Bassist Gomez, Lovano perform
Here are a few intriguing gigs lined up at Dazzle Jazz (930 Lincoln St.) in the next couple of weeks:
If you run across an old LP with the name of Eddie Gomez in the credits, odds are you’ve located an object of quality. The bassist abetted the late and stillworshiped pianist Bill Evans for more than a decade, as well as
Chick Corea, Paul Bley and Joanne Brackeen. He’s been the preferred bassist for numerous pianists, and currently Gomez is performing with pianist Vlad Girshevich and his son Aleks Girshevich on drums (who happens to be 12 years old and is described as a “prodigy” in press materials). Aleks is a fine drummer, and the music that’s been released so far by the Girshevich Trio (featuring virtuoso support from Gomez) is complex and intriguing. The group celebrates the release of a new CD at Dazzle Jazz March 29-30. Tickets range from $15-20, a small price to pay to simultaneously experience the embodiment of jazz heritage as well as its future.
Purnell Steen is a committed pianist-bandleader as well as a respected Denver fixture. His band, Purnell Steen & Le Jazz Machine, plays Dazzle on April 1. Featuring excellent local talent — including saxophonist Max Wagner and bassist Ron Bland — Steen promises “original takes on the music of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and others,” aided by the vocal prowess of Myra Warren.
Try and name a substandard recording from tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. You simply can’t. Lovano’s bravado-laden improvisational turns have graced numerous excellent albums in the last few decades, including last year’s archival “Classic! Live At Newport,” released on the Blue Note label, which has been his home for as long as most any artist on that historic label. Lovano brings his “Classic Quartet” to Dazzle for two nights of what should be inspired dives into the bebop catalogue, April 5-6. Since the saxophonist doesn’t make many appearances in this part of the country, tickets to these shows should evaporate quickly. Get information at dazzlejazz.com.
Pianist Neil Bridge (with vocalist Karen Lee) plays a free show at Nissi’s in Lafayette on March 26 . ... The difficult-to-pigeonhole keyboardist Marco Benevento is scheduled for Denver’s Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom on March 31 and Boulder’s Fox Theatre on April 1 . ... Denver tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman (who has an uplifting new CD on Colorado’s Capri Records label, “East Of The Village”) appears with his quartet at Nocturne on March 31 . ... Smooth guitarist Peter White plays the
Soiled Dove Underground on April 7 . ... Percussion master Zakir Hussain will team up with santoor player Rahul Sharma at the Boulder Theater on April 23, and pianist George Winston will appear there on May 9 . ... NEA JazzMasters Shelia Jordan, Jimmy Heath and Dave Liebman participate in the UNC/Greeley Jazz Festival April 20-22. Details and tickets are available at arts.unco.edu.