Max Wagner Plays the Music of Charlie Parker Norman Provizer’s Jazz Notes for June 11

There is a long list of live music this week; and, at the top of the list, there are two major jazz artists coming to town – Jason Moran and Brian Blade. Moran, of course, is one of the premier players on the scene and he is doing his solo-piano thing at Baur’s Listening Lounge, 1512 Curtis, on Sunday at 4 and 7 p.m.  As for Blade, who is playing at Dazzle, 930 Lincoln, on Saturday (7 and 9 p.m.) and Sunday (6 and 8 p.m.), the drummer from Shreveport, Louisiana is simply one of the true masters of his instrument to emerge in the entire history of the music.

For this visit to Dazzle, however, Blade will be drum-less. Instead of sitting behinds a trap set, Blade is here with his Mama Rosa band in which he plays guitar and sings, with someone else at the drums. As the fates would have it, Blade is in town during a five-run by the national touring company of the blockbuster musical Wicked in the Buell Theater at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. The musical that well deserves the blockbuster status it has achieved is based on the idea that while you know “certain things,” you frequently don’t really know the full story. In that regard, the play’s composer Stephen Schwartz has said, “I’m often attracted to an idea that takes a familiar story and spins it, looking at it from another direction.”   

Leaving Oz and its witches aside, it’s hard to think of a better way to approach Mama Rosa. The band takes the familiar story of drummer Blade and provides a highly attractive spin on it, taking it in another direction. The result works. In addition to Blade, Mama Rosa at Dazzle on Saturday and Sunday has Chris Thomas on bass, Geoffrey Moore on guitar, Kelly Jones on vocals and Steve Nistor on drums (303-839-5100).  And the superb production of Wicked runs until July 5 at the Buell (303-893-4100).

Pianist Moran’s 2014 CD is All Rise offers “a joyful elegy for Fats Waller.” So, you can probably expect to hear the pianist’s take on a number of Fats Waller tunes at Baur’s. But the basic fact is that whatever Moran does, he does with incredible talent. There’s a reason that everyone is talking about this pianist who grew up in Houston and is the artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC– and you can hear why on Sunday.

If Moran and Blade were the only artists visiting town, it would be an impressive week of music. But they are not alone. On Friday, drummer Scott Amendola, who has grooved with guitarist Charlie Hunter and many others, is at Dazzle at 7 p.m. with a quartet that includes clarinetist Ben Goldberg, guitarist Dave Devine and bassist Paul McDaniel. Goldberg, who is from Denver, has emerged as one of the top clarinet players in the music, including his work on contra alto clarinet. Then, on Monday at 7 p.m. , singer Becky Martin is in town to perform with the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra at Dazzle. Martin, originally from Maine, has a number of recordings under her belt, including the 2008 disc The Growing Season that has Blade on drums. She has also recorded with drummer Paul Motian’s group and that is no mean accomplishment.

Also in the vocal department, jazz and blues singer David Basse, out of Kansas City, is at Dazzle on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Instead of you having to go to Kansas City, Kansas City is coming to you in the form of a singer who has been called “the voice of Kansas City.” Additionally, saxophonist Max Wagner and his quartet (Jeff Jenkins, Ken Walker and Todd Reid) celebrate the music of Charlie Parker at Dazzle on Thursday starting at 7 p.m. as part of the “Jazz for Kay” series. On Wednesday, it’s bassist Kim Stone, who has been on the road with several popular jazz groups, at Dazzle with Mitch Chmara and Kevin Smith.

On a final note: Nocturne, 1330 27^th St., has announced its summer lineup of artists in residence who will be playing through August at 7 p.m. The lineup is: trumpeter Pete Olstad doing vintage Blue Note and beyond on Mondays; the Scott Martin Trio on torch singer Tuesdays; Drew Morell, Ken Walker and Peter Gregory doing swing from the early Concord years on Wednesdays; the Tom Gershwin Quintet on Thursdays; the Paul Shinn Trio on Fridays; and Danette Hollowell and the Old Souls on Saturdays. Also, Nocturne has added late shows on Fridays and Saturdays starting at 11:15 p.m. This Friday, it’s a do with bassist Bijoux Barbosa and pianist Eric Gunnison.

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