When acclaimed guitarist Howard Alden married Diane Garcia a year ago January, the question came up as to where they would live. She lived in Chandler, Arizona; he was a long-time resident of New York City. Since he is on the road performing two-thirds of the year, and Phoenix has a convenient airport, the decision was made to call the Grand Canyon State home.
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The name of the Allegheny Jazz Party has been changed to the Cleveland Classic Jazz Party. The dates for the 2016 event are September 15-18. Music director Nancy Griffith reports that attendees at last year's party heard 260 tunes, with only six repeated during the entire weekend.
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Get-well wishes go out to John Cocuzzi who was diagnosed with colon cancer in December and subsequently underwent surgery. Well on the road to recovery, he has limited his initial appearances to his piano-playing. The drums and vibes will be back in due time.
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Back home in Grapevile, Texas after a successful and busy week in Nashville, pianist Brian Holland reports that he and drummer Danny Coots recorded their fifth CD, "Five" and their second B.A.D. Rhythm CD with Andy Reiss, and then played to a capacity audience at the Nashville Jazz Workshop ... all within the span of five days.
Danny acknowledges that his peripatetic schedule has him on the road 45 weeks during the year. A recent cruise took
