Janiece Jaffe, singing in the moment

Listen to the purity of Janiece Jaffe"s voice: It flows from her 4-foot-10-inch stature with such range and eloquence it seems to radiate with a tranquil passion. Jaffe, who is a mother of four teen-agers, has never lost sight of her dream to sing. "As a child, I always had this dream of a young woman like Cinderella who was washing floors and singing like a bird. It inspired me and I thought, "That"s me; I want to sing like the birds.""

Jaffe is singing and recording and she has three CDs to her credit: Keep the Flame Alive and a marvelous outing with Brazilian guitarist Marcos Calvacante, It Takes Two. Her new CD places her in a setting with Australian jazz pianist Simon Rowe"s Trio that results in a marvelous blending of artistry.

Jaffe and Rowe have developed a musical synergy from performing every Friday night at Sangiovese"s Restaurant. Her new CD, Heart"s Desire, covers a wide swath of American music from jazz classics to standards and Broadway tunes, backed by John Huber on bass, Pete Wilhoite on drums and Simon Rowe"s piano.

Jaffe laughingly says, "I am interested in absolutely everything. I"m a Gemini and it drives me nuts."

She revealed she"s going back into the studio to do a meditation CD of spontaneous, all-vocal improvisation. Jaffe"s goals for her musical career are basic and fundamentally sound. "My wish is to be able to touch people"s hearts and the more the merrier. I would like to be on a different national level as a singer but I am not worried about it. What I am doing now is creating the arena for that time. You have to be who you are, where you are."

Tales from Inside the Bandstand

Veteran jazz trumpeter Jeff Conrad, who is in the brass section of the Buselli Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, shared this classic tale when he was playing on a national tour. "I was in the Ray Charles Band with the great trumpeter Johnny Coles. We were playing a club that belonged to Joe Namath down in Florida. The bandstand was sunk back into the wall. So the trumpets were trapped behind the trombones and Ray got onto one of his tirades of 20 or 30 minutes of blues. Poor Johnny Coles had to take a leak and it got to the point he was finished. So we started gathering up water glasses and Johnny kneeled down behind the bandstand where we had two water glasses for him. He gets to the middle of the second one, when he says, "I think I am going to need a third." So we hustled the sax section to hurry and give us a water glass and they handed me back a full water glass. I slurped it down and handed it down to Johnny. He filled it right to the rim of the third water glass. The waitresses were hurriedly cleaning up for the second show and Johnny is very carefully carrying out these glasses to set down on a dirty table. All three were filled to the brim."

The never-ending saga of Tales from Inside the Bandstand continues next week.

Jazz happenings

Forget chilling out - it"s enough with this weather. Turn up the heat and thaw out with plenty of hot jazz being played this week in Indy.

Downtown

The Chatterbox brings in the acclaimed sounds of the Carter/Markiewicz Jazz Quartet Friday, Jan. 31. Flip City Jazz led by Ralph Johnson returns after their sensational debut last month on Saturday, Feb. 1. Sets both nights run from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Circle City Bar & Grille in the Marriott features Conga Jazz playing from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday.

The Elbow Room has the guitar and bass of Tom Sullivan and Duncan Putman providing soft jazz for the Sunday Jazz Brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Artsgarden will present the Eastern Star Church Choir and the Hampton Sisters & Friends playing 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. for the free, month-long celebration of Art & Soul events to be held there in February.

Northside

The Jazz Kitchen showcases the Indy jazz legend Melvin Rhyne"s Quartet on Friday. Rhyne, who began his career with Wes Montgomery, will play two sets at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Returning home from Chicago is the hard-hitting jazz of trumpeter Pharez Whitted"s Quartet with an all-star lineup for two sets at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.

Chuck Workman is the producer/host of the Sunday Morning Jazz Show at 107.9 WTPI.