Jazz Fables to tribute Indy masters

The Jazz Fables series takes the stage again this week Thursday at Bear's Place. This week's show makes a special tribute, in part, to Indianapolis jazz musicians, including IU Distinguished Professor of Music David Baker. Also appearing are Alonzo "Pookie" Johnson and Jimmy Coe, both on the sax. The show runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. with ticket prices set at $7.\n"David Baker, Jimmy Coe and Pookie represent the Indy jazz tradition as living legends," said Jazz Fables director David Miller. "Their annual performances together at Jazz Fables at Bear's Place have always been one of the annual highlights of the Jazz Fables concert series, as they always swing and compliment each other musically. Their improvisational styles span the Swing, Bebop and jazz/blues idioms, energetically and artfully representing the musical story telling tradition of the Midwests' Indy Jazz Masters whose music they will be performing."\nThe weekly performances at the local multi-venue club are a big seller, and one Bear's Place employee said they feel the turn-out will be even bigger at today's event.\n"That'll be a big crowd, especially because of David Baker," said Bear's employee Michael Woodward. He said whenever Baker plays, he always draws a lot of his students who have taken or currently take classes with him as well attend IU and are jazz fans. And the presence of Pookie Johnson and Jimmy Coe won't hurt the box office either.\n"They're definitely a draw because of the fact they've been playing jazz for over 50 years," said Abbie Sutton, service manager at Bear's Place .\nBaker will perform at Bear's Place on cello, along with Jimmy Coe and Pookie Johnson on the saxophone, featuring one of Baker's compositions and many of his arrangements of music by Indy Jazz Masters J.J. Johnson, Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard and Slide Hampton. They'll be joined by Baker's wife, Lida, playing the flute, David Miller on the trumpet, Don Pickett tickling the ivory, Joel Kelsey strumming the bass and Deno Sanders pounding his drums. \nPart of the performance at Bear's Place is designed in part to honor the work of IU's David Baker. In the 1950's, Baker toured frequently with jazz big band leaders Lionel Hampton, Maynard Ferguson, Stan Kenton and in between played in Indy. While playing with his own group at Indy's Topper night club, Cincinnati jazz composer, pianist and jazz theorist George Russell picked Baker and many of his band's members to join his new sextet, which subsequently moved to New York City and recorded four albums together. In New York, Baker also recorded with prominent jazz artists John Lewis, Quincy Jones, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Bill Evans. \nIndianapolis has a long history with jazz in the early days of the art for a number of reasons, including its proximity as a hub for car, train and air travel. Often times when major band leaders would play through, they'd pick up replacement players from the jazz scene on Indiana Avenue. Kansas City big band leader and pianist Jay McShan hired Jimmy Coe as an arranger and saxophonist for his group and took the band to New York City in 1942. \nMcShann's band included the soon-to-be legendary alto saxophone innovator Charlie Parker. McShann's band recorded with Parker and Coe in New York for Decca records in 1942. Coe replaced Parker in McShann's band in New York in 1943 at the Apollo Theatre. \nCoe went on to lead his own groups and recorded for States Records in 1953, later released on Delmark records as "After Hours." He recorded with his own big band, "Say What" and with guitarist Paul Weeden, "Now I Know Dreams Come True." Jimmy Coe is now 83.\nWhen "Pookie" Johnson got back from fighting Hitler and Tojo, he became a so-called disciple Parker's Bebop in Indianapolis. Starting in the post-World War II late-40s Indy scene, Johnson played with virtually everyone there, including with Jimmy Coe's group, along with the Montgomery Bros. --Wes, Buddy, Mondy and Freddie Hubbard in 1955.