WEEKEND: BANK ON THE BLUES
BREAKING NEWS: As of 6pm Friday, word from Marine Park is that local police have cancelled the June 5 slate of Jazz & Blues Festival events due to concerns over storm warnings. The Saturday and Sunday schedule still stands as of this update, and all other events described in this story are still on track to happen as planned.
Not your father’s Oldsmobile: Next-gen blues band Outside the Box loses its Jazz & Blues Fest cherry this Friday night in Marine Park.
FRIDAY: Red Bank Jazz & Blues Festival. In an article on the 2008 edition of the Red Bank Jazz & Blues Festival, we had this to say about the open-air event that stands as one of the largest free outdoor music fests in the northeast:
There have been days when the sloping natural amphitheatre of Marine Park recalled Woodstock’s mud-people nation. Nights called on account o’ fog. Out-of-nowhere dust devils that turned funnel cakes into powder-sugar funnelclouds and saw butterfly fries spread their wings and soar…there’s always been an understanding that, while this is a chance for nightclub cats to strut their stuffs under the sun, it’s still Big Mama Nature who reserves the right to blow the most showstopping solos.
Truth to tell, apart from a brief afternoon shower last year, the weather has been very friendly indeed for the past couple of RBJBF weekends. And even with most weather trackers calling for off-and-on rain today (and maybe Sunday), well, the valiant volunteers of the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation have seen far worse. In fact, to paraphrase Was (Not Was), they’re “born to laugh at tornadoes.”
Earlier this week in oRBit we brought you an epic-length interview with local-organic legend Sonny Kenn — the blues-basted rocker who’s poised to play the now-traditional Friday night “hometown hero” slot. There’s lots more featured on the three stages of the festival grounds, and you’ll find it all presented in devilish detail on the event’s splendid official website — including turns by Newark sax symbol Bradford Hayes; the 21st century Shore bluesrock battery (and 2009 Stone Pony House Band) Outside The Box, those hipster MadMen from Ocean County, The Atlantic Jazz Company; the very groovy “alternative neo-soul” of veteran Poppa John “Bug” and his seasoned crew; and an evening’s worth of showcase sets by the JSJBF’s Youth Project students, the honorable TJ Wheeler presiding. Festivities kick off with RBR’s Phoebe Holiday Ryan singing the national anthem at 4:50pm, and the party continuing up to 10pm. But that ain’t the half of the jazz and blues going on in and around the greater RB orbit this weekend…
Blue on Red: Jazz and blues sounds across the weekend include Layonne Holmes at Tim McLoone’s in Asbury Park (Friday); A Cool Blues Duo with Chuck Lambert and Susan Haugenes (RB Jazz & Blues Fest on Saturday; Red Bank Street Life on Sunday); Terry Waldo and the Gotham All-Stars (Summer Jazz Cafe at Two River Theater on Friday and Saturday).
FRIDAY: Layonne Holmes at Tim McLoone’s Supper Club. Here’s one that coulda-woulda-shoulda been part of this year’s Fest. In an appearance at the Supper Club a couple of months back, Layonne Holmes channeled the spirit of Billie Holiday in a special guest appearance with the Gerald Carboy Jazz Quartet (Carboy, David Anthony, Michael Gribbroek, Bob Himmelberger). Holmes, of course, is instantly recognizable from her many musical collaborations with her mom Delores Holmes — including their band Rain, plus Tim McLoone’s Holiday Express and his summertime band, The Shirleys, plus backup vocal gigs in support of Bruce Springsteen, Bobby Bandiera and anyone who ever answered the “All-Star” call for a solid cause. Tonight, June 5, she returns to Mr. Mac’s space-age space for sophisticated sounds with a program entitled “The Grand Ladies of Jazz” — a salute that pays homage to the aforementioned Lady Day, as well as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, the great Nina Simone and others. Seating is limited, so make those dinner reservations at (732)842-8088.
FRIDAY/ SATURDAY: Jazz Cafe with Terry Waldo at Two River Theater. As reported here in oRBit last week, Joe Muccioli and his borough-based Jazz Arts Project has brought back his month-long series of sophisticated weekend music events to Red Bank’s Two River Theater after sitting out last season. Presented inside Two River’s “black box” Huber performance space, these shows are more than just siddown/shuddup gigs; they’re a cool invocation of a big-city club vibe, with coffee and refreshments served up at tableside seating. On Friday and Saturday, Mooch welcomes back ragtime piano kingpin Terry Waldo, who brings along a little combo called the Gotham City All-Stars — a formidable unit comprising Joe Muranyi, last surviving member of the Louis Armstrong All Stars; Broadway singer Ruth Brisbane (Raisin, The Wiz, Black & Blue) and Arnie Kinsella, veteran drummer for Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion! Reserve tix for either of the two 8pm shows ($20) by calling the Two River box office at (732)345-1400. Then Continue Reading for the rest o’ the Fest…
Saxy pianist Deanna Bogart does her best to “Bogart the joint,” the joint being Marine Park during Saturday’s Jazz & Blues Fest.
SATURDAY/ SUNDAY: Red Bank Street Life. As detailed in a recent feature in oRBit, the return of Red Bank RiverCenter’s annual summertime series of free outdoor mini-concerts in Red Bank is getting a shot of growth hormones this Festival weekend, with not only the usual 6-9pm Saturday evening slate of performers, but a Saturday afternoon schedule starting at noon — and a bonus afternoon of performances on Sunday, June 6. The schedule for June 6 and 7 showcases some of the most iconic artists on the Red Bank music scene, among them the fine jazz trio featuring drummer Al Wright, his vocalist wife Ruth Wright (they’re both veterans of the cosmically amazing Sun Ra Arkestra!) and pianist Greg Murphy (Wynton Marsalis, Rashied Ali); playing Sunday afternoon outside the Dublin House. Then there’s A Cool Blues Duo, the side project team-up starring bluesrock bandleader Chuck Lambert and singer Susan Haugenes — they’ll be outside Ten Thousand Villages on Sunday. The bloozy chantoozie Eryn Shewell and her band will be in the Dublin House courtyard on Saturday afternoon, and the aforementioned young traditionalists in the Atlantic Jazz Company can be found Dubside on Saturday night.
Houston, we’ve got a promenade: Souljazz saxcat Houston Person closes out the Red Bank Jazz & Blues Fest with a Sunday set at Marine Park.
SATURDAY/ SUNDAY: Red Bank Jazz & Blues Festival. The adventure continues between noon and 10pm Saturday, with a night-capping headline set by Maryland’s mistress of boogie piano and smoky sax, the Deanna Bogart Band. There’s action on the Marina Stage from helpin’ harpist Sandy Mack and the return of TJ Wheeler and his Youth Project students. The Riverfront Stage offers homegrown talents Quincy Mumford and Eryn Shewell, while the Backbeat Stage boasts A Cool Blues Duo, three-way blues masters Nine Below Zero, Mauricio de Souza’s Bossa Brasil Trio and Divine Jazz Quartet, a group of talented teens that work the great American songbook of standards.
Sunday’s wrap-up in the park climaxes with a 4:30pm set by 74 year old tenor sax legend Houston Person (Etta Jones, Lena Horne, Lou Rawls) and his New York-based Quartet, with New Orleans funk/jazz unit The Soul Project and sought-after sixstringer Jerry Topinka also taking the Marina Stage. Acoustic bluesguy Juke Joint Jonny is amng the acts appearing on the Riverfront Stage, while the Backbeat Stage offers two more sets by the ubiquitous TJ Wheeler and a special salute to Louis Armstrong, with author Steven Brower on hand to sign copies of his biography Satchmo: The Wonderful World and Art of Louis Armstrong.
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June 05, 2009
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