Superlative Music Choices Abound! | Norman Provizer’s Jazz Notes

For the past five-plus weeks, Jazz Notes fell victim to an accident I had that required surgery & rehabilitation. Returning to action, it’s time to note some of the items coming up during the summer season. Colorado has more than its share of summer festivals, though the exact list of events changes over the years. For example, for a number of years now, three of the most familiar names on the summer scene are the Telluride Jazz Festival (Aug. 5-7 with guest of honor Jon Cleary); Jazz Aspen Snowmass (June 24-July 2); and the Vail Jazz Party (Sept. 1-5) with related jazz activities (July 7-Sept. 1).   

On top of those, you can find the Estes Park Jazz Festival that runs in the Estes Park Performance Park Amphitheatre on Saturday and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. with a number of players including Max Wagner, Greg Gisbert and Charles Gatschet, to name just a few. On 1:35 p.m. on Sunday, festival headliner singer Vanessa Rubin takes the stage. There is also music on Saturday night with Wagner at Mama Rose’s Italian Restaurant.

Another long-term summer event is the Winter Park Jazz Festival in Hideaway Park (July 16-17) with Kirk Whalum and groups like the Isley Brothers. Moving from more pop-oriented sounds to those of more traditional/mainstream jazz, there’s the Evergreen Jazz Festival in several Evergreen locations that runs July 29-31). All of these will be discussed in detail in coming weeks.

Interestingly enough, perhaps the strongest overall lineup of music comes from the Jazz at Vail Square portion of the Vail Jazz Festival that runs Thursday nights at 6 p.m. from July 7-Sept. 1. The series begins with the trio of pianist Monty Alexander, bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton followed by guitarist John Pizzarelli, trumpeter Bria Skoberg, pianist Michel Camilo, pianist Joey Alexander, singer Cecile McLorin Salvant, Maraca and his Latin Jazz All-Stars, the H2 Big Band tribute to Count Basie and the Vail Jazz Party House Band (John and Jeff Clayton, Lewis Nash, Terell Stafford, Wycliffe Gordon and Bill Cunliffe). Then the Vail Jazz Party begins. Several of the groups will also be playing at the Vail Club series that takes place on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. before Jazz at Vail Square Thursdays.

Another series to note is the Jazz Aspen Snowmass club series at the Little Nell in Aspen that runs July 8-Aug. 20 that has a lot of overlap with the Vail Square series in terms of artists (starting with the Monty Alexander Trio) plus Poncho Sanchez, Christian McBride (with Edgar Meyer) and Gregory Porter. Beyond the trio with Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton, pianist Alexander is also around this summer with his dynamic Harlem-Kingston Express for the KUVO Live at the Vineyards fundraiser at Denver’s Balistreri Vineyards on Aug. 13.

And in terms of series, remember the Sunday City Park Jazz concerts at 6 p.m. starts on this Sunday with the Euforquesta band and continues through Aug. 7. Hazel Miller, Lannie Garrett, Selina Albright and Otis Taylor are among the performers on tap for the weekly event.

Outside of festivities, Dazzle, 930 Lincoln, has singer Cyrille Aimee on stage on Saturday (7 and 9 p.m.) and Sunday (6 and 8 p.m., 303-839-5100). On Thursday at 6:30 and 8:30, Jeff Jenkins uses his Hammond B-3 to explore the music of Prince, while trombonist Mark Patterson has his quintet at the club on Friday at 7 p.m.  and bassist Andrew Hudson has Trancejazz there on Tuesday at 6 and 8 p.m.  

Submissions and comments: Normanprovizer@aol.com