Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Etc. Jazz & Other Concerts

[Joe]

Is this a weekly engagement? I had to work late last night and couldn't attend a concert.

It has been a "third Wednesday" of every month arrangement. The crowds have been all but non existent, but then again it is an anything goes deal. We have fun.

Part of the problem with attendance is the location. It is the west end of the Dallas design district, but it looks a little spooky out there at night. Nothing but galleries and warehouses.

I talked to a few people who had intended to come by. When they came down Levee street, they looked around and decided to just keep driving.

Ironically it is probably safer than anywhere in Dallas. It is just deserted at night.

By the way, Organissimo's own Big Al was in attendance and he stepped up to the plate! There was an acoustic bass in the back room and he offered to play.

Check his fingers for blisters this morning! He is a trooper!

Thanks Al...you were great!

That's a cool area of town, IMO... and up-and-coming, I think.

Kepp us posted on this; would love to see youse guys next time around.

[Big Al]

By the way, Organissimo's own Big Al was in attendance and he stepped up to the plate! There was an acoustic bass in the back room and he offered to play.

Check his fingers for blisters this morning! He is a trooper!

Thanks Al...you were great!

No... thank YOU!!! You and Jim have no idea how giddy I was back there. Saying this was a dream come true is putting it mildly. And yeah: I got me some serious blisters goin' today! (This bass GUITAR player hasn't a clue how much strength & stamina it takes to play one of those big fat upright muthas!) That and lack of time are the reasons I haven't started the thread talking about what a great time I had last night!

[slide_advantage_redoux]

We will be playing at Scat Lounge in downtown Ft Worth on Oct 28th (again a Wednesday! Whats up with that!?)

http://www.scatjazzlounge.com/

Scat Lounge is definitely more upscale than what we are accustomed to. I am looking forward to this date.

Chances are we will be back at Sandaga the week before that (Oct 21st). The group will probably be the same. I will post a notice as the time draws closer.

Thanks!

And Jim...thanks man. I always enjoy hearing you play!

[Michael Weiss]

Garry is 4-6 years older than me. I was the one in high school. I guess jazz in Dallas just ain't the same post-Recovery Room, Arandis and 6051.

[Big Al]

We will be playing at Scat Lounge in downtown Ft Worth on Oct 28th (again a Wednesday! Whats up with that!?)

http://www.scatjazzlounge.com/

Scat Lounge is definitely more upscale than what we are accustomed to. I am looking forward to this date.

Chances are we will be back at Sandaga the week before that (Oct 21st). The group will probably be the same. I will post a notice as the time draws closer.

Thanks!

Oh shit... hope these blisters go away before then!!!

And Jim...thanks man. I always enjoy hearing you play!

That goes for me too, my friend! Playing with you is more fun, though! (Still on a high from last night; can ya tell? )

Edited September 17, 2009 by Big Al

[slide_advantage_redoux]

You got that right. I remember the old Recovery Room well. Those were the days. Arandis I never went to. I may have been in NY then.

There was the ill fated "D' Jazz Club" which never had a good vibe. Too white bread for my tastes.

Then the Jazz Connection on Lovers Lane. It was pretty good, but the location was all wrong.

[JSngry]

Yeah, the whole thing with Al was straight out of a movie...the guyshows up to hear a band, the weather sucks, he paid the cover, the club is damn near empty, the band has no bass player, Greg says to no one in particular, "Anybody play bass?", Al says, "Yeah, I do. Too bad there's no bass here", the club owner says, "Y'all need a bass? I got one back here."

Now here's Al's big decision - he'll be the first to tell you that he's not a "trained musician" and that he has very little experience playing in contexts other than friends, family, church, etc. But dammit, he loves this music, and here's a chance to play like he might have once, twice in a lifetime. Does he beg off based on personal insecurity & such, or does he carpe diem and not be afraid to let what happen happen?

Big Al showed enormous courage, took a deep breath (I saw him!) & took the bass, then he took the bandstand. By god, Big Al wanted a taste, and Big Al seized the opportunity and got him a taste. To do something like this, you gotta be one brave motherfucker or one ignunt sonofabitch. I know Big Al well enough to know that he ain't ignunt, so...Kudos For Kourage!

And here's the thing - Big Al has damn good time. For real. You can learn tone, technique, tunes, all that, but you can not learn good time, not the natural kind.

I'm not gonna lie and say this was the best gig I've ever played. But I will go on record as saying that from a sheer "human interest" standpoint (and I hope that I never get so wrapped up in "music" that I lose sight of the human interest part of it), this was quite a trip. Can't really say that I've ever seen anything quite like it, much less been an active participant. Jean Sheppard (or, for somebody still living, Joe Milazzo) could turn this into a freakin' EPIC tale. And everybody, everybody wpold assume that it was 100% fiction.

But it really happened.

[kh1958]

You got that right. I remember the old Recovery Room well. Those were the days. Arandis I never went to. I may have been in NY then.

There was the ill fated "D' Jazz Club" which never had a good vibe. Too white bread for my tastes.

Then the Jazz Connection on Lovers Lane. It was pretty good, but the location was all wrong.

There were also a couple of clubs in Oak Cliff that came and went pretty quick--

But I saw McCoy Tyner at one of them (The Judge's Chambers) in the fall of 1983 for the first time, and the other was an old movie theater, the New Forest Theater, where I saw Freddie Hubbard for the last time and also Herbie Mann (I think this was around 1991 or so).

Edited September 18, 2009 by kh1958

[Big Al]

Yeah, the whole thing with Al was straight out of a movie...the guyshows up to hear a band, the weather sucks, he paid the cover, the club is damn near empty, the band has no bass player, Greg says to no one in particular, "Anybody play bass?", Al says, "Yeah, I do. Too bad there's no bass here", the club owner says, "Y'all need a bass? I got one back here."

Now here's Al's big decision - he'll be the first to tell you that he's not a "trained musician" and that he has very little experience playing in contexts other than friends, family, church, etc. But dammit, he loves this music, and here's a chance to play like he might have once, twice in a lifetime. Does he beg off based on personal insecurity & such, or does he carpe diem and not be afraid to let what happen happen?

Big Al showed enormous courage, took a deep breath (I saw him!) & took the bass, then he took the bandstand. By god, Big Al wanted a taste, and Big Al seized the opportunity and got him a taste. To do something like this, you gotta be one brave motherfucker or one ignunt sonofabitch. I know Big Al well enough to know that he ain't ignunt, so...Kudos For Kourage!

And here's the thing - Big Al has damn good time. For real. You can learn tone, technique, tunes, all that, but you can not learn good time, not the natural kind.

I'm not gonna lie and say this was the best gig I've ever played. But I will go on record as saying that from a sheer "human interest" standpoint (and I hope that I never get so wrapped up in "music" that I lose sight of the human interest part of it), this was quite a trip. Can't really say that I've ever seen anything quite like it, much less been an active participant. Jean Sheppard (or, for somebody still living, Joe Milazzo) could turn this into a freakin' EPIC tale. And everybody, everybody wpold assume that it was 100% fiction.

But it really happened.

I am not worthy! Thank you, Jim! :) :) :)

Listen, I gotta tell y'all what a gas it was playing behind Greg & Jim, because in each tune, for whatever reason, there was a different level of..... oh, how do I put this? Playing behind Greg is like a relaxing walk on a cool autumn afternoon: just swingin', groovin', ridin' the beat and letting it carry me away! Then Jim would take over and it would be like ten-HUT get yer ass in gear and pay attention, boy: we're off to territories unknown! This, IMHO, was quite a feat for both men as I managed to play everything as a blues. We'd play a ballad, I'd play the blues; we'd play some Duke, I'd play the blues. We could've played death-metal polka and I would've figured out a way to play the blues! I mean, something as simple as "Our Love is Here to Stay" I managed to turn into "The Blues Are Here to Stay!" At one point, Greg took a break (I suspect he ran outside and yelled into the night mist: ISN'T THERE ANYONE IN THIS GODFORSAKEN CULTURAL WASTELAND THAT CAN PLAY A BASS, MUCH LESS HOLD IT CORRECTLY??? :g ), and Jim called out "A-Train" and off we went, Jim, Garry, and me! I don't know how long we were gone, but oh what a ride it was! That was my dream come true right there: playing bass in a pianoless trio, behind the man Greg referred to as "the most honest tenor player you'll ever hear".... I mean, I was living my own "Night at the Village Vanguard" right there!!!

But THE highlight of the night for me was the last number: "In a Mellow Tone." By this time, my fingers are screaming for mercy, my left arm is wondering when it's going to get more blood, and I am in the throes of jazz-wannabe heaven!!! When Jim calls this tune, my adrenaline went thru the roof! Now not only do I get to pretend to be Ray Brown, but I actually kinda KNOW THIS SONG!!! So off we go, and we get to the end of the head and I played the opening riff right before Greg's solo, and I heard Jim say, "Yeeahhh!" That moment, that one moment, was monumental on so many levels, because it just seemed to sum up the whole night for me: Jim's right that I don't consider myself technically anything, but I come to swing (whether it be as an observer or a participant) and if that comes through, then I've done my job. Hearing Jim say that and seeing Greg give me the thumbs up while Jim was soloing made me feel like I'd done my job: I came, I saw, I swung! Carpe dukem: swing the day!

I tell y'all right now: as long as I live, I will never forget the night of September 16, 2009, when an ordinary night of listening to good jazz played by guys who tell it like it is turned into an extraordinary night of being able to play the music I love, thanks to Greg who graciously allowed me to play with them, and Jim for constantly encouraging me and keeping my spirits up! Like I said last night, if I never play another note of music in my lifetime, this night will have made it all worth it.

I can't thank you guys enough!

[Free For All]

Nice work Al!

Do you do bar mitzvahs?

[slide_advantage_redoux]

Nice work Al!

Do you do bar mitzvahs?

None on the calendar yet, but who knows. I still have the Yamulke from the last Jewish wedding I played.

[Big Al]

Nice work Al!

Do you do bar mitzvahs?

Sure do! I even have a pre-prepared setlist:

"L'chaim Blues"

"Hava Nagila Blues"

"Oy, the Goy Boy Toy Blues"

"Who Threw the Itching Powder in Grampa Yitzhak's Yarmulke Blues"

and my personal favorite,

"Talking Circumcision Blues"

[Michael Weiss]

Any Austinites want to meet up for a late lunch on Thursday, October 15? I'll be heading over to Iron Works BBQ around 3:00p before driving back to Dallas (DFW).

Edited October 1, 2009 by Michael Weiss

[Big Al]

BACK to Dallas? How long have you been here and how long are you staying (and playing, I hope)?

[Michael Weiss]

I'm blowing in for a few clinics and concerts in October -

12-13 Baylor U., Waco

14 Texas State U., San Marcos

15 Austin

C'est tout.

[clifford_thornton]

Any Austinites want to meet up for a late lunch on Thursday, October 15? I'll be heading over to Iron Works BBQ around 3:00p before driving back to Dallas (DFW).

Count me in and let's PM to provide details.

[jazzbo]

The avant-garde jazz duo WD-41 will be playing at "Space 12" in Austin on Wednesday, Ocober 14, beginning at 7 p.m.

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=33566

http://www.myspace.com/wd41music

Space 12 is way out on E. 12th, 3121 E. 12th St. http://www.space12.org/

Edited October 13, 2009 by jazzbo

[kh1958]

February 11, 2010: Al DiMeola--Granada Theater in Dallas

March 28, 2010: Gilberto Gil--Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie.

April 13, 2010: Pat Metheny--Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie.

[kh1958]

Inner Realms Outer Realms presents a solo set by legendary free jazz pianist:

Dave Burrell

@ Sandaga Market

1325 E. Levee St.

Dallas, TX 75207

Saturday, December 12th

Doors at 8:00 p.m.

$15

[kh1958]

Inner Realms Outer Realms presents a solo set by legendary free jazz pianist:

Dave Burrell

@ Sandaga Market

1325 E. Levee St.

Dallas, TX 75207

Saturday, December 12th

Doors at 8:00 p.m.

$15

According to Dave Burrell's website, he also performing a solo piano concert in Houston on December 11.

Latham Hall

Christ Church Cathedral

Houston, TX

http://www.daveburrell.com/

[slide_advantage_redoux]

This is a little late in coming to you, but here goes!

My new quartet

The Greg Waits Group

Trombone/compositions: Greg Waits

Tenor Sax: Jim Sangrey

Bass: Aztic

Drums: Garry Granger

is playing at Cold Fusion Lounge in Denton Thu Dec 17th (tonight!)

Cold Fusion is a nice hang, and it is right next to a very good pizza joint!

212 W. Hickory, just a block or two off the square.

We start at 10

Edited December 17, 2009 by slide_advantage_redoux

[kh1958]

UNT Jazz Lecture Series 2010 and McDavid Studio guest artist series

The UNT Jazz Lecture Series, also known as MUJS 3470, has brought distinguished jazz artists to campus since it was begin in 1982 by Neil Slater. Here's a list of all the guest artists. In 2009, through the entrepreneurial efforts of Craig Marshall, we added a concert series at McDavid Studio in Ft. Worth. Here's the press release from Performing Arts Fort Worth that describes each of this year's artists:

McDavid Studio hosts second University of North Texas Jazz Artist series

FORT WORTH — For the second year in a row, Performing Arts Fort Worth presents the University of North Texas Jazz Artist Series at McDavid Studio. The series kicks off Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. at McDavid Studio. Tickets are $20 for each show and are on sale now. A number of $5 student tickets are also available for a limited time.

The inaugural University of North Texas Jazz Artist Series at McDavid Studio was held over a three-month period in early 2009. An extension of the university’s long-running spring jazz lectures, which began in 1982, the series spotlights the talents of the lecture participants. After their daytime lectures, they perform an evening show at McDavid.

This year’s performers are Ron Stout, Roberta Gambarini, Lyle Mays, Jimmy Cobb, Wessell Anderson, Vic Juris, Michael Formanek and Vincent Gardner. University of North Texas Jazz Faculty members will help back some of the performers, as well as students from UNT’s Jazz Studies program.

While the UNT campus offers plenty of places to stage such a series, McDavid Studio was chosen as host because of the strong relationship between the venue and the campus’ music school. The University of North Texas’ acclaimed One O’Clock Lab Band regularly plays McDavid, an intimate venue that seats about 250 patrons.

This year’s performers:

Ron Stout (Feb. 2) is an accomplished trumpeter who has worked with and backed up a variety of top-tier talent, including the Righteous Brothers, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Nancy Wilson, Roberta Flack, Maynard Ferguson, Frank Sinatra Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, Jack Jones, Horace Silver and Lou Rawls, among dozens of others. The native Californian and third-generation musician studied under Woody Herman and Frank Tiberi and now teaches jazz theory and improvisation in the Los Angeles area.

Roberta Gambarini (Feb. 16) was recently declared, by The Boston Globe, as the “true successor to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae.” A Grammy®-nominated vocalist, she has toured and performed with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Roy Hargrove, to name a few. But the Italian singer’s string of successful solo albums has brought her from the background to the forefront. In 2007, her album, Easy to Love, received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and she also garnered the Female Jazz Singer of the Year award from the Jazz Journalists Association and the Rising Star Female Vocalist of the Year award from Downbeat magazine. Gambarini is currently touring behind her latest album, So in Love, which the All Music Guide calls “outstanding.”

Lyle Mays (February 23) will be, in a way, performing a homecoming show: The Grammy-winning pianist once composed for and performed with UNT’s One O’Clock Lab Band. That was before he became an integral part of the Pat Metheny Group. A native of Wisconsin, Mays was born into a musical family: His father played guitar by ear and his mother was a church pianist. After being introduced to jazz as a teen, he attended UNT, where he composed and arranged for the One O’Clock Lab Band; he arranged the group’s Grammy-nominated album Lab ’75. After leaving UNT, Mays toured with Woody Herman. Later, he met Metheny, with whom he founded the Pat Metheny Group. Mays has written for and performed on 15 Pat Metheny Group albums. In addition to the 11 Grammys he has won with the Pat Metheny Group, he has been nominated four times for his solo work.

Jimmy Cobb (March 2) played drums on what has been called one of the greatest jazz recordings ever: Miles Davis’ seminal album, Kind of Blue. He is the last surviving member of the group that recorded the historic 1959 album. Cobb, born in Washington, D.C., in the late 1920s, performed on other Davis albums, including Sketches of Spain, Someday My Prince Will Come and Live at Carnegie Hall. Cobb also performed with Billie Holiday, Charlie Rouse, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, David “Fathead” Newman, Wes Montgomery, J.J. Johnson, Pearl Bailey, Dinah Washington, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz and Sarah Vaughan, many of whom helped shape modern jazz. Cobb currently leads the “So What Band,” a jazz ensemble put together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kind of Blue, from which the group takes its name.

Wessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson (March 9) is an alto saxophonist best known for his close ties to Wynton Marsalis. By the time the Brooklyn-raised musician was 14, he was already deeply involved in Brooklyn’s jazz scene, performing at clubs such as Turbo Village and taking part in the famed Jazzmobile workshops with the likes of Frank Wess and Wynton and Branford Marsalis. Wynton eventually asked Anderson to tour and record with the Wynton Marsalis Septet – a collaboration that lasted throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s; Anderson subsequently joined Marsalis at the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Anderson has also released a string of successful, varied solo records, including 2009’s Warm it Up, Warmdaddy!, an album that mixes hard bop, Latin and blues. In its four-star review of the record, the All Music Guide called Anderson “one of the most vital players on the scene.”

Vic Juris (March 23), a native of Jersey City, has been a member of the David Liebman Group since 1991. The guitarist has recorded several records with the jazz ensemble, and has also, since the late ‘70s, released several records with his own self-named band, such as Blue Horizon and Night Tripper. Over the years, Juris has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Richie Cole, Jimmy Smith, Don Patterson, Ron McClure and Joe Locke, among others. He was also a part of the jazz fusion movement, collaborating with Larry Coryell and Barry Miles.

Michael Formanek (March 30) was born in California but is closely linked to New York’s thriving jazz scene. The bassist has recorded and performed with the New York Jazz Collective, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Tim Berne, the Mingus Big Band and, among many others, James Emery. Throughout the ‘90s, he worked within various duos and trios, touring and recording virtually non-stop. He has made a name for himself as a wildly creative – and often improvisational – musician in New York jazz circles with albums such as Wide Open Spaces and Am I Bothering You? Formanek was recently commissioned to compose a piece for the 150th anniversary of the Peabody Conservatory.

Vincent Gardner (April 6) is a Chicago-born trombonist who teeters between a solo career and performing with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, among many other varied acts. Although primarily a jazz musician, he has toured and performed with several contemporary pop and rock acts, including Lauryn Hill, matchbox 20 and the Saturday Night Live Band. Now based in Brooklyn, Gardner has released four solo albums, his most recent effort being The Good Book: Chapter 1. He also often performs with his brother, Derrick Gardner, and his ensemble, The Jazz Prophets. Last year, Vincent Gardner was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center to compose an original work focusing on the short stories of author Langston Hughes.

[Joe]

Sunday,

1/17

Presented by Inner Realms Outer Realms

8 pm / $8, $5 for Phoenix Project Collective members

The Phoenix Project Collective

406 S. Haskell Ave

Dallas, TX 75226

First set

Chris Cogburn +

Jesse Kudler

Second set

Screwed Anthologies

Third set

Remi Alvarez +

Aaron Gonzalez +

Stefan Gonzalez

http://www.noideafestival.com/

[epistrophy arts]

sorry for duplicate posting...

Epistrophy Arts presents

Frode Gjerstad Trio

Frode Gjerstad - alto sax

Paal Nilssen Love - drums

Nick Stephens - bass

Space 12 3121 E 12th St

Tuesday Feb. 2. 8:00pm-10:30. doors 7:30

All Ages, BYOB

tickets available at the door $10-$15 sliding scale admission.

www.epistrophyarts.org

Epistrophy Arts is proud to kick of its 12th year of presenting cutting-edge improvised music in Austin with a special performance by three of Europe’s most prominent creative musicians - Frode Gjerstad, Paal Nilssen-Love and Nick Stephens.

Drawing heavily upon the energy of the free-jazz continuum as defined by Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus and John Coltrane, alto saxophonist Frode Gjerstad is a pioneer of Norwegian improvised music. His various ensembles have served as a training ground for the current (and most vital) generation of Norwegian experimental musicians. Gjerstad first came to prominence with British percussionist John Stevens' group in the 1980s, and later played in a trio with William Parker and Hamid Drake. His career has spanned over 20 years and has included collaborations with many of the leading lights of improvised and experimental music including Peter Brötzmann, Han Bennink, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Louis Moholo-Moholo, and noise musician Lasse Marhaug.

Powerhouse drummer Paal Nilssen-Love is no stranger to adventurous Austin music audiences. He has taken part in some of Epistrophy Arts' most noted presentations including sold out performances by The Thing, The Peter Brotzmann Tentet, and Atomic. Nilssen-Love has established himself as a powerful and dynamic musician through his wide ranging collaborations with leading improvisors Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson, Peter Brötzmann, Joe McPhee and left-field rock artists like Thurston Moore, Jim O'Rourke,the Ex’s Andy and Terrie, and Fugazi's Guy Picciotto. In December he completed a tour of Ethiopia with Ken Vandermark, Ab Baars and members of The Ex.

Bassist Nick Stephens has been an active member of the fertile UK improvising community since the late 1970s. In the process, he has played with many of the major players on that scene including Evan Parker, John Stevens, and Lol Coxhill ”Stephens thrives in a trio where he can soak up space with booming long notes, slip in a sleek line between the splash of cymbals and the texture of a horn, and place otherworldly arco color in the foreground,” wrote jazz critic Bill Shoemaker in 2007. “The bassist is the fulcrum of two of the better albums by improvising trios this year"

photo: http://www.paalnilssen-love.com/Press/frode.jpg'>http://www.paalnilssen-love.com/Press/frode.jpg

http://frodegjerstad.com/

http://www.paalnilssen-love.com/

http://www.loosetorque.com/biography.html

"Gjerstad has a a crying alto tone that has a searing emotional directness... he skillfully builds extended improvisations out of fleet, leaping lines colored with a chilling, soulful directness. He plays with the command and authority of a mature musician who has honed a personal voice, while continuing to push in new directions."

-Michael Rosenstein, Cadence

"He (Paal Nilssen-Love) is simply one of the best new musicians I've heard during the latest years!"

-Pat Metheny

"Nilssen-Love is one of the most innovative, dynamic and versatile drummers in jazz!"

Down Beat

"Drummer Paal Nilssen-Love stormed the Norwegian jazz scene in the early '90s and has been working relentlessly ever since in both traditional and avant-garde jazz. It wasn't long before he jumped on the metaphorical freight train Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustaffson had established between Scandinavia and Chicago; the drummer appeared on Ken Vandermark's School Days and has enjoyed growing exposure in the U.S. since 2000. His other engagements and collaborations include trios with Frode Gjerstad, Sten Sandell, and Raoul Björkenheim, plus the group Atomic. He released his first solo CD, Sticks & Stones, in 2001."

-All Music bio excerpt

About Epistrophy Arts:

Epistrophy Arts is a grass-roots cultural organization dedicated to presenting the finest adventurous and improvised music in Austin Texas. Since January of 1998 we have presented over 60 concerts with some of the major figures in international contemporary adventurous music.

We are funded and supported in part by individual contributions, the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and the Vortex Repertory Theater Company.

[jazzbo]

Today is the day for Space 12! It looks as if it's not going to rain so I think I'll be there. "Lost" will be recorded, you bet.