The Jazz Scene: Special guests in Philly and Jersey

There was a time when the sounds of jazz filled Atlantic City, from the legendary big bands on the Steel Pier to organ rooms like Grace’s Little Belmont, where soulful organists like Milt Bucker and Wild Bill Davis held forth. Though the shore’s resorts have hardly been a hotbed for jazz of late, the nonprofit Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation teams with the Claridge Hotel to bring swinging sounds to the Boardwalk.

The original Chicken Bone Beach, a stretch of shoreline just south of Atlantic City, is a historic landmark today. From the turn of the century until 1964, it was the summertime home for African-American beachgoers barred from the sand in front of the major hotels, and by the 1940s, it became a destination for performers like Sammy Davis Jr.

This season’s Friday-night series, which runs on the second and fourth Fridays of each month through May at the Claridge, takes place from 7 to 10pm. On March 9, rising piano star Aaron Graves arrives with his trio, followed by Latin percussion veteran Edgardo Cintron’s Latin Jazz Band on March 23.

Bootsie Barnes and Wendy Simon

Philadelphia-based Jazz Bridge, the award-winning nonprofit that assists this region’s jazz and blues players and singers in need — mainly by way of the Neighborhood Jazz Concert Series, presented on area stages each year — continues its 18th season with some great shows. One of the season’s finest brings veteran tenor saxophonist Robert “Bootsie” Barnes, who will perform a tribute to another legendary sax man, the late Hank Mobley, at the Cheltenham Center for the Arts at 7:30pm on Wednesday, March 7. Tickets ($10) will be available at the door.

Vocalist Wendy Simon, another prime natural resource for local jazz, effortlessly combines inventive jazz sense with elements of cabaret and entertainment. She’s been one of the most popular attractions in the area for years. Simon, with the ever-popular Tom Adams Trio, checks into Glenside’s elegant supper club, Dino’s Backstage (next to the Keswick Theater), on Friday and Saturday, March 23 and 24, for shows at 8:30pm.

Two special visitors

The worldwide jazz community has rarely agreed on anything. But the iconic 1959 jazz album, Kind of Blue, recorded under the leadership of Miles Davis, is one exception. Without doubt, it was and is one of the most popular, influential, and groundbreaking recordings ever issued. So it’s something of an event when Jimmy Cobb, jazz drumming giant and last surviving member of the Kind of Blue sessions, comes to Philadelphia for a rare visit. Maestro Cobb will appear at South on Sunday, March 11 for shows at 7 and 9pm. Anyone who has ever played the drums or has wanted to play the drums should be there. I know I will.

Jazz pops up in the unlikeliest of places these days — like Hopewell, New Jersey, just an hour from Philadelphia and sporting a population under 2,000. The Jazz on Broad series at the Hopewell Valley Bistro and Inn is booking performers who specialize in the traditional jazz genre and hardly ever visit our area. First in the series is trumpeter Warren Vache, one of the few artists still on the scene who can say he played with Benny Goodman, held in the highest regard by virtually every critic who has written about jazz. Vache and his group will visit the Bistro and Inn (15 East Broad Street in Hopewell) on Thursday, March 29, at 6pm. This is the first in a series, so stay tuned.