with R.J. Bianchino
your weekly guide to "all things jazz"
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with R.J. Bianchino your weekly guide to "all things jazz" |
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jazz news | calendar | jazz chart | birthdays | new releases | feature | clubs | beyond the neon | biography | blues news
| February 6-12, 2006 The Jazz
The Shapiro Project takes the Winchester Community Center Theater stage on Sunday, February 12 at 2 p.m. in a co-production with the Las Vegas Jazz Society, the Guitar Society of Las Vegas and Clark County Parks and Recreation. The concert is partially funded by the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The Shapiro Project is a Las Vegas-based quartet led by guitarist and composer Eugene Shapiro. It features Eugene's brother, Boris, on drums, Brian Triola on piano, and Eric Rundquist on bass. The group organized in 2000 when the members were UNLV graduate students pursuing jazz studies degree. Since then, they've toured across the United States and have performed in Europe, the Mid-East and Japan. Their first CD, "True Colors," featuring 11 compositions written by Eugene Shapiro, was released in 2002. A second CD, "Open Road" was released this fall. The music of the Shapiro Project ranges from straight-ahead to modal jazz with touches of funk and contemporary. The concert is the second of what is developing as an annual co-production between LVJS and the Guitar Society. Tickets are priced at $17 general admission; $12 seniors and students;
and $8 for Jazz Society and Guitar Society members. Advance tickets are on
sale at Winchester Community Center, 3130 S. McLeod Drive, just north of
Desert Inn Rd. For more information call 702.455.7340 or online at
www.accessclarkcounty.com/parks
If you have attended or even just heard about Joanne Gilbert’s exciting—and sold-out!--"Jazz at the Summit" shows, you won’t want to miss out when she brings the extraordinary Dehner Franks Quartet to the Starbright Theater. This vibrant quartet will perform an unforgettable afternoon of world-class jazz, blues and show tunes. A renowned songwriter, musician, musical director and teacher, Franks has many diversified accomplishments including an original score and lyrics for a musical for the West Las Vegas Arts Center entitled "Take me to the Water." The 2004 performance of this was so well received that director, Walter Mason (former production manager for Sammy Davis, Jr.) asked Dehner to write a second score for a play written by James Baldwin. Additionally, Franks performed a solo piano concert in 2001 at the International Ballroom Dancing competition at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow, and on Russian television stations broadcasting worldwide to an audience of an estimated 100 million people. His recent sold-out concert for the Las Vegas Jazz Society was a highlight of the acclaimed series. Dehner Franks' numerous concerts as a soloist, with orchestras, as a jazz combo leader and as an internationally acclaimed solo pianist have consistently left his audiences awed, delighted, and eager for more. You won’t want to miss this amazing concert. Tickets ($15 Sun City Residents/$20 Non-Residents) on sale at Desert Vista, Mountain Shadows and Pinnacle Community Centers. The Starbright Theatre is located at the Pinnacle Community Center, 2215 Thomas Ryan Blvd in Summerlin. For more information call 702.240.1333 or visit www.jazzatjoannes.com Jazz Romano Mussolini, Jazz pianist, son of Dictator Dead at 78
Romano Mussolini Jazz pianist and son of World War ll Italian fascist dictator Benito, died Friday(Feb.3). Jazz was banned in Italy but his Jazz loving brothers were able to purchase American albums. That is how Mussolini first heard Jazz. After his dictator father was killed other members of his family were either killed or well fled Italy. Young Mussolini his mother and sister were exiled to Ischia. While there he became seriously ill and eventually took up piano and accordion as hobbies. Though self-taught his early playing style was similar to George Shearing. Later moving closer to Andre Previn's piano stylings. He performed at the first International Jazz Festival in San Remo in 1956. He was quite impressive, notheless he turned down many opportunities to perform abroad. He eventually returned from exile, to Rome living in almost abject poverty. Working in the wood-trade to make a ends meet. Musicians such as Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton Dizzy Gillespie and Chet Baker noticed his talent. In 1959 he played with Swedish, Baritone Saxist Lars Gullin at Viareggio. Mussolini also toured Italy with Gullin and Chet Baker. And he made records for Italian RCA with vocalist Lilian Terry and Nunzio Rotondo. "Jazz Allo Studio 7" his early 1960s album drew much positive attention from the critics. Twenty years ago he played at Perrino's in Los Angeles, a ritzy Italian restaurant. More recently Mussolini wrote a book about his father "My Father Il Duce" to be published by Kales Press later this year. He is survived by his wife Carla Maria and three daughters. His first two are from his first wife Anna Maria, who is the sister of well-know actress Sophia Loren. -- Ron Sagye La Rue
76 year old Ray Baretto is recovering at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey after heart surgery. Brooklyn born Baretto is a Grammy-winning Latin jazz percussionist played with Tito Puente's band in the late '50's and recorded with such musical greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Celia Cruz. Barretto was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and is credited with introducing the integrating the conga drum into jazz. Barretto is up for a Grammy on Wednesday night, with his "Time Was - Time Is" nominated for best Latin Jazz album. JazzBeat wishes the maestro a speedy recovery.
Live from The REAL Las Vegas invites you to join our lively Friday AM conversations, highlighting the hardworking, accomplished REAL people of Las Vegas, whose contributions make this unique, culturally diverse, ever-changing city such a vibrant, and delightfully welcoming place for locals and visitors. Your host is Joanne Gilbert. This week's guest is pianist extraordinaire Dehner Franks. If you're not able to listen live, the program will be archieved at http://www.alltalkradio.net/ reallasvegas
Jazz Birthdays This week's jazz artists birthdays include: Feb 06 Bernie Glow (trumpet), 1926 Steve Wilson CD and artist biography brief: Passages Stretch Records presents Steve Wilson (alto & soprano sax, flute) featuring Bruce Barth (piano), Adam Cruz (drums & percussion), Ed Howard (bass)with special guest Nicholas Payton (trumpet & flugelhorn) in a jazz extravaganza. From the opening track - "Turnin' The Corner" to the very last "Wilsonian's Grain (Reprise)" this album is on a "pure groove road" to jazz at it's finest. All selections were composed by Mr. Wilson except "Days And Nights Waiting" (Keith Jarrett) and "The Lexter" (Bruce Barth), each with a great sound and beat totally original. -- J. Lovins, Amazon.com This week's new jazz releases: Click on any album cover to purchase CDs
Jazz 'Round Las Vegas M o n d a y, February 6 Caesars Palace (Galleria Bar)
Dehner Franks (piano) T u e s d a y, February 7 Caesars Palace (Galleria Bar) Dehner Franks (piano) W e d n e s d a y, February 8 Capo's Italian Restaurant 7-11pm Peppe Merolla (drums, vocals) T h u r s d a y, February 9 Bootlegger Bistro 9:30-11pm Ruth Brown or Moody Scott F r i d a y, February 10 Capo's Italian Restaurant 7-11pm Peppe Merolla (drums, vocals) S a t u r d a y, February 11 Capo's Italian Restaurant 7-11pm Peppe Merolla (drums, vocals) S u n d a y, February 12 Artisan Hotel 11am-3pm The Gents of Swing featuring 'Nuff Said Now it's your turn. If you have any information you would like to see in this JazzBeat column send an e-mail to info@jazzinternet.com. We especially welcome club listings. Telephone numbers are supplied for all venues. Please Call to verify events. Keep on jazzin' in Las Vegas and beyond. -- Bion Jazz Beyond the Neon
Thursday-Sunday, February 9-12
Two performances per night. Tickets prices ($20-$35) and show times vary
according to the concert date and time. Visit the Catalina Bar &
Grill web site at CatalinaJazzClub.com, or phone
323-466-2210 for more information. The club is located at 6725 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA. King Finds His Way Home    (from left to right: Sonny King and Jimmy Durante, Las Vegas "Lounge King," Sonny with Blackie and Lorraine Hunt at the Bootlegger Bistro) Performer whose career lasted nearly 70 years dies
I had the honor of knowing Sonny King for almost five years. Although I knew a lot about him through conversations with the Las Vegas' Sun's late entertainment writer Joe Delaney, I didn't meet Sonny until May 2001, when I interviewed him for a story about his show "Off the Cuff." "Off the Cuff" had premiered at the Bootlegger in March of that year. It starred King and the late Blackie Hunt, two tireless performers who became close friends when they arrived in Las Vegas around the same time in the early '50s. Both now are gone. Hunt passed away in December 2003, King, Thursday morning. Several times during the years that I knew him, King commented that he would never retire until he died. A saloon singer and comedian for almost 70 years, he "retired" at 10:15 a.m. with a smile on his face while listening to his CD "For Losers Only," according to his wife, Peggy. "I put on the CD and then walked to the kitchen and back," she said. "When I walked out of the room he was smiling so sweet. "I returned and sat down beside him and he was gone." He was in his 80s, but Sonny never disclosed his age. King had been home for two days, after spending almost six months in hospitals and rehabilitation centers during radiation treatment for throat cancer and the ensuing recovery process. "He wanted to come home," Peggy King said. "He told me he was never going to leave home again." She said he never fully recovered from the cancer treatment and the bouts of pneumonia that followed. "It took its toll," she said. "He just got tired." It was the second time he had the disease. The first was in 1992. At one point she said he told her he wanted to go home. "I said, 'What do you mean, you are home,' and he said, 'No, home to God, to be with my pals. I love you, but I'm tired.'"Even so, she said he was in good spirits. "He said 'I got the last laugh,' and I said 'How do you mean?'" Peggy King said. "He said 'My pals up there thought I would be there in '92. I'm sure I'm going to get a tongue wagging when I get there for making them wait.'" She had the difficult task of breaking the news to his friends, including Joey Bishop, who is feeble and living a reclusive life in Southern California. Bishop is the last surviving member of the Rat Pack. He turned 88 the day Sonny died. Although King was never considered part of the Rat Pack, he was a close friend of its members, which included Bishop, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Sonny introduced Martin to Jerry Lewis. Longtime friend Freddie Bell replaced King as host of the Bootlegger revue at the first of the year. "We were very, very close," Bell said. "Sonny and I have known each other for over 52 years. I'm all shook up about this. He was a sweetheart, a very strong person and a great performer." Bell said King - a straight man for Jimmy Durante for 28 years - was tough in his younger days. "I used to joke with him that his greatest ad lib was a right hook," Bell said. "He mellowed over the years." Bell said he felt funny about taking over for his friend at the Bootlegger. "I was hoping he would get better and come back," he said. Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, owner of the Bootlegger, had to make the difficult decision to replace King. She said she has known him most of her life. "I probably saw him the first time when I was just a kid, running around the pool at the Sands," Hunt said. "I remember him as a sweet man to all us little kids." She became better acquainted with him when she became a lounge performer herself. "Sonny was a remarkable man, talent wise and personally," Hunt said. "He was such a good guy. He didn't have a mean bone in his body." Nelson Sardelli is among the army of friends. "When I first met Sonny years ago, I thought he and I would not get too close because we were both kind of cocky," Sardelli said. "I once told him 'Someday I want to be so famous that you say hello to me first.'" Eventually they became very close. "He was the last of that era of Las Vegas," Sardelli said. "He was part of the real Las Vegas scene. If there was ever a man who was the epitome of what an entertainer is all about, it was Sonny King." Comedian Cork Proctor was a lifeguard at the Sahara in 1955 when he first meet King. "I was 22 years old, just out of the Navy and I wanted to be in show business," he said. "I wanted to embrace all the wonderful performers in Las Vegas at the time, and Sonny was one of them." Watching King, Louis Prima and the other legends of the era, Proctor received his education in entertainment. "The guy was very professional," Proctor said. "I never saw him when he didn't hit the stage doing 300 miles an hour." Comedian/musician Peter Anthony, King's friend since the early '60s, perhaps best summed up the passing of his friend. "He's always been here," Anthony said. "And now, all of a sudden, he's gone. "What a loss. We'll miss him." This article appeared in the Las Vegas Sun, February 4, 2006. Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at jerry@lasvegassun.com or at 702. 259.4058 BluesBeat Nevada
Dion DiMucci became famous as Dion and the Belmonts in the late 1950s, singing doo-wop and Rock 'n' Roll. His work was always a cut above the Pop of the era, and was very influential. But his earliest musical memory was hearing Hank Williams singing "Lovesick Blues" on the radio. Now, at the age of 66, he's come full circle: he's made a Blues album. read more For in depth coverage of the Las Vegas Blues scene, visit BluesBeat Nevada, your weekly guide to "all things blues." Sergio Mendes Biography
b. 11 February 1941, Niteroi, Brazil. A pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader, who is indelibly identified with the bossa nova boom of 60s. After touring North America with his own quintet, Mendes settled there late in 1964, and worked on recordings with Antonio Jobim and Art Farmer. He founded Brasil '65, which later evolved into Brasil '66, a two women-four man, vocal-instrumental band which marketed "a delicately-mixed blend of pianistic jazz, subtle Latin nuances, John Lennon/Paul McCartney style, some Henry Mancini, here and there a touch of Burt Bacharach, cool minor chords, danceable up-beat, gentle laughter and a little sex'. The initial ensemble consisted of Mendes (piano/vocals), Joses Soares (Latin percussion/vocals), Bob Matthews (bass/vocals), Jao Palma (drums) and vocalists Janis Hansen and Lani Hall. Hall's husband, Herb Alpert, the owner, with Jerry Moss, of A&M Records, became Mendes" patron, and together in the late 60s, they produced a series of US chart albums. The singles "The Look Of Love" and "The Fool On The Hill" also made the US Top 10 in 1968. During the 70s and 80s, Mendes recorded for several different labels, under a variety of names. His US and UK singles chart hit in 1983, "Never Gonna Let You Go", was credited to Sergio Mendes, and featured vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leza Miller. In 1984, he had minor success in the US with "Alibis". In 1990, when Sergio Mendes and Brasil 99 opened the new 600-seater Rio Showroom in Las Vegas, they gained "resounding applause" and excellent reviews for the "ascending American/Brazilian moods" of old favourites such as "Manha De Carnaval" and "Mas Que Nada". Mendes has continued recording into the 90s, and has demonstrated his ability to experiment with modern musical forms. Discography: Compilations: Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989-2005 |
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jazz news | calendar | jazz chart | birthdays | new releases | feature | clubs | beyond the neon | biography | blues news
Calendar
Shapiro Project at Winchester Center
Dehner Franks Plays The Starbright Theatre
News
Latin Jazz Legend Ray Barretto Recovering
Live from the REAL Las Vegas
Composer, pianist and three-time GRAMMY® nominee David Benoit has made an indelible mark on contemporary jazz. He pioneered the popular smooth jazz sound in the ‘80s, and continues to attract fans, critical acclaim and the most coveted awards in the music industry with his straight-ahead jazz recordings, his television and film scores, and his classical compositions. In June 2003, Benoit was named Keyboardist of the Year in the 4th Annual National Smooth Jazz Awards, the third time he’s claimed this top honor. -- Verve Music Group
Dion DiMucci
Boy from the Bronx sings the blues
Sergio Mendes is a Brazillian pianist/composer who created a highly accessible mix of Latin jazz, bossa nova, and AM-radio soft pop. This sound earned him and his group, Brasil '66 (originally Brasil '65 and later Brasil '77), a string of huge hit records in the '60s, and Mendes has remained an influential figure in world and lounge music circles.