Around Town
The Ann Arbor Summer festival presented several quality jazz acts in June. On the Rackham Stage (TOP) there was a rare opportunity to enjoy Mr B’s B10 Big Band with an all-star lineup of area musicians, including Mr B on piano (left) facing Duncan McMillan (right) on keyboards and horns in between include: Keith Kaminski (alto sax), Chris Smith (trombone), and Dwight Adams (trumpet).
On the O & W Grove Stage the Ron Brooks Quartet led things off with Rick Roe on keys, and Nick Collins on drums.
Bassist/singer Gwen Hayes assembled a band (BELOW) with Nate Topo on saxes, Jake Reichbart on guitar, Phil Hale on keyboards and Rob Avsharian on drums.
The Blue LLama featured a number of stellar acts this summer. Joan Belgrave, Marcus’s widow, Ellen Rowe’s all female group on June 20 featuring musicians she has encountered over the years, they included Janelle Reichman on tenor sax and Melissa Gardiner on trombone (BELOW). Both very impressive musicians who know how to swing with feeling.
photographs by Lars Bjorn