The Jazz of March Comes Swingin’ In | Norman Provizer’s Jazz Notes

This is the week that everybody wishes they could be down in New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras on Tuesday before Lent begins. Earlier this week, you might have warmed up to Fat Tuesday by hearing trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra at the Newman Center. And if you can’t make it south on Tuesday, here are some spots you can celebrate though you might have to bring your own beads.

At Dazzle, 1512 Curtis, Fat Tuesday finds the Chicago-based Lowdown Brass Band on stage starting at 6 p.m. (303-839-5100). In 1977, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band plowed a new path for the Crescent City brass band tradition by blending funk and bop into the traditional brass band sound. That path has now become its own tradition

Over at Nocturne, 1330 27^th St., on Tuesday, you can do your Fat Tuesday celebrating at 6 p.m. with Tom Amend on Hammond B-3 organ and a band that has Gabriel Mervine on trumpet, while you can do the same at La Cour, 1643 S. Broadway, at 7 p.m. with saxophonist Rich Chiaraluce’s trio (303-777-5000). And up in Boulder at the Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut, you can try to drop some weight on Fat Tuesday to the music of Mama Roux at 7 p.m. (303-440-7826).

Nocturne Jazz and Supper Club in the heart of the RiNo District, 27th & Larimer, has the Root Down Organ Trio with guitarist Matt Fuller on Friday and “The Soul” with trumpeter AnDré Mali’s quartet on Saturday.

Back at Dazzle, the Cass Clayton Band performs on Friday at 7 p.m., the expansive Little Creatures group plays the music of Talking Heads on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and the Denver Jazz Orchestra does the same on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

As March begins, remember that it is going to be another amazing month of music at Dazzle starting on the 7^th and 8^th with the Cyrus Chestnut group that is now listed as having Warren Wolf on vibes, Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Carl Allen on drums. Following that there’s the Chris Potter Trio on the 12^th, singer Veronica Swift with the Benny Green Trio on the 16^th, the Sun of Goldfinger with Tim Bern on the 16^th  (a masterclass at MSU Denver) and 17^th , the Tom Harrell quartet on the 20^th and 21^st and the Carla Bley/Steve Swallow/Andy Sheppard Trio on the 24^th.

There is also the Tony Monaco Trio at Nocturne on the 21^st and drummer Antonio Sánchez’s Migration band at the Boulder Theater on the 29^th. opening up for the Sánchez Migration band is the award-winning pianist and composer Walter Gorra with his quartet, that’s a pretty impressive lineup!

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