Submitted by Al Kanovsky 02/03/14
As the years went by, certain things
beginning with the letter 'S' became more important to me. The numbrer of Sox
that were in my drawer, the frequency or infrequency of Sex and most of all the
opportunity to listen to talented Sax players. This week I was blessed to hear
generations of saxophonists from way back in the day to the JAZZ men of
tomorrow. Age 11 to 82 and all in between.
Ira Sullivan (sax/flute/flugelhorn/trumpet) could be the father of
some, the grandfather of many and the great-grandfather of several. Wednesday
night at The Fish House in Kendall, owners Angela and Jose hosted a fund-raiser
to aid Autism research & awareness ( AUTISM SPEAKS ) . David Leon generally leads their regular Wednesday Night
JAZZ jam. As a guest host he had the aforementioned Ira Sullivan. The house band
had Josh Allen on bass, Kyle Swan on drums, David playing alto and Aaron Lebos
on guitar. Side note: Aaron's CD release party at the Stage tonight). They open
with "Star Eyes" and Kyle makes an immediate impression with his "tasty" style.
Next they play Benny Golson's "Sabileinto". Ira now playing flugelhorn with
David and Aaron sharing the spotlight. Mark Berner (flute) joins them for a very
sentimental "Quiet Nights and Quiet Stars". When they do "Olio" David turns in a
4 star solo---sax,sax,sax! Ira and Kyle team up for a great sax-drum portion.
The Jam Session is on. Ian Munoz (L'il JAZZ) is 11 years old. His alto sax is not
much shorter than the boy. He plays like a seasoned JAZZist and loves being on
stage. He is joined by other talented youngsters during the course of the Jam
including Jose Albizu (bass), Conner Munro (tenor), ?Flores (guitar) who do the
opener "Donna Lee".
Ben
Suarez (guitar) and Kelly Gonzalez (trumpet) join in on "A Train". Ben has me
taking notice with his opening triplets and then easing into nice swing rhythm
patterns. Sitting opposite me is a very pretty young woman. Her smile is lovely
and broadens with every new song. When approached she tells me how much she
loves JAZZ. Her name is Raquel Astree. I took a picture of her enjoying the
music. ---If this was only 1960 --- Bill is at my table with our friends Serina
and Georgine. He asks if he should ask Raquel to join us. It would be one thing
if I asked. Bill speaks a different language when speaking to ladies. David
returns with Stan Johnson (tenor), Dan Andrews (alto) and Tom Zoden (tenor). They
are to be joined by Uli Gipta on trombone and AJ Lopez Lima on guitar. These
young men have tone and technique.Creative and imaginative.
The joint is
jumping as Jammers continue to arrive. Among the new arrivals are Aris
Dolce (alto) and Claude Louis (tenor). When Louis gets up to play "Stella By
Starlight" his horn speaks the language of love. It's as if he's talking to
Stella who is standing right in front of him. No woman in the world could or
would reject this plea. Aaron's solo is in the same tongue. When Aris takes the
front of the stage you see one more youngster who will carry JAZZ into the
future. Bright and dedicated to the art. If I left anyone out I am truly
sorry --- blame it on the endless glassfuls of 'sangria'. David, Ira and Mark
play 'C-melody', alto and tenor respectively on the next tune. It's been a long
time since I have heard anybody play C-melody saxophone. David joins Ira and
Mark on flute to close the show with "Day By Day (Godspell) and "Amazing Grace".
Aaron (now bare headed) does a truly spiritual solo. I say thank you and
goodnight to all. As usual, when leaving an Ira Sullivan performance I felt the
presence of the Lord. My need for SAX has been sated----Troy Roberts, Ira
Sullivan, David Leon, Ian Munoz, Claude Louis, Aris Dolce. From 11 years old to
soon to be 83. JAZZ is alive and well in South Florida. My deepest and sincerest
apologies to soon to be Dr. Tim Jago who I repeatedly and mistakenly called Tom
in my last review --- it's that Aussie accent, mate.
*PHOTOS FROM EVENT AT:
Al's Disclaimer:
A short note: The reason I write this is because I love music and words. I do not book acts. I do not promote acts. I do not accept invitations to review artists. I go to venues of my own choice. When and where is not influenced by anything other than who I would like to hear that night or day. If I don't like what I hear, I won't write about it. When I like it I let you all know. I never mention a name without asking permission. "Pardon me, Miss. Would you like to dance?"
~ ~ ~
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