About Cheryl Bentyne & Mark Winkler

Cheryl Bentyne is a Grammy-winning singer best known as a member of the vocal quartet The Manhattan Transfer. Today, Cheryl not only logs over 200 live performances per year with the quartet, but also wows listeners with her exquisite solo performances.

Mark Winkler is a platinum award winning singer/lyricist who has had over 150 of his songs recorded and/or sung by vocalists such as Dianne Reeves and Liza Minnelli.

About the Ray Rideout Jazz Quartet

Ray Rideout has been in the Wisconsin music scene since 1964 and remains one of the top alto saxophone talents now residing in Madison. This is a rare chance to catch him and his jazz quartet.

Their post-bop jazz highlights such legends as John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter & Cedar Walton.

The post Cheryl Bentyne & Mark Winkler Headline Week Five of Jazz at Five 2012 appeared first on Jazz at Five.

And on behalf of all Jazz at Five fans, artists, and volunteers, we want to offer a special “thank you” to Alliance Laundry Systems, the Week Four Performance Sponsor!

About the John Jorgenson Quintet

The John Jorgenson Quintet features Grammy-award winning guitarist John Jorgenson, a founding member of the Desert Rose Band, the Hellecasters, and six-year member of Elton John’s band. Artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Bonnie Raitt to Earl Scruggs have sought out Jorgenson’s guitar work. Recently, John Jorgenson was chosen to portray Django Reinhardt in the feature film Head in the Clouds.

John Jorgenson is known as one of the pioneers of the American gypsy jazz movement. He has performed as a solo artist as well as collaborated with other musicians all over the world. His articles and lessons on gypsy jazz have appeared in prominent guitar magazines and he has given master classes around the country, and he has performed with some of the most respected European proponents of this style, Bireli Lagrene and Romane. His playing has been included on a CD with Babik Reinhardt and Jimmy Rosenberg, and on another featuring Angelo Debarre and Moreno. In 1988 Curb Records released Jorgenson’s After You’ve Gone CD, a collection of Reinhardt- and Goodman-styled 30′s swing, featuring guest artists Darol Anger and David Grisman.

At a John Jorgenson Quintet performance, audiences are amazed by John’s dazzling guitar work as well as his mastery as a clarinet player and vocalist. Whether playing his own accessible compositions or classic standards, John and his band make music that is equally romantic and ecstatic, played with virtuosity and soul.

About the Stellanovas

The Stellanovas are an acoustic jazz ensemble from Madison, Wisconsin.

Comprised of veteran musicians who have recorded and performed with musicians as various as U2, The Smashing Pumpkins, Willy Porter, Taj Majal, The Indigo Girls, Koko Taylor, Ray Charles, Delbert McClinton, Greg Brown, Peter Himmelman, Asleep at the Wheel, and the Subdudes, the duo at the core of The Stellanovas (the husband/wife team of Mary Gaines and Chris Wagoner) have been performing together for almost two decades. The duo becomes a trio and a quartet by adding the intense soloing of Ed Fila on guitar and the very groovy Mr. Jim Huwe on drums.

The post John Jorgenson Quintet Headlines Week Four of Jazz at Five 2012 appeared first on Jazz at Five.

About MadiSalsa

Celebrating the richly varied sounds of Latin dance and jazz music since its inception in 1992, MadiSalsa features eleven musicians from diverse musical and cultural backgrounds. The band continues to expand the borders of mambo, merengue, and salsa to the delight of audiences throughout Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. From the traditional to the contemporary, from Cuban to Dominican to Puerto Rican, the music of MadiSalsa reflects a unique vision of the direction of popular Latin music.

Since their formation, MadiSalsa has performed hundreds of shows and is a perennial Isthmus reader’s choice finalist in multiple categories, including Madison’s favorite Latin band. The band has slowly but surely developed into a strong musical force and audience draw not just in Madison, but throughout the Midwestern musical scene.

MadiSalsa’s critically acclaimed debut recording, Del Caribe al Corazón, was released in 1999. The band’s second album, Se Permite Bailar, was released in 2003.

About the Alison Margaret Quartet w/ Jimmy Voegeli

Alison Margaret is a gifted jazz singer, arranger, composer, and pianist. She hails from Chicago, where she studied at the prestigious Columbia College, earning a degree in vocal jazz performance.

Margaret has worked with some greats from the Chicago jazz scene, such as Laurence Hobgood, pianist, arranger, and composer, best known for his partnership with Kurt Elling; trumpeter and composer Orbert Davis; and William Russo, the late-great composer-founder of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. In late 2007, she collaborated with Hobgood to record her debut CD, Come Sunday, released on the Violet Records label.

Margaret now lives in Madison, Wisconsin, where she leads the Alison Margaret Jazz Quartet, featuring the brilliance of vibraphonist Geoff Brady, bassist John Christensen, and drummer Michael Brenneis.

The quartet released Shades of Morning in 2009. The 10-song set features Margaret’s pristine, fluid vocal styling and improvisation over innovative arrangements and stellar performances of American jazz and folk classics, plus tunes rarely heard in the jazz repertoire. Shades of Morning suggests Margaret’s Chicago roots, reminiscent without being derivative of Hobgood and Elling. Sophisticated harmony and rhythm, improvisational creativity, and Margaret’s atmospheric and supremely musical singing are the CD’s hallmarks.

Margaret is also an accomplished pianist. Throughout 2009 and 2010, she performed Keith Jarrett’s 1975 Koln Concert for packed, appreciative audiences in Madison, Rockford, and Syracuse. Margaret is currently preparing to perform a series of Bill Evans tribute concerts.

Jimmy Voegeli is a Madison-based keyboardist. He will be joining the Alison Margaret Quartet with his Hammond B3 organ for their Jazz at Five performance.

Voegeli played with The Westside Andy and the Mel Ford Band for 18 years. He currently tours with his band, The Jimmys.

Voegeli won Keyboardist of the Year at the Madison Area Music Awards in both 2010 and 2012. He has played with greats Pine Top Perkins, Rusty Zinn, Guitar Shorty, Joe Bonamaso, Perry Weber, Rev Raven, Billy Flynn, Tab Beniot, James Solberg, Sherly King, EC Scott, Clyde Stubblefield, Ben Sidran, Ken Saydak, and Dave Specter. He has also recorded with The Funkmasters, The Crashers, Lucas Cates, Robert J, Paul Flipowitz, The Velveetatones, Alex Wilson, Aaron Williams, Bobby Messano, and Fedora.

The post MadiSalsa Headlines Week Three of Jazz at Five 2012 appeared first on Jazz at Five.

And on behalf of all Jazz at Five fans, artists, and volunteers, we want to offer a special “thank you” Kegonsa Capital Partners, the Week Two Performance Sponsor!

About Madison Jazz Orchestra

Twenty-five years ago, a group of Madison jazz musicians led by bassist Dennis Oliver performed a concert/dance on a Sunday evening at the Sheraton Hotel Ballroom. With that gig, The Madison Jazz Orchestra was born.

The Madison Jazz Orchestra (“MJO”) celebrates the great large group concert jazz tradition by performing works from the libraries of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and more. Along with the music of established bands and composers, the MJO performs original compositions written for the band and by alumni of the band. For its Jazz at Five performance, the MJO will perform original compositions by Rick Hirsch and John Ahern along with an arrangement by Frank Ferriano.

The MJO celebrates it’s 25th anniversary this year with themed concert events at its regular gig at The Brink Lounge on the fourth Thursday of the month with two one hour sets at 7:30 pm and 9 pm.

About Lynette Margulies/Jane Reynolds Quartet

Lynette Margulies and Jane Reynolds have been performing together since 1979. They create an intimate musical dialogue between friends with years of music and life experience.

Lynette is a vocalist who sings from the heart. Whether it’s jazz, rhythm and blues, funk or classical, she draws from many styles and makes each piece her own. She uses her voice to improvise in the tradition of Ella Fitzgerald, or to tell the story in a jazz ballad, a classical melody, or a Hebrew song. She has performed with many jazz musicians in Madison and beyond, with whom she has several recordings. Lynette’s most memorable performance was with Ben Sidran, Joshua Redmond, Michael Brecker, Gil Goldstein, and Howard Levy at Lincoln Center in New York.

Jane Reynolds is a pianist, composer, music educator, and radio programmer/host for Strictly Jazz Sounds on WORT 89.9 FM. She has a Ph.D. in composition and has performed with many area jazz artists since 1975. Jane recorded a CD of original works with bassist Hans Sturm titled Blue Got Up, described in Cadence Magazine as “…a tour de force in the art of the duo.” Her composition “Love of Life,” on Lynette’s CD of the same name, was voted Best Classical Composition at the 2007 Madison Area Music Awards. In 2010, Jane was an organizer and performing artist for the Mary Lou Williams Centennial.

Lynette and Jane will be joined by Madison favorites Nick Moran on bass and Dane Richeson on drums. The quartet will feature original compositions and other inventive jazz creations.

The post Madison Jazz Orchestra Headlines Week Two of Jazz at Five 2012 appeared first on Jazz at Five.

In the end, the show went on—outside at the usual spot on State Street—with inspired performances by saxophonist Charles McPherson headlining and the Francesca Esme Quartet opening.

Check out these great pictures courtesy of Jim Forrestal of Forrestal Photography.

Week One Photo Highlights

The post Week One of Jazz at Five 2012 Opens on a Unique (and Wet) Note appeared first on Jazz at Five.

About Charles McPherson

Charles McPherson was recently featured at Lincoln Center showcasing his original compositions and arrangements with a seven piece ensemble. He has toured the US, Europe, Japan, Africa, and South America with his own group, as well as with jazz greats Billy Eckstine, Lionel Hampton, Nat Adderly, Jay McShann, and others.

McPherson has recorded as guest artist with Charlie Mingus, Barry Harris, Art Farmer, Kenny Drew, Toshiko Akiyoshi, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. He has recorded as leader on Prestige, Fantasy, Mainstream, Discovery, Xanadu, and most recently Arabesque. His most recent recording is the highly acclaimed Manhattan Nocturne.

McPherson is a strong, viable force on the jazz scene today—he is at the height of his powers. His playing combines passionate feeling with intricate patterns of improvisation. Throughout his four decades of being an integral performer of jazz music, McPherson has not merely remained true to his BOP origins, but has expanded on them.

About the Francesca Esme Quartet

Francesca Esme is a Brooklyn singer in the tradition of the 1950′s, evoking such greats as June Christy and Peggy Lee with a bit of southern grit built in.

Daughter of Marc Johnson, a renowned bass player and former Madison resident, Esme proves the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. We’re pleased to bring her back to a city stage where she has roots.

Having been born into music, Esme has made the most of it ever since. Whether occasionally fronting Texas band Snarky Puppy on their tour stops or singing with Chicago’s Big Time, a Tom Waits tribute band, Esme shows what she does best: pop music in a jazz idiom. Take the time to listen to her own spin on the work of Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, and great Motown classics and you’ll be able to see for yourself that Esme has a musical sense all her own.

The post Charles McPherson and Francesca Esme Quartet Kick Off Jazz at Five 2012 appeared first on Jazz at Five.

More importantly, we’ve completed our 2012 sponsor drive—and what a successful drive it was!

Introducing Ian’s Pizza—2012 Headliner Sponsor

To begin with, we are pleased to introduce Ian’s Pizza as our new Headliner Sponsor. After two years without a Headliner Sponsor, we could not be happier to have Ian’s Pizza on board.

Ian’s Pizza has become a local favorite—not only due to their success in creating award-winning artisan pizza that Madisonians loves to eat, but also due to their sincere customer service and belief in being a part of the bigger picture in our community. Whether it is art, sports, or music, Ian’s Pizza strives to be a part of, and to enhance, our community culture.

Voted one of the top 50 pizzas in America by Food Network, you’ll certainly want to stop in and find out which slice is your favorite!

Performance Sponsors Kegonsa, Alliance Laundry Systems Lead Rest of the All-Star Sponsor Team

We are also pleased to introduce two Performance Sponsors: Kegonsa Partners (back for a second year, this time sponsoring the Madison Jazz Orchestra on August 25) and Alliance Laundry Systems (sponsoring Grammy-award winner John Jorgenson on August 29). We introduced the Performance Sponsor level last year as a way to generate additional support for individual headline acts—a huge boost to Jazz at Five’s operations.

At the Rhythm Sponsor level we welcome the return of Johnson Bank & Johnson Insurance—back for their tenth year of Jazz at Five sponsorship. They are joined by the City of Madison Parking Utility, whose support makes it much easier for people from afar to visit downtown for Jazz at Five.

Rounding the roster are seven Sideman Sponsors (up from three last year): Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance, Kopke’s Greenhouse, Applied Technology, Networked Insights, Hovde Properties, Smith & Gesteland, and last but certainly not least, Capital Brewery—Jazz at Five’s exclusive beer sponsor and this year a Sideman Sponsor as well.

Jazz at Five would like to thank all of our sponsors, supporters and volunteers—we could not put on the show without you!

Party Patio like it’s Jazz at Five 2012

Two years ago Jazz at Five introduced the Party Patio—a new opportunity for businesses to support Jazz at Five while enjoying the performances in style. With seating for 20 plus food and drinks provided by Jazz at Five, the Party Patio is an ideal spot for a company party.

So far this year we have three Party Patio sponsors, all new for 2012: Networked Insights, Smith & Gesteland, and Hovde Properties.

This leaves the Party Patio open for two evenings. If you’re interested, please email info@jazzatfive.org.

The post Ian’s Pizza Anchors Full Roster of Jazz at Five 2012 Financial Sponsors appeared first on Jazz at Five.

In 2012, we had all three. And the results have been spectacular.

The business plan was a little rough–first plans are always a work in progress. Our volunteer board member Teri stepped up to lead from the board and the whole board stepped up to the plan. Keys to our sponsorship drive was establishing new sponsorship levels and benefits, working with local food and beverage merchants to offer catering, finalizing the performer lineup early in the year, and providing a CD of Jazz artists available for the 2012 season (yes potential sponsors could actually listen to music!).

The result was more than twice as many total sponsors as 2011, a headliner sponsor for the first time in two years, and two performance sponsors. Maybe planning does help?

Thanks to the generosity of our financial sponsors and in kind sponsors, the 19th season of Jazz at Five will be the best in our history–and will remain free to all Jazz fans!

For more information about becoming a Jazz at Five sponsor, contact Rusty Mosher, a volunteer Jazz at Five board member, at info@jazzatfive.org.

The post Inside the Jazz at Five 2012 Sponsorship Drive appeared first on Jazz at Five.

The 2012 series kicks off with acclaimed alto saxophonist Charles McPherson. The series closes four weeks later with Grammy award winner Cheryl Bentyne of the Manhattan Transfer featuring Mark Winkler and supported by a trio of Madison’s top jazz musicians.

Jazz at Five 2012 Performers

Become a Jazz at Five sponsor

Jazz at Five is a unique cultural event that relies on the generosity of sponsors to remain free and open to the public.

If you or your company is interested in sponsoring Jazz at Five, please email rmosher@jazzatfive.org for more information.

The post Grammy Award Winners Cheryl Bentyne of Manhattan Transfer and John Jorgenson Lead All-Star Lineup for Jazz at Five 2012 appeared first on Jazz at Five.

Annual Fundraiser a Huge Success

The Brink Lounge generously hosted the 2012 Jazz at Five Fundraiser on April 1. MadiSala and the Michelle DuVall Quartet with Doug Brown—both previous Jazz at Five performers—provided the entertainment on a Sunday
afternoon. The annual fundraiser provides approximately 5 percent of the Jazz at Five total annual operating budget.

Over 20 gift baskets were awarded in the annual Jazz at Five fundraiser raffle including two Delta Airline tickets, a night at the Concourse, fine wine, golf, garden, theater, and champagne baskets.

Jazz at Five would like to thank the Brink lounge for again hosting the event, all the attendees, organizations and individuals that donated to the raffle . . . and the terrific volunteers that “put the show on.”

See you at the 2013 Fundraiser next April.

The First Annual Jazz at Five Wine Raffle Brings in $3,500

Jazz at Five conducted an exciting 100 bottle wine raffle earlier this year. We are pleased to announce that we raised close to $3,500—approximately 7 percent of the Jazz at Five operating budget—thanks to our fan base, the support of our sponsors, and the hard work of our volunteers!

This new annual contest attracted jazz fans and supporters from the Madison and Milwaukee areas, including natives who now live as far as Texas and Pennsylvania, but still keep up on the latest Jazz at Five news.

The winners of the first annual Jazz at Five Wine Raffle were Jamie Warren, Howard Sweet, Lee Peter, and Rick Petran from Madison. Jamie, Rick, Howard, Lee, and Rick bought their ticket as a group! Congratulations, gentlemen!

Jazz at Five wants to extend a big thank you to all of our wine raffle participants for their continued support of Jazz at Five.

We also want to thank Phillips Wine Company, Riley’s Wines of the World, General Beverage & Frederick Wildman & Sons. Ltd. who generously donated over $1700 of wine for this fund raising contest.Be sure to look for details of the 2013 Jazz at Five Bottle Wine Raffle! Ticket sales will begin in January.

The post Jazz at Five 2012 Fundraising in Full Swing appeared first on Jazz at Five.