Discoveries:
1. Singer Jo Gore has resurfaced: She tells me she'll be at Motorco later in April, a welcome return to performing locally. She's also raising money to produce her first CD so check her link on the Home page. In my next blog I hope to have a link to her performing schedule.

2. It was great to hear both Dave Finucane & Andrew Berinson, for different reasons: The last two times I've heard Dave at Sharp Nine he hadn't played in a while; his readiness to play came through again Friday night there. Meanwhile, having not heard Andrew in a while, I found his playing deeper & more imaginative; that'll make his 4/5 CD release at Sharp Nine even more exciting. And, since he did the mixing & mastering himself, he deserves a lot of C sales for his effort, beyond what should be fine playing. There's a sample via his link on the Home page.

This Week is incredibly busy!
Monday

• Imbibe: Grewen & Griffin 7p.
• Pittsboro Roadhouse: Dance to whatever band Gregg Gelb leads 7p.
• Neptunes Parlour (Raleigh): Atomic Rhythm All-Stars residency 8p. Recommended.

Tuesday

• Hayti Heritage Center (Durham): Lenora Helms Hammond records a live big band CD 7:30p. I'll be there.
• Sharp Nine: NCJRO 8p. ​Recommended.

Wednesday

• The Station: Yeaux Katz brings jazz standards with bar band verve 7p. Recommended.
• Humble Pie: Sidecar Social Club 8:30p.
• C Grace: Seattle-based singer Rebecca Hardiman 9p.
• Duke's Mary Lou Williams Center: Jazz At the Mary Lou jam 9:30p.

Thursday

• Irregardless: Singer Frankie Alexander 6:30p.
• Durham Hotel: Al Strong's jazz jam 7p.

Friday: A night of impossible choices from 5:30-9p!

• NCMA: Peter Lamb 5:30p.
• Irregardless: Pianist Elmer Gibson 6:30p.
• Sharp Nine: Vibraphonist Brandon Mitchell's Quartet 8p. Local recommendation.
• Duke Performances: Extravore percussionist Dafnis Prieto's big band 8p. Extravore recommendation.
• NCSU Center Stage: Extravore vocalist Jazzmeia Horn 8p.

Saturday:

• Sharp Nine: Brian Horton Quartet 8p. Recommended, especially with sidemen Ernest Turner & drummer Bean Clemmons!
  
• Arcana (Durham): Local trumpeter Lynn Grissett 8p.
  

Next Week (recommendations only):
Monday:

• Neptunes Parlour (Raleigh): Atomic Rhythm All-Stars residency 8p. Recommended.

Friday:

• Sharp Nine: Andrew Berinson CD release performance 8p. Buy his CD!

Saturday:

• Sharp Nine: Singer Autumn Rainey 8p.
• C Grace: Brian Horton Quartet 9p.
  
• Irregardless: Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble 9p. Contribute to their Essentially Ellington national competition fund-raising via www.philharmonic-association.org!
  

Discoveries:
1. The new Branford Marsalis Quartet is something special: I stumbled across "The Secret Between the Shadow & the Soul" at Barnes & Noble. Happy stumbing as this CD sounds different that prior ones in ones I haven't the vocabulary to describe (yet). So, buy & listen...
2. The Eric Hirsh Quartet may have given me a better sense of rhythm: At Eric's monthly residency at Durham's Arcana--that venue offering other jazz now as well--I tried to sense/feel/hear the intricate rhythms that drive his distinctive composing/arranging/playing. Helped by drummer Stephen Coffman & saxist Aaron Hill, I got the 7/4 tunes, felt the shifts from 11/8 to 10/8 & back, & totally botched the 3/4 waltz. That's known as Progress.
​3. Atomic Rhythm All-Star chief George Knott may be the funniest musician around here: Anyone that describes types of hammers in a post on the ARAS website has a strange way of looking at things. Check it out via the Home page link.

This Week: It looks good though I'll be busy with the visit of four grandkids. 

Sunday: 

• Pianist Martin Eagle (whom I haven't heard in a while) premiers his new CD at Durham's Parizade 4p.

Monday:

• You can check out bassist George Knott & the Atomic Rhythm All-Stars at Raleigh's Neptune's Parlour 8p.

Friday:

• Ernest Turner & his trio appear on WUNC's The State of Things 12p. I'll catch it via the online archive.
• Dave Finucane leads a sextet at the request of fan Mark O'Donnell (who's visiting from retirement in Ecuador) 8p. If I have energy left I'll be there.

Saturday:

• Keith Ganz joins visiting pianist Gary Versace & bassist Sean Smith at Sharp Nine 7 pm. ​I may be nodding off but I'll be there.

Sunday:

• Bassist Rick Bugel plays with Scott Sawyer & Donovan Cheatham at Watts & Ward 7p. Could be there if I miss the above because I need to hear live music.

Discoveries:
1. Pianist Sean Mason's style has changed (at least for one night): Saturday night at Sharp Nine he was too full of sound & fury, signifying not enough. I left when he went on & on with a fourth extended vamp accented by piano-pounding & driving rockish drumming. Yes, he was briefly melodic ("My Romance") & a couple of gospel forays, but, e.g., turning the lovely "Blame It On My Youth" into one of those extended things was incongruous. One hopes that the road of excess does lead to the path of wisdom.
2. Yeaux Katz is back--at the Station: They started there, & now that drummer Rob Ladd has recovered from car crash injuries, they were on fire Wednesday night. The Best Jazz Bar Band In Carrboro will play every Wednesday night.

This Week: It could be very busy for me (in addition to my Guide To Local Jazz class). It depends on my energy.

Sunday:

• The Avante acapella group at the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUUF) 4p. Unless domestic tasks get in the way, I'll be there.

Monday:

• The incomparable Atomic Rhythm All-Stars recreate speakeasy jazz at Raleigh's Neptune's Parlour 8p.

Tuesday:

• Saxophonist Noel Sherr at Sharp Nine 7p. If I have energy after my class, I should be there to listen to sideman Scott Sawyer.

Wednesday: In addition to Yeaux Katz at the Station...

• Jonathan Markow plays lovely standards at Empress Room 7:30p.

Thursday: Two good gigs in Durham...

• Al Strong's Durham Hotel jazz jam (fusion tonight?) 7p.
• Eric Hirsh starts his monthly residency at Durham's Arcana 8p. I'll be there, perhaps after a stop at the Durham Hotel.

Saturday: In addition to usual choices...

• Zen Poets at Irregardless 9p. A chance to catch up with them, especially Annalist Stalls on saxophones.

Sunday:

• Not often heard pianist Martin Eagle debuts a CD at Durham's Parizade Restaurant 4p. ​His playing is worth hearing.