It’s a somewhat predictable 2015-2016 season in South Florida jazz. The biggest names, like the ageless, 89-year-old Tony Bennett, perform in our region often — and are realistically on the fringe of the genre. Jazz, especially at so-called jazz festivals, now seems to have expanded to include R&B, adult contemporary, pop, and any other style that includes horns (yet may lack the essential element of improvisation). Still, there are pleasant seasonal surprises in the pairings of two or more artists who are playing together.
Blind virtuoso Art Tatum (1909-1956) is generally considered to have had the greatest jazz piano technique of all time, but if a list was made of current contenders for that crown, Cuba native Gonzalo Rubalcaba would be on it. The 52-year-old has earned both his percussive style (he studied both piano and drums early on) and his multi-national facility naturally. Rubalcaba’s father Guillermo was a pianist; his brothers a pianist and a bassist, and the young musician soaked up recordings by American jazz greats from Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell to Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Like many jazz piano greats, his early training was in classical music, which likewise infuses a 30-year recording career that includes his latest release, 2015’s Suite Caminos, plus excellent work as a sideman on CDs by Chick Corea, Ron Carter, Al Di Meola, Charlie Haden, and Pat Martino. See Gonzalo Rubalcaba at 8 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the University of Miami Gusman Concert Hall, 1314 Miller Road, Coral Gables ($24 + up, 305-284-2438).
Still only in her early 30s, Cyrille Aimée has become a rising jazz vocal star through her unique influences, musical and otherwise. Born in Samois-sur-Seine, France to a French father and Dominican mother, Aimée often sneaked out of her bedroom window to nearby Gypsy encampments, especially during the annual Django Reinhardt Festivals. Her debut 2009 CD, Cyrille Aimée and the Surreal Band, even featured that legendary guitarist’s grandson, David Reinhard, on guitar. And the competitions Aimée entered have furthered her aura — she became a finalist for Star Academy, a French variation of American Idol, but walked away when told she couldn’t sing what she wanted in the championship round. She’s since won the Montreux Jazz Festival 2007 International Vocal Competition, become a finalist in the Thelonious Monk 2010 Vocal Competition, won the Sarah Vaughan International 2012 Jazz Vocal Competition, and released her latest CD, 2014’s It’s a Good Day. See Cyrille Aimée at 8 p.m. Oct. 29 at Gusman Concert Hall ($24 + up).
Hammond organists have had an even tougher time than electric guitarists breaking into the acoustic piano/horns/bass/drums world of jazz, which makes the rise to stardom of Joey DeFrancesco that much more remarkable. The 44-year-old Philadelphia native’s unique style on the grinding electric keyboard has coincided with a bit of a Hammond renaissance, which has helped veteran influences like fellow organist Dr. Lonnie Smith (see below) do the same. Signing a recording contract with Columbia Records while still a teenager enabled DeFrancesco to gain the attention of Miles Davis (1926-1991), and appear on one of his final albums, Amandala. The keyboardist, who occasionally adds vocals and plays trumpet, recorded his debut album, All of Me, as a teenager in 1989. His latest release is last year’s Home For the Holidays. See Joey DeFrancesco at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 at Gusman Concert Hall ($24 + up), and at 8 p.m. on March 12 at Miniaci Performing Arts Center, 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Fort Lauderdale ($47.20, 800-541-6682).
Every concert by trumpeter Terence Blanchard is a treat, but his upcoming South Florida show should hold special significance for many. It’s a “Jazz Roots” presentation titled “The Movie Music of Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard,” featuring a montage of scenes from the director’s films. The 53-year-old, New Orleans-born trumpeter performed on soundtracks to Do the Right Thing and Mo’ Better Blues before going on to compose the scores to several others, including Malcolm X, Inside Man, and the 2006 HBO Hurricane Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke. Guest vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Maysa, and Lizz Wright will also appear, as well as the University of Miami Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, which Blanchard directed until earlier this year. His latest Grammy win is for his own New Orleans ode, 2007’s A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina). See Terence Blanchard at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6 at Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami ($25-$130, 305-949-6722).
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis may not be as famous as his younger brother, trumpeter Wynton, but the oldest Marsalis brother is likely the most open-minded and versatile (see below for shows by drummer/percussionist Jason and trombonist Delfeayo). While still studying at the Berklee College of Music, Marsalis toured with drummer Art Blakey playing alto and baritone saxophones. In the 35 years since, he’s primarily become known for his tenor and soprano sax playing — with artists as diverse as jazz icon Miles Davis, pop star Sting, hip-hop group Buckshot LeFonque, and the soundtrack work for Spike Lee’s films. A three-time Grammy-winner who’s since branched into classical music, Marsalis’ solo career began with the 1984 gem Scenes in the City. The saxophonist started his quartet shortly thereafter, and the current lineup of pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner has multiple banner releases. See Branford Marsalis at 8 p.m. on Nov. 7 at Jazz at Pinecrest Gardens, 11000 Red Road, Pinecrest ($25-$30, 305-669-6990).
Vocalist Tierney Sutton is one of the better jazz singers and educators of her generation, even if the 52-year-old hasn’t achieved worldwide recognition. Since her 1998 debut Introducing Tierney Sutton, she’s held together a self-titled band (with pianist Christian Jacob, two bassists in Trey Henry and Kevin Axt, and drummer Ray Brinker) that’s recorded gems both live (I’m With the Band, 2005) and studio (American Road, 2011). Also a jazz educator at USC’s Thornton School of Music and the Los Angeles College of Music, Sutton’s latest efforts are the Joni Mitchell tribute After Blue (2013) and last year’s Paris Sessions, with Axt and guitarist Serge Merlaud. Here, she appears with the trio led by another esteemed musician/educator, animated 60-year-old pianist and University of Miami Frost School of Music Dean Shelly Berg. See Tierney Sutton and the Shelly Berg Trio in “Gershwin, Gershwin, Gershwin!” at 7:45 p.m. on Nov. 11 at the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale ($59, 954-462-0222).
Young guitar stars are rare in jazz, but so is the melodic facility of Julian Lage. The 27-year-old native of Santa Rosa, Calif., was enough of a child prodigy to inspire a 1997 Oscar-nominated documentary film, Jules at Eight. Classically trained at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2008, and has been on the rise ever since. Lage’s 2009 debut Sounding Point was nominated for a Best Contemporary Jazz Album Grammy, and his subsequent releases have likewise been critically acclaimed, as have his duo projects with guitarists Chris Eldridge and Nels Cline. His 2013 live duet with pianist Fred Hersch, Free Flying, earned a rare five-star review in DownBeat magazine, and the gifted guitarist is also part of vibraphonist Gary Burton’s New Quartet and drummer Eric Harland’s Voyager band. Lage’s trio for this show includes bassist Scott Colley and drummer Eric Doob. See the Julian Lage Trio at 8 p.m. on Nov. 14 at the Miniaci Performing Arts Center ($47.20).
There may be no more prominent figure in Afro-Cuban jazz than pianist Chucho Valdes. You wouldn’t know it, but the ageless Cuban will turn 74 on Oct. 9, making him old enough to have been a founding member of seminal Cuban bands originating in the ’60s (the traditional Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna) and ’70s (the contemporary, Grammy-winning Irakere, which he was a part of through 2005). Valdes’ lengthy solo recording career has run concurrently, and his combined success includes five Grammys and three Latin Grammy Awards, all in the wake of his iconic father and teacher, fellow Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes (1918-2013). Perhaps Valdes’ latest CD with his Afro-Cuban Messengers (with vocalist/percussionist Dreiser Durruthy Bombale, trumpeter Reinaldo Melian, bassist Gaston Joya, drummer Rodney Barreto and percussionist Yaroldy Abreu), 2013’s Border-Free, foresaw improved United States-Cuba diplomatic relations. See Chucho Valdes at 8 p.m. on Nov. 14 at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach ($51.75-$95.75, 305-673-7300).
You wouldn’t know it by looking at his professorial face, but pianist George Winston is somewhat of a polarizing figure in jazz, where some purists feel his often pastoral solo playing doesn’t belong. Born in Michigan in 1949, Winston grew up moving from Montana to Mississippi to Florida, and many of his early influences were rock bands like The Ventures and The Doors, whose keyboardist Ray Manzarek influenced him to start by playing organ. Yet jazz pianists Thomas “Fats” Waller and Teddy Wilson inspired Winston to go the acoustic piano route, and his early releases like Autumn (1980) and December (1982) expertly blended jazz and popular music sensibilities. Winston’s Forest CD won a 1996 Grammy for Best New Age Album, which may explain the disconnect with jazz purists. Yet he’s also released two outstanding tributes to jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, the latest, Love Will Come, in 2010. See George Winston at 8 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Crest Theater, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach ($55-$77, 561-243-7922).
Miami-born vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant took a circuitous route toward the stardom that came with her Grammy-nominated 2013 album Woman Child. The product of a French mother and Haitian father, Salvant moved to France to study law in 2007, but fell under the jazz spell of reed player and teacher Jean-Francois Bonnel while also taking classical and Baroque voice lessons. The singer recorded her first CD, Cécile, in France with Bonnel’s quintet before returning to the United States and winning the Thelonious Monk competition in Washington, D.C. Her third CD, the new For One to Love, was released last month to rave reviews. Salvant appears with the quartet of Uruguayan violinist Federico Britos, A renowned, limitless musician in South Florida for decades, Britos is a six-time Grammy winner who’s at ease playing with the Miami Symphony Orchestra as he is in jazz settings like this. See Cécile McLorin Salvant and Federico Britos at 8 p.m. on Nov. 28 at the Arts Garage ($25-$45).
Guitarist Stanley Jordan’s 1985 Blue Note Records debut Magic Touch was a rare star-making jazz release, mostly because of his incredible two-handed touch technique. The disc included standards by Miles Davis (“Freddie Freeloader”) and Thelonious Monk (“‘Round Midnight”), plus covers of pop hits for Jimi Hendrix (“Angel”) and The Beatles (“Eleanor Rigby”), and Jordan sometimes played two guitars live — one on a strap around his neck; the other mounted on a stand — to further the wow factor. Yet the shy Chicago native never seemed comfortable with his resulting stardom, and eventually moved away from the limelight to Sedona, Ariz. Jordan has since recorded and toured on his own terms, including this year’s Duets CD with fellow guitarist Kevin Eubanks. For these shows, he duets with European star Vitali Imereli, the Stéphane Grappelli-influenced violinist whose style blends classical technique with jazz improvisation. See Stanley Jordan and Vitali Imereli at 8 p.m. on Dec. 4 and 5 at the Arts Garage ($25-$50).
If it seems like turban-topped Hammond organist Dr. Lonnie Smith plays in South Florida often, there’s a good reason. The 73-year-old Buffalo, N.Y., native followed stellar 1960s recordings with guitarist George Benson’s Quartet (It’s Uptown, The George Benson Cookbook) and a string of solo LPs through the 1970s, many on the Blue Note label, by moving to Fort Lauderdale. In effect, the Doc took a working vacation from recording to become part of the house band at the now defunct club O’Hara’s, allowing him to attract an important fan and current trio member, incendiary guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg, then earning his degree from the University of Miami in the mid-1990s. When Smith started his own Pilgrimage Records label in 2012, the first release was his live CD The Healer, featuring stellar work by both soloists. An even younger drummer, Terreon Gully, proves an important third component in energizing and inspiring his bandmates. See Dr. Lonnie Smith at 8 p.m. on Dec. 18 and 19 at the Arts Garage ($25-$50).
The son of 89-year-old guitar icon Bucky Pizzarelli, 55-year-old John Pizzarelli grew up in Paterson, N.J., with a different performing agenda. Even though both play seven-string guitars, the father remains an instrumentalist influenced by the likes of late former collaborators Les Paul, Benny Goodman and Stéphane Grappelli — while the son’s primary influence is the late dual singing-and-piano threat, Nat King Cole. Which explains why the younger Pizzarelli is, like George Benson, equal parts crooning vocalist and jaw-dropping guitarist. His 25-year solo recording career includes homages to The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Richard Rodgers, and Duke Ellington. His new release, Midnight McCartney, was requested by Sir Paul as a result of the guitarist’s work on the former Beatle’s 2012 Grammy-winner, Kisses on the Bottom. See the John Pizzarelli Quartet at 7:45 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the Amaturo Theater ($98 + up), and at 8 p.m. on Jan. 16 at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 S.W. 211th St., Cutler Bay ($37.50-$55, 786-573-5300).
Great jazz trumpeters from Louis Armstrong to Wynton Marsalis have hailed from New Orleans, and 32-year-old Crescent City native Christian Scott is a logical successor. Early education came through his uncle, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr.; early traditions from his grandfather, Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr. — the only man to be chief of four Black Indian tribes of New Orleans. After graduating from the renowned New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Scott attended and graduated from the Berklee College of Music, where he studied and played with inspirational educators like legendary vibraphonist Gary Burton. Scott’s 2006 CD Rewind That was his third, but first on Concord Records, and its Grammy nomination put him on a faster track. He now has 10 CDs; experience working with icons in both jazz (McCoy Tyner, Eddie Palmieri) and pop (Prince, Mos Def), and even has a composition in director Jonathan Demme’s recent Meryl Streep vehicle, Ricki & the Flash. See Christian Scott at 8 p.m. on Jan. 22 at the Arts Garage ($25-$45).
Fifty-year-old trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis is arguably the least-known of the four Marsalis brothers, but trumpeter Wynton, saxophonist Branford and drummer/percussionist Jason would likely be among the first to say that’s not based on talent. After trying bass and drums in his musical family (Delfeayo often lay under father Ellis Marsalis’ piano as a child to listen to him play), he found his calling, influenced by trombone greats like J.J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller and Tommy Dorsey. Also an outstanding recording engineer, Marsalis majored in both performance and audio production at the Berklee College of Music, and has produced more than 100 releases. In addition to work with his family members, Marsalis has toured with three of the great all-time jazz drummers in Art Blakey, Max Roach, and Elvin Jones. The latest of his half-dozen solo releases was recorded with his 80-year-old father, The Last Southern Gentleman. Marsalis performs with his quartet in this Gold Coast Jazz Society presentation. See Delfeayo Marsalis at 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the Amaturo Theater ($64.90).
At age 38, drummer/percussionist Jason Marsalis is by far the youngest of the renowned musical Marsalis brothers, but he’s proven to be the heartbeat of New Orleans’ first family of jazz and beyond. His first gigs were with father and pianist Ellis Marsalis before he was a teenager, and Marsalis’ studies in classical percussion at Loyola University in New Orleans helped him to effortlessly record and tour with blind jazz piano virtuoso Marcus Roberts, guitarist Steve Masakowski, and Afro-Cuban fusion band Los Hombres Calientes as well as start his solo career. After showcasing his drumming skills on releases with telegraphed titles like Year of the Drummer, Marsalis decided to utilize the vibraphone skills he’d nurtured in college, beginning with 2009’s Music Update. Last year’s In a World of Mallets gained him new-found critical and commercial attention, and the new 21st Century Trad Band is a more than worthy successor. See Jason Marsalis at 8 p.m. on March 5 at the Arts Garage ($25-$50).
The first of Tony Bennett’s 18 Grammy Awards came in 1963 for the song he’s most associated with, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” but chances are that the 89-year-old hasn’t left his wallet anywhere recently. That’s because his most recent Grammys have come from duets with cash-cow pop singers like Lady Gaga (for this year’s Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Cheek To Cheek). A Queens, N.Y., native, Bennett started out as a crooner, partly because he was advised by Mitch Miller at Columbia Records not to try to emulate Frank Sinatra’s crossover success into jazz. Still, Bennett recorded multiple outstanding albums with heralded jazz pianists from the late 1950s (Count Basie) through the late 1970s (Bill Evans). His MTV appearances in the 1990s gained Bennett a new, younger following that clearly hasn’t left, either. See Tony Bennett at 8 p.m. on March 11 at Dreyfoos Concert Hall at the Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach ($36 + up, 561-832-7469).
Pianist Lynne Arriale says she always sings when she’s practicing and composing, but she’ll probably leave that to Carla Cook and Grace Kelly in their trio show of current female jazz stars. A Milwaukee native, the 58-year-old Arriale won the 1993 International Great American Jazz Piano Competition, launching a lengthy discography that includes standouts such as A Long Road Home, Inspiration, Come Together, and her unaccompanied showcase Solo. She’s also associate professor of jazz studies and director of small ensembles at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Cook is a soulful, Grammy-nominated singer from Detroit with a handful of recordings on the MaxJazz label; Kelly, despite sharing a name with the late princess of Monaco, is the Massachusetts-born, 23-year-old saxophonist and vocalist who had already released several CDs before recording GRACEfulLEE with iconic saxophonist Lee Konitz at age 16. See Lynne Arriale, Carla Cook and Grace Kelly at 8 p.m. on April 9 at Miniaci Performing Arts Center ($47.20).
Canadian singer and instrumentalist Bria Skonberg grew up in Chilliwack, British Columbia, influenced by jazz vocalists Anita O’Day, Rosemary Clooney, and Keely Smith, but there was one other who held particular significance — New Orleans-born Louis Armstrong (1901-1971). Even better-known for his trumpet playing than ahead-of its-time scat-singing skills, Armstrong inspired Skonberg to switch from piano to trumpet lessons. She then joined her high school’s traditional jazz band, developed a love for New Orleans, earned a 2006 degree in jazz trumpet from Capilano University in Vancouver, and ventured to her adopted hometown of New York City. When Armstrong’s modern-day protégé, Wynton Marsalis, gave her a thumbs-up as she performed there in Washington Square Park, she knew she’s arrived. Skonberg has released her second and third CDs since, and her quartet’s South Florida show, “Brass & Velvet: Music of Louis Armstrong, Anita O’Day and More,” blends most of her influences. See the Bria Skonberg Quartet at 7:45 p.m. on April 13 at the Amaturo Theater ($59).