1. The Mac McLaughlin Group starts an adventure: The keyboardist's quintet has started a run at the Hilton Garden Inn airport hotel on Wednesday nights. Its challenge will be to get the people in the dining room & at the bar to move to the tip jar & to sit down & listen. Good luck to that.
2. Brasa Steakhouse is listing its gigs! After not having done so for years, one of the best listening spots around finally lets us know who's there!
3. Multi-reeds player John Troy hides in plain sight: I met him at an Ed Furtick party 3-4 years ago, finding he had left NYC, & then he disappeared until a fine Saturday night at C Grace. He's been accompanying bassist John Brown's gigs & traveling with musicals, while living in Raleigh. He returns to C Grace 3/7. Worth hearing & encouraging to play out more.
This Week: A mix of Usual Suspects choices & interesting gigs.
Sunday
- Latin Jazz Afternoon at Durham's West End Wine Bar 4p.
- Grewen & Griffanzo entertain us at Imbibe while we tip our bartender & the musicians 7p.
- Alison Weiner does her thing at the familial Eddy Pub 7p.
- The Second Line Stompers do trad jazz at C Grace 9p.
- Amy Hancock & a pianist start the vocals at Empress Room 7:30p while...
- Soul singer Julia Nixon assays jazz downstairs at C Grace 9p.
- Trumpeter Al Strong is successfully heard over the cocktail crowd at C Grace 9p.
- Pianist Stephen Anderson & marimba player Juan Alamo are a unique duo at Sharp Nine 8p. I'll be there.
- Thrio (= pianist Andrew Berinson, bassist Kevin Beardsley, drummer Donovan Cheatham) have older brother saxist Brian Miller join them at Sharp Nine 8p. I may sleep over Friday night for this.
- The UNC, Duke, & NCCU jazz ensembles' annual Val Day concert at NCCU's B.N. Duke Auditorium 3p. They will be my Valentine that day!
Next Week Alert: Locavore jazz--Angela Bingham & pianist Ed Paolantonio at Sharp Nine--competes with extravore jazz--saxist Joshua Redman at Duke--both at 8p. Go one of them! I'll be with Angela & Ed, which should sell out. Those that miss that can take solace with Redman.