Some of that Jazz
It's been many a year since the Clearwater Jazz Holiday has put together a lineup that really pleased hardcore jazz fans. There's always a little something for us, but the fest seems to have settled on a populist, smooth-jazz emphasis. We can't go over the whole lineup in this space, so I'll narrow it down to highlights that may please jazzbos.
• Medeski, Martin & Wood (Sat., 9:15 p.m.) bring their abstract-funk-jam-jazz style to the park, which for me is the highlight of the whole four-day shebang.
• Chuck Owen & Jazz Surge (Fri., 6:45) is a powerful big band led by USF professor Owen and features some of the Bay area's very top players. Guest artists are vibraphonist Mike Mainieri and drummer Adam Nussbaum.
• Bay area acoustic bassist Michael Ross (Sat., 3:45) leads his ace quartet in a series of originals and standards.
• Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval (Sat., 7:15) can always be counted on to bring lively, Latin-soaked sounds.
• Trumpeter/singer Joe Gransden blends bop, blues-inspired post-bop and, on select tunes, suave vocals in the vein of Chet Baker.
Elsewhere, bassist Brian Bromberg's Downright Upright Band (with Randy Brecker and Dave Weckl, Sat., 5:30) earns some jazz cred even with a crossover sound. The CJH's two biggest-name performers are George Benson (Thurs., 8) and Natalie Cole (Sun., 8:30).
Clearwater Jazz Holiday, Thurs., Oct 18-Sun., Oct. 21, Coachman Park, Clearwater. Free. Go to clearwaterjazz.com for lineup and show times. —Eric Snider
New Wave never gets old
Thwacking, echo-intensive drums, subtle effects-laden guitars and synthesizer bleeps punctuate the propulsive dance grooves. Yep, it's the New Wave sound that dominated nightclubs in the 1980s. Now it's back via bands like Canada's Hot Hot Heat, which do The Cure thing better than most, with intelligent lyrics and vocals that speak to a generation raised on emo. Originally signed to Sub Pop, which released HHH's 2002 debut, Make Up the Breakdown, the band has since been with Sire and now Warner Bros., the label responsible for issuing HHH's new album, Happiness Ltd., last month. Toronto trio Bedouin Soundclash offers an interesting mix of indie-folk and space-rock that implements reggae rhythms.
Hot Hot Heat w/Bedouin Soundclash/De Novo Dahl, Sat., Oct. 20, 8 p.m., State Theatre, St. Petersburg, $20. —Wade Tatangelo
Boot Scootin' Showdown
Country music concerts don't get much bigger than this one, featuring two of Nashville's most successful hat acts. That rare country star responsible for writing most of his own material, Alan Jackson delivers hot two-steppers like "Chattahoochee" as easily as he does sentimental ballads. Brooks & Dunn annoyed us early on with the line-dance fave "Boot Scootin' Boogie" but redeemed themselves on the same debut album with the killer saloon song "Neon Moon." Their new album, Cowboy Town, came out Oct. 2 and features "Proud of the House We Built."
Alan Jackson w/Brooks & Dunn, Sat., Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m., Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa, $21.60-$72. —WT
This article appears in Oct 17-23, 2007.