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Danny Bacher – Serious Fun

Last autumn, jazz singer and soprano sax player Danny Bacher released his second CD, Still Happy. That he is. Bacher is a purveyor of happiness, born under a lucky star. He’s a Renaissance man, a polymath of talent––a saxophonist, vocalist, composer, educator, actor, writer/playwright, and comedian––who’s a master of all trades and on a mission to spread joy. Now at that mid-life point where the road behind and the road ahead are more or less equal, he’s got a solid perspective of the elements of his life that have informed his “now” and the direction he’d like to travel in.

Marking a pinnacle in his career, Bacher also becomes the latest recipient of the American Songbook Association (ASA) Margaret Whiting Award, of which Bacher says, “It’s an honor to carry on the tradition and excellence one strives for, and that this music deserves.” The Whiting Award matches Bacher’s personal mission to encourage young people into the songbook and into jazz, by making it accessible to them. Of course, happiness is a prime ingredient in that accessibility.


Nominated for Best Male Vocalist 2019, 2020, 2021

JazzTimes Logo Readers Poll


Jazz needn’t be dark and brooding to be taken seriously. From Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller to Louis Jordan and Louis Prima, a fair amount of the jazz catalog was designed to put a smile on your mug and tap in your toe. Saxophonist and vocalist Danny Bacher subscribes to that model. In fact, he doubles down on his 2016 release Swing That Music – a tribute to the above-mentioned Louis – with an unapologetically joyful follow-up, Still Happy (Whaling City Sound). Bacher puts his engaging tenor vocals to a well-curated set of sunny standards – “Getting Some Fun Out of Life”, “Lucky To Be Me”, “Joy Spring” – pens a few of his own, and receives stellar backing from top-flight musicians including saxophonist Harry Allen and pianist Allen Farnham. Proving, as throughout, that a cheerful disposition isn’t necessarily anathema to good jazz, Bacher leads his band through a simmering rendition of the Arlen/oehler classic “Get Happy.” The singer doubles on soprano sax and splits solo space with Allen and trumpeter Charles Caranicas, while bassist Dean Johnson, drummer Alvester Garnett and percussionist Rolando Morales-Matos maintain an infectious Latin groove.


Tributes to the Louies – Armstrong, Prima and Jordan – are nothing new. For years, artists with a penchant for finger-popping have doffed a cap to one or more of them, and with good reason: They’re among the most significant music makers of the 20th century. Vocalist and soprano saxophonist Danny Bacher is the latest to tie together the Louis legacies on his invigorating new CD Swing That Music! (Whaling City Sound).

Bacher receives sterling support from a topnotch little big band featuring all-stars such as guitarist Howard Alden, cornetist Warren Vache, trombonist Pete McGuinness and bassist Ray Drummond. Song selections play like a dream jukebox, featuring a slate of tunes that connect jazz and blues to jump-swing and rock ‘n’ roll. Bacher’s tenor vocals provide a sturdy vehicle for the music, and he pulls plenty of fire from his sax, undoubtedly inspired by the musicians he honors – ace solosits all – as well as those on the session. Bacher shares the mic with the charming Cyrille Aimée for a medly that pairs “La Vie en Rose” with “A Kiss to Build a Dream On.” both romantic staples of the Armstrong repertoire. Aimée sings the former in her native French (a la Edith Piaf) as a prelude to Bacher’s supple croon on the latter. Pianist Jason Teborek, bassist Drummond and drummer Bill Goodwin are spot-on, and Vache honors Pops’ horn without imitating him.

Danny Bacher: Still Happy – Review of saxophonist/vocalist’s upbeat second album as a leader

The song titles alone on soprano saxophonist and vocalist Danny Bacher’s sophomore release provide a pre-listening hint of what to expect: They contain words like joy, fun, lucky, hooray, laughing, and—three separate times—happy. And just to make sure you’ve got the idea, the CD’s inner sleeve depicts the artist matching the grin on the smiley-face balloon he’s holding. Yes, there is also “Cloudy,” an update of the nearly century-old Bix Beiderbecke tune, paired in a medley with Django Reinhardt’s “Nuages,” but it’s the last tune on the album, so by then the exultant mood has long been set. No room for gloom here.

If that description suggests that Still Happy (itself a distillation of a Bacher original called “In Spite of All This, I’m Still Happy”) might be some kind of cloying, terminally gushy affair, no worries. The positivity within these smartly arranged and superbly executed performances is often more implied than overt; if the music gets a smile out of you too, consider that a bonus… READ MORE


“The secret of serious fun is not to take it too seriously, especially if it involves playing jazz. That attitude is something that the easygoing singer and saxophonist Danny Bacher, who appeared with a small swing band at the Metropolitan Room on Tuesday evening, knows in his bones.

It is about making hot music but staying cool, about cutting up while maintaining effortless self-control, about having a blast with friends. And at his performance of “Swing That Music,” a homage to the era of jumpin’ jive with a dollop of Dixieland, Mr. Bacher conflated the music of three Louises — Armstrong, Jordan and Prima — in a concert revealing him to be a prodigiously talented musical preservationist.

Mr. Bacher’s voice is smoother than Prima’s rasp, but in his bebop solos he revealed enough of his inner wild man to suggest a maniac behind the cool. “I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song),” from “The Jungle Book,” in particular, made me grin. It was a reminder that behind its academic trappings, a prime element of jazz has always been a game of monkey see, monkey do.”

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

Events


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  • 2023 EVENTS

  • JANUARY

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    Room 623 with the Marcus Goldhaber Quartet
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    Villa Roma Resort
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    1017 West Side Ave., Jersey City, NJ

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    With Jason Teborek, The Spirit Lounge
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    Cy Coleman recording project with Jeff Harnar
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    Huntington, NY

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    Millburn, NJ

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    Franklin Lakes, NJ

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  • 17th | TUES@6:30PM

    The 34th Annual Cabaret Convention, A Salute to Kurt Weill
    Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC

  • NOVEMBER

  • 3rd | FRI

    Cedar Grove, NJ

  • 16 – 18th | THRS – SAT @7PM

    A Tribute to the Rat Pack, with Danny Bacher, Tom Manuel and the Jazz Loft Big Band
    The Jazz Loft, Stony Brook NY

  • 22nd | WED

    West Orange, NJ

  • 29th | WED@12:30PM

    The Wayne Public Library presents, Danny Bacher Jazz
    for the Lunchtime Learning Series
    The Wayne Public Library

  • DECEMBER

  • 1st | FRI

    Asbury Park, NJ

  • 2nd | FRI

    Cedar Grove, NJ

  • 7 – 9th | THRS – SAT @7PM

    A Jazz Holiday Big Band with Danny Bacher, Tom Manuel and the Jazz Loft Big Band
    The Jazz Loft, Stony Brook NY

  • 14 – 16th | THRS – SAT @7PM

    A Jazz Holiday Big Band with Danny Bacher, Tom Manuel and the Jazz Loft Big Band
    The Jazz Loft, Stony Brook NY

  • 24th | SUN

    Tenafly, NJ

  • 29th | FRI

    Oakland, NJ

  • 2022 EVENTS

  • JANUARY

  • 14th | FRI

    The Velvet Note
    Atlanta, GA

  • 16th | SUN

    The Palladium
    St. Petersburg, FL

  • FEBRUARY

  • 10th | THRS

    The Bonnet House Museum and Gardens
    Fort Lauderdale, FL | GET TICKETS

  • 21st | MON

    The Key Largo Angler’s Club
    Key Largo, FL

  • 27th | SUN@5-8PM

    Flamingo Gardens in Davie, Florida
    Featuring the Danny Bacher Trio | GET TICKETS

  • MARCH

  • 4th | FRI@8-10PM

    The Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts
    1905 Kentucky Ave Winter Park, Florida | GET TICKETS

  • 13th | SUN@1-3PM

    Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Osprey Florida
    Featuring the Danny Bacher Trio | GET TICKETS

  • 17th | THRS

    Boca Raton, FL

  • 21st | MON

    Boca Raton, FL

  • APRIL

  • 10th | SUN

    with Roseanna Vitro and Houston Person
    at SOPAC, South Orange, NJ | GET TICKETS

  • 16th | SAT

    Syosset NY

  • 20th | WED

    An Evening with the Danny Bacher Quartet
    at Pangea, NYC | GET TICKETS

  • 24th | SUN

    Wayne NJ

  • 25th | MON@9PM

    Villa Roma

  • MAY

  • 7th | SAT

    Morristown, NJ

  • 9th | MON

    ASA Gala for Stephen Schwartz

  • 10th | TUES@7:30PM

    The Seton Hall University Jazz Faculty concert
    featuring Danny Bacher at The Jennifer & Tony Leitner Performance Hall | GET TICKETS

  • 15th | SUN@9PM

    The Villa Roma

  • 28th | SAT

    East Rutherford, NJ

  • 29th | SUN

    Montclair, NJ

  • JUNE

  • 3rd | FRI

    Mabel Mercer Foundation Peggy Lee Centennial Concert
    Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall) | GET TICKETS

  • 4th | SAT

    Teaneck, NJ

  • 9th | THRS@8PM

    Friars Club

  • 12th | SUN

    American Popular Song Society Gala
    The Cutting Room, NYC

  • 18th | SAT

    Staten Island, NY

  • 25th | SAT

    Port Richmond, NY

  • 26th | SUN@2PM

    Greenbriar Whittingham
    Monroe, NJ

  • 30th | THRS

    Fort Lauderdale, DL

  • JULY

  • 7th | THR@5:30PM

    Pittston, PA

  • 9th | SAT

    West Orange NJ

  • 14th | THRS

    New York City, NY

  • 18th | MON@5-7PM

    Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton NoMad, NYC
    Featuring the Danny Bacher Trio

  • 19th | TUE@5PM

    Van Vorst Park, Jersey City NJ
    Community awareness Summer Concert Series Presents: The Danny Bacher Trio (Free)

  • 23rd | SAT@7PM

    Deer Head Inn, Delaware Water Gap, PA
    Roseanna Vitro and Danny Bacher sing a song of Bird

  • 29th | FRI

    Cedar Grove, NJ

  • 31st | SUN@7PM

    Bellworks, Holmdel, NJ
    Danny Bacher Quartet with Vince Giordano, Art Topilow and Alvester Garnett performs “Broadway meets Jazz” with special guests Christine Andreas and Marty Silvestri.

  • AUGUST

  • 1st | MON@12PM

    Demarest, NJ

  • 5th | FRI@7PM

    Highland Lakes, NJ
    Danny Bacher Swings with Tom Manuel & the Jazz Loft Big Band

  • 6th | SAT

    Gladstone, NJ

  • 20th | SAT

    Newark, NJ

  • 28th | SUN

    Oyster Bay, NY

  • 30th | TUE@6:30PM

    Wernersville, PA

  • SEPTEMBER

  • 8th | THRS@9:30

    All-Star Broadway Jazz Jam
    54 Below, NYC

  • 18th | SAT

    Jersey City, NJ

  • 23rd | FRI

    Clifton, NJ

  • 24th | SAT

    Cedar Grove, NJ

  • 30th | FRI

    Washington, NJ

  • OCTOBER

  • 8th | SAT

    Red Bank, PA

  • 22nd | SAT

    Manalapan, NJ

  • 26th | WED

    33rd Annual Cabaret Convention | A Salute to Yip Harburg
    Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rose Hall, NYC

  • 29th | SAT

    NYC, NY

  • NOVEMBER

  • 4th | FRI

    Woodland Park, NJ

  • 11th | FRI

    New Hope, PA

  • 19th | SAT

    Manalapan, NJ

  • DECEMBER

  • 1st – 3rd | THRS – SAT @7PM

    A Jazzy Big Band Christmas Concert with Tom Manuel and the Jazz Loft Big Band
    The Jazz Loft, Stony Brook NY
    Get your tickets here: https://www.thejazzloft.org/tickets

  • 9th | FRI@9:30PM

    Danny Bacher Trio
    Baretto @ Fasano 280 Park Ave | Enterance on E 49th St, New York, NY
    Reservations at https://www.fasanorestaurantny.com/events/

  • 10th | SAT

    Port Jefferson, NY

  • 12th | MON @7PM

    Swingin’ The Holiday Classics with Nicole Zuraitis

    Mohonk Mountain House

  • 13th | TUES

    New York, NY

  • 14th | WED

    Wyckoff, NJ

  • 15th – 17th | THRS – SAT @ 7PM

    A Jazzy Big Band Christmas Concert with Tom Manuel and the Jazz Loft Big Band
    The Jazz Loft, Stony Brook NY
    Get your tickets here: https://www.thejazzloft.org/tickets

  • 18th – 21st | SUN – WED

    Terry Gibbs Recording Project
    Lost Angeles, California

  • 24th | SAT

    Tenafly, NJ

  • 31st | SAT@9PM

    Harbor Club

    Huntington, NY

Listen

Check out tunes from Danny’s Newest CDs

Hooray For Hollywood


Joie De Vive

Get Happy


 

La Vie En Rose/Kiss To Build a Dream On
(Featuring Cyrille Aimée and Warren Vaché)



I Wanna Be Like You

Early in the Mornin


Contact

Danny

Bacher

Booking

JWP agency
Steve Frumkin
Tel: 941-924-8452
Email: Steve@JWPagency.com
Email: Rebecca@JWPagency.com

Publicity

Doreen D’Agostino Media
Doreen D’Agostino
doreen@doreendagostinomedia.com
917-916-2626

Radio Promotions

Mike Carlson
mcpro@earthlink.net
360-660-4909

Radio & Publicity

Mixed Media
Ginny Shea
ginny@mixedmediapromo.com
401-942-8025
www.mixedmediapromo.com

DANNY BACHER

Contact Danny Bacher
Tel: 973-204-6374
Email: danny@dannybachermusic.com

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