Coming to you a bit early this week for the annual Thanksgiving Jazz Guide! Kickoff the holiday weekend on Wednesday, November 27th with a strong slate. The New Dave DeWitt Trio finds keyboard maestro and a rare lineup starting the Thanksgiving Eve festivities at Woodlands Tavern at 5pm (info here) and fellow keyboard master Dave Powers entertains at his weekly Vittoria Ristorante gig at 6pm. Ryan Folger leads a strong ensemble at Brothers Drake at 8pm – learn more here – and an amazing Sanctuary lineup celebrates the Music of Miles Davis ’68-’75 at Natalie’s at 9pm – Interview with Tony McClung here. Finally, Aaron Scott’s November residency wraps up with a Phil Clark & THE SOUL “Holiday Season Kick Off Thanksgiving Eve” performance at Dick’s Den at 10pm. Keep reading for more Turkey Week jazz and This Week at Brothers Drake!
Thursday, November 28th – Thanksgiving Day: Unsurprisingly, the only jazz we know of is at “The One and Only” …home of jazz on holiday nights. The Jazz Pilgrims will make their annual appearance at Dick’s Den around 9pm. Led by Randy Mather on sax, the band also includes Jim Maneri on keyboard, Brett Burleson on guitar, Roger Hines on bass, and Max Button on drums. Get out of the house and relax with cheap drinks and timeless jazz!
Friday, November 29th: One good place to end up when done shopping is at the new Brothers Drake Meadery Polaris with the Blue Avenue Trio at 5pm. More info here, and look for jazz on a weekly basis at the new location soon! Other great dining and happy hour options include Andrew Waters at Vittoria Ristorante at 6pm, Anthony Jackson & Friends (without Anthony Jackson) at Two Truths (Short North) at 6pm, Dave Powers at Hyde Park Arlington at 6:30pm, and the triumphant return of trio jazz at Black Point: Lucas Holmes with Roger Hines & Aaron Scott at 6:30pm. At 8pm, jazzy soul songstress Adria Shahid enchants at the Blu Note Jazz Cafe (East Side) and the Emerald City Swing Orchestra gets you dancing off the calories at Emerald City Ballroom (Dublin). Also at 8pm, catch the very timely performance of “Black Friday: FLIPPO Plays Steely Dan” at the new The Blue Velvet Room at Snowden Gray Mansion – tickets and info here. On the heels of the release of its excellent Syzygy – read our review here – fo/mo/deep returns to Natalie’s at 9:30pm – only standing room tickets remained at press time, get them NOW here! Finally, Bryan Olsheski OGD brings a classic quartet to Dick’s Den at 10pm.
Saturday, November 30th: Somehow the fine options for fine food and alcohol don’t let up: Tony Hagood, Greg Wolfram & Addison Smith play Market District Kitchen & Bar (Bexley) at 6pm, Paul Strawser plays solo piano at Camelot Cellars (Olde Towne East) at 6pm, the evergreen Dave DeWitt TRio astounds at Hyde Park Arlington at 7pm, and vocalist Laura Camara is joined by Richard Lopez & Roger Hines for a big night at Black Point at 7pm. Acclaimed trumpeter Dwight Adams leads a band at Blu Note Jazz Cafe at 8pm, which is also when vocalist Talisha Holmes returns home with her Ensemble for the last music performance of the year at Streetlight Guild (Near East Side) – more info here. For you night owls, all-star drummer The Governor brings jazz and R&B to The Savoy Club (East Side) at 9pm, and Josh Hill’s worldly La Fete project plays Dick’s Den at 10pm.
Sunday, December 1st: Wrap up the weekend and ring in December with brunch! Derek DiCenzo Trio plays a “Holiday Brunch” at Natalie’s at 11am, Doug Neel and Tom Davis provide guitar duo enjoyment at Market District Kitchen & Bar at 11:30am, and the Erik Augis Trio continues to regale the crowd at Third and Hollywood at 11:30am. At 3pm, Jazz Masters Sessions Presented by Richard Lopez at Columbus Museum of Art gets into the spirit with “Light up the Holidays,” as Lopez brings cheer, and Blues with guitarists Tom Carroll and Sean Carney. The monthly 1st Sunday Jam Session with Lady Nikki and the Legends Band at The Savoy Club at 5pm continues to raise funds for the recovering Jeanette Williams, so stop by for great music for a great cause! The Dave Powers Trio plays the House Jazz Concert Series Annual Holiday Concert, and the last House Jazz Series event for a while after 10 years of great shows, at Clintonville Woman’s Club at 5:30pm – more info here. Bobby Floyd Trio continues its weekly party at The Blue Velvet Room at 6pm, which is also when Ryan Craycroft Trio accompanies a fine dinner at Barcelona – info here. Finally, the last jazz performance of the weekend is the weekly appearance by the Wally Mitchel Jazztet at Dick’s Den at 8pm – celebrate the holidays with “The Eastside Kid!”
This Week at Brothers Drake – Wednesday, December 4th
Alex Burgoyne: “This week at Brothers Drake, longtime Columbus music cornerstone, Ron Hope. Ron is a hand percussionist and band leader who has played with just about everyone in town, most notably with Yumbambe, Columbus’s most well-known (at least to me!) salsa outfit.
The band is full of some of my favorite musicians in town, all of whom have collaborated with Ron in and out of the Salsa world.
Ron, on the band and the music: ‘Eric Paton, Shane Willis, Steve Perakis, Jon Eshelman: some of my former bandmates with Yumbambe. Plus John Basom, Bobby Stewart, and Kenny Brown on vocals. We are going to do some Latin jazz and Soul Music and maybe a Christmas song or two.’
Don’t miss this excellent Columbus collective. They groove hard, and provide a great way to burn some Thanksgiving calories! Bring your dancing shoes!
Jazz Wednesday at Brothers Drake. 8:00-11:00PM. Free as always. You mead it.”
Happy Thanksgiving!