Excuses from Tampa Jazz

We at Tampa Jazz Scene dot com apologize for our silence this summer. Please trust us that there are several articles in the works. In the meantime, I will be liveblogging the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops at my blog and syndicating them here.

Hot Jazz at the Gorilla Theatre

Sunday night, it wasn't just the jazz that was hot at the Gorilla Theatre. LaRue Nickelson and his handpicked quintet kept bringing the music despite inadequate air conditioning, as the small venue on North Hubert Avenue played host to around fifty jazz fans excited to hear some of Tampa's greatest.

Nickelson was joined by some of the finest jazz musicians anywhere for an excellent evening of originals with a lone standard in the penultimate spot. USF jazz department colleagues Mark Neuenschwander (b) and Steve Davis (d) joined Jeremy Powell (ts,cl) and electric bass phenom Patrick Bettison on keys and chromatic harmonica.

That the musicians were genuinely enjoying themselves was apparent, especially when Bettison's ebullient reaction to the twists and turns of a Powell solo got the rhythm section grinning ear to ear. Nickelson's compositions (to my ear) were a modern take on jazz-meets-americana (think Bill Frisell), ranging from loping, rootsy grooves to up-tempo broken swing. The guitar duties were all covered by Nickelson's semi-hollow G&L tele, with nary a hollowbody in sight.

Aside from the overwhelming heat (which prompted Nickelson to ask the audience, "hot enough in here?" The house offered free bottled water at intermission), the night was well worth attending (even from Lakeland). The bass and piano were lost in the mix the first set, but were plenty present for the second. It is disappointing to know that the Tampa Jazz Club does not consistently sell out the tiny hall (approximately 60 seats) every show. They would be well served by initiating an e-newsletter (Jazz Club board member Bob Seymour does send out information via email, which reached me via Dwayne White) and having, at the very least, a MySpace.

Enjoy the pictures and come out to the next show.


Setlist (I will clean this up once I get corrections from LaRue):

• Thing's I've Lost
• (unknown)
  
• Wifealot
• Hey, Mr. Porter
• Back at the Cathouse
• Ed's Tune

• Oh, Joyous One
• Globular Dominatrix
• Ravine
• Flight of the Kiwi Bird
• (unknown)
• Darn That Dream
• Dark Water

Audio clips to come.

LaRue Nickelson Quintet|3 June 2007

Guitarist LaRUE NICKELSON’S QUINTET
presented by
Tampa Jazz Club
on
Sunday, June 3, at 6:00pm
at
The Gorilla Theatre, 4419 N. Hubert Avenue, Tampa
(813) 879-2914
www.gorillatheatre.com
cost
$15 / Jazz Club members $12 / Students $5
personnell
LaRue Nickelson|guitar
Jeremy Powell|saxophone
Patrick Bettison|piano_harmonica
Mark Neuenschwander|bass
Steve Davis|drums
about
Nickelson is jazz guitar instructor at USF, and a member of the Jazz Surge and the Michael Ross Quartet. This concert will spotlight his original material, with a hand-picked band of some of the area’s finest players.

myspace mentions

There's no denying it; myspace is taking over the world. While some of the links supplied here are provided elsewhere, this space is devoted solely to Tampa Jazz myspace pages. Add all of these as friends and let us know if there are other myspace pages you think we should add.

Performers

• Alejandro Arenas
• Dave Stamps
• Jack Wilkins
• Jeff Berlin
• Matthew Wengerd
• Mike Gibilisco
• Nate Najar
• Rich Van Voorst
• Ryan Marsh

Bands

• Bendelow Road
• the Mars' Trio

Venues

Resources

• The Center for Jazz Composition

Tom Stewart Jazz Trio - Friday, May 25, 2007

The Tom Stewart Trio will be performing at PJ's Coffee and Wine Bar, 411 South Belcher Road, Clearwater, FL 33765, this Friday, May 25, 2007, from 8-10 pm. Click here for location.

Mark Neuenschwander will be playing bass. Sava Boyadjiev will be on drums. As always, the music will be all-original. Admission is free.



Visit www.stewartjazz.com for more information. Or go to http://www.pjscoffee.com/ to visit PJ's website.

Venue Profile #1 - City Fish Seafood Grill and Chophouse

Venue Profile #1

City Fish Seafood Grill and Chophouse


















Welcome to City Fish Seafood and Chop House in beautiful downtown Oldsmar. Fueled by their mutual passion for quality food, veteran restaurateurs The Fragale Family have set out to create a dining experience you are sure to remember.

Click here for the menu and location.

Jazz:
City Fish offers great food and a great atmosphere for any evening. The house band, called The Mars' Trio, plays every Thursday and Saturday nights from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. and features saxophonist Richard Van Voorst, bassist Alejandro Arenas, and drummer Mark Feinman. The group performs many different styles of jazz from Be Bop, Hard Bop, and Modern Jazz, to playing show tunes, and even the occasional Pop or Classical tune with a jazz twist. You might hear music from Cole Porter and Rogers and Hammerstein, to Miles Davis, or even Joni Mitchell and the Police as well as many original compositions.

Call for Reccomendations

In addition to jazz event listings in West Central Florida, we at www.tampajazzscene.com will be spotlighting CDs and concerts through reviews as well as local jazz artists. If you know a jazz artist in the Tampa Bay area you think we should profile, please email us and let us know.

We want to hear from you!