel room. More often than not he’ll be practicing with his horn or composing something fresh for a project.

Thanks to Helen Merrill’s sage advice, I was able to explain his reality. And in early August, I got to see, hear and talk with Tom again after his first appearance as a bandleader

at the Newport Jazz Festival, playing with his longtime quintet. The tented Harbor Stage was overflowing with rapt listeners. The impactful set had a spiritual quality. If you are unfamiliar with his grand body of work, check it out; you’ll be the better for it.

Ken Franckling was United Press International’s jazz columnist for 19 years. Franckling won an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award in 1987 for excellence in music journalism. In June 2003, he won the Jazz Journalists Association’s Lona Foote-Bob Parent Award as Jazz Photographer of the Year. Ken’s new publication—“Jazz in the Key of Light: Eighty of our Finest Jazz Musicians Speak for Themselves” —is available through his blog or through Amazon.

Tom Harrell (a 1987 portrait) Tom Harrell

6 FALL/WINTER 2015

SARASOTA JAZZ &INVITE YOU TO JOIN US AT

Jazz Meets ArtFun-Filled Evenings of Art and Jazz!

Art Center Sarasota 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida 34236 • 941-365-2032

Billy Marcus, jazz pianist, began his professional career in 1968 in the Boston-Cape Cod area of Massachusetts where he also worked with the late, great Bobby Hackett. In 1974, Marcus moved to Miami where he formed his own quartets and quintets. He did regularly scheduled live radio and television broadcasts and played at all of Miami’s and South Florida’s major festivals.

In his hotel and club work, he played with some of the biggest names in jazz. He worked opposite Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, the Bill Evans Trio, the Horace Silver Quintet, McCoy Tyner, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Band, Maynard Ferguson, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins. Now in Sarasota, Billy has played for The Jazz Club of Sarasota many times and it is always perfect.

Synia Carroll draws her inspiration from the jazz legends of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. Hints of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan can be heard whether it’s a sultry ballad, a raucous, finger-snapping dance tune or an up-tempo Bebop number. Synia brings the same clear, smooth tones and respect to these classic jazz standards.

David Pruyn is passionate about early 20th-century jazz, claiming he was “born 40 years late because I wasn’t around for the creation of some of the best music in this country’s history.” This multi-talented musician and conductor with a Mel Torme-like singing voice has worked in musical theater (including Broadway), studios, TV, film, big bands, and on cruises and concert tours. He was music director for regional productions of 42nd Street, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Evita. He also played for 18 months with the Pulitzer-winning musical A Chorus Line.

Andres Colin is a singer, songwriter and a one man band. He builds songs from scratch using a loop pedal to record live percussion, bass, and many other instruments. He sings a wide variety of music which includes flamenco and classical guitar, as well as popular music from all around the world. He can sing in many languages such as Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian and Greek. Join us in his first performance for The Jazz Club of Sarasota.

Exhibits 5-7 • Jazz Concert 5:30-7 • Admission: $10 JCM / $15 Non-Member • Light Snacks • Cash Bar

Monday, November 16 • 5-7 p.m.

Friday, September 25 • 5-7 p.m.

Wednesday, January 13 • 5-7 p.m.

FALL/WINTER 2015 7

SARASOTA JAZZ

JAZZ ON THE WATERSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015

FEATURING

Greg Nielsen BandAboard Marina Jack II

2-4 p.m. (boards at 1:30)

Join us for our end of the year cruise around beautiful Sarasota Bay!

TICKETS: $30 JCM, $35 Non-Member

Call 941-366-1552 (Wed.-Fri. 9-5)

8 FALL/WINTER 2015

SARASOTA JAZZ

PRESENTS

The Eddie Metz Trio

January 15, 2015

Eddie Metz, the percussionist in the trio, is one of the great multi-talented drummers of the past three decades

that have been the driving force of groups both large and small. He has over thirty featured albums on the Concord, Arbors and recently the Nagel-Hier label. It was not surprising that Benny Goodman chose him to be his drummer in the band he restarted in the 1900s. It is noteworthy that he was also the drummer in the recreated Count Basie Band.

Nicki Parrott is a giant among female jazz entertainers and perhaps the busiest as she travels the globe playing the bass and adding her vocal styling. She also has many albums on the Arbors label. Nicki, a native of Australia, is now living in Connecticut. She was Les Paul’s bassist for ten years for their Monday night performances at the Iridium in NYC. She is delightful, charming and humorous, not to mention super-talented.

The incomparable Rossano Sportiello is a master of classical and jazz piano. He can transition from jazz to a classical rendition with ease. Rossano has emerged as one of the greats of swing and stride piano. He departed from his classical training in Milan, Italy, to pursue jazz in the U.S. because, as he has stated, no one in his area wanted to listen to jazz. Since he moved to the U.S. he has rapidly become well known with subsequent tours of Europe. He is featured on many recordings on the Arbors label.

7:30 p.m. • Riverview Performing Arts Center • 1 Ram Way, Sarasota, FL Jazz Club Members $25, Guests $35, Students Free (After 1-6-15, all tickets $35) Call The Jazz Club of Sarasota at 941-366-1552 for more information.

A Jazz Holiday with the Nate Najar All Star Big Band

Friday, December 18th

Nate Najar, guitar; Ken Peplowski, reeds; Harry Allen, reeds; Jeff Rupert, reeds; Rodney Rojas, reeds; Austin Vickrey, reeds; John Lamb, bass; Chuck Redd, drums; Bill Allred, trombone; Ron Moss, trombone; Marius Dicpetris,

trombone; Jon-Erik Kellso, trumpet; James Suggs, trumpet.

7:30 p.m. • Riverview Performing Arts Center • 1 Ram Way, Sarasota, FL Call The Jazz Club of Sarasota for ticket information: 941-366-1552.

FALL/WINTER 2015 9

SARASOTA JAZZ

For more information, call 941-366-1552 or visit our website at jazzclubsarasota.org.

T H E J A Z Z C L U B O F S A R A S O T A

2015/2016 SEASONOCTOBER 16-APRIL 15 • FRIDAYS

Jazz at Two Unitarian Universal Church, 3975 Fruitville Road • $10 JCM / $15 Non-Member

OCTOBER 7: 1st Annual Oktoberfest Trolley Pub Crawl

8 venues with Jazz, $15 per person

NOVEMBER 1 • 2-4 P.M.Jazz on the Water

Marina Jack II – Marina Jack Plaza • $30 JCM / $35 Non-Member

NOVEMBER 16 • 5-7 P.M.Jazz Meets Art: Synia Carroll & Billy Marcus

Art Center Sarasota, $10 JCM / $15 Non-Member

DECEMBER 18 • 7:30 P.M.A Jazz Holiday with the Nate Najar All Star Big Band

Riverview PAC, $TBA

JANUARY 10 • 2-4 P.M.Joy of Jazz Free ConcertVenice Centennial Park Gazebo

JANUARY 13 • 5-7 P.M.Jazz Meets Art: Andres Colin, Latin Guitarist

Art Center Sarasota, $10 JCM / $15 Non-Member

JANUARY 15 • 7:30 P.M.Eddie Metz TrioRiverview PAC, $TBA

FEBRUARY 7 • 2-4 P.M.Joy of Jazz Free ConcertVenice Centennial Park Gazebo

FEBRUARY 13 • 5:30-9:30 P.M.Valentine’s Dinner Dance

Marina Jack’s Bayfront Room, $50 per person

FEBRUARY 21 • 7:30 P.M.Evening Concert with Sharon Scott

Holley Hall, $TBA

MARCH 3-1236th Annual Jazz Festival

Details coming soon

10 FALL/WINTER 2015

SARASOTA JAZZ

Jazz At Two

2-4 p.m. • Tickets: $10 JCM, $15 Non-Member

Unitarian Universalist Church 3975 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota

FALL/WINTER 2015 11

SARASOTA JAZZ

CENTENNIAL PARK, DOWNTOWN VENICE

Sunday, January 10, 2016 • Sunday, February 7, 2016 • Sunday, April 3, 2016

The Jazz Club of Sarasota’s 2016 Joy of Jazz concert series begins Sunday, January 10, from 2-4 p.m., in Centennial Park in downtown Venice. Performers will be announced soon! The concerts are free but donations are accepted in support of the Jazz Club’s scholarship fund. Guests are encouraged

to bring lawn chairs and blankets. For more information, call 941-366-1552 or visit www.jazzclubsarasota.org. The series is co-sponsored by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

Jazz Club of Sarasota sponsors Starlite Players

The Jazz Club of Sarasota is a proud sponsor of Starlite Players, the newest performing arts group in our area. Founded by Jo Morello and featuring

professional talent—playwrights, directors, actors and tech crew—from the Tampa Bay area, Starlite Players presents short comedies upstairs in The Starlite Room for one weekend each month.

The Jazz Club’s sponsorship is a natural extension of the club’s ongoing relationship with The Starlite Room, which regularly hosts numerous Club events including the Jazz Caravan by Trolley, Oktoberfest and performances by Jazz Club scholarship winners and other jazz musicians. “This is a wonderful opportunity for extending our reach to new people,” says Peg Pluto, president. “The audiences for Starlite Players are exactly the arts lovers we view as potential supporters for the Jazz Club too.”

The next sets of plays for Starlite Players will be presented on October 8-9-10-11 upstairs in The Starlite Room, 1001 Cocoanut Avenue, Sarasota. Tickets cost $16.50 and include a 15% discount on a pre- or post-show dinner. For more information, visit www.starliteplayers.com or phone 941-587-8290 between 10 a.m.and 6 p.m.

Free Joy of Jazz Concerts

Ringling International Arts Festival hosts Don Mopsick All-Stars and The Jazz Club of Sarasota

Sunset on the bayfront at the Ringling Museum provides the perfect setting for classic jazz with the Don Mopsick All-Stars on October 16 and 17. Join us under the tent, where Don and his group will play from 5:00 to 8 p.m.—and

stop by our information table to say hello!

Bassist Don Mopsick hails from Linden, New Jersey. Upon graduation from the Manhattan School of Music in 1977 he relocated to Fort Myers, FL. After a move to Orlando in 1983 he found himself in demand statewide, playing jazz concerts in Orlando, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Sarasota, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona and elsewhere. For the Jazz Club of Sarasota—during its 1980s leadership under founder Hal Davis—Mopsick played concert dates with Mousie

Alexander, Don Lamond, Bob Rosengarden, Warren Vaché Jr., Scott Hamilton, John Bunch, Dick Meldonian, Ira Sullivan, Spanky Davis, Joe Wilder, Don Goldie and Ken Peplowski. He’s also appeared at other jazz societies with Dick Hyman, Ralph Sutton, Terry Gibbs, Flip Phillips, Howard Alden, Richie Cole, Red Rodney, Buddy DeFranco and many others.

Jazz Sunsets on the Bay are part of the acclaimed RIAF 2015 (Ringling International Arts Festival), which runs from October 15-18 at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. The concerts are presented at Bayfront Gardens—5401 Bayshore Road near Ca’d’Zan (Ringling Mansion). For Ringling patrons, the Don Mopsick event is free of charge with a RIAF performance ticket stub, regular admission to the Museum or admission to Art After 5. Admission for all others is $10. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

12 FALL/WINTER 2015

SARASOTA JAZZ

2015/2016 Membership ApplicationIt’s Your Way to Support Jazz in Sarasota

September 2015 - August 2016Individual Membership: $60 per person

In addition to supporting The Jazz Club of Sarasota, you will receive reduced admission to most of our events, a newsletter and weekly emails of jazz happenings in the area.

Membership Dues ($60 per person): $ ______________

In addition to membership, I would like to support young jazz musicians with a donation to the scholarship fund: $ ______________

TOTAL amount enclosed: $ ______________

Name(s) _____________________________________________________________________

Street Address ________________________________________________________________

City _____________________________State ___________Zip _________________________

Phone ___________________________Email* ______________________________________ *For updates concerning concerts and club news (for use only by The Jazz Club of Sarasota)

I would like to volunteer for o Membership o Jazz at Two The Jazz Club of Sarasota o Jazz Festival o Office Help or Outdoor Concerts

Please list any special expertise (i.e. tech, speaking, etc.)

_____________________________________________________________________________

The Jazz Club of Sarasota, official registration SC-03656, meets all requirements specified by the Florida Solicitation of Contributions Act. The Jazz Club of Sarasota does not contract professional solicitors and 100% of funds received go directly to programs of the organization.

A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free, (800-435-7351), within the State. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the State.

Please remit check to: The Jazz Club of Sarasota330 S. Pineapple Avenue #111Sarasota, FL 34236

OR Pay online at: www.jazzclubsarasota.com

Thank you for your support of The Jazz Club of Sarasota. We have an exciting 2015/2016 season planned and hope you enjoy!

Thank you to all our volunteers! We could not do it without you!!!