Think jazz, and usually dark, smoky lounges and basement nightclubs come to mind. Yet not Brazil and cruise ships. Yet, the Toledo Jazz Orchestra wants to remind you that Brazil and the cruise ships that rock with the rhythm of jazz just as often. Set sail with the TJO— without leaving the Glass City— as they dock at the Registry Bistro for two gigs full of flavor, harmony and South and Central American sounds.
Members of the TJO will team up with local performers, Chris Buzzelli and Kelly Broadway, for two performances to bring us music from south of the South— way down Brazil way.
A boss of bossa nova
First up, former Bowling Green State University music professor Chris Buzzelli will bring his guitar to harmonize with a collective of TJO performers as they embrace the sounds of the south seas on Tuesday, October 20. The performance will feature the smooth vocals of Maria Fricano DiPietro, Jay Ashby on trombone and percussion, Jordan Schug on bass and Olman Piedra also on percussion, the quintet takes us “To Brazil and Back,” with jazz-flavored rhythms from South and Central America.
For Buzzelli, the Brazilian sounds are anticipated. He says that Brazil has a strong music culture, with a relationship with jazz.
“In the early 1960s, the ‘bossa nova’ became very popular,” he described. “This was essentially a mixing of jazz harmonies with Brazilian rhythms. The most well-known proponent of this music was Antonio Carlos Jobim, composer of ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ and other popular bossa novas.”
Essentially, if you have ever been in an elevator, you’ve heard the pleasantly exotic sounds of bossa nova.
“The TJO approached me with the ‘Brazil’ idea. I suggested we add the ‘and Back’ part for a little more variety. We’ll be including some selections on the concert from other South and Central American traditions,” says Buzzelli, who recently performed with Kristin Chenoweth during her concert at the Stranahan Theatre.
Following Buzzelli, vocalist Kelly Broadway will bring “Cruise Ship Songs and Stories” to Registry on Thursday, November 17. Two other performances are planned in 2017— in May, The Great American Song Book with The Parker/Potter Quintet, and in June, Tribute to Ella featuring vocalist Lori Lefevre.
A shift in locale
The Black & White Transportation Bistro Series first emerged two years ago and allows for a nice change of venue for the performers, says Ron Kischuk, Artistic Director for the Toledo Jazz Orchestra.
“The bistro series are smaller groups, they’re combos, they’re not the full big band,” he explains. “It gives the audience an opportunity to be in a less formal setting, to hear a variety of performers— singers, guitarists, all kinds of different combos, and let them get up close and personal with the different players from the jazz orchestra. So it gives them a kind of access to the individual musicians that they don’t get when we’re doing just a theatre performance.”
Formerly held at the Toledo Club, the Black & White Transportation Bistro Series has moved to the Registry Bistro this year, but it really doesn’t matter where you hear the music, as long as you’re part of the audience.
“The idea of jazz is really fascinating in terms of… it’s always different. It will always depend on the combination of the musicians and, certainly, wherever they are in terms of their psyche,” Kischuk explains. “And it also involves the audience— what the audience feels, what they respond to. Part of what makes jazz succeed is the idea that the audience, whether they realize it or not, are actually participants in making the music.”
Sail away
For an intimate listening experience, and performances that are shifting, nuanced and evolving as the music being played, sail away with the TJO during the Black & White Transportation Bistro Series. Whether you’re a bossa nova pro, or new to the flavors, you’re in for a transformative experience.
And rest assured, this will not be 15 different permutations of the song “Kokomo.”
All performances are on Thursdays from 6-9pm at
Registry Bistro (144 N. Superior St.).
Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at toledojazz.org.
For more information, contact 567-280-OTJO.
