Jazz In Town: Saxophone Madness, Love Letters, Celebrating Women

A great start of the year with more jazz coming our way!  Please get out and support jazz and help keep the art form alive.

Highlights

JazzBuffalo Presents NYC Saxophonist Dave Bixler, Saturday, March 10 at 8 pm at Pausa Art House

Buffalo gets a special visit from NYC-based alto saxophonist David Bixler, who has performed with Brother Jack McDuff, Lionel Hampton, and Toshiko Akiyoshi in his music career.  Bixler is also the head of the Jazz Studies Program at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH.  He will be joined by Rochester-based tenor saxophonist Doug Stone, who has played Pausa with other bands such as Star People, along with Greg Millar on guitar, Ed Croft on bass, and Darryl Washington on drums.  Here is a recent view of Dave Bixler performing with his Auction Project jazz band:

Dear Nina: A Sonic Love Letter to Nina Simone with Drea d’Nur, Thursday, March 8 at 7 pm

Vocalist and pianist Drea d’Nur brings to the stage her uniquely intimate and newly orchestrated songbook of Nina’s love songs, blues, and protest music. This pairing of voice and strings will feature the six-piece string ensemble, Rootstock Republic. Tickets are $50 general admission and $45 for Members. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 716.270.8292, or in person at the Albright-Knox Admissions Desk.  Here is an exceptional video and performance by d’Nur that displays her immense talents:

Celebrating Women’s History Month With The Ladies First Jazz Combo, Tuesday, March 13th at 5 pm at the Montante Center – Canisius College

The Canisius College Women and Gender Studies Program will present a special concert by the Ladies First Jazz Combo in celebration of Women’s History Month.  There will be a presentation, concert, and Q&A following the concert.  It is free and open to the public.  A good time to mention also, as we honor Women’s History Month, how lucky we are to be one of the few cities in the country to have our very own stellar all-female jazz big band and combo.    

Jazz In Town

On Thursday, March 8 at 7:00 pm you can check out one of the area’s best jazz guitarists and his band –  Adam Bronstein and the Freehand Band as part of the Carnegie Arts Center Thursday Jazz Series.  

On Thursday, March 8 at 9 pm at Nietzsche’s on Allen Street, you can catch the Tim Clarke Soul-Tet with Tim Clarke on trumpet, Ed Croft on bass, Harry Graser on keyboards, Nelson Rivera on sax, and Darryl Washington on drums.

The Banjo Juice Jazz Band had a rollicking first performance at Pausa a couple of months ago and return on Friday, March 9^th at 8 pm. Their style of 1920s Jazz, blues and swing certainly made an impression. The group features Tyler Westcott (of Folkfaces) on guitar, trumpet, banjo and vocals, Sean Ebert on trumpet, Kyle Ohlson (Of Pine Fever) on clarinet and sax. Kyle Yagielski (of The Buffalo Brass Machine) on sousaphone, trumpet, and trombone, Joseph Donohue III on piano & vocals, and Craig Hough on drums

On Friday, March 9^th at 8 pm at Babeville’s 9^th Ward you can see the Jacob Jay Quintet led by trumpeter Jacob Jay.  Tickets $10 advance (on ticketfly.com) and $15 day of the show.

On Sunday, March 11^th at 2:30 pm, saxophonist Pat LaBarbera, noted for his works with Buddy Rich and his own big band, joins in with the Buffalo Jazz Collective for their Sunday Series at the Buffalo History Museum

(Be sure to check the Weekly Jazz page on the JazzBuffalo website for ongoing jazz – updated 3/7/18.)

JazzBuffalo Live @ Pausa

JazzBuffalo and Pausa Art House are teaming up to try something new.  On the third Thursday of each month, we will look for opportunities to introduce and present exciting, artistic, creative, and just plain good music to the Greater Buffalo Community.   Our first Thursday JazzBuffalo Live @ Pausa is on March 15th at 7 pm and we will kick it off with the official debut at Pausa of the exciting NOLA brass band – the Buffalo Brass Machine!  Catch this band in the intimate surroundings of Pausa and find out why they are playing Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit, and elsewhere around Buffalo as they present their innovative craft of taking modern songs and transforming them into NOLA Brass!

Albright-Knox Art Gallery Art Of Jazz Series

Next up is the 2018 Grammy Award winner for Best Jazz Instrumental Album – Billy Childs!  This will be one of the first headling performances for the award-winning jazz pianist since winning his most recent Grammy. 

His recent Grammy-winning release Rebirth (Mack Avenue), also nominated in the Best Improvised Jazz Solo category, marks his long-anticipated return to scintillating hard-bop: “ultra-sophisticated, gracefully crafted jazz, but full of dynamism” (The Guardian). Appearing with Childs will be rising saxophone star Dayna Stephens, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Ari Hoenig.

Series associate producer Tony Zambito will host a pre-concert discussion, “Art of the Arranger,” at 2 pm. Tickets are $29 and $24 for Albright-Knox Members and can be purchased at the Albright-Knox Admissions Desk or online at https://www.albrightknox.org/artofjazz. Early ticket purchases are highly recommended as Art of Jazz concerts frequently sell out well in advance of the concert date. 

Hotel Henry Jazz Concert Series Returns For 2018 Season Wednesday, April 11

JazzBuffalo and the Hotel Henry are pleased to announce the 2018 Hotel Henry Jazz Concert Series will begin on Wednesday, April 11.  Our first concert will feature the 9-piece jazz ensemble, My Cousin Tone’.  The band has been in existence for 8 years and features exciting arrangements by Rising Stare arranger, Tim Martin and previous winner of the JazzBuffalo Poll for Best Female Jazz Vocalist, Mary McMahon.  The noted band has performed at the Northwest (Lewiston) Jazz Festival and at sold-out concerts at MusicalFare Theatre.  We will be moving the start time from 7 pm to 7:30 pm and ticket prices will be $15.  We will though be eliminating the processing fees for tickets!  Look for the schedule to come out soon that will include the Beatles Jazz Quintet, Mark Marinaccio: A Jazz Tribute To Michael Jackson, Heritage Night with Buffalo Brass Machine, and more…

April Is Jazz Appreciation Month Returns

Last year, we began the tradition of celebrating April Is Jazz Appreciation Month originated by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in 2001.  Four Saturdays of fantastic jazz concerts.  This year, we will kick-off April Is Jazz Appreciation Month with a special “JAM-Eve” concert by the Philippe Lemm Trio.  The New York City-based group plays internationally and received rave reviews for their performance at the Northwest Jazz Festival last year.  The trio also features Buffalo-area native, pianist Angelo DiLoreto.  They will be followed on April 7th by the introduction of the fabulous Paul Hage Mirage band at Pausa Art House.  On April 21st, we will host the fantastic Devin Kelly Trio, which will feature noted guitarist Bob Schneider and NYC organist Dino Losito, as well as, drummer Devin Kelly.  They will be performing music from their most recent CD. 

Philippe Lemm Trio, Saturday, March 31st at Pausa Art House

Save this date!  The international band will be here for a rare visit.  You will be in for a treat of their inspiring jazz music that has this band performing throughout Europe and the US.  Check out this performance in the Netherlands and you will see why this is must-see jazz!

Northwest Jazz Festival Fundraiser – Sunday, April 15th at 4 pm to 8 pm

The Northwest Jazz Festival will host its annual fundraiser this April 15th.  The event will be held at a new location this year – at the Brickyard Brewing company.  Join in on raising funds for this premier festival.  Performing for the event are three outstanding groups – The Paul Hage Mirage Band, The Alex McArthur / Jon Lehning Quartet, and The Hot Club of Buffalo.  Put this on your calendar for a Sunday drive to Lewiston and to support the Northwest Jazz Festival.  

Keep Jazz Alive!!!