December is certainly speeding by! If you haven’t had a chance to catch any holiday jazz yet, or simply need more, this weekend provides some great opportunities. On Thursday the 17th at 7:30pm, the Bobby Floyd Trio plays their annual Christmas show at Bungalow Jazz. Joined by his regular rhythm section of bassist Derek DiCenzo and drummer Reggie Jackson, piano master Floyd will spread some high-flying holiday cheer in this cozy house party setting. Next, while you may not be in New York City for the holidays, you can still experience world-class holiday jazz with the Bexley Library’s live-streaming presentation of the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Big Band Holiday Concert on Saturday the 19th at 2pm (more details here). And on Saturday at 8pm, Notes in the Brewery District presents the Dave Powers Trio performing the classic music from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in honor of the movie’s 50th anniversary. Joined by saxophonist Bryan Olsheski, Powers and crew will play music from the soundtrack followed by jazz renditions of Christmas classics. Tickets are available here.
Shows To See This Week
Thursday, December 17th (10pm – 2am): Ohio Swingtet at Dick’s Den. A group that guitarist Tom Davis debuted during his May Residency at Dick’s, this drummerless quartet will play its own distinct take on classic jazz. More details from Davis:
This is a group based on a group I was in over in Edinburgh called Dick Lee’s Swingtet (Dick Lee is an English clarinet/saxophone/tin-whistle player over there, and he’s one of my heroes). We play really swingy stuff a la George Barnes, Benny Goodman, Johnny Smith, et al, and as much of a ‘beguine’ as I know how to play. The tunes are mostly arranged, with harmonies or counterpoint between the clarinet and solo guitar. Plenty of time for improvisation in there though! Many of our arrangements are written or transcribed by Dick (and we play a lot of his tunes as well). My arrangements in the book were in large part a thank you gift to Dick for letting me take all his charts with me when I moved back here. We’ll try and lean kind of heavy on the Benny Goodman stuff in preparation for our tribute to Goodman at the Refectory on January 2nd. The Swingtet is one of my favorite formats to play in – very energetic but light on its feet.
Saturday, December 19th (6pm – 8pm): Evan Oberla & Friends at Brothers Drake. Trombonist and Columbus native Oberla is making a quick stop in town and found time for a homecoming jam. Now based in New Orleans, Oberla keeps busy with playing for Allen Stone, O.A.R., and Elle King along with leading a group called The Most Infamous. For this free show, Oberla will be joined by old friends Jake Levy (drums), Joey Gurwin (percussion), Mitchell Deitrick (bass), and Ryan Sullivan (guitar). If you’re headed elsewhere for the evening, stop by en route for some uptempo funky favorites.
Saturday, December 19th (10pm – 2am): Tony Monaco Trio at Park Street Tavern. Internationally-regarded organist Monaco kicks off a run of relaxed holiday shows with his annual stop at the Tavern. Joined by one of his top-notch rhythm sections, Monaco will present a festive evening of vocal classics, instrumental burners, and tunes in between. If you are looking for more organ cheer next week, you can also catch Monaco at a free show at Woodlands Tavern on Monday the 21st at 8pm and at his regular Tuesday gig at Rumba Cafe, with guitarist Josh Hill and drummer Tony McClung, on Tuesday the 22nd at 9pm.
Have a great week! Here’s some holiday cookin’ from Tony Monaco: