Regardless of how high the bar of expectation is extended by legendary artists like Alice Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Geri Allen, and Mary Lou Williams, there’s always space in the galaxy for aspiring generations to reach the sky.
One such young multi-instrumentalist and composer is Roella Oloro, lighting up Women’s History Month for one night only on March 22, at Jazz Forum (1 Dixon Lane, Tarrytown). Make it a point to experience this exciting young artist, who blazes across genres from hard-bop to standards and her impressionable originals.
The British-born artist of Nigerian and Jamaican descent leads a flyin’ trio that sounds like a larger group of musicians as she effortlessly moves from piano bench to centerstage, dropping burning alto sax melodies. While at home in small configurations, she has written for a variety of different ensembles. Her composition for Symphonic Wind Orchestra, “La Voyage de la Riviere,” premiered at the Berklee Performance Centre in December 2022, seven years after she initially composed it at age 17. In 2018, she was offered a full scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music.
At Berklee, she received tutelage from professors such as NEA Jazz Masters Terri Lyne Carrington, Joanne Brackeen, and spirited saxophonist Tia Fuller. In 2022, she studied with multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding at Harvard as part of Spalding’s Black Improvisational Music and Dance class.
She appears for one night only, two shows at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., which should energize you enough to become a true fan. For reservations, visit jazzforumforthearts.org.
On March 20-21, Jazz Forum features NEA Jazz Master pianist, composer, and educator Joanne Brackeen. She will be accompanied by the consummate first-call bassist Ugonna Okegwo, having performed with everyone from Lionel Hampton to Kenny Barron, and Michael Brecker; and resourceful drummer Matt Wilson, whose at-home clocking over 13 albums as a leader or playing alongside such artists as Herbie Hancock, Antonio Hart, Marshall Allen, and Christian McBride.
Brackeen’s early performances with innovators Dexter Gordon, Chick Corea, and Ornette Coleman inspired her to play outside boundaries, find the inner core or an outer realm of extension. Having recorded over 20 albums as a leader, her trios have featured the likes of Jack DeJohnette, Billy Hart, and Cecil McBee. She is a professor at the Berklee College of Music and at The New School. Brackeen’s curiosity consistently pushes her to stretch jazz boundaries. Two shows each night at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. For reservations, visit jazzforumforthearts.org.
If music is the spirit of the soul, then more music temples — commonly known as jazz clubs — are needed. All those great jazz clubs are gone from swing street (52nd Street), the Lower East Side’s Loft scene, Boondocks, Slugs, Sweet Basil, Sweet Rhythm, Bradley’s, Mikell’s, to the Lenox Lounge and Count Basie’s in Harlem, where Roy Haynes told me, “Cats would rather go to Harlem than Heaven.”
Following the COVID pandemic and New York City’s ongoing gentrification, Jazzcultural, a new, much-needed jazz club, has risen from the rubble of jazz’s past. Spike Wilner, proprietor of Smalls and Mezzrow, has renovated one of Manhattan’s old stomping grounds — the former Swing46, located on the fabled Restaurant Row at 349 West 46th Street (formerly Red Blazer Too), a music venue with an interesting, storied past. Restaurant Row captures a time when swinging rhythms lingered like a hip rainbow over the many clubs that lined the street, in the ground floors of brownstone tenements.
Wilner may start a new trend with his Jazzcultural, deviating from the normal jazz club night activity. “We conceived of a place that will open early in the morning for breakfast and [with] coffee service until 5 p.m., an easy environment for hanging and socializing,” said Wilner during an interview with the publication West 42nd Street. The café is connected to a 98-seat, state-of-the-art concert hall (ticketed-priced venue) with incredible sound, top-of-the-line equipment, and a stage large enough to hold an 18-piece orchestra, for ticketed shows and serious jazz concerts (no eating allowed in the concert hall).
Jazzcultural is dedicated to Wilner’s mentor and teacher, legendary NEA Jazz Master pianist, composer, and educator Barry Harris. In the 1980s, Harris, along with bassist Larry Ridley and jazz impresario and publisher Jim Harrison, created The Jazz Cultural Theater, where Harris taught music classes, and which also hosted live performances and workshops. “I spent the earliest years of my career at his theater basking in the glow of the real jazz legacy of this city,” said Wilner. “The Jazz Cultural Theater had concerts, home-cooked food, and of course Barry’s continuous teaching.” The new club gets its name from the theater — Jazzcultural.
Like his West Village jazz clubs, Wilner is keeping live music affordable for the average jazz fan. At Jazzcultural evening performances in the café/bar section will be priced at $25 plus a one-drink minimum, while seating in the dedicated listening room will be $40 plus a drink. There will be no cover charge during the café’s day hours.
The opening weekend, March 20-22, features the Jesse Davis Quartet with pianist Spike Wilner, bassist John Webber, and special guest drummer Lewis Nash with two sets at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. followed by master pianist and vocalist Johnny O’Neal and his Trio featuring bassist Joseph Ranieri, and drummer Itay Morchi at 10:30 p.m. The following weekend, March 27-29, brings NEA Jazz Master George Coleman Sr. and Quintet (two sets at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.), followed by the Eric Wyatt Quartet. By April, operating days will extend to Wednesday through Sunday, eventually expanding to full-time hours in the very near future. For tickets, visit jazzcultural.com.