Skip to content

Tag: BLU Jazz+

Stephen Philip Harvey Is A Music Meister of the Multiversal

Stephen Philip Harvey is a composer, arranger, instrumentalist, label executive, educator and beginning several months ago, a radio host—a kind of superhero of music. He’s also a fan of superhero comics. So when I spoke with him recently, I asked him which superhero he most identifies with.

“There was this villain that was played by Neil Patrick Harris on ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold,’” Harvey said from his office at the radio station. “His name was the Music Meister.” That character used the power of music to achieve world domination.

While Harvey acknowledged that, “that would be a cool power. I’d love that,” his superpower is bringing people together through music, which is what he will do Friday night at BOP STOP and Saturday at BLU Jazz+ when his Stephen Philip Harvey Jazz Orchestra celebrates the release of its latest album Multiversal: Live at BOP STOP.

Comments closed

A Big Week In NEO For Little Big Bands (And A Big Big Band)

Bobby Selvaggio and Stephen Philip Harvey

Why are these men smiling?

At the poker table a pair of eights is nothing to get excited about, but on the jazz calendar it’s a winning hand. And NEO is holding it this week thanks to a pair of concerts–both tied to upcoming recordings–featuring dynamic octets led by Stephen Philip Harvey and Bobby Selvaggio.

Comments closed

Two Bands + Two New Releases = Three Shows in NEO

In the circular economy of jazz, new recordings are supported by album release tours or shows and those performances in turn create a market for the recordings. Just how this works is on display this week as concerts by pianist Ben Tweedt and saxophonist Matthew Alec, two artists with ties to northeast Ohio, celebrate the releases of their latest recordings.

Comments closed

Nothing But Flowers, Part 2

Jazz goes on and on. It never ends.

Vinnie Sperazza invokes that mantra often in Chronicles, his big-hearted and essential Substack. And it’s true! Just look at the variety of shows by local and touring musicians in the four days beginning Thursday. And while I’m here, I need to give some love to Jim Szabo whose weekly jazz calendar for WRUW is the menu from which I order. To get your own copy, visit the link at the end of this piece.

The menu analogy is no accident. Like food, music is best enjoyed in company. It’s a social activity, after all. And if you haven’t left the nest in a while, spread those wings and fly off to one of the many jazz events in our area this weekend. Below are four you might want to consider.

On and on.

Comments closed