“Wanted you all to be on the look out for the Memorial poster for my Dad….it’s so beautiful! It’s coming up…June 17 Father’s Day…a reminder for you all to think about the beautiful things about your dads.”
The Roadhouse Cafe in Ft. Myers announced that this coming Monday, March 12 will be the last Jazz Monday for the 2012 season. Pianist Joe Delaney, who has been leading his Trio on the Monday dates, has engaged a life-long friend and New England colleague, saxophonist Bob Bowlby, to play that night with the Trio.
Joe and Bob both worked with the late Lou Colombo for over 30 years and will dedicate the evening to celebrating Lou’s legacy and spirit in music.
Seating for this exciting evening of fine dining and great jazz music is limited. Reservations are strongly suggested by calling the Roadhouse at 239.415.4375.
Born in Boston in 1959, Bob Bowlby started his first musical pursuit by playing drums at the age of 6. His father, Bob Bowlby, Sr., was an English Professor and a pianist who played professionally on weekends at night clubs and private parties. By the time he was 9, he was sitting in with his father’s band, and was a member of the group by age 11.
While listening to many of his father’s jazz records, he became more drawn to the saxophone from listening to Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane. At age 12, he started playing saxophone and clarinet in the school band. He soon added flute and all the various woodwinds to his list of instruments very quickly. By the time he was 14, he was playing gigs with his father on saxophone as well as all the ensembles in high school. After studying with saxophone greats Joe Viola and George Garzone at Berklee College of Music, he spent several years touring worldwide with the Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw Orchestras, the latter often with the late Roadhouse patriarch, trumpeter Lou Colombo. In 1984, he joined Buddy Rich and remained with the band as lead alto and featured soloist until Rich’s death in 1987.
Since then he has been a sought after full time musician throughout the northeast and abroad. Bob was an instructor at Berklee College of Music from 1987-91. He has a long list of credentials with a wide variety of musical groups including: Boston Pops, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Ben Vereen, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, British Rock Symphony, The Moody Blues, Rod Stewart, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mel Torme, Rosemary Clooney, Natalie Cole and Barry Manilow. Bob has been featured with such noted jazz legends as Bobby Shew, Randy Brecker, Clark Terry and Nick Brignola.
Joe Bilardo and Lou Colombo at the Roadhouse Cafe Ft. Myers
Percussionist Joe Bilardo hails from of Cleveland OH. Some of his family members were the first musicians to perform on local radio.
Joe’s father Sam and Uncle Vince were active on the music scene in Cleveland and afforded to Joe many opportunities in music at an early age. He studied with Charlie Wilcox, Jim Chapin and Harvey Mason. Joe’s family background exposed him to a wide range of musical styles including classical, jazz, big band, bebop, funk and rock.
Through his family connections, Joe became familiar with great jazz musicians such as Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, Joe Howard, Ellie Frankel, Clyde McCoy, Ray Anthony, Count Basie, Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry, Marilyn Maye and many more.
A typical weekend for the teenaged Joe Bilardo: a big band show at Blossom Music center, Rock and Roll with one of Cleveland’s 60s hit-makers, Saturday playing James Brown-style Soul, and Sunday with the Polish Ballet on tympani.
Joe studied formally at Kent State and Cleveland State Universities in Ohio. His playing career took him to many venues in Ohio as well as Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, among others.
Currently in Ft. Myers, FL, Joe works as a free-lance drummer and also as a network specialist for Lee County FL public schools. He appears every Monday night at the Roadhouse Cafe Ft. Myers with the Joe Delaney Trio.
Join us Monday, December 5, 2011 for a night of great food and fun at the Roadhouse Café Ft. Myers!. Marc and Sherri have a special night planned at their fabulous restaurant with proceeds from food and drinks to benefit the Heights Foundation of Ft. Myers.
The evening will feature the celebrity antics of:
Victor Mayeron, Heights Foundation Chairman
Elaine Hawkins
Daniel Zeugin
Pam Beckman
Neil LeClair
Enjoy great jazz by the Joe Delaney Trio and very special auction items.
Space is limited! Gather up your friends and make a reservation. Call the Roadhouse Cafe at 239-415-4375.
Barbara Smith with Woody Brubaker at the piano bar lounge at the Roadhouse Ft. Myers
Barbara Smith hails from Pittsburgh and moved to Florida in 1985. Barbara is no stranger to a recording studio—she has recorded many commercial jingles as well as demos for songwriters. She enjoys teaching vocal performing arts. Barbara says, “Music is the soundtrack to our lives.”
Barbara is filling in for Marvilla Marzan on Friday nights, 7-11 PM at the Roadhouse with multi-instrumentalist Woody Brubaker. Marvilla is currently on maternity leave and will return sometime next January.
[Ed. note: the final night for this season for the Joe Delaney Trio will be Monday, March 12. See the post on this evening including special guest artist, saxophonist Bob Bowlby]
The Roadhouse Cafe in Ft. Myers, Florida is pleased to announce the return of the gifted and highly original jazz pianist Joe Delaney. Joe will lead a trio of jazz veterans—bassist Don Mopsick and drummer Richie Ianuzzi—beginning in November. The Joe Delaney Trio will play every Monday night, set aside as “Jazz Mondays” in our piano bar lounge.
Listen to “Loro” composed by Egberto Gizmonti.
The kickoff event for Jazz Mondays will be a “Welcome Back, Joe!” party at the Roadhouse on Monday, November 7 beginning at 7:00 PM. You can reserve your table for this event now—call 239-415-4375 or email us at roadhousecafe@comcast.net
Listen to “It’s You or No One” composed by Jule Styne and Sammy Kahn.
Joe Delaney was born in Brockton, Mass. and grew up in Whitman, just south of Boston. Joe’s father Ed Delaney was also a pianist. Joe started playing at age 3, learning by ear from records, family parties and his father’s band rehearsals. Joe says, “I picked it up and still play about 90% by ear.”
“Costa Rica” by Joe Delaney
Joe started formal instruction and began performing in pubic at the age of 5. Joe says, “Once we started little kid tunes, I’d hear the teacher play it and put about 15 minutes into my lesson and just mimic it back.” He was soon spending hours a day learning popular tunes and George Shearing hits he heard during the band rehearsals.
“My Romance” by Rodgers and Hart
Later, Joe studied briefly with Kurt Wenzel, Charlie Banocos, Kenny Barron and Berklee piano professor Paul Schmeling. During his formative years Joe absorbed the musical influences of George Shearing, Erroll Garner, Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis, Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Bill Evans, Dave McKenna, Oscar Peterson and Herbie Hancock.
Dave McKenna, Joe Delaney, Tony Bennett, unknown. Bennett has long been associated with the Cape Cod area and is a fan of the Roadhouse Cafe Hyannis.
Joe first met the great Cape Cod jazz pianist Dave McKenna at the age of 12. They became life-long musical and personal friends. Joe says, “Even now there isn’t a time that I sit down to play solo piano that I don’t think of Dave.” McKenna said about Joe Delaney, “He gets better every time I hear him and he’s been around since he was barely a teenager.”
“Goodbye, Jobim” by Joe Delaney
Delaney worked in the Boston and Cape Cod areas until 1981, when he moved to the US Virgin Islands, where he worked for most of the ’80s.
“Confirmation” by Charlie Parker
From 1989-2009 Joe returned to New England, based in Cape Cod, mostly in Hyannis. He had a long association with reedman Dick Johnson, who led the Artie Shaw Orchestra during this period. Joe travelled with the Shaw Orchestra for six years, sometimes playing alongside trumpet great Lou Colombo. While not touring with the Shaw band or his own groups (on 5 continents), Delaney played extended residencies in virtually every live music venue on Cape Cod. He spent 7 years leading the house trio at the Black Cat Tavern at Hyannis Harbor, now owned and operated by David Colombo.
“Valse Africano” by Joe Delaney
Joe has recorded many jazz albums and CDs both as leader and sideman, as well as commercial jingles (for Pepsi, Beck’s Beer, among others), and movie soundtracks (Mrs. Worthington’s Party). For his 2001 trio release, Take 1, Joe is accompanied by bassist Laird Boles and drummer Steve Langone.
Thanks, Joe, for giving us permission to post all the tracks here for us to enjoy!
