Now's the Time: Ernie Andrews

"Old Man Jazz" is irredeemably hackneyed. The embedded video is even more cliched. I embrace the song and the video anyway. Eighty-two-year-old vocalist Ernie Andrews fronts the 18th & Vine Big Band Saturday at the Gem Theater. Andrews has spent much of his career in the shadows, but he worked with Jay McShann on the excellent Paris All-Star Blues project in 1989. Bobby Watson's participation in Saturday's concert allows me to give it my unequivocal recommendation.