Mike Barris & Friends Salute Django, Satchmo, Bessie
in March 27 "Reckless Steamy Nights" concert

 

A salute to Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Bessie Smith and other giants of pre-war jazz and blues is on tap Friday, March 27 at a "Reckless Steamy Nights" concert with Mike Barris & Friends.

The tribute, which continues the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation's weekly concert series at the Woman's Club of Red Bank, features the lead guitar of Vincent Corrao, the trumpet of Tom Bender, the clarinet of Lou Manzelle, the voice of Jennifer Jordan, and the rhythm guitar and knowledge of jazz lore of Mike Barris.

Music goes from 8:30 to 11 p.m. at the historic Sen. Anthony Reckless Estate, 164 Broad St., Red Bank, NJ 07701. A donation of $10 is suggested, in support of scholarship programs sponsored by the Woman's Club of Red Bank and the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation. Snacks will be provided.

It's the group's fifth such tribute to early jazz and blues stars, and promises, like its predecessors, to be a fun, dynamic evening of great solos, driving rhythm, passionate singing and fascinating musical trivia. "This music is the very soul of jazz," declares Mike, who writes on jazz, blues and musicianship for Acoustic Guitar, Jazz Journal International and The Asbury Park Press. "Not only are we highlighting the achievements of Django, Satchmo and Bessie. We're also spotlighting the composers like George Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael who wrote many of the classic tunes on which jazz artists base their improvisations. So there will be a mix of great musical moments and interesting facts about the people who created this music."

Barris, whose pulsating rhythm guitar relentlessly drives the band, is a veteran of the New York-New Jersey club and
festival scene. The Elberon resident, whose byline also is regularly seen in The Wall Street Journal, taught a long-running Frank Sinatra music-appreciation class at Brookdale Community College.

Guitarist Vinnie Corrao, a resident of Point Pleasant, has performed at Carnegie Hall with Ruby Braff and George Barnes. The effortlessly swinging soloist has also worked such New York clubs as The Blue Note and Sweet Basil's. Corrao was part of an all-star big band put together by pianist Tommy Flanagan that backed Ella Fitzgerald on Johnny Carson's "Tonight" Show. He also worked with Zoot Sims, Chet Baker and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis as part of the Newport Jazz Festival in Europe.

Trumpeter Tom Bender, who has been with the group since its debut at "Reckless Steamy Nights" in 2006, has shared the stage with Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Cecil Payne and Lou Donaldson and has worked with Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Orlando in a career that has taken him from Romania to Lake Tahoe to the Blue Note. Blessed with a big, thrilling sound reminiscent of his idol, Bunny Berigan, the Middletown resident has also performed with the Monmouth Symphony Orchestra and The Jazz Lobsters.

Red Bank's Jennifer Jordan, best known locally as the vocal powerhouse behind Terraplane Blues and an oft-featured artist at the Red Bank Jazz & Blues Festival, puts her own stamp on such Bessie Smith chestnuts as "After You've Gone" and "I Need A Little Sugar in My Bowl." Jennifer has shared stages with such legends as Buddy Guy and Koko Taylor and has been nominated multiple times for the Asbury Music Awards as top female vocalist.

Louis Manzelle is a Highlands-based clarinetist whose clear, cool tone has been heard with the society bands of Lester Lanin -- the King of New York Dance Bands - and Meyer Davis. The Julliard-trained Manzelle has played The White House and the wedding of Princess Diana and Price Charles.

For more information, contact mike@mikebarris.com