Another week of December means more great holiday jazz, including two blockbuster smooth jazz shows on Friday that we detailed earlier this week: Urban Jazz Coalition and Dave Koz! Organ master Tony Monaco brings a trio to Park Street Tavern for his annual holiday show there on Thursday, December 8th at 9pm, and the new Tony Monaco Quartet (with Randy Mather, Derek DiCenzo and Aaron Scott) plays a Christmas Show at Natalie’s on Wednesday the 14th at 9pm. Coffee Underground, located near the OSU campus at 2141 Indianola Avenue, presents its Jazz Christmas Show with the cheerful jazz-pop of the Liz Woolley Band on Friday the 9th at 7pm. Urban Jazz Coalition continues its busy weekend by returning to Heritage Christian Church (7413 Maxtown Road, Westerville) to lead its Christmas Singalong on Saturday at 5:30pm and Sunday at 9:30 and 11:30am. Vocalist Shane D. Wilson leads a Holiday Show at Java Central in Westerville with New Orleans-styled seasonal favorites on Saturday at 7pm. Finally, the latest installment of pianist Richard Lopez’s Jazz Masters Sessions at the Columbus Museum of Art is “Happy Holidays: A Jazz Family Celebration” on Sunday at 3pm. The show features Louise Salvador on vocals and her son Bryan Olsheski on saxophone joining Lopez and his trio for joyous holiday hits.
Shows To See This Week
Saturday, December 10th (9:30pm – 12:30am): Ukulele Cowboy Society at Club Diversity. A strong element of the recently reinvigorated jazz schedule at this welcoming Brewery District bar is this Columbus-based “Cabaret Jazz and Bohemian Swing” duo. Comprised of Jesse Chandler on vocals, ukulele, and percussion and Michael Kaplan on ukulele and baritone ukulele, the group recently celebrated the seven year anniversary of its first show. Chandler, who tells me that the duo has big things coming up in 2017, shared a few thoughts about Saturday’s FREE show: “The Ukulele Cowboy Society will be entertaining the crowd at Diversity with jazz and swing standards, bohemian cabaret, and a few songs selected for the Holiday Season!”
Sunday, December 11th (6 – 7pm and 7:30 – 8:30pm): Houston Person with the Bobby Floyd Trio at Notes. While Floyd’s weekly showcase continues to gain momentum, the trio will tweak the format a bit this week to welcome a true jazz legend. Tenor saxophonist Person, who recently celebrated his 82nd birthday, is renowned as a leader and sideman in myriad jazz styles, and has played with a list of greats that includes Ron Carter, Bill Charlap, Charles Earland, Lena Horne, Etta Jones, Lou Rawls, Horace Silver, Dakota Staton, Cedar Walton, Don Patterson, Grant Green, Sonny Phillips, Johnny “Hammond” Smith, Richard “Groove” Holmes and many more. For this event, Person and the trio will play two separate hour-long shows, with Floyd playing piano for the 6pm show and switching to the Hammond B3 organ for the 7:30pm show. Expect festive holiday favorites and warm, swinging standards played at the highest level. Tickets are $20 per show and $30 for both – click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Wednesday, December 14th (8 – 11pm): John Allen Duo and Trio at Brothers Drake. Bassist and composer Allen has prepared a special show in two formats for this FREE Jazz Wednesday event. As Allen told me: “I’ll be performing with Justin Dickson on saxophones and Willie Barthel on drums. I will showcase Justin with a few duo tunes inspired by Joe Henderson’s later duo recordings with Christian McBride. With the trio we will cover favorite standards of ours and some originals of mine.”
Have a great week! Enjoy a few videos of this week’s featured artists: