March is Warming Up To Many Jazz Events | Norman Provizer’s Jazz Notes

I was just settling into Denver in the early 1990s when trumpeter Red Rodney came to town armed with a teenage saxophonist who grew up in South Carolina and was about to start college in New York. That was my first exposure to Chris Potter who will be at Dazzle on Tuesday and Wednesday with his Circuits Trio. 

In the years that have since passed, Potter has emerged as a premier saxophonist of his generation with incredible improvisational skills. And no one who heard him play with Rodney back then would be at all surprised by his achievements. Potter, who developed his style working and recording with drummer Paul Motian and bassist Dave Holland, has covered a number of bases on the jazz field and the Circuits Trio, with keyboardist James Francies and drummer Eric Harland, brings him back to the creative fusion side of things.

The last time I saw Potter here was in the wake of his 2017 The Dreamer Is the Dream disc on ECM and it was something to behold. This trip, in the wake of his new release, Circuits on Edition, should be no different. The Potter and friends play Dazzle at 6:30 and 9 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday (303-839-5100).

While Potter wraps up the week in music, pianist Cyrus Chestnut kicks it off on Thursday and Friday with his quartet that has Warren Wolf on vibes, Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Carl Allen on drums. Chestnut’s 2017 disc on HighNote There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit featured Steve Nelson on vibes along with Buster Williams on bass and Lenny White on drums. Williams and White were originally on the schedule to appear here but over time things changed and it will be Nakamura and Allen along with the strong vibraphonist Wolf, who, like Chestnut, is from Baltimore. 

In between the always gospel-tinged sound of Chestnut and Potter, there are two items of note on Saturday. First, at Dazzle, pianist/singer Dawn Clement is on stage at 7 p.m. Clement for a long time was viewed as “the Wonder Woman of Seattle” (in one writer’s words). This past year, she left Seattle for Denver and a job as the coordinator of MSU Denver’s Jazz and American Improvised Music Program (replacing clarinetist Don Byron who held that position for two years). This is chance for folk here to hear this new addition to Denver’s jazz scene with a quartet that includes Ron Miles, who also is part of MSU Denver’s jazz program, the great drummer Matt Wilson and bassist Kent McLagan.

Also on Saturday, one of the mighty Cuban pianists, Alfredo Rodríguez, is at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway.  Alfredo was discovered by Quincy Jones who assisted Alfredo’s desire to obtain an exit visa from Cuba to to New York. Joining Rodriguez in Lakewood is percussionist Pedrito Martínez, winner of the 2000 Thelonious Monk Percussion competition.  Pedrito appeared in Denver as part of the 2017-2018 jazz series at the Newman Center on the campus of the University of Denver. The two have a duo disc out called Duologue and together they create a full, Latin-flavored sound. The duo is on stage at 7:30 p.m. (303-987-7845).

Additionally, on Thursday trumpeter Gabriel Mervine begins the week of music at Nocturne, 1330 27^th St., with a quartet that is on stage at 6:30 p.m. (303-295-3333). Then on Tuesday and Wednesday at Nocturne, saxophonist Jeremy Wendelin pays tribute to Dave Brubeck (Tuesday) and guitarist Alex Heffron does the same for Michael Brecker (Wednesday). The music on both nights starts at 6:30 p.m.

Sunday night at the Muse Performance Space in Lafayette is the weekly jam session led by Brad Goode,  it begins at 7pm and concludes at 10pm.  One never knows who will show up to jam with Brad, Pete Lewis and their students. The Muse Performance Space  is a venue deserving of wider recogntion.  They’re located at: 200 E. South Boulder Rd., Lafayette, CO 80026

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