Blue Wisp tribute to Marjean Wisby

This message went out today from Phil DeGreg, who leads the house trio on weekends at the Blue Wisp. Watch for a small appreciation of Marjean Wisby this Thursday in the Enquirer. By the way, I found this picture of her with the great Joe Lovano on the Blue Wisp Web site.
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As most of you are aware by now, Marjean Wisby passed away on Wednesday, August 23. It has been a difficult summer for all of us at the club. We did have hopes for her recovery, but sadly things just got worse and worse. She owned and ran the Blue Wisp for over 30 years, which was an amazing act of dedication and perseverance. The Wisp meant everything to her; she loved the business, the music, and the musicians, and was there faithfully seven nights a week all those years, rarely missing a night. She had a big heart, and those of us that knew her miss her a lot. You can read an obituary at this link.

Her funeral was private, but we will be having a celebration of her life at the club on Tuesday, September 26 from 7-11, which will feature The Blue Wisp Big Band and many of the musicians who have played frequently at the club. We will also be raising money to repay her funeral expenses, which had to be borrowed. Please come that evening to help us remember her. It is being organized right now; there will be more info forthcoming in September, and we hopefully will get some media support.

There has of course been lots of speculation about the future of the club. We are confident that the Wisp will continue at its current location as a jazz venue. There will likely be some changes and improvements over time. We are focusing for the moment on improving the service and the hospitality of the club; come by and you should notice the difference. Over the summer we scaled back to four nights of music, and this will continue for a while. There are legal and estate issues being attended to right now, so things are in process. We intend to keep the calendar/newsletter mailings going out to keep you informed.

Below and on the attached calendar are the bookings for September.

Fri 9/1 Rusty Burge and the Blue Wisp Trio
Sat 9/2 Rusty Burge and the Blue Wisp Trio

Wed 9/6 Blue Wisp Big Band
Thur 9/7 Oz Landesberg Quartet
Fri 9/8 Vintage Keys Project, featuring Brent Gallaher
Sat 9/9 Pat Harbison Quartet

Wed 9/13 Blue Wisp Big Band
Thur 9/14 Oz Landesberg Quartet
Fri 9/15 Sandy Suskind and the Blue Wisp Trio
Sat 9/16 Sandy Suskind and the Blue Wisp Trio

Wed 9/20 Blue Wisp Big Band
Thur 9/21 Midpoint Music Festival
Fri 9/22 Midpoint Music Festival
Sat 9/23 Midpoint Music Festival

Tuesday 9/26 Special Memorial/Fundraiser for Marjean
Wed 9/27 Blue Wisp Big Band
Thur 9/28 Phil DeGreg Trio
Fri 9/29 Dan Faehnle w/ Phil DeGreg Trio
Sat 9/30 Dan Faehnle w/ Phil DeGreg Trio

Notes about special upcoming shows:

September 1-2
This coming weekend we welcome CCM Professor, vibraphone virtuoso Rusty Burge. He is an amazing player, who is equally comfortable in the "classical" and jazz music worlds. He technique is flawless and his ideas strong and flowing. This is an instrument not commonly heard, and rarely played so well.
More about Rusty at: http://www.ccm.uc.edu/bios/burge.html

September 8
The Vintage Keys Project is an ensemble that utilizes the Rhodes and Wultizter pianos playing classic jazz and jazz- fusion arrangements by Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, and others. The band includes trumpeter Pat Harbison, Brent, Gallaher, Tony Franklin, Bill Jackson, and keyboardist Jim Connerley.

September 9
Trumpeter Pat Harbison used to teach in the jazz program at CCM. He was a regular on the Cincinnati scene, but moved to Indiana University in the late 90's. He is a strong post-bop player, and swings hard. More on Pat at:
http://Patharbison.com/

September 15-16
Sandy Suskind is without question the finest jazz flutist in the region. His sound is big, and his playing always soulful and passionate. Imagine the fire and lines of Coltrane played with the sound of Herbie Mann and you get the idea.

September 21-23
The Blue Wisp is one of many venues hosting the MidPoint Music Festival, a music event of all styles of music here in Cincinnati. The acts playing the Wisp will be the more jazz-oriented ones. Get the schedule and all the MidPoint info at: http://www.mpmf.com/

September 26
Tribute to Marjean; see above

September 28
The Phil DeGreg Trio, featuring Bill Jackson and Tony Franklin. I just got back from Los Angeles where I recorded what will be my next CD, a trio featuring the great Joe LaBarbera and Tom Warrington. I will be playing some of that music along with other tight well-rehearsed arrangements. Check my website: http://phildegreg.com/news.html
To hear some of my previous trio recordings go to: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/phildegreg

September 29-30
We are pleased to welcome back the amazing guitarist Dan Faehnle, who always burns the house down. Dan toured for several years with Diana Krall. A true virtuoso. Jazz Times magazine says: "Faehnle is simply one of the best guitarists working today, and is admired by a wide range of veteran players." Just Jazz Guitar Magazine calls him "A box-slinger with funkafied, greasy chops that combine virtuosic technique with heavy groove," or more simply put by Jazz Times, "one of the best guitarists working today...."
Read about him at: www.danfaehnle.com

OTHER NOTES

The Blue Wisp Big Band continues to hold forth every Wednesday night.

Young CCM wunderkind tenor saxophonist Oz Landesberg leads his Quartet the first two Thursdays in September.

ABOUT THE BLUE WISP JAZZ CLUB
The Blue Wisp Jazz Club is located at 318 East Eighth
Street in downtown Cincinnati and is open Wed-Sat.
Showtimes are Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. to
11:30; Thursday through Saturday, 9:30 p.m.-1:30
a.m. Cover charges vary. To make reservations, call
(513) 241-WISP.