Jazz Notes: Goings on in the jazz world

Today is Dec. 2.

Pianist Wynton Kelly was born this day in 1931 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Kelly started out as a rhythm and blues player. He spent four years with the Miles Davis band from 1959 to 1963 before launching his own trio with ex-Davis bandmates Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. Wynton Kelly died in 1971 after an epileptic seizure.

Also born this day were composer Eddie Sauter in 1914 and tenor saxophonist Charlie Ventura in 1916. Sauter co-led the popular Sauter-Finnegan band in the 1950s. Ventura is best remembered for his stints with the Gene Krupa band.

Looking at today's hip happenings...

On the New York jazz scene... guitarist Grant Green Jr. is at the Blue Note tonight as part of its "New Sounds of Soul" jazz series. Les Paul is at Iridium on Mondays. Toshiko Akiyoshi's Jazz Orchestra is at Birdland tonight. The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is at the Village Vanguard.

In Philadelphia... the Sabir Mateen quintet with Raphe Malik, Naoko Ono, Jane Wang and Ravish Momin is at Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge at the University of Pennsylvania for a free concert tonight. Interplay featuring Elliott Levin, Rick Iannacone, Ed Watkins, Ron Howerton and Keno Speller is at Tritone tonight with special guest Byard Lancaster.

Bass player Joe Byrd presents a tribute to his late father, guitarist Charlie Byrd, tonight at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C.

In and around Chicago... Bill Russo's Chicago Jazz Ensemble presents its version of Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert tonight at the Jazz Showcase. The William Garcia quartet is at Cafe Bolera. Terry Callier and Beyond are at the Green Mill. Yoko Noge's Jazz Me Blues are at HotHouse. Kelly Brand is at Joe's BeBop Cafe and Jazz Emporium. Judy Roberts and Greg Fishman are at Pops for Champagne. Sami Scott is at Philander's of Oak Park.

In New Orleans... the Panorama Jazz Band is at the Blue Nile. The Earl Brown trio is at Cafe Sbisa tonight. Two Pan Sam leads the jazz jam at Checkpoint Charlie. Bob French and Friends are at Donna's. The Fresh Off the Boat Refugee Jazz Band and Jason Marsalis are at the Funky Butt. Joe Krown is at Le Bon Temps Roule.

Phil Melancon plus Lisa Bastoni and the Harmonica Jazz Trio bring their holiday show to The Neutral Ground. Reginald Koeller leads tonight's band at Preservation Hall. The Dixie Trio is at the Seaport Cafe. Charmaine Neville is at Snug Harbor. The Jazz Vipers are at the Spotted Cat. The Rob Wagner trio is at d.b.a.

Euge Groove is at the Blue Note in Las Vegas tonight through Saturday.

On the California jazz scene... the John Peace Superband is at Steamers Jazz Cafe in Fullerton. Louie Cruz Beltran's Latin jazz is at Spazio in Sherman Oaks tonight. Singer Pinky Winters is at The Vic in Santa Monica tonight. The Anthony Wilson Nonet, featuring special guest tenor saxophonist Bennie Wallace, presents the second annual Commissioned Work at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz tonight. The Marcus Shelby Orchestra is at Yoshi's in Oakland tonight.

Candy Dulfer and her dad, Hans Dulfer, are at the Blue Note in Tokyo tonight through Saturday.

On the recording front...

Mosaic Records has released "The Complete Brunswick and Vocalion Recordings of Louis Prima and Wingy Manone (1924-37)." Both trumpeters grew up in New Orleans during the exciting seminal days of jazz when personality was even more important than instrumental prowess. For Prima and Manone, this often overshadowed their outstanding contributions to the jazz legacy. The Mosaic set could go a long way toward dispelling that misperception.

Prima and Manone were affected profoundly by Louis Armstrong, but both men cited unrecorded trumpeter Buddy Petit as a major influence as well. The 64 selections by Prima were recorded between the years 1934 and 1937 as he made the transition from the New Orleans approach to the Swing style that had taken the nation by storm, and helped establish New York's 52nd Street as its capital.

Manone's 83 tracks contained in this set are a powerful testament to his stature as a great jazzman in his own right. He was a superb showman, with a ruggedly hot trumpet style matched by his rough-hewn voice. This set includes his first recording in 1924 with the Arcadian Serenaders and an appearance on one tune of a 1927 Red Nichols session, as well as his first recording as a leader earlier that same year.

Most of the sessions took place between 1934 and 1936 and feature members of the defunct Ben Pollack Band that eventually would become the nucleus of Bob Crosby's band. Manone's biggest hit, 1935's "The Isle of Capri," is included.

Other interesting items include a number with Russ Morgan and his orchestra and a previously unissued "demo" by vocalist Jeanne Burns. There's also an infamous session, with Jack Teagarden and a young vocalist named Johnny Mercer, that was so whisky-laden the band had to be re-assembled a week later to cut the final track.

Most of the tracks on this Mosaic release are issued for the first time on CD in the United States (many unreleased even on LP) and 12 that were unissued previously in any form.

All recordings are available solely through Mosaic Records: 35 Melrose Place, Stamford, Conn., 06902, 203-327-7111. Check the website at mosaicrecords.com for more information or to order.