January Downbeat is here

Pick up the January 2009 issue of Downbeat magazine to read articles by yours truly. For the current issue, I talked with pianist Bill Charlap, saxophonist Peter Washington and Blue Note CEO Bruce Lundvall about Blue Note Records' 70th Anniversary. Toward the back of the book, there's also a story about The W.O. Smith Nashville Community Music School.

Big Band Christmas an entertaining evening

Humor emerged as a secondary theme during the Big Band Christmas with Joe Gransden Saturday at Spivey Hall (the first theme, of course, being Christmas). When he wasn’t singing or playing the trumpet in front of a big band, Gransden played the self-deprecating funny boy. He forgot lyrics to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” he told funny stories and he joked around with the band. Gransden and the rest of the soloists also cracked wise musically. When trumpeter Adam Hayes unveiled a piccolo trumpet as a jazz foil on the tune “Angels We Have Heard on High” the piece devolved into a humorous exchange of solos pitting jazz against Baroque music, and Gransden joked with tenor Sam Skelton in the opening of “Linus and Lucy” to comedic musical effect.

For all the musical gags, the musicians formed a cohesive big band unit, navigating complex musical passages with crisp accuracy. Many of the assembled players in the 16-piece band are fixtures of the Atlanta jazz scene, from Tyrone Jackson on piano to Eric Alexander on trombone. Throughout the evening, vocalist Audrey Shakir joined Gransden for a handful of songs. Shakir has a warm, earthy grain to her voice that mixes well with Gransden’s laid-back delivery.

On a few numbers, the hectic big-band accompaniment clashed with Gransden’s play-it-cool demeanor. When pushed, his syrupy syllables run faster, but not much. Saturday night, Gransden proved he’s most comfortable laying into the solid backbeat of Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” and that he’s never averse to playing the clown.

Joe Gransden Big Band Christmas this Saturday

The best bet for holiday music this weekend (aside from the ASO's holiday concert) is trumpeter Joe Gransden's Big Band Christmas at Spivey Hall on Saturday. Gransden will be playing and singing tunes from his 2006 release, "I'll Be Home for Christmas," backed by a 16-piece big band. Listen to "Let it Snow" and "O Christmas Tree" on his Web site. 8:15 p.m. $40.

AJC uncovers house concerts

In today's AJC, Craig Schneider writes about local house concerts, mentioning Mary Jo Strickland's jazz gatherings in the process. The story focuses on all types of music and the financial benefit of gigging in homes versus playing in clubs.

Future of Jazz winners react to festival news

As most of you know by now, it appears that the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival has been cancelled. I've heard from the mayor's office that the Bureau of Cultural Affairs is looking for potential sponsors to bring a 2010 festival to Atlanta, but the city will not be contributing money from its general fund for that purpose. According to the city’s FY2009 budget summary, eliminating the jazz festival will save $142,000.

This week, I’ve been e-mailing with last year’s Future of Jazz winners for some perspective on the mayor’s decision. Kemba Cofield, who won the competition in the straight-ahead vocal category, will be heading to New York next month to record a new album. Mace Hibbard won last year's straight-ahead instrumental contest. Pianist and flutist Bradford won the nu-jazz category and performs frequently with The Nick Longo Band at the Sambuca Jazz Cafe. Below are their reactions to the mayor’s news.

"I believe the city would do the world an injustice by canceling the jazz fest forever. I'm wise enough to know that we as a nation are struggling. I know that the city of Atlanta has been in a deficit for awhile now. My main concern is cancel (final), end (no more), forever (stop).

There are very few places here that cater to jazz music. There are several places that cater to R&B music, which is fabulous, but jazz is jazz. Without the jazz fest, those of us that are still hanging in the trenches don't have a place to even show our growth or our creativity to a larger audience in our city. It's a very frustrating concept for me to grasp. Local musicians look forward to jazz fest. As a matter of fact, it's my holiday. I look forward every year to jazz fest to see fresh talent from all around."

— Kemba Cofield

"I certainly understand the argument that with the economy in the shape it is it might make sense to cancel the festival this year. Even putting on the festival with local musicians is costly, so putting it off a year might be the sensible thing to do. It seems like the festival last year was an indication that the festival might be on the way out.

Honestly, I'm not sure if the cancellation will have a major effect on the scene here. Until last year, the local musicians didn't have much of a presence at the festival. There was a local stage, but the musical acts were largely winners of the Future of Jazz competition. Therefore, there were only a handful of the cities more well-known acts each year.

It is difficult to be real upset about losing a jazz festival when over 200 people have lost their jobs. While the jazz festival is obviously important to me, there are a lot of people that are much more affected by these cuts. Hopefully if the economy ever recovers, some of the art programming will be reborn."

— Mace Hibbard

"It is sad indeed that we won't have an Atlanta Jazz Festival in 2009. I do think if we don't bring it back, Atlanta will fade a bit over time as far as being associated with good jazz music. The move from Piedmont Park to Woodruff Park probably didn't help; I think everybody at Cultural Affairs did a great job getting a new venue and playing the hand they were dealt, but it's just not the same vibe when you have Auburn Avenue dividing the stage from the audience.

I'm not big on public spending. I think the city definitely has a coordinating role to play [in the festival], but I believe things like this should not be funded by the public at large if most of the public isn't interested in the jazz fest. I'm not sure what the city of Atlanta can, or should, do to try to serve as promoter for Atlanta as a jazz city. In my experience, promotion usually means money, and clearly we don't have any to spare. The first thing that should be done—and I'm not sure to what entity this falls—is to get Piedmont Park back as the venue. Then, we need to line up corporate sponsorships. "

— Bradford

House concert this Sunday

The Southeastern Organization for Jazz Arts will present pianist Leland Davis, bassist Tommy Sauter and drummer Henry Conerway, III, this Sunday as part of its jazz in the home series. For this show, the home belongs to Mary Jo Strickland, who has been putting on house concerts in Atlanta for 10 years. Send an e-mail to majos@mindspring.com for directions. Seating is limited. 5 p.m. $20 adults/$10 students.

Check out this video of Conerway drumming with his band, Jaspects:

The death of the Atlanta Jazz Festival

The AJC reported today on Mayor Shirley Franklin's decision to cut another 222 city jobs and a slew of recreation centers, but the reporter left out a small tidbit of large import to the local jazz community. It looks like the Atlanta Jazz Festival is no more.

According to the press release, "Due to the rapidly declining economy, revenues are down by approximately 12.6% and we project a $50-60 million shortfall for the fiscal 2009 year ... To address these economic challenges, we announced three cost-saving measures to reduce expenses and close the projected shortfall ... Collectively, we estimate that these measures will close approximately $37-42 million of the projected shortfall." These cost-cutting measures include eliminating "various arts programming, including Jazz Fest."

I have no idea what various arts programming means (I'm working on a full report for a future post), but it's probably safe to say that there will also be no 2009 version of Montreux Jazz Festival Atlanta.

Paula West at Spivey this Saturday

The singer Paula West brings songs highlighted in her recent cabaret show to Spivey Hall on Saturday. Her set's sure to include jazz standards, with Dylan and other popular music covers thrown in for good measure. The concert starts at 8:15 p.m. $40.

Jazz this week

Jam Sessions

Tuesday at Twain's (directions)
Tuesday at Churchill Grounds (directions). $7 cover/$5 minimum.
Wednesday at Apache Cafe (directions)
Thursday at Studio 281 (directions)

Shows

Churchill Grounds:
Clarence Johnson. Wednesday; 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. $7/$5.
Russell Gunn. Thursday; 9:30 and 11:30 p.m.$7/$5.
Trey Wright Trio with Mace Hibbard. Friday; 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. $10/$10.
Justin Chesarek Quartet. Friday; 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. $10/$10.

Emory's Schwartz Center (directions):
Emory Jazz Ensemble. Tuesday; 8 p.m.

Ray's on the River (directions):
Will Scruggs Trio. Wednesday; 7 p.m.
Jun Noble, III. Thursday; 7 p.m.
Karin Williams. Friday; 8 p.m.
Laura Coyle, Saturday; 8 p.m.

Twain's:
David Ellington Trio. Wednesday; 9 p.m.