Jazz Fest in Hot Springs this September

Tuesday, September 13
"The Joy of Jazz: Vegas in the 60's"
This night club style gala kicks off the festival in a salute to the era that gave birth to some of the greatest bands and music of all time, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Louie Prima and Keely Smith. Dancing is to Anything That Move’s 9 piece band with vocals by Shirley Chauvin, Don Gooch and Denise Edds who will perform many of the hits by these vocal icons. Food and a large dance floor will be provided with a silent auction featuring many special surprise items.

Proceeds from Joy of Jazz assure the JazzFest’s Saturday outdoor concert remains free and available to all!

Dress: Black Tie Optional

Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Arlington Resort Hotel, Conference Center, 239 Central Avenue
Tickets: $60 per person or preferred seating for a table of ten is $600, includes Banquet Service

Reservations and Information (501) 767-0211

Wednesday, September 14
Piano-Rama
Some of Hot Springs top pianists will offer a set to dazzle the audience with their solo concert work — pure piano at its best. Hosted by the Hot Springs Jazz Society and the American Red Cross, Piano-Rama features pianists John Puckett, Tony Nardi, Chuck Dodson, Phyllis Emery, Dr. Ron Hall and Clyde Pound. Piano-Rama is a new JazzFest presentation — and sure to be one of its most popular events. Piano styles typically include swing, blues, stride, boogie-woogie, bebop and contemporary. The pianists will be accompanied by Bill Huntington bass and Jay Payette drums. Sets run 20 minutes for each performer.

Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Arlington Hotel Crystal Ballroom, 239 Central Avenue

Tickets: $25 presale or $35 at the door, Discount Ticket Package Available

Thursday, September 15
Shirley Chauvin's S'Wonderful
with Gerry Heidel on Saxophone
Co-hosted by the Quapaw Baths & Spa historic bathhouse Shirley Chauvin will dazzle on vocals, Clyde Pound on keyboard, Joe Vick on bass and Paul Shaw (AF Shades of Blue) on drums. The bathhouse provides a one of a kind intimate setting on historic bathhouserow.

Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Quapaw Baths & Spa, 417 Central Avenue

Tickets: $10, Discount Ticket Package Available

Friday, September 16
Music Workshops by Craftsmen
Rarely is there an opportunity to learn from musicians so skilled in their craft. The Jazz Society is honored to present these four nationally known musicians with the aid of Big Event Music to the public free of charge. Classes will include, Bob Montgomery on Trumpet, Al Hermann on Trombone, Paul Shaw on Drums and Steve Masakowski on Guitar. For more information on the clinicians, see below.

There’s no better way to acquire these skills than to learn from musicians at the top of their craft. Hot Springs Jazz Society Workshop has attracted artists and educators of the highest caliber, exciting talents like saxophonist Mel Martin, trombonist Scott Whitfield, guitarist Steve Masakowski and drummer Paul Shaw. (see detailed information about the guest artists below.)

The Workshop experience offers a unique level of access and personal interaction between clinicians and students, and a supportive and welcoming environment where creativity can flourish.

Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Big Event Music, 149 East Grand Avenue
Admission: FREE, Reservations Required - (501) 262-1533

Air Force Shades of Blue Jazz Ensemble

Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Oaklawn Magnet High School, 301 Oaklawn Blvd.

Admission: FREE - Submit a self addressed stamped envelope with name, address, phone and number of tickets desired (maximum 4 per address) to 118 Earls Pt., Hot Springs, AR 71913.

Saturday, September 17"
JAZZ IN THE STREETS"
FREE!
For the first time in 20 years, the traditional Saturday day-long outdoor festival has been given its own name, “Jazz in the Streets.” Beginning at 11am, the program remains FREE and under the Broadway Street Sky-Bridge with a variety of jazz styles and musicians.

Chairs are Limited - Bring lawn chairs to ensure you have a seat.

"Jazz in the Streets" Line-up
Hot Springs Jazz Society's Scholarship Jazz Ensemble directed by John Jordan of Hot Springs High
Fayetteville Jazz Collective
Calle Soul
UofA in Monticello Jazz Band with Director Gary Meggs
Henderson State’s NuFusion with Director Rick Dimond
Anything That Moves with guests Bob Montgomery on Trumpet and Al Herman on Trombone
Air Force Shades of Blue Jazz Ensemble

Time: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: Under the Sky-Bridge on Broadway St and Market St.
Tickets: FREE!

Sunday, September 19
St. Luke Episcopal Church’s Jazz Mass
Join St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at a very special Sunday Service with life jazz music.

Time: 10:45 a.m.
Location: Luke’s Episcopal Church, 228 Spring Street, (501) 623-1653

Stardust Big Band
An ending to the festival that will keep you on your toes. Dance to your favorite big band dance tunes in the historic Arlington Hotel.

Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Arlington Hotel's Crystal Ballroom, 239 Central Avenue
Admission: $8

About The Entertainment
ANYTHING THAT MOVES
(with guests BOB MONTGOMERY on Trumpet and AL HERMAN on Trombone.) ATM is a specialty band made up of some of Arkansas’ finest musicians. Led by music director/arranger/pianist Clyde Pound, the mid-sized seven to eleven member ensemble plays a wide variety of music ranging from swing to jazz to rock. Moving to Arkansas after an impressive career in San Francisco as band leader at the Hungry i nightclub and as music contractor and recording producer in Hawaii, Clyde has now formed ATM to showcase his extensive combo dance library and Big Band jazz/rock/swing music archive. See Bob Montgomery and Al Herman below.

CALLE SOUL
Calle Soul was formed in Fayetteville, AR in the spring of 2009. The group plays a variety of traditional Latin dance music fused with the exiting sounds of American jazz. With an emphasis on musicality and groove, Calle Soul seeks to provide their audience with an experience that is unlike any in the region - satisfying to jazz aficionados, salsa dancers, and music lovers from all walks of life. Calle Soul performs actively in Dickson St. Fayetteville´s latin jazz/salsa events, Springdale and private events in North West Arkansas. The players are Nathan McLeod (Tenor sax - Director), Fernando Sanchez (Congas), Fernando Valencia (Timbales), Andrew Thompson (Bass), Chase Cavalier (Trumpet), Michael Howland (Trumpet), Matthew Beach (Bass trombone) and Jesse Austin (Piano).

CHUCK DODSON
Pianist/composer Chuck Dodson has been called a "musical maverick." Classically trained as a child, Chuck went on to study many styles of music while becoming increasingly devoted to improvisation. In recent years, he produced the feature-length Walter Norris - a documentary, about the brilliant yet little known jazz pianist, and became linked to blues piano legend Pinetop Perkins after he narrated Born in the Honey: The Pinetop Perkins Story (winner of the 2008 National Blues Award), and engineered and mastered Pinetop's On the 88s: Live in Chicago (nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album). Dodson's last CD, The Wildwood Session, was released in 2010, and he will soon release CDs that feature duets with cellist Matt Slocum (Hammock, Six Pence None the Richer) and guitarist Joe McMahan. Chuck divides his time between music and film making, writing, the visual arts, artist development, and the study of psychology.

PHYLLIS EMERT
Jazz pianist, Phyllis Emert, is a native of Dallas, Texas. She began playing piano at the age of four and was actively involved in music and performing throughout her school years. She studied music at TCU, NTSU, and UT Austin, and was the first woman to play in North Texas State Jazz Lab Band. Her career in the music business includes playing jazz/cocktail solo piano, leading her own jazz trio, accompanying vocalists, and playing in dance bands of all sizes. She has recorded two jazz trio albums, three albums of original music, and played on many recording sessions. After many years of performing extensively in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Phyllis and her husband, bassist Allan Rogers, relocated to Hot Springs, Arkansas. She is currently playing solo piano in the Venetian Dining Room at the historic Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, and appearing with her jazz trio at various events.

FAYETTEVILLE JAZZ COLLECTIVE
The Fayetteville Jazz Collective was founded in 2009 as a professional jazz orchestra comprised entirely of musicians active in and around the North West Arkansas area. The FJC seeks to preserve and enhance the big band tradition through education of young audiences, aspiring musicians, and the general public.

With over two centuries of combined jazz experience, the Fayetteville Jazz Collective has been thrilling audiences all around the 4-state region of Northwest Arkansas. The list of FJC performance venues include the Walton Arts Center, University Ballroom, Scarpino’s of Fayetteville, the Bentonville Arts Festival, the Bentonville Orchards Park Summer Concert Series, the First United Methodist Church of Bentonville Concert Series, the University of Arkansas Summer Band Camp and the Arend Art Center with the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra. Attendance at one of the Fayetteville Jazz Collective’s performances is sure to impress, excite and entertain any listener. An evening with the FJC is one that you will never forget and one that you’ll want to share with both family and friends.

DR. RON HALL
Dr. Ron Hall is senior music minister at First United Methodist Church of Hot Springs. His duties include overseeing the entire music ministry of the church, directing the adult Chancel Choir, Jubilation! and Celebration! Hand-bell choirs, developing youth music ministries, and providing worship leadership in both the 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. Sunday services.

Before coming to Hot Springs, Dr. Ron Hall was serving as Director of Music Ministries for First United Methodist Church of Fort Payne, Alabama and was part of the adjunct music faculty at Northeast Alabama Community College in Rainsville, Alabama. Prior to these places of service, he was Director of Choral Activities at Southern Arkansas University and Minister of Music at First United Methodist Church of Magnolia, Arkansas for two years and spent the previous five years as choral director at Benton High School.
Dr. Hall earned a Bachelor of Music in Education degree from Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, in piano and choral directing. He earned his Master of Music in church music ministry and Doctor of Musical Arts in musicology degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, Texas.

GERRY HEIDEL
Former Hot Springs area resident, saxophonist Gerry Heidel began his musical journey in Flint, Michigan, taking piano lessons at a young age and then adding saxophone while attending elementary school. Influenced by an older brother who played trumpet, Heidel's interest in music continued through high school and beyond. Serious study of saxophone led to performing with local musicians in the Flint and Southeast Michigan area providing musical support for Broadway shows and entertainers such as Florence Henderson, Gordon McRae, Sadler and Young, Ann Peebles of Motown records and Clark Terry, Tonight Show trumpet star. Formal music courses at the local community college eventually led to acceptance to the School of Music at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he received a degree in Music Education. His three years with the U of M Jazz Band under the direction of trumpeter Lou Smith were high-lighted by performances at the Michigan State and Notre Dame Jazz Festivals.

Leaving Ann Arbor, Heidel moved to Boston MA to teach in the Boston Public schools. While there he had the good fortune to study with Joe Viola at the Berkley School of Music. The lessons with Joe were an inspiring and ear opening revelation. Summers in Boston provided the time for workshops at Berklee with Ted Pease and a brief interlude with John LaPorta. After four years in Boston, he spent the remainder of his teaching career in the Middle East, retiring in 1993. After returning to the U.S., Gerry and his wife, Cynthia, settled in the Hot Springs area where he became a member of the house band led by Cliff Coleman at the Majestic Hotel and later with Willie Davis at the Arlington Hotel. He was a featured guest at The Afterthought Monday Night Jazz Project. Heidel currently lives in Sarasota FL and has performed with the Sarasota Jazz Project. He plans to permanently return to the Hot Springs area in the near future.

HENDERSON STATE'S NuFUSION with Director Rick Dimond
NuFusion is a high-energy large ensemble made up of the top music students from Henderson State University, located in nearby Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Under the creative leadership of the multi-talented Rick Dimond (Acoustisin), NuFusion plays a remarkably wide catalog, from the rock hits of Maroon 5, No Doubt and Smashing Pumpkins, to the classic charts of Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich and Nat King Cole. A crowd-pleasing feature of NuFusion concerts is the group of talented vocalists who front the band. It's also impressive to know that these students arrange the music they perform. NuFusion is so favored they have become a JazzFest tradition.!

AL HERMAN
While still in high school in New Orleans, Hermann spent his weekends on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge absorbing the formidable talents of Carl Fontana- Al's mentor. In later life, Fontana said of him “nobody gets around the horn any better than Al Hermann.” Hermann was featured with the Dukes of Dixieland, called for the New Orleans Symphony, and was a regular at the Roosevelt (Fairmont) Hotel, where he backed such luminaries as Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Julie London, and Peggy Lee. Hermann has sided with the Woody Hermann Orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Buddy Morrow, Wild Bill Davidson, Doc Cheatham, Ellis Marsalis, Spike Robinson, Warren Vache, Dave Grusin, Eddie Daniels, President Bill Clinton, and many other outstanding musicians.

“One of America's foremost physicists, and an even better trombonist”, President Bill Clinton, Vail, CO, August 1993.

H.S. JAZZ SOCIETY'S SCHOLARSHIP JAZZ ENSEMBLE
People often refer to jazz as purely American music. Like America, jazz developed from a seed of independence. Following in that very American style, the Jazz Society forges ahead in perpetuation jazz music through sponsoring scholarships to attend the UofA at Monticello Jazz Camp, identifying exceptional students of music in high schools. John Jordan, Hot Springs High School Band Director, will lead this special group of students, along with new students identified following the beginning of the new school year, to kick off the traditional out-door festival.

STEVE MASAKOWSKI
Regarded as one of the most awe-inspiring guitarists and composers in contemporary music, Steve plays unique seven-string guitars of his own design that are hand-made by New Orleans luthier Sal Giardina. Steve is a major voice whose extraordinary musicality has been welcomed in concert with such jazz greats as Woody Shaw, Carl Fontana, Dave Liebman, Jimmy Smith, Sam Rivers and, most recently, Dianne Reeves, Bennie Wallace and Rick Margitza. Among the awards and honors that he has garnered are two National Endowment For The Arts fellowships, several grants from The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and one from the Louisiana Division of The Arts. Steve"s own recordings include: "What It Was" (Blue Note), "Direct AXEcess" (Blue Note), "Mars" (Nebula), "Friends" (Nebula), "For Joe" (Compass) and Moon and Sand. His dynamic solo work can also be heard on recordings by Reeves, Mose Allison, Alvin "Red" Tyler and Margitza.

BOB MONTGOMERY
Bob Montgomery is an internationally recognized performing artist who has appeared throughout the World. He has performed in back-up orchestras for many great artists (from Clark Terry to Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett, Nancy Wilson and more). Bob toured Europe with Clark Terry's "Big Bad Band" and appeared at Town Hall in NYC for the New York JVC Jazz Festival's tribute to Clark Terry. Bob has received many educational awards including "Teacher of the Year", "Jazz Educator and Performer of the Year", "Colorado Jazz Educator Of The Year” and In 2004 was awarded the Bethany College (his Alma Mater) Alumni of Merit Award for distinguished service in the Arts. In 2007 he was inducted into the Garden City, KS (his home town) Hall of Fame. He is Executive Director of Colorado Jazz Workshops, Inc., founding board member of the Colorado “Gift of Jazz", advisory board member of the Telluride Jazz Celebration, and a member of the board of trustees for the International Foundation for Jazz. Bob is an international artist/clinician for the Yamaha Musical Instrument Company. Bob is the founder and director of the “Telluride Student All Stars”, a program now in its 15th year that trains and presents young jazz artists from throughout the US and Canada at the Telluride Jazz Celebration each year.

Nova NOLA
Out of the most musical city in the United States comes New Orleans’ very own unique, progressive, contemporary jazz band, Nova NOLA. Nova NOLA is a band that fuses together the intoxicating rhythms and music of Brazil as well as the soulful struts and beats of New Orleans in an exotic and captivating blend of original music and timeless standards alike, from Louis Armstrong’s classic “Struttin’ With Some Barbeque” to Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Desafinado”, to Masakowski’s “Wetland”. Nova NOLA (New- New Orleans) celebrates the rebirth of the city after the devastation of Katrina featuring some of the new generation of young musicians on the scene.
Legendary 7-string jazz guitarist Steve Masakowski is the founder and originator of Nova NOLA. Keeping true to the deep-rooted musical family traditions in New Orleans, he works alongside his two children in the band, vocalist Sasha Masakowski and bassist Martin Masakowski. Sasha’s graceful Portuguese lyrics and Martin’s percussive bass improvisations are pivotal elements to the band’s eclectic sound, and coincide perfectly with Nova NOLA’s other outstanding band members; virtuoso vibraphonist--------- and world-renowned latin-jazz drummer Ricky Sebastian.

CRAIG O'NEAL from Today's THV
Craig O’Neill’s face and voice are among the most recognizable in Arkansas. Craig first joined Today’s THV as sports director in 2000 after entertaining Arkansans for 30 years as one of the states most famous and humorous radio personalities. In the summer of 2008, Craig made the move to news anchor.

Throughout the years, Craig has given his time and talents to help many organizations including The American Cancer Society, Big Brothers / Big Sisters, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Arkansas Children’s Theatre, Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Ballet of Arkansas, Easter Seals, Florence Crittenton Home, American Heart Association, Hope Lodge, VIPS, and Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Craig is married to his college sweetheart, Jane. They have two grown children, Abby and Thomas, two grandchildren, Bella and Amelia.

CLYDE POUND
Clyde Pound has been a pianist, keyboardist, arranger, musical director, etc. for over 50 years. He started with the Dukes of Dixieland and through his career has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Colorado. He was musical director for the Hungry I nightclub in San Francisco and has been musical director for and played with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Liza Minelli, Dizzy Gillespie, and many others. In the 60’s he was in Las Vegas, playing in the Flamingo Hotel with some of the top names in music and show business. Those were the years of the Rat Pack, when Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and friends were the kings of the Vegas Strip, and Pound was part of the scene.

Pound and his wife Georgia moved to Hot Springs after a brief visit during a cross country road trip. Pound is presently the Hot Springs Jazz Society’s President of the Board and Entertainment Chair. “I like the idea that we are perpetuating jazz for those who love it and opening greater awareness to those who don’t know about it. I’m very impressed with Arkansas and how they support the arts,” Clyde says. “This really feels like home.”

JOHN PUCKETT
John Puckett was born and raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He started piano lessons at the age of eight and by the age of twelve was playing in his church. While in college, he went on tour with bandleader Willie Mitchell. After college, Puckett recorded an LP album, Meet John Puckett and His Piano on the King Label. John later played at The Black Orchid Lounge, and backed up shows at The Vapors in Hot Springs, during its peak. He was the elder of several fine players appearing at the Black Orchid Lounge, which also featured the late pianists Art Porter, Sr. and Charles Thomas.

His fine artistry and skills are well known in the Hot Springs area. In Little Rock he had long engagements appearing at the Peabody Hotel and Little Rock Country Club of Little Rock. In addition to his outstanding jazz talents, John is Minister of Music at the Visitors's Chapel AME Church. The Arkansas jazz community is so fortunate to have this excellent musician in Arkansas, honored in the 2006 Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame.

PAUL SHAW
Paul began playing music when he was five years old. He grew up in Millville, NJ and studied jazz drumming at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. He is a very active member of the St. Louis jazz and rock music scenes. He has toured the world playing jazz as an active duty Air Force musician. He fell in love with the guitar as a second instrument in December 2005 and has been writing his own songs ever since.

STARDUST BIG BAND
Stardust Big Band is the seventeen piece big band which performs music ranging from the Big Band Era to the modern sounds of today. Their library of more than 200 songs includes Latin, Rock, Waltzes and Jump Swing, and arrangements from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman. The membership of this dynamic group consists of musicians from many areas of Arkansas, all of whom aspires to the highest level of musicianship and is dedicated to the perpetuation of the "Big Band" sound. Stardust specializes in music for dances and special occasions, such as the Hot Springs JazzFest.

SHIRLEY CHAUVIN'S S’WONDERFUL
(with guest GERRY HEIDEL on Saxophone.) SHIRLEY CHAUVIN and the new little big band S'Wonderful bring to your event a swingin’ musical experience with emphasis on the songs made famous by the great big band vocalists of the 1940s through the 1970s such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Peggy Lee and Billie Holiday. Shirley also features tunes recorded by the new sensation, Diana Krall. S'Wonderful has grown to include trumpet, saxophone and trombone to perform with the rhythm section and create a big band ambiance in support of the arrangements of this dynamic musical era.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT MONTICELLO
With special guest vocalist Shirley Chauvin. UAM's premiere Jazz Band directed by Gary Meggs. Meggs has performed with well-known musical groups and performers such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, Barbara Eden, Don Rickles, the Lennon Sisters, Lew Soloff, Tom Bones Malone, Conway Twitty, and Mickey Gilley gave Gary the opportunity to continue to pursue his dream of becoming a professional musician. This experience, along with being the featured saxophonist with the 106th Army Band, 531st Air Force Band, and many public school and college jazz bands has allowed Gary to build up a base of supporters that have grown to love and enjoy his musical talent. Notably, Gary spent most of 2009 touring with the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra. During this time Meggs performed all over the USA, Canada and completed the tour with 24 concerts in Japan.