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Tag: Jamey Haddad

It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter . . .

Published 17 February, 2026 By John Chacona

Summer’s sudden arrival in northeast Ohio has everybody emerging from their deep-winter isolation and hitting the streets. Cabin fever is breaking for national and touring jazz artists, too, and they are hitting area stages en masse this week.

With so many worthwhile shows in the next seven days, I’ll offer a kind of consumer’s guide to where to go and who to hear. There’s a wide range of music on offer this week; you really can’t go wrong with any of these shows.

Countdown . . .

Read moreIt’s been a long, cold, lonely winter . . .
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For Saxophonist Bruno Every Time On Stage Is Show Time

Published 2 December, 2025 By John Chacona
Anthony Bruno

Growing up in Chicago with a father who played old-school rock and blues, saxophonist Anthony Bruno got an early immersion in the grind of the working musician.

“Whether it was in rehearsal spaces, bars, festivals, green rooms, recording rooms– that was just my life,” he said. “So when I would hang out and talk to other kids in school they’d be like, ‘What did you do this weekend?’ I’m like, ‘I was at this festival, then this rehearsal, and this thing,’ and they’re like, ‘What is that?’ I was like, ‘Oh! That’s not what every kid does all the time?’”

It’s what Bruno does all the time, and increasingly, in Cleveland where he will lead a high-powered quartet at BOP STOP Friday.

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Joe Lovano Returns Home With An Homage On His Mind

Published 17 September, 2025 By John Chacona

If you were a northeast Ohio native who would be returning for a visit in September, the most glorious month here, your itinerary would probably include family gatherings, clambakes, forest bathing in the Metroparks ,and if you have a strong stomach, maybe a Browns game. Even a local legend like Joe Lovano might have those on his vaca to-do list. But this September to remember, he’s making memories in a different–and more consequential–way.

The eminent saxophonist and composer is establishing an endowed fund to support merit-based scholarships for students in the J@MS (Jazz at The Music Settlement) program, and kicking off the effort with a concert, celebration and hang at BOP STOP called Joe Lovano: Family & Friends

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Two Bands + Two New Releases = Three Shows in NEO

Published 22 July, 2025 By John Chacona

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.

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Friday At The Treelawn: A Major TRIAD Sounds

Published 23 July, 2024 By John Chacona
TRIAD - Christian Tamburr, Dominick Farinacci and Michael Ward-Bergeman with Jamey Haddad

You never know what might happen at a debut gig. Surprises are all but guaranteed when a band takes the stage for the first time, but for TRIAD, the collective of Dominick Farinacci, Christian Tamburr and Michael Ward-Bergeman, the biggest surprise came at load-in.

“Gianni Valenti, the owner of Birdland, gave me three nights,” Farinacci recalled. “I said, ‘I still want to do it under my name but have TRIAD because it’ll be a great experience.” Valenti agreed, but a few months later when the band arrived at the storied New York club, Valenti bellowed “What the hell is this instrumentation? Where is the bass player?”

There wasn’t one. And when TRIAD loads in to The Treelawn Music Hall Friday, there won’t be a bass player just Farinacci on trumpet, vibes and marimba by Tamburr and Ward-Bergeman’s accordion.

Read moreFriday At The Treelawn: A Major TRIAD Sounds
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