1. There's lots of music around here! I keep my gigs antiquatedly on a paper calendar. My 2019 calendar is chock full of local jazz listings, sometimes too many for a given day. That is healthy for locavore jazz.
2. The Sharp Nine/Durham Jazz Workshop is officially a local jazz institution! The relatively small community of local jazz fans has found its place for jazz listening, & they keep going there, selling out more frequently than ever. Its reputation has spread wide enough that fine, medium-named player touring regionally look to S9 as a place to stop, some coming back after their first performance.
3. What about the larger venue scene? On balance, some have gone, some have come, with Raleigh's C Grace remaining a stalwart with its upstairs neighbor, Empress Room. Beyu Caffe stopped its music but recently initiated monthly funkish, soulish gigs, one so far bordering on jazz. But, my mystery right now is what's happening with King Kenney's Local Jazz Club gigs at the Fruit. Did he discover that it's hard to make even a little money from his Monday night performances, or is he lurking, ready to announce his 2020 schedule? That effort was probably the major addition to the venue scene last year.
4. The best performance I saw last year was....Kurt Elling, Kate McGarry, & Fred Hersch performing the last's version of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" at Baldwin Auditorium. I'd heard it on CD & watched it live-online, but this version was the very best.
5. The best local performance was....Vocalist Shana Tucker & four local all-star musicians reshaping the great Coltrane/Johnny Hartman recording of yesteryear. Which reminds me...
6. 2019 was Shana Tucker's year: Shana's a pop/jazz performer, entertaining audiences whatever she's singing. Her tour bookings exploded last year & continue robustly on her website for this year. Well done!
7. Other performances stood out too:
- Ernest Turner, any time he touched a piano. He's gotten a solid national break--touring with Raphael Saadiq--in addition to a duo recording with saxist Stephen Riley.
- Al Strong's 99 Brass Band provided me with the most fun at a live gig.
- The Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble--the TYJE--always wows me with their group & solo skills, including fine vocalists.
- NCCU student saxist Dexter Moses--with pianist Graeme Slonaker--makes me want to hear more & more.
- Most anything multi-reed player Keenan McKenzie does. He keeps teaching me that swing style music ain't just for dancing.
8. These folks put out new recordings: Andrew Berinson, Ernest Turner, Keenan McKenzie, drummer & NCCU percussion instructor Thomas Taylor, Chad Eby/Ariel Pocock.
9. These folks will put out 2020 recordings: Lenora Helms big band project (The Tribe), Ernest Turner/Stephen Riley, Jason Foureman, Scott Sawyer, & those threatening to in the near future.
Yeah, many of us would like a dedicated, full-time jazz club here. Until that miracle occurs, the above says we're doing pretty well without.