JazzNights is a series of house concerts begun in 2002 by Mary Wisnovsky and Maitland Jones. Over the years, we have hosted some of the best jazz musicians in the world. We would be pleased to have you join us; just browse the website and contact us if you are interested. Reservations by email to: mjjr@princeton.edu. 

JazzNights (118)

Tamir Hendelman/ Terell Stafford

 On Sunday, November 15th at 4:30 pm (NOTE -4:30-not 4:00) JazzNights will present “Miles at 100” featuring Miles Davis’ music in duets by Tamir Hendelman on piano and Terell Stafford on trumpet and flugelhorn. The event will be held in the Hockaday/Jones Barn at 78 Moores Mill Mt. Rose Road, Hopewell, NJ 08525. Directions are posted on our website. We are asking for a contribution of $60 per person. As always, we offer about two hours of great music, good snacks, and an open bar. May I remind you that reserving and not using that reservation raises the fee to everyone. So, if you reserve but change your mind or can’t make it, PLEASE let me know by email so we can try to give away your reservation to someone on the wait list.

 Please email your reservation to mjjr@princeton.edu. You can either send me a check at the address above (preferred) or pay at the door. PLEASE NOTE – I will be travelling much of October and probably out of email contact some of the time. I will not be as responsive to reservations as usual. But I will schedule them in the order they come in, as always, and eventually I will confirms them all.

 Miles Davis would have turned 100 on May 26 of this year. Alas, he left us in September of 1991, much too soon. But he left us a wealth of great music, from his very early sometimes struggling work in the 40’s with Bird through the astonishing 1950 recording of “The Birth of the Cool,” to his two great quintets (John Coltrane, Bill Evans, or Wynton Kelly, or Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones)  and a bit later, the “Plugged Nickel” group (Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams). We can debate the relative greatness of these two (I prefer the former), as well as the success of his foray into electronics. His slightly larger groups featuring the scene-stealing Cannonball Adderley may not have the reputation of the quintets but they should be equally revered.  There is no denying the greatness of Miles or of the importance of the works he left us.

 We celebrate Miles’ 100th year with a fabulous duo playing his music. Pianist Tamir Hendelman was a prodigy who began studying the piano at age six in Tel Aviv, coming to the US at 12 in 1984. He immediately began winning awards – at 14 he won the Yamaha national  keyboard competition, and played at the once-renowned Kennedy Center. He’s now pretty much based in LA, but plays here and abroad widely.

 I have always believed that a measure of a pianist is accompanying great singers – think Tommy Flanagan/Ella Fitzgerald or Bruce Barth/Tony Bennett, So I was not surprised that Tamir frequently is the pianist of choice for Tierney Sutton – that’s another duo we should try to get to JazzNights.

 Terell Stafford frequently appears at JazzNights (#47, 98, 107, 109*) and has an extensive resume as leader, sideman, and educator. He currently is Director of Jazz Studies and Chair of Instrumental Studies at Temple University. There have been numerous awards and honors. To my mind, he is the best soloist in the renowned Vanguard Big Band – catch him there some Monday and you will understand what I mean.

Please join us next November!

 *A version of his great quintet (Tim Warfield, David Wong, Bruce Barth, Johnathan Blake) graced JazzNights some years ago but somehow never got a number. Some of you were probably in that audience and remember what a night it was! The evening was devoted mostly to Strayhorn tunes arranged by Bruce Barth, but there was also one of my favorite Stafford tunes, “A Nick Off the Mark,” a take on the Hummel trumpet concerto, and a nod to Mr. Stafford’s classical chops. You can find it featured on one of his many excellent CDs, “Taking Chances, Live at the Dakota,” (MaxJazz horn series).