|
2009 Best Jazz Performer 44.99% Todd Harrold Band
Others with Votes (more than one):
* On the ballot | 
Todd Harrold might not have been on hand to accept his award for Best Jazz Performer, but that's only because this five-time Whammy winner was home sick and trying to gather his strength for a weekend full of gigs.
He also thought, given his fellow nominees -- George Ogg, Francie Zucco and Mick Colacuori -- there was a distinct possibility his four-year streak as Fort Wayne's favorite jazz tub thumper might come to an end.
"My ex-wife called me and said, 'You won. Where are you?'" he said. "I was so surprised. I certainly didn't mean to stand anyone up. I'm truly gratified and glad people still come out and see me."
They sure do. Harrold and his band -- Dan Mowan on the eight-string, Rob Dixon on sax and Wil Brown on percussion -- are some of the area's most active musicians. The week before the Whammys Harrold had four, count 'em four, gigs around town, including his standing Friday night engagement at Club Soda.
"I think that might be how I got sick," he said, "but I like to keep busy."
So says the man who not only gives music lessons out of his home studio and anchors the Sunday evening radio smorgasbord of song and story called "The Burnt Toast Show" but is also hard at work on his eighth album. The disc, titled Pictures of the Sun, will be released some time this summer after Harrold finishes up recording it at the Static Shack in Indianapolis, known to many as Bob and Tom's studio. The label is likewise major -- Owl Studios -- and Harrold said he's approaching Pictures of the Sun a little differently than he has his previous efforts.
"I'm 45 now. I'm not trying to keep up with anything anymore. I'm just trying to be who I am. I'm just going to put that out there and hope it works," he said.
It's obviously working for him every Sunday night on "Burnt Toast," the WBOI show he co-anchors with fellow music-phile Felix Moxter.
"We're in our 13th year now, so we must be doing something right," he said. "It's really one of the best things I do, I think. I have all these students, all these teenagers, who have never heard of The Beatles or Jimi Hendrix, and "'Burnt Toast' is for them in a way. It's for everyone. I'll play anything. I love putting on a Muddy Waters song and following it with a hip-hop tune. The whole idea is there are no rules. That's how radio should be."
Harrold's dad in effect did him the same service when Harrold was a teenager, suggesting he swap his Styx records for some by Miles Davis. A jazz lover was born. And while it's a little early to make such predictions, chances are another jazz lover was born 10 months ago when Harrold and his partner, Mindy Ezzelle, welcomed their first child. Harrold said he wasn't sure he'd ever have a family, but now that it's happened he couldn't be happier.
"Mindy, she's the best ever. I can't imagine someone being more supportive, and my son, well, he never sleeps and I love him more than I thought possible," he said. "It's just so great at my age to have such terrific people who are right behind me all the time." (Deborah Kennedy) |
Copyright 2010 Ad Media Inc.