Note: The following introduction to this Atlanta jazz concert videos page was originally written on December 12, 2007.
For the past few months, I've been kicking around the idea of adding an Atlanta concert journal to this jazz blog. In the journal I'd list each Atlanta jazz concert that I attend, the musicians' names, and some notes about the performance. My goal for the journal was to provide a resource where people could go to get an idea of type type of music they'll hear when they attend an Atlanta jazz concert. For instance, if somebody is unfamiliar with Bernard Linnette and they'd like to know what type of music he plays at Churchill Grounds, they could come to the Atlanta jazz concert journal page of my jazz blog and see that the previous week he played a set of fantastic straight-ahead jazz with some of Atlanta's best jazz musicians. For some people, that extra bit of information might be just what they need to make the decision to attend an event.
While I liked the idea of a Atlanta concert journal, I wasn't entirely convinced that I'd be able to adequately describe each event. And then it occurred to me... I shouldn't just write about the concerts, I should record video clips and share them online. Finally, a decent excuse to buy myself one of those cool ultra-compact cameras!
Below you'll find various Atlanta jazz video clips that I shot with my (new!) Canon PowerShot SD850. You can check this page of my jazz blog for future updates or you can subscribe to my videos on YouTube.
NOVEMBER 8, 2008 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
Atlanta jazz saxophonist, Mace Hibbard, brought a great quintet to Churchill Grounds tonight. The band included, Melvin Jones on trumpet, Louis Heriveaux on piano, Marc Miller on bass, and Justin Varnes on drums. They played a mix of originals and standards, including the following original tune by Mace Hibbard. Here's "Rememberances of Things Past":
David Ellington brought his trio to Twain's tonight for what will hopefully be the first of many Wednesday night Twain's performances. The band featured David Ellington on organ, John Bagnato on guitar, and Chris Burroughs on drums. They played a great mix of jazz/soul/funk tunes in the style of late 60's and early 70's-era Jack McDuff, Eddie Harris, and Jimmy Smith. Speaking of Eddie Harris, in the following clip you'll hear the band play Eddie's composition "Listen Here".
Be sure to check out David Ellington's group next Wednesday (October 15) when the great saxophonist, Mace Hibbard, will join the band.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2008 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
Atlanta jazz vocalist, Laura Coyle, performed at Churchill Grounds to celebrate the release of her debut CD. In the following clip, Laura Coyle sings "Close Your Eyes" with Mace Hibbard on saxophone, Louis Heriveaux on piano, Craig Shaw on bass, and Kinah Boto on drums.
Several of my favorite jazz musicians dropped by to attend the Twain's jazz jam session including Mace Hibbard, Kemba Cofield, Laura Coyle, Justin Varnes, Russell Gunn, and Marcus Printup. As you'll see in the clip below, Russell Gunn, Joe Gransden and Marcus Printup took the stage for an awesome rendition of Freddie Hubbard's "Birdlike".
AUGUST 22, 2008 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
I Just Found Out About Love Atlanta jazz vocalist, Kemba Cofield, was joined by the well known saxophonist and educator, Victor Goines, on this great night at Churchill Grounds. The backing band included Tyrone Jackson on piano, Brandy Brewer on bass, and Kinah Boto on drums. In this clip, the band performs "I Just Found Out About Love".
I've been going to the Twain's jazz jam session just about every week since it began a few months ago. I'm continually amazed at the number of talented musicians who show up night after night to play and hang out. Tonight was a special treat for me, when around 11:00pm I noticed Marcus Printup walking in with his trumpet case. I've been a big fan of his for several years but I've only seen him play live twice. Not only did I get to see and hear Marcus Printup play tonight, but I also had the pleasure of talking to him for 15 minutes or so. He was very talkative and even seemed genuinely interested in answering my dorky trumpet-related questions! Marcus Printup told me he'll be spending more time in the Atlanta area so catch him if you can.
Eye of the Hurricane In this clip, you'll hear Joe Gransden and Marcus Printup soloing over "Eye of the Hurricane." The entire clip was 22 minutes long so I had to edit out a bit in order to make it under the YouTube 10-minute maximum. And now, nine minutes of jazz trumpet greatness...
JULY 25, 2008 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
Melvin Jones brought a fantastic quintet to Churchill Grounds tonight. The band included Melvin Jones on trumpet, Clarence Johnson on saxophone, Brian Hogans on piano, Craig Shaw on bass, and Che Marshall on drums. And if that wasn't enough, after a couple of tunes Victor Goines (of Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra fame) arrived and joined the band on stage! As you'll hear in the clips below, it was an incredible night for jazz in Atlanta.
Yes or No In this clip, Victor Goines, Melvin Jones, and Clarence Johnson take solos on the Wayne Shorter classic, "Yes Or No".
Cherokee Victor Goines and Clarence Johnson lead the band on "Cherokee". Victor Goines was actually one of Clarence Johnson's first saxophone teachers, dating back to when Clarence was in high school. Knowing that, it was especially cool to see and hear them playing to together.
In A Sentimental Mood Tonight was yet another great night of music at Twain's. There were a lot of musicians there to jam, including Clarence Johnson, Melvin Jones, Brian Hogans, Kemba Cofield, Janet Metzger, and Bernard Linnette. This clip features Kemba Cofield and Melvin Jones on "In A Sentimental Mood".
Once again, the jazz jam session at Twain's was the place to be tonight! Lots of great Atlanta jazz musicians showed up to jam, including Clarence Johnson, Mace Hibbard, Wes Funderburk, Che Marshall, Laura Coyle, Ede Wright, Kemba Cofield, and Janet Metzger. There were also plenty of amateur musicians who made their way up to the bandstand. This is hands down the best jazz jam session in Atlanta right now. Be sure to check it out soon!
Caravan In this clip, Wes Funderburk and Clarence Johnson perform "Caravan".
What Is This Thing Called Love In this clip, Clarence Johnson performs "What Is This Thing Called Love".
JUNE 7, 2008 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
You're Everything Laura Coyle had her Churchill Grounds debut this weekend, performing three nights in a row! Her band included, Louis Heriveaux on piano, Craig Shaw on bass, and Chris Burroughs on drums. In this clip, you'll hear Laura Coyle's rendition of "You're Everything" from Return To Forever's "Light as a Feather" album.
Twain's was definitely the hot spot tonight. Shortly before the second set began, a slew of Atlanta's finest jazz musicians arrived, including Melvin Jones, Russell Gunn, Che Marshall, and Anton Harris. If that wasn't enough, Brian Hogans and Lee Hogans are back in town and they were at Twain's too. What a great night for jazz in Atlanta!
Well You Needn't In this clip, Lee Hogans (trumpet) and Brian Hogans (piano) solo over "Well You Needn't".
Birdlike (1 of 2) This clip features solos by Melvin Jones, Brian Hogans (saxophone), and Lee Hogans over the tune "Birdlike".
Birdlike (1 of 2) Last, but definitely not least, we've got Russell Gunn's solo on "Birdlike" which came directly after Lee's solo in the previous clip (YouTube limits videos to 10 minutes so I had to break it up).
MAY 20, 2008 Graveyard Tavern - 1245 Glenwood Avenue, Atlanta, Ga 30316
Tonight, Atlanta jazz organist, David Ellington, was joined by Clarence Johnson on saxophone, John Bagnato on guitar, and Darren Stanley on drums. The band was fantastic, and it was great to hear John Bagnato for the first time. Like David and Clarence, John Bagnato is also from New Orleans -- he's also a terrific musician. I'll definitely try to catch John in the future.
Cherokee In this clip, you'll hear Clarence Johnson and Darren Stanley take solos on Cherokee. This is a great example of Clarence's ability to play pretty much anything he wants at any moment in time and have it sound absolutely incredible. Damn!
MAY 10, 2008 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
Cherokee Atlanta jazz trumpeter, Joe Gransden, led a great performance at Churchill grounds tonight. The band included Sam Skelton on saxophone, Tyrone Jackson on piano, Craig Shaw on bass, and Clay Hulet on drums. In this clip, Joe Gransden and Sam Skelton perform "Cherokee" as a duet.
The First Time Joe Gransden leads the band on one of his original compositions, "The First Time".
Eye Of The Hurricane There was another great turnout of musicians at the Twain's jazz jam session tonight. In this clip, Atlanta jazz trumpet player, Joe Gransden, leads the house band on "Eye Of The Hurricane". You'll also hear Tyrone Jackson on piano, Craig Shaw on bass, and Chris Burroughs on drums.
Every Tuesday night, Joe Gransden leads a jazz jam session at Twain's Billiards and Tap in Decatur. If you haven't already, you should definitely check out the Tuesday night jam sessions at Twain's. I've been to two of them so far and both nights the turnout was great and so was the music!
Black Orpheus Atlanta jazz vocalist, Laura Coyle, sings "Black Orpheus" with Joe Gransden on trumpet, Ede Wright on guitar, Craig Shaw on bass, and Chris Burroughs on drums.
APRIL 12, 2008 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
Bye Bye Blackbird David Ellington leads a trio performance of "Bye Bye Blackbird". You'll hear solos by Clarence Johnson on saxophone, David Ellington on organ, and Chris Burroughs on drums.
APRIL 1, 2008 Graveyard Tavern - 1245 Glenwood Avenue, Atlanta, Ga 30316
I first heard David Ellington play during the 2008 Future of Jazz Competition in February. David sounded great that night so I was happy to learn that he's playing at the Graveyard Tavern. According the the schedule of events on David's website, he routinely invites a variety of musicians to sit in with the band. On this night, one of my favorite Atlanta jazz musicians, Mace Hibbard (saxophone), was there along with Chris Burroughs on drums. As you'll hear in the clips below, the music was fantastic!
David Ellington Trio - Have You Met Miss Jones In this clip, you'll hear organ and saxophone solos as the band plays "Have You Met Miss Jones".
David Ellington Trio - Anthropology This clip features solos by all of the musicians on "Anthropology".
Atlanta jazz drummer, Bernard Linnette, leads a jam session at Star Jazz and Blues Lounge every Monday night. They had another great turnout of musicians tonight, including Russell Gunn, Melvin Jones, Danny Harper, Julie Dexter, Charlie Robinson, and several talented young musicians. The following clips are just a sampling. As the night went on the music got better and better but with everyone moving to and from the stage it was hard to get a good video clip. If you haven't been to Star Jazz and Blues Lounge yet, I encourage you to check them out on a Monday night.
Bernard Linnette Jam Session - Stablemates In this clip you'll hear Russell Gunn on trumpet, Louis Heriveaux on piano, Craig Shaw on bass, Bernard Linnette on drums, and Ramadan Mu Min on conga.
Bernard Linnette Jam Session - Black Orpheus Melvin Jones and Danny Harper lead the band on "Black Orpheus." Danny really surprised me with that high "F" at the end of the tune. No matter how much I practice, I'll probably never be able to play one of them in my solos... and definitely not at the END of a tune. Wow!
This year's Future of Jazz Competition takes place at Star Jazz & Blues Lounge. Last night I attended the straight-ahead jazz competition featuring Leeland Davis, Ryan Whitehead, and Mace Hibbard. Of the three, the only person that I hadn't heard before was 19 year-old Ryan Whitehead on saxophone. I don't know what Chris Potter sounded like at 19, but my guess is that Ryan isn't too far away from that. Ryan and his band, featuring Dave Ellington or organ, were excellent! Aside from the terrific music, it was great to see so many people at the concert. The place was packed. While that's certainly good for the venue and the Atlanta jazz scene, it wasn't so great for recording video clips. I would have liked to get clips from each of the musicians but I only have two recordings from Mace Hibbard's set.
Mace Hibbard - When We Last Met Mace Hibbard plays "When We Last Met," an original composition from Mace's album by the same name. You'll also hear Bryan Leitch on guitar, Louis Heriveaux on piano, Mike Beshara on bass, and Justin Varnes on drums.
Mace Hibbard - About Time Mace Hibbard performs another original composition, "About Time," in the above clip. Mace would go on to win the event securing a performance at this year's Atlanta Jazz Festival.
Bernard Linnette Jam Session - Milestones Atlanta jazz drummer, Bernard Linnette, led the first Monday night jazz jam session at Star Jazz and Blues Lounge. On this night, about a dozen of Atlanta's jazz musicians showed up to play. The track features solos by Russell Gunn on trumpet, Dennis Springer on saxophone, and Lester Walker on trumpet.
JANUARY 24, 2008 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
I saw the Atlanta Jazz choir concert earlier this night and was in the mood to hear some more jazz afterwards. Thankfully, Russell Gunn and his band were playing at Churchill Grounds. In the clips below, you'll hear Russell Gunn on trumpet, Darryl Reeves on saxophone, Takana Miyamoto on piano, Craig Shaw on bass, and Chris Burroughs on drums.
Russell Gunn - Walkin' I love the confident opening of Russell Gunn's trumpet solo in this video clip.
Darryl Reeves - Walkin' Following Russel Gunn on "Walkin'" Darryl Reeves takes a solo in this clip. As you may notice, Takana isn't comping behind Darryl's solo. Waiting for the perfect moment, she waits until the end of the clip to come in and pushes the energy to another level.
Takana Miyamoto - Minority Takana Miyamoto plays a piano solo over the jazz standard, "Minority".
JANUARY 23, 2008 Blind Willie's - 828 North Highland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30306
Scott Glazer's Mojo Dojo - Yardbird Suite Scott Glazer's Mojo Dojo jazz band performed at Blind Willie's in the Virginia Highland area of Atlanta. On this night, the band featured Scott Glazer on bass, Gordon Vernick on trumpet, Mace Hibbard on Saxophone, Louis Heriveaux on piano, and Yonrico Scott on drums.
JANUARY 3, 2008 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
Atlanta jazz drummer, Bernard Linnette, filled in for Russell Gunn's band on this Thursday night. With Bernard, you'll hear Kemba Cofield on vocals, Kebbi Williams on saxophone, Leeland Davis on piano, and Craig Shaw on bass.
Kemba Cofield - Caravan Kemba Cofield sings "Caravan", with solos by Kebbi Williams and Leeland Davis.
Kebbi Williams - Rhythm Changes Kebbi Williams leads the band on rhythm changes. Going into the tune they play the head to "Oleo" and coming out they play "Rhythm-a-ning". I've heard Kebbi play 3 or 4 times now and every time I thoroughly enjoy the energy he brings to the stage.
DECEMBER 27, 2007 Studio 281 - 281 Peters Street, Atlanta, GA 30313
Roy Meriwether Trio - Jonah Studio 281, located in the Castleberry Hill area of downtown Atlanta, often features musicians from other cities. In this clip you'll hear NYC-based jazz pianist Roy Meriwether and his trio perform "Jonah".
DECEMBER 15, 2007 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
Atlanta jazz drummer, Justin Varnes, assembled a fantastic group of musicians for a tribute to the music of Cannonball Adderley. In the clips below you'll hear Melvin Jones on trumpet, Mace Hibbard on saxophone, Gary Motley on piano, Brian Hall on bass, and Justin Varnes on drums.
Justin Varnes Quintet - Limehouse Blues In this video you'll hear solos by Mace Hibbard, Melvin Jones, and Gary Motley as they perform "Limehouse Blues". A popular version of "Limehouse Blues" was recorded on the album "Cannonball and Coltrane."
Justin Varnes Quintet - Tribute To The Adderley's This video features an original tune, "Tribute To The Adderley's," written by Melvin Jones. Melvin told me that he was inspired to write this tune after listening to several Cannonball recordings a few days ago. The tune sounded great and the guys played terrific solos!
DECEMBER 12, 2007 Club 29 - 2272 Lawrenceville Hwy Decatur, GA 30033
Kemba Cofield - Route 66 Kemba Cofield sings a great bluesy version of "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" with Bernard Linnette's Interactive jazz band. Taking solos, you'll hear Derek White on trombone, Lester Walker on Trumpet, and Dennis Springer on saxophone.
London Arrington - My Funny Valentine This video features London Arrington on vocals, performing "My Funny Valentine" with Bernard Linnette's Interactive jazz band. Lester Walker takes a solo on trumpet, followed by Louis Heriveaux on piano.
DECEMBER 8, 2007 Churchill Grounds - 660 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
Clarence Johnson III is a professor at Morehouse College. This was only my second time seeing him in concert (the first time was at the 2007 Morehouse Jazz Festival) and I'm already looking forward to his next gig. This guy is phenomenal! As an unexpected surprise, I also got to hear two of my favorite Atlanta jazz musicians: Che Marshall on drums and Ramon Pooser on bass. Rounding out the rhythm section was Val Parker on piano. I hadn't seen Val play before, but he was an excellent addition to the band.
Clarence Johnson - Night In Tunisia In this video, Clarence Johnson and the band play an exciting rendition of "Night In Tunisia".
Clarence Johnson - Round Midnight (1 of 2) "Round Midnight" was the second tune played during the first set. The drummer, Che Marshall, was delayed due to an earlier gig with the Atlanta jazz chorus. In this first clip (of two) you'll hear an introduction and solo by Clarence Johnson.
Clarence Johnson - Round Midnight (2 of 2) In this second "Round Midnight" clip, we've got solos by Val Parker on piano and Ramon Pooser on bass. During Ramon's solo, Che Marshall arrives (you can see him putting his cymbals on their stands). Che comes in at the end of Ramon's solo and really kicks things into high gear. A great finish to a great tune!
DECEMBER 5, 2007 Club 29 - 2272 Lawrenceville Hwy Decatur, GA 30033
Bernard Linnette Interactive - Someday My Prince Will Come Bernard Linnette's Interactive jazz group plays "Someday My Prince Will Come." On order of appearance, you'll hear solos by Dennis Springer (saxophone), Lester Walker (trumpet), and Craig Shaw (bass).
Julie Dexter - Softly As In A Morning Sunrise In this brief clip, you'll hear Atlanta jazz vocalist, Julie Dexter, sing "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise" with Bernard Linnette's Interactive jazz group.
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