€¦ · Harold Danko [b. June 13, 1947, Sharon, PA] has built a long and distinguished career as...

DankoDanko HaroldHarold

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August-September 2019 – Volume 10, Number 5

Cover Photo and photo at right of Harold Danko

By Ken Weiss

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CLUBS, CONCERTS, EVENTSCLUBS, CONCERTS, EVENTS 13 Calendar of Events 18 Clubs & Venue Listings

20 Harold Danko — The Language Of Music, by Ken Weiss

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32 Billy Cobham — Recording The Semi-nal Album: Spectrum

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By Ken Weiss

Harold Danko [b. June 13, 1947, Sharon, PA]

has built a long and distinguished career as an

adaptive and creative pianist, both as a leader

and a sideman, a prolific composer, and as a

valuable educator, the bulk of which includes 19

years at Eastman School of Music in Rochester,

New York, where he recently stepped down from.

He continues to record and perform. After grad-

uating from Youngstown State University, he

spent time in an army band stationed in Staten

Island that allowed him to build connections in

the New York jazz scene. He soon was playing

with the Woody Herman band and later leaders

such as Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, the Thad Jones/

Mel Lewis bands, and Gerry Mulligan. He also

worked with singers Chris Connor, Anita O’Day

and Liza Minnelli. While many may think of

Danko as a traditionalist, he has maintained an

interest in free improvisation and exploration

inside the piano as modalities to further his per-

sonal musical statements. This interview took

place in Elkins Park, PA while Danko was in the

area to visit family on May 3, 2019.

Jazz Inside Magazine: What is your heritage?

Where does Danko originate from?

Harold Danko: The name Danko, I am told by

Hungarian people, is a Hungarian surname. My

father is from Slovakia, which was part of the

Hungarian Empire at one point. My parents are

both from Eastern Slovakia, the same village –

Spisske Vlachy, in the Spis area. They lived in

Smock, Pennsylvania, before moving to Masury,

Ohio, where I grew up. My parents spoke Eng-

lish and Slovak, that’s my heritage. There was

supposedly a famous Gypsy violinist that Hun-

garians have told me about named Pista Dankó.

JI: Any chance that you’re related to Rick

Danko [The Band]?

HD: No. I did meet him once and his heritage is

more southern Slavic, so there’s not much

chance we’re related.

JI: Since 1993, you’ve remained with one rec-

ord label, SteepleChase, and recorded 24 albums

for them. That shows perhaps unparalleled loyal-

ty on both sides. What makes your association

with this Danish label work for you?

HD: [Laughs] I didn’t know the count. I had a

time when I wasn’t recording as a leader. It was-

n’t a dry spell; I was busy with everything else. I

had recorded for Sunnyside. François Zalacain

was a good friend of mine, still is, I did his first

record with Rufus Reid. So, I was associated

with Sunnyside for some time, did a few rec-

ords, but Sunnyside was going into a different

direction. François was no longer producing

records himself anymore. I led a quartet with

Rich Perry around New York, and I decided to

record some demos. I had accumulated about 90

minutes worth of demos and I sent it out to vari-

ous people I knew in the business who I thought

might be interested. All the ones that got back to

me said they couldn’t do it but Nils Winther,

from SteepleChase, got back and said he loved

the music but wanted to record Rich Perry first.

He had heard Rich Perry on a Ron McClure

record. So, we did Rich Perry’s first record To

Start Again with the quartet we had been co-

leading. The next recording for Steeplechase

was mine, Next Age, which had all my originals.

The relationship has continued. Nils calls every

once in a while and nobody else does. [Laughs]

JI: How much are you sacrificing in recognition

in the States by recording for a foreign label?

HD: Nils does have his distribution channels

and the record gets out there, it just doesn’t seem

to get a lot of reviews. I got so tired of going

around to record companies, and that’s why I got

more interested in teaching. The number of dol-

lars from teaching numerous lessons adds up, so

I was much more loyal to my students than I was

to a one-time club owner who was gonna pay me

whatever. By teaching, I found I was talking

about music, rather than talking about business,

and then I would get paid at the end of that hour.

That felt better than waiting around till four in

the morning to get paid. Recording is more like

a documentation at this point. I feel like my

adult life has been documented. In my darkest

moments, I say, ‘Steeplechase has documented

my decline.’ [Laughs] I think with most bigger

record companies, if you get your shot and it

doesn’t do anything, you’re done. Nils asks me

every year or so to do a project or asks me what

I have. He hit on the idea of recording with

somebody like Kirk, who I hadn’t encountered,

which was a great idea.

JI: It’s interesting that up until this year’s re-

lease with cornetist Kirk Knuffke [Play Date,

SteepleChase], you had only recorded with nine

musicians on the previous 23 SteepleChase rec-

ords. Would you discuss maintaining a small set

of artists to record with versus utilizing new

groupings?

HD: [Laughs] I hadn’t done the math. Those are

the guys that agreed to rehearse and made time

for me. I’d love to record with Billy Hart, but

could I grab Billy Hart for two afternoons? Mi-

chael Formanek, Scott Colley and Jay Anderson,

for example, those guys I know, and they might

make a rehearsal if I asked them to. It’s really

the guys who were interested and available. I

would like to play with a whole lot of people, if

that were possible. Also, in the last 20 years, in

Rochester, I was very off the New York scene,

so it wasn’t like I was in contact with a lot of the

New York players. Plus, the artistry of these

guys is so high. I feel that I sound good with

these guys, even if I haven’t played with them

[for some time].

JI: Play Date represents a significant departure

for you. You’ve done duet recordings before,

most notably with Lee Konitz, but this release is

with Knuffke, an artist you’d never met before

the day of the recording. How did this album

“I was much more loyal to my students than I was to a one-time club owner who was gonna pay me whatever. By teaching, I found I was talking about music, rather than talking about business, and then I would get paid at the end of that hour.

That felt better than waiting around till four in the morning to get paid. Recording is more like a documentation at this point.”

Harold Danko

The Language of Music

INTERVIEWINTERVIEW


come about and how was it to create with a new

partner?

HD: Nils recommended Kirk and that I listen to

him on the Internet. I found him interesting, I

liked his sound and the way he controlled it. I

brought along some tunes but wanted to see

where things would go if we played some free

things. SteepleChase owns the publishing of all

the Duke Jordan material, and Duke Jordan’s

Flight to Copenhagen is his biggest record.

Duke Jordan is his Keith Jarrett. We did free

tunes and the Duke Jordan stuff just kind of goes

down pretty easily. I brought those tunes as a

backup but as we got into them, especially as we

got into Flight to Copenhagen, not just because

it’s the big hit, it just worked out. We did three

different takes and I thought it would be good to

alternate the free tunes with the Duke Jordan

tunes.

JI: Alternating with the Duke Jordan tunes are

seven short tracks that are spontaneous improvi-

sations. They fit together so well that it’s not

apparent that they’re instant works. What’s your

approach to making spontaneous pieces?

HD: To try to listen as deeply as you can and

respond/react, and then initiate. You’re hearing

what the other person is initiating, and then you

either support them or put it in another direction.

I have a short attention span, I really do, espe-

cially for free music when I’m playing it. I have

an idea, but I don’t know how to develop it

sometimes. I’ve listened to a lot of great pop

tunes that last three or four minutes. “Eleanor

Rigby” is a pretty heavy three minutes. I really

like to wrap things up. As much as I appreciate

Mahler or Rachmaninoff, I find myself drifting

and sleeping sometimes, very nice sleep with

that kind of artistry going on. Even with all my

theory, and I’m a theory nerd, I sometimes don’t

follow it. What’s he developing now? Wagner

can just go on and on…

JI: That explains why the spontaneous improvi-

sations are so short, with most being under three

minutes.

HD: I did an LP for François Zalacain in 1983

called Ink and Water. So, people say, “Oh, Har-

old Danko, he doesn’t do free music.” Well, I

did many short free tracks on that LP. Ink and

Water stems from the idea of what Bill Evans

said on Kind of Blue about the Sumi-e paintings

that were done by Buddhist artists. They’re just

ink drawings, and if you stop to think about

what you are doing, the ink goes through the

parchment so the artist has to be spontaneous. I

saw the relationship to music, so, I got really

into Sumi-e painting, which is through the Zen

Buddhist sort of thing. The preparation line

drawings Western artists do in planning their

work was more interesting to me than the actual

final paintings because you could see what their

idea really was. Back to Ink and Water, when

my teacher, Gene Rush, heard the tapes of that

LP he said, “Man, you really know when to

end.” I said, ‘That’s the best compliment!’ He

nailed it. When it’s done, it’s done, and I go on

to the next ink drawing.

JI: As you alluded to, you’re known to most as a

consummate mainstream jazz artist, but you’ve

long had an underrated free streak in you.

You’ve done spontaneous compositions in the

past, you enjoy playing inside the piano, and

you’ve covered pieces by avant-garde compos-

ers such as Andrew Hill, Ornette Coleman and

Eric Dolphy. Would you address the misconcep-

tion of you being solely a jazz traditionalist?

HD: [Laughs] I would love to be a funk-rhythm

player, if I could do that, I’d be so happy just to

play rhythms, in the style of Richard Tee. I love

a lot of different music. Some of the first jazz I

ever did back in eighth grade in Ohio was free.

Just the joy of that stuff where you’re playing

whatever’s on your mind. I’ve always enjoyed

that but it’s not professionally what I want to

present.

JI: What prompted your investigation of playing

inside the piano and how did you go about it so

systematically? You’re able to produce sounds

that I’ve not heard other’s make.

HD: Thank you. [Makes a touchdown sign with

his arms up in the air] There’s a lot of time put

into that. There’s obviously the John Cage kind

of stuff that went on with the prepared piano. I

decided fairly early, after I checked that out, I

didn’t want to put tacks or stuff inside the piano,

especially if you rent a Steinway, you can’t do

that. On my own Yamaha piano that I had in my

loft in New York, I started marking the insides

of the piano so I could really understand where

stuff was – how much I’d have to spread my

fingers to get a certain interval. It’s working

with the theory of acoustics, really. With half of

the string, you get a certain harmonic. It’s differ-

ent on a Yamaha from a Steinway, and on every

piano. I’m pretty good on my own piano since I

did mark things on the inside. So, I spent a con-

siderable amount of time with my head in there,

looking at the length of the strings, seeing where

on the piano that the strings are not damped.

Like at the top of the piano, they’re just open, so

if you get really high on the piano, they’ll ring.

You can do something low and then high, and

damp things down with your hands on another

part. There’s also the middle pedal of the grand

piano that will sustain certain notes and not oth-

ers, which is sort of a secret thing. There’re three

pedals on a grand piano and I’ve seen very few

people use the middle pedal. There are ways of

using the piano as an instrument other than the

keyboard - it can be like a harp or a zither. I was

happy that Kirk seemed to be very engaged with

that. It’s the same thing of listening and reacting,

and if I can do a percussive thing in there then

maybe I can do some initiating. I can also slap

the metal parts. It’s mostly a studio thing be-

cause in a live venue, unless it’s very quiet, it

gets lost, so it’s a thing that I’ve mainly done in

studios. With Thad Jones, I started my strum-

(Continued from page 4)

“I saw music as the way out. Later on, when I was working with Mel Tormé, a name my mother knew, she asked, ‘Are

you getting paid?’ My parents were always a bit concerned but I was proud that I never had to beg for money once I got to New York in the army band, which is another honorable

way to do it, rather than go to Canada.”

— Anton Chekhov

“Encroachment of freedom will not come

about through one violent action or movement but will come about

through a series of actions that appear to be unrelated and coincidental, but

that were all along systematically planned for dictatorship.”

— John Adams, 2nd President

Harold Danko


ming thing. I don’t know how I started that, it’s

like a Freddie Green thing. The Thad Jones band

had a guitarist in the beginning, and when we

played “A’ That’s Freedom,” I strummed [inside

the piano] because on the original, the guitarist

strummed four to the bar. Thad let out a loud

grunt when he first heard me do it, which meant

keep it in! I did that every time. So, the strum-

ming is a special effect, and people have asked

me how I do it. It has to be like a guitar, it has to

stop, it can’t have a long sound. It’s just the way

I lift my hand off. That’s one of the effects that

can be done in a concert setting and not get lost.

JI: Have you ever played as a sideman under a

leader who restricted you from not playing in-

side the piano?

HD: I never did it with Gerry Mulligan, not

because he said not to do it, just because it just

never seemed to be… I wonder how that would

have gone over? I don’t know. No, Konitz liked

it, occasionally if I did it. It would have to be the

right piano and the right setting to do it. No one

ever restricted me.

JI: What’s the best advice you were ever given?

HD: I consider myself a fairly serious composer

of tunes, not a composer in the way that Bob

Brookmeyer or Maria Schneider or Jim

McNeely, who’s one of my favorites, are, be-

cause they can sit down and develop something.

They really enjoy that process. I enjoy the pro-

cess of playing. It goes back to college. There

was a composer in Ohio named Robert “Bob”

Witt, he was blind and taught at the Dana School

of Music at Youngstown State University, where

I went to school. I was a freshman and my

friends were composition majors studying with

him and I thought I might want to do that. Bob

Witt would know you by your footsteps the sec-

ond time you came in. He’d say, “Hey, Harold,

how you doing?” At one point, Bob had come to

hear me playing some jazz, thanks to my teach-

er, Gene Rush, who was studying with Bob.

Afterwards, I went into Bob Witt’s office and

said I’d like to change my major to composition

and Witt said that he had heard me play jazz and

that he thought I really enjoyed playing. He

asked if I’d really enjoy sitting down and writing

as much as I enjoyed playing, which I’d never

thought about it. He said, “You gotta get writing

chops. If you want to be able to write music,

you’ve got to be able to sit under a tree and have

all the orchestra involved.” I understood what he

was saying, and I didn’t know if I wanted to

acquire all of those chops. His advice to me was

to learn the piano as best as I could and then see

what came. I’m still in that process, and I owe a

nod to Robert Witt for alerting me. It’s been a

pretty good occupation for me.

JI: You’ve been performing mostly in Europe

and Asia. Why are you so popular there but

don’t play more in the States?

HD: [Laughs] People don’t call me. I’m not

very aggressive, I don’t like rejection. Like I

said, when I was trying to get my demo around,

I just decided that students didn’t reject me and

that they would actually come [to me], and

they’d come the next week, and pay me again.

So, I take the easy way out. Right now, in Tai-

wan, my wife is Taiwanese and a classical pia-

nist, and she’s of the age that a lot of her friends

are now in positions to hire me and there’s a

novelty of this classical pianist who married a

jazz guy. Jazz is pretty new in Taiwan, so I get

called to do things - six out of the last seven

years. It’s the same in Europe, I had a very dear

friend, and wonderful musician, Gigi Di Gre-

gorio, who died of cancer last year. He’s the

reason I played in Italy, because one guy, Gigi

Di Gregorio would arrange gigs. He liked to

play my music with his band so I walked into

Italy, ate well, drank well, played with beautiful

friends, and played pretty amazingly free. I start-

ed to get a few things going in Portugal, which I

love, but I ended up in East Rochester [Laughs].

JI: You mentioned your wife Fei-Yan is a clas-

sical pianist born in Taiwan. How did you two

meet and have you collaborated together?

HD: We met when we were both at the Manhat-

tan School of Music. At that point, she was

working in the registrar’s office. She’d gotten

her master’s degree there and studied with Con-

stance Keene and Abram Chasins, Constance’s

husband. That’s a whole other scene that my

wife was into with Constance. She traveled with

Constance as kind of a companion. Constance’s

inner circle was people like Horowitz and Ru-

binstein. When I went to Constance’s apartment,

she had autographed pictures of Rubinstein say-

ing, “Thanks Abram and Constance for many

afternoons.” My wife had nixed the idea of go-

ing that route herself. She was trying to learn

other things, such as the English language better

and working at the college. Fei-Yan was win-

ning competitions at ten and under, so, she may

not agree, but I would say she was a child prodi-

gy. She’s very modest about it. It was a source

of joy for her when we had our son, Julian, and

being a mother. No, we’ve never collaborated,

only with parenting our son!

JI: You come from a musical family, your two

brothers became professional saxophonists and

your father played polkas and Slovak tunes on

button accordion. Was there a push towards a

career in music for you?

HD: I was born in a hospital in Sharon, Pennsyl-

vania, right across the Ohio state line from

where I grew up in Masury, Ohio, near Youngs-

town, where I went to college. There was an

honor about being a musician in my family,

which I’m really proud of. My parents were

insistent that teaching was the way out of the

steel mills and coal mines. Maybe becoming a

music teacher – that’s what my older brother,

Joe, became. My college degree was in music

education. It was an honorable way out, plus my

brother Joe, had forged the way in the early

World War II era because he was 19 years older

than me. He was earning more or as much mon-

ey in the early ‘40s as my father was by being a

teenager playing in these gangster clubs across

the Ohio line. There were stories about John

Dillinger hanging out in Masury. [Laughs]

Youngstown, even when I hit the scene there in

the mid-‘60s, was still known as a pretty wild

town and the steel mills were still there going

strong.

JI: Your first day job was working in a steel

mill with your dad. What did that experience do

for you?

HD: My father was a coal miner first, starting at

the age of 12 or 13 in Slovakia, and came to

America and got into the coal mining trade in

Western Pennsylvania, before moving out of the

coal mines to a steel mill in Ohio. He was one of


(Continued on page 9)

Harold Danko

“[Woody Herman] knew every good steakhouse on the road ... He had friends everywhere … He was a vaudevillian, he could do anything. He could tell

jokes, he sang … even though at that time we felt he was old fashioned, his solos sound really good. His lead alto playing was amazing. Being in that setting, being on that bus, doing gigs when you were tired,

the expectations on you to perform a fast tempo like ‘Caldonia’ faster than you ever thought imaginable —

your level comes up to the expectations.”


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the guys that got out of the coal mine. It was real

working class in Ohio. I worked at the mill the

first summer after I started college. My dad got

me in the mill, which is what guys would do. I

couldn’t believe how loud and hot it was, and

what my old man did, working some little hand

operated crane near the blast furnace. The noise

factor was just unbelievable to me, and the fact

that my old man had done that every day was a

revelation. [Laughs] It eliminated the possibility

[of me working there] but some of my friends

ended up there. You could drive a pretty nice car

by working there but that was it. I saw music as

the way out. Later on, when I was working with

Mel Tormé, a name my mother knew, she asked,

“Are you getting paid?” My parents were always

a bit concerned but I was proud that I never had

to beg for money once I got to New York in the

army band, which is another honorable way to

do it, rather than go to Canada. [Laughs]

JI: After graduating from Youngstown State

University in 1969, you knew you wanted to

play jazz but you didn’t think you’d end up as a

player, so you signed up for the army band ?

HD: I was performing a lot in Ohio and was

getting some good experience, but at the end of

graduation I got my draft notice in 1969. I went

out to Indianapolis to take an audition [for the

army band], figuring it was close enough to

Ohio, and the guy who auditioned me in Indian-

apolis for the big band said, “You don’t want to

come out here and be in a fort band.” He said,

“The only thing the army can offer you is a loca-

tion. If you ever wanted to go to New York or

Europe.” I picked New York, so he made a call

and I got a chance to go to Staten Island.

JI: Why didn’t you feel that performing was

your future?

HD: I didn’t know what level, I guess. I knew I

could perform, that I could probably have some

kind of career in Ohio, but at that point, if I did

that, I was gonna get drafted, and by signing up

for three years, I could get a location. You could

take your chances with the draft or enlist, and

that’s what I did. Being stationed in Staten Is-

land allowed me to take a look at the scene. Bil-

ly Taylor at that point had the Jazz Interactions

program, and as an army guy, with my little,

short hair, I was able to go into New York in

1970 and take these classes they had. I got to

look around, and I’m not a pushy guy, but I

looked to see if there was a place I could fit.

Other army band players that had come before

me in the Staten Island band included Mike Gar-

son and Lew Soloff.

JI: How was your time in the army band?

HD: I was very involved in an unnamed anti-

war, active duty GI band. We got into some

trouble over that. I didn’t get shipped out, but

some people did. Staten Island was a transfer

point and we’d see all the people that came back

from Vietnam with very bad drug-related prob-

lems. They’d hold that over our heads. “So, you

don’t like it here, then you can go to ‘Nam.” The

anti-war band did a gig at the Ethical Culture

Society in New York where we opened for Jane

Fonda and Donald Sutherland. That was Jane

Fonda in her real prime. We all had Barbarella

on our minds then, and there was Jane Fonda in

the same room with us. That was pretty amaz-

ing. As far as performing, I played a lot of cock-

tail piano. We were a pretty crazy band. If we

had to sing in a chorus, I would be shouting

[Makes a guttural throat sound]. If we played on

Fifth Avenue, I’d be playing glockenspiel and

I’d try to hit all the wrong notes. Fort Hamilton

was the fort right across from us in Brooklyn,

and that’s where they’d entertain the big digni-

taries and we would do gigs there and just get

really loaded, if we could. I remember playing

for [General William] Westmoreland once. I

wasn’t really happy about that and I remember

low crawling in the mud after that in my tuxedo.

[Laughs] It was raining that night and I was

wearing this white outfit. The guys in ‘Nam

would have to low crawl, so I got down in the

mud and low crawled to my barracks. I was pret-

ty stoned and filled with mud, and the next day,

I saw in my locker this white tuxedo ruined. So,

what I did, [Laughs] is I washed it and then I

took it to a local dry cleaner. I told the sergeant,

when I handed it back, that I took it to get

cleaned but it ended up coming back ruined, of

course, and he said, “Oh, those civilian dry

cleaners can’t get it together.” So, I kept getting

saved from my insane actions. We were really

misfits. The fact that we never ended up getting

sent to ‘Nam…

JI: Apparently, you were able to convince the

army to release you early so that you could be-

came an apprentice to Saul Fromkin, the noted

woodwind repairman. How did you negotiate

your army release in 1972 and what attracted

you to become a repairman?

HD: [Laughs] Okay, you’re getting all the good

stuff. The repairman thing came about because

at the end of the Vietnam War, they got some

money from taxpayers to retrain people that

could only shoot guns or whatever. You could

train as an apprentice, so some guys apprenticed

as fruit stand operators from a relative and the

army would pay a couple grand. When I went in

[to sign up for the program], they saw that I had

a college degree, but I told them that it was just

a teaching music thing and that I had to get a

trade. I wanted to get piano technician training

but the only piano tuner that would take me on

was a blind guy in Staten Island who said,

“Look, I’m just looking for a ride. If you would

just ride me around to my clients, I’d kind of

train you.” That didn’t seem good, but Saul

Fromkin had done another apprentice from my

army band and Saul talked me into it because he

wanted to get more money from the army. So, I

went to work with him every day. I wasn’t dis-

charged, I was just excused from duty for the

last three months. I had no real plan outside of

the army. I was married at the time and I told my

then father-in-law that we would be on food

stamps and collecting unemployment for six

months, but then I got the call from Woody Her-

man. He had heard about me from his drummer

Joe LaBarbera, who had also served in the army,

but at Fort Dix.

JI: Would you share some Woody Herman an-

ecdotes?

HD: Woody knew exactly what he wanted. He

was such a professional. He usually wasn’t on

the tour bus, he drove his own car to gigs, I be-

lieve it was a Corvette. Woody didn’t even set

up his own horn, he had Tom Anastas, the bari-

tone player, warm his horns up, and Woody

would come on stage and play the first note

beautifully. He was a total pro, and I’d never

encountered that. Plus, he turned 60-years-old

when I was in the band, which seemed like the

oldest guy in the world. And he knew every

good steakhouse on the road, he knew every

good place to eat everywhere. He had friends

everywhere. I remember once he did a little tap-

dance out of nowhere. He was a vaudevillian, he

could do anything. He could tell jokes, he sang,

actually fairly well, and when I listen back to the

records, even though at that time we felt he was

old fashioned, his solos sound really good. His

lead alto playing was amazing. Being in that

setting, being on that bus, doing gigs when you

were tired, the expectations on you to perform a

fast tempo like “Caldonia” faster than you ever

thought imaginable - your level comes up to the

expectations. I felt like I was a pro now. I did get

to repair Woody’s horn once. Tom Anastas had

done something to it and I was able to do a quick

repair, so my woodwind repair actually came in

handy to bail Tom out. I wasn’t a very good

repairman, at all, but fixed it so it wasn’t horri-

ble.

JI: What memories do you have from travels in

the Woody Herman bus?

HD: [Laughs] I have a good one. My first day, I

didn’t know how things worked. They had a

toilet on the bus, but I didn’t know you were

only supposed to pee in it. I didn’t know you

weren’t supposed to take a dump. [Laughs] I

went back and had a lengthy dump. As I came

back to my seat, my friend Joe LaBarbera said

something like, “Bro, you didn’t drop an axe

back there, did you?” And I didn’t even know

about the term “drop an axe” so I said, ‘No.’ He

said, “Did you take a shit?” I said, ‘Yeah,’ and

he said, “Don’t take a shit on the bus.” I could

see Joe’s whole reputation going down because

he had recommended me for the gig and on my

first day I took a shit on the bus, but nobody told

me, and as far as I was concerned, [Hysterical

laughing] I didn’t drop an axe. There are so



Harold Danko


many bus stories. We had Frank Tiberi, who was

the musical guru of a lot of us. Frank had this

beautiful, sort of Lester Young/Stan Getz sound

and approach, and he knew everyone from Phil-

adelphia, including John Coltrane and McCoy

Tyner. He had that content in his playing. It was

kind of a mind-bending experience to see his

approach. He really had it together, and I think

all the people that went through the band, in-

cluding [Joe] Lovano, had their playing undergo

a little change from things that he would play

that would kind of “infect” everyone’s playing.

He really stressed to not be an obvious player, to

play deceptively. He takes joy in playing some-

thing and us not knowing where it’s going to go.

He’s revered by those around him. Plus, he

played the doubles and he played bassoon. I

used him on a recording called Coincidence with

Tom Harrell, which is one of Frank Tiberi’s only

small group recordings. He was a character and

a real ladies’ man of the day. He had an amazing

strange sense of humor. There were other very

funny guys on the bus. There was something

about the bus and during my decades of teach-

ing, I tried to bring the band bus and bandstand

mentality because the band bus is where you

really get to know people and you get to under-

stand their quirks and who you really connect

with.

JI: Would you care to share the Frank Tiberi

story you told me before the interview?

HD: As I remember it, Frank would engage a

new tour bus driver in a long, long conversation

about their family. Eventually, after hours, be-

cause you have time on the bus, he would get the

guy to show a picture of his kids, and Frank

would explain along the way that he had a son

with a malformity, as he would put it. And then

he would show a gag photo of a baby with a

huge penis, but only after getting to the point

where the bus driver was asking to see a photo

of the baby and Frank puts the gag picture in

front of the driver and gets a huge charge out of

the bus going in different directions as the guy

would be laughing. Frank also had a TV set up

on the bus, this was 1972, so you can imagine

how the wires were going around it. He’d be

watching a show and then it would get out of

area and he’d lose the picture. You know, people

having to live a life on the bus, adults, and

they’re away from their wives and loved ones. It

was an education. That experience that I had was

very formative to my growing up.

JI: How did you end up playing with Chet

Baker after the Woody Herman band in 1973?

HD: I got to New York, and I was still doing a

little woodwind repair, and doing some freelance

gigs, including working with saxophonist Turk

Mauro. Turk was playing at the Half Note and

Chet came in with Phil Urso, his saxophonist,

and they hired the rhythm section from Turk’s

band, because Chet was gonna perform at the

Half Note. Thank goodness Phil Urso had done

charts for Chet because Chet didn’t have any-

thing. Phil was just there for a few weeks as sort

of a transition, and he told me what Chet liked. I

stuck after that, even when we changed the

rhythm section. I was off the road with Woody,

and I certainly wanted to play, but I don’t know

how ready I was for playing with Chet. But I

hung in there and got better, and I’m glad that I

had a chance later on, in 1987, to have a second

chance to play with him. I felt I was much more

musically ready, and glad I got the chance to

record the Tokyo concert.

JI: Chet Baker was making his comeback at the

time you joined him. He hadn’t played New

York since relocating to Europe in 1959. Would

you talk about his comeback attempt, how the

audiences perceived him, and your impression

upon seeing and hearing him, as a member of his

band, that first time?

HD: The thing that really impressed me about

Chet, from the first night, because he was having

chop problems, was his time. His time was so

good. He played a phrase, and I hadn’t heard

time like that. This guy was supposed to be the

pretty boy, but his time was really strong, and

when the chops would go out, the time was still

there. He was having teeth problems. He hadn’t

found the adhesive that he eventually found that

would put his teeth in good. A lot of times when

he would have a problem, people would think it

was drugs, but it was just that the adhesive had

given way and he’d have to sing the end of his

phrase. But he sang the way he played so you

would get the same content. It wouldn’t faze

him, but then he’d have to go to the bathroom

and put the adhesive in, and people would think

he was shooting up, and then he’d come back

really strong. One of the things that I was im-

pressed with was that Chet respected that I had

no interest in experimenting with any kind of

drugs. I was done with that and it just never

came up. He did his, which he considered to be a

medical thing, and in Europe, he would have his

medical people that would help him, and in

America he had methadone. He was very disci-

plined about how he did things. At that point, he

was on a comeback. He’d practiced and gotten

his chops back in shape, and you have to really

respect that for trumpet. Also, he did that with a

new set of teeth. His own teeth had a separation

and the false teeth weren’t like that, so even the

teeth were different. But he learned to get his

sound back, and even got a sound, on good

nights, that was richer than his early sound,

which was amazing. He was like a spellcaster.

There were always wonderful looking women in

the audience, and even at the end, when I played

with him in the late ‘80s, when he looked like

the old Oklahoma cowboy that he was, but

somehow these women in the front row, they

saw something else. But really it was about the

music. Plus, early on I got in good with the peo-

ple at the Half Note and they hired me as an

intermission solo pianist there after I came off

the road with Woody Herman.

JI: You got to experience Chet Baker as an in-

sider. Would you talk about Baker? What was he

like? What did he talk about?

HD: It was pretty simple. He didn’t say much,

he would talk about the music. He would say

that he had to learn how to play the piano. He

could kind of plunk out notes. He played the

piano the same way he played the trumpet. It

was uncanny, he played the same kind of

phrases. He knew more than people gave him

credit for. He could read [music] and he knew

something about theory. I rode in the car with

him, he had this wonderful Mustang with a

great, big motor. He liked cars, he liked women.

Chet spoke Italian very well, he learned it in jail.

He was not an intellectual guy. People would

have all these romantic ideas about him, they

would ask what he was thinking about, was he

thinking about his tough life, and he would say,

“No, just the next pretty note.” Life was simple.

His drug thing to him was his medical condition,

just like someone would take something for high

blood pressure. That was his private business,

and it took him less time a day than it would [to

drink]. He was really down on alcoholics be-

cause they spent all the night drinking. If he was

right, he was right for the whole day, and if he

was not right, there were adventures that could

happen. Generally, I was out of the picture on

that part of the day.

JI: In James Gavin’s 2011 book Deep in a

Dream, Gavin reports that you “held things to-

gether in Chet Baker’s band.” You even hired

the sidemen. What was life like with Baker?

You did a European tour with him in 1975.

HD: James Gavin interviewed me. He doesn’t

know much about music. The Gavin book and

the movies about Chet are not about the music,

they’re about some persona, some idealized

thing. Chet was just a guy who liked cars and

played music for a living. He had to have that

next gig, not just because he needed drugs, that’s

the way he made his living. Chet didn’t know

the New York musicians, he knew the older

guys that were busy. I knew the guys who might

make rehearsal and do the gig. Michael Moore

and Jimmy Madison were my go-to guys. I kept

a list of every bass player and drummer in town

for many years. Chet counted on me to assemble

a group that would be there. He was a big star in

Europe, especially returning to Italy for the first

time. I had no idea he spoke fluent Italian until

he got right in there and I said, ‘Whoa, Chet

speaks Italian!’ He went and bought himself an

amazing suit and he knew the culture well. The

Italians treated him like a star. We did some

festivals using Beaver Harris on drums and he

would do these really crazy, out solos. That was

my first time in Europe, and it was a very vali-

dating experience for me.


Harold Danko


JI: What was the low point of your time with

Baker?

HD: I think it was when Gregory Herbert told

Chet that I was gonna be leaving and going with

Thad [Jones] and Mel [Lewis] before I had a

chance to tell Chet. Gregory was on the good

side of Thad and Mel and told them about me.

After that, the vibe with Chet was like, “Oh,

you’re leaving.” I felt bad that I wasn’t able to

say that I had this chance to do this thing that I

really want to do, and because there was a trust

that Chet had in me and I had in him. My first

week with Thad and Mel, we recorded with

Rhoda Scott, I made some money, and I felt like

I was on the New York scene.

JI: I thought you might have noted visiting him

in a German jail in 1976 as the low point.

HD: Yeah, that was Burghausen, Germany, but

Chet was totally cool because he had a chunk of

hash that he had eaten [Laughs] before they’d

arrested him. So, when I went to visit him in jail,

he said, “Yeah, Harold, everything’s gonna be

good.” With Chet, things were simple. It wasn’t

a dramatic thing. It was Chet sitting in jail, smil-

ing.

JI: Gavin’s book also documents that Chet

Baker was playing to sparse crowds at that time

for fifty-dollar gigs. Why did you stick it out

with Baker for three years?

HD: He was the guy who was calling. I was

doing some other gigs too. Chet needed to work,

and occasionally we had better gigs than that.

Gavin had such an agenda to portray Chet as

some sort of villain. Yes, we did play some [bad

paying] gigs but we also played some gigs that

paid pretty well. The thing is, that’s all that Chet

did, so if there was a fifty-dollar gig, that is what

he did, and I did it if I didn’t have anything else

that night. I had no complaints about doing a

thirty-dollar gig, and Chet was upfront about

being sorry it didn’t pay better.

JI: At the same time that you were with Chet

Baker, you also performed with Lee Konitz.

Would you talk about playing with them at the

same time?

HD: It happened because of Strykers, a club on

86th Street, right across the street from where

Lee lived. I originally met Lee at Fromkin’s

repair shop, and I got to know him because of

Chet and at Strykers, and also because of walk-

ing our dogs in Central Park. I lived on West

82nd at that point, so it was a natural outgrowth.

We talked about music. I never studied with Lee

but rehearsing with him was like lessons in a

way because he would want to play things very

slowly—excruciatingly slowly sometimes—to

make sure we were improvising. Are you really

thinking of your next note or are you playing on

your automatic pilot stuff? I remember Lee ac-

cusing me of using my technique too much and

my inner reaction was, ‘You want to see tech-

nical? I’m no technical [guy].’ He said, “You

should be able to play with one finger.”

JI: Lee Konitz trained under Lennie Tristano.

Were his expectations for you as a pianist in his

band different from other bandleaders you’ve

worked with?

HD: There was no expectation that I would play

in that style, it was just that Lee had to feel com-

fortable. It was the same with all the guys I

played with, including Chet and Thad. I knew

these guys from their records, and I revered

them. My idea was can I make these guys com-

fortable? If they sound good playing with me

then I’m probably on the next gig, and that’s

really what I wanted. With Lee, I think it was

just the thing of really improvising. The thing of

slow practice, I think, was from Tristano. The

thing of not playing your clichés, of not bringing

that technical artillery into it. I certainly could

not play like Tristano. I debated about studying

with Tristano early on, but I ran into some guys

in Staten Island, when I was in the army, that

had studied with Tristano and they were cultish.

They’d only play for themselves. They’d work

as postmen during the day if they had to, they

didn’t want to play gigs. I didn’t quite under-

stand that, so I shied away from that. Lennie was

available for lessons and I also heard that if you

took a lesson with Tristano, that you had to do a

day lesson because at night, there wouldn’t be

lights. He wouldn’t give a shit. [Laughs] You’d

have to make your way in.

JI: You made it to India and Africa with Konitz.

HD: Yeah, traveling with Lee Konitz. [Laughs]

His wife Tavia was much more adventurous than

Lee. I remember Lee looked so uncomfortable in

Africa. Tavia wanted to go out and we went to

some small fishing village and he was so un-

comfortable. I happen to know a fairly good

amount about Southern Indian vocal music,

which I’m a real fan of. When we went to India

in 1984, we went to a 5-hour vocal concert. I

had mentioned my interest in Indian vocal music

to a native and he said there was concert of five

of the finest vocalists on our one night off. The

Indian vocal thing starts out really slow and Lee

was really bored, but I was freaking out and

bought all these cassettes.

JI: Andy Hamilton, in his 2007 book Lee

Konitz: Conversations on the Improviser’s Art,

describes the kind of fun that you and Konitz

had. He quotes Konitz to say, “I had a “Keith

Jarrett” routine with Harold Danko. We went

into the sounds of moaning, and gestures. We

did that one time in Denmark, when Keith and

his wife were in the audience. I asked Harold,

“Should we?” and we did. I looked over and

Keith was kind of laughing.” Do you remember

that routine?

HD: [Laughs] I absolutely remember that. It

was around Lee’s birthday. They had a cake for

him so, Lee could do no wrong, in a way. Keith

Jarrett was in the audience and this was my only

time of interacting with Keith Jarrett. Actually, I

like to use the word intercourse, the real use of

the word. So I had my only intercourse with

Keith Jarrett, it was amazingly pretty nice. We

talked about Bartók’s “Piano Concerto No. 2.”

Then, once on stage, Lee asks should we do it,

because we’d done this thing where we’d play

“All the Things You Are,” and we start moan-

ing. That was in our encores. We had a Charlie

Parker encore where we’d play two rhythm

changes tunes at the same time – “Moose the

Mooch” and “Anthropology,” as our tribute to

Bird. We played a Tristano tribute, where we’d

play free, and then we’d play our Keith Jarrett

thing as the final piece, which would last 10

seconds long. And Lee wanted to do it! It was

his birthday, so we did it. But the thing is, you

know when you get to the punchline, you stop.

Right? But this night, Lee carried on, so it got

even more uncomfortable. Keith Jarrett was

sitting there, maybe nervously laughing, the

people were laughing, and we went on for anoth-

er phrase. This time it was a tiny bit longer – an

excruciating four seconds of life. Fortunately

Jarrett left before we had a chance to get his real

reaction.

JI: You also worked in the Thad Jones/Mel

Lewis Orchestra from 1976-78. How was that

ensemble able to get that big, unique sound?

HD: Boy, talk about a vibe. That band, the vibe

was just so amazing, it was all-encompassing. I

just felt I never played anything wrong with

Thad, he had such a bigness. With Chet, espe-

cially that first time spent with him, I felt very

self-conscious. I felt like I was doing shit wrong.

With Thad, it was like I’d put my hands down

on the piano and Thad would reflect what I

played, especially with the quartet. My first gig

with Thad and Mel was a quartet with Sam

Jones. Wow! That was my introduction to Thad,

and then Thad said, [In a deep voice] “We’re

looking for somebody for the band.” I knew

Thad’s playing from Mingus and Monk, I didn’t

know Thad’s writing. Now I get goosebumps

[from Thad’s writing]. One of my things now is

that I have some Thad Jones charts which I can

send out first and then I can play with a band. I

listen to some of that stuff now and Thad’s writ-

ing is some of the greatest music. What I always

felt with Thad is that I’m putting the technicolor

into black and white. I’m trying to translate that

into my line drawings – that analogy. Thad is

just like full technicolor, it’s just amazing what’s

going on in the band. The phrases are totally

full. Mel was like the Poppa of the band. Thank-

fully, he gave me the music ahead of time, be-

cause if I would have had to sight-read that mu-

sic on a Monday—no way. Mel was essential to

that music, it never sounds the same without

him.


Harold Danko


JI: Would you share your favorite and worst

memory from your time with the Thad Jones/

Mel Lewis Orchestra?

HD: The favorite times were just to hear Thad

play, because he was amazing. The times on the

bus were all fun. Gregory Herbert used to get

into it with Mel, about Mel telling stories about

how he’s always the hero. Mel’s thing was what-

ever story you’d have about how the bus was

horrible, Mel would have a story from 1948

about how the band bus had a breakdown. He

always had something worse. Nothing you could

come up with was worse than what Mel had

experienced. Thad was more on his own, but I

got to ride in the car with Thad. I’ve got long car

rides with Chet and Thad as part of my memory,

and nobody else has these. The car rides with

Thad where he’d be playing James Brown. Thad

loved that stuff. I think the low part was finding

out that Gregory Herbert had died. He had left

the band and went with Blood, Sweat and Tears.

When he died, it was big news. It was on the

network news. We were at the Vanguard when it

came out and we were just devastated.

JI: You backed a number of high-profile vocal-

ists during your career. In 1978 you toured Japan

with Chris Connor. Memories from that time?

HD: Chris was going through some alcohol

then. The band was Ed Soph on drums and Ron

McClure on bass. It was my first time in Japan.

We did a record, which was direct to disc, where

you had to do the whole side of an LP, and

Chris, the shape she was in, between the alcohol

stuff and whatever, was not at her best. It was a

little bit of, ‘Come on Chris, keep it together,’

are we gonna make it through sixteen minutes of

a side without a screwup? But we did make it

through and that album [Alone Together] actual-

ly sounds good. We did the Playboy clubs and

the gigs I did with Chris were very professional,

even though she was going through things. I also

worked with her much later and it was a whole

different scene. She had come through all that.

She was a professional, she knew how to per-

form.

JI: Liza Minnelli hired you for a tour in 1979

that included time in Brazil.

HD: Yeah, my first time in Brazil. I was proba-

bly the fifteenth call. My friend, her saxophonist

Lawrence Feldman, recommended me. By time

a saxophonist recommends a piano player,

you’ve gotten way down the list. At Liza’s level,

all the piano players they want are all doing

studio work, and they needed somebody to go to

Brazil. I did a little rehearsal where I had to play

some fast show tunes, and then they said,

“We’re going to Brazil next week, do you have a

passport? Can you get this music ready by re-

hearsal Sunday?” So, I got to go to Brazil, and I

almost drowned. In fact, Jay Leonhart ended up

writing a line in a tune about it. The first day,

everyone else was out at the beach and I was just

trying to get the music together. After I survived

the first concert, I did go to the beach and there

were strong waves going out. You weren’t sup-

posed to be in the water, and I was getting car-

ried out, almost at my end, but a guy dragged me

back. I just remember the cigarette breath of the

guy bringing me in and then collapsing on the

beach for a while. But I made the gig that night.

JI: In 1984 you worked with Anita O’Day, an-

other high-profile singer.

HD: I went to Brazil, too, with Anita, which is

interesting. Anita was battling whatever her

demons were and she was kind of nasty to some

of the people in Brazil, and Brazilians are very

sweet people. We played in São Paulo at the

Maksoud Plaza. We came in on separate flights,

and she had evidently been unhappy with her

flight, and when they presented her with flowers

at the beginning of the tour, she gave them right

back. We didn’t know that until later, and then it

made sense why our hosts were a bit reserved

toward us. When I first got called to do a gig

with her in New York City, she didn’t have her

drummer for a few days. Her drummer was John

Poole, who was her drug buddy and a Buddy

Rich kind of drummer. Anita’s time was ridicu-

lous, it was amazing. We did the first few gigs

without drums and we were stretching out, time-

wise. I remember calling Francois Zalacain from

Sunnyside Records and saying, ‘Man, Anita

sounds so modern, you won’t believe what she’s

doing!’ So, Francois comes up and we’re taking

these rhythmic liberties, and Anita’s going with

it. And then, after one of the sets, we’re back in

the dressing room, and she said to me, “I just

want to ask you one thing. What the f*ck are you

doing out there?” [Laughs] And then when John

Poole did show up it became more of a metro-

nomic thing, which she was comfortable with.

We were doing it [without drums], hopingly

keeping good time, but maybe it wasn’t quite

there for her. I had been saying that, ‘This was

the most modern thing,’ and that ‘We have to

record her like this!’ She was really outspoken,

and we had some scenes about the way she

would do intros, the verses of tunes. I haven’t

played with vocalists much since then. Sheila

Jordan was one who was really easy to work

with. Sheila just loves the music so much; she’d

sit on the bandstand and just listen to us. Most of

the other experiences I had [with vocalists] were

more like show business than music.

JI: You also had an afternoon with [singer/

actress/pin-up model] Julie London in 1977.



“Ultimate success is not directly related to early success,

if you consider that many successful people did not give clear evidence

of such promise in youth.”

- Robert Fritz, The Path Of Least Resistance

“Frank Tiberi, who was the musical guru of a lot of us. Frank had this beautiful, sort of

Lester Young/Stan Getz sound and approach, and he knew everyone from Philadelphia, in-cluding John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner. He had that content in his playing … He really

had it together, and I think all the people that went through the band … had their playing undergo a little change from things that he would play that would kind of ‘infect’ every-

one’s playing. He really stressed to not be an obvious player, to play deceptively.”

Harold Danko

13 To Advertise CALL: 215-887-8880 August-September 2019 Jazz Inside Magazine www.JazzInsideMagazine.com

Sunday, September 1

Alex Sipiagin & NYU Jazz Ensemble at Blue Note, 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Miss Maybell & The Jazz Age Artistes at Fine & Rare, 12:00 PM. 9 E. 37th.

Elizabeth Tamboulian 3 at North Square, 12:30 and 2:15 PM. 103 Waverly Pl.

YeraSon Trio at Havana Central, 1:00 PM. 151 W. 46th.

Miki Yomoyaka at 55 Bar, 3:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Adam Moezina at Edison Rum House, 4:00 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Jill McCarron 5 at Jazz Forum, 4:00 and 6:00 PM. 1 Dixon Ln., Tarrytown NY.

Duke Ellington Center Big Band: Sacred Sunday at Birdland, 5:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Vic Juris 3 at 55 Bar, 6:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Sam Weinberg 3 at Downtown Music Gallery, 6:00 PM. 13 Monroe.

YeraSon Orquesta Charanga at Havana Central, 6:00 PM. 151 W. 46th.

So French Cabaret: From Paris with Love at Club Bonafide, 6:30 PM. 212 E. 52nd.

Felipe Vargas at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Darren Johnston 2 at Downtown Music Gallery, 7:00 PM. 13 Monroe.

Bill Stevens 3 at Tomi Jazz, 7:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Sarah Borukhov: An American Chanteuse at Treme, 7:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.

Trio da Paz & Friends: Music of Getz, Jobim & Brazilian Classics at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Orrin Evans 3 feat. Kevin Eubanks at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Richie Vitale 5 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Take 6 at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

La Vie en Rose feat. Violette at Club Bonafide, 8:30 PM. 212 E. 52nd.

Fat Cat Big Band at Fat Cat, 8:30. 75 Christopher.

Stephen Santoro Orchestra feat. Michelle Collier at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 W. 46th.

Chris Potter Underground at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.

Enigma Tango Trio at Zinc Bar, 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00 PM. 82 W. 3rd St.

Moses Petrou 4 at 55 Bar, 9:30 PM. 55 Christopher.

Ryoju Fukushoro 2 at Tomi Jazz, 9:30 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Behn Gillece 3 at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

J. C. Stylles 5 feat. Steve Nelson at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

David Gibson at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.

Monday, September 2

Sue Maskaleris at Bryant Park, 12:30 PM. 1065 6th Ave.

Camila Celin at Fat Cat, 6:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Lisa Hoppe 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Mark McIntyre Syndicate at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Chris Johansen at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Chirio Tainaka at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.

Clint Holmes at Birdland, 7:00 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Ellingtonia feat. Joy Brown, Vanisha Gould & others at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Rale Micic 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Ferenc Nemeth at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Dizzy Gillespie Afro-Latin Experience at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Naama Gheber 3 at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Vitaly Golovnev at Birdland Theater, 8:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Marcos Valera Group at Fat Cat, 9:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Kate Curran & Rogues' Gallery at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Mike Stern 4 at 55 Bar, 10:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Rodney Green/ Jackson Miller at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Tuesday, September 3


Adam Cordero 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Ben Monder 3 feat. Tony Malaby at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christo-pher.

Behn Gillece Band at Fat Cat, 7:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Kelly Green 3 at Flation Room, 7:00 PM. 37 W. 26th.

Ted Nash 3 feat. Ben Allison at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Maria Raquel 4 at Django, 7:30 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Newvelle Live: Rufus Reid 3 + Sirius Quartet at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Justin Robinson 4 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Brian Charette 3 at Jules Bistro, 7:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Geoff Keezer/ Joe Locke at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W.

Adam Kahan at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church. 10th St.

Wallace Roney Jr. at Zinc Bar, 7:30 and 8:30 PM. 82 W. 3rd St.

Monty Alexander at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Tsuyoshi Niwa at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Carol Maorgan 3 at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Dave Liebman/ Ralph Alessi 5 at Birdland, 8:30 and 11:00 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Bill Charlap 3 at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.

Kumbakin at Fat Cat, 9:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Allison Leyton-Brown 3 at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Leni Stern at 55 Bar, 10:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Los Hacheros at Django, 10:00 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Vanisha Gould at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Abraham Burton 4 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Jinjoo Yoo at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Bruce Harris at Dizzy's Club, 11:15 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Alexi David at Fat Cat, 12:30 PM. 75 Christopher.

Wednesday, September 4


Andrew Cheng 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

K.J. Denhert at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christopher.


Diego Campo at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.

Augie Haas at Birdland Theater, 7:00 and 9:45 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Ryan Berg Group at Fat Cat, 7:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Tres de Solar at Havana Central, 7:00 PM. 151 W. 46th.

Charlie Apicella & Iron City at Shanghai Jazz, 7:00 PM. 24 Main, Madison NJ.

Frank Lacy's Tromboniverse at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Newvelle Live: Tribute to Booker Little and Don Friedman feat. Charles Tolliver & Dave Douglas at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Diego Voglino at Jules Bistro, 7:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Geoff Keezer/ Ben Williams at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Matt Chertkoff 5 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Frode Gjerstad 3 feat. Matthew Shipp at 244 Rehearsal Studio, 8:00 PM. 244 W. 54th.


Yuto Mitomi 3 at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Yerason Trio at Willie's Steak House, 8:00 PM. 1832 Westchester, (Continued on page 14)

CALENDAR OF EVENTSCALENDAR OF EVENTS

How to Get Your Gigs and Events Listed in Jazz Inside Magazine Submit your listings via e-mail to [email protected]. Include date, times, location, phone,

tickets/reservations. Deadline: 15th of the month preceding publication (February 15 for March) (We cannot guarantee the publication of all calendar submissions.)

ADVERTISING: Reserve your ads to promote your events and get the marketing advantage of con-trolling your own message — size, content, image, identity, photos and more. Contact the advertising department:

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Bronx.

Phil Robson at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.


Miki Yamanaka 3 at Django, 8:30 PM. 2 6th Ave.



Thursday, September 5


Erena Terakubo & Nana Quintet at Birdland, 5:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Erich Johnson 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Amy Cervini at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Rafael Castillo at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Adam Kahan at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.

Troy Roberts Record Release Party at Birdland Theater, 7:00 and 8:45 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Tomas Janzon 4 at Fat Cat, 7:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Dan Levinson w/ Kris Tokarski at Shanghai Jazz, 7:00 PM. 24 Main, Madison NJ.

Kazu & Cats at Tomi Jazz, 7:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Sheila Jordan/ Steve Kuhn at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Newvelle Live: Noah Preminger 4 feat. Jason Moran at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Cedric Bluman 3 at Jules Bistro, 7:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.




Wayne Krantz at 55 Bar, 10:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Johnny O'Neal at Django, 10:00 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Saul Rubin Zebtet at Fat Cat, 10:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Greg Merritt 3 at Tomi Jazz, 10:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Michael Blake 3 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Mimi Jones & The Lab Session at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.

Paul Nowinski at Fat Cat, 1:30 AM. 75 Christopher.

Friday, September 6

Emily Braden at 55 Bar, 6:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Steve Ash at Fat Cat, 6:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Emilie Surtees: Tribute to Whitney Houston at Club Bonafide, 6:30 PM. 212 E. 52nd.

Jamile Staevie at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.


John Pizzarelli: 100 Year Salute to Nat Cole at Jazz Forum, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 1 Dixon Ln., Tarrytown NY.

Jazz Loft Big Band at Jazz Loft, 7:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

Francois Wiss at Jules Bistro, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Jerry Vivino 4 at Shanghai Jazz, 7:00 PM. 24 Main, Madison NJ.

Akira Ishiguro 3 at Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Victor Lewis w/Josh Evans 5 at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Newvelle Live: Billy Lester at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Joan Belgrave 3 feat. Sullivan Fortner at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.


King Solomon Hicks at Ginny's, 8:00 PM. 310 Lenox.


Joel Forrester 2 at Knickerbocker Bar, 9:00 PM. 33 University Pl.

Trio Cachimbo at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Swingadelic at Swing 46, 9:30 PM. 349 W. 46th.

Fred Barton's Broadway Band at 54 Below, 9:45 PM. 254 W. 54th.

Peter & the Master Keys at Django, 10:30 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Dave Gibson Band at Fat Cat, 10:30 PM. 75 Christopher.

Ben Zweig at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Alex Sipiagin 5 feat. Chris Potter at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Takenori Nishiuchi 4 at Tomi Jazz, 10:30 PM. 239 E. 53rd.


Wallace Roney Jr. at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.

Craig Wuepper at Fat Cat, 1:30 AM. 75 Christopher.

Saturday, September 7

Marco DiGennaro at Antique Garage, 12:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Carrie Jackson at Candlelight Lounge, 3:30 PM. 24 Passaic, Trenton NJ.

Avana Lowe at 55 Bar, 6:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Ken Kobayashi 3 at Tomi Jazz, 6:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Nicki Denner's Brazilian Piano Trio at Shanghai Jazz, 6:15 and 8:35 PM. 24 Main, Madison NJ.

Kenny Allen Smith at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Marc Devine at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.


Vanderlei Pereira's Brazilian Quartet at Fat Cat, 7:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Etienne Charles Big Band at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Ed Cherry 3 at Django, 7:30 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Newvelle Live: Frank Kimbrough and Newvelle Anniversary Band feat. Becca Stevens at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.


Bill Charlap 3 at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave.

Joel Forrester 2 at Knickerbocker Bar, 9:00 PM. 33 University Pl.

Bushwick Blooze Band at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.


K. J. Denhert & NY Unit at 55 Bar, 10:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Raphael D'Lugoff 5 at Fat Cat, 10:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Binky Griptite at Django, 10:30 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Anthony Wonsey at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Alex Sipiagin 5 feat. Chris Potter at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Craig Brann 3 at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.



http://www.jazz.org/dizzys


http://www.bluenote.net


Brooklyn Circle at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.

Greg Glassman at Fat Cat, 1:30 AM. 75 Christopher.

Sunday, September 8

Nanny Assis & Friends at Blue Note, 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Kumbakin at Havana Central, 12:00 PM. 151 W. 46th.

Ed Laub 3 at North Square, 12:30 and 2:15 PM. 103 Waverly Pl.

Joanna Kucharczyk at 55 Bar, 3:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Memorial for Trumpeter Fred Smith at BeanRunner, 3:00 PM. Artists TBA. 201 S. Division, Peekskill NY.

Kathleen Stuart 3 at Edison Rum House, 4:00 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Tyler Blanton 5 feat. Jon Cowherd at Jazz Forum, 4:00 and 6:00 PM. 1 Dixon Ln., Tarrytown NY.

Brian Newman & New Alchemy Jazz Orchestra at Birdland, 5:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Jim Campilongo at 55 Bar, 6:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Kyle Motl 2 at Downtown Music Gallery, 6:00 PM. 13 Monroe.

YeraSon Orquesta at Havana Central, 6:00 PM. 151 W. 46th.

Tad Shull 4 at Fat Cat, 6:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Jack Broza at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Senri Oe 3 feat. Ari Hoenig at Birdland Theater, 7:00 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Federico Ughi 5 at Downtown Music Gallery, 7:00 PM. 13 Monroe.

Aaron Diehl: Music of James P. Johnson at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, 7:00 PM. 11 Lviingston Ave., New Bruns-wick NJ.

Linda Presgrave 4 at Tomi Jazz, 7:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Jam Session at Treme, 7:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.

Etienne Charles Big Band at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Newvelle Live: Gregory Tardy/ Bill Frisell at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Will Sellenraad 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Alex Hoffman 5 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Kevin Blancq Big Band at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 W. 46th.


Willie Applewhite 4 at Fat Cat, 9:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Floating Weeds at Tomi Jazz, 9:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Adam Moezina at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Bruce Harris 5 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

David Gibson at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.

Monday, September 9

Kuni Mikami at Bryant Park, 12:30 PM. 1065 6th Ave.

Johnny O'Neal at Fat Cat, 6:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Leoneike Scheuble 3 at Shanghai Jazz, 6:00 PM. 24 Main, Madison NJ.

Nick Marziani 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Jiim Ridl at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Alexandra Rieloff at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Melanie Marod at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.

Miggy Augmented Orchestra at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

FONT: Samantha Boshnack's Seismic Belt/ John Raymond's Real Feels at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.

Mingus Orchestra at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Bennet Paster 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Ari Hoenig 3 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Jack Wilkins 4 at Zinc Bar, 7:30 and 9:00 PM. 82 W. 3rd St.

Odean Pope Sax Choir at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Dorian Devins 3 at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Verena McBee 3 at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Ted Rosenthal 3 at Birdland Theater, 8:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Ned Goold 4 at Fat Cat, 9:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Honey Smith at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Joe Farnsworth 3 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Yuto Kanazawa 2 at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.



Alec Aldred 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Art Exhibit: Works in Tribute to Roy Hargrove (1969-2018) at Jazz Gallery, 6:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.

Stan Killian at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Ryo Sasaki at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.

America's Sweethearts at Birdland Theater, 7:00 PM. 315 W. 44th.


Josh Lawrence & Fresh Cut Orchestra feat. Terrell Stafford, Duane Eubanks & others at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Michelle Coltrane at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Andreas Toftemark 3 at Jules Bistro, 7:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Michelle Lordi 4 feat. Donny McCaslin at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Steve Nelson 4 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Billy Cobham 75th Birthday Celebration at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Dave Mosko Band at George St. Ale House, 8:00 PM. 378 George, New Brunswick NJ.

Yuki Shibata 3 at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Tal Yahalom 3 at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Mike Stern/ Bill Evans Band at Birdland, 8:30 and 11:00 PM. 315 W. 44th.


Peter Brainin Latin Jazz Workshop at Fat Cat, 9:00 PM. 75 Christo-pher.

Matt Parker 3 at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Jam Session at George St. Ale House, 9:30 PM. 378 George, New Brunswick NJ.

Ben Flocks Album Release Party at 55 Bar, 10:00 PM. 55 Christo-pher.

Naama Gheber at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Frank Lacy Band at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Kana Miyamoto at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Isaiah J. Thompson 4 at Dizzy's Club, 11:15 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Avi Rothbard at Fat Cat, 12:30 AM. 75 Christopher.



Young at Heart: Those Great Big Bands at Jazz Loft, 1:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

John Monteleone: The Art of the Guitar at Jazz Loft, 6:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

Juan Munguia 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Amanda Khiri Group at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Ochion Jewel at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.


Manuel Valera 5: Tribute to Ernesto Lecuona at Birdland Theater, 7:00 and 9:45 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Rafael D'Lugoff 4 at Fat Cat, 7:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Olli Soikkeli at Shanghai Jazz, 7:00 PM. 24 Main, Madison NJ.

Brother Pluckers w/Cindy Lopez at Treme, 7:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.

Josh Lawrence & Fresh Cut Orchestra feat. Terrell Stafford, Duane Eubanks & others at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Jeb Patton 3 at Django, 7:30 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Harish Raghavan/ Savannah Harris at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.

Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Noe Socha 3 at Jules Bistro, 7:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Tyler Blanton 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Ben Winkelman 3 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Johnny O'Neal 3 at Tavern on George, 8:00 PM. 361 George, New Brunswick NJ.

Pat Metheny Side-Eye at Sony Hall, 8:00 PM. 235 W. 46th.

Adam Kahan 3 at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Brad Shepik & Friends at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.



Harold Mabern 3 at Fat Cat, 9:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Gerand McDowell 2 at Knickerbocker Bar, 9:00 PM. 33 University Pl.

Dan Weiss Group at 55 Bar, 10:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Uptown Jazz Tentet at Django,10:00 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Tadataka Unno at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Flavio Silva 4 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Keri Johnsrud at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.


Ned Goold at Fat Cat, 12:30 AM. 75 Christopher.

Julius Rodriguez 3 at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.


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Charles Blenzig 4 at Birdland, 5:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Yuma Uesaka 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Nicole Zuraitis at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Dimitri Landrain at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Melanie Marod at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.

Larry Fuller 3 at Birdland Theater, 7:00 and 9:45 PM. 315 W. 44th.

La Descarga at Fat Cat, 7:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

David Love at Tomi Jazz, 7:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Desmond White 4 + Guests at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.


Corcoran Holt at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Javier Nero 7 at Django, 7:30 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Miguel Zenón: Music of Ismael Rivera at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Don Glaser 3 at Jules Bistro, 7:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Dave Liebman/ Richie Beirach at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Pureum Jin 4 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Fleurine & Boys from Brazil at Zinc Bar, 7:30 and 9:00 PM. 82 W. 3rd St.


Pedrito Martinez at Ginny's, 8:00 PM. 310 Lenox.

LCJO w/Wynton Marsalis: South African Songbook at Rose Theater, Lincoln Center, 8:00 PM. Broadway @ 60th.


Vincent Herring 4 at Tavern on George, 8:00 PM. 361 George, New Brunswick NJ.

La Elegancia de la Salsa at Treme, 8:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.

Jon Irabagon 3 at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.



Sonny Step at Django, 10:00 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Greg Glassman 5 at Fat Cat, 10:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Atsushi Ouchi at Tomi Jazz, 10:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Scott Neumann & Tom Christensen: Spin Cycle at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Malick Koly at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.

Ray Gallon at Fat Cat, 1:30 AM. 75 Christopher.

Friday, September 13


Tessa Souter at 55 Bar, 6:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Groover Trio at Fat Cat, 6:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Central Jersey Jazz Festival: Willerm Delisfort at Stangl Factory, 6:00 PM. 4 Stangl Rd., Flemington NJ.

Bob Devos 4 at Shanghai Jazz, 6:15 and 8:35 PM. 24 Main, Madison NJ.

Jackie Jones 2 at Due Mari, 6:30 PM. 78 Albany, New Brunswick NJ.

Kenny Allan Smith at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Larry Fuller 3 at Birdland Theater, 7:00 and 9:45 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Brubeck Brothers at Jazz Forum, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 1 Dixon Ln., Tarrytown NY.

Julius Rodriguez 4 at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broad-way.


Sonelius Smith 3 at Jules Bistro, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Tomas Janzon 3 at Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Hilton Schilder/ Bokani Dyer at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Ken Fowser 5 at Django, 7:30 PM. 2 6th Ave.


Rick Germanson 2 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Karlea Lynné at Minton's, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 206 W. 118th.

Rachel Z. Hakim: Inventions and Dimensions at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

CJJF: Jeanne Gies at Stangl Factory, 7:30 PM. 4 Stangl Rd., Flemington NJ.

Marius Duboule 3 at Tomi Jazz, 7:30 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Emilio Modeste 4 at Zinc Bar, 7:30 and 9:00 PM. 82 W. 3rd St.

Lawrence Anthony: La Soul at BeanRunner, 8:00 PM. 201 S. Division, Peekskill NY.


Russell Hall & Rainbow Kids at Ginny's, 8:00 PM. 310 Lenox.


Bill Ware & Club Bird All-Stars at Maureen's Jazz Cellar, 8:00 and 9:30 PM. 2 N. Broadway, Nyack NY.


Yashmin Abler Bossa Nova 5 at Trumpets, 8:00 PM. 6 Depot Sq., Montclair NJ.



Jill McCarron 2 at Knickerbocker Bar, 9:00 PM. 33 University Pl.

CJJF: Winard Harper at Stangl Factory, 9:00 PM. 4 Stangl Rd., Flemington NJ.

Nadine Simmons at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

George Gee Swing Dance Band at Swing 46, 9:30 PM. 349 W. 46th.

Lezlie Harrison at Django, 10:30 PM. 2 6th Ave.

Jason Marshall Band at Fat Cat, 10:30 PM. 75 Christopher.

Dan Aran at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

John Fedchock 6 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Sharp Tree at Tomi Jazz, 10:30 PM. 239 E. 53rd.


Kojo Odu Roney at Blue Note, 12:30 AM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Corey Wallace Dubtet at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.

Nick Hempton at Fat Cat, 1:30 AM. 75 Christopher.


Hilton Schilder/ Bokani Dyer at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Nick Millevoi 3 at Greenwich House, 7:30 PM. 41 Barrow.

Hot Sardines at Iridium, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1650 Broadway.


Rick Germanson 2 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Rachel Z. Hakim: Inventions and Dimensions at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Kirk Knuffke 3 at 244 Rehearsal Studio, 8:00 PM. 244 W. 54th.

Carlos Barbosa-Lima/ Larry Del Casale at BeanRunner, 8:00 PM. 201 S. Division, Peekskill NY.


Natu Camara at Ginny's, 8:00 PM. 310 Lenox.


Mr. Gone: Music of Weather Report at Maureen's Jazz Cellar, 8:00 and 9:30 PM. 2 N. Broadway, Nyack NY.

Daniel Bennett Group at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.



Greg Diamond & Amalgama at Fat Cat, 10:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Miki Yamanaka at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

John Fedchock 6 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Paul Lee 3 at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.


Gnarbot at Blue Note, 12:30 AM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Eric Wyatt at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.


Sunday, September 15

Daniela Soledad w/ Nate Najar 3 at Blue Note, 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Richard Clements at Antique Garage, 12:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Marianne Solivan 3 feat. Ron Affif at North Square, 12:30 and 2:15 PM. 103 Waverly Pl.

CJJF: Javon Jackson at Somerset Cty. Court House Green, 1:30 PM. E. Main @ Grove St., Somerville NJ.

CJJF: Brianna Thomas at Somerset Cty. Court House Green, 3:05 PM. E. Main @ Grove St., Somerville NJ.

Sam Raderman at Edison Rum House, 4:00 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Vanderlei Pereira & Blindfold Test: Brazilian Jazz at Jazz Forum, 4:00 and 6:00 PM. 1 Dixon Ln., Tarrytown NY.

CJJF: Nat Adderley Jr. at Somerset Cty. Court House Green, 4:45 PM. E. Main @ Grove St., Somerville NJ.

Swingaroos at Birdland, 5:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Ray Anderson 3 at 55 Bar, 6:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Eric Mintel 4 at Shanghai Jazz, 6:15 and 8:45 PM. 24 Main, Madison NJ.

Masami Ishikawa at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Sunhyun Yoo 3 at Tomi Jazz, 7:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Jim Cammack Feature Artist Project feat. Lizzie Thomas at Treme, 7:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.

Emmet Cohen w/George Coleman at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.


Yaala Ballin 4 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Ray Gallon 4 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Jessica Pavone 4 at 244 Rehearsal Studio, 8:00 PM. 244 W. 54th.


Vanessa Trouble & Red Hot Swing at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 W. 46th.


Jordan Pettay Group at Fat Cat, 9:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto 3 at Tomi Jazz, 9:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Nick Hempton 5 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Jam Session at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.

Monday, September 16

Yuka Aikawa at Bryant Park, 12:30 PM. 1065 6th Ave.

Kavita Shah at 55 Bar, 6:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Ben Patterson 2 at Fat Cat, 6:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Lisa Hoppe 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Ochion Jewel at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Andrea Balducci at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.

Ed Palermo Big Band at Iridium, 7:00 PM. 1650 Broadway.

Oliver Lake Big Band at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Colum-bus Cir. #10.

Jon-Erik Kellso 3 feat. Rossano Sportiello at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Ari Hoenig 3 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Gil Parris 4 at Zinc Bar, 7:30 and 9:00 PM. 82 W. 3rd St.

Jon Regen: Higher Ground at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

The Scalisis at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Aimee Allen 3 at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Charles Turner at Birdland Theater, 8:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

George Braith Group at Fat Cat, 9:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Lou Caputo & Company at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.


Takaaki Otomo 2 at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.



Kate Curran 3 at Fine & Rare, 6:00 PM. 9 E. 37th.

Adam Cordero 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Takaaki Otomo at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.


“...among human beings jealousy ranks distinctly as a

weakness; a trademark of small minds; a property of all small minds, yet a property

which even the smallest is ashamed of; and when accused of its possession will

lyingly deny it and resent the accusation as an insult.”

-Mark Twain

“Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free

to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back that

is an outrage.”

- Winston Churchill



Jane Bunnett & Maqueque at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Rick Germanson 3 at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Gina Healy at Jules Bistro, 7:30 PM. 65 St, Marks Pl.

Emilio Solla 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Theo Hill 4 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Christian McBride Situation at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Citizens of the Blues feat. Anthony Hervey at Dizzy's Club, 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.



Artur Akhmetov 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Jane Irving at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christopher.


Ochion Jewel at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.

Sharón Clark at Birdland Theater, 7:00 and 9:45 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Rafael D'Lugoff 4 at Fat Cat, 7:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Dudley Music: Swing Sessions at Treme, 7:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.

Pasquale Grasso 3 feat. Peter & Kenny Washington at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Jarien Jamanila 4 at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broad-way.

Jane Bunnett & Maqueque at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Arianna Neikrug at Jules Bistro, 7:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Shawn McGloin 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

David Smith 5 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Chris DeVito 3 at Tavern on George, 8:00 PM. 361 George, New Brunswick NJ.

John Marino 3 at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Eliane Elias: Love Stories at Birdland, 8:30 and 11:00 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Ravi Coltrane 4 at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.

Lex Corten 2 at Knickerbocker Bar, 9:00 PM. 33 University Pl.

Don Hahn 6 at Fat Cat, 9:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Oz Noy 4 fet. Jeff “Tain” Watts at 55 Bar, 10:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Harold Mabern 3 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Yuto Kanazawa 2 at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Julian Lee at Dizzy's Club, 11:15 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Ned Goold at Fat Cat, 12:30 AM. 75 Christopher.

Charles Blenzig at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.



Emi Takada at Birdland, 5:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Olin Clark 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Morgan Weidinger at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Rafael Castillo at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.


Brandon Goldberg 3 at Birdland Theater, 7:00 and 9:45 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Theo Hill 3 at Fat Cat, 7:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Bad Little Big Band at Jazz Loft, 7:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

Linda Presgrave 4 at Tomi Jazz, 7:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Rene Marie at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Roopa Mahadevan 3 at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.

Houston Person 5 at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Norman Pors' PDG at Jules Bistro, 7:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Daryl Sherman 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Helen Sung & The (re)Construction Project at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Lotte Anker 3 feat. Craig Taborn at 244 Rehearsal Studio, 8:00 PM. 244 W. 54th.


Jane Monheit at Iridium, 8:00 PM. 1650 Broadway.

Freddie Hendrix 4 at Tavern on George, 8:00 PM. 361 George, New Brunswick NJ.

Latinology at Treme, 8:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.



Ravi Coltrane 4 at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 178 7th

Ave. S.

Victor Gould 4 at Fat Cat, 10:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Jasper Dutz at Tomi Jazz, 10:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Willy Rodriguez 5 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Reid Taylor at Fat Cat, 1:30 AM. 75 Christopher.



Gabriela Anders at 55 Bar, 6:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Theory Conspriacy at Fat Cat, 6:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Alex Collins 2 at Due Mari, 6:30 PM. 78 Albany, New Brunswick NJ.

Lee Tomboulian at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Carol Sloane at Birdland Theater, 7:00 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Freddie Hendrix 5 at Jazz Forum, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 1 Dixon Ln., Tarrytown NY.

Darrell Smith 3 at Jules Bistro, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Tom Dempsey at Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.


Harvey Valdes at Greenwich House, 7:30 PM. 41 Barrow.

Paul Cornish Group at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.


Ken Peplowski 3 feat. Rossano Sportiello at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Joy Hanson at Minton's, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 206 W. 118th.

Sebastian Amman 5/Twig Twig/Timo Vollbrecht at Owl Music Parlor, 7:30 PM. 497 Rogers, Bklyn.

Brian Charette 4 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Liquid Math at Tomi Jazz, 7:30 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Geoff Keezer 3 at Zinc Bar, 7:30 and 9:00 PM. 82 W. 3rd St.


Jane Monheit at Iridium, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 1650 Broadway.

David Janeway 3 at Maureen's Jazz Cellar, 8:00 PM. 2 N. Broad-way, Nyack NY.

Ace at Treme, 8:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.




Kate Curran & The Rogues' Gallery at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Ron Sunshine Swingin' Dance Band at Swing 46, 9:30 PM. 349 W. 46th.

Square Feeet at 55 Bar, 10:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Richard Padron Group at Fat Cat, 10:30 PM. 75 Christopher.

Marc Devine at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Rodney Whitaker 4 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Takenori Nishiuchi 4 at Tomi Jazz, 10:30 PM. 239 E. 53rd.


Mimi Jones & The Lab Session at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.

Jared Gold at Fat Cat, 1:30 AM. 75 Christopher.


Marco DiGennaro at Antique Garage, 12:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

The Queen's Cartoonists at Blue Note, 12:00 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Frank Catalono at Candlelight Lounge, 3:30 PM. 24 Passaic, Trenton NJ.

Akihiro Yamamoto 3 at Tomi Jazz, 6:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Chirio Tainaka at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.


Carol Sloane at Birdland Theater, 7:00 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Katrina Colis Band at Fat Cat, 7:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Freddie Hendrix 5 at Jazz Forum, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 1 Dixon Ln., Tarrytown NY.

Marianne Solivan at Jules Bistro, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Kermit Ruffins & BBQ Swingers at Sony Hall, 7:00 PM. 235 W. 46th.

Steve Bloom 3 at Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 PM. 129 Mac-Dougal.


Tony Malaby 3 at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.


Ken Peplowski 3 feat. Rossano Sportiello at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Brian Charette 4 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Evan Sherman Big Band: Harlem Hit Parade at Ginny's, 8:00 PM. 310 Lenox.

Jane Monheit at Iridium, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 1650 Broadway.

Judy Wexler w/Mark Soskin 3 at Maureen's Jazz Cellar, 8:00 PM. 2 N. Broadway, Nyack NY.

Standard Procedures at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Pandora's Vox at Treme, 8:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.



Broadway Brassy & Brass Knuckles at Flation Room, 9:00 PM. 37 W. 26th.



Swingadelic at Swing 46, 9:30 PM. 349 W. 46th.

POD at Fat Cat, 10:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Anthony Wonsey at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Rodney Whitaker 4 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Michael Gallant 3 at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.


Tivon Pennicot at Blue Note, 12:30 AM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Brooklyn Circle at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.



Stephane Wremble & Friends at Blue Note, 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Roz Corral 3 at North Square, 12:30 and 2:15 PM. 103 Waverly Pl.

Dori Levine at 55 Bar, 3:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Matt Parker 3 at Edison Rum House, 4:00 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Neal Spitzer & Friends at Jazz Forum, 4:00 and 6:00 PM. 1 Dixon Ln., Tarrytown NY.

Classical Salon w/David Oei at Mezzrow, 4:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Deb Bowman at Birdland, 5:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Tal Ronen Group at Fat Cat, 6:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Judimarie Canterino at Maureen's Jazz Cellar, 6:00 PM. 2 N. Broadway, Nyack NY.


Haruna Fukuzawa 3 at Tomi Jazz, 7:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.



Sherrie Maricle 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Harish Raghavan/ Savannah Harris at Owl Music Parlor, 7:30 PM. 497 Rogers, Bklyn.

Claire Daly 4 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Vanessa Trouble & Red Hot Swing at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 W. 46th.


Ark Ovrutski 5 at Fat Cat, 9:00 PM. 75 Christopher.

Marcio Garcia at Tomi Jazz, 9:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Dave Scott 5 at 55 Bar, 9:30 PM. 55 Christopher.

David Gibson 4 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Jam Session at Smalls, 1:00 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Roy Eaton at Bryant Park, 12:30 PM. 1065 6th Ave.

Jake Richter 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Melissa Stylianou at 55 Bar, 7:00 PM. 55 Christopher.


Andrea Balducci at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.

Natalie Douglas' Tribute to Nancy Wilson at Birdland, 7:00 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Theo Croker Big Brother Big Band w/Jazzmeia Horn at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Ingrid Laubrock 6 at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broad-way.

Angela Roberts 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Andrew DiAngelo 3 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Chris Pitsiokos & Child of Illusion at 244 Rehearsal Studio, 8:00 PM. 244 W. 54th.

Keyon Harrold at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Harlem Blues Project at Iridium, 8:00 PM. 1650 Broadway.

Masaco Quartet at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Tammy Scheffer 3 at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.



Honey Smith at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.


Joe Farnsworth 4 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Richard Thai at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.



Kate Curran 3 at Fine & Rare, 6:00 PM. 9 E. 37th.

Alec Aldred 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Ryo Sasaki at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

Jamile Staevie at Antique Garage Tribeca, 7:00 PM. 313 Church.

Satish Robertson at Jules Bistro, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Sean Mason 3 at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Steve Lehman 3 feat. Craig Taborn at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Lauren Kinhan 3 feat. Antonio Hart at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Steve Nelson 4 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


J. J. Sanseverino & Groove Messengers at Iridium, 8:00 PM. 1650 Broadway.

Miki Yokoyama 3 at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Alex Goodman 3 at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Coltrane Revisited feat. Jeremy Pelt, Jimmy Greene and others at Birdland, 8:30 and 11:00 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Aaron Parks 3 feat. Billy Hart at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.

Immanuel Wilkins at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Trio Cachimbo at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47tAbdias Armenteros at Dizzy's Club, 11:15 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.



Vic Jamnik 3 at Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Alexandra Rieloff at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.


Slim Gambill at Birdland Theater, 7:00 and 9:45 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Jazztopad Festival: Aga Derlak 5 at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

David Virelles 3 at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.

Steve Lehman 3 feat. Craig Taborn at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

Abdreas Toftemark 3 at Jules Bistro, 7:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Evan Christopher 2 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Rafal Sarnecki 6 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Jazz-Bins feat. Marc Ribot at Iridium, 8:00 PM. 1650 Broadway.

Lou Watson 3 at Tavern on George, 8:00 PM. 361 George, New Brunswick NJ.

Michael Gallant 3 at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Johnny Mac Band at Treme, 8:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.



Albert Ahlf 2 at Knickerbocker Bar, 9:00 PM. 33 University Pl.


Tuomo Uusitalo at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Mike Karn 4 feat. Harry Allen at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Paul Lee 2 at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Abdias Armenteros at Dizzy's Club, 11:15 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Taber Gable at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.


Harbor Jazz Festival: Interplay Jazz Orchestra at Jazz Loft, 7:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

Deep Groove Jazz Trio at Shanghai Jazz, 7:00 PM. 24 Main, Madi-son NJ.

Yasushi Gonjo 4 at Tomi Jazz, 7:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Buster Williams & Something More at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Chet Doxas 3 at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.

Joey DeFrancesco 3 at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27th St.

at Tavern on George, 8:00 PM. 361 George, New Brunswick NJ.

Mambo Loco at Treme, 8:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.

Tommy Holladay 3 at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.


From Russia with Swing at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 W. 46th.


AfuriKo at Tomi Jazz, 10:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Valery Ponomarev 5 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.


Malick Koly at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.



HJF: VIP Festival Reception at Jazz Loft, 6:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

Kate Curran 2 at Due Mari, 6:30 PM. 78 Albany, New Brunswick NJ.


Javon Jackson 4: Celebrating John Coltrane at Jazz Forum, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 1 Dixon Ln., Tarrytown NY.

Evy Joy at Jules Bistro, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

HJF: Terrell Stafford 4 at Jazz Loft, 7:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

John Lumpkin 3 at Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Buster Williams & Something More at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Marcus Strickland 6: Coltrane Raga Tribute at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.


David Bryant 2 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Jackie Gage at Minton's, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 206 W. 118th.

John Chin 3 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Kuni Mikami at Tomi Jazz, 7:30 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Alva Nelson Band: Tribute to Stevie Wonder at BeanRunner, 8:00 PM. 201 S. Division, Peekskill NY.


Eric Krasno 3 at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Parlor Social w/ Dessy DiLaurio at Ginny's, 8:00 PM. 310 Lenox.

Cécile McLorin Salvant at Rose Theater, Lincoln Center, 8:00 PM. Broadway @ 60th.

Erik Lawrence 4 feat. Marya Lawrence at Maureen's Jazz Cellar, 8:00 and 9:30 PM. 2 N. Broadway, Nyack NY.

Robert Cray Band at Sony Hall, 8:00 PM. 235 W. 46th.

Blue Roots at Treme, 8:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.


Russ Kassoff 2 at Knickerbocker Bar, 9:00 PM. 33 University Pl.

Sam Raderman at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

George Gee Swing Dance Band at Swing 46, 9:30 PM. 349 W. 46th.

Cheis Bergson Blues Band at 55 Bar, 10:00 PM. 55 Christopher.

Steve Ash at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Alex Norris 5 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Yuto Mitomi 3 at Tomi Jazz, 10:30 PM. 239 E. 53rd.


Corey Wallace Dubtet at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.


Eunho So at Antique Garage, 12:00 PM. 41 Mercer.

HJF: Frank Vignola/ Houston Person at Jazz Loft, 1:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

Matt Parrish at Candlelight Lounge, 3:30 PM. 24 Passaic, Trenton NJ.

HJF: Champian Fulton 4 at Jazz Loft, 4:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

Cait & The Critters at Flation Room, 5:30 PM. 37 W. 26th.

String Theory at Tomi Jazz, 6:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Nilson Matta's Brazilian Quartet 4 at Shanghai Jazz, 6:15 and 8:35 PM. 24 Main, Madison NJ.

Nabuko Kiryu at Antique Garage, 7:00 PM. 41 Mercer.


Javon Jackson 4: Celebrating John Coltrane at Jazz Forum, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 1 Dixon Ln., Tarrytown NY.

Marcus Strickland 6: Coltrane Raga Tribute at Jazz Gallery, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 1160 Broadway.

HJF: Nicole Henry 5 at Jazz Loft, 7:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

Angel Williams at Jules Bistro, 7:00 and 9:30 PM. 65 St. Marks Pl.

Barry Greene 3 at Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Buster Williams & Something More at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30

PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.


David Bryant 2 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Levin Henry & Friends at Owl Music Parlor, 7:30 PM. 497 Rogers, Bklyn.

John Chin 3 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Rachel Z at Zinc Bar, 7:30 and 9:00 PM. 82 W. 3rd St.

Chien Chien Lu/ Richie Goods at BeanRunner, 8:00 PM. 201 S. Division, Peekskill NY.


Cécile McLorin Salvant at Rose Theater, Lincoln Center, 8:00 PM. Broadway @ 60th.

Brazilian Jazz w/Maucha Adnet & Duduka DaFonseca at Maureen's Jazz Cellar, 8:00 and 9:30 PM. 2 N. Broadway, Nyack NY.

Senri Oe at Tomi Jazz, 8:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Illusion: A Tribute to Women Who Rock at Treme, 8:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.

Ty Stephens & SoulJaazz at Trumpets, 8:00 PM. 6 Depot Sq., Montclair NJ.




Russ Kassoff 2 at Knickerbocker Bar, 9:00 PM. 33 University Pl.

Trio Cachimbo at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Jon Davis at Mezzrow, 10:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Alex Norris 5 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Annie Chen 3 at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.


Philip Harper 5 at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.


Sony Holland at Blue Note, 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.

Miss Maybell & The Jazz Age Artistes at Fine & Rare, 12:00 PM. 9 E. 37th.

HJF: Houston Person 4 at Jazz Loft, 12:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

Roz Corral 3 feat. Dave Stryker at North Square, 12:30 and 2:15 PM. 103 Waverly Pl.

HJF: Nikki Parrott 3 at Jazz Loft, 3:00 PM. 275 Christian, Stony Brook NY.

Alexis Cole/Barry Wallenstein: A Summer Night in Brazil (Jazz and Poetry) at BeanRunner, 4:00 PM. 201 S. Division, Peekskill NY.

Kathleen Stuart 3 at Edison Rum House, 4:00 PM. 228 W. 47th.

George Gee Orchestra at Birdland, 5:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.


Sjo Odamura 3 at Tomi Jazz, 7:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Jam Session at Treme, 7:00 PM. 553 Main, Islip NY.

Clarice Assad: Viva Brasil! at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.


Greg Skaff 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Lucine Yeghizaryan 4 at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.



Kengo Yamada 5 at Tomi Jazz, 9:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.

Kate Curran & Rogues' Gallery at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Charles Ruggiero 4 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Jam Session at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 W. 10th St.


Juan Andres Ospina Big Band at Dizzy's Club, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Cir. #10.

Yuval Anahai 3 at Mezzrow, 7:30 PM. 163 W. 10th St.

Lauren Lee 3 at Bar Next Door, 8:30 PM. 129 MacDougal.

Block Brothers at Birdland Theater, 8:30 PM. 315 W. 44th.

Lou Caputo & Company at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 W. 47th.

Joel Frahm 3 at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 W. 10th St.

Kiyoko Sparrow at Tomi Jazz, 11:00 PM. 239 E. 53rd.


5 C Cultural Center, 68 Avenue C. 212-477-5993. www.5ccc.com

55 Bar, 55 Christopher St. 212-929-9883, 55bar.com

92nd St Y, 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128,

212.415.5500, 92ndsty.org

Aaron Davis Hall, City College of NY, Convent Ave., 212-650-

6900, aarondavishall.org

Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Broadway & 65th St., 212-875-

5050, lincolncenter.org/default.asp

Allen Room, Lincoln Center, Time Warner Center, Broadway and

60th, 5th floor, 212-258-9800, lincolncenter.org

American Museum of Natural History, 81st St. & Central Park

W., 212-769-5100, amnh.org

Antibes Bistro, 112 Suffolk Street. 212-533-6088.

www.antibesbistro.com

Arthur’s Tavern, 57 Grove St., 212-675-6879 or 917-301-8759,

arthurstavernnyc.com

Arts Maplewood, P.O. Box 383, Maplewood, NJ 07040; 973-378-

2133, artsmaplewood.org

Avery Fischer Hall, Lincoln Center, Columbus Ave. & 65th St.,

212-875-5030, lincolncenter.org

BAM Café, 30 Lafayette Av, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100, bam.org

Bar Chord, 1008 Cortelyou Rd., Brooklyn, barchordnyc.com

Bar Lunatico, 486 Halsey St., Brooklyn. 718-513-0339.

222.barlunatico.com

Barbes, 376 9th St. (corner of 6th Ave.), Park Slope, Brooklyn,

718-965-9177, barbesbrooklyn.com

Barge Music, Fulton Ferry Landing, Brooklyn, 718-624-2083,

bargemusic.org

B.B. King’s Blues Bar, 237 W. 42nd St., 212-997-4144,

bbkingblues.com

Beacon Theatre, 74th St. & Broadway, 212-496-7070

Beco Bar, 45 Richardson, Brooklyn. 718-599-1645.

www.becobar.com

Bickford Theatre, on Columbia Turnpike @ Normandy Heights

Road, east of downtown Morristown. 973-744-2600

Birdland, 315 W. 44th, 212-581-3080

Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd, 212-475-8592, bluenotejazz.com

Bourbon St Bar and Grille, 346 W. 46th St, NY, 10036,

212-245-2030, [email protected]

Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery (at Bleecker), 212-614-0505,

bowerypoetry.com

BRIC House, 647 Fulton St. Brooklyn, NY 11217, 718-683-5600,

http://bricartsmedia.org

Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza, 2nd Fl, Brooklyn,

NY, 718-230-2100, brooklynpubliclibrary.org

Café Carlyle, 35 E. 76th St., 212-570-7189, thecarlyle.com

Café Loup, 105 W. 13th St. (West Village) , between Sixth and

Seventh Aves., 212-255-4746

Café St. Bart’s, 109 E. 50th St, 212-888-2664, cafestbarts.com

Cafe Noctambulo, 178 2nd Ave. 212-995-0900. cafenoctam-

bulo.com

Caffe Vivaldi, 32 Jones St, NYC; caffevivaldi.com

Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic St, Trenton. 609-695-9612.

Carnegie Hall, 7th Av & 57th, 212-247-7800, carnegiehall.org

Cassandra’s Jazz, 2256 7th Avenue. 917-435-2250. cassan-

drasjazz.com

Chico’s House Of Jazz, In Shoppes at the Arcade, 631 Lake Ave.,

Asbury Park, 732-774-5299

City Winery, 155 Varick St. Bet. Vandam & Spring St., 212-608-

0555. citywinery.com

Cleopatra’s Needle, 2485 Broadway (betw 92nd & 93rd), 212-769-

6969, cleopatrasneedleny.com

Club Bonafide, 212 W. 52nd, 646-918-6189. clubbonafide.com

C’mon Everybody, 325 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn.

www.cmoneverybody.com

Copeland’s, 547 W. 145th St. (at Bdwy), 212-234-2356

Cornelia St Café, 29 Cornelia, 212-989-9319

Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank, New Jersey

07701, 732-842-9000, countbasietheatre.org

Crossroads at Garwood, 78 North Ave., Garwood, NJ 07027,

908-232-5666

Cutting Room, 19 W. 24th St, 212-691-1900

Dizzy’s Club, Broadway at 60th St., 5th Floor, 212-258-9595,

jalc.com

DROM, 85 Avenue A, New York, 212-777-1157, dromnyc.com

The Ear Inn, 326 Spring St., NY, 212-226-9060, earinn.com

East Village Social, 126 St. Marks Place. 646-755-8662.

www.evsnyc.com

Edward Hopper House, 82 N. Broadway, Nyack NY. 854-358-

0774.

El Museo Del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave (at 104th St.), Tel: 212-831-

7272, Fax: 212-831-7927, elmuseo.org

Esperanto, 145 Avenue C. 212-505-6559. www.esperantony.com

The Falcon, 1348 Rt. 9W, Marlboro, NY., 845) 236-7970,

Fat Cat, 75 Christopher St., 212-675-7369, fatcatjazz.com

Fine and Rare, 9 East 37th Street. www.fineandrare.nyc

Five Spot, 459 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 718-852-0202, fivespot-

soulfood.com

Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY, 718-

463-7700 x222, flushingtownhall.org

For My Sweet, 1103 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY 718-857-1427

Galapagos, 70 N. 6th St., Brooklyn, NY, 718-782-5188, galapago-

sartspace.com

Garage Restaurant and Café, 99 Seventh Ave. (betw 4th and

Bleecker), 212-645-0600, garagerest.com

Garden Café, 4961 Broadway, by 207th St., New York, 10034,

212-544-9480

Gin Fizz, 308 Lenox Ave, 2nd floor. (212) 289-2220.

www.ginfizzharlem.com

Ginny’s Supper Club, 310 Malcolm X Boulevard Manhattan, NY

10027, 212-792-9001, http://redroosterharlem.com/ginnys/

Glen Rock Inn, 222 Rock Road, Glen Rock, NJ, (201) 445-2362,

glenrockinn.com

GoodRoom, 98 Meserole, Bklyn, 718-349-2373, goodroombk.com.

Green Growler, 368 S, Riverside Ave., Croton-on-Hudson NY.

914-862-0961. www.thegreengrowler.com

Greenwich Village Bistro, 13 Carmine St., 212-206-9777, green-

wichvillagebistro.com

Harlem on 5th, 2150 5th Avenue. 212-234-5600.

www.harlemonfifth.com

Harlem Tea Room, 1793A Madison Ave., 212-348-3471, har-

lemtearoom.com

Hat City Kitchen, 459 Valley St, Orange. 862-252-9147.

hatcitykitchen.com

Havana Central West End, 2911 Broadway/114th St), NYC,

212-662-8830, havanacentral.com

Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th St (between 9th & 10th Ave.

highlineballroom.com, 212-414-4314.

Hopewell Valley Bistro, 15 East Broad St, Hopewell, NJ 08525,

609-466-9889, hopewellvalleybistro.com

Hudson Room, 27 S. Division St., Peekskill NY. 914-788-FOOD.

hudsonroom.com

Hyatt New Brunswick, 2 Albany St., New Brunswick, NJ

IBeam Music Studio, 168 7th St., Brooklyn, ibeambrooklyn.com

INC American Bar & Kitchen, 302 George St., New Brunswick

NJ. (732) 640-0553. www.increstaurant.com

Iridium, 1650 Broadway, 212-582-2121, iridiumjazzclub.com

Jazz 966, 966 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY, 718-638-6910

Jazz at Lincoln Center, 33 W. 60th St., 212-258-9800, jalc.org

Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th St., 5th Floor

Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Reservations: 212-258-9595

Rose Theater, Tickets: 212-721-6500, The Allen Room, Tickets:

212-721-6500

Jazz Gallery, 1160 Bdwy, (212) 242-1063, jazzgallery.org

The Jazz Spot, 375 Kosciuszko St. (enter at 179 Marcus Garvey

Blvd.), Brooklyn, NY, 718-453-7825, thejazz.8m.com

Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St., 212-576-2232, jazzstandard.net

Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St & Astor Pl.,

212-539-8778, joespub.com

John Birks Gillespie Auditorium (see Baha’i Center)

Jules Bistro, 65 St. Marks Pl, 212-477-5560, julesbistro.com

Kasser Theater, 1 Normal Av, Montclair State College, Montclair,

973-655-4000, montclair.edu

Key Club, 58 Park Pl, Newark, NJ, 973-799-0306, keyclubnj.com

Kitano Hotel, 66 Park Ave., 212-885-7119. kitano.com

Knickerbocker Bar & Grill, 33 University Pl., 212-228-8490,

knickerbockerbarandgrill.com

Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St, 212-219-3132, knittingfacto-

ry.com

Langham Place — Measure, Fifth Avenue, 400 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10018, 212-613-8738, langhamplacehotels.com

La Lanterna (Bar Next Door at La Lanterna), 129 MacDougal St,

New York, 212-529-5945, lalanternarcaffe.com

Le Cirque Cafe, 151 E. 58th St., lecirque.com

Le Fanfare, 1103 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn. 347-987-4244.

www.lefanfare.com

Le Madeleine, 403 W. 43rd St. (betw 9th & 10th Ave.), New York,

New York, 212-246-2993, lemadeleine.com

Les Gallery Clemente Soto Velez, 107 Suffolk St, 212-260-4080

Lexington Hotel, 511 Lexington Ave. (212) 755-4400.

www.lexinghotelnyc.com

Live @ The Falcon, 1348 Route 9W, Marlboro, NY 12542,

Living Room, 154 Ludlow St. 212-533-7235, livingroomny.com

The Local 269, 269 E. Houston St. (corner of Suffolk St.), NYC

Makor, 35 W. 67th St., 212-601-1000, makor.org

Lounge Zen, 254 DeGraw Ave, Teaneck, NJ, (201) 692-8585,

lounge-zen.com

Maureen’s Jazz Cellar, 2 N. Broadway, Nyack NY. 845-535-

3143. maureensjazzcellar.com

Maxwell’s, 1039 Washington St, Hoboken, NJ, 201-653-1703

McCarter Theater, 91 University Pl., Princeton, 609-258-2787,

mccarter.org

Merkin Concert Hall, Kaufman Center, 129 W. 67th St., 212-501

-3330, ekcc.org/merkin.htm

Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St NY, NY 10012, 212-206-

0440

Mezzrow, 163 West 10th Street, Basement, New York, NY

10014. 646-476-4346. www.mezzrow.com

Minton’s, 206 W 118th St., 212-243-2222, mintonsharlem.com

Mirelle’s, 170 Post Ave., Westbury, NY, 516-338-4933

MIST Harlem, 46 W. 116th St., myimagestudios.com

Mixed Notes Café, 333 Elmont Rd., Elmont, NY (Queens area),

516-328-2233, mixednotescafe.com

Montauk Club, 25 8th Ave., Brooklyn, 718-638-0800,

montaukclub.com

Moscow 57, 168½ Delancey. 212-260-5775. moscow57.com

Muchmore’s, 2 Havemeyer St., Brooklyn. 718-576-3222.

www.muchmoresnyc.com

Mundo, 37-06 36th St., Queens. mundony.com

Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. (between

103rd & 104th St.), 212-534-1672, mcny.org

Musicians’ Local 802, 332 W. 48th, 718-468-7376

National Sawdust, 80 N. 6th St., Brooklyn. 646-779-8455.

www.nationalsawdust.org

Newark Museum, 49 Washington St, Newark, New Jersey 07102-

3176, 973-596-6550, newarkmuseum.org

New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark, NJ,

07102, 973-642-8989, njpac.org

New Leaf Restaurant, 1 Margaret Corbin Dr., Ft. Tryon Park. 212-

568-5323. newleafrestaurant.com

New School Performance Space, 55 W. 13th St., 5th Floor (betw

5th & 6th Ave.), 212-229-5896, newschool.edu.

New School University-Tishman Auditorium, 66 W. 12th St., 1st

Floor, Room 106, 212-229-5488, newschool.edu

New York City Baha’i Center, 53 E. 11th St. (betw Broadway &

University), 212-222-5159, bahainyc.org

North Square Lounge, 103 Waverly Pl. (at MacDougal St.),

212-254-1200, northsquarejazz.com

Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel, 59 W. 44th St. (betw 5th and

6th Ave.), 212-840-6800, thealgonquin.net

Oceana Restaurant, 120 West 49th St, New York, NY 10020

212-759-5941, oceanarestaurant.com

Orchid, 765 Sixth Ave. (betw 25th & 26th St.), 212-206-9928

The Owl, 497 Rogers Ave, Bklyn. 718-774-0042. www.theowl.nyc

Palazzo Restaurant, 11 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair. 973-

746-6778. palazzonj.com

Priory Jazz Club: 223 W Market, Newark, 07103, 973-639-7885

Proper Café, 217-01 Linden Blvd., Queens, 718-341-2233

Clubs, Venues & Jazz ResourcesClubs, Venues & Jazz Resources

— Anton Chekhov

“A system of morality

which is based on relative

emotional values is a mere

illusion, a thoroughly vulgar

conception which has nothing

sound in it and nothing true.”

— Socrates


Prospect Park Bandshell, 9th St. & Prospect Park W., Brooklyn,

NY, 718-768-0855

Prospect Wine Bar & Bistro, 16 Prospect St. Westfield, NJ,

908-232-7320, 16prospect.com, cjayrecords.com

Red Eye Grill, 890 7th Av (56th), 212-541-9000, redeyegrill.com

Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main St.,

Ridgefield, CT; ridgefieldplayhouse.org, 203-438-5795

Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St, 212-477-4155

Rose Center (American Museum of Natural History), 81st St.

(Central Park W. & Columbus), 212-769-5100, amnh.org/rose

Rose Hall, 33 W. 60th St., 212-258-9800, jalc.org

Rosendale Café, 434 Main St., PO Box 436, Rosendale, NY 12472,

845-658-9048, rosendalecafe.com

Rubin Museum of Art - “Harlem in the Himalayas”, 150 W. 17th

St. 212-620-5000. rmanyc.org

Rustik, 471 DeKalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 347-406-9700,

rustikrestaurant.com

St. Mark’s Church, 131 10th St. (at 2nd Ave.), 212-674-6377

St. Nick’s Pub, 773 St. Nicholas Av (at 149th), 212-283-9728

St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington (at 54th), 212-935-2200,

saintpeters.org

Sasa’s Lounge, 924 Columbus Ave, Between 105th & 106th St.

NY, NY 10025, 212-865-5159, sasasloungenyc.yolasite.com

Savoy Grill, 60 Park Place, Newark, NJ 07102, 973-286-1700

Schomburg Center, 515 Malcolm X Blvd., 212-491-2200,

nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html

Shanghai Jazz, 24 Main St., Madison, NJ, 973-822-2899, shang-

haijazz.com

ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11215

shapeshifterlab.com

Showman’s, 375 W. 125th St., 212-864-8941

Sidewalk Café, 94 Ave. A, 212-473-7373

Sista’s Place, 456 Nostrand, Bklyn, 718-398-1766, sistasplace.org

Skippers Plane St Pub, 304 University Ave. Newark NJ, 973-733-

9300, skippersplaneStpub.com

Smalls Jazz Club, 183 W. 10th St. (at 7th Ave.), 212-929-7565,

SmallsJazzClub.com

Smith’s Bar, 701 8th Ave, New York, 212-246-3268

Sofia’s Restaurant - Club Cache’ [downstairs], Edison Hotel,

221 W. 46th St. (between Broadway & 8th Ave), 212-719-5799

South Gate Restaurant & Bar, 154 Central Park South, 212-484-

5120, 154southgate.com

South Orange Performing Arts Center, One SOPAC

Way, South Orange, NJ 07079, sopacnow.org, 973-313-2787

Spectrum, 2nd floor, 121 Ludlow St.

Spoken Words Café, 266 4th Av, Brooklyn, 718-596-3923

Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, 165 W. 65th St., 10th Floor,

212-721-6500, lincolncenter.org

The Stone, Ave. C & 2nd St., thestonenyc.com

Strand Bistro, 33 W. 37th St. 212-584-4000

SubCulture, 45 Bleecker St., subculturenewyork.com

Sugar Bar, 254 W. 72nd St, 212-579-0222, sugarbarnyc.com

Swing 46, 349 W. 46th St.(betw 8th & 9th Ave.),

212-262-9554, swing46.com

Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, Tel: 212-864-1414, Fax: 212-

932-3228, symphonyspace.org

Tea Lounge, 837 Union St. (betw 6th & 7th Ave), Park Slope,

Broooklyn, 718-789-2762, tealoungeNY.com

Terra Blues, 149 Bleecker St. (betw Thompson & LaGuardia),

212-777-7776, terrablues.com

Threes Brewing, 333 Douglass St., Brooklyn. 718-522-2110.

www.threesbrewing.com

Tito Puente’s Restaurant and Cabaret, 64 City Island Avenue,

City Island, Bronx, 718-885-3200, titopuentesrestaurant.com

Tomi Jazz, 239 E. 53rd St., 646-497-1254, tomijazz.com

Tonic, 107 Norfolk St. (betw Delancey & Rivington), Tel: 212-358-

7501, Fax: 212-358-1237, tonicnyc.com

Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St., 212-997-1003

Triad Theater, 158 W. 72nd St. (betw Broadway & Columbus

Ave.), 212-362-2590, triadnyc.com

Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St, 10007,

[email protected], tribecapac.org

Trumpets, 6 Depot Square, Montclair, NJ, 973-744-2600,

trumpetsjazz.com

Turning Point Cafe, 468 Piermont Ave. Piermont, N.Y. 10968

(845) 359-1089, http://turningpointcafe.com

Urbo, 11 Times Square. 212-542-8950. urbonyc.com

Village Vanguard, 178 7th Ave S., 212-255-4037

Vision Festival, 212-696-6681, [email protected],

Watchung Arts Center, 18 Stirling Rd, Watchung, NJ 07069,

908-753-0190, watchungarts.org

Watercolor Café, 2094 Boston Post Road, Larchmont, NY 10538,

914-834-2213, watercolorcafe.net

Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, 57th & 7th Ave, 212-247-7800

Williamsburg Music Center, 367 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

11211, (718) 384-1654 wmcjazz.org

Zankel Hall, 881 7th Ave, New York, 212-247-7800

Zinc Bar, 82 West 3rd St.

RECORD STORES

Academy Records, 12 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011, 212-242

-3000, http://academy-records.com

Downtown Music Gallery, 13 Monroe St, New York, NY 10002,

(212) 473-0043, downtownmusicgallery.com

Jazz Record Center, 236 W. 26th St., Room 804,

212-675-4480, jazzrecordcenter.com

MUSIC STORES

Roberto’s Woodwind & Brass, 149 West 46th St. NY, NY 10036,

646-366-0240, robertoswoodwind.com

Sam Ash, 333 W 34th St, New York, NY 10001

Phone: (212) 719-2299 samash.com

Sadowsky Guitars Ltd, 2107 41st Avenue 4th Floor, Long Island

City, NY 11101, 718-433-1990. sadowsky.com

Steve Maxwell Vintage Drums, 723 7th Ave, 3rd Floor, New

York, NY 10019, 212-730-8138, maxwelldrums.com

SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, CONSERVATORIES

92nd St Y, 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128

212.415.5500; 92ndsty.org

Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music, 42-76 Main St.,

Flushing, NY, Tel: 718-461-8910, Fax: 718-886-2450

Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, 58 Seventh Ave., Brooklyn,

NY, 718-622-3300, brooklynconservatory.com

City College of NY-Jazz Program, 212-650-5411,

Drummers Collective, 541 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011,

212-741-0091, thecoll.com

Five Towns College, 305 N. Service, 516-424-7000, x Hills, NY

Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow St., Tel: 212-242-

4770, Fax: 212-366-9621, greenwichhouse.org

Juilliard School of Music, 60 Lincoln Ctr, 212-799-5000

LaGuardia Community College/CUNI, 31-10 Thomson Ave.,

Long Island City, 718-482-5151

Lincoln Center — Jazz At Lincoln Center, 140 W. 65th St.,

10023, 212-258-9816, 212-258-9900

Long Island University — Brooklyn Campus, Dept. of Music,

University Plaza, Brooklyn, 718-488-1051, 718-488-1372

Manhattan School of Music, 120 Claremont Ave., 10027,

212-749-2805, 2802, 212-749-3025

NJ City Univ, 2039 Kennedy Blvd., Jersey City, 888-441-6528

New School, 55 W. 13th St., 212-229-5896, 212-229-8936

NY University, 35 West 4th St. Rm #777, 212-998-5446

NY Jazz Academy, 718-426-0633 NYJazzAcademy.com

Princeton University-Dept. of Music, Woolworth Center Musical

Studies, Princeton, NJ, 609-258-4241, 609-258-6793

Queens College — Copland School of Music, City University of

NY, Flushing, 718-997-3800

Rutgers Univ. at New Brunswick, Jazz Studies, Douglass Cam-

pus, PO Box 270, New Brunswick, NJ, 908-932-9302

Rutgers University Institute of Jazz Studies, 185 University

Avenue, Newark NJ 07102, 973-353-5595

newarkrutgers.edu/IJS/index1.html

SUNY Purchase, 735 Anderson Hill, Purchase, 914-251-6300

Swing University (see Jazz At Lincoln Center, under Venues)

William Paterson University Jazz Studies Program, 300 Pompton

Rd, Wayne, NJ, 973-720-2320

RADIO

WBGO 88.3 FM, 54 Park Pl, Newark, NJ 07102, Tel: 973-624-

8880, Fax: 973-824-8888, wbgo.org

WCWP, LIU/C.W. Post Campus

WFDU, http://alpha.fdu.edu/wfdu/wfdufm/index2.html

WKCR 89.9, Columbia University, 2920 Broadway

Mailcode 2612, NY 10027, 212-854-9920, columbia.edu/cu/wkcr

ADDITIONAL JAZZ RESOURCES

Big Apple Jazz, bigapplejazz.com, 718-606-8442, gor-

[email protected]

Louis Armstrong House, 34-56 107th St, Corona, NY 11368,

718-997-3670, satchmo.net

Institute of Jazz Studies, John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers-

Univ, 185 University Av, Newark, NJ, 07102, 973-353-5595

Jazzmobile, Inc., jazzmobile.org

Jazz Museum in Harlem, 104 E. 126th St., 212-348-8300,

jazzmuseuminharlem.org

Jazz Foundation of America, 322 W. 48th St. 10036,

212-245-3999, jazzfoundation.org

New Jersey Jazz Society, 1-800-303-NJJS, njjs.org

New York Blues & Jazz Society, NYBluesandJazz.org

Rubin Museum, 150 W. 17th St, New York, NY,

212-620-5000 ex 344, rmanyc.org.

“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world

and moral courage so rare.”

— Mark Twain

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HD: My afternoon with Julie London! I was

with the Mel Lewis Band. We were at the

Lighthouse and there was an announcement

that Elizabeth Montgomery and Julie London were in the audience. Julie London, we all had

her albums, “Calendar Girl,” and watched her

on Emergency!. And [actress] Elizabeth Mont-

gomery, we all watched Bewitched. They were

both in the audience. Wow! I told Mel Lewis

that, ‘Look, Julie London is it for me. You’ve

got to introduce me!’ He said he’d take care of

that. It turned out that she was sitting kind of

right in front of the piano and I didn’t even

know it. So, after the set, we go out and Mel

said, “My piano player Harold Danko, wants to

meet you.” So, it was [nervous] me and Julie

London. I said, ‘Wow.’ And she complimented

me, and I said some stupid thing like, ‘You got

me through junior high.’ [Laughs] I don’t

know. I said the most inane thing, and she said,

“You’re just trying to flatter a middle-aged

lady.” And I looked at her, right in the eye, and

said, ‘No way.’ So, anyway, Mel’s still stand-

ing there with me and [her husband/actor] Bob-

by Troup. She said to Mel and me, “Mel and

Harold, why don’t you come over while you’re

here? ” And Mel said, “No, my niece is here,”

and I’m thinking, ‘Mel! Don’t! This is it!’ So,

Julie London looks at me and says, “Well, Har-

old, can you make it?” I might still have this

somewhere; she wrote down on a napkin

“Julie” and her number. And the guys in the

band were just rolling because I’m like in the

sky. The next day comes and I’m debating to

call or not. We had a few days off, and I finally

call. It was after a day or so, and it was Bobby

Troup that answers the phone. I say, ‘This is

Harold D-D-D-Danko, piano, ah, ah, dah,

dah…,’ and he said, “You probably want to talk

to Julie.” So, she said, “Harold, come over.” I

said, ‘Well, I don’t have a car.’ So, Bobby Troup comes and gets me at the hotel and

drives me up to wherever they lived, and there

was Julie London at home. Her daughter was

taking driving lessons and I went out and did a

drive with her daughter while Julie cooked

some fettuccini. So, I had fettuccini with Julie

London and Bobby Troup, and for days, it was

like the Jane Fonda thing, I was just like –

‘Ahhhhh.’ I was on the bus [dazed] and the

guys said, “You’re missing Julie, aren’t you?”

It became this band joke.

JI: Gerry Mulligan had you work in his quartet

and big band between 1980-’88.

HD: He had the quartet some nights and then

the big band, just like Thad and Mel. The dif-

ference with Gerry was that Gerry did the same

music [in both settings]. Usually, when Thad

did a quartet gig, he would do standards, not his

own music. But with Gerry, we’d do quartet

versions of his tunes because he just wanted to

play his music. The professionalism of what he

did as a composer and as a presenter of his own

music was very influential. He had slow tunes,

he had bossa novas, and once in a while he’d

do a Duke Ellington tune, but he was out there

to do his own music. He was much more com-

plex than the other guys I worked for. He left

high school, but he was very self-educated,

very well read, and kind of protective in a cer-

tain kind of way of his intellect because he did-

n’t have the advantage of certain things. At

first, I didn’t know if he liked the way I played

or not, but then he had a Heineken or two one

night, because he wasn’t supposed to drink at

that point, and he told me how much he loved

my playing. And then I was happy. The presen-tation of his music was really important to him,

even to the point that he was wearing tuxes in

those days. I remember once I didn’t have my

tie on and he kind of [scolded] me. But I under-

stand it in a way, he had gotten to the point that

if he played the biggest venue in that town, he

didn’t want to come back and play a club.

That’s the way his career was going, plus he

was doing things with symphonies. He respect-

ed the music and himself. The band guys had

fun with it at the time because we thought it

was pretentious, but looking back at it, I can

understand it. He wanted it to be right.

JI: You’ve made numerous fine recordings as

a leader, many of which are built around a con-

cept. Shorter by Two [1984] is a duet with Kirk

Lightsey covering Wayne Shorter tunes, After

the Rain [1994] is a solo piano celebration of

John Coltrane, The Feeling of Jazz [1996] is a remake of the Duke Ellington - John Coltrane

1963 Impulse! album collaboration, …This

Isn’t Maybe [1998] is a tribute to Chet Baker,

and Prestigious [2001] is tribute to Eric

Dolphy. Concept projects are common these

days and help win Grammy Awards. What at-

tracted you to producing concept albums before

they became popular?

HD: I got to know [record producer/musician]

Teo [Macero]. I did a lot of sessions for him

and that clarified my own thinking [of making

albums]. Like I said, I’m a three-minute guy,

but I’m also an album guy. Teo’s thing was to

get the product, that’s what he was doing with

Miles and the others. If Columbia needed two

albums a year, then it was Teo’s responsibility

to deal with that and present the product. There

were two sides to each LP and getting to know

Teo, I got to know my own thing, like the con-cept of an album. I think Teo said on the day

that he did Dave Brubeck’s Time Out, he also

did a Johnny Mathis record! Teo’s pressure was

to make something out of the sessions and put

it in order. So I was attracted to something that

had a concept to it, whether it was stated or not.

Later on, I put it together that Teo was also

responsible for my 20-minute attention span,

[the length of an album side], and then I needed

to take a break. Or maybe I needed to flip the

side. But the CD concept, Teo hated when peo-

ple would put out the extra takes. He said, “Gil

Evans would be rolling over in his grave! He

didn’t want this shit out! He wanted the one

that I picked, that was my job!” He was down


“With Thad, it was like I’d put my hands down on the piano and Thad would reflect what I played, especially with the quartet.

My first gig with Thad and Mel was a quartet with Sam Jones. Wow! That was my introduction to Thad, and then Thad said, [In a deep voice] ‘We’re looking for somebody for the band.’ I knew Thad’s playing from Mingus and Monk, I didn’t know Thad’s writing. Now I get goose-

bumps [from Thad’s writing].”

Harold Danko


on Bob Belden when Bob re-did Bitches Brew.

Teo said, “Bitches Brew was my thing! I put

that together. That’s what they wanted!” When

I do an album, I think about it a lot. Like why

would a person want to buy a Harold Danko record?

JI: You also released Hinesight, a 2005 album

that covered twelve Earl Hines compositions.

What’s your connection with Earl Hines?

HD: I saw Earl Hines at the 1977 Nice Jazz

Festival and it changed my life. I thought it was

the freest stuff I’d ever seen in my life. It was

“Tea for Two,” but it was so free. When his

100th anniversary of his birth, which is disput-

ed, came and nobody was saying anything,

that’s when I said somebody’s got to do some-

thing. So, I had my own 100th anniversary festi-

val at my house. I played all my Earl Hines

records. He was really avant-garde, in a way.

Yeah, the Earl Hines thing, I’m pretty passion-

ate about Earl Hines. I think he’s so important,

and I turned as many students on [to him] as I

could, but some of them just don’t get it. He’s improvising. That’s what I love about him, that

and his ideas about presentation.

JI: Lately, you’ve been concentrating on your

own compositions, partly because you don’t

feel the same degree of freedom when you play

other people’s music. Why do you feel so teth-

ered to the original work of others?

HD: There’s a certain point of disrespect.

Sometimes I’ll hear somebody’s version of

something, and I’ll think they haven’t done

their homework on it, and they’re just playing

“creatively”. Well, it doesn’t sound right. What

was the context of that tune? Were there words

to that? I’m always saying that I like jazz in-

strumental tunes more because the standards,

sometimes the words don’t connect with me.

With my own tunes, I can do them however I

want. It’s my stuff, so I don’t have to feel par-ticularly respectful. I also find that I was ahead

of myself twenty to thirty years ago as a com-

poser, and then had to learn to improvise on

those things.

JI: How does it make you feel when you hear

someone improvising on one of your own com-

positions?

HD: Anyone playing my music, I would love. I

keep joking that since Herbie Hancock’s not

playing my music, I better be the best I can.

When I think of a young Herbie playing on that

early Wayne Shorter music, Herbie’s almost

sight reading that music, and he’s 23-years-old!

I say to students that, ‘I’m still pissed off at the

young Herbie Hancock for how mature he was.

It’s like he was playing those tunes for years,

and I’m not that way with my own music. It’s

taken me a longer time in my own music to

arrive at a place where I think, ‘Wow, I’m play-

ing this as good as anyone’s gonna play this.’ If

anyone’s willing to give my music a shot, I’d

be thrilled. If I could get any kind of royalties,

even if it was a horrible version of anything, I’d

be just so grateful to go out and eat that night! [Laughs]

JI: You’ve been a prolific composer. Would

you name five of your pieces that you feel are

most deserving of wider attention?

HD: “Tidal Breeze” has been my hit. I wrote

that away from the piano. I lucked out, I really

did. I think one of the other pieces would be

“Nightscapes,” which is an extended suite. It’s

my only attempt at stringing together some-

thing longer. It is a suite, so there are different

pieces, but there are things that recur and bind

it together. I managed to use some Stravinsky

“Rite of Spring” stuff in “Omniperception”,

“Notzenytes” and “Rhythm’s Child”. “Waiting

Time” is a piece I still practice myself that in-

forms me of a lot of things. I wrote a piece

called “For Bud,” which is a tribute to Bud

Powell in a way, which has a lot of Jackie McLean-ish stuff in it, too. I’m not a New York

guy, but when I hear Jackie McLean, I hear that

sound, and, yeah, I like that. I got to teach at

Hartt College for a while and got to know Jack-

ie a bit but never got to play with him. “To

Start Again,” I keep playing that one. There are

some melodic things like “Alone But Not For-

gotten,” which is a piece where I use some

space that creates a stillness, which I don’t hear

much of today. I’m very proud of my still mo-

ment in “Alone But Not Forgotten,” and I’ve

used that in improvising. As a composer, I try

to invent these environments where you can

stretch out. When people say, “Why don’t you

play free?” I’d love to play free all the time, but

I think my tunes, and the way that I can ap-

proach them, give me something to rely on,

because I don’t know that I’m going to be that

interesting playing totally free for 19 minutes.

JI: A good part of your career has been spent

as an educator. You’ve gone from teaching out

of your New York City apartment, while play-

ing with Chet Baker to pay rent, to teaching at

the Manhattan School of music, and then at

Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New

York for nineteen years. I ran across a 1977

DownBeat interview of yours that noted you

had gotten an education degree in college but

had no plans to teach. You said, “I cannot

teach, okay, that’s a four-year lesson and I hope

I never have to use the degree.” So, what hap-

pened?

HD: That was about public school student

teaching and I just couldn’t do that. It wasn’t

the teaching, so much, it was the teaching in

that institutional framework. Even at Eastman,

there’s certain institutional things. The kids had

to have a degree, and there’s pressure like cra-

zy. I’m a generous grader. Like Jaki Byard used

to say, “If you’re studying jazz, you get an

A.” [Laughs]

JI: As a featured columnist in Keyboard Maga-

zine for more than five years, you detailed many of your compositional and improvisation-

al processes. Would you give a brief overview

of what you do that is unique?

HD: When I’ve been complimented, there’s a

kind of a harmonic thing that I think I engage

the listener in. I’m trying to create this environ-

ment for five or seven minutes with each com-

position, to create different templates to be able

to have a successful five or seven minutes. I’ve

thought about it, a lot. I’ve composed country

and western music and a very unsuccessful

Broadway show [A Matter of Opinion], so I’ve

had some training in the craft of it. I really ap-

preciate the songwriting craft.

JI: You’re an admitted linguistics buff. Part of

your time at Eastman was spent investigating

the mystery and complexity of how music and

language meet. What did you learn and what’s to be done with that knowledge?

HD: At first, I was pretty naïve. I have real

affinity for phonetics and phonology but didn’t

know that’s what I liked until I met Joyce

McDonough, a colleague from the linguistics

department at the University of Rochester. I

met Joyce on line at one of the provost’s lunch-

eons. ‘Oh, you’re a linguist? I’m an amateur

linguist,’ I said. I told her what books I had and

that I wasn’t interested in semantics, just the

sounds of people talking in any language, and

she said, “It sounds like you’re an intonational

and metric phonologist.” After that, I studied in

the linguistics department for a year. My naïve

idea at the beginning was that something in

Louis Armstrong’s speech patterns would re-

semble his opening statement on “West End

Blues,” but we didn’t find that. Joyce and I

focused on Jelly Roll Morton as well as Louis Armstrong, because they were active prior to

the advent of formal jazz education, and they’re

both from New Orleans. We looked into their

storytelling and Louis Armstrong’s spoken

intros, and Jelly Roll’s recordings where he’s

telling his stories and then goes into songs.

There’s got to be some correlation there, but

our study did not reach any real conclusion.

Even so, it was a very interesting journey. Lew-

is Porter asked me what I got out of this and I

said, ‘I don’t know, but I try not to play just

eighth notes because that’s not the way lan-

guage goes.’ And that’s the beauty of certain

free jazz, where some of the players may not be

musically advanced but can create conversa-

tions. A squawk on a saxophone could mimic


Harold Danko


the way someone talks - maybe the way crazy

people talk, and it communicates somehow.

There are avenues of research and collaboration

that could be done with this that would take

another lifetime, and I just don’t have the

scholarly nerdiness to go about it.

JI: Is it true that you retired from Eastman in

2017 after discovering you had a small pension

from the New York Musicians Union from

your years of playing cocktail piano in hotels?

HD: Which practically almost covers my health

insurance, so at that point, I figured I could

balance it all. Also, I’d run the whole institu-

tional thing. I’m grateful to Eastman and the

University of Rochester for many, many things,

but I’d seen changes in the students. I was al-

ways engaged in albums, and it became less

charming for me to tell students, because they

just didn’t relate, like how when that new Miles

record came out, my friend twelve miles away

had it, I’d go to his house to listen to that new

Miles record and try to get him to lend it to me

because I’d brought the new Joe Henderson

record. Now music is on Spotify, but how do you know you’re listening to the best tracks?

My scratchy Louis Armstrong albums seemed

to be less relevant. It was time. I’d had a good

run.

JI: There’s a few more experiences to touch

on. You got to spend some time over the years

with famed Columbia Records producer/

musician/composer Teo Macero.

HD: I met him on a concert at Cooper Union I

did with Lee Konitz and Teo’s music was being

played on it. At first we talked about classical

music and Teo wanted me to play some of his

classical music. Teo said I could improvise

with it, but you really couldn’t. He had me do a

record date of his music which totally failed.

He said, “I thought you could read!” Teo was

very animated. In the course of that, he told me

how many Miles sessions had failed, so I guess my thing was not as frustrating. For me, I was

just totally embarrassed. I thought he would

never call me, but we had a pretty long run. I’m

on quite a few of his own records. I did some

pretty good playing for him. Teo was pretty

well off and would use his money to hire top

musicians to play music, and one time some

things that Teddy Charles and I played free,

ended up on a recording of his with the London

Philharmonic. Lee Konitz said Teo always used

to pay scale. You’d do the record date, and then

Teo could use it any way he wanted. He was a

master splicer. Lee said, “I was in Japan once

and I heard myself on a commercial!” Well,

you got paid for it. You got scale. Teo would

do these dates with people like [Dave] Liebman

and Lew Soloff, and some of the playing is

really inspired, but he wanted it to stay loose.

The final one I did with him was when I was at

Eastman. He wanted to do a tribute to Monk, so

he sent me his Monk inspired music, which,

since I was living in Rochester, I really got a

chance to prepare. Usually, the stuff he’d send

me when I lived in New York City, I’d have no

time to prepare for. This Monk thing I really

prepared so I got to New York City and started playing, and he said, “Danko, what are you

doing?” I said I had the chance to look at the

music, and he said, “No!” So, I failed him early

-on on his own music, needing to get it more

precise, and then I really did my homework on

his Monk music, and that wasn’t what he want-

ed. He was about really improvising in the stu-

dio and then he would put it together or use it

some way. He was a pretty creative character.

JI: What was your experience working for

NBC’s Another World soap opera?

HD: I did about 15 episodes. I got “Tidal

Breeze” on as background music and got some

nice ASCAP credits. There was no musical

director, so at first when I played a little thing,

like I played “Body and Soul,” and then they

asked me what I was gonna play in the next

scene, I said, ‘Does it matter? I’ll be playing

“Tidal Breeze.”’ At the time, “Tidal Breeze”

was the only thing I had the publishing on. So, I

kept doing versions of “Tidal Breeze.” Once I

remember getting a check for four grand.

[Laughs] Yeah, I was the pianist on Another

World and I was the accompanist to the charac-

ter Melissa, who was a singer. She, actress Taro

Meyer, was writing little vignettes of her own,

and she was making even more money because

her’s were featured, mine were background. As

I remember, I think the Stan Getz guys, includ-

ing Billy Hart and Andy LaVerne, were into

watching Another World, because on the road

you might get into soap operas. So when I got a

chance to do Another World, to do the show with Melissa, it was kind of a big deal, but the

main thing for me was getting “Tidal Breeze”

on national TV.

JI: What memories do you have from perform-

ing and hanging at Bradley’s, the beloved New

York City club that closed in 1996?

HD: It was just an amazing time. To see Hank

Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron, and

whoever. Kirk Lightsey was a big deal at Brad-

ley’s. He was amazing, the way he would en-

gage the people. I got to play there on two dif-

ferent weeks. During that time I was playing in

a place called WPA, which was a duo joint

downtown in SOHO. Bradley knew I was play-

ing there because I’d show up later at his place

nicely dressed, and eventually he did hire me

for a couple weeks. When my WPA gig ended,

they sold the piano and I was out of work.

Bradley would ask, “Are you still working at

that joint downtown?” Kind of harassing me. I

guess because I had presented myself as I got


“I got to know [record producer/musician] Teo [Macero]. I did a lot of

sessions for him and that clarified my own thinking [of making albums]. Like I said, I’m a three-minute guy, but I’m also an album guy. Teo’s thing was to

get the product, that’s what he was doing with Miles and the others. If

Columbia needed two albums a year, then it was Teo’s responsibility to deal

with that and present the product.”

Harold Danko


my own gig, kind of thing. But it was just an

amazing vibe. To run into people, and then that

third set, just to know who was in that audi-

ence, especially late. I think Flanagan was in

the audience for me when I first played. I’d see Lightsey in there commanding everyone. Ce-

lebrities could be in there. I’m glad I at least

had a couple shots at it.

JI: You met Chick Corea early on, while he

was with Miles Davis, and he’s played an im-

portant role in your life. Would you talk a bit

about that?

HD: Chick was his own research guy, as far as

the piano and the things he was investigating –

Ravel and whatever. When I got a chance to

hang out with him I saw how he did things, but

he stressed that two people could look at the

same source material and come away with

completely different stuff, and that meant a lot

to me. That’s it, I don’t have to play like this

guy. He also introduced me to Scientology,

which I studied. I was always interested in the

study aspects of it. It had some amazing things about misunderstood words, and things that

were really interesting to me and provided a

logical way to approach learning. Lee Konitz

was also involved with Scientology. The insti-

tutional thing of it was another thing. I lapsed

as a Catholic and, I guess, I lapsed as a Scien-

tologist. [Laughs] Chick hasn’t.

JI: You mentioned that you are not a cell

phone or technology fan. Are you not on the

Internet or is it only the cell phone that you

avoid?

HD: Email, I’m comfortable with. I don’t have

a cell phone because I had one for a while and I

didn’t call anyone. I called my son on his birth-

day, I keep reminding him of that. My wife

keeps me [up to date], she tells me who texted.

The technology? I think it’s other people’s

stuff, and as we’re finding out with Zuckerberg,

they didn’t know what they were doing as far

as what the consequences would be. Now

they’re billionaires but they didn’t think it out

all the way. I don’t find Facebook [interesting],

I’d rather have a conversation with somebody.

I’d rather have a phone call. I’d have that at

Eastman where somebody would email me and

I’d stop by their office and they’d be like, “Oh,

wow!” And we’d get it done. Boom! It’s not

ten thousand emails. I’m not a luddite but I’m a bit reluctant to just carry that thing around me

and have it buzz in my pocket. What the heck?

I’ve always been leery of technology partly

because we heard about computers when I was

in the army band and thought that maybe they

could watch us through the TV.

JI: What are your interests outside of music,

including guilty pleasures?

HD: We got another house so I’m working on

the house. I’m pretty good at scraping and lawn

care. I don’t have many “hobbies” other than

my linguistic interests. I watch TV. I watch

crime shows, and wonder why autopsies have

become entertainment. My son is a tennis in-

structor and he’s gotten me into enjoying the

sport as an observer. I like cars. Over the last

five years, I’ve gotten back to stick shift in my

Audi. My guilty pleasures? I guess I still like to eat my ice cream, but I do work out most days.

JI: The final questions have been given to me

from other artists to ask you:

Frank Tiberi (multi-instruments/ leader of the

Woody Herman Orchestra) said: “It is indeed a

pleasure to be able to say some great things

about Harold. One thing is that he gave me the

opportunity to record on his [1979, Dream-

street] record session called Coincidence. I had

recorded many sessions with the Woody Her-

man band, but this was the first time that I was

invited to record as a jazz soloist with a small

group. Not only that, Harold also gave me the

opportunity to expose myself on the jazz bas-

soon. Playing his selection of tunes was very

enjoyable. The one I particularly enjoyed the

most was his composition “Tidal Breeze.” Its

construction of chords was comfortable and

gave a lot of space that allowed one to really

apply their own concept. I have my students

play that tune.”

JI: Perhaps, in response to his comment about

you, you’ll say something about how you came

to compose “Tidal Breeze?”

HD: I composed that when I first saw the At-

lantic Ocean. I actually composed the two-horn

part away from the piano and it worked. It’s kind of a natural tune. Some people have said

it’s a combination of “Killer Joe” and “Well,

You Needn’t,” which it kind of is in a way. It

has a kind of backward Elvin kind of feel to the

rhythms to it, and that’s what I felt when I

wrote it, like I was writing something on the

Speak No Evil – Wayne Shorter- Elvin-y sort of

thing.

Kirk Knuffke (trumpet) asked: “I’m curious to

hear more about Thad Jones. People talk about

the big band and the great writing, but I’d like

to know more about Thad, the musician. He is

very underrated in that regard, in my estima-

tion.”

HD: If you go back to the stuff he did with

Mingus early on—Mingus used to praise Thad.

I get goosebumps thinking about the solo Thad

played on Mingus’ “What Is This Thing Called Love.” He plays some stuff that is startling,

trumpet-wise it’s startling, and idea-wise. It’s

like Dizzy Gillespie, who he revered, but he

had his own special thing. I’m grateful that I

knew his playing well enough that he was com-

fortable enough with me for his band. As I said,

I could put down anything and Thad would

reflect what I played and take it somewhere

else.

Laszlo Gardony (piano) asked: “You were the

first artist on Sunnyside and a good friend of

François [Zalacain]. I joined the label ten years

later. Could you tell me about those early

years?”

HD: François was a fan of the Thad Jones/Mel

Lewis band. He came to hear us in Nice and

became good friends with both me and Rufus

[Reid]. He and his wife were both at IBM [Armonk, New York] and he said, “Harold, one

day I start a record company and you’re the

first record.” I said, ‘Yeah François, great,’ and

then François called me one day and said,

“Harold, we do the record, you and Rufus.”

And we did Mirth Song. The first song at the

session was “In Walked Bud.” We get done

with it and François is sitting on the floor and

he clapped. His own record! He was so naïve,

he actually clapped, and we told him we can’t

have that on the record. He was very excited

about our projects. I recommended Kirk be-

cause he asked me who we should have on the

label. I said get Kirk Lightsey, get Andy Bey.

Andy Bey didn’t want to do it, he had some

other thing, but Kirk went for it. That’s the way


“I keep joking that since Herbie Hancock’s not playing my music, I better be the best I can. When I think of a young Herbie playing on that early Wayne Short-

er music, Herbie’s almost sight reading that music, and he’s 23-years-old!”

Harold Danko


we started the record label.

Laszlo Gardony also asked: “Do you feel that

mainstream jazz lost its importance today and

“anything goes” took over the scene? If you

were to write a curriculum of jazz education what would be your emphasis?”

HD: I think just what I was doing. There’s

what I call the “common practice” period of

jazz. The common practice of classical music

starts with Bach and goes into the early Roman-

tic era. The common practice of jazz is the

swing and bebop period – it’s swing and stand-

ard tunes through some Charlie Parker lan-

guage. I emphasize the common practice period

with the understanding that it could be less

relevant to certain students than some things

that have happened since that time. I think you

have to have that grounding to understand

where a lot of music came from, and the off-

shoots from that.

Nils Winther (SteepleChase label founder)

asked: “How did our collaboration regarding

your quartet came about?”

HD: He heard the demo, he liked it, but he

wanted to record Rich first, which was totally

okay with me. Once again, he showed interest

and actually followed through.

Dick Oatts (saxophone) asked: “How did you

develop your amazing orchestrational approach

to comping on piano?”

HD: If I’m comfortable with what the player is

playing, I feel I can get up, in, and around it.

With Oatts, I know he can burn, so with Oatts,

I’m trying to further that burn, to get inside

that. Rich Perry’s gonna maybe leave me some

more opportunities to throw something in. I

really listen and try to know that that’s the

agenda. With somebody like Thad Jones, they

know what they’re doing, they’re harmonically

informed, then it’s going to be easy. It’s the same with Dick and other players I like to play

with.

Dick Oatts also asked: “You are always in the

moment, and anything can happen. How and

when did you start to trust yourself in this ar-

ea?”

HD: Wow. I don’t know any other way, I’m

pretty naïve in a certain way. That’s kind of

what I know how to do. I try to bring that with

me in life, try to go with what’s there. You do

the best you can with it. Sometimes, when your

colleagues are more interesting, life becomes

more interesting. If the musicians are interest-

ing, and have the same background, then it

becomes easy. I’ve some moments when it’s

not quite so easy, both in life and in music.

Dick Hyman (piano) said: “I greatly admire

your beautiful playing and wide interests, and

would like you to know that life goes on, and in

some ways you appreciate it more, even after

you get to be a septuagenarian! Would you

discuss your various influences and how you

put them together in your own playing?”

HD: Back to Dick, the video that he did of his

playing, all these different styles, is still incred-

ible. I’ve used that in my teaching, so I’d like to

acknowledge that. He’s a phenomenal player.

I’ve been able to more or less do an impression

of various styles, whereas I feel Dick is such an

expert at actually getting in there and doing

them. If he can appreciate what I’ve done…

I’m more of an impressionist, I get the idea.

Like I said, I’ve studied Indian vocal music.

Now what does that do for the piano? I don’t

know, but there’s an impression there and it

leaves some indelible mark. Even listening to

horn players, listening to the way people speak.

I do not have the level of piano expertise that

Dick has, but I have an impression of things

that I try to bring to my playing.

Joe LaBarbera (drums) said: “I love Harold

and his music; we’ve been friends since the

army. His songs are unique and varied in sig-

nificant ways but always melodic and swing-

ing. I’m always amazed at how original your

sound is, knowing full well that you listened to

all the important pianists prior to you. I’d like

to know how you have managed to be com-

pletely free of clichés in your improvisations

over the years?”

HD: Thanks, Joe, I’m not completely free of

clichés, but when I hear them, my stomach is

already rumbling. If I hear myself play a cliché,

it’s really not what I want to do. I think that

comes also from Lee Konitz in a certain way,

of not wanting to hear clichés, and Frank Ti-

beri, that whole deceptive thing. Also, Chet

Baker because Chet played melodically, and

there’s things he plays again and again, but

they’re always in a little different place. I try to

remain in that moment. When I’m playing with

a player like Joe, I’m also not playing the same

way I might play with somebody else. I’m

bringing in my own agenda but based on what

I’m hearing in their input.

Kirk Lightsey (piano) asked: “What is your

favorite Wayne Shorter song and do you have a

favorite concert or memory of you and I play-

ing “Shorter by Two?”

HD: “Oh man, my friend, Kirk. He’s killed me

with his piano sound, wherever he gets that

sound from, and I’ve told him that. I just love

his sound. I did see Horowitz live. I’ve seen

Herbie live, and Hank Jones, but I’ve been real-

ly able to work with Kirk in the same room a

lot. That sound is one of my ideals of a sound

the piano gets, and Kirk gets it. As far as play-

ing with Kirk, I remember playing outdoors on

the pier in New York City. There’re so many

highlights with Kirk, although we didn’t play

together that much. We played in France and in

Montreal where we got a better review than Keith Jarrett got. The favorite tune? I don’t

know, maybe “Ana Maria,” I’m not sure be-

cause they become favorites as I play them.

JI: Final comments?

HD: I’m just grateful to have an “audience” for

what you’ve gotten me to speak about because I

don’t get to yak on and on about myself this

way at home or in my daily routines. People

would get very bored, but if there are really

some people out there who want to hear more

of this, I’d be happy to connect with them.

“My naïve idea at the beginning was that something in Louis Armstrong’s speech patterns would resem-ble his opening statement on “West End Blues,” but we didn’t find that. Joyce and I focused on Jelly Roll

Morton as well as Louis Armstrong, because they were active prior to the advent of formal jazz educa-tion, and they’re both from New Orleans. We looked into their storytelling and Louis Armstrong’s spoken intros, and Jelly Roll’s recordings where he’s telling

his stories and then goes into songs.”

Harold Danko


Interview & Photo By Eric Nemeyer

JI: You played around Philadelphia in 1959 with

Jimmy Heath, Sam Dockery, and Charlie Rice.

How did your introduction to that first opportunity

happen?

BW: That’s very interesting. I sort of had a master

plan that I formulated in my mind early on. I saw

people that I wanted to play with. As I listened to

records, I knew who I wanted to play with. My

father ran a jam session at a club right around the

corner from us. The club was called Rip’s. It was-

n’t Rest in Peace. It was just Rip’s. That was the

owner’s name. It was on Monday nights. On the

circuit, guys would come from New York, and they

would come to Philadelphia and they play the

Showboat or Pep’s. Then they would go to this

club in Jersey, out on Route 130—it was called the

Red Hill Inn, on their way back to New York, on

Sundays—because the clubs in Philly finished on

Saturday.

JI: They had the “blue laws” on Sunday.

BW: Yeah, you couldn’t serve liquor in the clubs

on Sunday. So they’d go and play the Red Hill Inn.

Or, they’d go down to Woodbury and play The

Dew Drop Inn, The Tippin Inn. That was a real

corn-on-the-cob, barbeque-ribs circuit down in

Woodbury. We used to go down there on Sundays,

and it was great. You’d get the best ribs; the best

corn on the cob. And, don’t drop any of that grease

on your suit. I remember I had this great mohair

suit, and I dropped some grease on that suit and it

never came out. You know, that dripping butter.

But, oh man, it was great. Then on Monday, they

would come to Rip’s to play the jam session, on

their way back to New York. So this particular

Monday, my father told me to put together a band,

for the jam session. I had targeted Jimmy Heath. I

wanted to play with Jimmy Heath. Sam Dockery

was playing with Jimmy Heath, and Sam was my

buddy. We used to get together every day. I’d take

my bass across town to Sam’s house and I would

play every day. Sam would talk about Jimmy. Sam

was like big time to me. He had played with Art

Blakey, with Bill Hardman, with Jackie McLean.

He had also played

with Roy Haynes.

So Sam was big

time. So my father

gave me this oppor-

tunity to put this

band together. I

couldn’t call Jimmy

Heath because he

was too big of a

star. So I called the

next best thing,

which was Sam Reed, alto player. He used to work

at Spider Kelly’s. I looked at working at Spider

Kelly’s as: that was it. Spider Kelly’s was a little

club. I think it was on Mole St. in Philadelphia. All

of these things loomed majestically to me. So I

called Sam Reed, and I called this drummer that

worked with my father. The drummer’s stage

name, which he had written on his bass drum, was

“Violent” Jim Spriggens. I called him for drums,

and I called this piano player who also worked with

my father. My determination was to play with them

on Monday night. They’ll hear me play. And then

they’ll call me to come work in Philadelphia.

Working in Philadelphia was like working in New

York. See, I was never one to hang out and run my

mouth; and I didn’t like people who talked a lot. I

always felt that those who talked a lot have the

least to say. So I wanted my introduction to these

musicians to be on my instrument. We played the

session on Monday night. On Wednesday, I got a

call from Sam Reed to play the Seven Eleven Ball-

room, in Philadelphia, with him on Friday night.

The Seven Eleven was a ballroom where you used

to bring your own liquor. You could bring your

own bottles of whiskey, or whatever you wanted to

drink. They had a band. You could dance. This

happened every weekend. The club provided what

they called setups—you know, the ginger ale, the

sparkling water, the ice, the lemon and lime, and all

that stuff you need for your drinks. You’d have

your table and it would be like a party. There

would be at least two bands playing. The two bands

this weekend was Sam Reed’s band and Jimmy

Heath’s band. So Jimmy heard me play. In fact, I

noticed that Jimmy was at one point behind the

curtain, looking outside the curtain, listening to us

play. I said, yeah, this is good. That was Friday. On

Monday, I got a call from Jimmy Heath. He wanted

me to come over and do a rehearsal with him and

Sam Dockery. I went over and I rehearsed with

Jimmy Heath. That weekend we opened up at the

Sahara Club on 15th Street. So, now, I’m with

Jimmy Heath. We were working every week with

Jimmy Heath. Jimmy’s got all kind of gigs. He’s

got the Sahara and then we’ve got this club called

The Underground. So my name is getting around

Philadelphia. Nelson Boyd was a good friend of

my father’s. Nelson was working at The Showboat.

Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt had come into town

for a week. The band they put together for that

week included a drummer from Washington named

Dude Brown. The piano player that they got was

John Huston from Philadelphia, and the bass player

was Nelson Boyd. For some reason, Nelson could-

n’t make the last two nights of the gig, which was

Friday and Saturday. Nelson called my father to go

over and play with Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt

for the weekend. My father was working. The call

came on Friday about six o’clock in the evening.

The gig starts at nine o’clock. I was at my girl-

friend’s house, Brenda. I’ll never forget. I was

getting ready to take Brenda to the movies. My

father calls Brenda’s house, and Brenda’s mother

says, Buster the phone is for you. It’s your father. I

go to the phone and my father says, “come home,

put on your suit, take your bass. You got a gig.” I

said, “but dad, I’m getting ready to go to the mov-

ies.” And, he hung up the phone. Brenda was up-

stairs getting dressed. I’m at the front door. I said,

“Brenda, I got to go. I got a gig.” She said, “you

got a what?” Bam! The door slams, and I never

saw Brenda again. ‘Cause my father told me: noth-

ing comes before the gig. Nothing comes before

the gig. He even went so far as to tell me, “don’t

get married until you’ve made it.” I asked him,

when will I know when I’ve made it. He never

gave me an answer. I went home, and I put on my

blue gabardine suit. That was the gig suit. You

wore it until it became purple in all the areas that it

rubbed up against—like the seat of your pants or

your shoulder where the neck of your bass would

lean, or right up on your groin where the bass

would lean. It would turn purple and shiny. The tie

was a black tie—Slim Jim. You never unloosened

the knot. You just pulled it over your head, because

if you unloosened that knot, it would fall apart,

because what’s holding it together is perspiration.

You had a white shirt. And so I put on my white

shirt, and my suit, and my tie, I took my bass, and I

went over to The Showboat. I get there about eight

o’clock, and there’s nobody there yet. There’s no-

body there but the bartender. I set up my bass on

the stage and I took my seat at the foot of the steps.

There was like a little, elevated area. And there

were these steps that went upstairs to the lobby of

the hotel, The Douglas Hotel. And that’s where

Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt were staying. I’m

sitting there and I’m just as nervous as I can be.

People start coming in, and I’m still sitting there.

I’m looking at the bandstand. The bandstand!

There’s the piano; there’s the drums; the mics are

there. And there’s my bass. And pretty soon, I’m

going to be standing up there playing with my he-

roes—with Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. It’s a

dream come true. I can’t believe it. Eventually, I

see coming down the stairs, these legs. The shoes

are sort of like a greenish tan. The pants are really

tapered, mohair, like a tan suit. Then I see bit by

bit, from the shoes to the waist. I see these two

shiny horns, one in the left hand and one in the

right hand, alto in the left hand and tenor in the

right hand, and then the jacket which is immacu-

late, cut just so. Then I see this giant of a man. It’s

Sonny Stitt. You know, they called Sonny Stitt,

“Strings.” Sonny Stitt had not a bit of fat on him.

Sonny gets down to the bottom of the steps. By this

time, I’m standing at attention. I’ve come out of the

little elevated area and I’m standing right there at

the bottom of the steps. Sonny looks at me and he


INTERVIEWINTERVIEW

Buster Williams First Big Break: Working With Heroes Sonny Stitt & Gene Ammons

“So the sock cymbal is right there ... I’m looking at it, sort of as a security to make sure I’m playing in time. Sonny Stitt sees me looking at the sock cymbal. So he goes and stands in front of it and blocks my view … and says … ‘not with your eyes, with your ears.’”


says, “who are you?” I said, “my name is Charles

Williams.” Wow, this is a formal occasion. I can’t

use my nickname. My name is Charles Anthony

Williams Jr. So, I tell Sonny, my name is Charles

Anthony Williams Jr.—and my father sent me here

to play with you. I mentioned all the names ….

Nelson Boyd. He said, “oh yeah, so you gonna

make the gig?” I said, “sir, I’ll do my best.” He

scowled. And, he said, “are you gonna make the

gig?!” I didn’t know how to answer. You know,

I’m just trying to be respectful, because I’m in awe.

“Sir, I’m really going to do my best.” He said, “are

you going to make the gig!” So I said, yes! He said,

ok, let’s hit. And that was it. Then Gene Ammons

came down, and John Houston. I knew John Hou-

ston from Philadelphia. I don’t know these guys,

but I do know John, and John is going to help me

through all this. We get up on the bandstand. The

first thing was a blues in D flat, and we’re off and

running. Dude is smiling. He’s left-handed. I’d

never seen a left-handed drummer. And he’s look-

ing at me, like, you sound good. Anyway, we’re

playing and the tempo is fast. And I’m looking at

Dude’s sock cymbal, because he played his sock

cymbal on his right-hand side. I’m in the middle

between the drums and the piano. So the sock cym-

bal is right there. And I’m looking at it, sort of as a

security to make sure I’m playing in time. Sonny

Stitt sees me looking at the sock cymbal. So he

goes and stands in front of it and blocks my view.

He looks at me, and he gives me that scowl again,

which I found as I got to know Sonny, that was his

look of endearment. Later Sonny says to me, “not

with your eyes, with your ears.” When we finished

the set, Gene and Sonny took me upstairs. They

were just really nice. “Oh man, you’re really good.

What’s your name?” They said, “you want to stay

with the band?” I said, “yes!” They said,

“tomorrow night when we finish, we’re leaving.

We’re going to Chicago. So bring your stuff.” I had

never been out on the road before. I had never been

anywhere. Seventeen years old. School had just

closed. It was in June. And I had just graduated

from my high school. So Saturday night, we fin-

ished the gig. I went back home. My father gave

me his suitcase, and I packed my bag. My mother

was not really ready for this. But she was a musi-

cian’s wife. My father told me all the things to look

out for—how to act like I’m smokin’ reefer, while

not smoking reefer. They gave me a bible. He told

me that when I got my first paycheck to put enough

money in this bible to always have bus fare home. I

said, “yes dad, yes dad, yes dad.” You don’t think

of any of these things. But he told me a lot. And

everything that he told me that I would experience,

I did experience. I went back over to Philly. I re-

member waiting and waiting and waiting and wait-

ing. The club had closed. We had two cars—a

Chrysler Imperial and a Cadillac. Sonny had a

white Cadillac. Gene Ammons had a driver named

Sam. I didn’t know anything about these guys bad

habits. But Sam had the same bad habits as Gene

Ammons. Sonny Stitt had kicked the habit that

Gene Ammons had. Now his habit was two fifths

of gin a day. We finally left about four, five

o’clock in the morning and went to Chicago. I

stayed at Gene Ammons’ house. Then the next day,

we got up and we went to the studio. We made two

records. I thought we were making one record, but

we made two. I think I got paid for one. It was

called “Boss Tenors.” My name on that record is

Charles Williams. When the first record I ever did,

“Boss Tenors” was re-released on CD, I was

“Buster” Williams. But I was Charles Williams in

those days. We recorded for Argo Records. Those

were my crude beginnings.

JI: Your dad told you some of the things that you

would see. Do you want to cite some of those?

BW: OK. We were in Kansas City. Sonny Stitt

wasn’t on this gig. It was just the quartet—Johnny

Houston, Dude Brown, and myself. We played

Kansas City for two weeks. There was this guy that

was hanging out with Gene Ammons. He was with

him all the time. This guy was a real scrungy-

looking thing. When we finished the gig each

night, they would get in the car and drive to Chica-

go. They were going back and forth to Chicago

every night to get drugs. The first week, Jug [Gene

Ammons] had some story about why we had no

money—and that we would be getting paid the

second week. OK. The second week, we finished

the gig on Saturday night. Jug called us all to his

room, and his girlfriend Betty was with him. Jug

gives us this story about why there’s no money. He

says don’t despair, because on Tuesday we’re

opening up at McKee’s in Chicago for a 16-week

stint with Benny Green on trombone. Gene Am-

mons, Sonny Stitt, Benny Green. We’re going to

have a good time. We all agree that Jug will go on

to Chicago, get the money, and send us money so

that we can get to Chicago for the gig. Now this is

Saturday and we’ve got Sunday, Monday. So Sun-

day and Monday comes, and we don’t hear any-

thing from Jug. Tuesday comes and we haven’t

heard anything. So we called the club. Someone

answers the phone, and we heard Jug playing in the

background. We left a message for him to call us

back, and he never called us back. That’s when we

all looked at each other and realized that we had

been had. We are stranded. Like Sonny Stitt said to

this bass player, Henry Grimes, who he took to

Japan. Henry showed up a day late for the gig, in

Japan, with no suitcase and no bass. Sonny looked

at him and he said, “Henry, have you ever been

stranded?” Henry says, “no.” And Sonny says,

“well, you are now.” Ha, ha! And he left him in

Japan. So that’s what had happened to us. Now

we’re stranded. It turns out that the next day,

Wednesday, Al Hibbler is opening up at the club.

Al Hibbler had John Malachi, this piano player

from Washington. He was one of these great ac-

companists like Jimmy Jones. All the singers loved

Jimmy Jones— Carmen, Sarah. So the club owner

needs a trio and agrees that Dude and I will play

with Al Hibbler, and John Houston can play piano

during the intermissions. We went to the union to

report to the union that we had been stranded and

to put a claim in against Gene Ammons. The union

didn’t care anything about that, and told us that we

could not work at the club with Al Hibbler— be-

cause they had their own local musicians. And this

is the AFL/CIO. This is the American Federation.

This guy was totally insensitive to our situation.

We went back and told the club owner that the

union refuses to let us work. The club owner says,”

oh yeah!” He got on the phone and said something.

In about 10 minutes, the union man came to the

club with his hat in his hand and apologized pro-

fusely, and welcomed us to Kansas City. “Please

enjoy. We’re so glad that you can work this job.”

The club owner and his brothers, his two brothers,

they were mafia. They straightened things out in a

hurry. So we got our money and we were on our

way. Then I put in a claim. I sued Gene Ammons,

and I got all my money. This scrungy character that

was in Kansas City with Gene Ammons all this

time, turned out to be a federal informant. He ar-

ranged for Gene Ammons to either buy some drugs

or sell some drugs. So the feds went into Gene

Ammons’ house and they arrested him. That’s

when Gene Ammons went to jail for the last time.

The owner of The Plugged Nickel somehow got

Gene Ammons out of jail—and it was said that

Gene Ammons had to turn over all his future pub-

lishing, or something like that, to this guy. So Gene

Ammons comes out of jail and he calls me. “Hey

Jr.! I’m home! I’m coming to New York! I want

you to make a record with me!” You know, by-

gones are bygones. This is still my man; and I’m

still Jr. We made this record called The Boss is

Back. The cover is Gene Ammons coming off the

airplane, as he steps out of the doorway. That was

the last record I made with him.

“Gene and Sonny took me upstairs … ‘you want to

stay with the band?’ … My father told me all the things to look out for—how to act like I’m smokin’ reefer, while not smoking reefer. They gave me a

bible. He told me that when I got my first paycheck to put enough money in this bible to always have bus fare home. I said, ‘yes dad, yes dad, yes dad.’ You don’t think of any of these things. But he told

me a lot. And everything that he told me that I would experience, I did experience.”

Buster Williams


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Interview & Photo By Ken Weiss

Jazz Inside: Your first solo recording Spec-

trum, which turned out to be a very seminal

work. How did that recording come about and

was it a difficult process?

Billy Cobham: No, it actually came out the

most natural way - out of desperation - but a

good kind of desperation. I knew that I was

reaching a point in my career where I had to

take responsibility on my own shoulders. I

understood that I needed a calling card, so I

decided I was going to make a record. One

way or another, I had to get something out

there. Knowing that I was going to be released

at the end of the year by the Mahavishnu Or-

chestra, I had decided to really lobby and

make a record noting that at that period of

time, 30 grand, 40 grand to make a record was

a drop in the bucket in comparison to what a

lot of people were making records for at the

time. So I did a little budgeting, not just in

terms of the money, because that was minor,

the most important thing was the quality of

the personnel that I would bring around me.

That meant the people that I worked with had

to be quick of mind, whether they were drug

induced or not, that’s a separate side point,

but they had to know what they were doing so

that we could go in and record based on their

abilities to play

well at the drop

of a hat. The peo-

ple you see on

that record, you

can do anything

with them if you

work within their

wheelhouses. So

the whole objec-

tive for me being

a novice in stature as a writer, was to put

down what I felt could be done, what could be

absorbed by everyone very easily, which

meant that I had to have all my pre-production

organized. Having been in the recording stu-

dio and worked under the auspices of people

like Creed Taylor, Ron Carter, the New York

Jazz Sextet, Roland Hanna, I had learned the

right way to do things through trial by fire. It

worked for me at the time, just being in their

presence, I was able to come to the table with

something that even I didn’t know what I had.

I had this record that I was planning on get-

ting 10-20 copies of and handing out to my

family and saying, ‘Well, I made a record,

hah!’ and then maybe I could look for an

agent who could book me on weddings,

‘cause that’s where I thought I was going. I

thought I’d be a studio player, do some jin-

gles, be in New York and raise a family. Lo

and behold, six months later, someone comes

to me and says, “That’s a nice record you’ve

got.” I said thanks and then other people start-

ed coming up and saying the same thing. I

never listened to the radio, especially pop

radio, so I didn’t know a whole lot about any-

thing. A few months later, Atlantic’s Mark

Myerson comes to me and says, “You don’t

even know, do you?” I said, ‘What happened?

Did somebody die?’ He said, “Your record is

number 32 with a bullet.” I couldn’t believe it

but it hit me, coming out of Mahavishnu, we

played two and a half years, close to 500

shows. Someone had to remember us as indi-

viduals. I had an audience! He told me I need-

ed a band but I was hesitant after what I had

seen bands go through while being part of

them so I knew that I’d better hire people who

I could trust musically.

JI: Was it difficult to decide how to com-

memorate that work for this tour?

BC: I’ve taken a position that it’s time for me

to let others express their appreciation or re-

spect for me musically through the way they

perform and play on their own, and based on

their contributions individually, we get this

personality. I’m using Jerry Goodman, whom

I’ve known for 40 years, Dean Brown, whom

I’ve known for 30 years, Gary Husband,

whom I’ve known for 20 years and one I’ve

known for 10 years – Ric Fierabracci, and we

all come together and make music where they

not only play my music, but I play their mu-

sic. The concept is to present a unified presen-

tation based on our fundamental connections

over the past 100 years of cumulative experi-

ence. That’s the musical idea. Celebrating

Spectrum is something I do every day anyway

but normally I’m doing it on my own with the

young people in my band but I decided that I

wanted to play their music this time around.

And since it’s so rare that I get invited to the

United States to perform, when the opportuni-

ty presents itself, I try to take advantage of it.

JI: How does it feel to reach back 40 years

and re-examine your life?

BC: A natural thing for me. Ten or fifteen

years ago, I was invited to perform on a re-

cording in celebration of the music of John

McLaughlin called Meeting of the Spirits with

the Frankfurt Radio Big Band. I first said ‘No,

it’s done.’ Actually, the bad memories far

outweighed the good memories [from those

days with the Mahavishnu Orchestra] and I

just didn’t want to have any more to do with

it. I had learned a lot, great lessons came out

of that time. Gary Husband was the drummer

on the project and he came to me on a whim

and asked how it would be if I played the old-

er music 30 years later. How would I treat it

now? And a bulb just went off! I had never

thought about that. I had blocked the music

out of my mind so strongly that I had a hard

time starting out on that project but suddenly I

was playing it the way I am now. The same

material but a lot less notes, a lot more selec-

tivity, seeking to try to match up tones within

my drum set to the music itself and it really

opened up many doors for me and I thought

‘Man, I need to do this more.’ Don’t be afraid


INTERVIEWINTERVIEW

Billy Cobham Recording The Seminal Album, Spectrum

“I had this record that I was planning on getting 10-20 copies of and handing out to my family and saying, ‘Well, I made a rec-ord, hah!’ and then maybe I could look for

an agent who could book me on weddings, ‘cause that’s where I thought I was going. I thought I’d be a studio player, do some

jingles, be in New York and raise a family. Lo and behold, six months later …”


to look back. I don’t say this against Miles but

I got the feeling that he never liked to go

backwards and play things he had done al-

ready, but I find for me, there’s such a wealth

of material in my own music. A lot of my

music, even from the very beginning, morphs

into something else, and I love that. That one

pivotal moment gave me a lot of reasons to

want to revisit the older music and I never did

it with Spectrum because I always felt that’s

all people wanted to hear. I understood why

they wanted to hear it so I would grudgingly

play “Stratus” and “Red Baron” and then

we’d go someplace else, but everything on

that record we now play and it’s quite differ-

ent. I also investigate all my old albums and

it’s a far cry from where I was. My arranging

and composing just continues to get stronger

and richer.

JI: Jerry Goodman, a fellow original member

of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, is playing with

you on this tour. How often do you get to play

with him and how does his playing transform

your music?

BC: Jerry is now working with me for the

second time in the last 40 years. We came

together around the time of the Meeting of the

Spirits recording and immediately we fell into

the whole Mahavishnu duet thing because that

was easy to do. What Jerry brings is a person-

ality and people vicariously want to see the

old M.O. but we know that’s not gonna hap-

pen. Why? Because time has gone by and

we’re all pretty much old, crotchety guys who

care barely hold up our pants, much less any-

thing else. That said, we do what we do on an

individual basis and we accept what life has

got to offer us now. So Jerry’s here to close

the book in a way or to find closure as part-

ners in a specific way but yet maybe this is

not the last time. He’s getting himself back

into it and every day he’s saying, “Wow, I

haven’t been playing like this in 30 years, I

need to get it back.” Not an easy task, 30-40

years later. We’re not young kids anymore,

you know. When we were young and wild and

stupid, in a positive way, we did things that

we didn’t even know that we could do. It just

happened and we said, ‘Yeah, of course!’

Now we think too much and think of other

ways to do it. Maybe I can give the impres-

sion that I’m doing it and I’ll “ghost” the rest

of the notes and everybody screams! That’s

what we’re seeking now [Laughs].

JI: You’ve had a very successful career and

perhaps, better than anyone else, you showed

how rock & roll can contribute to jazz im-

provisation. Have the critics been fair with

you?

BC: I don’t know, I honestly don’t know. I

don’t pay attention to critics. I guess a critic

supposedly is somebody who gets paid by a

certain media magazine enough to get bread

and butter for the week and the whole objec-

tive is to get to say things that will attract

readers. Most of the people in the world love

bad news. They want to know that somebody

else isn’t doing as well as they are doing. It’s

all understandable. If I have enough time to

read anything, that means I’m not working.

Once there was a guy who worked for a mag-

azine called Melody Maker and he came to me

when I was mixing in England and he said, “I

have something I’d like to show you.” He

showed me the magazine and it had some-

thing that Buddy Rich had said, some pretty

heavy things he had said about me and Tony

Williams and Jack DeJohnette. And this guy

said, “What do you think of that?” I said,

‘That’s very profound. At least he said some-

thing about me, it might not be very nice, but

tell Buddy for me that anytime he wants to

talk about me please, I don’t care what you

say, just say it, that way all you guys in the

media will write about it and I will get promo-

tion that I could never get even if I paid for it

- because you guys are writing about Buddy

Rich and his opinion is more important to you

and to the public than Billy Cobham’s. So if

he is going to talk about Billy Cobham in the

negative, I don’t care what you call me, just

keep going. He never wrote about me again

[Laughs]!

JI: What’s your concept of how drums should

fit into the music?

BC: I believe that drums are an integral part

of everything we do. Drums are not an aberra-

tion or an extension of the musical mindset,

they are actually in the foundation of much of

the music that we perform and it’s not just

from a rhythmical standpoint. It’s not from a

synchronicity standpoint or rhythmically syn-

chronizing everyone. To me, a good percus-

sionist is someone who is seeking to match up

the notes of his instrument, and it can be one

instrument that provides different tonal char-

acters, like a djembe, or one drum in a drum

set. Just like you can have two pianists play

the piano and they will sound completely dif-

ferent from each other, it’s the same with

drums. All instruments are a reflection of the

personalities of the individuals who play

them. So if you have an idea, you can play on

a cardboard shoebox, as I’ve seen Papa Jo

Jones do and blow a band away because he

didn’t have a drum set, he just had a card-

board shoebox for a tom and a daily newspa-

per with brushes and it was all over, man. He

didn’t need anything else besides his foot hit-

tin’ on the ground for bass drum.

JI: In the past, you’ve noted that your musical

idols were Miles Davis and John Coltrane and

that you didn’t listen to drummers. Why not

listen to other drummers?

BC: Because I listened to the band of which

the drummers are a part. When I say Miles

and Trane, it’s their ideas and concepts and

the way they manage the whole musical envi-

ronment, of which they were a part. They

were the conductors of the train, if you will,

but they were also players in the band and

everyone would follow their lead. I also was

influenced by Bill Evans and Erroll Garner.

JI: In the past, you’ve also spoken about life

influencing your art. How does that come out

in your drumming?

BC: Every note is representative of every-

thing I’ve done up to the point that I play on

the drum set.

JI: Your time with Miles Davis is well docu-

mented so I’ll just ask one question about

your time with him. On the A Tribute to Jack

Johnson recording, what’s the story behind

Herbie Hancock’s appearance on organ and

the uncredited work of Sonny Sharrock?

BC: Sonny wasn’t in the studio with us when

we played so obviously it was either an edit

by Teo [Macero], which could very well be

because Teo was a genius at putting things

together in very interesting ways. To answer

the other question, when you have someone

like Herbie coming in to say hello, in his one

hand is a Safeway grocery store bag filled

with stuff and in the other is a Fat Albert Ro-

tunda LP, brand new off the rack, Miles

turned around and said, “Play.” A Farfisa or-

gan was quickly plugged in for Herbie and

that’s what you got. Once again, it’s what is

this thing, how do I do it, what do I do with it.

Enough said, the rest is history as far as what

Herbie did with it, genius of course.

Billy Cobham

“”The greatest discovery of any generation is that human beings

can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of their minds.”

- Albert Schweitzer


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