The divide between East Coast Hot and West Coast Cool jazz has been more about competition than reality over the years, though I still believe there certainly was (not is) something to it.

The truth can be found in the reality of New York icons like Miles Davis leading the “Birth of the Cool”, along with Saxophonist Lee Konitz and Composer Gil Evans. At the same time, Dave Pell’s popular groups prefaced the Village Vanguard’s Legend and Mainstay big band, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, with a lineup that included Baritone Sax workhorse Pepper Adams and Mel Lewis  both drumming and leading from his throne.

Chris Wojtecki and I will be channeling some of that Hot/Cool energy and a few of our musical forebears this June at the Pikes Peak Jazz Second Sunday gig. Let’s sample some history……….

Thad Jones/Mel Lewis with a typical Pepper Adams solo/clinic:

Dave Pell’s Octet with Pepper and Mel a few years earlier. This astounding session also had Jack Sheldon, Tommy Tedesco, and a great chart by Bill Holman.

Which leads us to the gang that’ll be playing at PPPJASS’ Second Sunday Affair this June at The Olympian: Alan Joseph on guitar, Stefan Flores on drums, Marc Neihof on bass, and a horn section constisting of Scott Crump, me, Chris, and Brad Eastin.

Going to be at the Salida Steam Plant again this year. Great venue, great crowd in a great little town.

Alan Joseph (pictured) on Guitar, Randy Bowen on Drums, and Kim Stone on Bass will be there with me.

The gig is Sunday, July 17 from 5-7PM………..mark your calendars!

Look for my Latin/Jazz/Funk Quartet at this year’s Pikes Peak Art & Music Festival on Sunday, July 3 at America the Beautiful Park. More here: http://pikespeakartfest.com/

a fun one to benefit the Colorado Springs Philharmonic.

Alan Joseph leads the group on Guitar. Heavy Metal icon (in Greece, anyway) Stefan Flores played Drums, and Philharmonic/Jazz Bassist Marc Neihof held it all together. Those of you that were there heard a damned good band.

Chris Wojtecki and I will be putting together a 7-tet that will be playing the music of Dave Pell, Gerry Mulligan and others at the Pikes Peak Jazz and Swing Society’s Second Sunday Affair on June 12.

Pell was a saxophonist with Les Brown and led his own very successful groups starting in 1953. These mostly 5-horn recordings employed the finest West Coast musicians and featured timeless arrangements by the best writers around: Bill Holman, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers, Marty Paich and John Williams. Yes, that John Williams.

Here’s a list of the PPJASS Second Sunday performers for 2016:

• Jan. 10th “The Broadmoor Allstars” w/Lila Mori & Lewis Mock
• Feb. 14th “Gentle Rain”
• Mar. 13th “The Springs City Jazz Band” w/Laura Davis
• Apr. 10th “Wayne Wilkinson Quartet”
• May 8th “JoRiCa +1” – w/John Turner leader (quartet)
• Jun. 12th “Bud Gordon/Chris Wojtecki Septet plays the music of Dave Pell
• Jul. 10th “Musician’s Jam” w/Mark Raphael
• Aug. 14th “Neil Bridge 7 +1”
• Sept. 11th “Thomas Dawson Quartet”
• Oct. 9th “After Midnight” w/Roger Campbell
• Nov. 13th TBD
• Dec. 11th “Triple Play Quartet” w/Rick Blessing

We’ll be playing those great, danceable arrangements and having a nice musical party. Here’s a little something we’ll be playing in June.

Hope you can be there.

CMC Big Band will be at the Leadville H.S. auditorium on Friday, January 15th at 7PM to play the last show of the holiday season. This is a great big band set with several Buddy Rich classics (Channel 1 Suite, Machine), and some nice features for the rest of the band. See you there with this kickass trumpet section!

Here’s some of the stuff we fine tuned in the World Famous Barn…….a little riff inspired by Miles Davis’ “Tribute to Jack Johnson”.

In the studio this week with Kim Stone, Randy Bowen, Alan Joseph and others to make the vision, and the sound, come to fruition.

Here’s the Sextet at last year’s Monument Summer Park Concert series playing Leonard Feather’s “Nam M’Yoho Ren-Ge Kyo”: