The Blue Wisp - ready to show off their new digs

Happy New Year!

If you thought its been awhile since you've seen a Jazz Half Bulletin, you're not mistaken. We hope everyone has had a safe and wonderful Holiday season. As we all know, a new year brings new beginnings, fresh starts, and renewed hope.

While we all look forward to 2012 with optimism, certain events occur early on, causing the year to take shape, and gives us an encouraging sign of what's to come.

Such an event happens this week. The Jazz Half would like to congratulate The Blue Wisp Jazz Club with its successful relocation, and opening. The Blue Wisp is now located at 700 Race Street, at the corner of Race and Seventh. I don't have to tell you that this is HUGE. Now located near the center of downtown, very close to hotels and shops, and in the path of abundant foot traffic, the Blue Wisp has solidified its place as Cincinnati's Premium venue for live music going on 34 years strong. But wait, there's more.

Accompanying the new digs will be a new full service restaurant, with outdoor dining, an expanded bar, and the opportunity to join their new VIP membership club.

The club opens this Friday, with live music at 4:30. Come downtown and check out what the Blue Wisp has to offer. This club is making some great efforts to continue supporting musicians and live music here in the Queen City. Help them out by dropping in and seeing some of their many shows featuring local, regional, national, and international Artists. See you there!

The Neophonic Music of Stan Kenton

The distinct, artistic vision of Stan Kenton was one of many attributes he possessed as a musician, composer, arranger, and band leader.

By World War II, when many musicians were called to serve and lots of big bands were dissolving, Kenton aimed to lead a concert orchestra accented with high-note trumpeters and thick-toned tenors. Kenton-organized groups include his first band, Artistry in Rhythm, in 1941, 19 and 39-piece bands in the 1950's, and a mellophonium band in the 1960's. His self-described style of "Progressive Jazz" has enjoyed success with Grammy Award winning albums "Adventures in Jazz" and "West Side Story".

A strong advocate for music education, Stan Kenton has been widely recognized as an innovator, composing advanced harmonies over the standard big band swing sound. To this day, the "Kenton Style" continues to be studied in jazz clinics in both high school and collegiate levels.

On Saturday November 5th, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra celebrates the Neophonic Music of Stan Kenton - circa 1960's. This extraordinary event takes place at the Florence Baptist Church at Mt. Zion; in Florence, KY. The show starts at 8:00pm, and tickets are $28, $23, $18 (seniors), and $10 (students).

Now here's where the good news gets better:

To order tickets, visit www.kyso.org, or call 859.431.6216. As a member of the Jazz Half Inner Circle, When placing your order, specify offer code "JH2011" and get $5.00 off each ticket!

The KSO is under the direction of James Cassidy. The KSO and this event is in association with the Arts Wave and the Kentucky Arts Council.

- jh

Coming in August: It's Commonly Jazz

The Fifth Third "It's Commonly Jazz" series returns to the Queen City for its 26th year of presenting quality jazz that is free to the public.

Over the years, this wonderful event has featured some of the most accomplished jazz musicians from around the world. Also returning is the "Going Green" and sustainability theme, with T-Shirts and other promotional items made with organic and recycled materials. The organizers and sponsors of It's Commonly Jazz are extremely passionate about the sustainable efforts to help preserve the earth.

With love for our environment also comes love for the music, with a magnificent lineup:

Aug. 4th - WOW, presented by Jazz Alive
Aug. 11th - Dixie Karas Sextet
Aug. 18th - Kenny Phelps Quartet
Aug. 25th - Tim Warfield & the Unusual Suspects

Each show runs from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. For more information, visit www.itscommonlyjazz.com then come to the Seasongood Pavillion to hear some outstanding music!

Also, to see what the fun is all about, visit the Jazz Half's YouTube channel for video footage from the previous two years. This is one event that is truly friendly for the entire family, as well as the environment!

- jh

Business and Fun: Charlie Hunter maximizes his show at Molly Malones

Charlie Hunter has the ability to have fun and relax, in seamless fashion, all the while working. As the show opened on the 2nd floor of Molly Malone’s in Covington, he wasted no time diving into the music; as he and Drummer Derek Phillips played four tunes before verbally addressing the audience. But ah, this is what true enthusiasts of Hunter’s music expect; for the substance of any show is in the music. For the entire evening, he may have shared two, maybe three song titles with the audience.

The stage had a warm, cozy feel to it, in a sort of unplugged way. Whether seeing him for the first time, or the 50th time, there is no mistaking the fact that Charlie has a genuine love for what he does. He connects with the audience from more than a social level, but a musical level as well. On every tune, Charlie and Derek demonstrated “call and response”, exchanging playful sneers, smiles, and even cheerful shouts while non-verbally inviting the audience to join in the fun of the great music experience. Charlie’s custom 7 and 8-string guitars equips him for utilizing his magnificent technique of simultaneously carrying the bass line and lead melody. This was truly something to take in live, for appreciating the intricate skill and dexterity required - translating to what you see and hear; as one Guitarist delivers the sound of two, and at times three.

Just before the end of the first set, the duo performed Copperopolis, a blues-driven, crowd-pleasing tune they recorded in New Orleans just 1 week before the Hurricane Katrina devastation occurred.

A refreshing move happened at the start of the 2nd set, where Charlie and Derek were seen approaching the stage; and what sounded like a warm-up, actually a crescendo into the unannounced opening number (Well played, in my book - the move, AND the music). The delivery in the 2nd set continued in the same vein as the first, light, fun, and as relaxed as Charlie’s black boots, jeans, and loose flannel.

The duo closed with the title track from Charlie’s 2005 release, Gentlemen, I neglected to inform you will not be getting paid, a tune that travels through jazz, blues, and borderline bluegrass. And with a much-demanded encore, Charlie and Derek returned to wind things down with Smoke gets in your eyes.

Charlie and Derek struck a balance on all their tunes. The up-tempo numbers were alive and driving, evidenced by unison claps and people dancing on the far ends of the 2nd story hall; while slower tempo tunes were delivered with a seductive groove that roped in the audience, never dull or drifting.

Musicians of today cite inspiration (among other things) from legends of yesterday. But what makes a legend? Early in their careers have any of these "legends" pick up their instrument to play, with the aspiration of becoming a legend? I choose to think not. The focus and energy has always been on the music, driven by passion.

With Charlie Hunter's passion for the music, and brilliance of craft, he is sure to be mentioned for generations to come.

- jh

The Jazz Half Interview with Charlie Hunter

The Jazz Half talked with dynamic Guitarist Charlie Hunter via phone to chat about custom guitars, a pure music sound, and his latest release, Public Domain.

jh: For the benefit of Cincinnati getting to know Charlie Hunter, tell us a little about your earlier years; where you’re from, and how you were introduced to music.
ch: Well, I grew up in Berkeley, CA, and my mom repaired guitars so I was always around guitars. She listened to a lot of old blues music, that was always on the radio. I just grew up around a lot of musical people.

jh: You regularly play 6,7, and 8-string guitars that are custom built, right? When did you first consider a custom designed guitar, and does it contribute to your distinct sound?
ch: I played 6-string when I was younger. I’ve played the 7 and 8-strings for the last 20 years. And they’re custom-made for what I do. So it’s a whole different animal, and I’ve been practicing and working on it and the more I practice, the more I retool it and change the tuning, the farther and farther away it gets from being a bass or guitar.

jh: Tell me about your latest release, “Public Domain”. Most of these are tunes from an earlier time, correct?
ch: Oh yeah, some of these are 100 years old. I had my Grandfather pick these tunes. As a matter of fact, he’s going to be 100 in about 2 weeks. So it was pretty cool to involve him in that.

jh: I wanted to ask you this next question from an Independent Artist’ perspective. Do you feel that technology has increased the independent artists’ opportunity for success, and do you think the number of independent artists have increased as a result?
ch: Well, yeah, but anybody and their brother’s uncle can make a record in their basement, and everyone is an Artist, but the one thing that holds true today that’s held true for a long time, is the people with the most money are going to be the people who are the most successful, regardless of their talent. Because in our society, if you have money behind you, you can pretty much eclipse everyone else. In my day, it was either you had a lot of money, and you can just keep going and going with your money supply, or you got a “Sugar Daddy” in the form of a record company; and I had the record company sugar daddy to get me from point A to point B. But now that’s not really as big of a factor for someone like me, but generally, whoever has the most money, wins.

jh: Some of your projects (including Public Domain) have consisted of very little or no editing, and “Gentlemen, I regret to inform you…” was recorded in mono (?). While the sound can be enhanced with certain tools, is there some element in the purity of the sound that is robbed by these same tools? What are your thoughts?
ch: I just think it depends on the people wielding them, and what you want to get out of it. For me, I personally just like playing with a live band, in a studio, with as few really great mics as possible, live to tape. That’s my favorite sound for that. There are people who use ProTools, spend weeks mixing then come up with some really cool stuff that you can’t get recording the other way. So it just depends on the end result you want. Its just technology. Content is everything, and medium can only help you enhance the content.

jh: Complete this sentence: Jazz music may not be as popular as mainstream, but it continues to ___________ .
ch: Oh, I wouldn’t even start with that sentence (laughs). I think that sentence might have been germane 20, 30 years ago. Now, I don’t think it’s really germane at all. I think in place of “jazz” you would just say “music”; ‘cause we kinda live in a post-music society, where music is a very small part of a delivery system for a much larger pop-icon industry. There’s very little music behind it, if you listen to the stuff that’s out today. You know back in the day, your 14-18 market was always your biggest market. But now its pretty much the only market and the other markets are so tiny, as to almost be ignored. So its really music, its not just jazz music.

jh: Charlie, thanks so much for your time, I really appreciate it.
ch: And thank you for yours, I appreciate it as well.

- jh

What's up, John?

Last month, the Xavier University Jazz Ensemble released "What's up, John?" a compilation of tunes performed by the group under John DeFoor's direction between the years of 2008 and 2010. John passed away in May of 2010, and is far from forgotten (click here for the
Jazz Half May 2010 article).

The CD contains popular numbers played by the ensemble like "Senor Blues", "Sir Duke", and more. Throughout the liner notes, you will find messages to John from the students that are both heartfelt and humorous. A BIG thanks to Sue Brown-DeFoor for coordinating the effort of putting this fabulous project together. The Jazz Ensemble recently played with the XU Faculty Jazztet in a first-time-ever collaborative performance. Click here to see footage from the show.

- jh

The Jazz Half recommends: "The Search Within" - Sean Jones

My first encounter with the music of Sean Jones came about a few years ago in a Chicago bookstore. An unexplainable feeling of relaxed contentment overcame me as I heard "Allison", a tune from his 2007 Kaleidoscope album (Mack Avenue Records). Romantically endearing, I was captivated by the tune, and wanted to hear more from this extraordinary Trumpeter and Composer. Here enters "The Search Within", Jones' 2009 release, and fifth release as a bandleader (all under the Mack Avenue label). One of the tracks is "Life Cycles", a fluid and pleasing number with a relaxed feel. But don't let the two aforementioned songs fool you; Jones also throws down and kicks in the spice, as demonstrated in "Transitions" and "The Storm".

An Ohio native, Sean Jones is also a lead trumpeter for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by Wynton Marsalis. In 2004, he became the Music Professor at Duquesne University.

You will thoroughly enjoy Jones' clean, pure sound. His tracks are wonderfully arranged, with a straight-ahead vibe that is classy and rich.

Visit his website (www.seanjonesmusic.com) or iTunes for a copy of The Search Within.

- jh