Have you noticed? After a cold and rainy June, all of a sudden, the garden has exploded with activity. The herbs have shot up. New roses bloom daily, a Jackson Pollock action painting of color.
The rain and the sun and the heat (sooooo much heat!) have done the same for the NEO jazz scene as the next seven days are a greenhouse of compelling shows, any one of which would be worth 600 words.. But I’ll spare you that and instead offer the first harvest (the second drops tomorrow) of a guide to the week’s bouquet of music.
Carmen Castaldi, Garrett Folger, Philip Metres, Joe Tomino
Thursday, July 10 6 p.m.
Cleveland Liberation Center, 9801 Denison Ave., donation
A lot of us are having conversations lately about the state of the country and the world. Drummer Carmen Castaldi and trumpeter Garrett Folger are no exception, and when their conversation turned to the peril that refugees and new Americans now confront, words turned to action as Folger organized this benefit for the Refugee Services Collaborative Of Greater Cleveland. “Since Donald Trump’s re-election, they’ve really gotten kind of overextended, and so they set up an emergency fund, basically to help cover all of the added costs that have come about in the past few months,” Folger said.
Donations made at the event will support that emergency fund. Castaldi and Folger will play as a duo, Tomino will offer a solo performance and Metres will read his poetry. Bring your checkbook, of course but, Folger added. “Bring your presence. I think that’s the most important thing.”
Dan Bruce and Dan Wilson
Thursday, July 10 7 p.m.
BOP STOP, 2920 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, tickets
Dan Bruce is a Swiss Army Knife of guitarists. On any given night, you can hear him playing Italian folk music with Alla Boara, big band jazz with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra or fusion with his Ohm! Trio. But it’s rare to hear him play standards.
That makes Thursday’s two-guitar concert with Dan Wilson an unusually intriguing proposition. And that goes for Bruce, too. “I’m usually playing everybody’s original music,” he said. “But at the same time, I think any modern player worth their weight has spent time with the standards and the tradition. So I love playing standards gigs.”
He loves playing with Wilson, too. “You know He’s just a master at playing all of that material. So for me, it’s really fun playing with him. It’s a challenge just to keep up with him. He’s a monster.”
Bobby Selvaggio Trio
Thursday, July 10 7 p.m.
Bar Phoenix, 205 South Main St. Akron, free
Jazz fans and players in Akron cherish fond memories of Baxter’s Bar and its memorable jam sessions. Though Baxter’s closed a while ago, it has risen from the (figurative) ashes as Bar Phoenix and that caught the attention of saxophonist Bobby Selvaggio, “This has given me an opportunity to curate a Thursday jazz night and help support the scene by giving musicians an opportunity to play creative jazz music once a month or once every couple months.,” Selvaggio said. It’s an experiment, in other words, but the early reception has been encouraging. “And it’s actually a pretty cool place for this exact thing.”
Suma Sessions: Brad Wagner, Garrett Folger and The Engine Room (Warren/Plank/Rupp)
Friday, July 11, 7 p.m.
Suma Recording Studio, 5706 Vrooman Rd., Painesville, tickets
One of jazz’s enduring cliches is this one: Records are fine, but to appreciate the music, you have to hear it live. And it’s true, but what about hearing a recording while its being made and then getting a copy of the session?
That very cool proposition is the idea behind Suma Sessions, a series of multi-genre in-studio performances that will also become recordings. Michael Seifert, the studio’s owner and audio engineer, got the idea when he looked at how bands and artists use crowdfunding apps to fund recording projects. “Those companies all take a percentage off the top,” Seifert said.
“My idea was more like, what if there was crowdfunding, but instead of just some perk that’s mailed to you, you’re actually at the recording session–and you got a story to tell out of it. Then when the record comes out, it’s like, ‘wow, that record was made in front of me.” Suma’s first jazz recording is a classic quintet session with a front line of Folger and saxophonist Brad Wagner and the CJO’s Engine Room rhythm section of Jackie Warren on piano, bassist Aidan Plank and Jim Rupp on drums.
It’s a different experience than going to like just a live show or something where there’s a PA,” Seifert said. “It’s more like sitting down and putting your headphones on and dropping the needle on one of your favorite records, but it sounds like a record already while it’s happening.”
NOTE: This article was written by a real human being. No artificial intelligence or generative language models were used in its creation.
Don’t comply in advance,
jc
