Cleveland jazz musicians to perform at Port Clinton concert

SANDUSKY — Music lovers know Carl Topilow as the longtime conductor of the Firelands Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Pops. But what happens when he puts down his baton?Sometimes he picks up his clarinet and plays jazz.The jazz side of his musical personality will be on full display when the six-piece Cleveland Pops Jazz Ensemble plays a concert at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at Firelands Presbyterian Church, 2626 E. Harbor Road in Port Clinton.The concert is part of the Musical Arts Series in Port Clinton. Tickets are $15 at the door, with students admitted free. Audience members will be invited to a reception afterward to hang out with the musicians."For me to play with these guys is absolutely special," Topilow said. "It gives me a chance to do something different."Topilow said he's loved jazz for a long time."My first playing was actually playing jazz and dance music. It's very much in my blood," he said. "It didn't become my specialty, but it's something I've kept up over the years."The other five members of the band are Rock Wehrman on piano, Jack Schantz on trumpet, Tim Powell on bass, Paul Ferguson on trombone and Jim Rupp on drums.All have impressive musical resumes. Schantz, for example, has played and recorded with his Jack Schantz Quartet and Jack Schantz Jazz Unit, toured with the Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller orchestras and played with a long list of jazz greats, including Joe Lovano and Clark Terry. He also runs the jazz program at the University of Akron.The concert will "show off the great jazz musicians we have in Cleveland," Topilow said."We have a Dixieland chart that we play. We do a lot of different styles and different periods," Topilow said. "We'll include some jazz standards as well."Members of the Cleveland Pops Jazz Ensemble are, from left, Rock Wehrmann, piano; Jack Schantz, trumpet; Carl Topilow, conductor and clarinet; Tim Powell, bass; Paul Ferguson, trombone, and Jim Rupp, drums.