SJFS 2012 recap May 7, 2012

Posted by Mike C. in Film, Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Video.
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Other SJFS recaps: 2008, 2008 meet-and-greet, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 Night 1, 2013 Night 2, 2014 Night 1, 2014 Night 2, 2015 Night 1, 2016 Night 1, 2016 Night 2, 2017 Night 1, 2017 Night 2, 2018 Night 1, 2018 Night 2, 2019 Night 1, 2019 Night 2, 2022 Night 1, 2022 Night 2

Jay Rowe‘s tenth annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars began with:
1. Hit the Bricks
Featured musicians: Foran High School Jazz Band

Jay came out at the end of the song.  Hidden from view was Dave Anderson on bass, seen here one song later:

Rounding out Jay’s band was his Special EFX bandmate Lionel Cordew on drums:

And Steve Scales (left) on percussion:

It was an overcast evening outside the Parsons Complex Auditorium in Milford, Connecticut.  But inside, the sun was shining.  This year’s show featured guitarists Rohn (“Ron”) Lawrence, Nick Colionne, and Chieli Minucci; and saxophonists Paul “Shilts” Weimar, Paul Taylor, and Nelson Rangell.

After we “Hit the Bricks,” Kevin McCabe and keyboardist Jay Rowe introduced the rest of the show:

Then back to the music:
2. Rosemary’s Tune (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: “Live at Daniel Street,” 2011
Featured musician: Rohn Lawrence (guitar)

Video:

3. Lambeth Strut (Shilts)
Originally heard on: “Going Underground,” 2010
Featured musicians: Shilts (tenor saxophone), Nick Colionne (guitar)

4. Seeing Things Clearly (Shilts)
Originally heard on: “Going Underground,” 2010
Featured musician: Shilts

At the 2010 SJFS, someone in the audience requested “Rainy Night in Georgia” for Nick Colionne.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t on the set list that night, but on this night, the audience got their wish:
5. Rainy Night in Georgia (Nick Colionne; Brook Benton cover)
Originally heard on: “It’s My Turn,” 1994; “Keepin’ It Cool,” 2006
Featured musician: Nick Colionne (vocals/guitar)

6. Pleasure Seeker (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: “Pleasure Seeker,” 1997
Featured musicians: Paul Taylor (soprano sax), Chieli Minucci (guitar)

7. Uptown East (Special EFX)
Originally heard on: “Slice of Life,” 1986
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci, Paul Taylor

8. Exotica (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: “On the Horn,” 1995
Featured musicians: Paul Taylor, Chieli Minucci

9. Mystical (Chieli Minucci & Special EFX)
Originally heard on: “Sweet Surrender,” 2007
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci, Shilts, Nelson Rangell (alto sax)

10. Good Evans (Shilts)
Originally heard on: “HeadBoppin,” 2006
Featured musician: Shilts

“Good Evans” began with solo piano from Jay:

With a little help from Steve Scales:

Then, Shilts and the rest of the band joined in:

11. Free as the Wind (Nelson Rangell; The Crusaders cover)
Originally heard on: “Soul to Souls,” 2006
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell

Nelson originally performed this song on tenor sax, but he went with soprano here:

Jay had a wild piano solo:

Nelson also had a very involved solo:

Video:

12. The Warmth of the Sun (Jay Rowe; The Beach Boys cover)
Originally heard on: “Jay Walking,” 1997
Featured musicians: Foran High School Select Ensemble Chorus (Director: Theresa Voss), Nelson Rangell, Rohn Lawrence

In a move many didn’t see coming, at least not me…

Marion Meadows made a surprise appearance!

13. Suede (Marion Meadows)
Originally heard on: “Player’s Club,” 2004
Featured musicians: Marion Meadows, Rohn Lawrence

14. Funky Broadway (Wilson Pickett cover)
Featured musicians: Rohn Lawrence (vocals/guitar), Paul Taylor (alto sax), Shilts, Nelson Rangell

Paul switched to alto sax for the rest of the show:

15. The Night is Ours (Chieli Minucci & Special EFX)
Originally heard on: “Without You,” 2010
Featured musician: Chieli Minucci

Another Jay solo:

And one from Chieli:

Nelson Rangell introduced the next song this way:

This next tune that we’re gonna do for you is something that I wrote.  And the title is not for the new movie that’s out, but it’ll do.  This is called “A New Avenger.”

16. A New Avenger (Nelson Rangell)
Originally heard on: “Soul to Souls,” 2006
Featured musician: Nelson Rangell

“A New Avenger” featured solos by Lionel Cordew, Steve Scales, and Dave Anderson.

Lionel went first:

Steve was next:

And then, it was Dave’s turn:

Getting back to Nelson:

(NOTE: Pictures from the next two songs, and some from the finale, are screencaps, which I cropped, sharpened, and magnified in Adobe Photoshop 7.0.)

17. Sonora (Nelson Rangell; Hampton Hawes cover)
Originally heard on: “Destiny,” 1995 (alto sax); “My American Songbook, Vol. 1,” 2005 (whistling and piccolo)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell, Chieli Minucci

It wouldn’t be a Nelson Rangell show without whistling:

Dave Anderson switched acoustic bass for this song:

Nelson switched to piccolo (below) after Chieli’s solo (above):

After a quick applause, Nelson whistled solo for about a minute before the band rejoined him.

He took a bow as he got another round of applause:

Video:

18. Prime Time (Paul Taylor)
Originally heard on: “Prime Time,” 2011
Featured musicians: Paul Taylor, Shilts, Nelson Rangell

19. Some Funky (Nick Colionne)
Originally heard on: “Feel the Heat,” 2011
Featured musicians: Nick Colionne, Rohn Lawrence

Nick’s guitar solo:

20 (Finale). Godfather J (Nick Colionne)
Originally heard on: “No Limits,” 2008
Featured musicians: Everyone (Nick – vocals)

“Godfather J” is a tribute to James Brown.  Nick channeled the Godfather of Soul throughout the song.

Nick took to the audience:

Back on stage, Chieli played lying down for a while:

Kevin McCabe came out to drape Nick’s jacket on him:

Jay briefly left his keyboards to “play” Chieli’s guitar:

That’s it!

This was the wildest Smooth Jazz for Scholars I’ve ever attended!  Who knows what next year’s show (or shows?) will bring?  Here’s to ten more years, and many more after that!