Trumpeter Joe Magnarelli and tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon appeared together last November at the Jazz Blues Showcase in Cherry Hill, NJ. On Sunday, September 15, they will return to kick off this season’s series.
Magnarelli’s most recent album, If You Could See Me Now, on the Cellar Live label, was a tribute to the composer, Tadd Dameron. Reviewing it for DownBeat, Jackson Sinnenberg wrote: “The way he presents Dameron’s work, within an archetypal bop setting, exemplifies his love of the music, effortlessly broadcasting his affection. Magnarelli’s tribute captures what makes Dameron’s material so compelling.”
After moving to New York in 1986, Magnarelli got his start with Lionel Hampton’s Orchestra. He also played with organist Brother Jack McDuff’s septet; pianist/composer Toshiko Akiyoshi’s Jazz Orchestra; and pianist Harry Connick Jr.’s Orchestra. As a freelancer, Magnarelli has performed with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, and Louis Hayes’ Cannonball Legacy Band, among others.
AllAboutJazz’s C. Michael Bailey described Weldon’s 2018 Cellar Live album, Those Were the Days, as “mainstream jazz, that brand of jazz immediately recognizable, durable and expressive, a joy to behold and listen to.” Weldon also played with Lionel Hampton and Jack McDuff early in his career. Others he has performed or recorded with include pianist/vocalist Harry Connick, drummers Roy Haynes and Jimmy Cobb, and guitarists George Benson and Earl Klugh.
Both Magnarelli and Weldon are known for being helpful to young musicians on the way up. Magnarelli sometimes plays with keyboardist Leonieke Scheuble, who graduated this past spring from William Paterson University. In August 2019, he performed as part of her hard bop quintet at the Jazz Arts Project’s summer Jazz in the Park series in Red Bank, NJ. “These musicians are legends,” Scheuble told Jersey Jazz shortly after that concert. “It’s kind of unbelievable to have this opportunity. (The others included bassist Bill Crow, tenor saxophonist Adam Brenner, and her father, drummer Nick Scheuble).
In June 2022, as part of drummer Evan Sherman’s quartet at the New Jersey Jazz Society’s Jersey Jazz LIVE! concert in Madison, NJ, Weldon invited student saxophonist Ethan Lee to come up and play with him. Lee was “nervous at first because I’d never played with a group of professionals. However, once I started playing, my nerves went away, and I had a lot of fun! I really appreciate him calling me up.” When asked about his invitation to Lee, Weldon replied, “It’s the right thing to do. People did it for me. Amen!”.
The other two concerts in the JBS fall series will feature pianist David Zaks, leading a trio on October 15 and saxophonist Nick Hempton with guitarist Charlie Sigler on November 10. The concerts are held at 3 p.m. at the Cunningham Piano Store, which is located at 1724A Marlton Pike East in Cherry Hill. For more information, log onto jazzandbluesshowcase.com.