The Jazz Scene: upcoming guitar summit

Trumpeter Duane Eubanks and guitarist Monnette Sudler are two of our region’s finest improvising artists. Duane, brother of Kevin and Robin, will appear at Chris’ Jazz Café for a CD release party celebrating the release of his quintet’s Things of That Particular Nature on the weekend of January 30 and 31. Sudler recently returned to performing following a lung transplant to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Her sixth annual Philadelphia Guitar Summit, featuring the Lionel Loueke Trio and fellow guitarists Jimmy Bruno, Nikolay Gavlishin, and Dave Doggett, will take place at Montgomery County Community College on January 24 at 8pm.

Saxophonist Maceo Parker is one funky jazz player. How could he not be? He was featured with James Brown on and off from 1964 to 1988. Parker, who bills his group as “the greatest little funk orchestra on earth,” is also a more-than-capable straight-ahead player on alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. “The greatest little funk orchestra” checks in to the Merriam Theater for an 8pm show on January 17.

Though pianist Monty Alexander came out of the Oscar Peterson school of playing, he has evolved stylistically to become very much his own man. On January 15, fans will have the rare opportunity to hear Alexander with a large ensemble when he performs with the Ed Vezinho/Jim Ward Big Band for a 7pm show at Sandi Pointe Coastal Bistro in Somers Point, New Jersey. Sandi Pointe, by the way, books world-class jazz, often in conjunction with the Somers Point Jazz Society, 52 weeks per year.

Congratulations to two Philadelphia players who are up for Grammy Awards: Influential bassist Stanley Clarke’s “Last Train to Sanity” won a Best Instrumental Composition nomination, and organist/pianist Joey DeFrancesco was one of those backing vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, whose Enjoy the View was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

Michelle Lordi is one of the most refreshing singers on the scene today. She sings with an honest sincerity that is devoid of pretense and clichés. Her CD, Michelle Lordi Sings, is deservedly getting fine notices and another one, Drive, is on the way. This month, she appears at Vintage Bar and Grill in Abington each Tuesday beginning at 7:30pm and at Paris Bistro and Jazz Café in Chestnut Hill every Thursday from 7pm.

Philadelphia has had its share of fine open jam sessions through the years, including the one at what was once Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus under Pete Souders’s direction, and the still-running 23rd Street Café Tuesday night sessions. Among the best, in terms of level of musicianship, was the Sunday jam at LaRose Jazz Club in Germantown, run by that volcanic and swinging drummer Rob Henderson. Sadly, Henderson has reported that after five years, LaRose has decided on a different direction on Sundays, and the jams will be no more. However, saxophonist Tony Williams’s Monday night get-togethers are not affected.

Our area’s jazz community often poses the question, “Where can we go to find out just what jazz events are happening in the area?” The answer is — and has been since 1995 — allaboutjazz.com, started and run by suburban Philadelphia native Michael Ricci. The site has news, reviews, photo and video galleries, free downloads, and musician’s profiles, among other features. In the “who is playing where and when” area, allaboutjazz’s sister site, jazznearyou.com is the only comprehensive guide to daily events locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. There is nothing else like it anywhere, and jazz community members should doff their caps to Ricci for his devoted and tireless work on behalf of all things jazz.

Though the recently-booked Kimmel Center appearance of pianists Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea doesn’t take place until April 11, these keyboard giants get together in a duo setting very rarely, so tickets will undoubtedly go quickly. A word to the wise.