Sounds Coming Out of Florida II

As many of you know - I've been producing and co-hosting a podcast for the last year that focuses on original music being created by musicians living in Florida. Although jazz does well in South Florida; it's a big state where the genre is languishing in some pretty big cities including Jacksonville (!), St. Augustine, Daytona Beach and Gainesville.

The podcast is designed to be that "one more" outlet for the composers & performers here in the state to gain a little exposure; and has done well, with a faithful audience all over the world and consistently high ranking in the jazz category.

For August I decided to buck tradition a bit and program music that requires more listener involvement. If you haven't heard artists like Ron Miller, LaRue Nickelson and Zach Bartholomew, I encourage you to have a listen and see what's really going down here in the South.

If you want to help us in this endeavor - simple things like clicking the Facebook "like" button, or sharing an episode on your wall or twitter go a very long way! Thanks in advance and God bless! - Kenny

New Gigs - Old Gigs

We had the time of our lives on Jan 28th at Jazzland in Jacksonville. The place draws a special audience who are respectful & attentive, and who contribute to the music simply with love and enjoyment. Still waiting on some photos from that gig, no audio was recorded. Too bad - it was an A-game night; with new arrangements and some songs we hadn't played before live - "Surely" and "Sky Blue". The third set we played the "Kind of Blue" album in it's entirety!


Tomorrow night we're at a new venue here in my home town of Palm Coast, FL - the Three Dogs Grille - another new joint dedicated to jazz; looking forward! We'll be playing lots of Monk, like we did back in September at Le Crepe en Haut in Ormond Beach (now closed). Below is a new video from that evening.





Over on the Listen Page there is a set of music in the player from a gig at Arthur's Tavern in November 2003 with Lieven Venken and Mike Bates. A real groovin' night - the "Blue 'n Boogie" is one of my all-time favorites for the way it ends; I also love how Michael brings his own brand of improv to the table. Lots of fine empathy going on and Lieven is highly imaginative and brilliant as always. A little anecdote - at one point during the 1st set I had the boys start "Blue and Green" without me, so I could run out and put quarters in the parking meters. Those NYC meter cops were relentless! I think I paid more in tickets than I ever made at the club. Worth every penny for the memories & the musical moments. - KM

Great new jazz venue in Jacksonville

Kenny MacKenzie Trio at Jazzland, Jacksonville Oct 15 11

We returned to Jacksonville for the first time this year at an exceptional new venue called Jazzland. If you are in Jax, or passing through - I encourage you not to miss checking out a show there. No food license, so eat before or after; but what a classy joint. The lighting is not only perfect but beautiful. The sound is great, with so many different areas to sit and take in the show - from right up front to tucked away in a back corner at the huge bar. With the friendly staff and the warm, attentive audience it didn't take long for us to get comfortable and get inspired to give one of our most creative shows this year.

Below is a video filmed Sept 2nd 2011 at La Crepe in Ormond Beach~ Our entire first set was of music by Monk. What a blast!

Sarabande Live in Jacksonville

 

(European Street, Jacksonville - 10/26/10)

Fran Coraggio - bass
Scott Mariash - drums

pic from Jacksonville gig 10-26-10

Here's a pic taken at our gig at European Street Café last month by Cameron Kline of Killer Photography. Cameron took a bunch of pictures - some of them will be up on the pics page soon. I like this shot - there's a lot to look at.