Dale Anderson's Gusto stories

Catching up with the man who became the Father of Smooth Jazz on a visit home.   June 24, 1977 Grover Grooves             There’s a front porch and a fence around the yard. There’s flowers and there’s kids and there’s a deli right on the corner. All in all, the little house on Glenwood Avenue looks like the coziest spot on Buffalo ’s East Side . This is what jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. means when he talks about home.           But once he gets home, can he relax? Not a chance. There’s friends and relatives who want to see him. There’s even a schedule of interviews. And that long-distance phone rings the same here as it does in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia .           “My nerves are like this,” he says, holding out a jittery hand a few hours before his first appearance in Kleinhans Music Hall earlier this month. “That’s ‘cause it’s home. I’m going to be playing in front of all the people who know me.”           He hasn’t forgotten the folks back home. N

  One of Buffalo ’s musical legends in his early days. Gusto June 17, 1977 Maynard & Bobby            “If it wasn’t for Buffalo and Rochester ,” Maynard Ferguson said, sweeping his hands to include his entire 13-man ensemble, “this would be a trio.”           No doubt about it. Graduates of the Eastman School of Music and the Buffalo club scene dominate the band in this, Ferguson ’s finest hour.           For the first time in years, the Montreal-born trumpeter is on top of Billboard’s jazz charts. His “Conquistador” album and “Theme from ‘Rocky’” single are proving that big-band sound mixed with modern rhythm can be a stunning pop success too.           Ferguson will make one more stop here June 25 in Shea’s Buffalo before embarking on a tour around the world. Perhaps it’s his way of bringing his musicians home to say goodbye to their families. Or maybe Bobby Militello had something to do with it.           Militello’s the one sitting up in the front row on the r

  More proof that behind every glitzy façade, there’s an up-from-the-bootstraps story.   June 17, 1977   The Three Coins             Augustus Bersani drove out to a land auction on Niagara Falls Boulevard in 1949 and got a break from the weather. A horrendous storm blew up and the other bidders apparently washed out. When the gavel pounded, he turned out to be the only one there.           So he built a motel on the land. Forty units. Niagara Falls Boulevard was just a two-lane highway in those days, but nevertheless it was the main route to the Falls. The motel prospered. Mr. Bersani, who came from Canada , became a U.S. citizen. This was his dream.           But it didn’t end there. The dream went on to include a couple of sons, Rudi and Dave, and additions to the motel. Rudi went to the University of Buffalo , earned a degree in business administration and came to work for his father. That was 1958. Dave, three years younger, came to work for his father that year too.

  An iconic club owner and music promoter resurfaces in the unlikeliest of places.   June 10, 1977 Gusto   Eduardo’s             “If   I’d have had the Revilot up here, I could’ve retired by now,” Bemo Crockett says, grinning over an ever-present cup of coffee.           Here is 3297 Bailey Ave. – Eduardo’s – and the reason it would’ve been so good for Bemo’s old age is that it’s four blocks away from UB’s Main Street Campus.           “The students know what’s happening in music,” the former owner of the Revilot says. “But they were always afraid to come down to my old place.”           Bemo brought in big-name artists – Herbie Hancock, George Benson and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, among others – but bringing in the fans to East Ferry Street and Jefferson Avenue was harder.           Nevertheless, the Revilot kept live jazz coming to Buffalo in the lean years between the demise of the Royal Arms in 1967 and the recent renaissance via the Statler Hilton’s Downtown room and

Another skirmish in the eternal war between creativity and commerce. Looking at this now, I wonder why it wasn’t a Gusto cover story.   June 10, 1977    Art Festival   Allentown ’s may be one of the largest in the country. Beyond sheer popularity exists a certain amount of controversy.             Strollers of all ages, styles and tastes will throng the ancient streets of Buffalo ’s Allentown district tomorrow and Sunday for what has become one of the oldest and biggest outdoor arts and crafts shows in America .           The 20th annual Allentown Art Festival will be a little different from previous years, however. The organizers, a core of about 20 volunteers from the Allentown Village Society, have for the first time set entry standards.           This year prospective exhibitors – and there were more than 700 of them from 22 states, including California – were required to send in two photo slides of their best work. A pair of judges were brought to town to spend a wee

  A glimpse of a jazz fusion guitar legend starting to put it all together. June 10, 1977 Gusto Al Di Meola             It’s hard to catch up with Al Di Meola. The Columbia Records publicity people, for the sixth time, think they’ve nailed him down for sure. He’s home right now, they say. Here’s the number. Area Code 201. New Jersey .           Columbia ’s high on Di Meola. After two years with Chick Corea in Return to Forever, the most virtuoso-studded group in jazz-rock, he’s beginning to look like he’ll step into the same league as former bandmate Stanley Clarke, who has a flourishing solo career.           What’s more, he’s only 22.           He has a handsome, deeply-polished tone and blinding speed, along with a feel for the quiet, resonant sounds an acoustic guitar can make. His preference for melody and structure charms jazz-rock fans and casual listeners alike. His rise may signal a drift away from the made riffing that built jazz-rock fusion.           His first