Current events with the Nevilles
The soulful brothers, whose new album is due out next week, are doing their part to promote world peace with a remake of an antiwar anthem.
At the quarter-century mark, the Clearwater Jazz Holiday has settled into a comfortable, familiar groove. Acclaimed saxophonist Branford Marsalis, the festival's sole blue-chip jazz artist, shares space on the bill with a fellow New Orleans-bred act, reliable funk outfit the Neville Brothers. This year's Jazz Holiday also features nationally known smooth jazz acts, neoswing groups and several locally based bands and solo artists.
TONIGHT
6:30 to 8 - Allon Sams, born in Tampa, is a smooth jazz keyboardist with credits on recordings by David Sanborn, Montell Jordan, Peter White and Doug Cameron, among other major-label artists.
8:30 to 10 - Rick Braun, a trumpeter with a big following and a knack for pop songwriting, is touring in support of last year's Esperanto album, which had him dipping into acid jazz and electronica.
FRIDAY
5:30 to 6:45 p.m. - Big Z and the SophistiKatz, is a 10-piece Bradenton show band with a repertoire that draws from swing, Latin, soul and rock.
7:15 to 8:30 p.m. - Victor Wooten, a poll-winning virtuoso of the electric bass, is best known as a member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Live in America, his fourth solo album, was released in 2001.
9 to 10:15 p.m. - Branford Marsalis, the oldest of four notable jazz-playing siblings raised in the Big Easy, leads one of jazz's finest quartets, which includes pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts. Their latest release is this year's well-received Eternal. For serious jazzheads, Marsalis' performance will be the must-see of the Holiday.
SATURDAY
1:45 to 3 p.m. - Pepper and Fine Thyme is an energetic, swing-oriented Safety Harbor group, with singer Paulette Pepper backed by an acoustic septet.
3:30 to 4:45 p.m. - African and Afro-Cuban rhythms and musical traditions are at the heart of Tony Vacca and World Rhythms, a consortium of musicians from Northampton, Mass.
5:15 to 6:30 p.m. - Stories is the latest from contemporary-jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist Dan Moretti.
7 to 8:15 p.m. - Chris Botti, a smooth jazz trumpeter occasionally confused with Rick Braun, turns to romantic ballads on his just-released When I Fall in Love CD.
8:45 to 10 p.m. - The Neville Brothers, New Orleans' first family of funk, specializes in a groove-intensive Crescent City sound. The group's founders - singer Aaron, keyboardist Art, saxophonist Charles and percussionist Cyril - are joined by several second-generation Nevilles, including singer-keyboardist Ivan, for their latest tour and forthcoming album.
10 to 10:20 p.m. - Fireworks
SUNDAY
12:30 to 1:30 p.m. - The area's finest young jazz musicians are among the players featured in the Clearwater Jazz Holiday/Ruth Eckerd Hall Youth Jazz Band.
2 to 3:15 p.m. - The Nate Najar Trio, led by the popular local guitarist, will be joined by veteran vibraphonist Chuck Redd, whose resume includes work with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Byrd, Mel Torme and other notables.
3:45 to 5 p.m. - The Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet, from the Washington, D.C., area, has drawn comparisons to the Manhattan Transfer and Lambert, Hendricks and Ross.
5:30 to 6:45 p.m. - Adela Dalto, born in Texas to Mexican parents, favors a sophisticated blend of Latin- and Brazilian-influenced jazz. She took on several standards, including Round Midnight, The Nearness of You and Lover Man, for La Creme Latina, released in 2002.
7:15 to 8:30 p.m. - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy ruled the roost during the brief neoswing craze of the 1990s, with its national profile boosted by an appearance in the 1996 indie film Swingers. Last year's Save My Soul is the latest CD from the oversized good-time band.
PREVIEW: Clearwater Jazz Holiday, today through Sunday, Coachman Park, Clearwater. Free. (727) 461-5200.
