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Sponsored by the Olney Culture Lab, headed by a friend of mine, Ambrose Liu. I plan to be there with my wife! https://olneyculturelab.org/event/jazz-on-the-green-at-fisher-park/ Jazz on the Green at Fisher Park June 6 @ 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm Venue: Fisher Park West Spencer and North 5th Streets Philadelphia, PA 19120 Get Tickets Jazz on the Green will bring live music to the Olney section of Philadelphia on Saturday, June 6. This multi-generational showcase will present four distinguished groups of musicians including the venerable Professor Randy J. Gibson & the Double Portion Ensemble, Composer & Pianist Sumi Tonooka, Roy Suarez Quintet and a performer to be announced. The event will be held from 3 pm – 7 pm. To register for this event, go to jazzonthegreen2026.eventbrite.com. In case of inclement weather forecast, the event will be moved indoors at Gibson School of Music at 5425 North 5th Street. Jazz on the Green is produced by the Olney Culture Lab (of the CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia). Main support for this event is given by William Penn Foundation. Additional support provided by Councilman Anthony Phillips, The Jazz Foundation of America, Olney Community Collaborative, Fisher Park Community Alliance and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Visit olneyculturelab.org to learn about all our programs, events and activities.

Mozart String Quartets K.465 & K.590 - Talich Quartet

John Pachnos Introduces Himself With a Fully Formed Vision On "John Pachnos," Arriving May 15 on Avgonyma Music Bassist-Composer's Debut Features Seven Smart, Fresh Originals In a Quintet with Guitarist Caleb Heinze, Saxophonist/Flutist Carter Vames, Pianist Frankie Midnight, Drummer Justin Vedovelli   April 6, 2026 Just 25 years old, John Pachnos announces himself to the jazz world with a remarkably mature and bracingly individual artistic profile on his stunning debut John Pachnos, set for a May 15 release on his own Avgonyma Music label. A quintet album featuring saxophonist/flutist Carter Vames, guitarist Caleb Heinze, pianist Frankie Midnight, and drummer Justin Vedovelli, it also includes seven original compositions, collectively offering an immediately distinctive and compelling new voice. Despite his youth, Pachnos’s development as a musician has been in the works for decades. He is a former child prodigy whose talents became manifest when he was three years old. His already-musical family lost no time, he recalls, in “having me take piano lessons and teaching me how to read music and introducing me to that whole world.” That world has been his own ever since. (He has even known, and played, with guitarist Heinze since they attended music camp together at 11 years old.) That literal lifelong dedication is apparent in what we hear on tunes like the hard-boppish “Gettin’ Outta Dodge”: It’s bold and quirky, following its own direction, but also a masterful example of the classic 32-bar song form that gives ample room for all five musicians (himself included) to make their own thrilling statements. Meanwhile, “No Funks to Give” is slightly more eccentric in its form, but no less virtuosic in its transitions from hard funk to carefree swing and back again, and “Take It All Off!” walks the line between jazz improvisation and balls-to-the-wall rock swagger with astonishing precision. Yet if Pachnos’s technical facility belies his young age, so does his emotional maturity. “Well Well Well” shows a fluency in advanced and ambiguous harmonies, but more pointedly, the bassist (and his companions, especially Vames) use those harmonies to render a nuanced, complex, and sometimes contradictory emotional landscape. On the other hand, “Floridian Winter” is more plainspoken in its fond nostalgia, as is “As Summer Turns to Fall” in its sweet introspection. Each thoughtfully channels sincere, earned emotion into a well-crafted delivery vessel. The back story for the album’s lead track, “Avgonyma,” takes place in the medieval Greek town of the same name, birthplace of his great-grandparents. During a visit there with his father, he bought a bouzouki, and once home, he was eager to add the traditional stringed instrument to an already-recorded song. “I ended up overdubbing all of these bouzouki flourishes on the track,” he says. Many of the kudos for Pachnos’s accomplishment on his first album are shared with his collaborators. Friends and fellow travelers from his days at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts—including Heinze, with whom Pachnos reconnected at the conservatory—the quintet plays with the empathy and chemistry of a cohort that’s spent years bouncing ideas and creative energy off each other. It reaps tremendous awards on John Pachnos. Born March 15, 2001, in Newton, New Jersey, John Pachnos was welcomed by a music-loving family that he quickly became an active part of—quicker than anyone might have expected. Hearing his big sister’s piano practice session one day, three-year-old John toddled up behind her and repeated her playing verbatim. This led to his beginning piano lessons of his own; he also spent some time with the drum kit. Then, inspired by the classic rock his dad loved, he took up the bass, soon immersing himself in the trailblazing lines of Motown icon James Jamerson. Pachnos embraced jazz in high school, between the Gordon Goodwin arrangements he worked on in band class and COTA’s CampJazz program at the Deer Head Inn, which he participated in during the summer of 2018. He took it with him to Rutgers University, where he studied with bass notable Kenny Davis. (Summer jazz intensives with Victor Wooten, at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, supplemented those studies and allowed him to delve deeper into the funkier side of jazz.) After graduation came embarkation, as Pachnos found work on the cruise-ship circuit—an educational curriculum of its own, as he was required to practice every imaginable style of music behind performers from all over the world. Back on land, though, Pachnos was exploring similarly diverse avenues, working in rock bands and pit orchestras as well as jazz. It’s the latter, though, that is the inspiration behind his self-titled debut recording. Photography: Rob Yaskovic    John Pachnos EPK  John Pachnos Website  

Maybe even talked yourself out of John Hicks on track 7 and Purdie on 10! Your KC note for track 4 was on point. Glad you liked the mix. I figured some different flavors would be appreciated if not enjoyed. Only 3, 6 and 9 remain unidentified. Not even a week in lol. Y'all are damned good at this.

During a music knowledge contest:

Good stuff! I wish I'd bought a copy of that LP when it was readily available.

Gotta get in here somewhat early this month. track 1 - Low-end forward swinging big band. Heavy on the altered extensions, but with purpose. Got a little bit of that two-chord molly thing going. Or three. Busy tenor acquits himself well. Never been a fan of that type of mute. Maybe for section work, but just doesn't sound good to me on a solo. Solid bari work. Maybe a young Cuber? Doesn't quite have his edge, but the ideas are similar. Solid starter, fun tune with solid solos. Arrangement hints to me this might not be the usual format for either band or arranger. 3.5/5 track 2 - Nice, loping feel. Can't tell what the higher stringed instrument is (or is that a double plucked single instrument?). Okay, so two tenors on a live date with a somewhat rambunctious audience (if not an attentive one). Suggests a new(ish) recording (audiences have forgotten how to behave). Okay, that sounds like a pizzacato cello to me. Getting over a cold and can't tell if I'm hearing a bass back there, as well, or it's just a drum. Or maybe that's an oud. That strolling drum beat works well, here. Appreciate that the string instrument soloed first, but really want the tenors to do something. Alas, they don't care what I want. Okay, so there IS a bass. Very solid. 3.5/5 track 3 - Angry alto player. Was brought onto a session once and given instructions to "Zorn out" at a particular point. That's how this hits me -- not a bad thing, but certainly need to be in a particular head space. (Takes a lot more energy to get there these days!) Maybe Arthur Doyle? Not sure it finds his groove, but that's the name that springs up. 2.5/5 (could be higher, but my ears aren't on that planet at the moment) track 4 - That's different flavor. Straight forward swinging, burly tenor. Very KC sound to the band. That tenor sound is ticking something in my memory. Rhythmically I'd almost say Zoot, but nothing close to his tone. Wondering if maybe somebody like Frank Wess or Jimmy Hamilton, one of those unsung "second" tenors. Very cool. 4/5 track 5 - Very busy. If this clicked, I might be inclined to think a William Parker project, but this one isn't fully hitting for me. Drummer doesn't seem to have any purpose besides busy, and bass player is having to work very hard as a result. Like the alto a lot. I probably have stacks that someone would say sound just like this, but this genre really has to hit a niche for me (and I think for most people who listen to it). This doesn't miss, but I'm unlikely to be able to ID anyone here. In a cohesive set, this might work really well. In this context, I'm just hearing it as noisy. (Thought I'm glad to see some bits like this popping up in a BFT!) 3.5/5 track 6 - That transition works well. Thoughtful opening turns more reactionary (not a negative, just an observation). I was hoping for more of the pensive stretch. Could be the same band, but I think I like this sax player a bit better. Drummer, too, though the approach is similar. Nice bow work on the bass. Percussion is a bit clangy, but as a whole, this track works better than the last for me. There's more listening and it seems more of an honest interaction. 4/5 track 7 - First thought was Sonny Simmons, but sounds a little clean for him. Love the feel of this tune and what this band is doing with it. Not so clean as the glossy covered stuff that gets promoted to radio stations, though -- this has some grunt to it. I think I know this player, but it's coming through clearly. Possible that they double? Not John Hicks, but they've heard him plenty. Solid solo by a bassist I don't recognize. 4/5 track 8 - Of the period, not just period correct. Does what it's supposed to. Not my avenue, but well done. When I got up, I clicked on the tube and an old episode of Soul! was on, and a woman was barking out a gospel-blues -- this strikes me kind of like that. I'm not surprised by anything going on, but it works. Well... then somebody has to sing. 😕 The only thing I know for sure is that I don't know who this is. Genre just isn't my bag. I respect it when done well (and this is), but it just doesn't hit me where I need to be hit. 2.5/5 track 9 - This one was neither good nor bad, just didn't really even register for me. I know there was some sort of flute, but that's about as much as it caught my attention. 2/5 track 10 - Wouldn't be my chosen genre, but does what it does very well (in spite of that atrocious bass sound!). Might be a tad clean for what it is, but it gets you moving. It's neither Gator nor Purdie, but they like those guys (who don't!?). Got a little taste of The Meters in there, too. 3/5 track 11 - Well, it's Johnny Hartman. Tenor is pinging hard. [On second listen] Okay, that's Frank Wess, so this is from this. 4/5 And the drought ends! A varied listen, which I greatly appreciate. A lot in here I want to know more about. Thanks! Damnit! Talked myself out of both Ra and Fortune. Figures.

They are in prime form here 🙂

pretty interesting day for jazz birthdays... 6-Apr †Charlie Rouse 1924-88 6-Apr †Randy Weston 1926-2018 6-Apr †Gerry Mulligan 1927-96 6-Apr †Andre Previn 1929-2019 6-Apr †Art Taylor 1929-95 6-Apr †Bill Hardman 1933-90 6-Apr †Horace Tapscott 1934-99 6-Apr Manfred Schoof b. 1936 6-Apr Gene Bertoncini b.1937 6-Apr †George Otsuka 1937-2020 6-Apr †Noah Howard 1943-2010 6-Apr John Pizzarelli b.1960

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Excellent choice.

Schlippenbach/Parker/Lovens - Detto Fra Di Noi - Live in Pisa 1981

Manfred Schoof Quintet - Resonance (ECM) Today I´d say: Flowers all over!

Arnie Krakowsky - Where The Tenor Meets The Bone (Seaside Recordings). Arnie is a local tenor player who still gigs at a lot of the smaller clubs in my area. I bought this CD and the other featuring this band, "Is It Minor Yours?" from him at a couple of these gigs. This CD is very nice, with Arnie on tenor, George Masso on Trombone, Jon Wheatley on guitar. Paul Schmeling on piano, Marshall Wood on bass and Artie Cabral on drums, "local" musicians who I managed to see perform many times over the years. Sadly, Masso & Cabral have both passed away.

SML (Small, Medium, Large) (International Anthem)

Shabaka, Of the Earth