WINNING SPINS BY GEORGE kanzler American jazz musicians have been attracted to Brazilian music - mainly the samba and that gentle samba offshoot, bossa nova - since Herbie Mann and Stan Getz first began recording it half a century ago. But the attraction goes both ways, as Brazilian musicians have embraced jazz and incorporated it into their sambas and bossas. That jazz is no longer just American is amply proven by the lineup on Brazilian drummer Duduka Da Fonseca's new album, Samba Jazz in Black & White (Zoho). The basic Quintet features not only three other Brazilians - pianist Helio Alves, bassist Leonardo Cioglia and guitarist Guilherme Monteiro - but also Israeli saxophonist and clarinetist Anat Cohen. Guests include American guitarist Vic Juris, Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi, Brazilian tenor saxophonist and flutist Paulo Levi, and two singing members of Da Fonseca's family, wife Maucha Adnet and daughter (from a previous marriage) Alana Da Fonseca. Da Fonseca is a masterfully fluid and fluent drummer who meshes all the components of the trap set into an organic whole that glides and sails along in perfect harmony with the music. Take the opening track, "Mestre Bimba." He describes his drum pattern on it as "a mix of samba, afoxé, marcha, with maybe a little New Orleans touch in there." That may sound like a mish-mash, but it's actually a smoothly flowing pattern that complements the colors and textures of the song, one of those seductive Brazilian melodies made more so by the two singers' wordless vocals harmonizing with Cohen's soprano sax. While Cohen's soprano work is graceful, her tenor sax approach is more forthright and forceful, as she swings out on the energetic "Janeiro." Da Fonseca slows down the pace and switches to brushes for ""Bye Bye Brasil," featuring lyrical muted trumpet from Roditi and a tender tenor solo from Cohen. On the bouncy, effervescent "Chorinho Pra Ele," Cohen soars along mercurially on clarinet. Juris and Levi replace the quintet's guitarist and saxophonist on the soul-jazz flavored samba, "Viver De Amor," with Juris wafting electronic accents on the melody and contributing a hard-charging solo, Levi adding a smoothly soulful tenor sax solo too. Adnet delivers the plaintive Portuguese vocal to Brazilian Vincius De Moraes' "Medo De Amar (Afraid to Love)," with backing from overdubbed flutes from Levi and a crystalline guitar solo from Juris. Egberto Gismonti's "Palhaco" is given a gospel-tinged treatment, courtesy of Alves' churchy piano and Cohen's preaching soprano sax. The lively samba "Terra de Angara" is introduced by a minute-plus drum solo (one of very few on the album) before giving way to solos all around, Cohen back on tenor sax. Antonio Carlos Jobim, the bossa nova composer-innovator, is represented by the languid samba "O Grande Amor," Cohen in a Getz mood on tenor sax and Da Fonseca's drums in perfect tandem with the guitar. "Sambetinho" begins with a piano-drums dialogue, then quick-steps through melody and solos to extended four-bar trades between drums and soprano sax, piano and guitar. The varied program ends on an up-tempo note, with the swinging "Dry Land," another feature for Cohen's tenor sax. Duduka Da Fonseca plays at the Van Dyke on March 1-2. spotlight by paul blair AND BOB WEINBERG PATTI WICKS JAMS/MARCH 28 She's the real thing: a talented singer-pianist in the tradition of Shirley Horn, Jeri Southern and Nat Cole. Although she'd been on the club circuit for years, Ms. Wicks finally came to international attention with the 2003 release of an all-ballads MaxJazz CD called Love Locked Out. The critics loved it. One noted, "If you were to listen closely in search of a shrill note or needlessly ornamental vocal embellishment - or even further for an emotionally shallow interpretation or run-of-the-mill lyric - you'd come up empty-handed every time." In addition to her JAMS appearance with Don Payne's quartet, she'll also sing at the Ritz-Carlton in Manalapan on March 10-11. PB JOEY GILMORE SUSHI BLUES CAFE/MARCH 18 Winning this year's International Blues Challenge in Memphis must have been sweet vindication for South Florida blues giant Gilmore. Last year, his win was voided on a technicality: that he'd recorded for a label which no longer exists, just shy of ten years ago. (IBC rules require competitors not to have recorded for a label in more than a decade.) Now, he's busier than ever. Last year, this area stalwart released the excellent Ghosts of Mississippi. It's filled with his soulful vocals and tasty guitar licks. Watch, too, for a new DVD entitled The Road to Memphis, plus a greatest hits CD, both due this year. BW NICOLE YARLING BROWARD CENTER FOR THE ARTS/ MARCH 8 Brooklyn-born singer-violinist Yarling refuses to confine herself to any one genre, and recent gigs have included everything from a women-in-blues set at the Riverwalk Blues Festival to a performance piece on hip hop history at the African American Library and Resource Center. Yarling's talents won attention from the late Joe Williams, who lent his name and vocals to a live recording at Pittsburgh's Manchester Craftsmen's Guild showcasing Yarling's quartet. It should be a treat to hear the divine Ms. Y delve into the Billie Holiday repertoire during this Gold Coast Jazz Society tribute to Billie, for which Nicole's also been writing new music. BW NATALIE COLE KRAVIS CENTER/MARCH 29 What can we possibly tell you about Natalie that you don't already know? Her voice and pop-jazz style are now familiar to millions around the world. Her latest CD, Ask a Woman Who Knows (Verve) celebrates love in all its guises. It also reunites her with Tommy LiPuma, the producer who helped to craft the success of her smash 1991 album Unforgettable. With its lush orchestration for strings and brass, it also marks Natalie's return to the classic song repertoire that made her a megastar and confirms her royal lineage as one of the most elegant, gutsy interpreters of the Great American Songbook. PB CAB CALLOWAY ORCHESTRA MALTZ THEATER/MARCH 8 Expect plenty of high-style swing, plenty of humor and a pleasing dose of theatricality when the Cab Calloway Orchestra hits Jupiter early this month for a one-night gig. Even though Cab himself died in 1994, his guitarist grandson Calloway Brooks is keeping its traditions alive by touring the country and entertaining throngs of dancers and nostalgi-cats at venues like this one. Sometimes billed as "the Prince of Hi-De-Ho," Brooks is a New England Conservatory of Music grad who started on his instrument at seven, doubtless inspired by family tradition. After successes at Birdland and other notable venues, they've come south to prove that jive is indeed alive. PB MICHAEL PICKETT BAMBOO ROOM/MARCH 9 Throwing sparks from his 1931 National Steel Duolian, blowing harp like a freight train from hell and singing with an impassioned snarl, Michael Pickett's blues have authority and authenticity. This Canadian had a chance to work alongside Big Mama Thornton, James Cotton and John Lee Hooker on the 60s and 70s Toronto blues scene. Although he'd put down the guitar and concentrated on honing his harmonica chops, he once again picked up the instrument five years ago and now displays formidable mastery. His other upcoming area gigs include Alligator Alley in Oakwood Park (March 10), Main Street Cafe in Homestead (March 11) and Luna Star Cafe in North Miami (March 16). BW ROSEANNA ON THE ROAD by Elzy Kolb Maybe Nietzsche was right: What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. That certainly seems to be the case for singer Roseanna Vitro. When a major recording deal fell through a couple of years ago, Vitro felt sure she'd reached the end of her musical career. "I thought, I can't go out there to try one more time," she recalls. "I give up. I'm gonna go raise chickens back home in Arkansas. "Artists are like the raw nerves of this world," Vitro explains. "We feel everything so intensely, it's easy to be injured." Although she was tempted to head out to pasture, instead she joined more than 200 other singers to audition for the Jazz Ambassadors Program. The program, now known as the American Music Abroad Program, sends musicians to give concerts and conduct music clinics in countries that have limited exposure to live American culture. Being accepted as an Ambassador, Vitro says, "gave me a wonderful sense of higher purpose, of doing something great for our music. I'm different than I was before the Jazz Ambassadors tour, as an American and as a jazz musician. Taking our music to people who've never really heard jazz is a great way to represent America and what we're about." During her stint as an Ambassador, Vitro spent six weeks on the road with her trio. Her spirits were boosted by the warm welcomes she received at gigs ranging from a reception attended by "dignitaries and who's who" in Ankara, Turkey, to a street concert in a small Albanian town for about fifty children, parents and teachers. "I felt like I found my niche," she says. "Talking about Duke Ellington, about this music, and seeing the kids get it, that made me forget the bumps in the road. It reminded me to keep an eye on what I started out to do when I first fell in love with this music." The tour ended in Washington, D.C., with Vitro making her tenth album, Live at Kennedy Center, for the Challenge label. On it, she included several tunes she'd never recorded before, though they've been in her repertoire for years - for example, "I Think It's Going to Rain Today," which she dedicates this time to victims of Hurricane Katrina, and "12-Tone Tune," written by pianist Bill Evans. Vitro will include material from the new CD when she appears at the the South Florida Jazz Concert Series at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale on March 18. She expects to have advance copies of the CD available by then. "This CD has a swing, a rawness, a level of realness I've never gotten on tape before," Vitro says. "It's a live recording, so it's all one take. And on some of the songs that was really hard. The Evans tune has an insane melody. I didn't deliver a Sarah Vaughan vocal on that piece, but the music is so cool, the lyrics are so cool, I said put it on there anyway. "The past couple of years have been some kind of a wild elevator ride," she says. "Who can hang on? That's part of the game. It's exciting, if you can keep yourself from getting bitter." Hear Ms. Vitro at the “Jazz Impressions” concert series produced by the South Florida Jazz Society at the Fort Lauderdale's Museum of Art on March 18. That will fellow her appearance at the Van Dyke on March 16-17. hot flashes by PAUL BLAIR, MARK SACHNOFF AND Bob weinberg FOUR WINNERS FLORIDA-BOUND When they handed out the New York Nightlife awards last month, the quartet co-led by tenor saxophonist Harry Allen and guitarist Joe Cohn were declared winners in the combo category. Much of their popularity is doubtless due to regular Monday appearances at Zuni, a popular venue not far from Times Square. This group's versatility and drive are well documented on Hey, Look Me Over, their latest CD on the Florida-based Arbors label. Joel Forbes plays bass with the group, while Chuck Riggs is behind the drum set. Good news! The the leader of this foursome has lined up a series of area gigs for this month. He'll be at the Van Dyke in Miami on March 3-5; at the Heritage Center in Vero Beach on March 11 for a Treasure Coast Jazz Society event; and (in the company of Bob Lapin's All-Stars) at the Royal Room at Colony Hotel in on March 14-18. SPRINGING THE BLUES Since 1991, Springing the Blues has been drawing fans from around the state, the region and the country to a free, three-day event on Jacksonville Beach. This year - on March 31 through April 2 - organizers offer a fine cross-section of blues styles, spanning generations and geography. Jump and blues guitarist/vocalist Sean Costello is a highlight of Friday's lineup. With razor-sharp guitar licks informed by everyone from T-Bone Walker to Magic Sam to J.B. Lenoir - and adenoidal vocals perfectly suited to his retro style - Costello matches top-notch musicianship with great wit and showmanship. Albums such as Sittin' In and Moanin' for Molasses continue to show his maturation from teen prodigy to assured bluesman ... While Jimbo Mathus, who plays on Saturday, came to many fans' attention with the zany Squirrel Nut Zippers, he's also a Mississippi Hill country bluesman of the first order. His expertise in the raw, often-mesmerizing music of the region can be heard on Buddy Guy's Sweet Tea album, the North Mississippi All-Stars' Shake Hands With Shorty (and with his own band, Knock Down Society, on the album of the same name ... Another don't-miss for Saturday: Willie King & the Liberators playing driving juke-joint blues, often with a social message. King, who hosts the annual Freedom Creek Festival in Alabama, has earned critical accolades for his powerful, self-determined music on albums such as Freedom Creek and Living in a New World ... Central Florida blues stomper Ben Prestage kicks off Sunday afternoon's festivities. Displaying some of the rhythmic grit he picked up on Beale Street, Prestage spanks a custom-made cigar-box guitar called a Lowe Bow while keeping time on kick-rigged drums ... Also appearing on Sunday is Alberta Adams, who displays plenty of sass and character in vocals that were honed alongside Duke Ellington and Louis Jordan; and the outstanding Corey Harris, whose solo acoustic show mines deep Delta soil and sunny Caribbean waters for a captivating blend. JAZZ ON THE BEACH Riviera Beach will hold its Sixth Annual Jazz & Blues festival on March 23-24, across from the Ocean Mall. As in the past five years, there'll be a stellar lineup featuring many great national stars and local musicians ... This year's featured artist on the second day will be Patti Labelle. She's enjoyed one of the longest careers in contemporary music, notching hits in a variety of sounds ranging from girl group pop to space-age funk to lush ballads since 1960. From top 20 hits to first African-American act ever to appear at New York's Metropolitan Opera, including a Grammy for Best Female R&B Performance and a Broadway show, she succeeded in all. Recording less and less frequently, she published her autobiography, Don't Block the Blessings: Revelations of a Lifetime in 1995 ... Additional artists performing on March 24 include Mike Phillips, Najee, Alex Bugnon and Kirk Whalen ... The festival's opening night on March 23 will feature Peabo Byrason, Jeffrey Osborne, Eric Benet, Zapp Band and Percy Sledge ... Other enjoyable aspects of this two-day event: numerous food booths and a great variety of some local favorite restaurants whose cuisines range from seafood to barbecued turkey drumsticks and other southern favorites; plus a selection of local arts and crafts on display. For more information on the festival, go to www.jazzonthebeach.com. jazz anecdote by Bill Crow Jazz bassist Bill Crow's popular book "Jazz Anecdotes" has been released in a new edition, "Jazz Anecdotes, Second Time Around," with added stories. It, and his second book, "From Birdland to Broadway," can be found at your favorite bookseller, both published by Oxford University Press. As we drove up West 55th Street one day, baritone saxophonist Joe Temperley pointed out the building where his friend, trombonist Ollie Wilson, used to live. Joe said that Ollie once decided to paint his apartment white. Having paint left over after the walls and ceiling were done, Ollie painted everything else in the apartment white, too. When he was finished, he was the only thing in the place that was a different color, so Ollie painted himself white, as well. One New Years Eve the emcee at a night club announced Paquito de Rivera. As he made his way through the applauding audience, one of the customers looked up, saw Paquito's tuxedo and grabbed his arm. "Hey, can you get me two Heinekens?" "Sure," said Paquito. He stepped over to the bar and brought back the beer. "What do I owe you?" asked the customer. "That's okay, it's on the house," said Paquito as he went on up to the stage.