Thu 1/16 @ 8 & 10PM
Fri 1/17 @ 8 & 10PM
Jazz sax player Joe Lovano has come a long way since he left Cleveland in the early ’70s to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music. In fact, he’s one of the most successful among the city’s many jazz exports.
He was encouraged early on by his father Tony “Big T” Lovano, a respected sax player himself whose career never went much beyond playing regularly at nightclubs around northeast Ohio.
His son’s, however, has taken him around the world. After Berklee, Lovano played with Jack McDuff, Lonnie Smith, and the Woody Herman Orchestra. Later on, he worked with a long list of jazz luminaries such as John Scofield, Paul Motian, Dave Leibman, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden, McCoy Tyner, and Bill Frisell.
He began recording as a band leader in the mid ’80s, amassing almost three dozen records as leader or co-leader. He also teaches at Berklee, while still gigging regularly, often with his Us Five Quintet, which features among others, 2011 Grammy-winning Best New Artist, bassist Esperanza Spalding, a former Berklee student herself.
That ensemble was featured on his most recent release, last year’s Cross Culture, comprising mostly his own compositions. It finds him playing a variety of instruments, including percussion instruments from different countries. Now 61, Lovano’s still challenging himself.
He returns to Nighttown as one of the club’s biggest name headliners, indicated by the fact that he’s playing two nights with two shows each night. For these shows, he’ll be working with New York-based pianist Kenny Werner.
Tickets are $30.