Bucky Pizzarelli obviously gets a kick out of playing "Tangerine."
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The 19th Swinging Year at
The Atlanta Jazz Party

Text and Photos by John Bitter

Traveling jazz fans from 29 states and Canada gathered at the Westin Atlanta North Hotel for the 19th Annual Atlanta Jazz Party (AJP), held the third weekend in April. The party is a sure sign of Spring, as was the bright sun, blue skies and balmy southern breezes which heralded this popular event. The majority of patrons arrived from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia. Festival presenters Lee and Phil Carroll's 2008 All-Stars hailed from California, New Jersey, New York, New Orleans, Florida, Michigan and North Carolina. Saxophonist Jim Galloway came from Toronto by way of Scotland, and bassist Nicki Parrott came from New York City by way of Australia.

PHOTO ALBUM
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Atlanta Jazz party producers Lee and Phil Carroll were dancing cheek to cheek.

Many of the 21 All-Stars have often shared a bandstand, and 20 of them are AJP veterans and favorites of the Carroll family who happily run this joyous musical affair. This year's only newcomer was drummer Pete Siers from Ann Arbor, Mich., home of Phil Carroll's beloved alma mater, the University of Michigan. This year's brass stalwarts included cornetists Ed Polcer and Bob Schulz, trumpeter Duke Heitger and trombonists Dan Barrett and Bob Havens. Reed players, always mainstays of the weekend, included clarinetist Allan Vaché (logging his 19th year at Atlanta), clarinet/tenor saxists Tom Fischer and Dan Levinson and soprano saxophonist Jim Galloway. Pianists featured were Mark Shane and Johnny Varro and AJP perennial favorite John Cocuzzi who doubled on vibes. Bassists included the affable and ever popular Frank Tate, vivacious Nicki Parrott and multi-instrumentalist Vince Giordano, who switches from string bass to bass sax so quickly that there appears to be two of him. Alternating in the important drum chair were Joe Ascione, Ed Metz, Jr. and the aforementioned Pete Siers. Last year's guitarists, Bucky Pizzarelli and Matt Munisteri, returned for well-deserved encore performances. This year's female vocal spot was anchored by Banu Gibson. On her Friday evening set, Banu acknowledged the presence of Trey Carroll (Phil Carroll III), whom she had serenaded and held, as a baby, 15 years earlier in 1993. She crooned, "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" to the embarrassed and delighted Trey.

The weekend kicked off Friday night with a nifty septet led by West Coast cornetist Bob Schulz and including Havens, Fischer, Shane, Munisteri, Parrott and Metz. The tone was set for the weekend as the band played a combination of traditional warhorses, standards and stray pop tunes. "Beale St. Blues," "Riverboat Shuffle," "I May Be Wrong" and "All By Myself" featured all comers, while "Memories Of You" displayed the considerable talents of clarinetist Tom Fischer.

June 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag

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