Labor Day Weekend Jazz Choices | Norman Provizer’s Jazz Notes

For decades the Labor Day weekend in Colorado meant the Dick Gibson Jazz Party. After the imposing Gibson event ended its run, the Vail Jazz Party picked up the musical reins for this holiday weekend. That was 24 years ago and the event is still running strong. This year’s event kicks off with groups at the Jazz Tent at Vail Square on Thursday, starting at 6 p.m. At 8 p.m., there’s the Jazz Party House Band (a.k.a., the Clayton Brothers with trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, trumpeter Terell Stafford, drummer Lewis Nash and pianist Bill Cunliffe). Then, on Friday the afternoon sessions continue at the Jazz Tent through Monday.

Along with the afternoon sessions, there are also evening events at the Grand Ballroom of the Vail Marriott, 715 W. Lionshead Circle. The bands in for the event along with the Claytons (bassist John and saxophonist Jeff) include include singer René Marie and her trio, pianist Benny Green and his trio, drummer Jeff Hamilton and his trio and the Mile Hi Gospel Ensemble. Along with the groups there are 11 individual soloists who find themselves blended into the mix in a number of different ways. Among those soloists you can find saxophonist Eric Alexander, guitarist Peter Bernstein and trumpeters Sean Jones and Byron Stripling.

The event has also become known for its special shows and tributes, This time around, there are tributes to Leonard Bernstein by pianist Cunliffe and to Joe Williams and Harry “Sweets” Edison by trumpeter Stripling. There are also events honoring Jimmy Smith by Hammond man Tony Monaco and the Chicago tenor tradition by Alexander. And there are late-night jam sessions at Wing’s Place in the Vail Marriott

In the Gibson tradition, the Vail Party mixes and matches players in a wide range of contexts and that can certainly be interesting. The afternoon sessions go from 1 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., while the evening sessions pick up 7 p.m. and end around 10:45 p.m. (vailjazz.org).

The Vail event may take up most of the jazz oxygen over Labor Day, but there are also several items of interest right here in town. The first of these is an appearance of Cuban pianist Omar Sosa’s Quarteto Afro-Cubano at Dazzle, 1512 Curtis, in between stops at the Detroit Jazz Festival and the Blue Note Napa. The quartet has Raul Pineda on drums, Childo Tomas on electric bass and Leandro Saint-Hill on saxophone. The band plays on Tuesday and Wednesday at 6:30 and 9 p.m. (303-839-5100). This group always lit the house on fire when it performed as part of the much missed Mount Vernon Country Club jazz series. KUVO Jazz will broadcast the first set of Tuesday’s show.

In a different vein, the very popular group the Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman is at the Soiled Dove Underground, 7401 E. 1^st Ave., on Saturday at 7 and 10 p.m. , while crossover saxophonist Kim Waters is at the Dove on Sunday at 7 and 10 p.m. (303-830-9214).

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