Monday, February 27, 2012

Danny Hull Newsletter: Musically This Week Vol XIV, No 25


Hello friends.  Early Monday evening.  Hope you see this in time to make your plans...

Tuesday, 2/28/2012 at the Iris Restaurant     7:30 - 10:30
Vince Ercolomento, tenor saxophone     John Nyerges, piano     Danny Ziemann, bass     your host, drum set
Some observations just stay with you:  “Dan, your quartet was the highlight of the festival for me”.  That was the gist of an email I received in September 2010.  The reason?  Vince Ercolomento.  I had invited Vince to front a quartet at the Lewiston Jazz Festival that summer, and as Vince and John Nyerges dug in and bared their collective soul, the crowd on the street just kept growing.  Before too long we had a main stage audience at a side venue.  It was amazing!  And all because Vince only knows one way to play.  He reaches back to his hard bop roots and his days as a student of the renown George Coleman, and he brings it.  A huge sound, a relentlessly swinging concept, and an encyclopedic mind for tunes, Vince plays his horn like he’s living his last day.  If Vince were an athlete, you’d have to put two men on him…  So join us, please.  We’re saving you the drive and bringing the Rochester School of Groove to the Iris.  You'll find us at the intersection of Maple & Sweet Home Roads in Amherst.  Good music, good food, good people, chilled spirits, and a great hang.
next Tuesday, 3/6/2012 at the Iris Restaurant     7:30 - 10:30
Russ Carere, saxophone & flute     Matt Michaud, guitar     Paul Zap, bass     your host, drum set
upcoming at the Iris Restaurant...
Tuesday, 3/13 Dave Schiavone
Tuesday, 4/10 Rick Strauss
Tuesday, 4/17 Phil DiRe' & Buffalo Bop
Tuesday, 4/24 Clay Jenkins
Tuesday, 5/15 Bob Sneider
Tuesday, 6/19 Barbara Jean
Tuesday, 8/14 Don Menza
links...

Get off the couch...
Studies are lining up showing that exercise - aerobic exercise, where you're huffing and puffing after 20 or 30 minutes - is neuroprotective.  Chemicals released in the brain during exercise protect brain cells from dying, and patients who exercise do better long term.
 - Dr. Thomas Guttuso Jr, UB assistant professor of neurology and movement disorder specialist

Health,
Hope,
Dialogue,
Respect,
Tolerance,
Friendships,
dan

Monday, February 20, 2012

Danny Hull Newsletter: Musically This Week Vol XIV, No 24


Hello friends.  Monday afternoon and just getting to this...
Tuesday, 2/21/2012 at the Iris Restaurant     7:30 - 10:30
Jay Bianchi, piano     Mike Kaupa, trumpet     Buddy Fadale, bass     your host, drum set
Even if you're Buffalo born and bred and you've followed the local jazz scene for years, you may not know who Jay Bianchi is.  That happens to a musician when you leave your Williamsville roots and go off to earn your artistic credentials -  first to SUNY Fredonia for your Bachelors Degree in music education, and next to the University of Miami for a Master of Music in jazz studies.  And where do you settle after you earn your performance certificate from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London?  Williamsville is a great place to raise a family, but it doesn't hold the promise or challenges of a professional life in the Big Apple.  New York now his home, Jay has toured and performed internationally with grammy award winning artist Nigel Kennedy and composer/flutist David Heath, and his playing, arranging and production skills have led to work with Bette Midler, Glenn Close, and Leslie Gore.  He has two critically acclaimed trio CDs released on ilovestree records: Jay is Cool featuring bassist John Patitucci, and 11211.  And having taught at The New School for 25 years, Jay has helped develop the curriculum for studies in Jazz and Contemporary Music.  Impressive.  So we welcome Jay home for a brief visit this week, and we present him to our faithful and curious listeners in the company of some old friends.  Can you join us?  New York may be the proving ground, but let's make Jay a little nostalgic for his roots with a warm and generous audience.  The Iris Restaurant, at the intersection of Maple & Sweet Home Roads in Amherst.  Good music, good food, good people, chilled spirits, and a great hang.
Wednesday, 2/22 at the Iris     7:30 - 10:00
The Buffalo Brass
Time again for our biweekly open rehearsal.  "Open" means you're invited.  Stop in and hear the inner workings of a big band rehearsal.  No cover, no minimum.  And too, a great hang...
next Tuesday, 2/28/2012 at the Iris Restaurant     7:30 - 10:30
Vince Ercolomento, tenor saxophone     John Nyerges, piano     Danny Ziemann, bass     your host, drum set
Don't miss...
Sunday, 2/26 at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery     3:00
The Enrico Rava Tribe
Enrico Rava, trumpet     Gianluca Petrella, trombone     Giovanni Guidi, piano     Gabriele Evangelista, bass     Fabrizio Sferra, drum set
Trumpeter Enrico Rava will make a rare North American appearance with his Tribe next Sunday in the Gallery’s Auditorium as part of the 2011–2012 Hunt Real Estate Art of Jazz Series.  A pre-concert discussion, “Fresh Sounds from Europe,” with Art of Jazz Series Producer Bruce Eaton, will begin at 2 p.m.

An international jazz icon and undoubtedly the most acclaimed Italian jazz musician in history, trumpeter and composer Enrico Rava produces a haunting, burnished tone backed by his “amazing conception of melody and music” (Pat Metheny).  Having established himself through collaborations with a wide range of musicians, including Carla Bley, Gato Barbieri, Gil Evans, and Joe Henderson, the 72-year-old has been referred to as “one of Miles Davis’s most imaginative inheritors” (The Guardian) and his recent ECM recordings have been hailed as “among the best jazz albums of the last decade” (Jazzwise).  As heard on his latest recording, Tribe, for the noted ECM label, Rava is currently playing at a peak of lyrical inventiveness.  Rava will only be performing in four cities on this tour: New York, Portland, San Francisco, and Buffalo.  Series Producer Bruce Eaton explains, “It’s a testament to the growing international reputation of the Albright-Knox as a premier venue for jazz that we have been chosen to be a part of this unique cultural event.”  For more information, please visit www.enricorava.com
  
Tickets are $25 for Albright-Knox Art Gallery Members and $29 for non-members.  Tickets can be purchased at the Gallery’s Admissions Desk or online at www.albrightknox.org/artofjazz. The series will conclude with the Donald Harrison Quartet on Saturday, April 28, 2012, at 8 p.m.
upcoming at the Iris Restaurant...
Tuesday, 3/6 Russ Carere
Tuesday, 3/13 Dave Schiavone
Tuesday, 4/10 Rick Strauss
Tuesday, 4/17 Phil DiRe' & Buffalo Bop
Tuesday, 4/24 Clay Jenkins
Tuesday, 5/15 Bob Sneider
Tuesday, 6/19 Barbara Jean
Tuesday, 8/14 Don Menza
links...

Keep moving...
Determine never to be idle.  It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.
 - Thomas Jefferson

Health,
Hope,
Dialogue,
Respect,
Tolerance,
Friendships,
dan

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Danny Hull Newsletter: Musically This Week Vol XIV, No 23


Hello friends.  A classic sound returns...
Tuesday, 2/14/2012 at the Iris Restaurant     7:30 - 10:30
Randy Stirtzinger, vibraphone     Warren Stirtzinger, guitar     John Werick, bass     your host, drum set
Vibraphone and guitar?  Beer and pretzels.  Wine & cheese.  Fitz and Stevie Johnson.  Popcorn & movies.  Randy & Warren.  We feature an all North American quartet this Tuesday, with some of the sweetest sounds that the jazz genre has to offer.  And being as that our featured guests grew up playing music together, this may be the most polished unrehearsed ensemble you're likely to hear.  We think we did this right.  Bring your Valentine out to the Iris for dinner, while the Stirtzinger Brothers serenade you with a gentle bossa nova, a swinging standard, or a soothing ballad.  Perfect.  At the intersection of Maple & Sweet Home Roads in Amherst.  Good music, good food, good people, chilled spirits, and a great hang.
next Tuesday, 2/21/2012 at the Iris Restaurant     7:30 - 10:30
Jay Bianchi, piano     Mike Kaupa, trumpet     Buddy Fadale, bass     your host, drum set
upcoming at the Iris Restaurant...
Tuesday, 2/28 Vince Ercolomento
Tuesday, 3/6 Russ Carere
Tuesday, 3/13 Dave Schiavone
Tuesday, 4/10 Rick Strauss
Tuesday, 5/15 Bob Sneider
Tuesday, 6/19 Barbara Jean
Tuesday, 8/14 Don Menza
links...

This is love...
Ten long trips around the sun since I last saw that smile, but only joy and thankfulness that on a tiny world in the vastness, for a couple of moments in the immensity of time, we were one.
 - Ann Druyan, speaking about her beloved Carl Sagan in 2006

Health,
Hope,
Dialogue,
Respect,
Tolerance,
Friendships,
and Love.
Happy Valentines Day.
dan

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Ari Silverstein Brings Cabaret Stars to Buffalo

Promoter, Ari Silverstein (right) and singer, Mark Murphy.


www.BurchfieldPenney.org


As part of its Year of the Arts programming, Buffalo State will
celebrate the artistry of American Cabaret in a concert-lecture
series, “High Standards: The Legacy of the Great American Songbook,”
featuring three Cabaret greats on February 23, March 1, and March 8
at the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

“Each of these singer-pianists has received international
acclaim entertaining in intimate jazz and cabaret settings,” said Ari
Silverstein, a 2003 Buffalo State graduate and New York City real
estate broker who collaborated with the Buffalo State Student Life
Office and the Music Department to bring the series to Buffalo. “Their
main focus has been keeping the American Songbook tradition alive,”

The artists will present daytime discussion-demonstrations
moderated by Silverstein and Chuck Mancuso, Buffalo State professor of
music and author of Popular Music and the Underground: Foundation of
Jazz, Rock, Country and Blues, 1900-1950. On the same day as the
discussion, each artist will perform a theme oriented concert at 7:00
p.m.

Steve Ross, known as “the Crown Prince of Cabaret,” is the
leading male artist in the genre. A native of New Rochelle, New York,
Ross has been compared to Cole Porter and Noel Coward and has
performed shows on numerous topics including composers, lyricists, and
entertainers. He will present the discussion-demonstration, “From
Saloon to Salon: Traveling with My Piano,” from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.
February 23 in Rockwell Hall, Room 124. He will recount his evolution
from simple piano bars to the more exclusive performance rooms in
upscale hotels such as the Stanhope and the Algonquin, home to the
world-famous Algonquin Round Table. During his 7:00 p.m. performance,
Ross will bring the music of Fred Astaire to life in “Top Hat, White
Tie and Tails” in the Burchfield Penney Auditorium.

Kathleen Landis broke the mold of female singers who acted
as stand-up vocalists, and she helped establish female pianist/singers
as serious musicians in a male-dominated field. She joins such great
female vocalists as Hazel Scott, Barbara Carroll, Diana Krall and Ann
Hampton Calloway. During her discussion/demonstration, “From New
York’s Café Pierre to Buffalo’s Burchfield Penney,” 12:15 p.m. March 1
in the Burchfield Penney Auditorium, Landis will talk about the
importance of Alec Wilder’s groundbreaking tome American Popular Song:
The Great Innovators 1900-1950, and how she made a career singing and
playing the piano. At 7:00 p.m. she will perform “While We’re Young: A
Tribute to Alec Wilder,” a collection of treasured cabaret and
classical compositions written and influenced by Alec Wilder, a
graduate of the prestigious Eastman School of Music.

Bob Dorough, age 89, a longtime jazz-cabaret cult singer
and songwriter who penned such classics as “I’m Hip,” and “Devil May
Care,” also wrote many of the songs for “Schoolhouse Rock!”, the
educational series that became a staple of Saturday morning television
in the 1970s. His discussion-demonstration, “From Bebop to Schoolhouse
Rock,” at 12:15 p.m. March 8 in the Burchfield Penney Auditorium,
examines a stellar career penning jazz classics, recording with Miles
Davis, and writing clever songs that helped a generation of children
grasp grammar, math, science, and history. He will perform a
collection of previously noted classics, in his 7:00 p.m. concert,
“From Bebop to Schoolhouse Rock!”

“Unlike most traditional singers who offer a ‘list’ of
unconnected standards, this trio has honed the difficult but rewarding
cabaret-themed shows that elevate their performances to intimate
theater-like experiences,” Mancuso said.

All lectures are free. Tickets to the evening concerts cost $5
for Burchfield Penney members, Buffalo State faculty and staff, and
$10 for the general public. Students are admitted free.

Tickets can be purchased at the Burchfield Penney or online at
http://www.BurchfieldPenney.org/. For more information, call (716)
878-6011. The Office of Student Life and a grant from the Faculty
Student Association funded the series.

Thanks for your help. We hope to make this an annual event so also if
you have any financial backers you think would be interested in this
series in the future, please let me know,

All the Best,

Ari Silverstein
Email

Facebookhttp://facebook.com/ari.silverstein

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Danny Hull Newsletter: Musically This Week Vol XIV, No 22


Hello friends.  A New York night at a Buffalo price...
Tuesday, 2/7/2012 at the Iris Restaurant     7:30 - 10:30
Phil DiRe' & Buffalo Bop
Phil DiRe', tenor saxophone     Bobby Militello, alto sax & flute     Richie Marlo, trumpet & flugelhorn     George Caldwell, piano     Sabu Adeyola, bass     your host, drum set


Phil DiRe'
George Caldwell
Photo by Mari McNeil 



Buffalo Bop is back.  We are honored again to feature Phil DiRe' and the ensemble only he could organize.  And considering the world-class artistry on one bandstand, we are obliged to ask for a $5.00 cover, this week only.  Ironically, several of our Savvy & Informed Regulars have been telling me for years to charge at the door.  But I've resisted.  The new management at the Iris has resisted.  We want you to feel welcome, like you can stop in at your leisure, hear the music, see some friends, and not feel like somebody's got a hand in your pocket.  But this is a six-piece band.  And consider the pedigree:  Phil DiRe' worked with Keely Smith & Sam Butera.  Bobby with Brubeck, Maynard, & Bob Florence.  George Caldwell was on both the Basie & Ellington bands.  Sabu with Ahmad Jamal & Gary Burton.  Yikes!  And nobody's going home rich.  We're just trying to pay these guys their due respect, which is why we're informing you-the-faithful.  (We just didn't want you to feel ambushed when asked for a small contribution for the first time in thirteen years.)

 We are grateful for and respectful of the support that Phil has received at all of his local appearances.  And considering the standing-room-only crowds at every venue, we'd advise an early arrival.  Doors open at 5:00, no reservations.  Our tradition continues, now at the Iris Restaurant in the Maple-Ridge Plaza.  We're at the intersection of Maple & Sweet Home Roads in Amherst.  Good music, good food, good people, chilled spirits, and a great hang.
next Tuesday, 2/14/2012 at the Iris Restaurant     7:30 - 10:30
Randy Stirtzinger, vibraphone     Warren Stirtzinger, guitar     John Werick, bass     your host, drum set
upcoming at the Iris Restaurant...
Tuesday, 2/21 Jay Bianchi & Mike Kaupa
Tuesday, 2/28 Vince Ercolomento
Tuesday, 3/6 Russ Carere
Tuesday, 3/13 Dave Schiavone
Tuesday, 4/10 Rick Strauss
Tuesday, 5/15 Bob Sneider
Tuesday, 6/19 Barbara Jean
links...

Find your own voice...
The jazz musician's function is to feel.  Unfortunately, Bird put notes into people's mouths.  This vocabulary is accepted as jazz, and everyone does it.  But jazz is improvising.  It is the personal, emotional impact of a great improviser.  It provides the listener with an experience he can have no other way.  But, as today, when the vocabulary is the same, you have lost that experience.  How intense can you be with someone else's words?
 - Lennie Tristano, Downbeat - December 6, 1962

Health,
Hope,
Dialogue,
Respect,
Tolerance,
and Friendships.
dan