Danilo Perez performs in a benefit for the NSJP All Star Program. Artistic Director Mike Tucker joins Danilo in a rousing solo on Mr. Perez’s arrangement of “Everything Happens to Me.”

by Ferrini Productions

The All Stars, an educational project of the North Shore Jazz Project exceeded all expectations when they took the stage after Danilo Perez. The All Star include some of the best High School players from the NS communities.  This is a wonderful opportunity for young players to play with their peers and learn with a gifted musician. See Mike’s impressive musical history at www.tuckerjazz.com.

Video by     FerriniProductions

Nov 11, 2011 NSJP Presented the 3 Cohens at the Shalin Liu in Rockport.

This concert is to benefit the North Shore Jazz Project. The proceeds from this event provide ongoing support for music education programs throughout the North Shore. Special VIP seating available.

Artist website: http://www.daniloperez.com/

Learn more about Danilo and his passion for education

Ticket prices: $25, $30, $35

Purchase Tickets

The North Shore Jazz Project will be spotlighting local musical talent with its “Live Jazz Sessions” series, beginning on November 6 with an afternoon show from 3-6 headlined by the Project’s own local musical talent, songstress Barbara Alex. She will be backed by Matthew Dorko on guitar, Mike Connors on drums, and John Funkhouser on keys and bass. A collaboration between The North Shore Jazz Project and Chianti Jazz Lounge in Beverly, the first “Jazz Sessions Series” will run for four months until February, 2012. For more information go to www.livejazzsessions.org and www.northshorejazzproject.org Come sit in, come play. Bring your “axe”, charts, and /or vocal chords. All are welcome. The sessions are open to both professional and non-professional musicians. Not to mention music lovers in the audience.

I asked Barbara to elaborate on what we might expect in the coming months.

Where do you see these sessions going down the road?

“My hope is that the sessions will be enormously successful and that they will continue. I hope to build a musical community; that would be sweet! Then we’ll reassess after February.”

Barbara’s “day job”, as musicians put it (sometimes unenthusiastically), is in her case as interesting as her a vocational one: she is a psychotherapist in a local private practice. So we wondered how she got into music, and whether she also played an instrument (since she was hesitant to share any insights into my childhood just yet):

“My first instrument was a steel drum. I was born in Trinidad and one of the local men made a steel drum and gave it to my dad; I loved to bang on that drum! I do play the guitar and I’d love to learn the bass; also the saxophone intrigues me.”

Also intriguing is Trinidad!

“My dad was in the Air Force/Navy and he was stationed in Trinidad; my mom wanted to go with him. I was born on the military base so I’m an American citizen. My parents came back to this country prior to my going to school. Life there was idyllic: we had a housekeeper and a nanny, with citrus trees growing in the backyard, and my parents were newlyweds. It was a great start for them, and I benefited from that.”

“The first conscious memories I have of singing were songs like ‘Love and Marriage’, which was written in the fifties I think, by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics). I think the song was rerecorded in 2010 by a ska/punk group called ‘Less Than Jake’. A little music trivia there, but it speaks to the point that ‘a good song is a good song is a good song’. I also liked doing ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’” when I was a kid.

“I had a crazy aunt who would take to what is now The Anchor in Beverly. It was a local bar back then, called The Silver Anchor. I would drop money into the jukebox and sing along and dance. After I finished my song, folks in the bar would give me more money and I would put it back in the jukebox and sing and dance the entire time I was there. I had a blast!”

How about your influences?

“I have far too many singers that I admire, and from all types of genres: classical, rock, jazz, American, world, hip hop, funk, soul, reggae…. the list goes on and on. Music is the universal language, I think. I like to reinvent songs, turn them on their heads, present the unexpected, whether they are standards or more contemporary. I’m working on writing my own songs; that for me would be the biggest thrill of all!”

Rate your excitement level for the Chianti’s gig on a scale of 1-10.

“Chianti is my first residency, and I’m thrilled. I greatly appreciate the North Shore Jazz Project supporting this endeavor, specifically Caroline Forrester and Henry Ferrini of the Jazz Project. Not to mention Rich Marino, the owner of Chianti’s Jazz Lounge, for his generous support and this amazing opportunity.

“The most exciting part about having the jazz sessions is the exchange between the players and the audience; this creates an environment of vitality. I hope that these sessions will help create a musical community right here on the North Shore, where musicians can come to play, as well as to grow, experiment, learn, and network with one another. Of course, most importantly, to have fun.”

No doubt we all will!

Rossi will take a break from touring with the Dave Brubeck Jazz Quartet to appear in Gloucester for the afternoon lecture and performance, which is cosponsored by the North Shore Jazz Project and underwritten by the Cape Ann Area Therapists with whom Cohen worked prior to his death in 2010.

The therapists’ group collected donations from its members to salute Cohen—a highly respected therapist and a founding board member of the Cape Ann Forum—for his many contributions to the community, according to Bea Reardon, one of the initiative’s organizers.

Rossi’s presentation— “From Cape Town to Beantown: The saxophone as the sound of South African jazz”—will cover the evolution of jazz in South Africa during and after the era of racial domination known as “apartheid” that ended in 1994 with the election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first black president, according to Forum chair Dan Connell. Rossi will illustrate his talk with riffs on his sax.

“Jazz played a highly controversial role in South Africa by bringing people of all races together despite official bans multiracial gatherings,” says Connell, who teaches journalism and African politics at Simmons College and takes students to South Africa every two years.

Rossi, who has performed with Clark Terry, Tony Bennett, Anthony Weller, Lou Rawls, Aretha Franklin, Rosemary Clooney, and the Artie Shaw Orchestra, teaches jazz and woodwinds at the University of Cape Town and is the president of the South African Association for Jazz Education. He is also the author of Contrast and Continuity in Jazz Improvisation (2006) and Uncommon Etudes from Common Scales (2007). His latest book, out this year, is Beyond the Common Practice: Uncommon Bebop from Common Bebop Practices.

The Connecticut-born jazz musician and composer, who has lived and worked in South Africa since the early 1990s, was the first recipient of a Doctor of Music Arts degree in jazz studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Today, Rossi performs at jazz festivals and conducts workshops and master-classes throughout Africa, Europe and the United States.

Rossi’s recording credits include the 2007 U.S. release of “Common Ground” with Israeli pianist Micu Narunsky and the German release of “Ein Traum von wunderbarem Leben” with Ulrich Suesse and Patrick Bebelaar. His CD of original jazz compositions, Beauty and the Blues, featured jazz greats Rufus Reid, Tom McKinley and Billy Hart.

“We are fortunate to have him,” says Connell, who was approached by the Cape Ann Area Therapists with an offer to underwrite a special event in Cohen’s name. When Rossi agreed to take a break from his tour to perform here, the therapists’ group jumped on the opportunity, offering to sponsor a reception after the event, for which the Alchemy Restaurant is providing refreshments.

The Cape Ann Forum marked its 10th anniversary last month with a presentation on the Middle East 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, the spark for the establishment of the lecture series. The organization will join the Gloucester Lyceum in cosponsoring a reading and book signing at City Hall on Friday, Nov. 4, with author/journalist Simon Winchester whose best-selling book Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories is coming out in paperback that week.

The next regularly scheduled Cape Ann Forum is “After Afghanistan: The U.S., Pakistan and the Imperiled Future of South Asia” with Princeton-based author and commentator Zia Mian. Upcoming forums will feature Woman’s World founder Meredith Tax on “Challenging global fundamentalism: Building a secular, feminist alternative” (March 18) and Harvard international relations expert Steven Walt on “The Twilight of the American Era” (May 13).

The North Shore Jazz Project, which joins the Cape Ann Forum in sponsoring the October 23 event.

For more information on the Cape Ann Forum, go to the organization’s website at www.capeannforum.org. For more on Mike Rossi, go to www.mikerossijazz.com.

The Energy Harvest Fair was held on Saturday October 22, 2011 (Rain date October 23, 2011).

• Live music on the solar stage (11:00- 3:00)
• Green Exhibitors
• Food
• Raffle-Win a solar powered flashlight and MORE…
• CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES & Henna Tattoos
GREENERGY PARK Where sun and fun make a difference

Suggested Donation $5.00 for adults, Children and Students Free!
WHERE: The PV & wind turbine site adjacent to Beverly High School, corner of Sohier & Tozer Roads.

http://www.solarnow.org/2011energyharvestfair.html

I’ve had the pleasure of watching Barbara and Al Boudreau perform over the years here in the North Shore. Recently they have been gigging at Catch 22 and Espresso’s in Gloucester (to mention a couple of venues), and I managed to catch up with them at a recent gig. Here’s some of what they shared with me:

“Live performance is the real deal; it’s a living, breathing thing. When four or five people get together and and do four or five separate things in coordination with each other, and then make it sound logical and musical, there is a pure beauty to it that is inexplicable. Add to that the improvisational power of jazz, and you have that ever impending “accident waiting to happen”, which is a thrill for most jazz musicians. This is the key to playing the same tunes for years. And with so solid a foundation as the Great American Songbook, there is infinite material to draw from.

One of the most enjoyable things that we do are our vocal duets. They are also some of the most difficult, because in contrast to being separate instruments, now we’re trying to blend two voices that are very different from each other. But the cool thing is that the longer you sing with someone, the more your voices will naturally blend together. We sing in harmony, but also we sing in unison, which is powerful, yet simple to perform, and terrifically challenging. You have to be “right on” in unison, or everyone’s going to know!

Apart from the musicality, the gigs are just really fun.. and that’s our goal. Performing with a spouse is a challenge. We had to make a pact early on that even if we were fighting on our way to a gig, it had to stop when the lights went on. Every time we do a gig together, it isn’t about how much money we made at the end of the night… it’s about the little vignettes that take place throughout the course of the gig: what happened during this tune onstage, or a comment that someone made about it, how great the musicians played, etc. etc. That’s what we talk about on the way home: there’s no judgment, no you should’ve done it that way. And believe me, what a privilege that is to share with someone you love. No wonder so many tunes from the Great American Songbook are about being in love!”

When I review some of the stuff that that was said, I realize that my favorite Barbara and Al “accident waiting to happen” usually occurs at the end of one of their numbers, when the two look at each other and just know how to stretch each phrase and note to successfully end the tune. I have no idea how it’s done, and I don’t think you can notate it on written music. It’s jazz; you’re a musician; you just do it. Plus, they’ve never screwed up an ending at any show that I’ve gone to.
I’m reminded that the voice is and always was the very first instrument. Too bad it has devolved into an “American Idol”-esque triteness, with far too many idiots thinking: I could do that while watching someone sing on TV, or hearing a song on the radio. Well, try auditioning for the Met, or try to sing with someone in unison like these two for that matter. No, I think to myself, you couldn’t do that! Clicking like that (in unison) is an amazing thing to hear, and an even more amazing thing to watch.
I was glad to find out that they are having as much fun as we are, and that they hear the often kidding remarks from the audience. This is possible to do here– but impossible at a rock/blues show due to decibels reached. The feeling is much more intimate, which I’m sure suits them fine.
In the past I often wondered if there were any kind of “F.Scott Fitzgerald-Zelda” type arguments that went on between them. They answered that question pretty well (without my asking, I should add). It’s probably a good thing for me to know, also!
And if the bread were the only final goal, they probably would have hucked out a few more saleable trifles for the general public’s consumption over the years. But since they’re artists first, and artists who are mostly popular with a certain audience and demographic, well, that seems to be enough for them. They love what they’re doing, and actually have a devoted audience to go along with that; a rare achievement indeed in the world of art and music.

Friday, November 11, the NSJP presented the 3 Cohens at the Shalin Liu in Rockport. Celebrated clarinetist, Anat Cohen, has recently won her fourth consecutive “Clarinetist of the Year” award from the Jazz Journalists Association. Having arrived on the scene in 2005 she has quickly established herself in the upper echelons of the jazz world. The 3 Cohen siblings, Anat, Yuval (saxophone)and Avishai (trumpet), have followed a very similar musical path. The family bond the siblings share obviously contributes to their unique telepathy and symbiosis on the bandstand and in the studio, but the level of interplay and musical cooperation that exists between the Cohens can only be described as astounding. Anat’s customary charm and virtuosity made her a standout crowd pleaser at Shalin Liu where she was featured in George Wein’s ensemble at their recent concert in July.
The proceeds from this event provide ongoing support for music education programs throughout the North Shore. Artist website: www.3cohens.com