ugged in the MAC Gallery. This series of jazz concerts began in 2023, and this was the tenth program since its inception.
The unplugged concerts are held upstairs in the Patsy Francis Gallery which is transformed into an intimate jazz club, complete with cabaret seating and mood lighting. Introduced by MAC director Jodi Stevens, Ott and Lopes proved to be the perfect duo for this space, mixing an interesting collection of jazz standards, some lesser-known jazz tunes, and two of their own compositions. Playing “things that they like”, these two skilled accompanists and improvisers took the attentive audience on an interesting journey.
The Latin-American influenced ‘Angelica’, written by Italian pianist and composer Salvatore Bonafede, opened the set, followed by Worcester, MA jazz legend Jaki Byard’s twelve-bar blues ‘Chanda’, and Gerry Allen’s jazz fusion tune ‘Unconditional Love’. This mini-set of the lesser-known songs was introduced by Ott as, “great jazz tunes not heard as much”. By highlighting specific artists and styles of jazz, Ott says that she tries to “vary the energy and tempos, and factor in the context. So, for a duo, realistically, it won’t work to play much Afro-Cuban music. I try for a theme.”
Thomas “Fats” Waller’s lively ‘Jitterbug Waltz’ followed, and then a pair of their own very imaginative jazz compositions, Ott’s ‘Orbit 13′ and Lopes’ ‘Snowy Owl’. As far as including original music in a set, Ott says, “We both love to write and arrange jazz music.” She added that when presenting original music, it helps to have a “friendly and open-minded audience.” I also asked Ott if there is an advantage to being a “married jazz couple”. She said, “Yes I think so. We definitely rehearse for our concerts, and we inspire one another, for sure.”
The one-hour set concluded with the Thelonius Monk standard ‘Bemsha Swing’ and the oldest song in the program, Whiting and Chase’s 1930’s popular song ‘My Ideal’, here reimagined in a jazz style and completing a span of almost 100 years of jazz music compositions.
Both Ott and Lopes loved the small venue, calling the atmosphere upstairs in the Marion Art Center “a dream with a very chilled vibe”. They will continue with several performing and recording projects this fall, working with a new quartet named “Hum” which includes saxophonist John McKenna, guitarist Steve Fell, and the multi-talented Lopes on drums. Ott and Lopes are also working toward a trio recording of some “minimalist jazz” in November with drummer Steve Langone.
Ott and Lopes will perform with their Latin-jazz ensemble at UMass Dartmouth on October 23 in CVPA room 153 from 7-8 p.m. This group features Bertram Lehmann on drums, Manolo Mairena on congas, and Jared Sims on sax and flute.
There are two more Unplugged Jazz programs at the MAC this year. On November 21 (sets at 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm), Donn Legge will be joined by keyboardist Jack Coleman, and on December 17 (7:00 pm and 9:30 pm), a “holiday jazz” program will feature Legge and vocalist Dori Rubbicco, joined by keyboardist Matt Richard. Additional information on all MAC music events can be found by visiting www.marionartcenter.org/music.
By Matt Richard
