Global
Events
Nick Langan's Concert Accounts
E-mail Nick
ijazzglobal.com New Year's Eve
Celebration featuring Nick Colionne and Zoé
As
the first decade of the 21st century came to a
close, a splendid celebration brought in 2010 at the Embassy Suites
Hotel in
Philadelphia. Michael
Tozzi’s
ijazzglobal.com proudly presented performances by leading contemporary
jazz
guitarist Nick Colionne and the rapidly up-and-coming group Zoé, an ideal way for any jazz-lover
to ring in the New Year. The
well-attended event featured over 260 people in attendance, supporting
ijazzglobal.com’s goal to Protect the Dream.
The
evening began with a silent auction with several tables
filled of outstanding items, ranging from autographed guitars by
contemporary
jazz artists, to show tickets, artwork, and even a splendid saxophone
lamp,
courtesy of Illumnatunes. A
fine three-course
dinner was also served, prepared by the folks at the Embassy Suites,
with a
choice of Chicken Marsala, Salmon, or Penne Vodka to the patrons. The soundtrack to the
dinner was provided by
the Tony Vattimo trio, who performed lovely renditions of familiar
contemporary
jazz tunes like George Benson’s “Affirmation” and Spyro Gyra’s
“Catching the
Sun”. The music
made the dinner even
tastier.
After
the dinner and the winners of the silent auction were
announced, the event moved over to the Embassy ballroom, where Michael
Tozzi
brought Nick Colionne and his band onto the stage.
The audience was
already in a celebratory
mood an hour before the clock would strike midnight on 2009 and Nick
and his
band brought everyone into a frenzy, with his killer tracks “No Limits”
and
“High Flyin’”. Nick
also demonstrated
he’s no one-trick pony, showing off his vocal skills on renditions of
“Rainy
Night in Georgia” and James Brown’s “Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex
Machine”,
as well as the heartwarming, “I Melt Into You”.
A few minutes before
midnight, a feed from Times Square in New York was
shown via a projector to the ballroom crowd.
Nick led the
anticipating patrons in a countdown as the ball dropped and
the year 2010 began in style.
Later
on, the six-member band Zoé
performed to the still joyous audience and continued the
tremendous night of music. The
Philly-area group had people dancing in the aisles of the ballroom and
displayed why their latest album, “Let’s Fly”, is making major noise in
the
contemporary jazz realm. Songs
like “The
Groove”, “Another Day” and “Swing, Zoé,
Swing” were the perfect way to close out the action-packed event.
It
was great seeing all of the fans of ijazzglobal.com and
this wonderful music at the Embassy.
What a great way to
bring in the New Year. Have
a safe and happy 2010, and keep
listening and supporting ijazzglobal.com!
Kenny G at the
Keswick Theater, Thursday June 25
Saxophone superstar Kenny G took the stage at the
Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA for the second straight summer, along
with his five-member band, in front of a near-capacity crowd.
The night was certainly filled with the romantic ballads Kenny is
synonymous with, including his major hits "Silhouette", "Forever In
Love", "Songbird", "Havana", and his duet through the help of
technology with Louis Armstrong, "What A Wonderful World", in which he
added a nice touch showing video of Louis singing the words to the song
during the performance. But many other segments of the show
were filled with energy, including two separate times when Kenny played
his sax while moving throughout the audience, during his tunes "Home"
and "All In One Night".
Kenny showed off a sense of humor throughout the
show and the camaraderie he had with the other members of his longtime
band was displayed throughout, especially percussionist extraordinaire
and Philadelphia native Ron Powell, whom the audience thoroughly got a
kick out of. While he wasn't pestering Kenny, Ron showed off
his most impressive chops on the drums. He was banging them
so emphatically during his solo it was a wonder that it wasn't
painful. High school era pictures of each band member were
shown to the crowd, with Kenny's saved for last, enducing more
laughs.
Later in the show Kenny played several songs off
his most recent project, "Rhythm+Romance", including "Tango",
"Sax-o-Loco", and the title track. He then proceeded to give
away a saxophone from his own line of such instruments to a lucky
couple in the audience. After he selected a name out of a box
he invited the couple on stage and serenaded them with a ballad on the
very saxophone they would be receiving.
Kenny had just recently returned from a tour across
Europe and is continuing with 25 more upcoming dates through next
February across the U.S. and worldwide spots such as Puerto Rico,
Trinidad, and Chile.
Guitars & Saxes at the
Keswick Theater, Friday June 5
The
June night started unseasonably cool in Glenside, PA, but things
quickly heated up inside the quaint Keswick
Theater, as the 2009
Guitars & Saxes tour took centerstage. Saxophonists
Euge
Groove and Jessy J, guitarist Jeff Golub, and keyboardist Jeff Lorber,
four of the bigger names in contemporary jazz today, entertained a
lively crowd. The Philly area-native Lorber got things started with
music from his latest album, "Heard That!", including the catchy tune
"Night Sky". Jeff also took the audience back to his fusion
days
with the upbeat sound of "Toad's Place", and had everyone out of their
seats with his rendition of "Ain't Nobody".
The
dazzling Jessy J was a treat for the eyes but also showed she can play
a mean saxophone. The Keswick crowd instantly recognized the
first few notes of her smash hit, "Tequila Moon", the title track of
her debut release. The lovely latin-influenced, "Sin Ti",
also
from "Tequila Moon", was quite captivating. Jessy also gave
the
crowd a preview of music from her upcoming release, "True
Love".
ijazzglobal.com's
Michael Tozzi with Jeff Golub
 Guitarist
Jeff Golub kept the crowd moving with his groovy renditions of the AWB
tunes "Pick Up The Pieces" and "Cut The Cake", along with a song from
his Avenue Blue days, "Nightlife", and the title track to his album
"Dangerous Curves", which imported the saxophone skills of Jessy J and
Euge Groove perfectly. Later on Jeff slowed down the energy a
little bit with a little Blues sound, with the track "I Wanna Play You
The Blues" from his upcoming Blues-influenced project. The
audience thoroughly enjoyed the moans eminating from Jeff's guitar
toward the end of the piece.
Euge
Groove
meanwhile tore the house down, bringing people to dance throughout the
theater aisles with his funky hits like "Mr. Groove", "Religify", and
"Livin' Large", while turning up the temperature with the seductive
"Sneak A Peek". Euge brought the energy level inside the
theater
to a whole new level. He even awarded a t-shirt to the lady
in
attendance who had the best moves during "Born 2 Groove".
Euge
Groove with ijazzglobal.com's
Michael Tozzi
The
all-star quartet complemented each other very nicely during each
other's performances and the enjoyment they had during the show quickly
spread to the Keswick crowd. All in all, Guitars &
Saxes
transformed a bland, damp June night into a supercharged evening of
music, and we'd highly recommend seeing the show in your neck of the
woods.
Tri-C Jazz Fest - Joe Sample
& Dave Koz, Saturday May 2
A beautiful Spring day in
Northeast Ohio set the stage for the second to
last night of the 30th annual Tri-C Jazz Fest, a Cleveland tradition
beginning in April every year. The event has attracted some
fine
talent over the years, and the lineup was no different this year, with
artists such as Dave Brubeck, George Benson, and Buddy Guy present.
We set our sights on a show with a cast no jazz fan could
deny,
Dave Koz with Joe Sample & Randy Crawford. After a
tasty
italian meal at Cafe Toscano in suburban Aurora, we headed to
Cleveland's Playhouse Square, the second largest theater district in
the country behind only New York. The Allen Theater,
Cleveland's
largest, was the venue for the show, which was sold-out and packed to
capacity.
 Joe
Sample & Randy Crawford were touring together in promotion of
their
new collaborative effort. Randy was ill and could not make
the
performance, so the Joe Sample Trio performed during the first half of
the show, featuring Joe's legendary work on piano and his son, Nicklas,
on bass. Joe performed many of his classics in a traditional
style, including "Rainbow Sweeker", "Souly Creole", "Carmel",
"Spellbound", and "Hippies On A Corner", whose first few notes got an
immediate reaction from the audience. He also added in
renditions
of classics such as "Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You", "Stormy Weather",
and "Little Richard". In between each song, Joe gave the
audience
a brief guided tour of the history of his career, growing up in
Houston, his start as a piano player thanks to his older brother, and
what inspires him to come up with the sound for the songs he has
written over the years. His storytelling and humor mixed in
added
a unique element to the show that the audience enjoyed. Of
course, Joe's piano playing alone was enough to keep everyone
mesmorized, and while we could have taken in his music all night, he
had
to make way for the second act. In closing he told a story about
Miles Davis and how he always wanted to play the first half of a show
so he could get to the bar later that night, which received
hearty laughs from the crowd.
 After
the intermission, Dave Koz and his 5-member band came on stage, quickly
energizing the crowd from the start. Dave immediately remarked about
the enthsuiastic and packed theater and added that it would be hard for
a crowd the rest of his touring year to top the Cleveland audience.
Dave played many of his hits that the audience immediately
recognized, including "Let It Free", "Together Again", "Honey-Dipped",
and "Surrender", along with his two latest singles, "Life In The Fast
Lane", and "Bada Bing". Highlights included during "Can't Let
You
Go" (the Sha La song), where as every veteran attendee of Dave Koz's
shows knows, Dave and his band split the audience into three groups to
sing the "Sha La Las". The crowd got a kick out of the
process.
Dave also brought the theater to total silence during his
performance of "Over The Rainbow", in which he played the song while
walking through the crowd. That was the only moment during
the
performance though where the audience wasn't moving or getting up and
around, as Dave and his band captivated the building, especially
bassist Bill "Rubber Hands" Sharpe. Dave graciously even had
Joe
Sample, before his retreat to his hotel room, come back on stage for a
track. Koz and his friends closed with his signature song,
"You
Make Me Smile", and vowed to return to the Tri-C Jazzfest next year.
Based on the overall audience, it should be an easy decision
for
the folks at Tri-C.
The two acts and the
concert atmosphere made
our trek to Cleveland well worth the trip. The Allen Theater
and
the rest of Cleveland's Playhouse Square offer fine venues to attend
shows. We highly recommend checking out the Tri-C Jazzfest
next
year if you haven't yet attended it.
Berks Jazz Fest - Gerald Albright
& Kirk Whalum "Sax For Stax", Saturday March 28
A
great atmosphere existed inside Reading, PA's Crowne Plaza Hotel
Ballroom for the first weekend at the Berks Jazz Fest, where nary an
empty seat could be found. Two of contemporary jazz's
premiere
saxophonists, Gerald Albright & Kirk Whalum, did not dissapoint
the
crowd. Gerald and Kirk displayed great chemistry together,
joking
around and keeping the crowd lively, making for great entertainment in
addition to the music they performed. Some of the highlights
included Gerald featuring tracks from his most recent project, "Sax For
Stax", as well as Kirk showing off his Gospel side, peforming tracks
from his album, "The Gospel According To Jazz". His spiritual
rendition of "You Are Everything" had the audience mesmorized, as did
his version of Jonathan Butler's song, "Falling In Love With Jesus".
The two saxophonists also paid tribute to their musical
influences, performing a medley of songs from saxophonists such as
Grover Washington Jr., Cannonball Adderley, David Sanborn, and Ronnie
Laws.
Berks Jazz Fest - Chieli Minucci
& Special EFX and special guest Nelson Rangell, Thursday April 2
Chieli
Minucci showed off his guitar mastery at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel
ballroom in front of another full house. Chieli, a frequent
performer at the Berks Jazz Fest, featured longer, less known album
cuts during the show, as he felt the Berks Jazz Fest
audience would welcome and understand such material.
Some of
his popular hits did electrify the crowd however, including his
performances of "Kickin' It Hard" and "Cruise Control", as well as a
lovely rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" that
received a standing ovation. Talented saxophonist and
flautist
Nelson Rangell accompanied Chieli and I was disappointed that
Nelson did not get a chance to perform any of his own material during
the show. Nevertheless, in the opportunities he received to
perform during Chieli's songs, Nelson delivered as
always.
|
