Jazz Legend 'Fats' Waller to be Celebrated With Fresh Spin

By Will Friedwald 

Michael Mwenso

&

Brianna Thomas

celebrate 110 years of

Fats Waller

Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

Broadway at 60th Street, 5th Floor, [phone]

Monday & Thursday

Two young vocalists, Michael Mwenso (from Sierra Leone, West Africa) and Brianna Thomas (from Peoria, Ill.), celebrate Thomas "Fats" Waller, the legendary pianist-songwriter-singer-comedian at Dizzy's. The location is apt because Dizzy Gillespie himself lauded Waller as one of the funniest in jazz. The vocalists will be accompanied by pianist Chris Pattishall, trombonist Josh Holcomb and trumpeter-singer Bria Skonberg. Then on Thursday, Ms. Skonberg leads her own band, honoring Louis Armstrong's mega-masterpiece album from 1955, "Satch Plays Fats."

Dee Dee Bridgewater

featuring Theo Croker

Blue Note

131 W. 3rd St. [phone]

Through Sunday

The veteran vocalist, Dee Dee Bridgewater, portrayed Billie Holiday on off-Broadway during the past year. Recently, she reinterpreted the "Lady Day" repertoire in her own way at the Newport Jazz Festival and collaborated with trumpeter Theo Croker on a new album that combines American jazz with Afrobeat. This Blue Note appearance promises to draw on Ms. Bridgewater's total oeuvre, which encompasses a multicultural and multi-continental approach.

Daryl Sherman

Bryant Park

Between 40th and 42nd Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues

Friday

The storied pianist-singer works all over the city--from the Kitano to the Knickerbocker--but Bryant Park is one of the best places to hear her. It is quieter than some of the noisier gin joints that hire piano players, plus this intimate setting encourages listeners to be more forthcoming with requests.

Duchess

55 Bar

55 Christopher St. [phone]

Thursday

Lately the most overlooked ensemble format in jazz is the vocal harmony group--you're more likely to hear a band with three drummers or accordionists than a trio comprised of three singers. This recently organized threesome, Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner and Melissa Stylianou, devises original arrangements of mostly vintage songs, both familiar and offbeat. They understand that swinging music goes hand in hand with an audacious sense of humor.

Percussion Discussion: An All-Percussion Tribute To Max Roach

Richard Rodgers Amphitheater, Marcus Garvey Park

5th Ave & 124th St, [phone]

Friday

Even as Jazzmobile continues to celebrate its 50th season and the legacy of founders Dr. Billy Taylor and Daphne Arnstein, Friday's concert honors drummer, composer and modern jazz pioneer Max Roach, who was born 90 years ago this year. The headliners include traps master (and Roach collaborator) Warren Smith, vibraphonists Jay Hoggard and Bryan Carrott, Afro-Latin percussionist Bobby Sanabria and steel-pan virtuoso Lyndon Achee.

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