THURS | CHICK COREA & BELA FLECK at NEWMAN CENTER | 1/16/14 Over the last five decades, the virtuosic pianist Chick Corea has delved into quite a few variations of jazz, as well as classical, and on his latest effort, The Vigil, he's reinvented himself again. His new band, also called the Vigil, is an evolving collective that included saxophonist/clarinetist/flutist Tim Garland, guitarist Charles Altura, bassist Hadrien Feraud, drummer Marcus Gilmore, percussionist Pernell Saturnino and Corea's wife, vocalist Gayle Moran Corea on the album. Banjo wizard Bela Fleck first teamed up with Corea on 2007's Grammy Award-winning The Enchantment, and now the two are touring again for the first time since 2008. Corea and Fleck are also due at the Macky Auditorium on Friday, January 17.
See also: Ten essential jazz albums if you know squat about jazz
SAT | DIANE REEVES at BOETTCHER CONCERT HALL | 1/25/14 Diane Reeves, a Denver native and four-time Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist, is a George Washington High School and University of Colorado alumna. Former Westword scribe Bill Gallo wrote in his feature on the singer, "Dianne Reeves is an international siren who combines Sarah Vaughan's harmonic rigor, Ella Fitzgerald's tireless energy and Carmen McRae's art with lyrics." Tonight Reeves, who is set to release her Concord Records debut, Beautiful Life, on February 11, 2014 presents an evening of jazz with the Colorado Symphony.
SUN | BILL FRISELL at DAZZLE | 1/19/14 While Bill Frisell has no problem filling up large venues like the Boulder Theater, the former Denver resident has also performed at few times at more intimate spots like Dazzle over the last couple of years with players like Ron Miles and Brian Blade, as well as with his former instructor, Longmont-based guitarist Dale Bruning. This time around, Frisell is playing a rare solo show.
THURS & FRI | JONATHAN KREISBERG at DAZZLE | 1/23-1/24 Guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg's playing conjures the duality of New York. The guy's a badass, burning up the fretboard like Jimmy Bruno, with a swaggering bravado that's pure Gotham. At the same time, there's an evenness to his attack in which every note has clear and distinct resonance, lending the material an air of sophistication. And although he's quite good in the trio setting, he's just as compelling playing solo, as evidenced on his latest effort, One.
THURS & FRI | ORGANIC COLLECTIVE at DAZZLE | 1/16-1/17 After graduating from the Berklee College of Music in the late '90s, the 21-year-old Pat Bianchi moved to Denver to start a residency four nights a week as the house pianist at El Chapultepec, which was followed by five-year stint at Herb's, where he played jazz organ on a weekly basis. For the past five years, Bianchi has been based in New York where he's worked with legendary jazz players like Lou Donaldson, George Colemanand Houston Person. As part of the Organic Collective, Bianchi teams up with guitar ace Mark Whitfield and drummer Byron Landham, who both play on Bianchi's excellent 2006 release, East Coast Roots.
• BACKBEAT'S GREATEST HITS • - The fifty best rap lyrics of all time - The ten biggest concert buzzkills - Five more concert buzzkills - From Phish to Floyd, the ten best light shows
Follow @Westword_Music
