Toledo Jazz Newsletter March 2025
Toledo Jazz Newsletter
March 2025
Before we dive into the newsletter, let's say one thing: get thee to a live jazz gig and support our jazz entertainers.
It’s hard to express the sweep of Toledo’s jazz history in a few sentences. It takes a book to do so, therefore:
Toledo’s Jazz Legacy
Many readers have followed the trials and tribulations of getting the book Toledo’s Jazz Legacy across the finish line. The book is completed, it’s thorough, and it will cost quite a bit to publish, with marketing and distribution costs heaped on top. Ohio State University has expressed interest in picking up the publishing option for the book; however, due to market size and the necessity of recovering production costs, they have asked for subvention (read financial assistance) before they can entertain moving forward with a full treatment and institutional review. Many publishers have wanted to approach the book, but have requested a fifty percent cut to the material. That’s too much, it would exclude too many people and too much history.
The Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) has agreed to become a funding agent for the book, providing professional oversight of any funds raised. They will administer donations, and all donations will be tax-deductible. TAPA doesn’t have the budget to fund the book, but they are doing all they can to help get it published. If the Ohio State option should fail, for any reason, TAPA will administer the funds as the book is moved rapidly into a self-publishing track with a high-end publishing house. This is it -- one way or the other the book is going to be published. Please help; a small or large donation will make an impact. Here is a link to a page on TAPA’s website where you can help with a donation. There is also an address on the page, if you prefer to send a check. https://www.artstoledo.com/toledo-jazz-legacy/
Many thanks to Zak Vasser, President & CEO of TAPA, and the entire staff for helping with this project. Thanks to Randy Richie for getting us all together.
Larry Fuller
Noted jazz pianist Larry Fuller has announced a tour of the Midwest, and he’s booked at Lucille’s Jazz Lounge for Friday, June 20, 2025. Save the date. There will be more about Fuller in the coming months. Fuller grew up in North Toledo, performed with The Murphys, held forth at Rusty's Jazz Café and then became Ernestine Anderson's pianist, then he played in the Ray Brown Trio before striking out on his own, forming the Larry Fuller Trio. There's much more to the story and that's why there are individual chapters devoted to Fuller, The Murphys, Rusty's Jazz Café and others in my forthcoming book, Toledo's Jazz Legacy.
Jazz Festival
What’s this, you say? There’s a jazz festival in March, you say it’s in Sylvania, Ohio, and you say it’s the 32nd such festival? Northview High School presents its 32nd Jazz Festival, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, from 4:00pm until 8:30pm. The lineup: Northview HS Jazz Cats, The Evergreen 8 O’ Clock Jazz Band, Wauseon Jazz Band, Whitmer Jazz Ensemble, Northview HS Jazz Band, and featuring the Toledo Jazz Orchestra (7:30pm – 8:00pm). $10 at the door, cash or Venmo. Free for NV students with ID.
SSJJ Returns
It is March, and that means the Second Sunday Jazz Jam (SSJJ) 2025 season commences. The gig has turned into quite a jazz happening for those in the know. The SSJJ happens on March 9, 2025, 2:00pm – 6:00pm @ Keith & Sally’s Jazz Pocket 1117 Independence Road. The anchor group for the gig is Randy Richie (p), Kevin Eikum (b), and Keith Bernhard (d). There will be many other musicians and vocalists performing throughout the afternoon. There is a graphic for the gig in the sections that follow.
April in Paris
The young lady from Toledo, April Varner, had a magnifique tour of Paris. Check out the pictures and write-up in the body of the newsletter.
Ms. Cast
This one is jazz adjacent, it’s happening in the community and there is at least one part of the cabaret show that has jazz. On Sunday, March 23, at the Toledo Repertoire Theater, The Issue Box Theater Company presents the show, Ms. Cast. It is billed as an afternoon of terribly miscast musical numbers. The Lateef Richardson Trio is performing in this show, among others. If you buy two tickets, use COUPLE for the promo code and get 10 dollars off. See graphic below, or here is a link: https://issueboxtheatre.org/ms-cast/
Get What’s Comin’
On April Fool’s Day 2025, the world will get a chance to experience “Get What’s Comin’”. This is no teenage prank; it is the latest release by Quick Trio from Jason Quick’s Music Productions. This album will be available as a limited-edition compact disc, as well as on Bandcamp, a leading platform for supporting DIY recording artists, composers, and improvisors.
While the record is very much in the ways of jazz; the explorations range from bluesy swing and nimble bebop to surprise rock riffing and avant funkiness. On the album cover is a photograph of the Maumee River and Delaware Island in Toledo, Ohio, which is very near the home of the fiery guitarist and composer, Jason Quick.
This album marks the first collaboration between Quick and Ypsilanti resident Galen Bundy, who plays the Hammond B-3 with exceptional taste and sensitivity, and Travis Aukerman, a drummer of spirited invention who lives in Detroit. Quick, Bundy, and Aukerman had substantial opportunities to cultivate their group sound by performing the material frequently over the past two years. All ten tracks were recorded in one marathon session last November at Troubadour Studio in Lansing, with the assistance of engineer/studio-owner Corey DeRushia and producer Alex Anest.
Audiences of all ages and interests will thrill to the sounds on “Get What’s Comin’”. Good times, modern times and future times will use this record for a soundtrack.
“Get What’s Comin’” by Quick Trio is Available April 1st, 2025. www.jasonquickmusic.com
Happy Birthday Wishes
We are wishing a jazzy, happy birthday to Gretchen Richie, Bobby Gray, Greg Harrington, Dan Faehnle, Aayan Naim, Nicole Shetterly (née Heitger), and all the other local performers who are not on our birthday list.
Interesting Jazz Videos:
PBS offers a great look at Hazel Scott: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/hazel-scott-documentary/35137/
Gene Krupa: The Master of Drums (new book) Interview with author:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETmc3mO5YrY
Reliable investigators checked again this month; Toledo still does not have a statue of Jon Hendricks. Suggestion for the city: get one.
For those wishing to post jazz gigs, please submit them prior to the first day of the month the gig is scheduled. The TJN goes out on the first day of each month.
There is more news, more content, and plenty of photos below. Enjoy.
Let me be specific about one aspect of The Toledo Jazz Newsletter: It is not designed to make one thin dime, never was, never will be. This newsletter is designed to let interested parties know about what is happening in jazz in Toledo, and to help get fans to turn out to support our jazz entertainers. With that spirit in mind, please help spread the word and get your friends and family to sign up for the newsletter.
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Thanks for reading The Toledo Jazz Newsletter!
"A short jazz poem: Listen!"
To stream WXTS use: rdo.to/wxts
April In Paris
Photos above, courtesy Diane Varner
Paris Club Photos: Le 38 Riv -- April Varner (v); Le Duc des Lombards -- Clement Trimouille (g), Shimon Gambourg (b), Paul Morvan (d) April Varner (v); Pop Up du Label -- Clement Trimouille (g), Shimon Gambourg(b), Stephane Chandelier (d), April Varner (v)
Parisians love their jazz, and April Varner is a big hit with Parisians. The young vocalist who grew up in Toledo just returned from a whirlwind tour of the City of Light. Before her arrival, they were playing her music on radio stations in Paris. Her shows were all sold-out affairs, and after her first show the crowd chanted, “Encore, encore, encore…,” as her proud mother, Diane Varner, reported to the author. At another club, with an already sold-out crowd on hand, people kept coming in to see her. They were sitting on the floor and stacked up all the way to the very front of the stage, taking up any space a body could fit into in order to watch the show. If you ever have the opportunity to hear April perform you will know why the Parisians lined up to catch her shows. And the author has it on good authority that she's booked to play Toledo later this year. Rest assured, those club dates will be in the Toledo Jazz Newsletter.
Photo: Johnny O'Neal during his first performance at Lucille's Jazz Lounge
Johnny O’Neal Gets Major Award
“If ever somebody sounded like Art Tatum, it’s him,” said Barry Harris of Johnny O’Neal. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Jazz Foundation of America announced that pianist Johnny O’Neal -- former member of The Murphys, often heard at Rusty’s Jazz Café, at Digby’s Pub and Murphy’s Place; oh, and he opened at Carnegie Hall for Oscar Peterson, performed with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Sonny Stitt, Clark Terry and many others -- was awarded the prestigious 2025 Jazz Legacies Fellowship. During his first show at Toledo's jazz emporium, Lucille's Jazz Lounge, during an early number, O'Neal stopped playing mid-song and announced to the room that "Art Tatum is the greatest pianist in the history of jazz;" then he picked up the number right where he left off. Here is a link to the Jazz Foundation of America’s web site where you can see photos and short biographies about the recipients of the award: https://jazzfoundation.org/jazz-legacies-fellowship/
March 1, 2025 at Lucille's Jazz Lounge
March 8, 2025 at Lucille's Jazz Lounge
Tuesday Night Sessions at Lucille's Jazz Lounge -- Parker, Cook, and a special guest
No ticket Tuesday, two-drink minimum (can be soft drinks,etc.)
Here are several community shows that deserve mention this month
At the Toledo Repertoire Theater, an unusual cabaret show.
Ms. Cast is a cabaret performance to celebrate the 10th year of Issue Box Theatre. The cabaret will celebrate performances by local artists who have LONGED to perform in a role they would never be considered for. Use the Promo code: COUPLE and get 10 dollars off. Tickets at: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/issue-box-theatre1/675a2440cc1c4a50524042f7/tickets#/productions-view
A Healing Hope is an evening of deeply moving and uplifting choral works that reflect on hardship, resilience, and the light that emerges from darkness. Through music that speaks to experiences of depression, war, and loss, Masterworks Chorale offers a message of courage and renewal, reminding us that even in our darkest hours, hope endures.
Tickets: https://cur8.com/16556/project/129807
Save The Date -- Friday, June 20, 2025 -- The Larry Fuller Trio @ Lucille's Jazz Lounge
Photo of Larry Fuller from a previous gig at Lucille's Jazz Lounge
Recurring Gigs 2025
Monday Nights – Golden Road Jazz Night. 3560 Dorr Street, Toledo, Ohio, 7:00pm – 10:00pm.
Tuesday Nights – Sessions at Lucille’s Jazz Lounge – Gene Parker and Damen Cook with special guest each week. 1447 N. Summit Street, Toledo, Ohio. Gig runs 7:00pm – 10:00pm. Cover $5, two drink minimum, drink can be water or soft drinks.
Wednesday Nights – Organic Ingredients—Bob Manley, Tim Tiderman, John Johnson, and Clark Brooks with guests, are live every week at, the Oliver House, in the former Mutz Bar space, every Wednesday from 7p-10p.
Wednesday Nights – BGSU Jazz Ensemble at Arlyn’s Good Beer.
520 Hankey Avenue, Bowling Green, Ohio. 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Thursday Thru Saturday – Solo jazz piano at the Chop House, 300 N. Summit Street, downtown Toledo. Solo jazz piano in the evening.
Thursday Night – Jazz Collective at the Peacock Café. Each week the Jazz Collective features a different guest. 2007 Monroe Street, Toledo, Ohio, 7:00pm -10:00pm.
Friday & Saturday Nights – Jazz Collective at the Peacock Café will feature a jazz artist or group. 2007 Monroe Street, Toledo, Ohio, 7:15pm – 11:00pm
Sunday Nights – The Ministry of Jazz – The Village Idiot at 309 Conant Street, Maumee, Ohio 6:00pm -9:00pm.
Courtesy Toledo Lucas County Public Library
One March in the 1950s at the Showboat Nite Club
El Myers
Gigs March 2025
3/2/2025 Sun Creole Jazz – Ray Heitger & Dave Kosmyna Toledo Spirits
1301 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
6:00pm – 9:00pm 3/2/2025 Sun Acoustics for Autism – Kim Buehler and Ramona Collins duo. @ 3:15pm – 3:45pm on Small Box Stage
Event open to the public. Small Box Music
203 Conant Street
Maumee, Ohio
3/2/2025 Sun Ramona Collins & Cliff Monear Duo Blue Llama Jazz Club
314 S. Main Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan
6:00pm – 8:15pm 3/4/2025 Tues Gene Parker, Damen Cook with guest Lori Lefevre
Jam session after the first set, various musicians and vocalists to experience.
No ticket Tuesday, just show up, two drink minimum – can be soft drinks and nonalcoholic-style drinks. Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
1447 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
7:30pm – 10:00pm 3/5/2025 Wed. Chefs of Dixieland The Sodbuster Bar
Sylvania, Ohio
7:30pm – 10:30pm 3/5/2025 Wed Gretchen & Randy Richie Jazz Cabaret: The Music of Gershwin & Porter
Open to the public,
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/music-and-mixology-jazz-cabaret-with-randy-and-gretchen-richie-tickets-1255874808359?aff=oddtdtcreator
Toledo Club
Red Room
235 14th Street
Toledo, Ohio
4:30pm – 7:30pm
Free Parking 3/5/2025 Wed Live Music with Kevin and Denise Eikum Adventure Spirits
10907 Waterville Street
Whitehouse, Ohio
6:00pm – 9:00pm 3/5/2025 Wed Mike Lorenz Trio with guest Jeffrey Boyd Slater’s Food and Spirits
1634 East Perry Street
Port Clinton, Ohio
6:30:00pm – 9:30pm 3/7/2025 Fri Ramona Collins Trio The Roost
Fifth Third Field
406 Washington Street
Toledo, Ohio
6:00pm – 9:00pm 3/7/2025 Fri Cedric Easton’s Freedom3o
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cedric-eastons-freedom3o-cledell-king-presents-tickets-1223986900769?aff=oddtdtcreator
Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
1447 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
7:15pm – 10:30pm 3/7/2025 Fri Rob Crozier Trio with guest Lori Lefevre Weber’s Boutique Hotel & Restaurant
3050 Jackson Ave
Ann Arbor, Michigan
9:00pm – 11:00pm 3/8/2025 Sat George DeLancy Quartet
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/george-delancy-quartet-tickets-1224041985529?aff=oddtdtcreator
Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
1447 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
7:15pm – 10:30pm 3/8/2025 Sat Chris Buzzelli & Lori Lefevre Duo Benfield Wines
102 N. Main Street
Swanton, Ohio
6:30pm – 9:30pm 3/9/2025 Sun Second Sunday Jazz Jam
Randy Richie (p), Kevin Eikum (b), Keith Bernhard (d) and a host of other musicians and vocalists. 1117 Independence Road
Toledo, Ohio
2:00pm – 6:00pm 3/11/2025 Tue Northview Presents the 32nd Jazz Festival
Northview HS Jazz Cats, The Evergreen 8 O’Clock Jazz Band, Wauseon Jazz Band, Whitmer Jazz Ensemble, Northview HS Jazz Band, and featuring the Toledo Jazz Orchestra (7:30pm – 8:00pm) Northview High School
Sylvania, Ohio
4:00pm – 8:30pm 3/11/2025 Tue Sessions at Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
Gene Parker (kbd), Damen Cook (d,v) with special guest Kelly Broadway (v)
No ticket required for Tuesday, 2 drink minimum (can be soft drinks or non-alcoholic drinks) Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
1447 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
7:30pm – 10:00pm 3/12/2025 Wed Music & Mixology
Ramona Collins & Kevin Korecki duo
Open to the public Toledo Club
235-14th Street
Toledo, Ohio
4:30pm – 7:30pm 3/12/2025 Wed Mike Lorenz Trio with guest Jean Holden Slater’s Food and Spirits
1634 East Perry Street
Port Clinton, Ohio
6:30:00pm – 9:30pm 3/13/2025 Thur Randy Richie Solo Piano Chop House
300 N. Summit Street
Downtown Toledo
6:00pm – 10:00pm 3/14/2025 Fri Sean Dobbins Organ Trio
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sean-dobbins-organ-trio-tickets-1227990094429?aff=oddtdtcreator
Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
1447 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
7:15pm – 10:30pm 3/15/2025 Sat Hartman Bogan Jazz Series with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra: Porgy and Bess – The Miles Davis Album
Tickets: https://www.artstoledo.com/events/2025/03/15/toledo-jazz-orchestra/porgy-and-bess-the-miles-davis-album/226/#BuyTickets
Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle
8:00pm 3/15/2025 Sat Nate Winn Group
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-nate-winn-group-tickets-1224142135079?aff=oddtdtcreator
Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
1447 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
7:15pm – 10:30pm 3/18/2025 Tue Monroe Big Band Harbor Hook & Grill
13993 Laplaisance Road
Monroe, Michigan
7:30pm – 9:00pm 3/18/2025 Tue Ramona Collins Quartet Moriarty’s Pub
802 E. Michigan Ave.
Lansing, Michigan
7:00pm – 10:00pm 3/19/2025 Wed Mike Lorenz Trio with guest Evelyn Wright Slater’s Food and Spirits
1634 East Perry Street
Port Clinton, Ohio
6:30:00pm – 9:30pm 3/20/2025 Thur Jason Quick Solo Manhattan’s Pub & Cheer
1516 Adams St.
Toledo, Ohio
7:00pm – 10:00pm 3/21/2025 Fri Demetrius “Krayon” Nabors
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/demetrius-krayon-nabors-tickets-1227972953159?aff=oddtdtcreator
Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
1447 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
7:15pm – 10:30pm 3/21/2025 Fri Randy Richie and Ken Zuercher Rosaria’s on 3rd Street
135 W. 3rd Street
Perrysburg, Ohio
6:00pm – 9:00pm
3/21/2025 Fri Ellie Martin (v), Mike Harrison (p), Kurt Krahnke (b) Brine Oyster House
15033 Kercheval Street
Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan
6:30pm – 9:30pm 3/22/2025 Sat Cedric Easton Soul Good Band
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cedric-eastons-soulgood-band-cledell-king-presents-tickets-1224002888589?aff=oddtdtcreator
Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
1447 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
7:15pm – 10:30pm 3/22/2025 Sat Ramona Collins
Solo Show Benfield Wines
102 N. Main Street
Swanton, Ohio
6:00pm – 9:00pm 3/23/2025 Sun Music, She Wrote! A Celebration of Women with Lori Lefevre, Gretchen Richie, and Shannon Ford with Kevin Eikum, Chris Buzzelli and Randy Richie First Unitarian Church
3205 Glendale Ave.
Toledo, Ohio
Free, open to public
3:00pm 3/26/2025 Wed Mike Lorenz Trio with guest Isis Jones Slater’s Food and Spirits
1634 East Perry Street
Port Clinton, Ohio
6:30:00pm – 9:30pm 3/28/2025 Fri Vanessa Rubin
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vanessa-rubin-tickets-1207995018619?aff=oddtdtcreator
Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
1447 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
7:15 – 10:30pm 3/28/2025 Fri Ramona Collins in Concert Hillsdale College
33. E. College Street
Hillsdale, Michigan
7:00pm – 9:00pm 3/29/2025 Sat George DeLancy Quartet
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/george-delancy-quartet-tickets-1224061493879?aff=oddtdtcreator
Lucille’s Jazz Lounge
1447 N. Summit Street
Toledo, Ohio
7:15pm – 10:30pm 3/29/2025 Sat Ramona Collins
Solo Show Hillside Wine Shoppe
Gilboa, Ohio
5:30pm 3/29/2025 Sat Classics Concert: A Healing Hope is an evening of deeply moving and uplifting choral works that reflect on hardship, resilience, and the light that emerges from darkness. Through music that speaks to experiences of depression, war, and loss, Masterworks Chorale offers a message of courage and renewal, reminding us that even in our darkest hours, hope endures.
Tickets: https://cur8.com/16556/project/129807
Christ Presbyterian Church
4225 W. Sylvania Ave.
Toledo, Ohio
7:30pm
Tickets for Satin Doll Revue: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sky-covingtons-satin-doll-revue-tickets-1061946232769?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
The Toledo Sports Arena is long gone, but it hosted some cool gigs over its lifetime.
Donna Michaels
Donna Michaels is one of the many performers whom I could not cover in Toledo's Jazz Legacy due to space restrictions. The first time I saw this picture it haunted me; what was she thinking, what was she searching for? That look has a lot going on. LaDonna Michaels (1936 - 2020) sang with bands in Toledo from the 1950s into the 1970s. She sang with the Ralph Brunk Trio in the very early 1960s, then with the Pretz Russell band later in the decade. She also sang with the Dave Jordan Combo and many others. I was never able to formally interview her and so the inner story of the bands she performed with and her thoughts about the period she sang in are lost to time. There are thousands who performed in Toledo's blues, jazz and swing bands; their stories are mute, but they all contributed to the deep musical culture of the city. I wish I could tell all of their stories.
Jazz On the Radio & Streaming
The Sunday Morning Extravaganza with host Ragtime Rick. “Music you won’t hear anywhere else on the radio dial.” Show details: 6am –9am FM 100.7 The Ticket, or available for streaming on the internet at 1007TheTicket.com.
Friday: then Saturday overnights -- WGTE broadcasts the Jazz Spectrum -- Friday 8pm – 12am, Saturday 8pm – 12am, then Jazz Spectrum Overnights Saturday from 12am – 4am, hosted by Fritz Byers. https://www.wgte.org/jazz
Other info at: https://www.facebook.com/jazzspectrumtoledo/
Listen to WXTS Jazz 88.3 FM 8a-8p Monday-Friday or 24/7, live stream at rdo.to/wxts
Deep Mix: Music & More with DJ Amjad: Radio show distilled & curated from 50 years knowledge & experience of people’s music & culture. Drawing on a wide spectrum of genres & styles. Broadcasts Sat. 8 PM & Wed. 4 PM EST on WAKT 106.1 FM, streaming on www.toledoradio.org and the WAKT 106.1 app
*Shows feature a mix of musical styles, with jazz showing up frequently.
H-Factor Jazz Show, 24hr/day Jazz:
Hosted by Hugh Ross, Jr. http://hfactorjazzshow.com/
Mark Zaborney’s "Jazz Unlimited" on WBGU FM 88.1 and via bgfalconmedia.com Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays from 9:00 am to noon. Note: Live in studio 9am - 12:00pm on Wednesdays. Every Friday Mark posts a new, hip jazz playlist on Spotify, too.
Thursdays, you can watch jazz broadcast live from the Peacock Café on BCAN, Watch BCAN on channel 109 (sd) or 609 (hd) or on Stream TV 26, or you can login with your Buckeye Broadband account here: https://www.bcanarts.com/watch/
Assorted Photos from February Performances
Delfeayo Marsalis in performance at the Toledo Club
Under The Sign @ Lucille's Jazz Lounge
Steve Wood (sax), Nancy Hattner (v), Kelly Broadway (v)
Kim Buehler (v) with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra
Brewhouse, downtown Toledo: The Josh Silver Trio -- Lori Lefevre (v), John Johnson (b), Josh Silver (kdb)
Sitting in was Raymond Mara, a budding vocalist and student at Toledo School for the Arts.
Mike Harrison (p), Olivia Van Goor (v) at the Toledo Club
Courtesy Toledo Lucas County Public Library
1950s in Toledo -- Visiting from Columbus, Ohio, Tommy Gibbs and the Werltons as they perform at Sing Sensation.