Riffs: Music news from out and about
By Patricia Myers
Jazz and blues fans are a-buzz with the news that Francine Reed has returned to live again in the Phoenix area. Many who have missed her in clubs since her relocation 24 years ago to Atlanta were among the SRO crowd at the March 12 release party in Scottsdale for her new CD, “Wild-Hearted Woman.” Francine told me that her son, Dana, is awaiting a heart transplant here and needs 24-hour assistance before and after the surgery, so she is moving here. “That’s what mothers do,” she said very simply. Francine intends to perform “selectively,” but be assured that my MusicSceneAZ.com website will post information as soon as it’s available (to find out go to the Calendar segment, click on Search, type in her name). One known date is July 12, when Francine will perform her ongoing featured role with Lyle Lovett and His Large Band at the Mesa Arts Center, and throughout the nationwide tour.
My interaction with Francine and her late sister Margo began in 1974, a year after they arrived from Kankakee, a Chicago suburb. I heard the two soulful singers in a guest spot with the Keith Greko Trio one Saturday afternoon in November at Town and Country Shopping Center in east Phoenix. Margo sang “On a Clear Day” and Francine came in on the scat-chorus, followed by a duet of “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.” After the cheers and applause ended, I immediately asked to interview them for my “Jazz Sounds” weekly column in the Scottsdale Daily Progress newspaper. The following week, they came to the office (from their respective homes in Scottsdale), were interviewed and posed for a photo, published on Nov. 8, 1974.
This was the first-ever newspaper feature about them, despite previous performances in Phoenix at the Century Sky Room, and in Scottsdale at the Valley Ho, Lulu Belle’s, Hatch Cover and the brand-new Page Four. Back then, Francine was still using her given name of Frances, until drummer Dave Cook told her she seemed more like a Francine, a remark that has become historic. She told me that her influences were Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan; Margo’s were Pearl Bailey, Dinah Washington and also Sarah Vaughan.
They each talked about the influence of their father’s touring gospel group, “The Original Singing Crusaders.” I quoted Margo as saying, “Jazz is alive here. Compared to Chicago, there are many good groups, and it’s still growing. We love it!” She also said, “We’ve both been singing since we were little. We feel differently about songs though, and we think it shows in our personalities.” The Reed contingent soon included all seven siblings: sisters Lavergne and Mellody, brothers Tony, Michael and Bucko and, of course, Mama Girley Reed. Their annual family Christmas shows became legendary, and fans are hoping for a renewal of those that could involve the second generation of Reeds.
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The Buzz: Young Sounds of Arizona will perform a free concert with two high-school big bands and several combos at 7:30 pm Tuesday May 3 at the Musicians Union Hall, 1202 E. Oak St., Phoenix 85006, 602-254-8838, donations encouraged. Last year, I established the Margo Reed Scholarship with Young Sounds, a non-profit organization that since 1971 has supported high school jazz musicians; awards from the fund have been made to these aspirants. For nearly a half-century, YSA has been operated by an all-volunteer board of directors. Large ensembles and small combos rehearse on Monday nights at the Phoenix Musicians Union Hall. Students also are provided low-cost or free lessons/coaching. This scholarship adds to those honoring Nadine Jansen, Dave Cook, Armand Boatman and Teresa Perez (longtime staff member). I’ve encouraged others to donate to the fund to assist with lessons, instrument repair and jazz camps. Tax-deductible cash donations and checks (to Young Sounds of Arizona, notation-Margo Reed Scholarship), may be mailed to Phoenix Musicians Union Local 586, 1202 E. Oak St., Phoenix AZ 85006. Even small donations of $10 or 20 will add up to help more students.
Tenor saxophonist Greg Fishman’s just-released CD, New Journey, is just that in seven original tracks that he composed and arranged. The modes vary from easy swing to hard bop, including a lilting jazz waltz and a savory portion of Getz-era Braziliana. Fishman is an illuminative musician whose agile melodic explorations accelerate the art of improvisation to a superb level. This album features Fishman’s longtime Chicago rhythm section of the imaginative Dennis Luxion on piano, remarkable Eric Hochberg on acoustic bass and inventive Phil Gratteau on drums.
Fishman and his wife, Judy Roberts, will return soon to Chicago for the summer, where they’ll open the annual Jazz Showcase series on May 12-15, the first performance dedicated to Judy’s late drummer, Rusty Jones. Other gigs will follow at Eddie V’s Prime Seafood (Mondays starting May 16) and Marie’s Pizza (Sundays and Tuesdays starting May 22 and 24); also at Fitzgerald’s Sidebar in Berwyn (first Wednesdays with Jeanne Lambert and Russ Phillips), also Suzette’s Creperie in Wheaton (Saturdays starting May 21), plus more in the works until their return in late fall.
Herb and Lorene Ely, co-founders with Jazz in Arizona of The Nash performance and jazz-education center, recently were honored nationally along with 25 others as “Jazz Heroes” to recognized them as activists of positive influence in 23 U.S. music communities. The Elys’ united effort resulted in The Nash opening in downtown Phoenix on April 12, 2012. The first event was a “Jazz for Young People” concert performed by Wynton Marsalis, also featuring the center’s namesake, Phoenix-born drummer Lewis Nash. The nomination stated that their intention from the start was to attract students, educators, musicians and audiences “in a dedicated, non-profit, non-commercial environment.”
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Musicians’ News: Richie Oropeza’s classy style on tenor sax and flute delighted listeners during two exceptional sets at the April Jazz in AZ member party at The Nash. Many members and friends of the Oropeza family were there in support, although everyone cheered and showed strong appreciation for the skills of this octogenarian star. Oropeza chose a varied repertoire, swinging as effortlessly as Zoot Sims on tenor sax and playing zestful flute on sambas. His deep-hearted tenor delivery/interpretation of “Body and Soul” was as high-level as any I’ve heard on Coleman Hawkins recordings. The music was played “old-school” with no charts, a mode that separates wannabes from the real pros. His colleagues were Eric Bart on expressive guitar, Selwyn Reams on exceptional acoustic bass, and solid Roy Calhoun on drums.
Drummer Lewis Nash will come from New York to perform at his namesake club, The Nash, in two shows on Friday, May 13, with vocalist Cecile McLorin Salfant. His East Coast trio again will be Renee Rosnes on piano and Peter Washington on bass. The 26-year-old singer has a French mother and Haitian father and was raised in Miami, Florida. She started classical piano studies at 5, and began singing in the Miami Choral Society at age 8. In 2007, she moved to Aix-en-Provence, France, to study law, as well as classical and baroque voice at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory, where she learned about improvisation and the vocal/instrumental repertoire, soon singing with her first band. In 2009, she performed concerts in Paris, then recorded her first album, “Cécile.” A year later, she won the Thelonious Monk competition in Washington, D.C. She began touring the U.S. and performing in European festivals, singing in French and English; reviewers have compared her to Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter and Ella Fitzgerald. Full event info is at TheNash.org.
The annual Yuma Summer Jazz Series will be presented Friday nights at Lutes Casino, which was built more than 100 years ago as a general store, and is known for its eclectic wall art, food and service, said organizer Steven Hennig, leader of the Yuma Jazz Company. Noting that Lutes has been presenting jazz as part of its summer live-music events for more than 10 years, Henning said, “The casual, fun atmosphere at Lutes is perfect for this music, and it’s great to be able to offer performances this time of year, when there is very little going on in terms of the arts. I’ve heard from many people for whom this series has been their first exposure to jazz. It is really awesome that this series has continued.” The series again is sponsored by public radio station KAWC (88.9 fm, 1320 am).
Henry Threadgill, 72, has won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his 2015 album for Pi Recordings, “In for a Penny, In for a Pound.” The longtime Chicago composer, who plays saxophones and flute, was one of the founders in 1965 of AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians). The album was cited as “a highly original work in which notated music and improvisation mesh in a sonic tapestry that seems the very expression of modern American life.” The Pulitzer Prize Board gives this honor for “a distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United State during the year”; Threadgill will receive $10,000. * * *
Final Chorus: Gato Barbieri, 83, Argentine tenor saxophonist of pneumonia following blood-clot surgery, April 2 in New York City; Matt Jackson, 58, pianist-composer-educator, of leukemia, March 27 in Prescott, donations may be made to the Matt Jackson Scholarship Fund for Young Musicians, 520 Franklin St., Prescott 86302.
Categories: News