The Jazz Scene: Erykah Badu to Wendy Simon

Before there was a Mann Music Center, 41 years before, to be exact, there was the Robin Hood Dell, onetime summer home to the Philadelphia Orchestra and dozens of pop and jazz acts. The revitalized Dell, now known as the Dell Music Center, has booked some notable jazz performers for this month, albeit of the funk and crossover variety. Appearing August 13 are singers Erykah Badu and Estelle. Singer Stephanie Mills and saxman Boney James are coming August 20, and on August 22, a show called “Divas Simply Singing,” a rotating group of jazz and cabaret singers that was founded by Broadway singer/actress Sheryl Lee Ralph.

On Monday, August 10, the Philadelphia Jazz Project is presenting something a bit different than standard instrumental fare with “Take it Away Dance/Cross Rhythms: An Exploration of Tap and Jazz Music.” This event, part of the PJP’s series of summer shows at the Venice Island Performing Arts & Recreation Center in Manayunk, will feature tap dancers Pamela Hetherington and Jenn Rose, backed by the Adam Faulk Trio and vocalist Dena Underwood. Showtime is 8pm, and tickets are $15.

Rare performances

Vocalist Rhenda Fearrington is a charismatic dynamo of a performer who is as at home with a touching ballad as she is with an up-tempo swinger. She doesn’t perform nearly enough, but fortunately, she can be heard twice this month. She’ll be at the Paris Wine Bar, 2301 Fairmont Avenue, Philadelphia on August 8 — accompanied on piano by Grammy nominee Jameel Roberts — and will open for sax legend Bootsie Barnes at the Smithville, NJ Jazz Festival on August 22.

Singer Wendy Simon was the toast of Philadelphia jazz singing through much of the 1980s, with her group, Tuxedo Junction, later renamed 52nd Street. She began teaching full time around 1997 and has been off the scene for 18 years. Late last month, she made her comeback before a packed house at Paris Bistro & Jazz Café in Chestnut Hill. Management wasted no time in booking her for two more dates, August 30 and September 30.

A new album and jazz at the Kimmel and the Shore

Bassist/vocalist and Philadelphia native Jennifer Leitham left our city some seasons back for the West Coast and became one of the most in-demand jazz bassists in the country. She’s played with everyone from Mel Tormé and k.d. lang to Benny Carter and Doc Severinsen, and has appeared on 125 CDs, including ten of her own. Leitham’s latest, MOOD(S)WINGS, presents her in a trio setting, performing eight beautifully rendered compositions, including three extraordinary originals. Whether playing, singing, or composing, Leitham knows what jazz is all about.

The Kimmel Center’s commitment to jazz gets stronger each year, and the recently announced 2015-2016 season is the Kimmel’s most impressive ever. Among those announced for the new season are vocalists Cécile McLorin Salvant and René Marie; the orchestras of trumpeters Arturo Sandoval, Terell Stafford, and Wynton Marsalis; bassist Christian McBride; pianist Ramsey Lewis; and guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli. Watch The Jazz Scene for dates and details.

Atlantic City’s 16th annual “Jazz On the Beach” series on the boardwalk at Kennedy Plaza continues through August with some notable names. Appearing on August 6 is saxman Bootsie Barnes, followed by vibraphonist Steve Pouchie’s “Latin Jazz” on August 13. Closing out the August shows is one of the most innovative players in jazz, trombonist Steve Turre, who also effectively doubles on, believe it or not, conch shells. All shows are free and open to the public, and they start at 7pm.

July 28 marked the end of 25 years of Tuesday night jam sessions at the 23rd Street Café, but the good news is that the sessions will continue. The “new” jam begins August 4 at The Manayunk Brewing Company on Main Street. Running the sessions will be saxophonist/keyboardist Dr. Richard Harner and Herman DeJong, founder of the whole series 25 years ago.