January 2009Vol. 15, Issue. 1

14 Years Serving the Jazz Community

For More Information: www.jazzerie.com

notesThe Monthly Newsletter of JazzErie

Tickets: Gold Circle.........$40 (includes a reception with the performers.) Adult..................$35Senior/Student...$30 Youth........ ........$15Mercyhurst Student (with ID)..............$10

This event is co-sponsored by

JazzErie.

McKelle has found her voice in the American Songbook, as evidenced by her latest CD “Modern Antiques” (available on iTunes.) She has sung with her quartet at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, has performed with the Boston Pops, and is currently completing a whirlwind three-month European tour.

Ed Goebel, JazzErie President, spells out an additional incentive to come and enjoy: “Mercyhurst has made this concert a fund raiser for JazzErie. Each ticket JazzErie sells to it’s members or the general public will earn JazzErie $10! These funds will help us continue to bring world class jazz musicians to Erie. Vice President Ted Ely and his wife Georgiana will lead this effort. Please contact them at 814.218.0861 to but tickets or help in this effort.”

SAVE THIS DATE• • • • Valentine’s Day • • • •• Sat., February 14, 8:00 PM •

for a date with your sweetie to hear the Robin McKelle Quartet at the D’Angelo

Performing Arts Center.

...continued on pg. 6

WMCE MERCYHURST GOES ALL-JAZZ

by Bob Protzman, Contributing WriterErie area jazz fans could hardly have asked for a better holiday

gift than the announcement that Mercyhurst College radio station WCME (88.5 and 104.9 FM) is going jazz – all jazz.

When WCME officially drops its current classical music and mixed genre format in favor of 24/7 jazz, it will put Erie in the radio big leagues with major cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Detroit. The Mercyhurst station, which will now be called “Jazz FM, Erie’s Jazz Station,” already has a full jazz schedule posted on its website (www.ErieRadio.com) and will begin carrying some of those programs sometime between Christmas and January.

The goal, says station director Michael Leal (pictured at right), is to be broadcasting jazz fulltime in February. When that happens, Jazz FM will offer 161 hours per week of jazz – nirvana for jazz lovers. That compares with the 19 hours of jazz – all of it at night, and mostly on weekends – on WQLN-FM 91.3, Erie’s National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate. Leal revealed his plans in October to some members of WQLN management, who he says expressed support. Asked for a reaction, Tom New, director of creative services at WQLN, said, “I’m excited about the addition of jazz on Mercyhurst radio. I think anything that promotes jazz in the community is a good thing.”

Page 2 JazzErie Notes

Jazz EriE

2007-2008 Board of Directors

President................................. Ed GoebelVice President ............................. Ted ElyTreasurer ..............................Liz Scarpelli

DirectorsJoe Curlett Robb Hoff Charles Lute Al Lubiejewski John Marzalek Scott Meier Carl Hultman Sheldon Peterson Allen Zurcher Mary Watson Dick Thompson John KyticPaul Bates Kathy Danielson

Past PresidentsDavid F. Van Amburg 1994-1995 (Founding President)Atty. Al Lubiejewski 1995-1997Virginia M. Pelkowski 1997-1999R. Patrick Rodgers 1999-2002Steve Eidell 2002-2003Tom McLaren 2003-2005Carl Hultman 2005-2008

JazzEriE NotEs is published monthly by JazzErie which is a subsidiary organiza-tion of the Erie Art Museum, a nonprofit organization.

JazzErie NotesEditor - Dick Thompson

published byThe Erie Art Museum for JazzErie

printed byPIP Printing West

2825 West 26th St. • Erie, PA 16506

Deadline is the 15th of each month.Send articles to:

rwtqveta12191@hotmail.comor Box 8833, Erie, PA 16505

JazzErie is a com-munity of music lovers and musicians and, a member-ship organization dedicated to sharing with children, adults and one an-other an awareness and love of

music, particularly jazz. JazzErie brings toget-her people who want to listen to jazz, learn about it, play it and just live it.

Check out our website at www.jazzerie.com for complete

information on current and upcoming events.

Dick Sertz, President of Erie’s new NBA Development Team, the Erie Bayhawks, has named Don Haener’s Dixie Doodlers as the official band of the Bayhawks. The Doodlers will play for all home games at the Civic Center, beginning with the inaugural which was on December 11. The Bayhawks are affiliated with both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The current Doodlers lineup includes Bill Beggs on drums, Don Haener, trumpet and leader, Kent Tucker, trombone, Stan Bialomizy, clarinet, and Stan Yopek, keyboards. The band is working on an original theme song/chant for the Bayhawks.

Sertz was the originator of the annual High School Tournament at Gannon University, one of the major high school tourneys in the U.S., and has long hired the Doodlers to provide music for that event. Bill Flannegan, Prep Director of Athletics, is the new president of the high school event and has already scheduled the Doodlers for the four games at Gannon on Friday and Saturday, January 16 and 17, 2009.

DIXIE DOODLERS NAMED HOUSE BAND FOR ERIE BAYHAWKS

This project was supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, through its regional arts funding partnership, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA). State funding for the arts depends upon an annual appropriation by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PPA is administered in this region by the Arts Council of Erie.

JAZZERIE 2008-09 PERFORMANCE

SCHEDULE:Sat., Feb. 14 (Valentine’s Day):

Vocalist Robin McKelle Quartet. Award-winning jazz singer will provide a song-filled evening for you and your sweetie. D’Angelo Performing Arts Center, Mercyhurst College, 7:30 PM. Co-sponsored by JazzErie. Adults $35, Seniors and students $30, Youth $15, Mercyhurst students $10.

March 14: Singers Night, 8 p.m., East Erie Turners, 829 Parade St.; $15, $10 for members; $5, students. Program will feature local vocalists Joe Dorris, Marty O’Conner, and Paula Holmes backed by an all-star combo, plus the General McLane High School Jazz Ensemble, directed by Bruce Yates. Admission for adults $15, $10 for JazzErie members, $5 for students.

April (date TBA): Local bassist Harry Jacobson and ensemble explore the history of the bass in jazz, 8 p.m., Walker Recital Hall, Mercyhurst; $15, $10 for members; $5, students.

May (date TBA): The Next Generation, 7:30 p.m., location TBA; $5. High school jazz stars of tomorrow present great ensemble work and solos with area tutors.

JazzErie is still working on additional Spring events. For further information as the season develops: www.jazzerie.com and JazzErie News Notes, Erie Times-News Showcase.

JazzErie is a grateful recipient of support from the Arts Council of Erie.

Issue No. 165 Page 3

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

By Dr. Allen Zurcher

It is generally acknowledged by jazz historians that Louis Armstrong is the single most important figure in early jazz. Virtually every jazz musician can trace their influences back to ‘Pops’ regardless of what their current influences or stylistic preference may be.

As with Armstrong, people who are given the moniker of ‘Legend’ often take on a ‘larger than life’ persona. Unfortunately in the transformation from ‘working musician’ to the latter much is lost in the process. Let me explain.

If I were to ask a typical jazz musician or fan of jazz what they thought of Louis Armstrong, the vast majority would say, “Oh yeah, he’s great.” My next question would probably be; “Why?’ Unfortunately, the ‘why’ of it is often lost when figures are separated from the public by time and what I would call the ‘lowest common denominator’ syndrome. This article is written in an attempt to answer the ‘why’ portion of this conversation.

For the sake of brevity, this article is limited to an exploration of the general characteristics of jazz influenced by Armstrong and will not deal with his contribution to trumpet playing specifically.

Armstrong was the first great soloist in jazz. New Orleans style jazz (Dixieland) is based largely on the concept of collective improvisation. In other words, each member of the band in the front line is improvising at the same time during the course of a given performance. As a result no single soloist or member of the band is more prominent than any other. Although there were individual solos in New Orleans style groups, the emphasis was on collective improvisation. Armstrong led two very important groups in New York City in the mid 1920s called ‘The Hot Five’ and ‘The Hot Seven’. Up to this point Armstrong had been a sideman in various groups led by trumpeter Joe ‘King’ Oliver. Armstrong’s groups played what would be considered Chicago style Dixieland, where the emphasis was more on solo improvisation rather than collective improvisation.

It’s important to point out that there are no authentic recorded examples of New Orleans style Dixieland Jazz, as the first recordings were done in 1917 in New York and Chicago by a group of white New Orleans musicians known as The Original Dixieland Jazz Band. New Orleans style jazz had been evolving in New Orleans since around the turn of the century, and its musical predecessors; the blues, ragtime and brass band music well before that.

Armstrong was one of the first musicians to successfully base his improvisations on original melodic ideas rather than the melody of a given tune. His successful departure from the melody opened up many melodic and rhythmic possibilities that had not been previously available.

Armstrong popularized ‘scat’ singing. Scat singing is a vocal technique in which nonsense syllables such as ‘Bop’, Shu-bleeh’ or ‘Ba-doo-dle-da-she-dot’ are used instead of lyrics. This technique was originally used to imitate the improvisations of trumpet or saxophone solos. One of the most accomplished scat singers in recent history was Mel Torme who sounded much like a trombone when scatting. Armstrong’s singing style also had a major influence on Billie Holiday (above right), and Louis Prima.

Perhaps the most far reaching and least understood contribution Armstrong made to jazz was to refine the concept of ‘swing’. Swing in this context is used to define a style of playing eighth note patterns which are not quite even

rhythmically and have softened accents on syncopated rhythms. It should not be confused with the genre of music associated with jazz, popular from 1935 – 1945 known as ‘Big Band Swing’ or just ‘Swing’.

Although ragtime is highly syncopated it has more in common with marches played by bands such as John Philip Sousa’s than jazz as we understand it. Armstrong took the syncopated rhythms from ragtime and smoothed them out by using softer accents. This had the effect of making ragtime rhythms and syncopations much less regimented and stiff. Armstrong further refined the ‘feel’ by making the length of the first eighth note in a group of two slightly longer than the second. This altering of length gave the melodies he played a ‘lilting’ or ‘floating’ feel not found in New Orleans style jazz. Finally, Armstrong sang and played melodies which sounded ‘late’ compared to the same melody played in a ragtime or march style. This had the effect of further relaxing the ‘feel’ of the music. Although ‘Laying back’ or ‘back phrasing’ was common in interpretations of early blues songs by singers like Bessie Smith, Armstrong is considered to be the first instrumentalist to popularize the technique. The combination of softened accents, altering rhythmic feel and ‘laying back’ on the melody combine to produce the ‘swing’ feel which is prevalent in most styles of jazz.

Above are just a few of Armstrong’s many contributions to jazz. This list is by no means complete, nor does it include contributions he made to trumpet playing in terms of technical facility, range, or the inventiveness and originality of his solos.

As always, if you have comments or questions, please feel free to email me at twofieveone@hotmail.com

References: Marc C. Gridley, Jazz Styles: History and Analysis, Tenth Ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ 2009

TheJazz Linewww.jazzerie.com

Page 4 JazzErie Notes

COLONY PUB & GRILLE 2640 West 8th St. • 838-2162

Live jazz every Thursday:

Colony Club House Band featuring Gene Leone

SCOTTY’S JAZZ CLUB 301 German St. • 459-3800

Live jazz from 10 PM to 1 AM. $5 cover.

Call for January listings.

DOCKSIDER1015 State St. • 454-9700

Fri. Jan. 9, 10 PM Ahimsa Beat featuring G. Calvin Weston, avant funk

Schedules below reflect information available at the time of publication, and are subject to

change. Call Club to confirm.

THE BREWERIE at UNION STATION123 West 14th St. • 454-2200

Sat., Jan.3 Hard Luck Story blues band 10 PM – 1 AM

Fri., Jan. 9 Duke Sherman 9 PM – 1 AM

Fri., Jan. 16 Tri This 9 PM – 12 AM

Sat., Jan. 24 String Theory 9 PM – 12 AM

Sat., Jan 31 The Heliotropes 9 PM – 12 AM

ALTO CUCINA3531 West Lake Road

835-3900

Music weekends from 6:30 – 9:30 PM

Sat., Jan. 10 Sam Hyman Band

Sat., Jan. 24 The Heliotropes

Sat., Jan. 31 Sam Hyman, solo piano/vocals

Every Weds., 6:00 – 10:00 PM Sam Hyman

CONCERTS & AREA EVENTSERIE

MERCYHURST/D’ANGELO PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Fri., Feb. 13 -- 8 PM Jazz Ensemble Concert. Student vocal concert – standards in the jazz and big band repertoire.

Sat., Feb. 14 (Valentine’s Day) 8:00 PM Singer Robin McKelle Quartet,whose credentials range from appearances with the Boston Pops to the Blue Note, will be backed by her own band. Bring your sweetie. Event co-sponsored by JazzErie. Adults $35, Seniors/Students $30, Youth $15, Mercyhurst students $10.

Weds., Apr. 22 -- 7:30 PM. Jazz Mandolin Project. Multimedia project celebrates Earth Day with video, narrator and musical accompaniment to focus on “How Much Land Does A Man Need,” Tolstoy’s short story. Adults $20, Seniors/Students $15, Youth $12.50, Mercyhurst students $10.

CORRYSun. Feb. 8 Faith Evangelical Church Triumphant Swing Band. Visit the band’s website for directions, more information: www.triumphantswingband.com.

MEADVILLEBosco’s Restaurant & Bar continues to offer a Jazz Jam every Tuesday, 8 – 11 PM. Musicians are encouraged to sit in. For more information, contact Dan Hallett 814/336-1580.

PITTSBURGHManchester Craftsmen’s Guild, 1815 Metropolitan St., Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Call 412/322-0800 or visit www.mcgjazz.com.

Sat., Jan 31, 7:00 & 9:30 PM and Sun., Feb. 1, 2:30 PMTake Six, contemporary American a capella singing group, integrating R&B, jazz and gospel sounds. Tickets $39.50

Sun., Feb. 15, 2:30 PM. (Advance tickets are sold out.)Brubeck Brothers Quartet. Dave’s sons Daniel – drums, and bassist/trombonist Chris are joined by guitarist Mike DeMicco and pianist Chuck Lamb in eclectic concert of straight ahead jazz/fund – and unusual time signatures. Tickets $39.50.

Fri., Feb. 27, 7:00 & 9:30 PMKurt Elling seven times Grammy-nominated, six times winner of Downbeat critics and readers polls. With Lawrence Hobgood – piano, Rob Amster – bass, Ulysses Owens, Jr. or Kobie Watkins – drums.

Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild Spring Calender:

Mar. 7 Jimmy Heath QuartetMar. 14 Tierney Sutton BandApr. 4 Blue Note Records 70th AnniversaryApr. 16-19 Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz BandApr. 24 Luciana SouzaMay 7-10 John Pizzarelli

CLEVELANDTri-C Jazz Fest,

Cuyahoga Community College. Nothing new on the website at the time of this printing, but stay tuned. Dates for the Festival appear to be April 23 – May 3, 2009. A list of “Artists in Residence” has been posted, which includes hard bop tenor saxophonist Bill Pierce (his two most recent CD releases were with Mulgrew Miller, Ira Coleman Alan Dawson, Tony Reedus and Bill Mobley as sidemen. ‘Nuff said.) Other listed artists are trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, pianist Carlton Holmes and drummer Ron Savage. There’s also a list of local “Educators”: Ernie Krivda, Joe Hunter, Dave Sterner and Steve Enos. Part of the program is a High School Jazz Fest Experience, which will include the premier of a new work by vibraphonist Cecelia Smith, commissioned for the Jazz Fest. Watch the website: www.tricjazzfest.com.

Issue No. 165 Page 5

Nighttown Restaurant,12387 Cedar Rd., Cleveland Hts., OH 216/795-0550 www.nighttowncleveland.com.

Weds. & Thurs., Jan 14 & 15: 7 PM Weds. 8 PM Thurs., $30. cover. Elaine Elias, from Brazil, vocalist/ pianist and Blue Note recording artist

brings music from her new CD “Bossa Nova Stories.”

Sun., Jan. 18 7 PM $20 cover. Horns & Things. Saxophonists Kenny LeeGrande and J.T.Lynch, and their band.

Thurs., Jan. 22 8 PM $20. cover. Fahir Alakoglu Trio from Turkey, with Matthew Garrison – bass and Chris Almond – drums.

Sun., Jan. 25 7 PM $10 cover. Tracy Silverman, violinist from Turtle Island String Quartet with Jim Brinkman’s group.

Weds. Jan. 28 7 PM $20. Deep Blue Organ Trio from Chicago: Bobby Broom – guitar, Chris Foreman – Hammond B-3, Greg Rockingham – drums.

OTHER CLEVELAND AREA EVENTS:

Feb. 8, 8 PM FREE Cleveland State University, Drinko Hall, 2001 Euclid Ave. “Concert in Progress,” Howie Smith, saxophone.

Want your upcoming performance or special events listed in Jazz Line? Contact me at 814/734-4344 or rwtqveta12191@hotmail.com. Information must be received by the 15th of the month preceding publication (January 15th for the F issue). -Dick Thompson, ed.

• • • • •

JAZZERIE DISCUSSION GROUP

November 20, 2008by Charles Ventrello

Ed. note: Charles informs us that, while he is recovering from his illness, he will still be out of action for 3+ months. As he says: “Bummer.” The monthly meetings of this group continue, however.

Unfortunately, the November meeting was cancelled because of difficult weather conditions, the first time in ten and a half years of monthly meetings. If there is ever doubt concerning a meeting, please call me at 866-2731.

For lack of literary fodder I will improvise: Ambrose Bierce, caustic American writer and journalist has few peers at satirical impalement. His “Devil’s Dictionary” is a wry and cunning example. Suppose Bierce had directed his iconoclastic curmudgeonry toward jazz…..

audience, jazz, n. six rude fellows at the Village Canguard bar intent upon altering their attitudes with Johnny Walker while the Bill Evans Trio defines aural poetry nearby.

back beat, n. the beats which receive emphasis. In the performance of Jazz this is normally beats 2 and 4 of 4/4 time. As a demonstration of “hipness” the listener should at least nod his head on these beats and in some circumstances of extreme revelry may be required to clap the hands on said. As this practice is culturally dictated one should not be surprised upon visiting Greece or the Balkans to observe the natives snapping the fingers on back beats 5 and 7.

big band, n. usually a congregation of 17 members including 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 5 saxophones, 3 rhythm and an unnecessary leader who lends his name to the bus. Typically the bus arrives at the engagement with twenty minutes to spare whereupon the members are unleashed from their 15 hours passage from Cheboygan or some other rustic location. The members are to be commended, considering the deprivations associated with this lifestyle, for rising to the occasion and adhering to the aesthetic tenets of this genre, which are to play

higher, louder and faster than the band which appeared last weekend. Since this endeavor is primarily a showcase for brass instruments, the saxophonists, whose traditional position is at the front of the band, bear the brunt of this thunderous affront and are subsequently rendered deaf and vertiginous at an early age.

bridge, n. the middle section of a typical song comprised of a change in tonality and melody. Familiarity suffers in that the bridge is heard only once while the top and bottom are repeated three times. A bridge can evade the most accomplished of musicians, and fortunately, likewise for the average listener. The vaguery may attain such a degree as to allow the bridge of another song or a clever improvisation to satisfy all concerned.

head, n. the musical statement at the beginning of a jazz performance and a signal to the audience that they will not hear this beloved melody again for 12 to 20 minutes or more when, after the drum solo, the head will be repeated to the surprise and delight of the audience, which has forgotten what was being played.

Smooth Jazz, n. a genre of jazz employing studied and repetitious inflections creating a musical trip to Comatose City.

vamp, n. a chordal progression which can be played as long as necessary, often used as an introduction or to gain time and inform the bar owner that indeed the band is fulfilling its contractual obligation. This allows opportunity for the saxophonist to affix yet another reed to the mouthpiece, the trombonist to disgorge a pint of moisture from his slide to the dance floor and permit the drummer to extinguish a small blaze originating in his left jacket pocket. The errant partially consumed cigarette found, the band members join the patiently vamping pianist for another perfect performance.

Our next meeting: Thursday, January 15, 7:30 PM, Erie Art Museum Annex, 20 East Fifth St. Great recorded jazz, latest music news and stimulating dialogue.

Page 6 JazzErie Notes

JAZZERIE THANKS THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS

FOR THEIR SUPPORT

Gannon University, 109 University Square.MacDonald, Illig, Jones and Britton, Attorneys, 100 State Street, Suite 700.Glenwood Beer, 2177 W. Grandview Boulevard.Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center, Mercyhurst College.Erie Art Museum, 411 State Street.Glass Growers Gallery, 10 E. 5th Street.World of Music, 1355 W. 26th Street.Froess Pianos and Keyboards, 2558 W. 8th Street.Romolo Chocolates, 1525 W. 8th Street.Lynch Music, Rte. 9 & Rte. 20, Fairview.Erie Book Store, 137 E. 13th Street.Raven Sound, 2617 Peach Street.Edinboro University ofPennsylvania, EdinboroPenn State Erie, The Behrend College, WesleyvilleLake Erie Fanfare, 113 W. 10th Street.Coors BeerScott Enterprises/Ambassador Center, 8040 Peach StreetEast Erie Turners Club, 829 Parade Street.Mercyhurst College, 501 E 38th St.Second Hand Rose, 351 W 26th St.Frank CorapiRockErieBuilder’s Hardware 2002 W. 16th Street

WMCE Jazz from pg. 1...

Why the change at Mercyhurst? “We wanted to offer something different for the community,” said Leal. “That’s one of the goals of public radio.” The decision came after about a year of research and discussion among Leal – a 30-year radio veteran (the past 18 years in public radio) who became station director in May, 2007 – the college’s Communication Department, the administration, and a variety of folks from the community.

“There has been criticism of radio in Erie for having too many dual formats – two country stations, two rock, two sports, and two classical,” said Leal. “Well, there will be only one fulltime jazz station.” WCME shared a primary format of classical music with WQLN and that created a less than favorable situation for WMCE. “It’s difficult to get support for two classical music stations, and we felt that for many of our current listeners, we were their secondary station,” said Leal. “We are looking for an audience that will make us their first choice, and we hope to get – we need to get – that kind of support from jazz fans.” Another reason to leave classical for jazz, Leal said, is that recent research has shown that classical listenership in the past ten years has remained static, while the audience for jazz nationwide has grown by about six per cent.

Most of Jazz FM’s hours will come from another fulltime jazz outlet – WDUQ-FM at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. “Our partnership with them will be Jazz FM-s foundation,” says Leal. Also on the schedule are such high profile syndicated programs as “Jazz at Lincoln Center,” with trumpet and jazz education icon Wynton Marsalis, “Jazz Profiles,” hosted by veteran, Grammy-winning vocalist Nancy Wilson, and “Radio Deluxe,” featuring personable vocalist/guitarist John Pizzarelli and his cabaret/pop singing wife Jessica Molaskey.

A common denominator among the syndicated programs, aside from great jazz, is that through interviews and discussions chronicling the people,

places and events in jazz, they are informational and instructive. “We also plan to provide a significant number of local programs,” said Leal, adding that local hosts will be announced sometime between mid-January and February. Further, Jazz FM plans to offer special programs highlighting activities and events at Mercyhurst, such as D’Angelo Performing Arts Center performances.

“The other thing we want to emphasize is community jazz events, and we’re looking forward to taping live performances by some of our local jazz musicians,” Leal added. Down the line, he said, tapings could include performances by nationally known artists presented by JazzErie.

Jazz FM radio will cede radio news dominance to WQLN, running only one-minute national news updates each hour from the Associated Press. “Of course, we’ll carry news bulletins and continuing coverage of big stories,” said Leal. Two well established non-jazz programs will remain part of the Jazz FM schedule – “Despierta Latino” (9 AM – 1 PM Saturdays) and “Polka Celebration” (10 AM – 1 PM Sundays.) Finally, the station will carry a greatly reduced sports lineup, concentrating on major sports and rivalries, although additional sportscasts – all handled by students – will stream on the web separately from the streaming in jazz.

Leal also promises plenty of student involvement in Jazz FM. “We have about a half dozen students helping us get ready for the new format and once underway, as part of the Communication Department, the station will not only be a tool for students, but also we hope to get some students either on air or behind the scenes doing production work,” he said. “We

may also try to connect students with our local hosts.”

Leal said word is already getting around on the internet and elsewhere about the fulltime jazz format. “And I’m already hearing back from a number of people who are very excited about it,” he says. “We hope to make Jazz FM home for people who love jazz.”

Thanks to Erie Times-News. Bob Protzman is a nationally ranked jazz journalist.

JazzOn The Radio

WQLN FM (91.3)The Source for Jazz

Monday thru Thursday9:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Jazz Flight - Rob Hoff

Friday8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Bob ‘n Blues - Al Lubiejewski10:00 p.m. - Midnight

Deep Blue - Jason Gibbs

Saturday8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Saturday Swing Session-Bill Garts

11:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.Lush Life - Aubrey Dillion

Sunday6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Riverwalk - (Network)7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

“Jazz, Ballads & Blues”with Al Lubiejewski9:00 p.m. - Midnight“Everything Jazz”with Bob Protzman

CLaSSy 100 WXKC-FM (99.9)

Sunday9:00p.m. - 11:00p.m.

Jazz Tracks

WRIe-aM (1260)Sunday

7:00p.m. - 9:00p.m.Big Band Jump

WeRG-FM (90.5)Gannon University

8:00 - 11:00p.m.Dan Jones, “Mr. J”

Issue No. 165 Page 7

WMCe-FM (88.5 & 104.9)Mercyhurst College

The following programs hosted by nationally known figures will begin to appear during January/February 2009:

Mondays, 2 PM – “Jazz at Lincoln Center” with Wynton MarsalisTuesdays, 2 PM – “Jazz Profiles” with Nancy WilsonWednesdays, 2 PM – “Jazz Inspired” with pianist Judy CarmichaelThursdays, 2 – 4 PM – “Radio Deluxe” with John Pizzarelli, his trio, and wife, singer Jessica MolaskeySundays, 1 – 3 PM – “Jazz Variations” with Tania King. Jazz, blues and world music.

Hours devoted to regional jazz hosts will include:Monday through Friday, 6-10 AM and Mondays through Thursday, 3 – 6 PM: Bonnie Grice, a name familiar to Ohio NPR listeners – author, librettist, flautist, actor and aspiring singer.

Mondays through Friday, 10 AM – 2 PM: Jeff Fox, Associate Professor of English and Japanese, and working musician (sax, guitar & bass). 20 years in jazz radio.

Monday through Friday, 6 PM - 2 AM: Rony Mowed, president and founder of Pittsburgh Jazz Society, 40 years of involvement in jazz radio, receiving many awards.

Saturday and Sunday, 3 PM – midnight: Bob Studebaker, also from Pittsburgh. Active in public radio since 1980. Teaches “History of Jazz” at Carnegie Mellon’s Academy for Lifetime Learning.

The following comes to us from JazzErie member Harry Aldrich, who provides his explanation about origins of the term “jazz.” We welcome the contributions of other researchers.

What are its roots, and where did it get its name? I’ve read where Joe “King” Oliver claims he started jazz by combining ragtime and blues, and adding a tinge of Spanish. One of the great “jazz” tunes from that era was written by Oliver and Walter Melrose, called “Dr. Jazz,” so maybe that giver credibility to his claim.

Where did the actual name JAZZ come from? Well, here’s the skinny on that mystery. For years the strange, new, up-beat rhythms performed by musicians in and around New Orleans were referred to as JASS rhythms, with the word JASS coming from one of the African dialects. However, it was basically the New Orleans Creole musicians, who often had (European) musical training and could read and write music as well as improvise and play by ear, who took those rhythms and turned them into commercially acceptable songs.

Juke joints and small bistros would compete Saturday nights for business and often advertised that new music as JASS TONIGHT on “sandwich boards” out front of their place of business. After hours of drinking and dancing, and for a joke, the drunken patrons would sometimes come out and wipe the J off the sandwich board, so it would read…you guessed it…___ TONIGHT! After a while, one of the enterprising bistro owners got fed up with it all and took off the two SS letters from the word, replacing them with two ZZ letters, so it read JAZZ TONIGHT.

Now you know the rest of the story, and that is how we got the word “JAZZ” in our musical lexicon.

“JAZZ”

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The Monthly Newsletter of JazzErie

January 2009 Vol. 15, Issue 1

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