Skip to content

Tag: Cain Park

Newcomer Emma Hedrick Is Making A Career On Her Own Terms

Published 5 August, 2025 By John Chacona
Emma Hedrick

If jazz is dead, as so many fans like to think, somebody forgot to tell the singers, so many of who have lately emerged on the scene. For years, their playbook was simple: record an album of songbook standards with a trio, preferably with some name players, and wait for the phone to ring.

Not Emma Hedrick who will make her BOP STOP debut Thursday. All 10 songs on Newcomer, her debut recording released last Friday, are original compositions. Aside from producer Peter Eldridge who appears on two selections, the biggest name among the 16 musicians credited might belong to Connor Rohrer, 25, whom cognoscenti might recognize as Samara Joy’s pianist at Cain Park last August.

Read moreNewcomer Emma Hedrick Is Making A Career On Her Own Terms
Comments closed

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO Aug. 22 – 28

Published 22 August, 2024 By John Chacona
Samara Joy
Samara Joy

Friendly experiencers,

An experiment this week: I’m issuing Countdown as a video-only post. Let’s see how it works. What do you think?

I couldn’t live without Jim Szabo’s essential, weekly Northeast Ohio jazz calendar , NEO’s most complete list of jazz and jazz-adjacent events. If you haven’t visited it lately, what are you waiting for?

NOTE: This article was written by a real human being. No artificial intelligence or generative language models were used in its creation.

Red beans and ricely yours,

jc

JJA bug
John Chacona
Leave a Comment

Countdown: Your Planning Guide for Music August 24-31

Published 24 August, 2023 By John Chacona

It’s going to be a great weekend for music in NEO, but where to start? Countdown gets you ready with a roundup of some of the most notable music events that you might want to check out. Think of it as your every-Thursday planning guide to a weekend of music and good times.

George Benson, Friday, Aug. 25, 8 p.m., Cain Park, Cleveland Heights

Given his chart success as a vocalist, it’s easy to forget just how much jazz guitar George Benson can play when the spirit moves him. Whether that spirit will be with him at Cain Park is an open question. The smart money will be on a medley of hits with maybe one familiar burner to remind us all that the old man (Benson is 80) can bring the fire that lit up Pittsburgh’s Hill District six decades ago.

Read moreCountdown: Your Planning Guide for Music August 24-31
Comments closed

Countdown: Your Planning Guide for Music August 17-23

Published 17 August, 2023 By John Chacona

It’s going to be a great weekend for music in NEO, but where to start? Countdown gets you ready with a roundup of some of the most notable music events that you might want to check out. Think of it as your every-Thursday planning guide to a weekend of music and good times.

 

Keigo Hirakawa Trio, Thursday, Aug. 17, 7 p.m., BOP STOP, Cleveland

It would be convenient to describe Keigo Hirakawa as an academic who plays piano as a hobby, but after one listen to Dr. Hirakawa (he’s professor of electrical and computer engineering college at the University of Dayton) charge through postbop changes, it’s apparent that he could have gone pro in jazz. And he has with a new record, Pixel (Origin Records), that dropped in June. To celebrate the release, Hirakawa will rip it up with bassist Eddie Brookshire and drummer Reggie Jackson.

Read moreCountdown: Your Planning Guide for Music August 17-23
Comments closed

This Is New: Trading Fours

Published 25 July, 2023 By John Chacona

Friendly Experiencers,

Because my interview with this week’s feature artist fell through, I decided to improvise and do something different. Instead of stuffing the Trading Fours roundup of capsule event previews at the end of a 700-word feature article, today they’re the main event. Short and sweet. I’m going to open the comments for this post so you can tell me if you like it or think this should be a one-and-done. 

Dan Bruce :beta collective with Alyssa Boyd, Cain Park, Tuesday, July 25

In the language of software developers, a beta project is one that is in development. That’s a pretty good description of the jazz playbook, too, especially as practiced by Lakewood guitarist Dan Bruce. His :beta collective balances a mutable blend of electric and acoustic instruments, composition and improvisation, jazz and prog rock influences. For the latest iteration of his tinkerer’s project in sound, Bruce has added a new wrinkle: the voice of Alyssa Boyd. That makes for an intriguing proposition for us musical beta testers, and as part of the free concert series supported by the Local 4 Music Fund, you can’t beat the price.

Read moreThis Is New: Trading Fours
Leave a Comment