Home for the Holidays @ Nighttown
Mon 12/27 with Vanessa Rubin
Tue 12/28 with Joe Lovano
Home for the Holidays has become quite a tradition at Nighttown in Cleveland Heights, as national jazz artists with Cleveland roots come home and play a show or two in late December. This year’s event had a full calendar of shows, and I was lucky enough to catch two of them.
On Mon 12/27, vocalist Vanessa Rubin took over Nighttown and owned the place for the evening. In front of an enthusiastic crowd made up of her family and many old friends and fans, she held court not only singing but also telling some great stories. Backed by a three piece band that featured Greg Bandy on drums, Drene Ivy on piano, and Glenn Holmes on bass, she covered old and new material, which included a touch of Brazil, jazz standards, some Ella-like scatting, and even a great version of “A Few of my Favorite Things.” There was something for everyone and the audience just loved it. For more about Vanessa Rubin and her music check out VanessaRubin.com.
On Tue 12/28, jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano took over the Nighttown stage in front of another sold out audience. Lovano is Cleveland’s biggest contribution to the current jazz world, and at Nighttown he gave three sets spanning a variety of different styles. His first set featured him as a soloist, his second set featured his wife Judi Silvano on vocals on several jazz standards, and the third set features Lovano sharing the stage with a who’s who of the Cleveland jazz world, including several sax duals with Ernie Krivda. It was a full night of music and the audience again appreciated it greatly. To be up to date on Lovano and his music visit JoeLovano.com.
As always, Nighttown has a lot of great shows coming up. You can check out their musical calendar at http://NighttownCleveland.com.
Greg Cielec is a local writer who covers mostly music and sports for a variety of publications and websites. He is also a full time English and creative writing teacher at Streetsboro High School; an adjunct professor at BGSU Firelands College and Lakeland Community College; and a football coach at John Carroll University. He has published two books of fiction, My Cleveland Story (1998) and Home and Away Games (2006), and the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Michael Heaton has called him “the Mark Twain of Cleveland.” Check out his website and blog at http://www.GregCielec.com.
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