Joe Miller was the impressive leader of a quartet at the Venice Jazz at Two concert on Nov. 2.  He is a versatile player, adept in classical to jazz styles, and is a frequent alternate in the Dixie Spirit band at Venice.

Continued: Jazz in the Sun

The fine Sarasota Jazz Ensemble directed by Ronnie Drumm performed a concert of big band tunes at the Venice Community Center on Nov. 5. Singer Mary Beth McLeod was powerful on her selections. The first set included "The Swinger," "Wind Machine" and Basie and Ellington tunes. A Stan Kenton set offered a range of tunes dating back to the 1940s. The opener was "Painted Rhythm," and the closer a medley of "Eager Beaver," "Opus in Chartreuse, "Dynaflow" and "Artistry in Rhythm."

The Dixie Spirit band resumed on Thurday evenings at T.J. Carney's in Venice in mid-October. Guest players on Nov. 6 included trumpeter John Evers from Vienna, Austria. Evers leads the internationally-known Blue Note Six in Vienna and formerly was a winter resident in Sarasota.

The last Venice Jazz at Two on Dec. 7 presented Bud Leeds and Friends, with Leeds sponsoring Joe and Paul Midiri of New Jersey in a concert at Bay Indies Hall that evening. He brought the Midiris' sextet to Venice for four years for annual Jazz Affair events.

Trombonist Greg Nielsen lead The Flip Side in a Sarasota Jazz Club concert on Dec. 6 at Holley Hall. Nielsen's quartet plays a Charlotte County society concert on Jan. 12 with the Mike and Kitt Moran group. Leaders at Sarasota Jazz at Two on Fridays in the Bayfront Room were to be Sara Egglefield on Dec. 5, Betty Comora on Dec. 12, and Doug Cameron on Dec. 19.

Suncoast Society evening concerts at Coconuts Comedy Club in Clearwater offered bands led by Tom Barrett Dec. 4 and Bobby Tess on Dec. 18. The Bob Crosby Bobcats will play the society's Christmas dinner-dance Dec. 11 at Banquet Masters in Pinellas Park, Fla.

Our travels include the JazzSea Caribbean cruise Jan. 3-10, at which the Buck Creek Jazz Band will play its final gig. Other bands are the Climax Jazz Band, Grand Dominion Jazz Band, Bob Schulz's Frisco Jazz Band, the Jammers led by Dick Williams and Tex Wyndham. and Tim Allan's Banjos Aweigh.

Happy holidays to jazz friends until my next column in February.

Austrian trumpeter John Evers played with Dixie Spirit band at T.J. Carney's on Nov. 6.  He spent about three months annually in Sarasota until about a decade ago.  His band is popular around Europe for concerts, TV and other dates. 

December 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag

P.O. Box 19068, Minneapolis, MN 55419.