Grillo film looks at historic Milwaukee jazz venues
 "Vintage Grillo...Milwaukee" is a new documentary created by a team made up of local jazz singer Jerry Grillo and filmmakers Tim Chiapetta and his wife, Lisa. The film looks at historic Milwaukee venues that occasionally feature jazz bands, including Transfer Pizzeria, 101 W. Mitchell St.
This lesson in local history will include songs from Broadway and the Movies. A premiere screening of the film will be shown during the intermission of a concert by Grillo at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Wherehouse, 818 S. Water St. Weather permitting, the event will begin with a short cocktail hour on the patio.
A line of jazz art-inspired T-shirts from Grillo's design company will be sold at the event. There's no admission price, but there is a two-drink minimum (includes soda).
-- Jackie Loohauis-Bennett
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
June, 2011
Grillo captures Historical Mystery Band at Lulu gig
For years, Jerry Grillo has been Milwaukee's jazz singer. He's been a constant on the scene, forging his own style out of a passion for singers like Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin, but always letting the Grillo come through.
He's recorded numerous CDs with different bands and in different settings. When he takes the stage at Cafe Lulu, 2265 S. Howell Ave., in Bay View on Saturday, May 8 at 10:30 p.m. it will be fronting a new group called Historical Mystery Band.
"I've always have had a band," says Grillo. "With jazz bands, however, most singers and players use whoever is available, because their skills are such that they can play any chord charts in almost every rhythm."
But with the Historical Mystery Band, which includes keyboardist Scott Currier, guitarist and bassist Kirk Tatnall and percussionist Randy Maio, Grillo wants to work with a band in a much more close-knit fashion.
"I would like my songs to be done in a way that is familiar to my own chosen musicians, and I also prefer musicians who write some of their own tunes, so we can feature them. I have chosen this band for that particular reason. I will also add saxopone or trumpet depending upon the gig."
Historical Mystery Band is a band, says Grillo -- who also performs with the 15-piece Nick Contorno Orchestra -- not just backing musicians for him. Currier and Tatnall have been writing original material that the band will perform alongside a selection of standards.
"Instead of just showcasing myself, I wanted the band to have a name other than only mine. We are a band, not just Jerry Grillo, the singer."
That band will be caught on film at its second performance (the first, on Thursday, April 29, is the start of an every-other-week residency at the Harbor Room, 117 E. Greenfield Ave.), says Grillo, who says a relatively low-fi video of a performance provided inspiration to make a DVD. Tim Chiapetta of Milwaukee Metro Design is filming the performance
"I was recorded on a cell phone at a gig, and that video was sent to me via Facebook," he recalls.
"It prompted the thought that I would like to have a better quality documentation of my bands and myself as performer. (Chiapetta) offered to film that, and I indicated that I wanted to be filmed at venues which would be considered historic because of the buildings they were housed in, or because they were considered historical because the venue was a Milwaukee landmark venue for so many years.
"I didn't want a staged video because I generally don't find them interesting for a jazz band. The documentary form was appealing to me because, if it is done well, it highlights the venue and the band at the same time. This is a concept film which includes the band as well -- not just a video. Film documentaries have always intrigued me. Videos of a band just playing their songs, don't really interest me at all. That is only a promotional tool."
If the name of the band seems like something of a mystery, itself, Grillo says it has a meaning relevant to the group and for the film project, too.
"The mystery part of the title is because of the fact the venues will be decided upon as we go along," he says. "This is part of a journey, filmwise, and will take quite a bit of effort and time to produce. I also have always been interested in historic venues, performed in many of them, and have never been filmed live professionally. "
Cafe Lulu, says Grillo, fits his criteria perfectly and is therefore perfect for the event.
"Cafe Lulu was selected because the original restaurant was a George Webb, and if that isn't historical, nothing is," says Grillo. "Also, they have become an intrinsic destination in Bay View, and were the first to develop that corner. The transformation of Kinnickinnic and Lincoln has been very interesting to watch."
Grillo's most recent solo CD, "Some of the Best," is available for purchase at performances only.
--Bobby Tanzilo
OnMilwaukee.com
April 24, 2010
Jazz on Camera: Jerry Grillo’s Historical Journey
 Jerry Grillo was a little taken aback. When a fan he had never met before, Lisa Chiappetta, showed him the video she made on her cell phone camera of one of his performances, Grillo thought, “I don’t like the YouTube quality.” But the encounter sparked a series of conversations, a train of thought that led to the Milwaukee jazz singer’s latest project.
Starting this spring, the Jerry Grillo Historical Mystery Band will be on a tour of landmark local venues, trailed by cameras. Lisa’s husband, Tim Chiappetta of Milwaukee Metro Design, will edit the footage into a documentary suitable for the festival circuit.
“I thought it would be fun to do something more involved and of better quality than just something you throw online,” Grillo says.
The singer and showman is no stranger to working with film and video artists. In the early ’90s, when his career as an interpreter of classic songs had just begun, Grillo did a short subject with Milwaukee filmmaker Cathy Cook, who has since gone on to national acclaim. The intervening years, however, mostly have been devoted to making music. Grillo has released no less than eight CDs and recently posted an original song on his website.
Music will be the most significant aspect of the planned documentary, but not the only one. “To me, it’s a historical journey,” Grillo explains. “I’m picking venues that don’t normally feature jazz, located in buildings associated with Milwaukee history in some way.”
He chose the location for this weekend’s gig at Café LuLu (2265 S. Howell Ave.) because the building once housed one of those favorite diners for Milwaukee night owls, George Webb. On May 13, Grillo will take the show to the Harbor Room (117 E. Greenfield Ave.).
The Historical Mystery Band features top-flight local jazz musicians, including Kirk Tatnall on guitar and bass, Scott Currier on keyboards, Mike Caldwell on saxophone and Randy Maio on drums and all manner of percussion. Several songs in the set list are instrumentals by Tatnall and Currier, but the focus will be on songs chosen and sung by Grillo.
“I don’t go beyond the ’60s—it’s hard to find songs that are good for me from beyond the ’60s,” he says, explaining a repertoire that runs roughly from Gershwin through Lennon and McCartney. Although in earlier years he was a purist, Grillo has become a creative interpreter. “I wanted to appeal to a different audience and create something more exciting for the band as well,” he says, explaining the reggae rendition of “Witchcraft” and an “almost hip-hop” take on “Summertime.”
The Jerry Grillo Historical Mystery Band performs at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, May 8, at Café LuLu.
-- David Luhrssen
ExpressMilwaukee.com
May 6, 2010
Jerry Grillo’s Sentimental Journey
 Several years ago Jerry Grillo was one of the most prolific jazz performers in town, recording no less than seven CDs from 1994 through the middle of the present decade and singing consistently in local clubs. He didn't fall silent as much as he became quieter, playing modest duets at Paddy's Pub and weddings and corporate parties with the Nick Contorno big band.
"I was content for a while not scratching around for gigs," Grillo says, explaining that his father died recently and his mother has been unwell. "It puts one in a contemplative mood," he continues. "For a while I didn't feel like doing anything."
Grillo returned recently with a new CD called Some Of The Best, a digitally remastered career retrospective culled from many of his previous CDs, plus a live bonus track and an alternate take of Frankie Avalon's hit "Venus." It's the culmination of his contemplative phase.
"I started thinking of all the musicians I've worked with over all these years," he says, explaining that at one time he toyed with ideas of either a bluesy album or a disc of songs newer than his usual repertoire of Gershwin, Ellington and songs from the golden years of popular songcraft. "The project became more of a sentimental thing, more of a tribute situation. And it was easier to do."
From the get-go Grillo attracted many of Milwaukee's best jazz musicians. On electric guitar: Jack Grassel, Kirk Tatnall and Steve Peplin. Barry Velleman and Scott Currier have been heard on piano. Randy Maio, Charles McFarlan, Jeff Hamann and Tom McGirr are among the rhythm players. Milwaukee expatriate Julie Wood lent her saxophone on occasion. All are represented on Some Of The Best, a set that includes edgy experimentation and straight ballads, '30s swing and '50s pop.
Although Grillo had dabbled over the years in cover bands and musical theater, he was a late bloomer as a jazz singer, tossing his hat into the bullring only after retiring from Milwaukee Public Schools. Some encouraged him to follow his star in cities where lights are brighter, but Grillo refused to leave.
"I love my house. I love the city. I'm thrilled with what's happening here-other than the winters," he explains. "There were so many negatives about moving. But the big reason was all the musicians I could work with here. I feel these people could play anywhere in the world with anybody. They are exceptional."
He pauses for a moment and adds, referring to Some Of The Best, "Maybe this is the final product. I don't know if I'll actually make another CD" in a world of rampant piracy and an imploding music industry. "But I'm adding songs to my repertoire and I have the people who can play them."
--Dave Luhrssen
Shepherd Express
April 2009
Standards With a Twist
Cupping his hands around his microphone, his eyes half closed, Jerry
Grillo sways to the rhythm of an inner reverie as he puts his singing
on pause to allow his guitarist to take a solo. Live, Grillo is the
consummate lounge singer, wrapping his voice around the meaning of
every word of every standard he sings.
But when speaking
about his fifth full-length CD, Fever...And Other Symptoms,
Grillo declares, "This is not lounge at all to me." The 12
tracks are all standards from the classic era of American pop music,
the '30s through the '50s, unless they are more recent tunes in the
style of a Brazilian samba, but most of them aren't performed in a
standard way. "It's alternative. It's in your face. It's
funky," he explains.
When Grillo
released his first CD in 1994 he colored strictly within the lines of
his repertoire. A few years later, he edged the material into less
explored areas. And then he pulled back a little, finding a
comfortable balance between familiarity and strangeness. "It's
taken me years to find out how far I can go without going too
far," he says.
On
"Fever," Grillo incorporates lyrics from Sonny and Cher, the
Doors and Gershwin to the song's elastic rhythm while guitarist Kirk
Tatnall tears off a Hendrixy solo. Pianist Scott Currier threads a
bluesy pattern through "Come Rain or Come Shine." The
inherent funkiness of "Softly As In a Morning Sunrise"
surfaces with help from guitarist Steve Peplin and drummer Randy Maio.
Grillo also relaxes into a more intimate mood on three songs
accompanied only by pianist Barry Velleman.
"I'm putting
my own stamp on these tunes," Grillo says. "I don't think
artists can make it today without stamping their own heart and soul on
the pieces. This is definitely who I am."
Shepherd
Express
Dave Luhrssen
June 21, 2001
Jerry Grillo has created a jazz vocal showcase for himself
with such classics as "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise,"
Cole Porter's "Get Out Of Town," Jobim's
"How Insensitive," Carmichael's "Georgia
On My Mind" Davenport's "Fever,"
George Gershwin's "Summertime," Johnny Mercer/Barry
Manilow's "When October Goes," Holiday's
"God Bless This Child" among others in the
outstanding CD release titled FEVER......AND OTHER SYMPTOMS. 12 selections.
Backed
by various artists, including guest pianist Barry Velleman,
this is an entertaining collection of jazz classics. It is a
pleasure listening to the solo work by these artists.
The
rendition of the Mercer/Manilow song, "When October Goes," is
a highly emotional and sensitive interpretation, and it reveals
the complexity and range of Jerry Grillo's voice. The piano
accompanying Grillo is played by Barry Velleman.
A
nice listening experience, this CD will find a home among jazz
vocalist fans everywhere. Jerry Grillo at his best!
John Barrett Jr.
Jazz Review
July, 2001
Lonely
A throwback to the days of cabaret, Grillo has earned comparisons to Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin, and it's easy to hear why. He has a rich, resonant voice and a good dose of swagger that commands listeners to pay attention. On this single, he offers two versions of the title ballad. The second version is slightly bluesier, and clocking in two minutes longer, it allows for some nice solo work by members of the Barry Velleman Quartet.
Donna Kimura
jazzreview.com
am Jazz, Minneapple Records 2004 |
 |
| A
close listen of Milwaukee jazz vocalist Jerry Grillo's
new CD What's It All About? is akin to a perfect
date in Manhattan. It's a crisp night, and you're holding
hands. Seeking warmth and a big glass of red wine, you
duck into a small, smoky club. A few couples whisper to
each other, and there are a few single people up at the
bar. The man at the piano begins, and then a voice begins
to sing. But New York has plenty of that.
Thankfully, Milwaukee is the city that
gets Jerry Grillo.
In his sixth and final CD for the amJazz
label, which he created in 1994, Grillo pairs up with
pianist Barry Velleman to sing classics of renewal and
devotion. Velleman, Grillo's frequent collaborator and
member of the Jerry Grillo Quartet, brings his own arrangements
to the party. It's twinkling lights and ice cubes, carefully
scored "I have always wanted to do a jazz piano/vocal
recording with a great accompanist since I heard the
Tony Bennet/Bill Evans albums many years ago,"
Grillo explains.
He calls it "jazz with a dash of
cabaret", which is a particularly apt description
on his version of Cole Porter's "Night and Day."
Grillo calls "Cry Me a River" the "perfect
revenge song," and here he sings it with an almost
drunken apathy, as if he is shrugging and flipping someone
off, a smile on his face the whole time. And although
it is a little early for holiday songs, the album's
last track, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,"
is enough to get you in a eggnog sort of-mood. Extra
whiskey, please.
|
--
The Press
Jessica Zierten
September, 2002 |
|
| One
thing is clear upon hearing Jerry Grillo's new CD, What's
It All About: He admires good piano players. On Grillo's
sixth full-length disc, the Milwaukee singer is accompanied
exclusively by pianist Barry Velleman, who brings a high
level of musicality to the proceedings.
What's less apparent — although
it makes perfect sense if you're listening for it
— is that the 13 standards comprising the
CD (but not the bonus track of "Have Yourself a
Merry Little Christmas") are sequenced to tell
a story. Grillo imagines What's It All About
as a cabaret show. All he needs is to show up in a club
with the songs, plug in the mike, wheel in the piano
and add a little between song banter. The outline for
the act is already digitally inscribed on his new disc.
"In my mind I already had the story.
Then I picked the songs," Grillo says, explaining
the choice of jazz era favorites such as Cole Porter's
"What Is This Thing Called Love" and Rodgers
and Hammerstein's “We Kiss in the Shadows,"
along with Burt Bacharach's "Alfie," John
Lennon's "Love" and the Carpenters' "For
All We Know. "It's about two people getting together,
how love develops, how it comes to a point of stabilization
and into a breakup. You don't know if the couple get
back together or not, but they come to terms with their
own lives," he says.
In many respects, Grillo —
who through his eight year recording
career has fronted a big band, dabbled in cutting-edge
jazz and toyed with ways of retooling the old music
for a new generation
— comes full circle with What's It
All About. It's a collection of lovingly performed
pop songs from the pre-rock era, plus a few newer, compatible
tunes, arranged in a style similar to the classic jazz-vocal
combos of the '50s. His next goal is to take his voice
out of the bars and into the concert halls. "I'm
looking for a quiet room where people pay to hear me.
I think I've paid my dues. I think I'm ready for it,"
Grillo says.
|
--Dave
Luhrssen
Shepherd Express
October, 2002 |
|
| He
s become Milwaukee's Ol' Blue Eyes.
Approaching 10 years of singing in town,
local lounge crooner Jerry Grillo,
a fixture at Caroline's Jazz Club and Hi Hat Lounge,
prepares to celebrate the release of his sixth album
"What's It All About" with a show 3 p.m. Sunday
at Wisconsin Conservatory of Music's Bader Recital Hall,
1584 N. Prospect Ave.
The event is free and open to the general
public. It will have Grillo performing as part of a
duet with pianist Barry Velleman.
Velleman, a Berkelee College of Music
alumnus, performed with many well-known jazz singers
and musicians on the east Coast in the late '60s and
early '70s before moving to Milwaukee to teach at Marquette
University.
Grillo's five previous albums had him
mainly performing in expanded combo or big-band situations.
This time, the entire album sticks to a cabaret format
with Velleman providing lone accompaniment to Grillo's
voice. Sly content musical moments include Grillo's
refiguring of Sinatra's Versions of "Learning the
Blues" and "Night and Day" breezier,
more upbeat strokes come on the Latin-tempo number "Who
Are You Now?" from the musical "Funny Girl."
Unusual moments include Grillo’s interpretation
of John Lennon's "Love," a voice-and-piano-only
ballad itself, from the late Beatles' 1970 solo debut
album, "Plastic Ono Band.”
“There's pretty much variety on
this album, compared to the earlier ones, but I'm still
always looking to expand my repertoire," Grillo
says. “To me, those later pop and rock songs on
this album are the stuff of standards; it's only recently
that a song written after the '60s could be considered
a jazz standard.”
|
--Nick
Carter
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
September, 2002 |
Jerry Grillo, Live At
The Uptowner
Grillo is the star of the extended-play live recording. He sings seven songs backed only by guitarist Grassel and bassist McGirr. The same
dynamics Grillo brought to big band singing are present on this small
combo outing. On this club date, he has freedom to rearrange the melody
line and deliver a more expressive statement..... the date takes on a
swinging demeanor. Grillo is an entertainer who can get a crowd into the
performance through his personality and delivery.
Cadence
Jazz Magazine
March, 2000
"Grillo croons from gig to gig with a '40s,
early '50s flare." Highlights of Grillo's career plus comments
on his latest CD release and his rural beginnings in Hibbing,
Minnesota, going to high school with Bob Dylan.
"He's
routinely booked into venues as varied as The Uptowner, a popular
boho dive in Riverwest that brings in live music, and Hi-Hat
Lounge, the trendiest of nightspots along the rapidly gentrifying
Brady Street strip."
Nick
Carter
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Weekend Cue Night Life Column
August 20, 1999
Comments
on The Uptowner CD, the Nick Contorno Orchestra release, and
conductor Nick Contorno's career.
"In
the past five years he's worked his way back and forth across
the repertoire of the 30's and 40's, crooning the old songs,
jazzing them up, deconstructing them and putting them back together
again. The Contorno disc is already Grillo's fifth CD, and he
shows no signs of stopping now."
Shepherd Express Metro
"Swinging the Old Songs" by Dave Luhrssen
August 26, 1999
Goody
for You, his new release of jazz standards, and his captivating
club appearances testify to the remarkable improvement Grillo
has made as a vocalist and entertainer since 1994, when he released
his first CD, "This Funny World," and began performing
live.
"The
secret is I finally found my own style," Grillo said. "It
is very natural. I'm more spontaneous, more upbeat, not mellow
or torchy, and my presentation is very audience-oriented.
"At
the beginning, I thought I had to sound like someone else, but
now I have my own way of singing these wonderful songs. I keep
working on technique, just getting out there and improvising."
Indeed,
Grillo is carving out his own identity with skilled improvisations,
changing the phrasing and emphasizing different words as he
expresses the lyrics. There are no formal arrangements.
"Every
song is what I feel at that moment," Grillo said. "It
is a wonderful experience to go out as a jazz performer because
every evening is new, and it is a thrill to me to sing the song
a different way each time."
As
a performer, Grillo exudes the inner excitement he feels. With
confidence and cabaret charm, he finds the right groove, taking
each song in the direction he wants it to go. Often, he'll sing
a slow ballad, such as "What a Difference a Day Made,"
and put a sunny spin on it.
"People
go out to have a good time, and they want to swing. So I might
do 'My Funny Valentine' with high energy and a blues sound,
like Etta James would do it."
In
1997, Grillo retired after 30 years as a teacher with Milwaukee
Public Schools, and now devotes full time to his singing. He
credits his successful musical transformation to vocal lessons
he took from Chicago songstress Jackie Allen and to frequent
collaborations with guitarist Jack Grassel and pianist Barry
Velleman.
"They
really challenge me because we are constantly improvising and
playing off each other," Grillo said. "Each night
is a jam session."
Grassel
and Grillo perform together as often as twice a week, and Grassel
has encouraged Grillo to bring a high energy '90s approach to
timeless tunes from the '30s, '40s and '50s.
"Jerry
has an unusually high level of musicianship," Grassel said.
"I can stop playing altogether and then come back in a
few minutes later, and Jerry is still on the same pitch. Our
music is greater than the sum of its parts.
"He
has gone from being an average Milwaukee vocalist to being a
world-class vocalist.
"If
you look at what Jerry has accomplished in the last three years,
just think where he'll be in the next three years."
June
Lehman
Special to the Journal Sentinel
Singer Jerry Grillo takes a more cautious approach with
a dozen standards on "Mister Grillo," his second amJAZZ
CD. Grillo has a mellow rather than adventurous approach to
interpretation. He makes the most of "Take the A Train,"
"All or Nothing at All," "Angel Eyes", and
"Sweet Georgia Brown." His accompanists, including
pianist Barry Velleman, guitarist Jack Grassel and saxophonist
Julie Wood, are uniformly terrific.
- Keith Spore, publisher of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
a longtime jazz listener and a former music critic for the Milwaukee
Sentinel.
Keith
Spore
Milwaukee Journal
ON JAZZ - January 12, 1997
...In 1993, Grillo released his first CD, This Funny
World. On it, he gave his former jazz teacher a thank-you by
recording one of [Jackie] Allen's songs, "I'll Chase The
Sun." The new Mister Grillo builds on the success of the
first CD and includes an all-star Milwaukee lineup of pianist
Barry Velleman, guitarist Jack Grassel, bassist Jeff Hamann,
drummer Charles McFarlan and on one cut, saxophonist Julie Wood...
Frank
Savoy
School Of Cool - October 20, 1995
...the
re-embodiment of '50s lounge cool for an era that has begun
to rediscover the music he loved while growing up. Immaculate
in a dark suit, dark shirt, and bolo tie, singer Jerry Grillo
puts one foot on the piano bench on Cafe Phyllis' tiny stage,
leans back against the handsome art noveau piano and, holding
the tiny microphone between the cups of his hands, taps his
fingers to the beat of "The Nearness Of You." Guitarist
Jack Grassel states the melody and rhythm....It's music full
of moonlight, starry skies, impossible dreams and the all-too-real
emotional contradictions of adult life, that towering feeling
of falling in love and the bitter aftertaste of its dissipation.
It's an unlikely choice of music for someone who grew up in
the bleak mining town of Hibbing, Minnesota, a schoolmate of
Bob Dylan. Country didn't push Grillo's buttons, nor did rock
'n roll. Later on, when he went away to college in the '60s,
Grillo listened to Tony Bennett while his roommates [buddies]
grooved on the Beatles...
Dave
Luhrssen
"Jerry Grillo Is Playin' It Cool"
Spring 1995: Shepherd Express
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