The Jazz Vocal Collective @ Trumpets Jazz Club & Restaurant

CELEBRATE DAVE STYKER’S BIRTHDAY & CD PR-RELEASE IN MONTCLAIR

Inductees Hall of Fame @ Trumpets Jazz Club & Restaurant on Sunday

Inductees Trumpets Hall Of Fame
KATE BAKER, CARLOS FRANZETTI, CARRIE JACKSON, VICK JURIS, HERNAN ROMERO & TRUMPETS JAZZ QUARTET

WHEN: Sunday, December 9, 3:00 PM-6:00 PM
WHERE: Trumpets Jazz Club & Restaurant, 6 Depot Square, Montclair
ADMISSION: $15 pp music charge, $30 pp general admission for hors d’oeuvres, a glass of wine, beer or soda, cake, award ceremony and show $12 pp minimum (food/drink), $12 pp minimum (food/drink Dinner specials available)
Trumpets will offer a dinner special and a la carte menu this evening.
974-744-2600
www.trumpetsjazz.com

Trumpets will honor internationally acclaimed musicians and vocalists at a very special event.

• Kate Baker–vocalist and vocal coach, educator & producer
• Carlos Franzetti–composer, arranger, pianist, educator, producer
• Carrie Jackson–vocalist/stylist, teacher, educator & actor/ producer
• Vic Juris–guitarist, composer, arranger & educator, producer, actor
• Hernan Romero–composer, arranger, guitarist, vocals, percussionist

Featuring the Trumpets Jazz Quartet: John DiStefano–piano, Enrico Granafei–guitar, chromatic harmonica Bass, drums, and many guest performers

Roger Davidson at Trumpets Jazz Club October 12!

Roger Davidson Quartet
featuring Hendrik Meurkens

WHERE: Trumpets Jazz Club, Montclair NJ
WHEN: Friday, October 12th- 8 & 10 PM 

Roger's new album "Music from the Heart."
Available NOW

"Roger Davidson is a thoughtful pianist who plays with sensitivity"
Audiophile Audition Aug 2018

"I give Roger and his bandmates a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. This is, quite simply, the best jazz I've ever heard Roger perform." Contemporary Fusion Reviews, June 2018

The MöBIUS Band Friday, August 10th, 8pm, @ Trumpets Jazz Club

WHEN: Friday, August 10, One set only at 8:00 PM WHERE: Trumpets Jazz Club & Restaurant, 6 Depot Square, Montclair ADMISSION: $25 Cover charge, $12 minimum Pete Levin – keyboards Alex Foster – sax Chris Pasin – trumpet Jeff Ciampa – guitar Tony Levin – bass Lenny White – drums Nanny Assis – percussion Despite important gigs with Gil Evans and Jimmy Giuffre, plus his own touring band with bassist-brother Tony, keyboard wizard Pete Levin is less feted as a leader than as a prolific sideman. Nevertheless, this is his ninth leader album, and it features a cast with impressive mileage. The title track, with its looping 12-tone keyboard riff and Jeff Ciampa's angular guitar, trades commercialism with experimentalism. The influence of Evans' rock inquiries and electric Miles Davis is apparent, but the material is varied and indicative of Levin's broad experience. A standout is the African-influenced "Kakilambe," featuring forthright contributions from Brazilian percussionist Nanny Assis, trumpeter Chris Pasin and more intensity from Ciampa. There's a funky version of Thelonius Monk/Coleman Hawkins' "I Mean You," and Tony Williams' "There Comes a Time." "Another Time, Another Place" includes a nice, measured solo from the leader, whose omnipotent role is as soundscape architect and colorist. The rousing closer, recorded on an earlier date with Levin on organ, Jerry Marotta on drums and Kal David on guitar, is bounced along by bari saxist Erik Lawrence and Rob Paparozzi's disarming jaw harp. www.trumpetsjazz.com

www.petelevin.com

JAZZ TRIO TO APPEAR @ TRUMPETS JAZZ CLUB

MICHAEL RABINOWITZ JAZZ TRIO

WHEN: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27th, Sets 7:30 & 9:15 pm
WHERE: TRUMPETS JAZZ CLUB, 6 Depot Square, Montclair

• NAT HARRIS: GUITAR
• MICHAEL RABINOWITZ: BASSOON
• RUSLAN KHAIN: BASS

Whether blowing bebop over a Mingus tune or freely improvising with Anthony Braxton, Michael Rabinowitz's contributions have changed the conception of what the bassoon can do. Since graduating with a BFA in music performance from SUNY at Purchase in the late seventies Michael's improvisatory skills opened the door for the bassoon to enter a variety of musical environments not traditionally associated with the instrument. "Listening to a bassoon sing jazz is a distinctive pleasure. After hearing Bennie Maupin and Yusef Lateef tackle this instrument, I have a certain appreciation and expectation of the bassoon’s power and persuasion. Michael Rabinowitz appreciates and exploits the acoustic characteristics of the bassoon and this makes his “Uncharted Waters” CD a joy to my ears."- jazz journalist/Dee Dee McNeil

DIANE MARINO "SOUL SERENADE-the Gloria Lynne Project" CD Release Show Friday, June 15th @ Trumpets

DIANE MARINO: SOUL SERENADE—the Gloria Lynne Project
CD Release Show

WHEN: Friday, June 15th, Sets 8 & 10pm
WHERE: Trumpets, 6 Depot Square, Montclair
973-744-2600
www.trumpetsjazz.com
Read more about the CD at www.dianemarino.com

featuring
Diane Marino: Piano/Vocals
Sax: Charlie Lagond
Bass: Frank Marino
Drums: Vince Ector

“Soul Serenade” "is the title of my newest CD project. Although not exactly a “tribute” album, it is more of a celebration of the music made popular by the great vocalist, Gloria Lynne.

While performing on a recent gig with drummer Vince Ector (Gloria’s drummer for 15 years), I sang “I’m Glad There Is You,” and he reminded me it was one of Gloria’s signature songs. So, I began to research more of Gloria’s work and was instantly mesmerized by her voice, style and emotion. Additionally, her choice of material was instantly appealing to me. I tend to look for songs that are “beyond the norm” of the Great American Songbook repertoire. The songs Gloria Lynne recorded during her career stand alone in their originality and uniqueness. Her performances of these particular tunes move me every time I hear them.

As with my previous CD’s, I always learn a tune and then work with it at the piano, making it an extension of what I’m hearing and feeling from the lyric and melody. I should note that I had never heard any of these 14 tunes before I was introduced to them by the wonderful Gloria Lynne recordings. My “concepts” for these 14 tunes came about after much study, deliberation and changes!

I wanted to step away from the piano for this project in order to collaborate with someone else’s ideas that could influence the way I might want to sing a particular song. I feel that when you accompany yourself on piano the two elements are inseparable and it was time to do a project in a different way.

I asked my dear friend Brad Cole to take my concepts and write the arrangements and orchestrations as well as to play piano/keyboards on this project. He seemed to know exactly what I wanted to do with each of these songs. I think we’ve come up with a fresh approach to this material that Gloria Lynne’s recordings influenced me to explore and ultimately record!”

"Diane Marino is an unusually unique talent… great pianist, vocalist and arranger” —Les Davis, Real jazz-Sirius/XM Radio

“Marino plays swinging piano, is an accomplished arranger and sings up a storm, – she’s one of the best I’ve heard in the past several years!” Ric Bang, JazzScan

“Diane Marino is a most worthwhile singer/pianist/arranger. Some of the most delicate and carefully laid back singing you’ll ever hear —Ms. Marino’s piano/vocal just can’t be bettered”  —Dan Singer, Singer’s Singers

Dave Stryker Quartet Bday gig @Trumpets, this Saturday, March 31

Dave Stryker Quartet Birthday Gig
with Steve Nelson

WHEN: Saturday, March 31st – 8:00pm/10:00pm
WHERE: Trumpets, 6 Depot Square (at the corner of Walnut Street), Montclair, NJ (973) 744-2600

• Dave Stryker – guitar
• Steve Nelson – vibes
• Jared Gold – organ
• McClenty Hunter – drums

New CD Strykin' Ahead
4 Stars Downbeat Nov. 2017
“....Overall, the album casts a warm, clear glow, with plenty of cohesive interplay between Stryker, organist Jared Gold, drummer McClenty Hunter, and vibraphonist Steve Nelson. While influenced by many guitarists, Stryker remains true to his own vision. Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell may be touchstones, but Stryker forges his own sound throughout." - Martin Kasdan

An Evening of Jazz for Newtown
Dave Stryker and Jimmy Greene

WHEN: Apr. 13 – 7:30pm – 9:00pm
WHERE: Newark Academy, 91 South Orange Avenue, Livingston NJ 07039
(973) 992-7000

• Dave Stryker – guitar
• Jimmy Greene- tenor sax

CD RELEASE SHOW @ TRUMPETS, AUGUST 7, 2 SETS

Bryant/Fabian/Marsalis: Do For You?
CD Release Show

WHEN: Monday, August 7th, 7:30pm and 9:30pm
WHERE: Trumpets, 6 Depot Square, Montclair, NJ 07042
 (973) 744-2600
www.trumpetsjazz.com

Lance Bryant and Christian Fabian met in the Lionel Hampton Big Band, and were brought up like Jason Marsalis in old school jazz roots. And they religiously practice the first commandment of the old school:

“Thou shalt give the audience a great show!”

do for you? is proof that jazz roots grow into exciting new tunes, thrive in new times, and produce new jazz masters.

The album showcases new compositions by Bryant and Fabian, with a tune by Marsalis, and the Trio’s collective mastery and virtuosity is consistently front and center. These artists have not only mastered every corner of the tradition—they can do anything. The virtuostic Bryant on saxophone, a groovy solo by Fabian mixing funk and hip-hop flavor, expert punctuation by Marsalis on drums, lightning speed as quick and exciting as it is clean—they can do anything. Of A Certain Age by Bryant, with its nostalgic ballad feel and an artful performance by the Trio, could easily pass for a jazz standard.

The Band never loses its tightness...through impressive solo fills from Marsalis, Fabian’s gloriously clear pizzicato, pitch bends and grooves...Marsalis’ skillful Brazilian rhythms and timbres...unrelenting and funky drum and bass grooves, blazing saxophone melodies...the Band keeps surprising and amazing, and leaves us wowed.

From the liner notes by — Kabir Sehgal & Latin Grammy Award® winner New York City, June 2017

JAZZ CD RELEASE THIS SATURDAY IN MONTCLAIR

Dave Stryker Strykin' Ahead
(Strikezone 8815)

WHEN: Saturday, July 29 – 8:00pm and 10:00pm
WHERE: Trumpet’s Jazz Club, 6 Depot Square, Montclair, NJ
www.davestryker.com

DAVE STRYKER guitar
STEVE NELSON vibraphone
JARED GOLD organ
McCLENTY HUNTER drums

The notion of moving forward by triangulating a space between creative and pragmatic imperatives is a consistent thread throughout Dave Stryker’s four decades in the jazz business, not least on Strykin’ Ahead, his 28th CD as a leader. Stryker augments his working trio of Jared Gold on organ and McClenty Hunter on drums with vibraphone player Steve Nelson, all on-board for a second go-round after their stellar contri- butions to last year’s Eight-Track II. Like the leader, Nelson is a preternaturally flexible and in-the-moment improviser with deep roots in the tradition who knows how to push the envelope without damaging the contents. Stryker internalized those imperatives on a 1984-1986 run with Brother Jack McDuff, and he received further invaluable training in the art of musical communication during a decade on the road with Stanley Turrentine, to whom he paid homage on the 2015 release Don’t Mess With Mister T.

In contrast to his Eight Track II conception of putting his spin on pop hits of his formative years, Stryker returns to his long-standing practice of presenting originals and reharmonized standards from the jazz and show music songbooks. "Shadowboxing" is a burning 14-bar minor blues; his well-considered chordal variations on Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" proceed to a simmering 5/4 figure. Next is "New You" (a stimulating Stryker contrafact of the oft-played "There Will Never Be Another You"). He personalizes Billy Strayhorn's "Passion Flower," set to Hunter's insinuating bossa-funk groove. The title track “Strykin’ Ahead” has a Cadillac-racing-down-the-freeway-feel; he imbues the lovely melody of "Who Can I Turn To" with the full measure of his plush, inviting tone.

That Stryker knows his Albert King is evident on the slow-drag “Blues Down Deep,” which evokes wee-hours third sets in the inner city grills and lounges of Stryker’s apprentice years. He knows his bebop, too. On Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring,” the solo flights over Stryker’s “modernized” progressions transpire over Hunter’s drum-bass beats and crisp, medium-up four-on-the cymbal; on the chopbusting “Donna Lee,” all members springboard off a churchy vamp and Hunter’s funk-infused swing.

“I’ve always wanted to write vehicles that are fun and interesting to blow over,” Stryker says. “Trying to come up with a beautiful melody that lasts is very fulfilling. Writing is a big part of my voice in this music.” Stryker is too modest to say that his voice is also a big part of jazz, to which he’s devoted a career marked by consistent application of the values that he espouses. But that’s all right—I’ll say it for him. (edited liner notes from Ted Panken)

DOUG MUNRO PLAYS THE HARRY WARREN SONGBOOK @ CD RELEASE PARTY IN MONTCLAIR

DOUG MUNRO AND LA POMPE ATTACK
CD Release Party
Plays The Harry Warren Songbook

WHEN: Saturday, July 8th, 8pm
WHERE: Trumpet's Jazz Club, 6 Depot Square, Montclair, NJ 07042
Click Here for more info

Featuring:

• Doug Munro
• Vinny Raniolo
• Ted Gottsegen and Ernesto Pugliese
• Matt Dwonszyk and Michael Goetz and Violinist Andrei Matorin

Harry Warren was the first major American song composer to write primarily for film. Every song on this CD is from a movie (except for the two songs Doug wrote). All of this music (except Nagasaki 1928) is from the 1930’s and 40’s. The songs are arranged in the hot swing style made popular by the great guitarist Django Reinhardt with violinist Stephane Grappelli and the Hot Club de Paris. The main body of work from Django Reinhardt is from the same time period. It was an easy marriage of styles taken from the same point in history on two different continents.

Harry Warren also happens to be Doug's great uncle!

ERICK STORCKMAN SEPTET TO APPEAR @ TRUMPETS JAZZ CLUB ON JUNE 14

The Erick Storckman Septet

WHEN: Wednesday, June 14th, Sets at 7:30 and 9:30pm
WHERE: Trumpets Jazz Club, 6 Depot Square, Montclair
ADMISSION: $10 Music Charge, $7 for students
Tickets & Info

Erick Storckman - trombone/composer
Craig Yaremko - Alto Sax
Marty Fogel - Tenor Sax
Rob Henke - Trumpet
Mitch Schechter - Piano
Tim Ferguson - Bass
Scott Neumann – Drums

Trombonist/Composer/Arranger Erick Storckman has three albums to his credit as a leader: Scrapbook, Chuckle Factor and Algorhythms (with the band ES2, co-led with Eliot Smith). For over 20 years, he has been the lead trombonist and a resident composer with Diane Moser’s Composers Big Band. Erick’s recording credits as a sideman include the Grammy-Nominated Aislado by Papo Vasquez, dozens of albums by a variety of jazz and pop artists, and soundtracks for feature films. He has performed in the orchestras for many Broadway shows and with a who’s-who list of legendary performers.  Erick’s own music has been described as deeply personal, and the New York Times referred to it as “Breathtaking Balladry.”

These musicians perform together regularly and their interplay and mastery is not to be missed!

www.erickstorckman.com

TENOR SAXOPHONIST MICHAEL PEDICIN CELEBRATES THE RELEASE OF HIS NEW CD

AS IT SHOULD BE: BALLADS 2

WHEN: May 12, 8 – 11 PM; 2 sets: 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
WHERE: Trumpets, 6 Depot Square, MOntclair
ADMISSION: $20 pp music charge $12 pp minimum  (food/drink)
Click HERE for upcoming shows and more information

With the April 21 release of As It Should Be – Ballads 2, tenor and soprano saxophonist Michael Pedicin continues to spread the message of acceptance and justice he eloquently shared on his critically acclaimed 2011 album Ballads … searching for peace. “I’m one of those diehard ’60s kids that grew up concerned about peace and togetherness,” Pedicin explains. “I think about that every day of my life. We’re all one.”

In addition to covers of John Coltrane’s “Crescent” and Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” the album, his 14th as a leader, features eight ballads by longtime collaborator guitarist Johnnie Valentino. Pedicin and Valentino are joined on the recording by Frank Strauss on keyboards, bassist Mike Boone, drummer Justin Faulkner (of Branford Marsalis’s band), and percussionist Alex Acuña. With the exception of Acuña, all are either from, still live in, or have roots in Philadelphia.
Ballads showcasing the exquisitely lyrical aspects of Pedicin’s playing are the focus of the album, but several songs were treated to somewhat brighter grooves than had been originally intended after the musicians got to the recording studio, particularly “From Afar,” which was double-timed at a bossa-nova-like clip by Faulkner and Acuña.

Pedicin also continued his non-musical education, earning a Ph.D in Psychology from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine/International University for Graduate Studies in 2002. The shingle above his office in Linwood, NJ, reads “Dr. Michael Pedicino” as he recently changed his last name back to the one immigration gave his grandfather in 1906 when he arrived at Ellis Island from Foggia, Italy. While he has no plans to change his name in the world of music, he is in the process of obtaining dual American-Italian citizenship.

The new album is just the latest chapter in this master musician’s ongoing quest to help make Philadelphia’s sobriquet as the City of Brotherly Love a reality for human beings of all races, ethnicities, and nationalities through sweet melodies and gentle improvisations. “My goal with this CD,” Pedicin explains, “was to create some pretty and accessible jazz in ballad form. This is not about revolutionizing the art form we so love, but providing a soft and relaxing platform on which to enjoy it.”

Michael Pedicin will celebrate the release of As It Should Be: Ballads 2 at the following engagements: 4/16 Smalls, NYC; 4/22 Exit Zero Jazz Festival, Cape May, NJ (for which Pedicin is Artist in Residence); 5/12 Trumpets, Montclair, NJ; and 5/13 Chris’ Jazz Café, Philadelphia. Personnel is the same as on the new CD, minus Alex Acuña and with drummer Anwar Marshall subbing for Justin Faulkner.

CYNTHIA HILTS & LYRIC FURY, HER ADVENTUROUS JAZZ OCTET CELEBRATE CD RELEASE

CYNTHIA HILTS & LYRIC FURY
CELEBRATE CD RELEASE
WHEN: MARCH 25TH, Sets at 8 & 10pm
WHERE: TRUMPETS JAZZ CLUB, 6 DEPOT SQUARE, MONTCLAIR NJ
ADMISSION:  $20 cover
973-744-2600
http://www.trumpetsjazz.com
Tickets are also available online at http://www.trumpetsjazz.com/shop/
https://www.facebook.com/events/376542756064981/

Cynthia Hilts - composer/piano/voice
Jack Walrath - trumpet
Lisa Parrott - soprano & bari sax
Lily White - tenor & alto sax
Stafford Hunter - trombone & conch
Leigh Stuart - cello,
Rene Hart - bass
Scott Neumann – drums

Twenty years ago, Brooklyn-based pianist/composer Cynthia Hilts was seeking to form a band as a vehicle for her brisk, striking originals. Her avant-meets-mainstream writing, as the band name Lyric Fury suggests, is demanding and defined by powerful contrasts.

Hilts and her octet have been honing a sound and a vision ever since, and their brilliant efforts are captured on their first recording together—the eponymous Lyric Fury—released on January 13th by Hilts’s Blond Coyote Records. Lyric Fury boasts a lineup of top-drawer players with highly distinctive “A” games of their own. They include trumpet great and onetime Mingusite Jack Walrath, saxophonists Lisa Parrott and Lily White, trombonist Deborah Weisz, cellist Marika Hughes, bassist Ratzo Harris, and drummer Scott Neumann.

The infectious opening track, “Those Basinites,” was inspired by the quirky residents of Basin, Montana, where Hilts did several residencies. But much of Hilts’s music, for which she writes her own poetic lyrics, responds to situations and events. “Previously a Thing,” a brash invocation that turns Horace Silver-style hard bop on its ear (dig White’s passionate tenor solo), was written after a breakup. The free-gliding “Blues for the Bronchs,” featuring out-of-sorts voicings and a ripping, hard-edged solo by Walrath, had its genesis in an unshakable case of bronchitis.

A seasoned peace activist, Hilts composed the album’s most lyrical and deeply affecting work, “Peace Now,” following the outbreak of the Iraq War. Her vocal—part scat, part chant, part heartfelt plea—is framed by the dark tones of Parrott’s baritone and Hughes’s cello and carried by bright rhythms. “Teacher,” with its delicate piano introduction and South African lilt, is a prayer for a spiritual leader.

ESPECIALLY FOR JAZZ LOVERS: DAVE STRYKER QUARTET!

Whether you’ve heard guitarist Dave Stryker leading his own group (with 26 CD’s as a leader to date), co-leading The Stryker/Slagle Band, or as a featured sideman with Stanley Turrentine, Jack McDuff, and many others, you know why the Village Voice calls him “one of the most distinctive guitarists to come along in recent years.”

Dave was recently voted once again into the 2016 Downbeat Readers and Critics Polls. His latest CD “Eight Track II” has spent 20 weeks on the JazzWeek radio chart and was voted a Top CD of 2016 (4 Stars) in Downbeat.

www.davestryker.com

DIANE MOSER’S COMPOSERS BIG BAND CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY

WHEN: Wednesday March 22nd, Sets at 8 & 10pm
WHERE: Trumpets Jazz Club, 6 Depot Square, Montclair, NJ 
ADMISSION: $20 cover
973-744-2600
www.trumpetsjazz.com

Jazz insiders know that skipping even a single performance by the talented and adventurous 17-piece Diane Moser’s Composers Big Band (DMCBB) means missing a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience.

Formed by composer/pianist Diane Moser and a dedicated group of musicians and composers with the intention of exploring the possibilities of big band music and moving it forward, the band has lived up to its mission since its debut gig in January 1997.

The DMCBB is equally at home playing the classics and pushing boundaries. Any given set might contain tunes that would be a good fit for big band greats throughout jazz history, along with straight-ahead jazz, Latin, funk, blues, Indian raga, and experimental efforts. They have visited hip-hop territory, performed a jazz opera, and paid tribute to legendary composers such as Charles Mingus, Jaki Byard, and Oliver Nelson. Special guests like singers, poets, spoken word artists, actors, filmmakers, and sound painters have lent their talents to the fearless ensemble, which has also hosted talks by educators and others delivering tributes and oral histories. The DMCBB has even ventured into the cosmos with “Science Meets Music” and “The Music of the Spheres” gigs featuring Moser originals and George Russell’s “Jazz in the Space Age,” making them the only band besides Russell’s to ever play the suite.

In the past two decades, the DMCBB has hosted more than 100 guest composers, from internationally acclaimed jazz icons such as Jane Ira Bloom, Mark Dresser, Howard Johnson, Oliver Lake, and Michele Rosewoman to student writers hearing their compositions performed by a large ensemble for the first time.

The band also regularly focuses on presenting original works by more than a dozen resident composers, who will be in the spotlight at the March 22 celebration. The 2017 resident composers roster includes Dennis Argul, Barbara Cifelli, Jim Cifelli, Marty Fogel, Matt Haviland, Rob Henke, Rob Middleton, Diane Moser, Chris Rogers, Erick Storckman, Russ Vines, Ed Xiques, and Craig Yaremko.

Regardless of the occasion or the repertoire, the style, or the complexity of the music, listeners can count on each Diane Moser’s Composer’s Big Band concert being heartfelt, dedicated, adventurous and flat-out fun: Listeners are gonna be entertained and inspired.

The DMCBB will delve into its enormous and enviable repertoire March 22, with the focus on works by resident composers. There are bound to be some surprises, including new music, and surprise guests onstage and in the audience.