this one
Tim Roberts

Jazzin'
By Tim Roberts

A first-time release for a band provides more tension and anxiety tighter than a wound watch spring. Getting turned down by place-after-place to host your release party doesn't help. So Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 801 Hurstbourne Lane, has graciously stepped in to provide the right setting for a release party for Splatch, the local electric jazz quartet - soon to be quintet - with the name that almost nobody can spell and a sound that defies categorization. This celebration of their self-titled debut will be in the B&N Café on Friday, October 17 at 8:00 p.m.

There appears to be a mutual incongruity between this band and its venue. Splatch's blend of electronic funk and be-bop cool will provide a different sound for B&N, whose Friday night acts in the past have included Chaz, George Egger, Owen's Little Problem, Reid Jahn, and scores of other lesser-known local musicians providing background music for folks slurping their lattes. But music department supervisor Denise Prebys is confident the party for Splatch will work. "We have the space," she says. "I know they're talented and they deserve the recognition."

So slam down a few cups of Starbuck's at the Barnes & Noble Café on October 17 at 8:00, and get wired for Splatch.

A big thanks goes out to the Louisville Jazz Society and Todd Lowe, its president, for bringing in The Falconaires, the US Air Force Big Band of the Rockies. Their free concert on September 8 packed the auditorium at the Youth Performing Arts School. The audience, mostly senior citizens, enjoyed a two-part program. The first contained some original big-band compositions, including a tribute to Count Basie, and Billy May arrangements of two Cole Porter standards. For the second set, the band changed into vintage Army Air Corps khakis and performed a range of big-band tunes from 50 and more years ago, as part of its tribute to the 50th anniversary of the US Air Force. The final selection blended both "In the Mood" with "Swing, Swing, Swing," which brought the crowd to its feet when it was finished.

It took three years of work to bring The Falconaires to town, Todd told me after the show. They are in such a high demand from high schools and colleges all over the nation. Corporate and other sponsors put up the money for printing the programs and obtaining the space to perform. But we get the benefits of that work.

Speaking of the LJS, their next First Monday show will feature trumpeter Marcus Printup and his quartet on October 6 at the Seelbach Bar at 7:30.

The University of Kentucky Spotlight Jazz Series will feature Richard Davis, Tribute to the Jazz Masters on October 11, drummer T. S. Monk will appear on November 14, James Carter does a show on January 23, and Christian McBride will perform on April 11.

All performances will be at 8:00 PM in either the Singletary Center of Fine Arts or Memorial Hall on the University of Kentucky campus. Call 1-606-257-8427 for tickets or more information.

Locally, you can catch Walker & Kays at the Belknap Neighborhood Fall Festival on October 11 at 4:00 PM.

Rick's on Shelbyville Road now has jazz four nights a week, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 to 12 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 PM to 2 AM. Go listen to Todd Hildreth on Wednesday and Thursday or Chris Fitzgerald on Friday and Saturday. These sets include by Brian Vincent on bass, Gary Claude on drums, and Sarah Stivers on vocals.

Live Jazz in Louisville: Safe when taken as directed.