Max Schlenk - John Chacona writes

Just Another Band From Cleveland

Published 28 October, 2026 By John Chacona

“Black and orange? I’ve always liked those colors, you know. And when everything turns black and orange, I feel very comfortable. I like the pumpkin as a vegetable. I think that it’s a wonderful invention. And I’m into it, you know,”

That’s Frank Zappa’s response to a question about Halloween in a cringeworthy CBS interview conducted on Oct. 31, 1983. It’s hard to know whether he was being sincere or trolling the clueless interviewer because . . . well, he’s Frank Zappa. But taking him at his word, let’s assume that the Father of the Mothers of Invention would be secretly tickled about Saturday’s Schlenk Zappa tribute concert at BOP STOP.

But you never know.

At Rubber City Jazz & Blues Fest, A Big Night Of Big Bands

Published 8 September, 2026 By John Chacona

*The Sam Blakeslee Large Group at BLU Jazz+*

The 2026 Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which begins Thursday, is big: three days, five venues and 18 events. It has a big-name headliner, too in contemporary jazz master Gerald Albright who will top a double bill with Althea René at Lock 3 on Saturday, Sept. 12. But the biggest noise of the festival presented by Open Tone Music might be the one that a pair of big—or biggish—bands will make in the normally hushed confines of Akron’s Main Library.

The bands are under the leadership of trombonist and composer Sam Blakeslee, who will present music from his Large Group’s recording, New Blood, which will be released Sept. 25 on BJU Records, and Chris Coles, who has convened an 11-piece orchestra to play “The Way of The Sly Man,” a multi-part work composed by the late bassist and educator Dave Morgan.

All Is Sound In Ben Tweedt’s Tribute To Hermeto Pascoal

Published 11 November, 2025 By John Chacona

When the protean Brazilian producer/arranger/composer/instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal died in September at age 89, obituary writers were challenged to find someone to compare him to (maybe Prince came closest). Hermeto, as he was invariably known, summed up his musical philosophy as tudo é som, “all is sound.” No wonder his nickname was o Bruxo, the Sorcerer.

As a student at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, pianist Ben Tweedt came under Hermeto’s spell, an enchantment that inspired an evening of the master’s compositions at BOP STOP Saturday evening.

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Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO, March 7 – 13

Published 7 March, 2024 By John Chacona

*Artemis (clockwise from bottom left:) Nicole Glover, Allison Miller, Noriko Ueda, Ingrid Jensen and Renee Rosnes)*

Friendly Experiencers,

Oops!…I did it again! Last week came and went without a Countdown, and it was a big week of shows, too. Once again, real life intervened (TLDR: we’re preparing to move). Mea culpa, But on to the good news: an early spring efflorescence of musical excellence, and all in the next seven days. Just look at this lineup!

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A Free Outdoor Jazz Festival Swings The Doors Open In Hingetown

Published 30 August, 2023 By John Chacona

With its high blue skies, comfortable temperatures, clambakes and promises of a Super Bowl season for the Browns, it’s hard to imagine how September in Northeast Ohio could possibly be better—though a free outdoor jazz festival might be a nice start.

Wish granted. Make way for the inaugural Hingetown Jazz Festival Saturday, Sept. 2.

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Tag: Max Schlenk

Just Another Band From Cleveland

At Rubber City Jazz & Blues Fest, A Big Night Of Big Bands

All Is Sound In Ben Tweedt’s Tribute To Hermeto Pascoal

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO, March 7 – 13

A Free Outdoor Jazz Festival Swings The Doors Open In Hingetown