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Tag: Joe Tomino

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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Nothing But Flowers, Part 1

Published 8 July, 2025 By John Chacona

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.

Read moreNothing But Flowers, Part 1
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“Blue-Collar” Joshua Smith Comes Home With A Solid Gold Band

Published 6 May, 2025 By John Chacona

If you know Joshua Smith only through his exploratory work with the cooperative trio Birth, you might be surprised to learn, as I did, that the saxophonist has a thriving practice playing straightahead jazz. His Friday concert at BOP STOP won’t be a standards gig, but it will show a side of the 45-year-old saxophonist that might surprise some fans.

Read more“Blue-Collar” Joshua Smith Comes Home With A Solid Gold Band
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Countdown: What To Do, Where To Go & What To Hear, Oct. 26 – Nov. 1

Published 26 October, 2023 By John Chacona
Bryan Kennard

When this writer worked in the hospitality industry, we had a name for Halloween: Amateur Night. Normally this would serve as a warning to pursue domestic entertainments until it’s safe to go out again. But what if “going out” is more treat than trick? This week’s candy necklace of events will test that notion with a variety of fun-size gigs and not a kernel of candy corn among them (though the late Carla Bley’s “King Korn” would be great addition to a spooky setlist).

Read moreCountdown: What To Do, Where To Go & What To Hear, Oct. 26 – Nov. 1
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