The Home of Jazz Music in Columbus, Ohio

I had a fantastic Jazz Night Out when I saw the Terell Stafford Quintet at the Lincoln Theatre on Thursday the 12th. Presented by Jazz Arts Group in collaboration with the King Arts Complex, the concert was an emphatic finale to the KAC’s “MLK: 50 Years Later” celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The program largely drew from the immense catalog of legendary trumpeter Lee Morgan, to whom Stafford paid tribute on 2015’s Brotherlee Love. Opener “Trapped” swung hard, with Stafford’s trumpet heavy and blazing, saxophonist Tim Warfield starting lighter but dancing into a fervor, pianist Bruce Barth issuing forth grand bursts and runs, and drummer Billy Williams delivering a high speed drum set workout. Morgan’s “Candy” was rendered as a duet by Stafford and Barth, with the former warm in the melody role and humorous on his solo, and Barth alternating between delicate and emphatic. Keep reading for more thoughts on the show as well as previews of Ali Affleck in from Scotland, the return of the From the Five Jazztet and Record Store Day jazz at Elizabeth’s! Read More →