Hear This

The Johnny Nocturne Band featuring Kim Nalley
Retro is hip if you're talking vintage clothes or rare eBay collectibles, but in jazz it's sad. Tired bands playing tired tunes -- because they've got nothing new to say -- get old fast. Yet some artists, like Johnny Nocturne Band leader John Firmin, mine old-school material for its time-tested values (e.g., the blues). When handled with care, as on the combo's just-released, fourth Bullseye CD, Million Dollar Secret, this kind of investigation can open a window to the past that's indeed still relevant today.

Related Content

• S.F. Trumpeter Bill Ortiz on Playing with Souls of Mischief, Covering Gil Scott-Heron, and Touring with Sheila E.
  January 26, 2012
• Long Before Aerosmith's "Crazy"
  June 29, 2011
• Ralph Carney Gets (Moderately) Serious with The Serious Jass Project
  September 21, 2011
• Lindy Hoppers Rejoice
  November 24, 2010
• Blow Gage with Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project's Seriously
  August 18, 2011

More About

• John Firmin
• Kim Nalley
• Rob Sudduth
• Marty Wehner
• Louis Jordan

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Pumping fresh blood into the trendy but often anemic jump-and-jive craze, the Johnny Nocturne Band stands out from the other swingers on the block. First, credit the group's repertoire of slick and substantial arrangements on charts by the likes of Duke Ellington and Illinois Jacquet. Then, check the uptempo horns and brawny solos by Firmin (tenor sax), Rob Sudduth (baritone sax), Bill Ortiz (trumpet), and Marty Wehner (trombone), which fondly recall the soulful bounce of Louis Jordan or Tab Smith. But above all, the honors go hands-down to the band's sassy, sexy vocalist, Kim Nalley.

The singer's spot-on passion for the sultry phrasing, vampish attitude, and cool confidence of mother-diva Dinah Washington translate into playful, hot-under-the-collar baiting on Million Dollar Secret. In her mid-20s and already a savvy performer, Nalley doubtless gets a rise out of the gents in the audience with the title track tease: "You know them old men are fine/ And they know just what to do." These sounds will definitely take you back a few decades, but somehow the vibe just doesn't feel old.

The Johnny Nocturne Band appears on Monday, Dec. 6, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. Tickets are $7; call (510) 238-9200.