Live Music Presents Choices | Norman Provizer’s Jazz Notes

This past week in music was something truly special. First, the city took another big-league step when Dazzle brought in the great drummer Brian Blade and his superb Fellowship Band for six shows over four nights. Traditionally, Denver is the kind of town where big national acts visit for a couple of nights. To make the jump to a four-night, largely sold-out stand is something to celebrate. At the end of the Fellowship Band’s stay, Dazzle also announced that in January, a brand new group called Still Dreaming would be spending three nights at the club (the 8^th through the 10^th) before heading to New York for its Big Apple debut at the Jazz Standard. The group with saxophonist Joshua Redman, Denver’s Ron Miles on cornet, Scott Colley on bass and Brian Blade on drums is an all-star aggregation and its three nights sold out almost immediately.

Speaking of Miles, the night after Blade’s band ended its stay, the drummer stayed on to perform with Miles (who heads the new Jazz and American Improvised Music program at Denver’s Metro State University) and guitarist Bill Frisell in a trio that has recorded two impressively beautiful discs. The trio’s two shows with several folks sitting in (including two strong student musicians, bassist Kent McLagan and the major clarinetist Don Byron who has joined the faculty at Metro State) were also sold out.

Additionally, while Louisiana drummer Blade was at Dazzle with his band, the masterful New Orleans piano giant Ellis Marsalis was at Baur’s Listening Lounge. During his first, sold-out set, Marsalis blended Ellington with originals and even a touch of Christmas, giving each his own concise and memorable touch. On the last tune of the set, Ellis’ drummer/vibraphonist son Jason joined in on the snare; and during the break, Jason made a quick trip to catch up with Blade (who spent time in New Orleans) and hear a couple of tunes before heading back to Baur’s and his dad who is a true patriarch on the New Orleans jazz scene.

Now, back to this week – a week that ends right before Christmas. On Thursday, singer Teresa Carroll (along with Drew Morell, Bill Kooper and others) does “The Great Holiday Songbook” at Nocturne, 1330 27^th St., at 7 p.m. (303-295-3333). Carroll and company repeat the “Holiday Songbook” again on Friday at 7 p.m. Then on New Year’s, Nocturne has pianist/singer Henry Butler on tap with a trio. Butler is not only a professor of the Big Easy piano style, he’s a full professor when it comes to that department. Thursday also finds blues and soul singer/pianist/saxophonist Deanna Bogart at Baur’s, 1512 Curtis, at 8 p.m. (303-615-4000) and singer Hazel Miller at the Soiled Dove Underground, 7401 E. 1^st Ave., doing her “Christmas Show” at 8 p.m. (303-830-9214).

The Christmas songbook is also on display on Saturday at Dazzle, 930 Lincoln, at 7 and 9 p.m. when singer SuCh does her “Holiday Show” (303-839-5100), followed on Sunday at Dazzle by singer Allan Harris doing his “Nat King Cole Christmas” at 5 and 7 p.m. with the 5 p.m. show listed as sold out. The New York-based singer is among the major male jazz vocalists on the scene today. 

The Christmas spirit continues at Dazzle on Monday when pianist Purnell Steen leads Le Jazz Machine in “Celebrating a Cool Yule…Five Points Style” at 7 and 9 p.m. That spirit is also on display on Wednesday when pianist Annie Booth (along with bassist Morell, drummer Jill Fredericksen and singer Kristi Stice) revisits “Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas” during a sold-out 7 p.m. set at Dazzle. Booth is back at Dazzle on December 24 with Charlie Brown at 6 p.m.  

 And on Friday, swing fiddler Katie Glassman and her Snapshot quartet are at Dazzle at 7 and 9 p.m. “Swinging the Season” in its own strong style, while, on Tuesday at Dazzle, the Adam Bartczak Republic, a 19-piece big-band led by trombonist Bartczak, displays some green, musical grass at 7 p.m.

Comments & suggestions: Normanprovizer@aol.com