Friday, March 14, 2003 | 8:47 a.m.
Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at [email protected] at (702) 259-4058.
Joe Delaney, the venerable Las Vegas Sun entertainment columnist who died at age 80 in August, loved life in general -- but he especially liked all things Irish, and he liked jazz.
Delaney produced and narrated television documentaries on Ireland. He sometimes portrayed St. Patrick in local St. Patrick's Day parades, and after he died his ashes were taken to Ireland (even though he was born in Philadelphia).
Early in his life he was a jazz trumpeter; in the '50s he managed the Dukes of Dixieland jazz band. He produced records for such jazz legends as Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Al Hirt, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington and many others.
Delaney would be happy to know that Monday, the first St. Patrick's Day since his passing, two of the things dearest to his heart will cross paths -- Murphy's Pub, 3985 E. Sunset Road, will feature the jazz of the Moanin' Blacksnakes (beginning at 8 p.m.).
"There will be lots of beer and free food and jazz," said owner Linda Murphy.
Murphy's Pub might be one of the best places in town for true jazz fans -- those who love honest, straight-ahead jazz.
With so many jazz venues closing of late (among them the Blue Note Las Vegas), it's important that those remaining are supported. If not, before long there won't be anyplace to kick back and listen to jamming by some of the best local jazz musicians.
Murphy, who has owned the bar at Sunset Road and Annie Oakley Drive for 17 years, recently decided to offer a full schedule of live jazz.
She knocked out a couple of walls and built a 400-square-foot stage to accommodate the musicians, who play six nights a week. Among the regulars are Moanin' Snakes on Fridays, Art Groom and the Last Band on Wednesdays, Cherry Hill on Saturdays and We Be 3 on Sundays and Thursdays.
Before coming to Murphy's last month, We Be 3 played at Kickers.
"We had been at Kickers a couple of months and built up a big following," said drummer Santo Savino, the band's leader. "Then they changed to country."
We Be 3 quickly landed a gig at Murphy's.
The group likes to jam, as long as the musicians know who it is they are jamming with. They don't let just anybody join them onstage.
"That can be dangerous," trombonist Neil Maxa said.
Besides Savino and Maxa, the trio includes Ed McKeta on the Hammond B-3 organ.
All three have impeccable jazz pedigree.
Savino (Robert Goulet's drummer for the past 20 years) has been in Vegas since 1960. He has played for the likes of Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson, Tony Bennett and Billy Eckstine. He has recorded with such jazz legends as Carl Fontana, Carl Saunders and Monk Montgomery.
McKeta, a native of Cleveland, has lived in Las Vegas for more than 20 years, performing with Lou Rawls, the Four Tops and many others. He recently recorded a CD with guitarist Mark Whitfield and drummer Tommy Chek, "Live at the Blue Note."
The Blue Note might be dead locally, but the CD is full of life.
Maxa, a Chicago native who graduated from Western Michigan University School of Music, came to Las Vegas in 1991 to study with legendary jazz trombonist Fontana.
Fontana developed a technique called "doodle tonguing," a method of rapidly moving the tongue affecting the sound of the trombone. Maxa demonstrated his expertise in the technique as he played "If I Only Had a Brain," from "The Wizard of Oz."
Maxa has performed with many local jazz legends, including Don Menza.
Menza has been known to drop by Murphy's to sit in. His longtime Monday night gig at the Riviera's Le Bistro Lounge ended last year when the lounge was converted into a mini-showroom.
Jerry Tiffe, popular with swing music fans in Vegas, sang with We Be 3 last week. Tiffe is one of the busiest entertainers in town. Among his many gigs is Saturday nights at Capozzoli's.
Other mainstays of the local jazz scene who were on hand to take their turn onstage, or just to soak in the music, were bassist Chris Gordan, trumpeter Bill King and keyboardist Dennis Mellen.
Saxophonist Richie Cole, formerly with the Buddy Rich band, will appear at Murphy's April 3 and April 6.
Judy Jetter, a local jazz fan, says Murphy's is the best place in town for great music.
"It's for the real jazz crowd," she said.
If Joe Delaney were still around, he would be among them.
Lounging around
The Fremont Street Experience will host its annual St. Patrick's Day party Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. with the Las Vegas Sons of Erin St. Patrick's Day Parade and Block Party. Beginning at noon there will be free entertainment on two stages, and gallons of green beer. Headlining the event is The Mahones and Kinship, performing from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. Bands that will perform throughout the day include The Shamrocks, Townpants, Wild Thyme & Craicmore and Johnny Bagpipes.
Water O'Douling and The Wild Celts will be busy on St. Patrick's Day weekend. Saturday and Sunday, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., they will perform at Virgin Records at the Forum Shops at Caesars, where they also will sign their new CD, "Day at the Races." Monday they will perform their regular gig at Palace Station's Jack's Irish Pub from 8 p.m. until whenever. The festivities will include lots of green beer, Irish dancing and jigging, as well as a raffle for a trip for two to Ireland.
The Las Vegas Jam Band Society will hold a fund-raising concert Saturday beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Danny's II at Rainbow and Oakey boulevards. Doors open at 6 p.m. Admission is a $5 donation. Bands that will perform include Local Tribal Drumming, Stretch, The Guitar Army and the The Bounders. The Jamband Society of America operates as a not for profit organization promoting live music in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada
The legendary bassist and arranger Johnny Pate will turn 80 on Dec. 5. The Arnold Shaw Popular Music Research Center at UNLV will honor Pate with an early birthday celebration at 2 p.m., March 30 in the Judy Bayley Theatre on the UNLV campus. The concert will be recorded live by TNC Jazz label and released on Pate's actual birthday. Tickets are $25 general admission and $20 for UNLV faculty, staff, students, and members of the Las Vegas Jazz Society. Tickets can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center Box Office or by calling 895-2787.com
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