A Central Jersey jazz weekend

This weekend offers local jazz fans a feast and a festival ... Princeton's Jazz Feast on Saturday, and Sunday's Somerville Jazz Festival. Both have great lineups -- can you make both?

Princeton's feast opens with the Princeton University Jazz Ensemble -- a top notch group -- and follows with the New Legacy Jazz Band. Bucky Pizzarelli returns at 2:30 to help accompany Nicki Parrott -- that will be a great treat.

The afternoon is rounded out with The Fins and Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks will wrap things up.

Sunday's fun begins at 1 p.m. and has a fabulous lineup: The Curtis Brothers, "Sweet Papa" Lou Donaldson, Melissa Walker and the great Louis Hayes to close it. Last year, the festival ended with Jimmy Heath -- do I see a pattern here? If so, it's a good one!

Both events are downtown and outside, so plan on getting in early for the best spots.

Thursday in Princeton

Came across Adam Parker-Lavine and friends playing at Princeton's Farmers Market today:





Sorry for the lo-fi audio, but it's always nice to hear live music enhancing a gathering.

Jazz in Jersey City Friday

If you've a taste for jazz delivered fresh, head to Casa Dante in Jersey City, Friday. Laura Hull will be joining Vic Juris and Steve LaSpina for a set starting at 7:30 p.m.
If you've not heard Ms. Hull, be sure to visit her website; ditto for Mr. Juris, one of the best guitarists in the area. They should make a great combination.Ms. Hull is not only one of New Jersey's busiest performers, she's also the current president of the New Jersey Jazz Society.
Casa Dante is at 737 Newark Ave.

New Brunswick project taking off

New Brunswick is an often-overlooked oasis of terrific jazz, much of it safely cocooned within Rutgers' scattered venues.

Recently, a group of in-town jazzbos launched the New Brunswick Jazz Project, aimed at increasing the visibility and awareness of jazz in the Queen City. Headed by Rutgers prof – and Posi-Tone Records artist -- Ralph Bowen, the group has emerged as a solid source of jazz performers around town. I had a chance to review Bowen's Due Reverence for AllAboutJazz.com recently – you can read the review here.

The group has been organizing events in recent weeks, and Thursday, saxophonist Todd Bashore and his quartet will perform at Makeda at 338 George St. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., runs to 11 p.m., and there's no cover charge. The quartet includes pianist Orrin Evans, Yasushi Nakamura on bass, and Chris Brown on drums.

This show is a bit of a tune-up date for the group, which will be recording in August, ahead of Bashore's departure to hook up with the Max Weinberg Big Band for an upcoming tour.

Summertime, and the re-issues are jumpin' ...

It's the middle of the summer, apparently not the best time to release a new CD. For those willing to try, beware of the competition!
According to AllAboutJazz.com's CD release schedule, this month has been rife with re-issues. From John Coltrane to Charles Mingus, Louis Armstrong to Bill Evans, it's been a crowded field of big names. Revamped, re-issued, reworked or re-mastered, it's a tough crowd to go against.
Next month perks up, though, with releases from Dave Liebman, Esperanza Spalding, Brian Bromberg, Vijay Iyer, Kenny Werner and Jeff Berlin.