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Jazz fans should check out 'Voodoo' Saturday

PHOTO BY BEN WILLIAMS

Duda Lucena is accompanied by (from left) drummer Quentin Baxter, bassist Kevin Hamilton and Gerald Gregory on piano.

A jazz band is a work in progress and a new one around town, the Duda Lucena Trio, has emerged recently as a formidable force on the scene.

Coming on the heels of a knockout performance for Piccolo Spoleto, the Brazilian music ensemble takes its turn in the new "Summer Jazz and Blues Series" being put on by Voodoo Tiki Bar and Lounge. The group performs 8:30-11 p.m. Saturday.

The series opened with a bang June 14 with The Gradual Lean, a Lowcountry favorite, and kept pace June 21 with Lindsay Holler taking up the torch, varying her genre-straddling, regular fare and leaning toward jazz standards.

Singer/songwriter Lucena (pronounced Lew-SAY-nah) arrived from his native Recife, Pernambuco, in Brazil about a year-and-a-half ago and formed this band to take up work on Wednesday nights at the Charleston Grill. His Web site, www.dudalucena.com, says of his flavor of music, "Lucena's compositions and performances are centered upon Brazilian bossa nova, baio and samba, but also incorporate the African roots of the sophisticated jazz and blues movement."

The series' variety is one of the things owners Mike and Jen Kulick are going for at their popular Avondale venue, located at 15 Magnolia Road. They have worked for weeks with Quentin Baxter, co-producer of the series, taking advantage of his multilayered reach on the local music scene.

"We had been talking about it for a long time and one day we met at Avondale Wine and Cheese and decided to do it," Baxter said.

The critically acclaimed percussionist is musical director at Charleston Grill and he invited Lucena to work the Wednesday gig there last year. Baxter and bassist Kevin Hamilton round out the trio. Constantly playing together has made the band evolve into a swinging ensemble with good chemistry.

Hamilton and Baxter are now much more comfortable with Brazilian, and Lucena more at ease with jazz. "They are really great musicians, and we have a good connection," Lucena said of his band. "When we play a song we know what is going on in each other's head. That is special to me."

The Kulicks said their core group of customers is special to them, and the series is a nod to those regulars and anybody else who likes good music on a regular basis. Both of them have worked in food and beverage for years and they're in Voodoo for the long haul, Jen Kulick said. They have bought a house in the neighborhood.

Voodoo has a warm feel with a funky, eclectic decor highlighted by gold curtains against a mostly red background. The bands set up against the wall that separates the bar from the lounge.

The series will run every Saturday through August. Other bands confirmed so far include Pulse Trio July 5, Elise Testone July 12, Caravan July 19 and Leah Suarez Aug. 2.

Tickets cost $5 and go on sale at Voodoo the Monday before the show. Voodoo's hours are 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Friday and 5:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call Voodoo at 769-0228 or got to voodootikibar.com.

Baxter thinks the series has promise and attributes it to the Kulicks. "They are music lovers," he said. "They support the arts, live music and they've always got something going on at the bar. … For instance, they had two bands doing a benefit for Katrina victims. Jen Kulick said if a national touring act ends up on the series calendar, that show might cost more than $5. No show will cost more than $10, she said.

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