Jazz Arts Project> Calendar

SUMMER JAZZ CAFE' RETURNS FOR OUR THIRD SEASON
The ever popular, annual series will return this year for a four-week run Friday July 11th through Sat. August 2nd at River's Edge Cafe 35 Broad Street, Red Bank, NJ. - Call For Reservation (732) 741-7198

This year we are thrilled to present these world class artists right here in Red Bank. Fun and elegant music in an elegant setting with great food.

The Music Charge is still only $15 and there is a $15 Minimum at the table but bring your appetite because Chef/Owner Bob Guido has updated his menu and will be offering an eclectic array of fine cuisine and deserts.

The most romantic evenings you will spend this summer!

Friday & Saturday, July 11th & 12th
Jay Leonhart & group
Acclaimed Jazz Bassist, Songwriter and Satirist, Jay Leonhart kicks off the series with his wit and straight-ahead jazz styling's. Jay brings along some friends to round out the evenings with piano sensation John Colianni on Friday and trombone master Wycliffe Gordon on Saturday. Jay has performed with many diverse artists including Judy Garland, Carly Simon, Bucky Pizzarelli, Sting, and Frank Sinatra. He was named The Most Valuable Bassist in the recording industry three times by the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. Leonhart is especially noted for his clever songwriting often laced with dry humor, and his compositions have been recorded by such notable artists as Blossom Dearie, Lee Konitz and Gary Burton.

John Colianni is featured weekly (Monday nights) at The Iridium Jazz Club in New York City with famed guitarist Les Paul and his Quintet. Colianni displays an advanced technique and musicality often praised by critics. He won the 1st annual Thelonius Monk Piano Competition in 1987, and has toured extensively and performed with such greats as Mel Torme', movie director/clarinetist Woody Allen's New Orleans-inspired band at Michael's Pub in NYC and with Lionel Hampton & his Orchestra among others.

Wycliffe Gordon enjoys an extraordinary career as a performer, conductor, composer, arranger, and educator, receiving high praise from audiences and critics alike. Gordon tours the world performing hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz for audiences ranging from heads of state to elementary school students. His trombone playing, hailed as "mixing powerful, intricate runs with sweet notes extended over clean melodies," has been universally hailed by jazz critics. Gordon received the Jazz Journalists Association 2007, 2006, 2002 and 2001 Award for Trombonist of the Year, and the Jazz Journalists Association 2000 Critics' Choice Award for Best Trombone.

Saturday's performance will be part of JazzArts' youth outreach and education initiative entitled Legends & Lions in jazz. In the afternoon the two jazz legends will present a masterclass workshop for young aspiring jazz musicians. The earlier event is open and free to anyone interested in the program with an emphasis on minority, under served and at risk youth. This educational event is a collaboration with Jazz Arts Project, Inc., Musician/Educator Dorian Perreott, Artscap, and the NJ State Conference, American Federation of Muscians. The workshop will take place on Saturday, July 12th at 4:00pm at the Salvation Army Hall, 605 Asbury Ave. Asbury Park, NJ.

This program is made possible in part through funding from the Monmouth County Arts Council and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Friday & Saturday, July 18th & 19th
The Norman Simmons Quartet with Virginia Mayhew
Norman Simmons came out of Chicago in distinguished keyboard company, along with his contemporaries Junior Mance, Muhal Richard Abrams, Jodie Christian and Ramsey Lewis. Quickly, Norman became the accompanist of choice of an impressive list of jazz singers, including Carmen McRae, Betty Carter, Anita O'Day and Joe Williams. Nothing hones a pianist's sense of color, rhythm and harmonic subtlety more than accompanying vocalists. Norman brings that experience to his solo playing, giving unique insight and meaning to any song he chooses to play. He has also laid down changes for many more of the most illustrious names in jazz - Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Ernestine Anderson, Teri Thornton, Johnny Griffin and others. Norman is one of the finest pianists on the scene today. Simmons' ability to challenge himself and other musicians carries over into his work as an educator. He has taught at Paterson State College in New Jersey since 1982 and also participated in the Jazzmobile program for 20 years, fostering music education at New York's public schools. Simmons' dedication to his students is equal to his commitment to jazz itself.

Saxophonist-composer-arranger VIRGINIA MAYHEW has been an active participant in the New York jazz scene since 1987. A native of San Francisco, Virginia came to New York to enroll in the New School's Jazz Performance program, and was awarded its Zoot Sims Memorial Scholarship. In the course of her career, Virginia has worked with such renowned artists as Earl "Fatha" Hines, Cab Calloway, Frank Zappa, James Brown, Norman Simmons, Al Grey, Junior Mance, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Doc Cheatam, Joe Williams, Leon Parker, Clark Terry, Terry Gibbs, Kenny Barron, Chico O'Farrill, Dena DeRose, Ingrid Jensen, Claudio Roditi, and many others.
Friday & Saturday, July 25th & 26th
Jazz guitar Legend Bucky Pizzarelli Joins Singer/songwriter/pianist Tony Desare
Since our first season,John "Bucky" Pizzarelli has been a perennial favorite at the Summer Jazz Café, performing most often to a sold out crowd. For more than half a century, Bucky has been a part of the fraternity of musicians who have kept mainstream and traditional jazz alive. He learned to play banjo and guitar when he was young. At the age of 17 he toured with Vaughan Monroe's dance band, which he re-joined after military service in 1946; he made recordings with the band for RCA and also played on the radio. In 1952 he joined the staff of NBC. For many years, he played in the Doc Severinson Band on the Tonight Show. After touring for two years with the Three Suns trio, he returned to New York to work in the recording studios and as a freelance. One of the era's most solid rhythm players, Pizzarelli has always been in high demand to provide propulsion and background for other musicians. He played and toured with Benny Goodman, forming a close association with him that lasted until Goodman's death; he also led his own trio and recorded duos with Zoot Sims (1976), Bud Freeman (1975), Stephane Grappelli (1979) and his son John (from around 1981). Bucky Pizzarelli plays a sevenstring electric guitar; the extra string (tuned to A) allows him to play a bass line to his own solos. He is known not only for his exceptional solo performances on the electric instrument, but also for his proficiency as a classical guitarist. He is also a Faculty Member Emeritus of William Paterson College in Wayne, NJ.

Tony DeSare is the cream of the crop of artists currently singing songs from the Great American Songbook with youth and style, he performs material that everyone can agree upon. Fast winning awards, recognition and the hearts of jazz fans with his highly acclaimed recordings, his selections range from Cole Porter and Gershwin to Billy Joel, Elton John and Ray Charles.
Friday & Saturday, August 1st & 2nd
Morris Nanton Trio
For a full forty-eight years Morris Nanton and Norman Edge have played together, longer than many marriages last. Drummer Jeff Brillinger is the junior member of the Morris Nanton Trio, with a mere twenty-six years of seniority. Such stability is remarkable in the jazz world, where even the most successful working groups are in a constant state of flux. The artistry here is superb and is a delight to witness the elegant smooth and swinging style through a wide variety of repertoire. Their records include, "Flowers Jazz Piano Trio" on the Warner Bros. label, "Ray Ellis Orchestra and Chorus", "Big, Big Voice of Lovelace Watkins" on the MGM label, and "Something We've Got", "Preface" and "Soul Fingers" on the Prestige label. They recently released a CD titled A Christmas "Present". Morris Nanton is a graduate of the Julliard School of Music where he studied with Irwin Freundlich. He served in the U.S. Armed Forces for two years playing piano, tuba, drums and bass in the army band. In addition to his performing career, Nanton teaches piano privately.

Norman Edge is a graduate of Jersey City State College, with a BA degree in Music Education. Edge has recorded with Clark Terry, Gene Ammons, Hank Jones, and the Manhattan Brass Choir. He was principle bassist with the Jersey City State Community Orchestra, and bassist with National Symphony Orchestra in NY, and The Adelphi String Society, and most recently as principle bassist with the Baroque Orchestra of NJ; Livingston Symphony and the Concert Opera Company of NJ.

Jeff Brillinger graduated from the Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA, and studies privately with Joe Morello, Alan Dawson, Frank Epstein, Gary Chester and Ricky Sebastion. Between 1965 and 1972 he performed in Boston with Clark Terry, Zoot Sims, Moss Allison, Mel Torme, Bobby Short and Morganna King. From 1972 to 1993 he performed numerous tours throughout Europe, Japan and the U.S. Jeff has recorded on Fantasy Records with the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Chet Baker Quartet, and the Stan Getz Sextet, and the music of Duke Ellington on Smithsonian Jazz Recordings. He currently teaches privately in New York City. Jeff is the most recent addition to the Trio. He has held the percussion chair for the last 28 years.

Vinnie Corrao has performed at many and varied Jazz venues including The Blue Note and Sweet Basil's in NYC, Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ (opening for Branford Marsalies with a quartet), Carnegie Hall with Ruby Braff and George Barnes and at music and jazz festivals around the world. Vinnie also worked and recorded with such outstanding artists as Jack McDuff; played at the Americana Hotel, New York City with the all-star big band put together by Tommy Flanagan to accompany Ella Fitzgerald; then the rhythm section featuring Tommy Flanagan, Frank Dellarosa, and Ed Shawnasy, which accompanied Ella Fitzgerald on the Johnny Carson Show and the Dick Cavett show. He was recognized by Gerald Kamer, contributing editor of the Jersey Jazz Magazine, as a guitarist extraordinaire.
At 6:30 on selected evenings throughout the series we will present various up and coming vocalists and instrumentalists in a pre-show free presentation as an educational outreach and added bonus for our audiences. come early and enjoy a musical appetizer. Join our mailing list to keep informed about upcoming shows.