Jazz at Lincoln Center NewsFlash

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SCOTT H. THOMPSON, Jazz at Lincoln Center (212) 258-9807, sthompson@jalc.org

LISTING INFORMATION:
Venue: Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Event: Carol Sloane with The Norman Simmons Quintet
Date: February 15-20, 2005
Address: Frederick P. Rose Hall - Broadway at 60th Street, 5th Floor
Artist Sets: 7:30 & 9:30pm every day / Also 11:30pm Friday & Saturday
After Hours Sets: 11pm Tuesday-Thursday / 12:45am Friday-Saturday
Monday: Monday, February 14: Upstarts! with Juilliard Jazz Ensemble/Ali Jackson Trio
Doors Open: 6pm for 7:30pm set / 9pm for 9:30pm set
Admission: $30 music charge for artist sets / $10 After Hours sets
Student Prices: Sun, Tues, Wed 9:30pm set $15 with valid student ID / After Hours $5 with valid student ID / Upstarts! $10 for students with valid ID
Minimum: $10 tables / $5 bar all shows
Reservations: (212) 258 9595 or www.jalc.org

This Week at Jazz at Lincoln Center's
Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Bank of America Jazz Festival
Carol Sloane with the Norman Simmons Quintet
Featuring Eric Alexander ( tenor saxophone) and Paul Bollenbeck (guitar)

After Hours with Bob Kindred and John DiMartino

(New York, NY) February 14, 2005 - Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola – located in The House of Swing, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall – presents The Bank of America Jazz Festival, featuring vocalist extraordinaire, Carol Sloane, with The Norman Simmons Quintet, featuring Eric Alexander on tenor saxophone and Paul Bollenbeck on guitar. Carol Sloane, who has over 50 years of experience as a jazz vocalist, will be performing music from her last two recordings, "I Never Went Away," and "Whisper Sweet," as well as songs from her extensive discography.

Tuesday, February 15 through Sunday, February 20:
Bank of America Jazz Festival:
Carol Sloane with The Norman Simmons Quintet
featuring Eric Alexander and Paul Bollenback Carol Sloane (vocals), Norman Simmons (piano), Eric Alexander (tenor sax), Paul Bollenback (guitar) Chip Jackson (bass), Ben Riley (drums)

Two full artist sets at 7:30pm & 9:30pm. Additional set on Friday & Saturday at 11:30pm.

"With all the talk today about new jazz singers, none comes even close to Carol Sloane. This is what jazz is all about." - Nat Hentoff, May 2004

Carol Sloane is a native New Englander, born into a family of music lovers, celebrated her 50th anniversary as a jazz vocalist in 2004. Although Carol never had formal music training, she was blessed with the ability to "hear" and quickly memorized hundreds of popular songs she heard on the radio in the 1940's and 50's. In 1958, after singing with local groups during her teenage years, Carol was offered a job singing with the famous Larry Elgart Orchestra. She toured with the band until 1961, when she was given the opportunity to sing at the Newport Jazz Festival through the lobbying efforts of her friend, world-famous jazz singer and composer Jon Hendricks. Carol recorded her first album for Columbia Records in 1961 and began a successful career appearing in the top jazz clubs in America. She made her New York debut opening for Oscar Peterson at the famed Village Vanguard. She was also the opening act for Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Jackie Mason, Phyllis Diller and Bill Cosby in such places as Mr. Kelly's in Chicago and the "hungry i" in San Francisco.

Carol's extensive discography (visit www.carolsloane.com) attests to her long association with major recording labels in the U.S. She has recorded with the likes of Art Farmer, Kenny Barron, Phil Woods, Bill Charlap, Frank Wess, Kenny Burell, Clark Terry, Bill Mays, Houston Person and Tommy Flanagan. Sloane has appeared on major stages and at festivals around the world. Carol currently records for High Note Records. This association produced the first CD titled I Never Went Away which features legendary jazz pianist Norman Simmons. The latest CD, Whisper Sweet, was released in September 2003 to rave reviews: "Nobody is singing jazz with more grace and feeling." Jesse Hamlin, The San Francisco Chronicle, "Instead of pyrotechnics, she strives for an ideal mixture of clarity, emotional balance and buoyancy." Stephen Holden, The New York Times.

Carol Sloane's thoughts on Dizzy Gillespie:"The vocalist with Dizzy's band was Dizzy, but I had the opportunity to warble a couple of tunes with him at a Kennedy political fund-raiser in Boston a few years ago. What can I say? Standing beside him while he played sweetly behind me is a highly cherished memory. "

"Appearing at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola is a special treat for me. The space could not be more aptly named and I'm thrilled to be performing here in its inaugural year. "

Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola offers spectacular views and serves a jazz inspired menu seven days a week through the collaboration between Great Performances and Spoonbread culinary creators. Reservations can be made at 212-258-9595 or via the Jazz at Lincoln Center web site http://www.jalc.org.

Monday, February 14 UPSTARTS!:
7:30 & 9:30pm: Juilliard Jazz Ensemble - Sold Out!

AFTER HOURS SETS
Tuesday-Saturday, February 15-19 After Hours: Bob Kindred (tenor saxophone); John DiMartino (piano)

Tuesday-Thursday set starts at 11:30pm; Friday & Saturday set starts at 12:45am.

In recent years an ever-growing audience, here and abroad, has become aware of the rare, individual sound and depth of the playing of tenor saxophonist Bob Kindred. Of his most recent releases, JazzTimes magazine said "It's fair to say that Kindred now ranks with the giants of his instrument, with Ben Webster, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, John Coltrane and Zoot Sims." Kindred's craft was first honed in his native Philadelphia working with organ trios led by Groove Holmes, Charles Earland and Shirley Scott. He then toured with several big bands including Woody Herman's Thundering New Herd. In 1992 Kindred was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for a concert entitled "To Ben and Johnny, With Love," a tribute to Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges. His latest release is Bob Kindred and Larry Willis, Duets.

At Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola , Kindred will be joined by ace pianist/arranger, and fellow Philadelphian, John DiMartino, who has performed and recorded with such notables as Kenny Burrell, James Moody and Eddie Gomez. DiMartino is a sought after musical director and has accompanied Jon Hendricks, Diane Schuur and the late Billy Eckstine. He is also active on the world scene, working with Paquito D'Rivera, South African bassist Bakithi Kumalo and conguero Giovanni Hidalgo. DiMartino continues to enjoy a long association with percussionist/musicologist Bobby Sanabria. Their joint efforts include the Grammy nominated CD, Live And In Clave on the Arabesque label, three instructional videos on Warner Bros. and numerous educational clinics and seminars. John is a long time member of Ray Barretto's "New World Spirit," and is featured pianist/arranger on several recordings, including the Grammy nominated CD Contact. Mr. DiMartino has also recorded with Freddie Cole and legendary percussionist Patato Valdez.

Tuesday, February 22 through Sunday, February 27: Jim Hall Quartet
Jim Hall (guitar), Greg Osby (alto saxophone), Steve LaSpina (bass), Ken Wollesen (drums)

Two full artist sets at 7:30pm & 9:30pm. Additional set on Friday & Saturday at 11:30pm.

Jim Hall is one of jazz's most influential guitarists, At Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola , Hall is joined by a cream of the crop rhythm section, and the adventurous, groundbreaking alto saxophone of Greg Osby. Jim Hall's latest recording is an ArtistShare project titled Magic Meeting. This CD, available only at www.jimhallmusic.com, was recorded live at the Village Vanguard and features Scott Colley and Lewis Nash. Through Hall's website, audiences can participate, not just by purchasing the new CD, but by getting a glimpse behind the scenes, so to speak, witnessing Jim prepare for a project, meeting the players, hearing the outtakes, and more, enabling him to share with his audience a personal view of his creative process, in addition to the finished product.

Jim Hall, born in Buffalo, and educated at the Cleveland Institute of Music, moved to Los Angeles where he began to attract national, and then international, attention in the late 1950s. By 1960 Jim had arrived in New York to work with Sonny Rollins and Art Farmer, among others. His live and recorded collaborations with Bill Evans, Paul Desmond, and Ron Carter, are legendary. Not only is Jim Hall one of the jazz world's favorite guitarists, but he has also earned critical acclaim for his skills as a composer and arranger. The first formal recognition came in 1997, when Jim won the New York Jazz Critics Circle Award for Best Jazz Composer/Arranger. His pieces for string, brass, and vocal ensembles can be heard on his Textures and By Arrangement recordings. His original composition, "Quartet Plus Four," a piece for jazz quartet augmented by the Zapolski string quartet, was debuted in Denmark during the concert and ceremony where he was awarded the coveted Jazzpar Prize, and later released on CD. His most recent large-scale composition was a concerto for guitar and orchestra, commissioned by Towson University in Maryland for The First World Guitar Congress, which was debuted in June 2004 with the Baltimore Symphony. The title of the work, "Peace Movement," is indicative of Jim's desire to contribute to world peace through his music. He views music as a way of bonding people together and crossing barriers, be they barriers of geography, ideology, religion, or other discriminations. In accepting the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship award in January 2004, he said, "The women and men who have received this award in the past have spread peace and love throughout the world, something that governments might emulate. I am pleased to be one of the peacemakers."

In addition to the recent focus on orchestral and choral composition, Jim remains active as a player, working and recording with a variety of ensembles all around the world. In addition to working with his trio, Jim likes to spice up the mix with various guests. From time to time you might hear Joe Lovano, Greg Osby, the New York Voices, Kenny Barron, Pat Metheny, Slide Hampton, and others, working for a night or two with Jim's groups. In fact, several of these guests can be heard on a live recording titled Panorama. On occasion, these alliances lead to more intensive collaborative projects such as the "Jim Hall & Basses‚" recording featuring Scott Colley, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, George Mraz, and Christian McBride, and the "duets" project with Pat Metheny.

Some years ago, Guitar Player magazine quoted Jim as saying "I do feel good about my playing. The instrument keeps me humble. Sometimes I pick it up and it seems to say `No, you can't play today.' I keep at it anyway though." Jim and his wife, Jane, who is both a psychoanalyst and a songwriter, live in New York City's Greenwich Village with their dog, Django.

Jim Hall remembers Dizzy Gillespie: I was playing in the band on the Merv Griffin show. Bassist Art Davis was in the band as well. Merv had Dizzy as a guest on the show one night, and we never got to have a single rehearsal! Well, Art knew Dizzy well, we all knew him. Everyone knew Dizzy. So Dizzy comes over to the band, on the show, and says, "I want you to play three chords behind me, hold them, and I'll play over them." He said for us to play any note we wanted and then he just signaled us to come in on the downbeat. He did this three times for the three chords and we ended up playing these crazy sounding chords behind him because everyone was playing anything we wanted like Dizzy said to do. Well it worked out beautifully, it sounded great! We all loved Dizzy. I never heard anyone utter a bad word about him.

Monday, February 21 UPSTARTS!:
The Henry Mancini Institute Alumni Big Band
Hosted by nine-time GRAMMY® Award-winning Producer Phil Ramone and Ginny Mancini, President of the Henry Mancini Institute, the Institute's Alumni Big Band will perform its first public event in New York City. The HMI's Big Band Conductor Justin DiCioccio will guide the 16-piece Big Band, which will perform with celebrity guest artists. DiCiocco also serves as Assistant Dean of the Jazz Division at Manhattan School of Music and Program Director for Carnegie Hall Jazz Education. In addition, he is a consultant to Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he also performs and heads clinics.

As a part of the organization's continuing network of support for its musicians, HMI's Professional Alumni Ensembles perform regularly throughout the U.S. Past appearances have included the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles performing with artists such as Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves, Shirley Horn, and Monica Mancini.

AFTER HOURS SETS Tuesday-Saturday, February 22 through Saturday, February 26
After Hours: Mark Elf (guitar); Ugonna Okegwo (bass)

Tuesday-Thursday set starts at 11pm; Friday & Saturday set starts at 12:30am.

Visiting celebrities to the club include Clint Eastwood, Tony Danza and Joe Pesci.You never know who's going to show up at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola .

Coming Up At Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
Benny Green Trio
Benny Green (piano), Rodney Green (drums), Ray Drummond (bass) Tuesday-Sunday, March 1-6

Bobby Watson & Horizon
Bobby Watson (alto sax), Terell Stafford (trumpet), Ed Simon (piano), Essiet Okon Essiet (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) Tuesday-Sunday, March 8-13

Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, weekly national radio and television programs, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, a jazz appreciation curriculum for children, advanced training through the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, music publishing, children's concerts, lectures, adult education courses, film programs, and student and educator workshops. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, President Derek E. Gordon, Chairman of the Board Lisa Schiff and Jazz at Lincoln Center Board and staff, Jazz at Lincoln Center will produce hundreds of events during its 2004-05 season. This is the inaugural season in Jazz at Lincoln Center's new home – Frederick P. Rose Hall – the first-ever performance, education, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz.