Zaire Darden - John Chacona writes

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO June 6-13

Published 7 June, 2024 By John Chacona

Friendly experiencers,

Forget the headline of this post. The question this week is how to decide where to go & what to hear Friday night. Between an A-list Jamey Haddad quartet hit, a night of Roma jazz in beautiful CVNP and a powerhouse band led by saxophonist John Petrucelli, that’s a tall order. And that’s only if you won’t be at The Treelawn for Fred Hersch (see you there?). Still, this is a good problem to have and there is no wrong answer to this question. Whichever you choose, let me know what you heard and how you liked it. I’ll open the comments to this post, but please keep it clean and respectful.

‘Nine Lives,’ Chris Coles’ Magnum Opus, Gets New Life

Published 15 May, 2024 By John Chacona

After my freelance music gig for a newspaper in Erie, Pennsylvania had vanished in 2020 and I had moved to Cleveland, I resolved to document the local jazz scene, one that was all but ignored by media outlets in northeast Ohio. Good people making interesting music is catnip to a culture reporter, and I found a subject right away.

This was Chris Coles whose “Nine Lives” project became the first post in my documentary project covering the local scene. That was November 2021. Now, 30 months later “Nine Lives” is back for a performance Friday at Tri-C. And just like a familiar melody that is transformed by a master improvisor, Coles’ magnum opus returns reimagined as a new work.

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Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO May 9-15

Published 9 May, 2024 By John Chacona

Friendly experiencers,

It’s Thursday and the Countdown is back on its normal schedule. Order has been restored. The concert lineup was thinned a bit by the cancellation of the Christian Sands gig at The Treelawn, but just look at the variety of offerings below: a big band session with vocalist, hard-blowing sextet and a free improv legend. Who says the NEO scene is one-dimensional?

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Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO April 18-25

Published 18 April, 2024 By John Chacona

Friendly experiencers,

A reaction to a COVID booster swamped my Tuesday preview (staying healthy is making me sick!) and a badly timed security certificate expiration wiped out my Wednesday. So to make up, it’s time for an expanded Thursday Countdown–not that I needed an excuse because the coming week is high-key loaded with notable jazz events. Touring artists and local luminaries alike await your appreciative ears and enthusiastic applause. So take a portion of that tax refund check (you DID get those done, right?) and head out to a club or concert hall near you and make the momentum happen.

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Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO April 11-17

Published 11 April, 2024 By John Chacona

*The Jazz-Bins, (from left) Joe Dyson, Marc Ribot, Greg Lewis*

Friendly experiencers,

Monday’s Great Celestial Gig In The Sky is going to be hard to top. On the other hand, NEO jazz fans don’t have to wait 200 years for next big show to arrive, April is Jazz Appreciation Month, and there’s much to appreciate in the area’s clubs, concert halls and other venues. Here are four such shows, all filled with blindingly original and exciting players. File your taxes, mow the lawn and reward yourself with the best music Northeast Ohio has to offer.

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Tag: Zaire Darden

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO June 6-13

‘Nine Lives,’ Chris Coles’ Magnum Opus, Gets New Life

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO May 9-15

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO April 18-25

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO April 11-17