After presenting mostly other styles in August and September, the Dick’s Den Wednesday residency program makes an emphatic return to jazz next month. October’s installment will be led by bassist and educator Roger Hines (photo by Sandra Holmes), whose resume includes years of recording and touring with Ray Charles and sixteen years as musical director for Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Diane Schuur. His connection with Schuur continues to this day, as he will play a week of shows with her band at Birdland in NYC in November. Hines was kind enough to provide details and chat with me about his planned performances, which cover a wide array of jazz styles in partnership with a cast of great musicians from Columbus and far beyond! Keep reading to learn more. Each Wednesday’s show will run from about 9:30pm to 1:30am, and cover is $5.
Wednesday, October 4th: Brett Burleson Band. Hines: “This group recently recorded an album with Brett as leader called Songs For My Friends at the famous Mus-I-Col Studios here in Columbus. We will be performing Brett’s compositions along with some high energy standards.” The lineup for the evening is Brett Burleson: guitar, Eddie Bayard: sax, Roger Hines: bass, and Shane Willis: drums. Read the JazzColumbus review of the album here.
October 11th: Fa 2. Hines told me he is very excited for this performance with this group he works with often which will add special guests. Fa 2 has been described as: “Comprised of the finest musicians of the Columbus area and beyond, Fa 2 brings unparalleled experience and expertise to the stage; from the infectious rhythms of Brazilian samba and bossa nova to the swinging sounds of jazz.” Hines: “The core group is led by French drummer Antoine Fatout. Kris Keith will play flute and sax, and Stan Smith is on guitar. This special night will include vocalist Maggie Green, and special guest vocalist from Bahia, Brazil, Marcos Costa. He sings with the Afro-bloco Carnaval band Ilê Aiyê.” The program will include songs sung by Green and Costa together, which will be a treat.
October 18th: A Tribute to Pianist Bob Allen. Hines: “Many remember Bob from his long stay at the Christopher Inn and the Hyde Park Grille. Bob graduated from Capital University and has many degrees in Jazz he earned from the ‘street.’ I played with him for many years before he passed away. Joining me will be Richard Lopez on piano, and Bob’s son Aaron Scott on drums.” For more insight into Columbus legend Allen, revisit our interview with Scott before a 2016 tribute here.
October 25th: Nova Madrugada. Hines: “This is my group which is co-led by my musical brother guitarist Stan Smith. We will feature the compositions of Stan and myself. This group has performed for many years, and still is new and fresh sounding and constantly evolving with the various musicians that join us.” Hines is very happy to have percussionist Ron Hope back on the bandstand after dealing with health issues: “He makes everything go smoothly. I love it when Ron’s playing.” The band for the evening will consist of Mark Donovan: saxes, Alex Burgoyne: saxes, Stan Smith: guitar, Roger Hines: basses, Danny Aguiar: drums, and Ron Hope: percussion.
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Check out video of Costa in action: