July Continues To Jump With Live Jazz | Norman Provizer’s Jazz Notes

1917 was a very good year. During its 12-month run, that year saw the birth of Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Nat “King” Cole, Buddy Rich and Tadd Dameron among others. In line with that simple fact, there string of events celebrating the birth of these notable jazz giants. On Tuesday, one of those events takes place in town when trumpeter Byron Stripling and singer Carmen Bradford bring their Ella and Louis magic to the new Dazzle, 1512 Curtis.

The Atlanta-born Stripling has played with a number of aggregations, including the Count Basie Orchestra, as well as with a long-string of symphony and pops (as in Boston) orchestras. He is also a familiar face at the Vail Jazz Festival held over the Labor Day weekend. His partner in this venture is vocalist Bradford, who left college to join the Basie Orchestra at the start of the 1980s and stayed into the 1990s. Basie died in 1984 and she didn’t get to record with the orchestra until Frank Foster took over the reins. She later recorded and or played with George Benson and the David Murray Big Band.

There are celebrations, of course, galore marking the centennial of the birth of the First Lady of Song. And this one takes the form of the famed duets she did with Louis Armstrong. After some recording made together for Decca that started in 1946, producer Norman Grantz reassembled the famed duo for Verve a decade later. A series of albums followed that have never lost their impact. The sets at Dazzle by Stripling and Bradford on Tuesday are at 5 and 7:30 p.m. (303-839-5100).

The Stripling/Bradford combination is also at the Vail Jazz club series on Wednesday at Ludwig’s Terrence at the Sonnenalp Hotel at 6:30 and 9 p.m. and at the Vail Square series on July 27 at 7 p.m. It will also be part of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass JAS Café series on July 29 and 30.

The day after Stripling and Bradford are at Dazzle, a very strong, young pianist hits the stage at the club with his trio. Christian Sands is often described as a protégé of Billy Taylor. The player out of Connecticut connected with bassist Christian McBride’s big band and trio and is clearly a significant new voice on the scene. While there are no names listed for the rest of the trio, Sands has frequently played with Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Marcus Baylor on drums. The trio is on at 6 and 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Also on tap this week, the Gift of Jazz offers up a centennial Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie. The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra with trumpet solos from Brad Goode provide the sounds in honor of Diz at Historic Grant Avenue, 216 S. Grant, at 4 p.m. on Saturday (giftofjazz.org). Wine and beer tasting begins at 2:30 p.m.

Back at Dazzle, Thursday is Caribbean night with the Pan Nation Steel Drums at 7 p.m.; while on Friday, the club has the Boulder-based Brazilian band Ginga on stage at 6:30 and 9 p.m. On Saturday, Dazzle has the H2 Big Band throwing a dance party with its Jazzed Media CD You’re It. Then on Sunday, Dazzle celebrates Sinatra with singers Lenny Kaye and Teresa Carroll at 6 p.m. Also on Thursday, the Vail Jazz concert series at Vail Square continues with the Hot Club of France Tribute Band on stage at 6 p.m. Think of it as a dose of Django time.

The swing-oriented group After Midnight is at Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons in Lone Tree, at 8 p.m. on Friday (720-509-1000), saxophonist Rico Jones is live in the KUVO studio on Thursday from 6 until 7 p.m. and Gumbo le Funque leads a Mardi Gras in July session at Opehalia’s, 1215 20^th St., at 9 p.m. (303-993-8023).

Additionally at Dazzle, the Sunday brunch is at 9:30 a.m. with pianist Adam Bodine’s trio and the Saturday breakfast with pianist Purnell Steen, a newer addition to the lineup, is at 10 a.m.  There is also a Friday lunch at the club that features Annie Both and Ellyn Rucker at 11 a.m.  

On a final note: the Newman Center’s lineup for the coming year has several notable jazz concerts. Starting on November 4 and running through May, the Center has singer Gregory Porter, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, the Tierney Sutton Band; drummer Antonio Sanchez doing Birdman live and trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s E-Collective (303-871-7720).

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