jazz in june dedicated to berman

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Jazz in June dedicated to Berman

Jazz in June continued on page 3

June 2008Vol. 13, Number 3

LINCOLN, Neb.—ButchBerman devoted much of his finaldays to future plans—an April 14 ben-efit for Norman Hedman in New YorkCity, a May 23 salute by the NebraskaJazz Orchestra to the music of RussLong, and the upcoming Jazz in Juneoutdoor concert series.

Though his death on Jan. 31 pre-vented him from experiencing theseevents, the Berman Music Foun-dation will continue to carry on hisvision by participating in Jazz in Junefor the first time since 2004, when theBMF sponsored the Eldar DjangirovTrio and the Kendra Shank Quartet.To show its appreciation for the BMFsupport through the years, the Jazz inJune folks are dedicating the 2008series to Butch Berman.

“For more than 10 years, theBerman Music Foundation has servedas a valued partner, team member andstakeholder to the Jazz in June musicseries,” said Marthaellen Florence,chair of Jazz in June. “Under the tu-telage of Butch Berman, Jazz in Junewas able to bring many of the nation’smost accomplished jazz artist to thestage. With the foundation’s generouscontributions Jazz in June audiences

By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

have been afforded the opportunity toexperience outstanding talent and thecommunity’s has been educatedthrough countless artist’s work-shops.”

Before each performance thisyear, someone from the Lincoln jazzcommunity will make a few remarksabout Butch, his contribution to jazzin Lincoln and to Jazz in June.

As always, the free concertsbegin at 7 p.m. every Tuesday in Juneon the plaza west of the SheldonMuseum of Art at 12th and R streetson the University of Nebraska-Lin-coln campus.

Dan Thomas will perform with hisquintet June 10 at Jazz in June.

Courtesy P

hoto

Courtesy P

hoto

The Dynamic Les DeMerle Orchestrawill perform June 17 at Jazz in June.

In this issue of Jazz....Grace’s tribute to Butch......................2Celebration of Life................................6Celebration of Life Photo Gallery........8Norman Hedman benefit concert........10Tomfoolery: Springtime in NYC...........13NJO/Russ Long review........................15Monty Alexander review.....................17Stefon Harris review...........................18NJO/Scott Wendholt review....................19Jazz on Disc reviews...............................20Randy Brecker review..........................24Ruth Thone memorial to Butch.............25Letters to the Editor.............................26From the Photo Archives..........................27

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Berman Music Foundation Jazz

Seven years ago, I met Butch athis house on a blind date. We weretwo different people from separateworlds. Butch, a hip musician, waswitty and funny. On the other hand, Iwas a rather serious and up-tightwoman from Africa. We seemed sodifferent and yet it was easy for meto fall in love with him. I found himextremely honest and open about hislifestyle and who he was, and he wasnot defensive about the decisions andchoices he made. It was very refresh-ing to hear such honesty from some-one I had just met. I immediately feltsafe with him and soon discoveredthat we both had a passion for greatmusic and much more. And so beganour wonderful love affair.

We found each other at a timewhen we were both ready for a seri-ous relationship. My kids and I werevery happy because Butch fit right inand we became a family. Butch wastotally committed and did not shyaway from the responsibilities thatcame with a new family. He becameprotective of us and provided for ourevery need in the best possible way.He loved my kids and tried to be agood male influence to the boys. As aresult, he has made a lasting and posi-tive impact in our lives.

But on Jan. 31, I lost my hus-band and lover. I could not have writ-ten this sooner because the pain wasvery intense and the emptiness I feltwas deep. It is still hard to grasp thatButch is gone, and the finality of hisdeath is immensely difficult to dealwith. Butch was a free thinker wholoved and celebrated life and I wouldlike to honor that legacy. He lived andloved passionately and I feel privilegedto have been a part of his life, nomatter how briefly it seems.

Tribute to husband, music lover, promoter

Grace continued on page 4

By Grace Sankey-Berman ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Let me seize this moment to talkabout the life of the man I love, hislove for music and vision to promoteunique forms of music. Butch workedrelentlessly, locally and across thenation, producing records with greatartists who otherwise may not havebeen able to afford to cut a record.He sponsored live performances lo-cally in venues like the Zoo bar, P.O.Pears and the Lied Center for Per-forming Arts, to mention a few, andin other parts of this country. The de-tails about the work he has done arewell documented on the BMFwebsite. He wanted to educate peopleabout the great music this country hasto offer, the kind of music that may

not be at the top of the charts or beplayed on the popular radio stations.He spent countless hours collectinggreat records and succeeded in col-lecting an impressive array of musi-cal gems. He was not only enthusias-tic about finding new music, but gen-erously wanted to share this musicwith whoever was interested in lis-tening to it.

Butch clamored for informationabout music and musicians and waswell versed with all the details of theirart and lives. His radio shows werelike music history classes, but moreentertaining and in-depth. He playedgreat music and would talk to his au-dience about the musicians and theirmusical journey and about the artistas man or woman. In other words hetried to humanize these great musi-cians. I regret not paying more atten-tion to the wealth of information hetried to share with me. May be it didnot cross my mind that he would de-part so early.

His passion for music can alsobe seen in how well-organized theBMF museum, which is in his house,is kept. Even though he had thousandsof records, Butch knew exactlywhere to find almost every one ofthem. He handled each record or CDvery carefully, as if it was the last one.Every record was meticulouslycleaned and preserved. He workedwith almost surgical precision arrang-ing and rearranging stacks of recordsand CDs and loved every minute ofit. He derived a lot of satisfaction fromthe knowledge that everything was inorder.

The BMF intends to keep his vi-sion alive and I would like to invite all

Butch and Grace celebrate New Year’sEve 2001.

File Photo

Butch and Grace

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Jazz in June continued from page 1

Again, the foundation will fundtwo of the four artists on the 2008 line-up—the Dan Thomas Quintet on June10 and the Dynamic Les DeMerleBand, featuring singer Bonnie Eisele,on June 17. The other artists are theDarryl White Group on June 3 andthe Lao Tizer Band on June 24.

“Jazz in June continues to valuecontributions of BMF and ButchBerman,” Florence said. “We alsorecognize that there was a great valuein Butch’s decision to engage his foun-dation in the philanthropic process.When those who share a commitmentto one another share an equally heart-felt commitment to something beyondthe community both are enhanced.”

A jazz educator teaching saxo-phone and jazz history at the Univer-sity of Missouri-Kansas City, DanThomas has been a favorite of thefoundation for several years. He per-formed with his group in September2004, as part of the Berman Jazz Se-ries in Topeka, Kan. His recording“City Scope” was reviewed that sameyear, and “Musical Sanctuary” wasreviewed on its release the followingyear. The Canadian-born jazz educa-tor also was the subject of a featureinterview in the August 2004 editionof the BMF newsletter.

The Dan Thomas Quintet in-cludes Joe Parisi on trumpet andflugelhorn, Brandon Draper on drums,Roger Wilder on piano and BramWijnands on bass, in addition to Tho-mas on saxophone.

New to the BMF—and to Jazzin June—is The Dynamic LesDeMerle Band, a group that ButchBerman first heard at his bedsidewhile still in the hospital after a sei-zure in early October. He was so im-pressed by the band that he wrote areview of its CD “Cookin’ at the Cor-ner, Vol. 2” and made his pitch to bringthe band to the Jazz in June stage.

A Brooklyn native, drummer Les

DeMerle toured 12 years with bigband trumpet master Harry Jamesand has played with the likes of LionelHampton, The Manhattan Transferand Red Allen. Vocalist Bonnie Eisele,DeMerle’s wife, specializes in rendi-tions of jazz classics and breezy Bra-zilian ballads. The Florida-based bandalso features pianist Mike Levine andbassist Jamie Ousley.

Darryl White, professor of trum-pet at the University of Nebraska-Lin-coln since 1997, will make his firstJazz in June appearance as a leadersince 2003. He will be accompaniedby a diverse group of top-flight play-ers—saxophonist Dave Pietro, pianistJeff Jenkins, bassist Craig Akin, drum-mer Brandon Draper and percussion-ist Michael Pujado.

This year’s wild card is youngkeyboard whiz Lao Tizer, whose 2006release, “Diversity,” displays his broadinfluences while remaining rooted inhis smooth jazz style. The albumreached Billboard’s Top 50 Contem-porary Jazz chart. Backed by a hand-picked band, he has performed withIsaac Hayes, Wayne Shorter, GeorgeBenson, The Rippingtons, BruceHornsby and Spyro Gyra.

Jazz in June 2008 promises to bea welcomed return for the BermanMusic Foundation.

Courtesy P

hoto

Darryl White

JazzJazzJazzJazzJazz is published online at:www.bermanmusicfoundation.orgThe office of The Berman Mu-The Berman Mu-The Berman Mu-The Berman Mu-The Berman Mu-sic Foundation sic Foundation sic Foundation sic Foundation sic Foundation is at 719 P St.,,Suite C-1, Lincoln, NE 68508.

Editor and Designer:Editor and Designer:Editor and Designer:Editor and Designer:Editor and Designer:Tom Ineck

Contributing writersContributing writersContributing writersContributing writersContributing writers: TomIneck, Grace Sankey-Bermanand Ruth Thone

Photographers:Photographers:Photographers:Photographers:Photographers: RichHoover, Tom Ineck, ButchBerman and others (FilePhotos)

For inclusion of any jazz orblues related events, letters tothe editor or suggestedarticles, mail them to theoffice, phone (402) 476-3112,fax (402) 475-3136 or [email protected].

To be added to our mailinglist, call (402) 476-3112, fax(402) 475-3136 or [email protected].

The Butch BermanThe Butch BermanThe Butch BermanThe Butch BermanThe Butch BermanCharitable MusicCharitable MusicCharitable MusicCharitable MusicCharitable MusicFoundationFoundationFoundationFoundationFoundation is a non-profit, taxexempt, 501(c)(3) private foun-dation recognized by the Inter-nal Revenue Service and theNebraska Department of Rev-enue. It was established in thespring of 1995 to protect andpromote unique forms of jazzmusic.

Trustee:Trustee:Trustee:Trustee:Trustee: Tony Rager

Consultants:Consultants:Consultants:Consultants:Consultants: Grace Sankey-Berman, Russ Dantzler, KayDavis, Dan Demuth, NormanHedman, Tom Ineck, GeraldSpaits, Leslie Spaits and WadeWright

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Grace continued from page 2

of you to join us in this effort because,with your support, together we canaccomplish a lot. We will dedicate ourefforts to promoting music educationand live performances. We have animmense opportunity to take Butch’svision to a different level.

Butch listened to music con-stantly in his house and in the car. Hismusical palate included rock ‘n’ roll,soul, country, jazz and every thing inbetween. He was an equal-opportu-nity music lover. But most of all heenjoyed playing and making musicwith other musicians. Some of his bestmemories included playing withCharlie Burton, Dave Robel and OttoSpalti in The Megatones. Even in lateryears, he was always tickled and ex-cited at any opportunity to play withthose guys. Of course, he had a lot offun playing with many other musi-cians, like his last band, The CroninBrothers, who were kind enough toplay at Butch’s celebration of life onMarch 23. I had a lot of fun the lastfew years listening and dancing to theirmusic. Not only did he enjoy playingwith other musicians, but he lookedforward to the camaraderie withthem. He continued to practice withThe Cronin Brothers up to just twoweeks before his death. He was notabout to let a damned tumor stop himfrom playing. He kept practicing andplanning for the next gig, which wasa few days away. But it was notmeant to be. That is the kind of guyButch was, an eternal optimist.

Butch loved musicians and wasrespectful of their individual talents.He understood how much work anddedication it took to be good. He al-ways advocated for the better treat-ment of musicians, and insisted thatthey be paid better. He was a goodhost and went out of his way to makesure they were comfortable. Hewould always take them out to dinnerbefore or after gigs. Most of all, the

musicians were amazed at his hospi-tality and generosity. Once during din-ner with singer Sheila Jordan, she said,“I have never been treated so well inmy musical career. Butch, you are thefirst sponsor that ever took me out todinner.” When Butch passed away,Alaadeen, a horn player from KC,sent me a card that said, “The musicfamily has lost a great man.”

Butch was a good friend. I knowbecause he was my best friend. Mostof his friendships were life-long. Hespent countless hours on the phonetalking with his friends, such as WadeWright in San Francisco. I was alwaysamazed at how well he nurtured hisfriends, constantly keeping in touchwith them, remembering their birth-days and spending time with themwhenever possible. He enjoyed fried

chicken and good food with his friendRich on Thursday nights. He loved thegame of Ping Pong and looked for-ward to Saturdays when he playedwith his friends Brad Krieger andDaniel Nelson for many years. Butchwas always thoughtful and generous.He spent the last days of his life plan-ning a benefit concert for his dearfriend Norman Hedman, who is cur-rently in remission from cancer. Hewas worried about Norman’s illness,but never complained about his ownillness. That benefit took place April14 in New York.

Above all, he was always veryattentive and loving to me, never miss-ing a chance to show me or tell mehow much he loved me. We had a lotof fun being together and creatingmemories that I will forever cherish.Our goal was to listen to every recordhe had and watch all the movies inhis collection. We could not accom-plish that goal, but we sure had a lotof fun trying. Living with Butch wasan American cultural experience. Fora girl from Africa, it was the classroom I never could have dreamed of.

I am comforted by the fact thatButch lived a happy, full life withoutcompromise. I am touched by the

Butch Berman and Grace Sankey-Berman on their 2003 honeymoon in Chicago.

File Photo

Butch and Sheila Jordan in 2003

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outpouring of support from friends andstrangers. A lot of you have reachedout to me at this difficult time byphone, cards, letters and visits. I wantto say thank you for every thing youhave done. Many of you broughtmeals or took me out and made surethat I ate. Your care and support hasbeen of immense help to me.

Butch was loved and touched bymany. I got notes from totalstrangers who were touchedwhen they read about hispassing in the paper. Somejoined us to celebrate hislife. Arleen Fowler, a de-lightful lady whom I hadnever met before, came byButch’s house when sheheard about his passing. Sheinformed me that she wasthe secretary at The Fa-mous, a ready-to-wearstore owned by the Bermanfamily from 1946 to 1976.She took time to tell meabout Butch’s family. Shehad known Butch from birthand had watched him growup while she worked at TheFamous. She obviously wasfond of him and enjoyed hissense of humor and wit. Shecould not get over how tal-ented he was and how hisideas were not always whathis mom wanted, but he be-lieved in himself enough tostick to his own beliefs.

That is essentially the core of theman I knew, fell in love with and mar-ried. He was not afraid to go againstrigid sub-cultures, regardless of theprice he may pay. He taught me thatto be an individual or to be vulnerableis empowering, not diminishing. Thatwas the key to him having such ahappy life.

Therefore, Butch remained hon-est almost to a fault. He did not makea lot of friends that way. But in hisstyle, he always managed to get

people he dealt with to come around,even if they only agreed to disagree.He was the first to reach out andapologize for anything necessary.

Thanks to all the musicians whodonated their time to play at the cel-ebration of Butch’s life. Special thanksto The Cronin Brothers, his fellowbandmates who worked hard to makeButch’s day special. Butch was proud

to play with such great guys. Thanksto Michael Opoku and Ashanti Afri-can Root band for playing the Afri-can drums that Butch loved so much,to Kansas City musicians GeraldSpaits, Joe Cartwright, RayDeMarchi, and Alaadeen for takingtime from their busy schedules to playgreat jazz and to Karrin Allyson, whograced us with her presence and greatmusic. To all the Lincoln musicians, Iwant to thank you for all you did. Iam sure Butch was watching andloved every minute.

Most importantly, I wish to thankall the care providers who were at thefrontline, working to make Butch com-fortable during his illness. They cameby to see Butch at home after busydays in the office. They include Dr.Kevin Coughlin, Butch’s personal phy-sician, the “hippest doctor in town,”as Butch liked to say; Dr. DavidLauer, his chiropractor, who under-

stood Butch very well; KassiRiordan, Butch’s missus whois the most generous personI know; and Joyce Latrom,Butch’s longtime friend, whowas always generous andwilling to lend a hand or ashoulder to cry on.

To the BMF family, Ithank you for making it a loteasier for me and Butch.Thank you, Tony Rager andKay, for helping me keep itall together. I also wish tothank Tom Ineck for work-ing tirelessly to keep thewebsite updated. Yourthoughtfulness and hard workover the last few monthshave not gone unnoticed.Butch and I enjoyed your ra-dio show immensely, and wegreatly appreciated the dedi-cations you made to Butch.Thanks to Ruthann, Paul, andMatt, who spent hours to puttogether the slide pictorial forthe celebration of life.

Special thanks to my friends KimJasung, Rose Spencer, Cathy Mossand Mousa Drammeh for being therewhen I needed them the most.

I feel privileged to have beenmarried to Butch. He was a greathusband who did his best to navigatethrough this journey called life. I loveyou, darling, and miss you dearly. Iremain eternally grateful for havingbeen loved by you. Rest in peace, mylove.

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Butch and Grace in Northern California in 2003.

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LINCOLN, Neb.—Hundredsof Butch Berman’s friends, familyand fans were on hand March 23 forthe six-hour celebration of the lifeof the legendary Lincoln musicianand founder of the Berman MusicFoundation.

The main ballroom of TheCornhusker Marriott Hotel in down-town Lincoln swarmed with fellowmusicians, family members, associ-ates of the foundation and otherfolks who were touched in some wayby the ebullient lover of life, whodied Jan. 31 at age 58. Those in at-tendance expressed a mixture of joyand sadness—joy that they hadknown Butch and sadness that hewas not able to share this grandevent in his honor.

Both jazz and rock musicianspaid their sincerest respects by par-ticipating in the Easter Day celebra-tion of life, with jazz music relegatedto the 4-7 p.m. slot and rock music

Memorial

Butch’s life celebrated in grand style○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○By Tom Ineck

extending well past the scheduled 10p.m. closing time.

The stellar Kansas City rhythmsection of pianist Joe Cartwright,bassist Gerald Spaits and drummerRay DeMarchi set the mood for theafternoon with

a set of familiar tunes. KCsaxophonist and longtime BMFfriend Ahmad Alaadeen fronted theband for a heart-felt rendition of theclassic “Body and Soul.”

Headliner Karrin Allyson, thefirst artist that the Berman MusicFoundation brought to Lincoln—backin March 1995—performed a stun-ning set that included the appropri-ate “Live for Life” and RandyNewman’s “Guilty,” which she re-corded on her 1992 Concord Recordsdebut, “I Didn’t Know About You.”Cartwright and company gave awonderful reading of a bop tune thatwas one of Butch’s favorites, CharlieParker’s “Yardbird Suite.”

Singer David Basse of KansasCity, who also has had a long asso-ciation with the BMF, put everythinginto his performance of the classicfarewell ballad, “I’ll Be Seeing You.”He turned to the blues for “TheEagle Flies on Friday,” with Ed Loveof Lincoln on tenor sax, who alsojoined the band for Cole Porter’s “ILove You.”

To begin the segue from jazz torock, The Lightning Bugs contributeda set of their trademark swing, withvocals inspired by the sweet harmo-nies of the Mills Brothers. Amongthe classics of the genre performedby guitarist Steve Hanson, bassistJim Pipher and drummer ReynoldPeterson were “Glow Worm,” “SatinDoll” and “Moonglow.” For Butch’swidow, Grace Sankey Berman, theydedicated the touching “Be MyLife’s Companion.”

The wonderful band Ashanti haddozens of people taking to the dancefloor for a set of reggae numbers thatincluded the Bob Marley composi-tions “Trenchtown Rock” and “NoWoman, No Cry.”

Of course, any celebration ofButch’s life and love of music wouldhave been incomplete without the

Photos by Tom

Ineck

Headliner Karrin Allyson pays tributeto Butch Berman.

David Basse with Joe Cartwright, Gerald Spaits, Ray DeMarchi and Ed Love

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participation of legendary rockabillysinger and songwriter Charlie Bur-ton, who was accompanied by fid-dler Dave Fowler, bassist DaveBoye, drummer Dave Robel, andspecial guest Steve Hanson on gui-tar. Appropriately, their set included“Rock ‘n’ Roll Behavior” and “Gui-tar Case,” tunes first recorded byCharlie Burton and Rock Therapy(with Butch on guitar) in 1976 and1977, respectively.

The mood returned briefly to amore jazz-tinged style with the HotClub of Lincoln doing “It Don’tMean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got ThatSwing).” The brainchild of fiddlerDave Fowler, the gypsy jazz en-

semble also includedHanson and MikeHerres on guitarsand Boye on bass.

Last, but notleast, the survivingmembers of theCronin Brothers,Butch’s last band,took the stage for avery personal tributeto their fallen com-rade. With Butch’sbeloved Telecasteron display at the frontof the stage, cohorts

Bill Lohrberg onguitar, CraigKingery on bassand DonHolmquist ondrums carried onlike troopers, withBrian Hull capablytaking on the key-board chores oncehandled by Butch.Kelly McGovernand special guestSean Benjamincontributed addi-tional vocal andguitar.

Early on, theCronins performed“Trinidad Rocks,” arocking instrumentalwritten by Butchmany years ago.Then it was time fortheir own take onclassic rock, withgreat renditions of“Dirty Water,” “FiveO’clock World,”“Little Sister,” “Pe-ter Gunn,” “SecretAgent Man,” “SlowDown,” “SleepWalkin’,” and“Lucille” McGoverndelivered impas-

The Cronins perform with Butch’s beloved FenderTelecaster on display front and center.

sioned vocals on the bluesy “OneWay Out” and the Traffic master-piece “Feelin’ Alright.”

A sort of “shrine” to Butch ondisplay near the back of the ballroomfeatured a recreation of his familiarbasement retreat, including a center-piece table with a full glass of wineand a sampling of his favorite col-lectibles and kitschy memorabilia.Throughout the event, a photo slideshow documenting Butch’s entire lifewas projected on a screen, makinghis presence (in spirit) even morepalpable.

Between sets of music, friends

took the stage to share stories at themicrophone. Among them wasArleen Fowler, who related her longexperience with The Famous, thewomen’s ready-to-wear shop whereshe worked for the Berman familyfrom 1948 until it closed Jan. 31,1976. She recalled the day in March1949 when she first heard the newsthat Byron Lee Berman had beenborn to Harriett and Alfred Berman.

Most touchingly, Grace took themicrophone to thank everyone forshowing their love and support—es-pecially the participating musicians,who gave the greatest gift of all. Maythe music never end

Two-year-old Ella Jane Lounsbury swings to thesounds of Ashanti, playing popular reggae tunes.

A sort of “shrine” to Butch Berman featured a recreationof his familiar basement retreat, including a glass of wine.

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Photo Gallery

Hundreds gather to celebrate Butch’s life○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Dawn DeBlazeAhmad AlaadeenJoe CartwrightGerald Spaits

Kay Davis and Terry Schwimmer

Alan Smith, Warren Rudolph andMarthaellen Florence

Dave Fowler

Dave Robel and Don HolmquistDave Boye Charlie Burton

Tony and Tammy Rager and children

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Photos byRich Hoover

Jayne Sebby, Deb Higuchi and Tad Fraizer

Lightning Bugs Jim Pipher, Reynold Peterson and Steve HansonGale Cooper, Richard Sullivan and Tom Dayton

Grace Sankey-Berman expresses herthanks to everyone who attended thecelebration of life.

Ed Love and John Horn

Friends and family of Grace Sankey-Berman

Ray DeMarchi and Joe Cartwright

Doug Fenton and Dave Landis

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By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

NEW YORK, N.Y.—WhenButch Berman heard the news thathis good friend, master conguero andBerman Music Foundation consultantNorman Hedman was ill, he began tohelp with plans to sponsor a benefitconcert to defray some of Hedman’sgrowing medical expenses. Unfortu-nately, Butch himself was unable toattend the April 14 benefit concert.He died Jan. 31.

So it was with mixed sadnessand hopeful anticipation that an en-tourage of BMF associates traveledto New York—sadness that Butchwas unable to join us and hope thatNorman would soon show signs ofrecovery after treatment for acutemyelogenous leukemia.

The support for Norman in histime of need was inspiring. Oftenstruggling with their own financialworries, the generous musicians ofNew York rallied around their com-rade to perform for “Rhythm Relief,”a two-show event at Jazz Standard,

116 E. 27th St. Hosted by WBGORadio’s Rob Crocker, the event wasproduced and sponsored by 8 BarManagement and the Berman Mu-sic Foundation.

Hedman was diagnosed withAML in January, while rehearsingwith Alicia Keys for her upcomingworld tour. Since then, he has beenundergoing rounds of treatment atMemorial Sloan-Kettering CancerCenter.

On the day before the benefit,we were able to visit with Normanfor an hour or so at his midtown Man-hattan high-rise, his residence of manyyears. At his side were his wife,Michelline, and his manager andfriend Dawn DeBlaze of 8 Bar Man-agement. Joining us later was drum-mer and upstairs neighbor HoraceeArnold and Andrienne Wilson, singer-flutist and longtime friend ofNorman’s, who had just arrived from

her home in the Pacific Northwest.Though much thinner than the

last time we had seen him, Normanwas in his usual high spirits, despitehaving completed a six-week seriesof cancer treatments and preparingfor yet another. Downplaying his owndire condition, he expressed sadnessat the sight of so many children withcancer at Sloan-Kettering, noting thathe had already lived a full life, but thatthey had barely begun theirs.

Because of his compromisedimmune system, Norman could notattend his own benefit for fear of pos-sible air-borne infection. But his pres-ence was palpable that night, as somany friends and fellow musiciansgathered to show their love and sup-port.

Featured musicians includedbassists Ron Carter and Buster Will-iams, vibraphonist Joe Locke, drum-mers Horacee Arnold and Will

Photos by Tom

Ineck

Kay Davis, Tony Rager, Andrienne Wilson, Norman Hedman and Grace Sankey-Berman gather at Norman’s midtown Manhattan apartment.

Jazz Standard club in Manhattan

BMF attends benefit for Norman HedmanBenefit Concert

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Calhoun, percussionists Ray Mantillaand Steve Kroon, singer KendraShank, pianist Frank Kimbrough,saxophonist T.K. Blue, singer QueenEsther Marrow, singer and flutistAndrienne Wilson, trombonist DickGriffin, guitarist B.D. Lenz, and—ofcourse—members of NormanHedman’s longtime band Tropique(music director Willie Martinez on tim-bales; Misha Tsiganov on piano;Alexei Tsiganov on vibes; RogerByam and Craig Rivers on saxo-phones; Mario Rodriguez on bass; andCristian Rivera on percussion). An

online auction was initi-ated to raise additionalfunds.

The contemporaryR&B singer Alicia Keys,though on tour, offered avideo salute to Normanas the event began. Ap-propriately, KendraShanks and pianist FrankKimbrough got the musicoff to a start with a stun-ning ballad rendition of“Blue Skies.” Then it wastime for Tropique to take the stage.

Opening their wonderful set was“Hed-Theme,” from the BMF-spon-sored CD “One Step Closer,” releasedin 1999. Andrienne Wilson joined theband on flute for the Hedman themesong, which also received nice solostatements from Misha Tsiganov onpiano, Roger Byams on alto sax andAlexei Tsiganov on vibes.

Taking the microphone, Martinezpaid personal tribute to Norman, cit-ing their “10 or 12 years and fourCDs” together. He continued simplyby introducing Norman’s love song tohis wife, “Michelline.” On congas,Cristian Rivera paid his own tributeby sitting in for Norman. The Masonbrothers—Brad on flugelhorn andElliott on trombone—joined Tropique

for a rousing rendition of the Juan Tizolclassic “Caravan.” Bringing down thetempo, Martinez and Wilson crooned“The Nearness of You” to each other,as Dick Griffin assisted on trombone.

Queen Esther Marrow, a versa-tile blues, jazz and gospel singer whohas performed with everyone fromB.B. King to Bob Dylan, ranged fromthe gospel fervor of “Walk With Me”to the jazz ballad beauty of “In MySolitude,” which she once performedwith Duke Ellington, to the funk of“Elijah Rock.”

Tropique returned to the stagefor a first-show finale featuring a per-

Norman continued on page 12

Norman Hedman’s Tropique performs at Jazz Standard. From left they are MishaTsiganov, piano; Alexei Tsiganov, vibes; Mario Rodriguez, bass; special guestsBrad Mason on flugelhorn and Elliott Mason on trombone; Willie Martinez,timbales; and Cristian Rivera on congas, sitting in for Norman Hedman.

Singer Queen Esther Marrow and her band performed gospel and jazz favorites.

Grace Sankey-Berman, Kendra Shanks, Tony Ragerand Kay Davis at Jazz Standard

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cussion ensemble that includedMartinez, Steve Kroon, Ray Mantillaand Chembo Corniel churning thepolyrhythmic waters of MongoSantamaria’s “Afro-Blue.”

The second show began with theall-star quartet of Joe Locke on vibes,Eldar Djangirov on piano, Ron Carteron bass and Horacee Arnold ondrums. This masterful ensembleworked their magic on such standardsas “You Don’t Know What Love Is”and the Miles Davis classic “AllBlues,” which contained a brilliant in-terpolation of “Willow Weep for Me.”

It was a somewhat mournful set oftunes, but played with an abundanceof energy, hope and musicianship.

Tropique took the stage for aseries of vocal guest appearances,first with the fabulous singer Ada Dyeron “Closer (To Your Heart),” from theband’s most recent release, 2006’s“Garden of Forbidden Fruit.” Wilsonreturned to sing “Alone in Love withYou” from the 1996 Tropique debutrecording, “Healing Hands.” Finally,D-Train Williams performed an in-spired rendition of “Angel of theNight,” a tune from “Forbidden Fruit”that was initially dedicated to GraceSankey-Berman. At least for those of

Norman continued from page 11

us who knew the connection, it was avery moving performance.

Another highlight of the eveningwas the performance of “Stolen Mo-ments” by an ensemble consisting ofalto saxophonist T.K. Blue (formerlyknown as Talib Kibwe), guitarist B.D.Lenz, trumpeter Wayne Cobham,bassist Buster Williams, drummer Will

An all-star percussion ensemble performs “Afro-Blue.

Eldar Djangirov, piano; Joe Locke, vibes; Ron Carter, bass; and Horacee Arnold, drums, started the second show.

D-Train Williams sings “Angel of theNight” with Tropique.

Singer Erika Rose is Norman Hedman’sniece.

Photos by Tom

Ineck

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NEW YORK, N.Y.—Springtimein New York is legendary for good rea-son. It is the season of rebirth and reju-venation in the most exciting city on theplanet. But with hopefulness comes aninevitable sense of change, the ratherdiscomfiting sensation of living on thecusp of an unknown future.

So it was with mixed emotions thatthe Berman Music Foundation entou-rage arrived April 12 in the great me-tropolis to attend an April 14 benefitconcert for the ailing Norman Hedman.Without our dear friend and BMFfounder Butch Berman at our side andwith just three nights and two full daysin the city, we were determined to makethe most of our brief stay.

While in this fabulous city, there isno better guide than 20-year residentRuss Dantzler. A Lincoln, Neb., nativeand longtime friend and consultant forthe foundation, Russ also is a devotedjazz fan and advocate who has beenmanager and publicist for many artistsover the years, including Claude “Fid-dler” Williams, Benny Waters, ValerieCapers, Houston Person, Earl May,David “Fathead” Newman and theStatesmen of Jazz.

On our arrival Saturday, wechecked into our rooms at the vener-able Park Central Hotel near 57th andSeventh Avenue, and then headed to anearby Italian restaurant to meet Russ.With his usual enthusiasm and encyclo-

pedicknowledge of the city, he later led

us on a brisk walking tour through Mid-

Calhoun and pianist Misha Tsiganov.Norman Hedman’s niece, promisingrock and R&B singer Erika Rose,sang a tune in honor of her beloveduncle.

As always, Martinez was themaster of poise and sensitivity, man-aging the difficult task of assigning thebrief sets, getting everyone on theschedule without ruffling any feath-ers. Bravo, Willie!

On behalf of representatives ofthe Berman Music Foundation whowere in attendance (Grace Sankey-Berman, Tony Rager, Kay Davis andmyself), I thank everyone involved,especially Norman Hedman for hisresilient spirit and all the musicianswho donated their time and talent forthe cause.

Editor’s Note: The latest onNorman’s condition is that he hascompleted two chemotherapy treat-ments, arriving home May 26 afterfour weeks in the hospital. He is

still very susceptible to illness andwill undergo tests to determine if heis still in remission. If so, he andhis sister will begin bone marrowtransplantation at the end of Juneor July. Norman sends his thanksto the Berman Music Foundation

for the support of “Rhythm Relief.”The concert, auction and donationshave so far netted $7,571.

If you wish to donate, visitwww.normanhedman.com and clickon “Rhythm Relief Fund.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○By Tom Ineck

Tomfoolery

Springtime in New York is season of change

Misha Tsiganov, piano; Buster Williams, bass; B.D. Lenz, guitar; T.K. Blue,alto sax; Wayne Cobham, trumpet; and Will Calhoun, drums.

Tomfoolery continued on page 14

Photo by R

uss Dantzler

Kay Davis, Grace Sankey-Berman, TomIneck, Mary Jane Gruba and Tony

Rager in New York at night

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town Manhattan to a former speakeasyfor after-dinner drinks.

Russ shifted into high gear Sun-day, herding the BMF party to the sub-way for a ride to the Staten Island Ferry.From there, despite overcast skies, wewould get a decent view of the Statueof Liberty and the city skyline beforereturning to Lower Manhattan. Westrolled through Battery Park and vis-ited Trinity Church and St. Paul’sChapel, which miraculously survived thecollapse of the nearby World TradeCenter towers in 2001. We maneuveredour way through the milling crowd on

Wall Street, past the art decoWoolworth Building (closed to tourists),to our jazz brunch destination, CaféLoup, at 105 W. 13th St.

We had chosen to dine here pri-marily because of the entertainment,saxophonist Bob Kindred with Ron Affifon guitar and Santi Debriano on bass.The only table left happened to be rightin front of the bandstand! I forget whatI had to eat because I was too busylistening to the music—which includeddining-friendly renditions of “SmokeGets in Your Eyes,” “I’ve Never Beenin Love Before,” and “Moonlight Ser-enade.”

Between sets, Kindred visited ourtable to chat and extend his condolenceson Butch’s death. The two had gottento be pretty good friends during theyears that the BMF covered the To-peka Jazz Festival, where Kindred wasa regular. Kindred’s wife, the wonder-ful singer Anne Phillips, also was atCafé Loup that day to listen to her hus-band and we had a chance to visit. Onlyin New York!

That evening, we attended “Rent”at the Nederlander Threatre, where itis scheduled to close Sept. 7 after anamazing 12-year run of some 5,000performances. That will make it theseventh-longest-running Broadwayshow in history. Despite its undeniablefinancial success, I found it only slightlymemorable. As they say, everyone’s acritic.

After that disappointing diversion,I was ready for more live jazz, so wemade our way to Russ’s apartment tocatch a bite to eat before the two-minute walk to Birdland. The ChicoO’Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestrawas holding court, as it does every Sun-day night when it isn’t on the road. Di-rected by pianist Arturo O’Farrill sincehis father’s death in 2001, the 19-pieceband is a genuine Afro-Cuban power-house.

Among the tunes they playedwere “Mambo America,” “Cantina,”and “Pure Emotion,” the title track of a

1995 release. On this occasion, it wasdedicated to Arturo’s mother, LupeO’Farrill, who was sitting at the bar nextto us. “Samba for Carmen” was dedi-cated to the memory of CarmenMcRae,” and “Something to Smoke”was an aptly hot number.

On a sunny Monday morning, weventured out on our own to RockefellerPlaza for some shopping. As if to re-mind us again of spring’s arrival, tulipswere in bloom everywhere and a workcrew was removing the ice from theworld-famous skating rink for anotheryear. Heading north, we spent much ofthe afternoon strolling through CentralPark, where the grass was a vibrantgreen, the trees and bushes were bud-ding and the squirrels were feasting andfattening on horded nuts.

The next day, we were headedhome. We had, indeed, made the mostof our first springtime in New York.

Tomfoolery continued from page 13

Russ Dantzler and Tony Rager on theStaten Island Ferry with NYC skyline

Ron Affif, Santi Debriano and BobKindred at Cafe Loup

Cafe Loup

Workers remove ice from the skatingrink at Rockefeller Plaza.

Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban JazzOrchestra at Birdland

Photos by Tom

Ineck

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LINCOLN, Neb.—The salute toRuss Long that Butch Berman hadbeen planning long before his death inJanuary finally came to fruition May 23,when the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra andselect Kansas City musicians performedLong’s music for an audience of 230 atEmbassy Suites. The concert alsoserved as a memorial for both Bermanand Long, who died Dec. 31, 2006.

The legendary Kansas City pia-nist and composer had had a long andproductive relationship with the BermanMusic Foundation, which had sponsoredseveral live performances and two CDsby Long. That relationship again wasacknowledged when the BMF agreedto bring KC musicians to Lincoln forthis special tribute. On hand were bass-ist Gerald Spaits and drummer RayDeMarchi, who for more than 20 yearswere the other two-thirds of Long’s trio.

Also featured were pianist RogerWilder and multi-reed virtuoso CharlesPerkins.

Just for the occasion, six of Long’s

tunes received big-band arrangements,three by Spaits and three by membersof the NJO. The KC players performedadditional tunes by Long during a smallcombo set. In all, eight of the 15 tunesincluded on the “Time to Go” CD wereperformed, plus the classic Long com-position “Save That Time.” High energyand friendly improvisational interplaywere the keys to a sterling concert.

The NJO got things off to a rous-ing, rhythmic start with Neal Hefti’s“Whirlybird,” with Paul Haar taking thelead tenor role brilliantly. Throughout thetwo-hour concert, everyone performedat a very high level, including tenorsaxophonist Andrew Janak, the 2008NJO Young Jazz Artist. For his show-case, Janak chose three tunes by mas-ters of his instrument, Wayne Shorter’s“Witch Hunt,” Sonny Rollins’ “TenorMadness” and Stanley Turrentine’s“Sugar.”

NJO trumpeter Bob Kruegerjoined Janak at the microphone, as gui-tarist Peter Bouffard doubled themelody line of the Shorter tune. Thesmall group setting, with only the rhythmsection accompanying Janak andKrueger, put the spotlight directly on the

young saxophonist, who still is a seniorat Gross Catholic High School inOmaha. He was powerful, confidentand imaginative beyond his years onRollins’ challenging piece. Bouffard’sarrangement of “Sugar” also includeda tricky flugelhorn soli.

Appropriately, the Long tributebegan with the title track of his final

By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

NJO salutes Russ Long and Butch BermanConcert Review

Long tribute continued on page 16Andrew Janak and Bob Krueger

Gerald Spaits, Ray DeMarchi andCharles Perkins

The Nebraska Jazz Orchesta at May 23 season finale

Photos by Tom

Ineck

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CD, “Time to Go,” released just weeksbefore his death. Perkins, taking thelead on alto sax, did justice to the tunein an arrangement by NJO saxophonistMark Benson.

Delving into the ever-popularchanges of “I Got Rhythm,” the bandlaunched into Bouffard’s clever ar-rangement of “Meatloaf,” with occa-sional quotes from other tunes knownfor their “Rhythm” changes—“TheFlintstones” theme song, Rollins’“Oleo,” and, of course, the Gershwincomposition that started the whole thing.Superb solos came from Krueger ontrumpet, Haar on tenor sax, Wilder onpiano and Perkins on bass clarinet.“Parallel,” a simple but beautiful seriesof chord changes with a new arrange-ment by Spaits, served as the breaksong at the end of the first set, allowingfor some nice keyboard harmonies.

The KC rhythm section was joinedby the NJO’s Scott Anderson on trom-bone for the dreamy ballad “Serenade,”again with Perkins on the rarely heardbass clarinet. Spaits took a wonderfulsolo reflecting the piece’s gentle nature.Things went uptempo and Perkinsswitched to flute on “Shoemaker,” ashowcase for DeMarchi, who was allover the drum kit, switching from sticksto bare hands to mallets to brushes andback to sticks in a masterful, well-timed

display of his skills.Back on alto sax, Perkins played

the touching melody of Long’s mostfamous tune, “Save That Time,” whichhas been recorded by singers Joe Will-iams, Karrin Allyson and Kevin Ma-hogany. Even without lyrics, Perkins“sang” the standard through his horn.

The NJO returned for Spaits’ ar-rangement of “Woodland Park,” withPerkins taking the first solo statementon alto, followed by Todd Thatcher ontrombone and Bouffard on guitar. DaveSharp’s arrangement of “I Don’t CareWho” had Perkins stating the melodyon flute and solos by Thatcher on trom-bone, Sharp on alto sax and Perkins.

Finally, the uptempo rendition of“Can City,” arranged by Spaits, gave

solo space to Krueger on trumpet andBouffard on guitar before turning loosePerkins and Benson on dueling altos,trading fours with gusto and wit.

Several members of Long’s fam-ily were in attendance, including hiswidow and others from the KC entou-rage. The Berman Music Foundationwas well represented by many friendsand associates and by Butch’s widow,Grace Sankey-Berman. With suchmutual respect, love and support fortheir memories and their achievements,it is no surprise that the spirits of RussLong and Butch Berman also seemedto be present.

Long tribute continued from page15

Roger Wilder, Gerald Spaits, Ray DeMarchi and Charles Perkins

Charles Perkins on alto sax

Roger Wilder, Peter Bouffard, Gerald Spaits and Charles Perkins

Photos by Tom

Ineck

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Versatilepianist Monty Alexander has long takensly pride in the fact that he can—andfrequently does—shift stylistic gearswithout a moment’s notice, leaving thelistener dazzled and breathless.

He did it again May 10 in concertwith his trio at the beautiful Folly The-ater in Kansas City. Accompanied bylongtime bassist Hassan Shakur anddrummer George Fludas, Alexanderranged from the island rhythms of ca-lypso, ska and reggae to the more tra-ditionally American song forms ofBroadway, blues, pop music, Ellingtonand the Great American Songbook.

Alexander positions the piano sothat he can easily communicate visu-ally with the others, and the three ex-hibit a telepathic degree musical inter-play, signaling with a mere shrug or nodthe difficult metric changes and themind-boggling segues from tune to tune.

The pianist began with an un-named calypso melody, quoted fromGershwin’s “I Got Rhythm,” thenshifted to “Young at Heart,” a tune as-sociated with Frank Sinatra. He movedthrough a series of Broadway melodieswith a whimsical wantonness, glidingfrom a stride piano style to blues funkbefore settling on “Fly Me to the Moon.”

“Sweet Georgia Brown” wastaken at a breakneck pace that set thestage for a dazzling drum solo by Fludas.The trio exhibited a true talent for jazzimprovisation on another piece, whichbegan as a bluesy gospel number.Fludas laid down a New Orleans-styledrum roll, then into a straight bluesshuffle. As they continued into the nexttune, Shakur bowed the bass and Fludasswitched to mallets for a moody intro-duction. But, not to be taken too seri-ously, Fludas played a funky bass solo

and quoted “These Boots are Made forWalkin’,” perhaps another sly Sinatrareference.

In the second half, Alexander tookup the hand-held melodica to begin “TheBanana Boat Song,” the HarryBelafonte hit. He soon switched to pi-ano to segue into the Johnny Mandelballad “Close Enough for Love.”Alexander’s own “Trust” began as aballad, moved into a funky mid-tempoand segued into “Take the ‘A’ Train.”

“Good Life,” which Alexanderrecently recorded in a tribute to TonyBennett, was taken at a breezy, swing-ing mid-tempo, just the way Bennettwould have wanted it. From there, thepianist paid tribute to his own homecountry with Bob Marley’s “NoWoman, No Cry” and “Running Away,”on which he sang the opening titlephrase before turning to the keys.

Finishing with an uptempo blues,Alexander and company were imme-

Monty Alexander shifts gears at Folly concertConcert Review

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diately greeted with a standing ovationthat brought them back for an extendedencore, a medley of tunes associatedwith the American West or, asAlexander joked, “a tribute to RoyRogers and Gene Autry.” Beginningwith “Happy Trails,” the pianist evenwhinnied in equine delight, eventuallyplaying familiar passages from “GhostRiders in the Sky,” “I’m an Old Cow-hand” and “Home on the Range.”

The trio’s performance, whichdrew a large and enthusiastic crowd,was the last concert of the Folly’s year.The 2008-2009 season begins next falland is sure to showcase another stellarlineup.

Monty Alexander shifts gears at Folly.

Photos by John N

ollendorfs

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LINCOLN, Neb.—In its synthe-sis of jazz and classical styles, theStefon Harris nonet achieves a rarebalance of technique, soul and impro-visational skill.

That perfect music fusion wason display April 19 at the Lied Centerfor Performing Arts, as the vibraphon-ist and his eight colleagues performeda repertoire largely consisting of DukeEllington compositions. Though firstrecorded and performed by theEllington orchestra more than 40years ago, the pieces sounded as freshand timely as your morning newspa-per.

In addition to Harris, pianistXavier Davis, bassist Earl Travis,drummer Terreon Gully and trombon-ist Roland Barber, the ensemble in-cluded cello, viola, clarinet and flute,a foursome that is frequently used forits orchestral harmonic effect but isalso capable off solo improvisation.

The opener, “Thanks for theBeautiful Land on the Delta,” wasdrawn from Ellington’s “New OrleansSuite.” Harris immediately revealedhis virtuosity on combined vibraphoneand marimba, sweeping across bothinstruments with ease and imagina-tion. Barber contributed a soulful solo.

From “The Queen’s Suite,” Har-ris chose the beautiful “Sunset and theMockingbird,” which was given afunky twist by Gully and Harris. The21-year-old Travis delivered a verymature, imaginative and lyrical basssolo. Vibes, drums, bass and pianotook up the tune and set up a solo forthe clarinetist, who had a wonderfultone.

Rather than come to halt, thetune segued neatly into the Harrisballad “Memoirs of a Frozen Sum-

mer,” ah a u n t i n gpiece in-spired by thevibraphonist’se a r l ystruggle be-tween a ca-reer as aclassical pia-nist and hisdesire to takeup the vibraphone and emulate theheroic jazz trailblazer Charlie Parker.

“African Tarantella,” the origi-nal title track from Harris’ most re-cent release, was a rhythmicallyswinging, upbeat and thoroughlydanceable tune with Harris creatingsome bluesy lines on the vibes after astunning piano solo by Davis. At times,Harris did, indeed, sound like the

Stefon Harris nonet achieves rare balanceConcert Review

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Charlie Parker of his instrument.Gully performed an incredible

drum interlude entitled “The OtherSide of Silence,” leading into twomore selections drawn from the “NewOrleans Suite,” the rhapsodic “Bour-bon Street Jingling Jollies,” and theintensely bluesy “Portrait of WellmanBraud,” which featured a plunger-muted trombone solo that moaned andgrowled. Harris played a marimbasolo against a walking bass line witha hesitation phrasing that heightenedthe blues effect.

For an encore, the band returnedto the stage sans strings for a rousingrendition of “Caravan.”

The only disappointment of the90-minute performance was the factthat only 400 people were in atten-dance, an embarrassingly poor turn-out for such a major artist.

LINCOLN, Neb.—TheBerman Music Foundation(BMF) recently donated 200jazz CDs to Lincoln PublicSchools to be used for musiceducation in the city’s 10 middleschools.

The CDs are copies of the2001 release “Never Let MeGo” by the Russ Long Trio ofKansas City, Mo., for which theBMF provided essential funding.

With this gift to LincolnPublic Schools, funding for theNJO concert, and support forthis year’s Jazz in June concertseries, the Berman Music Foun-

dation rededicates itself to thepreservation and promotion ofjazz music in Lincoln, despite therecent death of BMF founderByron L. “Butch” Berman.Berman, 58, died Jan. 31 aftera four-month struggle with braincancer.

Since its inception in spring1995, the BMF has sponsoreddozens of jazz concerts through-out the Midwest. It has fundedmany recordings and maintainsa local museum that includes alibrary containing thousands ofmusic recordings, videos, booksand magazines.

BMF donates 200 CDs to Lincoln Schools

Stefon Harris

Courtesy P

hoto

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LINCOLN, Neb.—The brightand sunny music of Neal Hefti seemedperfectly apt for a bright and sunnySunday afternoon April 20 concert bythe Nebraska Jazz Orchestra. Hefti’sNebraska roots made it even more ap-propriate.

But it was special guest soloistScott Wendholt—like Hefti, a trum-peter—that made the concert so magi-cal. It was his second appearance inLincoln this year, having visited in Feb-ruary as a member of the Vanguard JazzOrchestra for a performance at the LiedCenter for Performing Arts. This time,Wendholt was placed squarely in thespotlight.

The orchestra warmed up with theHefti original “Splanky.” Like many offthe composer’s best-known tunes, itwas written for the Count Basie bandin a suitably swinging style. The bluesy,but upbeat “Teddy the Toad,” also rittenfor Basie, featured the trombone sec-tion in the riffing style that was theCount’s trademark.

Wendholt took the stage for thepopular standard “Just Friends,” quicklydemonstrating his piercing tone, cleanarticulation and octave leaps at a quicktempo. He took a more straight-forwardmelodic stance for the ballad “’RoundMidnight,” which was contrasted withunusual brass harmonies and an accel-erating tempo in an arrangement by IanMcDougall. “A Night in Tunisia” wastaken at a fast pace from the get-goand contained some bravura playing bythe star trumpeter.

From the Thad Jones songbookcame “Three and One,” whichWendholt often performs with the Van-guard band. In its original arrangement,Wendholt’s trumpet was paired with thebaritone saxophone of Scott Vicroy for

a stirring rendition that also featured asaxophone section soli and some spir-ited give-and-take between the princi-pals. Slowing things down for a returnto the Hefti oeuvre, the orchestrabrought out the venerable “Lil’ Darlin’,”a masterpiece of poise and easy-swing-ing grace that again showcasedWendholt’s brilliance on trumpet.

Pianist Tom Harvill delivered ahard-swinging intro to an uptempo ver-sion of the standard “You Don’t KnowWhat Love Is,” and Dave Sharp’s edgyalto solo set the stage for another re-markable Wendholt statement. Thecloser was Hefti’s bright and bouncy“Sure Thing,” a simple riff with a dis-tinct resemblance to the repetitive bluespattern of “Shake, Rattle and Roll.” PaulHaar on tenor sax and Peter Bouffardon guitar delivered fine solos, followedby Wendholt, weaving dissonant trum-pet lines through the brass harmoniesand digging ever deeper into the blues.

Haar appeared earlier on the pro-gram as director of the University of

Nebraska-Lincoln Jazz Ensemble I,which performed three tunes before theNJO portion of the show. They beganwith Sonny Rollins’ “Oleo,” as arrangedfor the Maynard Ferguson big band. Theold standard “Whispering” got a newlease on life with an intricate arrange-ment by Eric Richards, the new pro-fessor of composition at UNL. Finally,the wonderful Victor Lewis tune “Hey,It’s Me You’re Talkin’ To” broughtWendholt to the stage to join the youngerplayers in Dave Sharp arrangement.

The ensemble turned in exemplaryperformances, with plenty of energy,fiery ensemble playing and solo tech-nique. Among the outstanding soloistswere saxophonists Brandon Holloman,Gabriella Praetzel and Chris Steinke,trumpeter Paul Krueger, trombonistTommy Van den Berg and guitaristLuke Polipnick. Their elders in the NJOmay have to start practicing to meetthe challenge of these young upstarts.

Surprisingly, the mid-afternoonconcert drew about 250 people to theEmbassy Suites ballroom on a spring-like day that might otherwise have foundthem laboring in their yards.

Trumpeter Wendholt shines with jazz orchestraConcert Review

By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Courtesy P

hotos

Scott Wendholt

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Jazz on Disc

James Carter reaffirms his status among the greats

The music of James Carter ischaracterized by a prodigious tech-nique on all reed instruments, coupledwith a hard bop edge, a bluesy atti-tude and a willingness to stretch be-yond conventional jazz to create atruly exciting listening experience.

So it is with his latest release,“Present Tense,” an aptly namedproject that impresses from the get-go as an in-the-moment, no-holds-barred throw-down involving a verycompatible group of like-minded mu-sicians. Just listen to the opening track,Dave Burns’ “Rapid Shave,” and seewhat I mean. Carter blows a meanbaritone sax while pianist D.D. Jack-son roves and slams the keyboard ina style reminiscent of Don Pullen.

The tempo slows for the start ofCarter’s “Bro. Dolphy,” but the mu-sic is as adventurous as ever, with thecomposer—on bass clarinet—payingtribute to the iconoclastic genius ofthe title. Trumpeter Dwight Adamsenters with a fury as the tempo in-creases to a frenzied pace.

Django Reinhardt’s “Pour QueMa Vie Demeure” gets a true balladtreatment, with Carter switching tosoprano sax for a Sidney Bechet-stylesound. A lovely bass solo by James

By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

From the opening salvo of thetitle track, we know that singer EdReed is not simply reprising his mo-mentous debut recording of lastyear, a gorgeous collection of bal-lads called “Ed Reed Sings LoveStories.”

The performance is a power-ful, joyous reading of the popularstandard, with Russell George add-ing the unconventional sound of jazzviolin to the tonal palette. In fact,George plays the introduction on thesecond track, a lush version of

Genus and some understated pianowork by Jackson is followed by avirtuosic solo by Carter, who eventu-ally hits and holds a stratospheric noteto the end. Guitarist Rodney Jonesenters the fray for Carter’s “SussaNita,” which swings with a mid-tempoLatin feel. Carter, on tenor sax, em-ploys his most burnished, full-bodiedtone to give it the emotional thrust itrequires.

The Victor Young standard“Song of Delilah” is turned into afunky tour de force pitting Carter ontenor sax against Adams’ trumpet asdrummer Victor Lewis provides theessential rhythmic anchor and Jack-son contributes his dazzling pianistics.Jackson states the introduction to thebreezy “Dodo’s Bounce,” by DodoMarmarosa. Carter on flute andAdams on Harmon-muted trumpet aredelightful sparring partners on thiswhimsical number, with Lewis swing-ing lightly on brushes and occasionalkick-drum punctuation. Jones deliversa lively guitar solo.

“Shadowy Sands,” by JimmyJones, exudes an exotic Latin rhythm,and Carter’s outrageous bass clari-net performance heightens the exoticawith its deep, woody tones. Adamsadds a crisply constructed flugelhornsolo as Lewis, percussionist Eli Foun-tain, Jackson and Genus urge him on.All the stops come out for Gigi Gryce’sclassic “Hymn of the Orient,” takenat a furious tempo and featuringCarter wailing on baritone sax.Adams and Jackson also turn in daz-zling solos before everyone tradesfours with Lewis in a spectacular dis-play of musicianship.

Carter’s “Bossa J.C.” lightensthe proceedings somewhat with its

soulful tenor sax, acoustic guitar andassorted percussion instruments, butLewis pours it on with his cracklingdrum work, and Adams on flugelhorngives the tune an edge. Again on bari-tone, Carter caresses the harmonieson “Tenderly,” the familiar melody ofwhich is stated on muted trumpet byAdams, who also gets a lengthy, well-deserved solo spot before the leadershows his stuff in a wide-ranging soloon the big horn.

With “Present Tense,” his firstrelease in three years, James Carterreaffirms his status among the great-est jazz saxophonists of all time.

JAMES CARTERPresent TenseEmArcy Records

ED REEDThe Song is YouBlue Shorts Records

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DAVID FINCK QUARTETFuture DaySoundbrush Records

Jazz on Disc continued on page 22

Ellington’s “It Shouldn’t Happen toa Dream.”

What is consistent with “LoveStories” is the prominent role ofmulti-talented, multi-instrumentalistPeck Allmond, featured on trumpet,tenor sax, flues, cornet and clari-net. The rest of Allmond’s backingsextet includes guitarist Jamie Fox,pianist Gary Fisher, bassist DougWeiss and drummer Willard Dyson.

At nearly 80 years of age,Reed continues to amaze with hisunique tone, broad range, near-per-fect intonation and unusual phras-ing. The 13 tracks vary greatly intempo, length and style, but Reedmaintains a confident attitude.

“Where or When” lightlyswings in mid-tempo for nine min-utes. Reed duets beautifully withFox’s guitar accompaniment on thebrief “I’m Through With Love.”Ellington’s “All Too Soon” gets arelaxed treatment highlighted bybrief statements from Allmond ontenor sax, George on violin, Fox onguitar and Fisher on piano.

Reed returns frequently to hisforte—the romantic ballad—with “IGet Along Without You Very Well,”“Don’t Like Goodbyes,” and “ItNever Entered My Mind.” In all, theEllington songbook yields four tuneshere, including “I Didn’t KnowAbout You” and “Don’t You KnowI Care,” where the singer stretchesthe phrases caressingly to a mellowLatin rhythm.

Considering his new-foundfame, Reed seems to state the ob-vious with an ebullient take on“Lucky to be Me” and the philo-sophical reflection of “Here’s toLife.”

With nearly 70 minutes worthof music, “The Song Is You” is agenerous sampling of Ed Reed. Withtwo recordings in two years, the SanFrancisco-based septuagenarianseems to be making up for lost time.

It’s hard to believe that “Fu-ture Day” is bassist David Finck’sdebut recording as a leader.Stretching back nearly 30 years,he has been the bass player ofchoice for the l ikes of MarkMurphy, Rosemary Clooney, PhilWoods, Eddie Daniels, PaquitoD’Rivera, Claudio Roditi, HarryConnick J r. , Shei la Jordan,Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight, RodStewart and dozens of others inthe jazz and pop world.

It’s about time, and Finckmakes the most of it. For “FutureDay,” he has chosen a stellarlineup that includes the prolific andimmensely talented vibraphonistJoe Locke, pianist Tom Ranier, anddrummer Joe La Barbera, with ad-dit ional support from specialguests Jeremy Pelt on trumpet andBob Sheppard on saxophones.

All four of the principals con-tribute compositions, making thisa pre t ty democrat ic affa i r.Ranier’s hip, brooding “I Know”opens the project and demon-stra tes how wel l th is quar te tworks together, especially theunique harmonizing between pianoand vibes.

Finck’s “New Valley” is abreezy jazz waltz with some bril-liant bass interpolations and abrief, but lyrical solo by the com-poser. The evergreen “NatureBoy” gets a new coat of paint in5/4 time.

Pelt and Sheppard lock inwith Locke on the melody of thehard-charging, flag-waver “FourFlags.” Pelt takes the first solo,followed by Locke and Sheppard,before the tune comes to anabrupt stop after less then threeminutes.

Roger Davidson’s “Ballad fora Future Day” is the stunning cen-terpiece, with its gorgeous chordchanges, the quartet’s sensitiveinterplay, and Finck’s absolutelybeautiful bowed bass solo.

Wayne Shor ter ’s “BlackEyes” again provides a vehicle forthe piano-vibes harmonies and, es-pecially for Ranier’s imaginativeand confident playing. Pelt onmuted horn and Sheppard on so-prano sax return for Finck’s cleverstop-time Latin swinger “Look atYou.” Always a heart-render, “ForAll We Know” is taken at a veryslow ballad tempo, which Lockeexpertly caresses with long vi-brato-rich lines before passing itto Ranier for a tender solo.

The drummer’s contribution isa lilting little number called “If NotFor You.” After Locke states thetheme, Finck digs in with a note-perfect solo, followed by solos byLocke and Ranier and some verynifty drum breaks. Locke’s “Ap-pointment in Orvieto” is a rhyth-mically and harmonically challeng-ing tune that the composer sailsthrough with aplomb as the tempoaccelerates. In fact, the wholeband seems inspired here.

Ranier also penned the lightlyswinging “Transparency,” with LaBarbera showing his ski l l onbrushes . The uptempo CedarWalton tune “Firm Roots” closesthe set with gusto.

With “Future Day,” the DavidFinck Quartet is deserving of anencore.

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Jazz on CD continued from page 21

Delirium Blues Project is thebrainchild of pianist Kenny Werner andsinger Roseanna Vitro. Once you getpast the gimmicky concept, this live re-cording has real merit. While not astraight jazz recording, it does containssome exciting performances by jazzmasters of their instruments, includingtrumpeter Randy Brecker, tenor saxo-phonist James Carter, trombonist RayAnderson, bassist John Patitucci andguitarist Adam Rogers, plus the lesser-known but equally capable Geoff Coun-tryman on baritone sax and RockyBryant on drums.

Recorded at the Blue Note in NewYork in August 2007, “Serve or Suf-fer” is a bluesy session featuring an in-teresting mixture of pop and soul mate-rial with innovative Werner arrange-ments and heartfelt playing. The listenergets a good idea of what he’s in forwith the opener, a new take on the oldTower of Power classic “What Is Hip?”that derives from the fusion influencesof Miles Davis, Weather Report andReturn to Forever, with a smoking soloby Rogers.

Vitro deserves kudos for herchoice of the obscure, but wonderful“Goodnight Nelda Grebe, the TelephoneCompany Has Cut Us Off,” from the1968 release “Living with the Animals,”by the eclectic rock band Mother Earth,fronted by singer Tracy Nelson. Theoriginal lasts less than three minutes, buthere stretches beyond nine minutes,

Even after nearly 40 years lis-tening to jazz and more than 20 yearswriting about it, I still get an occa-sional thrill when a fabulous new

with pumping horns, rock-solid rhythmand Vitro’s soulful vocalizing. “Blue”receives a lush, romantic take, withsmoky nightclub piano and a very hip,moaning tenor solo by Carter.

Joni Mitchell gets her due whenVitro pays tribute with “Be Cool.”Rogers rips off another hot solo, thistime sounding a bit like Larry Carlton.Another well-deserving tune is “HalfMoon,” best known for Janis Joplin’searly ‘70s version. Here it is a show-case for the horn section and Vitro’ssmoldering delivery, much more re-strained than Joplin’s wail.

“Cheater Man” is Vitro at herbluesiest, and the horns delve again intothe punchy Tower of Power sound.Mose Allison’s “Everybody’s Cryin’Mercy,” one of the great indictmentsof hypocrisy, gets another worthy in-terpretation, and Anderson’s mournful,plunger-muted solo is the highlight.

The music is so much fun thatWerner and Vitro can be forgiven thepretensions of “Serve or Suffer,” whichinclude comic-book artwork, blurbspromising “True Thrills!”, “Madly Popu-lar!” and “Fearless Musicians!” and astatement that all the music was “con-jured live at the Blue Note.” The musicis its own justification and doesn’t re-quire hype.

artist hits the scene. Pianist RaveTesar is the latest favorite, and hisdebut as a leader is a gem. The factthat “You Decide” is on Tesar’sown label and features his brotherBill on drums adds to the intrigue.Who is this guy?

Tesar’s compositions and key-board style come from the vastly in-fluential Bill Evans school, but withmore modern harmonic and rhyth-mic excursions. The result is a setof 10 beautifully realized pieces ofclever construction (“The ScaleSong”), tenderness (“MinorMood”), and dazzling technique(“Have Some More”).

The title track is a brooding,mysterious eight-minute explorationof chord changes and harmony.“The Vision” is a driving, rambunc-tious tune, while “Everyone ButMe” lilts along in witty, care-freefashion. “Nobody’s at Nobody’s”struts in a soulful mood, reminiscentof Bobby Timmons or Les McCannand features a wonderful solo state-ment by bassist Kermit Driscoll.“Someone Else’s Spell” is, indeed,a spell-binding, impressionistic foraythat begs comparison with the bestof Keith Jarrett.

Rave and brother Bill work to-gether well on the Latin romp“Midas,” and “Helium,” the finale,is an uptempo workout for the en-tire trio, again displaying their suresense of three-way interplay.

Throughout the recording,Driscoll, who has recorded withsuch innovative jazz artists as BillFrisell, John Zorn, Wayne Horvitzand Henry Kaiser, adds an impro-visational edge that acts as the gluethat binds the Tesars together.

By the way, a little research re-veals that Tesar is a New York-based pianist, composer, recordingengineer and producer who hasbeen active in the pop and jazzworlds since the early 1980s, one

DELIRIUM BLUES PROJECTServe or SufferHalf Note Records

RAVE TESAR TRIOYou DecideTesar Music

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My first impression of RayaYarbrough was that, at best, her vo-cal style is an acquired taste that Ihadn’t yet acquired. At worst, Ithought, the Southern California-based singer is just another medio-cre talent hoping for the kind of in-stant crossover stardom that NorahJones achieved with her recordingdebut in 2002.

After half a dozen listens, how-ever, I’m convinced thatYarbrough’s self-titled, major labeldebut is the real deal and that sheis a genuinely gifted songstress witha unique approach to the music.Like Jones, she has a lovely voice,mixes genres and writes and ar-ranges much of her music and lyr-ics (she penned eight of the 12tracks here). But she also appreci-ates the standards without slavishlyadhering to the “acceptable” waysof interpreting them.

“Lord Knows I Would” is asoulful opener with a gospel tingeand folk instrumentation, and “Your

Too many of guitarist ThomRotella’s previous recordings left mecold with their light-weight, so-called“smooth” jazz sound, so “Out of theBlues” came as a pleasant surprise.For this 2007 release, he largely es-chews the forgettable melodies andlackluster performance for a set ofstandards and bluesy Rotella originalsplayed with a sense of urgency, andthe result is very hip and very enjoy-able.

It doesn’t hurt that the guitaristhas gathered around him a group ofvery capable players—pianists LlewMatthews and Rich Eames, bassistLuther Hughes and legendary bopdrummer Roy McCurdy. They per-fectly complement his Wes Mont-gomery-style fretwork.

The Montgomery influence isevident from the outset, Rotella’sswinger “Who Dat?” where he em-ploys the familiar octave chords togreat effect. The blues and the word-play continue on “Bluze 4 Youze,” amore conventional blues shuffle withnice keyboard comping by Matthews.Hughes, best known for his long ten-ure with bluesy jazz pianist Gene Har-ris, provides a solid walking bass lineand takes a tasty solo.

“My Foolish Heart” is one ofthree standards included, and it getsthe ultra-romantic treatment, with longand lush lines at a very relaxed tempo.Rotella and Matthews trade solos,

Jazz on Disc continued on page 24

So Bad for Me” employs a reggaebeat. Yarbrough’s rendition of “JoySpring” breaks the mold as shewhispers the lyrics to a moody rockbeat before a string section andelectric guitar enter the picture. Theresult is a fascinating new look atan old evergreen.

“Dreamer’s Ball” is a some-what understated acoustic blues,with Takeshi Akimoto on rhythmguitar. A gospel choir enhances thetraditional sound and Akimoto cutsloose with a nifty solo. All the while,Yarbrough and the harmony voicesinteract with satisfying results.“Sorrow’s Eyes” is a jazz waltz withthe Yarbrough lyric, “If it holds truethat love’s eyes are blind, sorrow’seyes are wide open. If your lonelyeyes are open, hold me in your sightfor awhile.”

First-time listeners may not im-mediately identify Yarbrough’simaginative take on “Mood Indigo,”with her voice initially accompaniedby bass only. It soon becomes ap-parent as the rest of the band chimesin. The sole remaining standard,“Early Autumn,” gets a more con-ventional, if mournful, reading fromYarbrough, and she is backed by astring quartet that gives the perfor-mance the feel of a classical tonepoem.

“Hollywood Love” is a dreamyLatin number, with subtle horns andpercussion setting the mood asYarbrough’s voice soars above. Thesinger shows her considerable skillat the piano on “’Round We Go,”which has an irresistible rumbabeat. “Vice and Vanity” also utilizesa Latin rhythm, but the music is lessinteresting. The closer, “BetterDays,” is a cleverly constructedtune with rapid-fire lyrics and a hip-hop attitude, but the chorus isstrangely appealing.

who obviously has not gotten therecording opportunities as a leaderthat he deserves. Brother Bill Tesarhas performed with Angela Bofill,Bob Berg and Mark Feldman.

I’ve already decided. RaveTesar’s debut recording is a joy tolisten to. But don’t believe me.Track down the CD, buy it and “YouDecide.”

RAYA YARBROUGHRaya YarbroughTelarc Records

THOM ROTELLAOut of the BluesFour Bar Music

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Jazz on Disc continued from page 23

while Hughes and McCurdy, onbrushes, assist with admirable skill andsensitivity. “The Dr. Is In” returns tothe bluesy Montgomery references ata quicker tempo, and “Never SayGoodbye” evokes a dreamy Latinworld with excellent mallet work byMcCurdy and Rotella’s languorous,single-note lines and alternatingchords.

Jerome Kern’s timeless “TheWay You Look Tonight,” is taken at a

medium tempo that emphasizes thetune’s gorgeous melody anddanceable waltz tempo. While Rotellaand Eames trip the light fantastic,Hughes and McCurdy shine in theiressential supporting roles, especiallyMcCurdy in his brilliantly brush-stroked solo. The band brieflyswitches to a lilting Latin beat for “AllWays,” then returns to more familiarground on the swinging standard “IHear a Rhapsody,” which features apassage of four-bar breaks that dis-play the quartet’s compatibility.

“Shimmer” is a lush ballad byRotella that reflects the dappled sun-light-on-water imagery of its title. Theguitarist sets the mood, and Eames de-livers a similarly shimmering solo. Thebouncy Latin closer, “Be Here Now,”contains some unusual chord changesthat resolve into a fairly conventionalmelody.

Here’s hoping that Rotella con-tinues to pursue the true jazz muse,such as he does on “Out of the Blues.”

LINCOLN, Neb.—It was nojoke when renowned jazz trumpeterRandy Brecker performed at an AprilFools’ Day concert at Lin-coln Southeast HighSchool.

Brecker, however, diddisplay a sense of humor inhis choice of repertoire andin his good-natured rapportwith the much youngerplayers who shared the au-ditorium stage with thismaster technician.

The evening beganwith a three-piece set bythe Lincoln Southeast JazzEnsemble I, under the di-rection of Bob Krueger.“Skyhawk,” by Fred Sturm, was fol-lowed by the Victor Young standard“Beautiful Love,” featuring thedirector’s son Tommy Krueger onflugelhorn. Brecker made his firstappearance fronting the high schoolband on the clever “Southeast SixStep,” a syncopated piece by EricRichards that had band membersclapping in time. Brecker deftly

pinched off the notes in his imagina-tive trumpet solo.

Next up was the University of

Nebraska-Omaha Jazz Ensemble I,directed by Peter Madsen, kickingthings off with “A Little Minor Booze,”a bluesy number in a minor key. With1995’s “The Sleaze Factor,” composerBrecker directed his ire at a formerrecord company. He played the tunewith especially funky, nasty verve.The Tim Hagans composition “Boo”paired two trumpets with baritone sax,

By Tom Ineck ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Brecker shows wit at April Fools’ Day concertConcert Review

bass and guitar, and Brecker’s ballad“Incidentally” was a showcase for hiswonderful trumpet playing, including

a final breath-taking ca-denza.

The trumpeter effort-lessly played double- andtriple-time and hit sustainedhigh notes on the samba“Tijuca.” Brecker soared onhis composition “Shanghigh”from his 2003 release “34th

N Lex.” The band finishedwith a rousing rendition of“Some Skunk Funk,” a clas-sic of the funk fusion genrefirst recorded by brothersRandy and Michael Breckerin 1975. UNO saxophone

professor Darren Pettit took the saxpart.

With the death of his youngerbrother in January 2007, RandyBrecker still carries high the torch ofjazz-funk fusion. This stylistic amal-gamation will, no doubt, continue tomake his music both exciting and rel-evant for many years to come.

Courtesy P

hoto

Randy Brecker

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“Ah, sweet mystery of life,” somewise man wrote. I suspect that “sweetmystery” is about death.

Surely I would be helped, or atleast able to lighten up, if I simply con-sidered death and dying a mystery, in-stead of intermittently felled by that factof existence.

We all know, do we not, that alllives end in death, that fair price for thebeauty and tragedy of living.

What I don’t get is why it’s so hard,why each new death in our short andsweet existence feels like an unimag-inable wound.

A good friend left us, as we some-times say, this winter after an accuratedeath sentence of four months, due toa malignant, inoperable brain tumor. Hechose to live life cheerfully at the end—telling me that “being positive is hardwork,” to which I agreed, telling himthat I don’t even try.

A few off his friends, including me,knew of the four-month diagnosis buthe did not want to talk about it endlesslyor have to console his grieving friendsduring his last few months. Even so, Iwas shocked at his death, thrown intostartling and uncomfortable grief.

One of the operating systems weall have in our characters is that of de-nial. Mine had certainly kicked into highgear as he and I visited once a week inthe office of our friend and massagetherapist, and at lunch with the four ofus, old friend and his lovely wife, andtherapist and myself. We’d been meet-ing for a Monday noon lunch a fewtimes a year for several years.

My massage therapist friendcalled to tell me our friend had died thenight before, so I’d not be more shockedto walk into my weekly appointment, todiscover that he was no longer with us.

Still, I havestruggled with hisdeath. Now Ithink of biddingfarewell to himand his wife aswe parted afterlunch that dayless than threeweeks before hedied. Neveronce did I thinkthat would be the last time I would seehim.

Another old friend tells of sittingat her dying unconscious father’s bed-side, reading the “Tibetan Book of theDead.” Another lent me her copy of“Good Life Good Death,” written byher Buddhist teacher Gelek Rinpoche.

My childhood Christian Sciencetold me that “Sin, sickness, disease anddeath are unreal.” I know our old friend,in an African tradition, will be with usas long as the last person to know himis alive.

What I discover each day is the

blank place he used to occupy, that vi-tal, vibrant, joyously alive man.

My old friend existed with his be-loved wife, Grace, in the world of hisobsessions, as we all do, and that offloving friends, and richly in his enormousand generous devotion to jazz music.

I hate to whine; we all face death,lots of it as we age, and meet our friendsat funerals. Maybe this death was justthe tipping point for me, after a year ofmany losses.

Maybe struggling with loss andgrief is simply what we are required toexperience in exchange for the gift oflife.

Editor’s Note: Ruth Thone, author of“Women and Aging, CelebratingOurselves,” “FAT: A Fate Worse thanDeath,” “Women, Weight and Ap-pearances,” and “Being Home,” canbe reached at [email protected] article first appeared in theMarch 22 edition of NeighborhoodExtra. It is reprinted here with theauthor’s permission.

Understanding the sweet mystery of lifeMemorial

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File Photo

Butch Berman in 2005 visiting San Francisco, one of his favorite cities.

Courtesy P

hoto

Ruth Thone

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Guitarist’s music to be in upcoming film,thanks to Butch Berman CD review

Dear Mr. Tom Ineck:

I just wanted send my condolences to the Bermanfamily at Butch Berman’s passing. He was very kindto me in reviewing my CD “Fearless Shores” back in2004. Thanks in part to him and yourself, seven of thesongs have been acquired and mechanical licensingagreements signed with GAG Order Films for the pre-mier of their release “The Lawn Boy” and will bescreening at the Hollywood Black Film Festival, June5, 2008. Laemmle Music Hall 3, 9036 Wilshire Blvd.,Beverly Hills, Calif., at 7 p.m.

Thanks again for you review at the Berman Mu-sic Foundation and all the great work you do.

Respectfully,

Richard HartInnervision RecordsJazz Guitarist

Celebration of life keeps themusic and memories alive

Tom,

What a fabulous celebration for a truly wonderfulman. Bravo to you and everybody that made it pos-sible. Best regards.

Peace,

Don HolmquistLincoln, Neb.

Editor’s Note: Don Holmquist is the drummer andsinger for The Cronin Brothers, the last bandButch Berman was in. The surviving membersperformed at the March 23 celebration of life.

Celebration of life keepsButch’s vision alive

To all who planned the Celebration of Life event,

What a grand celebration to honor the life ofButch Berman. Fabulous music, amazing people andgreat food. Thank you for continuing to keep his visionalive.

Sincerely,

Marthaellen FlorenceChair of Jazz in JuneLincoln, Neb.

“When you are inspired by some great purpose,some extraordinary project, all your thoughtsbreak their bonds; your mind transcends limita-tions, your consciousness expands in everydirection, and you find yourself in a new, great,and wonderful world.”

-- Patanjali

Editor’s Note: The 2008 Jazz in June concertseries is dedicated to Butch Berman.

Kansas City singer sends thanksfor inclusion in celebration of life

Thank you, I had a terrific time.

David BasseKansas City, Mo.www.citylightentertainment.com

Editor’s Note: At the Celebration of Life, DavidBasse performed the classic farewell ballad, “I’llBe Seeing You,” the blues tune “The Eagle Flieson Friday,” and Cole Porter’s “I Love You.”

Letters to the Editor

Friends, fans and musicians send respects

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Non Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 1359

Lincoln, NE

How can you help the foundation?

The Berman Music Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt,501(c)(3) private foundation, and your tax-deductible donationwill help offset the costs of this newsletter and its programs.

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Make check payable to Berman Music Foundation at:Berman Music Foundation719 P St., Studio C-1Lincoln, NE 68508

Thanks for supporting jazz!

Berman Music FoundationButch Berman Charitable Music Foundation719 P St., Suite C-1Lincoln, NE 68508

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After seven years (1998-2004), the Topeka Jazz Festival wasstruggling financially. Butch Berman was named artisticdirector of the 2005 festival, which featured NormanHedman (left) and his band Tropique, who have had a longrelationship with the Berman Music Foundation. As itturned out, nothing could save the Topeka festival and itfolded after the eighth year. On the right is Rich Hoover,BMF photographer and close friend of Butch’s.

From the Archives

Butch is artistic directorof 2005 Topeka Jazz Fest

Photo by D

awn D

eBlaze

jazz in june dedicated to berman

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