The legendary jazz saxophonist Scott Hamilton, now living in Italy, and the brilliant Danish guitarist Jacob Fischer combine forces with Chuck Redd on vibes and drums and Tommy Cecil on bass for a special concert celebrating Charlie Byrd’s 90th birthday at The Mainstay in Rock Hall, Maryland on Saturday November 14 at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $20. For information and reservations call 410-639-9133. Information is also available at the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.
The concert is part of The Mainstay’s year-long series commemorating Charlie Byrd’s influence on jazz and on The Mainstay. Charlie Byrd’s birthday would have been in September but these musicians were only available now. The concert will include some material directly associated with Byrd but will also pay tribute to the international reach of jazz and the great melodies in the Great American Songbook that are also part of Byrd’s legacy.
Scott Hamilton began playing sax at 16, moved to New York in 1976 at 22 and burst upon the music scene with his first recording for Concord in 1977. Now, more than 40 recordings later, his handsome sound, impeccable phrasing and devotion to small-group swing, great ballads and blues, played from the heart, have earned him a worldwide following of admirers. Allaboutjazz.com calls him “the premier ‘mainstream’ saxophonist of today.”
Hamilton was 23 when he made his first recording for Concord in 1977. He came along at a time when the kind of jazz he loved, small-group swing, was mostly out of fashion and out of the public ear. His first recordings caused a sensation among both devotees of the style, and in the wider musical world. His playing has earned him admirers the world over. According to Allaboutjazz.com, his “big, warm tenor saxophone tone and unerring sense of swing have a way of making every tune he plays uniquely his own.”
Over the years Hamilton has also performed and recorded with such touring bands as the Concord Jazz All Stars and George Wein’s Newport Jazz Festival All Stars. For some years he was based in London, where he first played in 1978, but now based in Italy, he travels the world from there. He regularly tours Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Japan, Spain and Italy and he returns to the US several a year to record and to perform at festivals and to appear at such premier venues as Lincoln Center in New York. This Mainstay concert is a rare East Coast small venue appearance.
Jacob Fischer made his debut at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival at 17 and since then has been one of the hardest working musicians in Scandinavia. For several decades he has worked with the best Scandinavian musicians as well as with visiting jazz greats such as Monty Alexander, Art Farmer, Toots Thielemans, Lee Konitz, Harry Allen, Dick Hyman and Scott Hamilton.
While Fischer does play amplified jazz guitar, he also plays an unamplified instrument and is noted for his ability to swing with virtuosity and great harmonic awareness. He can be heard on more than 200 CDs, some of which have been selected jazz recording of the year in several European countries. His first recording in the US as a leader was for Arbors in a quartet setting that also featured guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli.
His new 2015 recording for Arbors, “Jacob Fischer… In New York City,” features the vibraphone playing of Chuck Redd. In a review of this recording, The Guardian (UK) notes the “a unique clarity and warmth” of his playing and says he “finds some brilliant ways of combining the sounds of guitar and vibes, played by Chuck Redd. The interplay between them is greased lightning at times. Apart from one Fischer original, the 12 pieces are all standards, but with a fresh and sometimes radical approach.”
The Mainstay’s great friend and informal jazz advisor, Chuck Redd, is well known internationally. He began touring the globe and recording when he joined the Charlie Byrd Trio at the age of 21 and played and recorded with Byrd for 20 years until Byrd’s death in 1999. To his credit are 25 European tours and five tours of Japan, with the Barney Kessel Trio, Ken Peplowski, Terry Gibbs and Conte Candoli.
He has served as Artist-In-Residence at The Smithsonian Jazz Cafe and was featured vibraphonist with the Mel Torme All-Star Jazz Quintet. A favorite with Mainstay audiences, his playing is always fresh, intense and exciting.
Bassist Tommy Cecil has been a fixture in the Washington DC jazz scene – accompanying singers; playing trad, bebop, Ellington repertory concerts, contemporary music and presenting his own compositions since the mid-seventies. Cecil has performed in concerts and at festivals across the country and around the world. He has worked extensively with fellow DC-based players as well as with who’s who of jazz including Joe Henderson, Anita O’Day, Teddy Wilson, Chet Baker, Cab Calloway, Phil Woods, Monty Alexander, Mose Allison, Milt Jackson and Bill Mays with whom he has made two critically acclaimed recordings of jazz interpretations of Sondheim compositions.
Redd says “Tommy Cecil is the perfect bassist for this group with his seemingly infinite knowledge of songs, strong sense of swing and ability to elevate any group with his creative spirit.”
The website AllAboutJazz.com has perhaps the most succinct summary of Charlie Byrd’s career: “Charlie Byrd jammed with Django Reinhardt, recorded with Woody Herman, studied with the great Segovia, and with Stan Getz introduced the Brazilian bossa nova to international audiences. He then proceeded to form a super guitar trio with Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis. His musical interests took in virtually every form in which the guitar found a prominent voice.” He played mostly the nylon string classical guitar and influenced every style of music that uses the instrument.
Mainstay founder and director, Tom McHugh attributes much of The Mainstay’s national reputation as a jazz venue to its early association with Byrd. He says, “Byrd played at The Mainstay several times. He charged us very little, and seemed to realize that small places like ours needed nurturing. Charlie passed our name on to others…and they came and played… and soon our jazz reputation just took off.”
Charlie Byrd’s birthday was in September but it will be honored on November 14 by The Mainstay and by these musicians who are part of his jazz legacy.
The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.