The Crescent City Comes to the Mile High City | Norman Provizer’s Jazz Notes

The Pelican state should be on everyone’s mind this week with both drummer Brian Blade and pianist Ellis Marsalis in town. The only thing missing from this special Louisiana treat is the crawfish.

In 2011, the National Endowment for the Arts did something completely different with its annual Jazz Masters award. Not only was pianist Marsalis honored, but, beyond that, the Jazz Masters recognition was extended to include his entire musical family – trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, saxophonist Branford Marsalis, trombonist/producer Delfeayo Marsalis and drummer/vibraphonist Jason Marsalis. That was the first and only group award in the history of the NEA Jazz Masters program.

Born in New Orleans in 1934, the piano playing Marsalis was anything but a traditional figure at the keyboards. His love was be-bop and that love was passed on to a host of players (from his sons to Terence Blanchard and Harry Connick, Jr.) during the pianist’s time as the director of jazz studies at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and later at the University of New Orleans. The father of the clan is an outstanding player and you can hear him solo at the piano on Thursday at Baur’s Listening Lounge, 1512 Curtis. The sets are at 7 and 9:30 p.m. with the 7 p.m. set listed as sold out (303-615-4000). The performances benefit the Colorado Conservatory of the Jazz Arts and Marsalis stopped by KUVO to chat and play on Wednesday.

While the piano playing Marsalis is at Baur’s on Thursday, another Louisianan finishes up his four-night stand at Dazzle, 930 Lincoln, on that same night. That other talented fellow is drummer Brain Blade who is in town with his knockout Fellowship Band. Blade, who was born in 1970, grew up in Shreveport – the major city in northern Louisiana. That’s where I first came across the drummer. He was getting started at the city’s high school for the arts that had a jazz program headed by a former Ray Charles saxophonist, Dorsey Summerfield. As young as he was then, when you listened to him, you knew he had it. After high school, Blade moved to New Orleans for college and connected with all the key players on the scene, including, of course, Ellis Marsalis. In fact, the first time I ran into Blade after he moved to the Big Easy was when he was playing with Ellis.

At this juncture, Blade is clearly one of the most important drummers around in the jazz world and beyond it. The latest Blue Note CD from the Fellowship aggregation (pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Chris Thomas and saxophonist Myron Walden and Melvin Butler) is titled Landmarks and it, like the band’s previous discs, stirs the soul in absolutely sublime fashion. Blade is on stage at 7 and 9 p.m. (303-839-5100). Blade is a master whether with his groups or Wayne Shorter or, for that matter, Bob Dylan.

While the Fellowship Band’s Dazzle run ends on Thursday, Blade is back on stage there on Friday with a special performance from the circuit riding Ron Miles and his cooperative trio made up of guitarist Bill Frisell and Blade. Miles, who is in charge of the Jazz and American Improvised Music major at Metropolitan State University of Denver, has clearly emerged as a highly significant player on the national scene. Armed with his cornet and players such as Blade and Frisell, Miles has a grand trio of likeminded players that is at the top of the musical game. On the two discs that it has recorded on Enja (Quiver and Circuit Rider), the trio displays a sense of musical architecture that is in a class by itself. Both sets by Miles and company at Dazzle are listed as sold out. On Saturday, the trio makes a stop in Boulder at the Community United Church of Christ, 2650 Table Mesa, at 7 p.m. That concert too is listed as sold out.

In addition to all this, Thursday and Friday also has another visitor to town, saxophonist Stan Killian. This is the saxophonist’s second stop at Nocturne, 1330 27^th St., and he plays with an area-based rhythm section that includes Eric Gunnison on piano. Originally from Texas, Killian moved to the east coast in 2006 and settled in Brooklyn two years later. With a modern-day Texas tenor sound, Killian has recorded a number of discs with his own groups and a number of very high-caliber players such as bassist Scott Colley. At Nocturne, he plays at 7 p.m. (303-295-3333).

On Saturday, Nocturne has its “State of the Trumpet” set with trumpeter Greg Gisbert at 7 p.m., while trumpeter Bob Montgomery, with the group he co-leads with trombonist Al Hermann, is at Nocturne on Wednesday also at 7 p.m. Back at Dazzle, singer Mandy Harvey does her holiday show on Saturday at 7 and 9 p.m. with a band that includes pianist Gunnison. And on Sunday, its singer Myra Warren together with pianist Ellyn Rucker and her band at Dazzle at 7 p.m.  On Saturday at 8 p.m., Rucker is with singer Teresa Carroll at Poppies, 2334 S. Colorado (303-756-1268). And on Sunday, singer Terri Jo Jenkins and pianist Jeff Jenkins provide some music the reading of A Christmas Memory at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 1650 Ogden, at 6:30 p.m.

On Monday, the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra continues its high school series at Dazzle at 7 p.m., followed on Tuesday at 7 p.m. by saxophonist Josh Quinan’s Chopin Project with the Denver School of the Arts Jazz Workshop and the Peak to Peak Center School Jazz Band. Moving to Wednesday at 7 p.m., it’s the Center for Musical Arts Jazz Ensemble and Combo at the club on Lincoln.  

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