A Three-Day Jazz Session for Dyed-in-the-Wool Fans
Jazz musicians grow weary of the typical smoky night club setting, where clinking glasses and well-oiled voices frequently drown out clear-headed improvisations. So when San Diegan Bill Muchnic produced his first San Diego Jazz Party in 1988, modeling it after Dick Gibson’s popular Denver Jazz Party, players were overjoyed.
Muchnic died last November after getting the planning for this weekend’s party at the downtown San Diego Marriott well under way. His wife, Beverly, though not a dedicated musician like her trumpet-playing husband was, is an equally enthusiastic fan. She has taken over the production of the event.
By charging $135 for a pass to the three-day event, and limiting attendance to 500, the party assures that audiences consist entirely of appreciative aficionados, on hand primarily to listen.
Musicians jump at the chance to play. Once again, an all-star cast has been lured to town. This year’s cast is headed by bassist Milt Hinton, who is being honored during his 60th year in jazz and his 80th in life.
The lineup also includes pianists Paul Smith, Ralph Sutton and Dick Hyman; trombonists George Masso, Dan Barrett and Al Grey; drummers Butch Miles, Gus Johnson and Jackie Williams; tenor sax men Flip Phillips, Plas Johnson and Tommy Newsom; alto saxists Marshal Royal and Chuck Wilson; bassists Hinton, Bob Haggart and Jay Leonhart; guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli and Howard Alden; clarinetists Kenny Davern, Bob Wilber and Ken Peplowski; and trumpeters Ed Polcer, Randy Sandke and Spanky Davis.
The format is a series of jam sessions led by various players. Songs are selected spur-of-the-moment. This can be risky business if the players aren’t “on,” but the risk often results in spontaneous combustion.
“That’s when the sparks start to fly,” Pizzarelli said. “You get a group of guys that really hit it off and it gets very exciting.”
Pizzarelli, 64, has recorded several albums, both as a leader and as a sideman to several jazz greats, most notably Benny Goodman, beginning in the late ‘60s. He also has a reputation as a top studio player.
He acknowledges the influence of pioneering jazz guitarist Charlie Christian but says he’s more interested in finding fresh harmonies and chord combinations than in Christian’s sax-like strings of notes.
Hinton has found his own fountain of youth, supplying the snappy, swinging bass lines on budding saxophonist Branford’s Marsalis’ critically acclaimed newest album, “Trio Jeepy.”
He believes such collaborations between jazz legends and up-and-coming players are essential to keeping jazz alive.
Young musicians like Marsalis and his brothers Wynton and Delfeayo come to Hinton in search of jazz history.
“They come over to my house researching Chu Berry, or Ben (Webster) or Coleman (Hawkins). I’m one of the few left who knew them. They call my basement the tap. Ben Webster used to live here in a little apartment and we used to sit down and jam and tape it. So I play my tapes for them.”
Not long ago, Hinton made his first music video with Marsalis.
“I loved it. It’s nice to have good luck enough to be around to see the great progress being made by young musicians, especially bass players. I’m glad I’m going instead of coming. I wouldn’t want to run into any of them. They make me look like I’m standing still.”
Those interested in hearing more about the life and times of Hinton can purchase a copy of “Bass Line: The Stories and Photographs of Milton Hinton,” published last year by Temple University Press.
The jazz party includes 25 different sets with various combinations of musicians, Friday and Saturday nights from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.; and Sunday from noon to 6:30. The room will be set up “cabaret style,” with tables and a floor for dancing.
The RUSE Performance Gallery at 447 Fifth Ave., in downtown San Diego continues to present excellent alternative jazz, the stuff you won’t hear in clubs or concert halls. Friday and Saturday nights at 8, Marimba (Mike) Madundamela, a.k.a. Bryan Jackson, will combine assorted percussion instruments including marimba with modern digital tape processing and slides of nature and primitive art to take listeners on an original musical odyssey titled “People of the Lake.” The second half of the evening will feature a variety of music, with Madundamela joined by fellow musician Zopilote. A demo tape indicates Madundamela leans more toward natural acoustic sounds than electronic gamesmanship. The music is ethereal and evocative and should go well with the images.
With his own band The Cradit Union, saxophonist Rod Cradit plays “country club music” for a living. But this Sunday night from 6 to 10 at the Salmon House restaurant on Mission Bay, Cradit will join fellow sax man Gary LeFebvre for some serious straight-ahead jazz. Cradit plans to lean heavily on baritone sax, especially on several of his favorite Gerry Mulligan tunes. Cradit and LeFebvre have an excellent rapport, with LeFebvre taking the melodies while Cradit adds harmonies. They’ll be joined by pianist Bob Hamilton, bassist Tom Azarello and drummer Barry Farrar.
RIFF: San Diego’s Fattburger gets a page in the January issue of Jazziz magazine. About the band’s newest album “TimeWill Tell,” Michael Gam writes, “. . . on the title track (guitarist Steve) Laury displays some snappy, Eric Gale-type rubber bands. (Singer Carl) Evans’ Wonderisms shine on the song “Golden Girl,” which he also sings. His “Oh, Girl” is a very smooth urban/contemporary ballad.”