The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Poli Club announces jazz series lineup
WATERBURY — The Spring Jazz Series at the Palace Theater Poli Club opens on Friday April 6 with the first of five shows. The series includes vocalist Cookie Thomas on April 6, the Ali Ryerson Trio on April 27, the Avery Sharpe Trio on May 18, the Norman Johnson Quartet on June 8, and wraps up with the Jim Ridl Quartet on June 29.
The series is produced by New England Arts and Entertainment. Showtimes are at 7 and 9 p.m. with the bar and doors opening at 6:15 p.m.
Tickets are available for each show at the Palace Theater Box Office at 203-346-2000 or at www.PalaceTheaterCT.org The series ticket package is available for $130 and includes reserved seating for all five shows.
April 6 – Cookie Thomas
A versatile vocalist, and an undiscovered treasure, Richard “Cookie” Thomas’ career began in Philadelphia in 1960 when he had the opportunity, at fourteen, to open for B.B. King. His voice is especially suited to well-known classic standards. Thomas draws his inspiration from the likes of Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Johnny Hartman.
He currently performs at Soundwaters Community Center in Stamford, as well as the Silvermine Tavern in Norwalk; Foxwoods Casino, Sage American Grill, and Oyster Bar in New Haven; the Doral Arrowwood in Rye Brook, NY; the Levitt Pavilion in Westport, CT; Szechuan Tokyo in West Hartford; the Jackie Robinson Jazz Festival in Norwalk, CT; the Rich Forum & Palace theaters in Stamford, CT; the Greenwich Polo Club; and Danny’s Skylight Room, the Carlyle, and Waldorf Astoria hotels in NYC. He plays with guitarists Chris Morrison, Carmine Marino and John Cain. Drummers include Bobby Leonard, Don Mulvaney, and Arti Dixon, who toured with Ahmid Jamal. In addition, Richard has performed with saxophonists Marion Meadows, Houston Pearson, Lonnie Youngblood, and Ken Gioffre of AWB. He has also performed with bassists Bill Conway, Dave Daddario, and famed Phil Bowler, who accompanied Horace Silver.
April 27 – Ali Ryerson Trio
With a career spanning over four decades, jazz flutist, composer and author, Ali Ryerson consistently ranks high among the top jazz flutists in the Downbeat Jazz Poll and has been nominated as Jazz Flutist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. She performs, records and teaches internationally, having toured the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, New Zealand and North Africa. Her concert performances range from Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, London’s Ronnie Scott’s, to the Blue Note in New York and Japan. Ryerson is the author of “The Jazz Flute Practice Method,” and has written numerous articles for The Flutist Quarterly, Downbeat, and Flute Talk, among others. Ryerson conducts master classes worldwide, including her weeklong annual master class held at Hidden Valley Music Seminars in CA; has been on the faculty of the Litchfield Jazz Camp, the IJAM JAZZ summer camp in Italy; and is a visiting faculty member at The Jazzschool in Berkeley, California. As Artist-in-Residence at universities around the US and abroad, Ali has taught at the Eastman School of Music, Ohio State University, NYU, Duquesne, and USC, among others. Ryerson studied flute with Harold Bennett (NY Metropolitan Orchestra) and John Wion (NYC Opera Orchestra) and is a graduate of the Hartt School of Music of theUniversity of Hartford. A Gemeinhardt Artist with an Autograph Series of flutes she helped design, Her recent CD release, “Game Changer – The Ali Ryerson Jazz Flute Big Band” (Capri Records), remained in the ‘TOP 10’ on the US Jazz Charts for six straight weeks.
May 18 – Avery Sharpe Trio
In an age of ephemeral pop stars and flavor-of-the-month trends, Avery Sharpe is a reminder of the lasting value of steadfast dedication and personal integrity. As the title of one of his tunes asserts, “Always Expect the Best of Yourself.”
Sharpe was born in Valdosta, Georgia, and his first instrument was the piano. He moved on to accordion and then switched to electric bass in high school. Sharpe’s credits also include sideman stints with many other jazz greats, from Dizzy Gillespie to Pat Metheny, as well as leading his own groups. His first recording as a leader was the 1988 album Unspoken Words on Sunnyside Records. In 1994 he started his own artist record label, JKNM Records. To date he has more than 11 titles as a leader for JKNM Records, his latest JKNM recording is “Sharpe Meets Tharpe” a tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of “Rock and Roll”. The recording features Meli’sa Morgan, Charles Neville and the New England Gospel Choir.
June 8 – Norman Johnson Quartet
Guitarist and composer Norman Johnson was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and became interested in playing the guitar in his freshman year of high school after a friend let him borrow a recording of George Benson’s “The Other Side of Abby Road.” His other early influences were Wes Montgomery, Earl Klugh and R&B groups Rufus (with Chaka Khan) and Earth, Wind and Fire. He studied at the Hartford Conservatory of Music with Bob Shaw for guitar and the Hartt School of Music taking classes with Jackie McLean and the award winning guitartist/composer Brian Keane.
June 29 – Jim Ridl Quartet
Jim Ridl is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger and teacher residing in the New York City area. He performs internationally with the Jim Ridl Trio and Quartet, the Dave Liebman Big Band, the Mingus Big Band, Ximo Tebar’s IVAM Jazz Ensemble of Spain, and the Tim Horner Quintet.
His sixth CD, “Jim Ridl’s Blue Corn Enchilada Dreams,” features the outstanding soloists Terell Stafford, Donald Edwards, and John Benitez in an inspired quartet setting. His tenure with jazz guitar legend Pat Martino received many critically acclaimed reviews of performances around the world and produced 3 outstanding recordings.