The Three J's

Names that begin with the letter J have a special place in my family. My Dad was James. My sisters are Joyce, Jody, Jackie, and Jeri. My niece is Jennifer. My nephew is Jeremy. I stopped the practice when I named my children.

Because of this, I often think of the Big Three -- Big Joe Maher, John Cocuzzi, and John Previti as the Three J's. I've never told them this. I have told them that they're three of my (and my WSDC cohorts) favorite local musicians. And that's why they're participating in the WSDC Band Jam.

Big Joe Maher is a favorite band leader for one of the Nation's best, West-Coast-based dance instructors, Sylvia Sykes.

He was a W.C. Handy Award nominee for Best Blues Drummer in 2005. And won the WAMMIE award for Best Male Blues Vocalist in 2005.

He's been known to write songs on his way to dance gigs, based on his commuting experience. Listen to the lyrics when Joe is on stage. You'll often hear references to what's happening on the dancefloor.

He is one of the DC's areas most sought out drummers for touring musicians, including Jimmy Witherspoon, Bullmoose Jackson, James "Thunderbird" Davis, Nappy Brown, Otis Rush, Earl King, and more.

He's just finished playing to rave reviews at Soflex 2007

He's a fabulous producer.

And, he'll be "producing" the WSDC Band Jam on April 7.


Now a bit about John Previti --

He started in the 4th grade on classical oboe. The lure of rock and roll during high school drew him to electric bass, getting paying gigs within a year of starting the bass.

John switched to upright bass in college, holding down the contrabass first chair in both the concert band and the jazz ensemble. But electric bass gigs were still paying the rent.

In 1976, jamming on electric bass at a guitar shop in his hometown of Clinton, he met guitar great Danny Gatton. Danny liked his playing so much he invited John to join the band he was just starting. That group went on to make guitar history and, with one hiatus, John played with Danny for the next eighteen years.

With the steady growth of the Danny Gatton Trio’s fame and its jazz evolution, John was becoming increasingly sought after as the guitarist’s bass player. Through the eighties, he started getting calls from the cream of the area’s jazz guitarists. His old teen idol, the pioneer of acoustic jazz guitar, Charlie Byrd called. He had a chance to gig and record with Herb Ellis and eventually even accompanied Les Paul , a great Danny Gatton admirer. Previti performed with the great trumpeter, Doc Cheatham.

In 1995 John got heavily involved in the music for Paul Simon’s play, Capeman, eventually recording the music with Paul.

That same year, John went on a blues tour with Big Joe Maher and his East-West Allstars (with Junior Watson on guitar), starting an active collaboration that continues to this day.

Today, as a labor of love, he leads the Mingus-Monk Tribute band . A larger horn group, the Tribute performs highly original arrangements of Mingus and Monk classics in monthly appearances at Whitlows on Wilson. Swinging Lullabies For My Rosetta is John’s first album as a leader -- and it's fantastic.

John Cocuzzi -- Many know John as the pianist for the various Big Joe groups. He's also a regular member of Swing Speak. Did you also know that --

In addition to a pianist, he's a fantastic vibraphonist and drummer.

He's the musical director for 219 Restaurant's Basin Street Lounge.

He's the organizer for the Crystal City Jazz Celebration, a not-to-be-missed event that's featured such notables as Barbara Morrison, Eddie Locke, Houston Person, Bria Skonberg, and The Capital Focus Jazz Band (the Youth Learning Program of the Potomac River Jazz Club).

He's the leader of the Swinging Professors, with his dad on drums.

He was featured on the NPR program Riverwalk-Live at the Landing, recorded with Skitch Henderson and Bucky Pizzarelli, and performed with Ed Polcer at Lincoln Center

He'll just have returned from playing Dixieland Monterey jazz festival. After the WSDC Band Jam, he's headed for the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, the Atlanta Jazz Party, the Sweet & Hot Music Festival in Los Angeles, the San Diego Thanksgiving Jazz Festival, and the JazzAscona festival in Switzerland. The man is in demand!

Check out the Swinging Vibes performance at the Millennium Stage -- with Bruce Swaim, Frank Cocuzzi, John Cocuzzi, Chuck Redd, and Steve Wolf