It’s Telluride Jazz Festival Time Again! | Norman Provizer’s Jazz Notes

It’s that time of year when festivals are in full bloom. Just this week, for example, there are two jazz festivals on the schedule, both of which run Friday through Sunday. The first is the long running jazz celebration in Telluride whose guest of honor this year is saxophonist Ernie Watts. In addition to the multi-faceted Watts and his quartet, there are strong jazz sounds from guitarist Bill Frisell and his trio and Hammond B-3 master Joey DeFrancesco. On the groove side of the music, the Telluride Jazz Festival that runs night and day indoors and outdoors offers saxophonist Maceo Parker and the M&M’s (John Medeski of Medeski, Martin and Wood, Stanton Moore, Rob Mercurio and Papa Mali). The rest of the lineup has bands such as the Soul Rebels, Nth Power, Eddie Roberts’ West Coast Sounds with Jennifer Hartswick and Jonathan Scales Fourchestra. For the full lineup, check out telluridejazz.org (970-728-7009). 

  While Telluride is in its 39^th year, the Denver Vintage Jazz Festival that also runs Friday through Sunday is only in its second. This event focuses on pre-bop sounds with groups from New York (Gordon Au, Jake Handelman, Benji Bohannon and Ian Hutchinson), Pittsburgh (clarinetist Paul Cosentino’s tribute to Benny Goodman) and Seattle (pianist Solomon Douglas). The three-day event is at the Castle Events Center, Double Tree Inn, 83 E. 120^th Ave. in Northglenn. Location wise, it’s not quite Telluride, but…(303-883-6691, denvervintagejazzfestival.org).

There is some spillover from the festival events in Denver and Boulder. Just to name a couple of the more notable ones, the M&M’s band (with Medeski), for example, is at Cervantes, 2637 Welton, on Saturday at 9 p.m. (303-297-1772), while Maceo Parker is at the Fox Theater in Boulder, 1135 13^th St., on Friday at 8 p.m. (720-645-2467).

Leading into the Vail Jazz Festival on Labor Day weekend, the Vail Jazz Foundation has a number of things going on, including Thursday evening ticketed concerts at Vail Square starting at 6 p.m. This week, the band on stage is DIVA, a 15-piece orchestra led by drummer Sherrie Maricle. The all-women band, over the years, has a long list of significant alums, including reed players Anat Cohen and Denver’s Tia Fuller, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, pianist Helen Sung (who will be in Denver at Dazzle on September 5-6) and drummer Allison Miller. Another DIVA alum is trombonist/vocalist Natalie Cressman who is also in town this week, performing at Baur’s Listening Lounge, 1512 Curtis, on Sunday (baursmagic.com). 

 Cressman has had musical relations with trumpeter Nicholas Payton, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and, most particularly, the fine saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum, as well as players of a more rock persuasion. Armed with her second CD Turn the Sea, she and her Bay Area band lands on stage at 8 p.m. Also on Sunday, bassist Esperanza Spalding brings her latest band Emily’s D + Evolution to the Fox Theater in Boulder at 7:30 p.m. Emily is Spalding’s middle name and this is her more rock oriented band. Then on Wednesday, Spalding’s group is on the bill with Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue at the Paramount Theater, 1621 Glenarm. Spalding opens the proceedings for Shorty (New Orleans trombonist/trumpeter Troy Andrews) at 8 p.m. (866-461-6556).

Over at Dazzle, 930 Lincoln, on Saturday, trumpeter Brad Goode plays at 7 and 9 p.m. with his group that has a special guest, Michael Raynor, on drums. Goode has roots in Chicago, as does Raynor who worked with the great Chicago saxophonist Von Freeman and spent several years at the Green Door in the Windy City with singer Kurt Elling (303-839-5100). On Thursday, keyboardist Jeff Jenkins leads a night of bossa nova sounds, with singer Wendy Fopeano, at Dazzle stating at 7 p.m. as part of the ongoing “Jazz for Kay” series. Friday finds bassist Ken Walker and his sextet at Dazzle at 7 and 9 p.m., while on Sunday, saxophonist Pete Lewis and now drummer Claire Church lead the Lewis and Church Expedition (not in search of Lewis and Clark) at Dazzle at 7 p.m.

 After the weekend, Dazzle has the Aaron Hedenstrom/Ian Argys Quartet on Monday at 7 p.m. for a “21^st Century Music Night.” Then Brazil is back in the picture at Dazzle with clarinetist Dexter Payne and his quintet doing the sounds from the imposing musical land on Tuesday at 7 p.m. And on Wednesday, Dazzle has a two-for-one, CD-release party at 7 p.m. Vocalist/guitarist Justin Allison does a duo with saxophonist Bob Rebholz to mark the release of their new disc, while drummer Allan Finney out of Vail leads a sextet doing the same for his new CD Cool.

While Ernie Watts is the guest of honor at Telluride, pianist Ellyn Rucker is this year’s guest of honor at City Park Jazz, the free Sunday series held at City Park stating at 6 p.m. This Sunday, Rucker plays (and she does that extremely well) with her trio and singers Myra Warren, Joni Janak and Fopeano. The City Park series ends on August 9 with the Sam Mayfield Blues Review.

Also this week, John Cain and Katie Cat from San Diego return to town for the “Jazz for Jazz Lovers” home concert series on Sunday at 4 p.m. with several area-based players (303-400-5288).  On Saturday, the duo is at La Cour, 1643 S. Broadway, at 7 p.m. (303-777-5000). Then on Tuesday, La Cour hosts a birthday party for pianist Billy Wallace who was born in 1929. Wallace worked and recorded with Max Roach and went from Denver to Seattle for a spell before coming back. The party is at 7 p.m. 

Comments and submissions: Normanprovizer@aol.com