I knew the D-Town Brass Band existed, but I've missed their few live performances. The listings for them Friday night at 9p in the Cat's Cradle Back Room & Saturday night at Motorco impelled me to check YouTube. I was rewarded with a complete concert vid from last year. If you like edgy big band jazz, full of energy & dissonance, with hints of many music styles, ge
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I'm back, with a reference: the Jazz Record Center in Manhattan (www.jazzrecordcenter.com). Usually with little time to look for jazz CDs in NYC, I've found stores hard to find. Last week Academy Records on W. 18th St led me to the Jazz Record Center at 236 W. 26th St, at which I bought many CDs I hadn't seen before--plus a new version of my 20 year old Miles Davis t shirt, with its iconic "later" Miles on the front. I hope this one lasts as long as the first. Perhaps I should be buried in it?
Enough personal eschatology. It's an awkward time for music recommendations since enough player & venue sites don't post their gigs until the first of the new month, or later (you know who you are!). I'll add more recommendations as August begins, but here's what I've got now: The Aaron Hill Trio is at the Beyu Thursday night. He's been playing with the Eric Hirsh Quartet lately & now also has his own trio. He plays a fine alto, making me listen more closely to that sax... For those wanting more purely traditional New Orleans jazz, the Franklin Street Band is at the Bynum General Store at 7p. Not your average jazz venue but a fun place to hear music in the open--& mosquito-free--evening air... I plan to split my Saturday between the first set of the guitar/sax Keith Ganz/Dave Finucane Quartet at Sharp Nine & the second set of La Fiesta Latin music at the Beyu. I haven't heard Keith in too long, & I own Gregg Gelb a La Fiesta listening. If I have any stamina left I'll track down Al Strong at either Alley 26 or Cuban Revolution. Also, check out the Beyu's August line-up; it's got lotsa folks I didn't know. In addition to reading the substantial player blurbs on that site I looked at videos in some of the blurbs (one of the advantages of the Beyu website calendar!). So I have some thought of seeing singer Connie McKoy 8/8, unique jazzish violinist Chelsey Green 8/9, dreamy guitarist Bernie Petteway 8/16, & unique (yes, I used that word again) vocalist Angie with her Cool Network 8/22. It's great to have the challenge of deciding among "old" favorites & "new" performers! I'm finding I need to be mobile! Before looking ahead because I won't be blogging in the next two weeks (except in case of musical emergencies!), my Friday night music must be described.
I first heard the Eno Quartet, led by Oberlin Conservatory student Elijah Fox-Peck, at Sharp Nine. The "quartet" was a trio, quartet, or quintet, depending on who was playing. The dual connection among them is Durham &/or Oberlin, & they play so well that I recommend seeing Elijah plus whomever at Motorco 7/17, a future of jazz. After the first Eno Quartet set I drifted over to Alley 26, where Al Strong was paired with Ryan Hanseler, who play together frequently. Ryan was doing a lot of stride & ragtime, which only made their fluid collaboration even better. Plus, sitting up close to the players makes Alley 26 a personal concert for me. It's the kind of place you could walk by, stop, hear the music, & then sit in as far as the music will take you. And, it usually takes you a long way... I just realized that the Frankliin Street Trad Jazz Band is playing at Southern Village tonight, led by Gordon DeFriese, who taught the OLLI trad jazz course I took last fall. It was such a great intro to New Orleans jazz that I highly recommend seeing the FSTJB tonight, to get a feel for what that music was like nearly 100 hundred years ago. OK, among the delightful choice of usual suspects in the next two weeks, here are my thoughts: --the NC Jazz Rep Orchestra at Sharp Nine Tuesday 7/15 at Sharp Nine. Big band jazz extends lifespans; --the same holds for Gregg Gelb's Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra at Southern Village in early evening Thursday 7/17; --for different dose of Gregg Gelb, in his quarter, check him out at C Grace Friday 7/18 at 9; --for a change of pace, catch solo piano at C Grace the next two Wednesdays at 9: Ernest Turner 7/16 & Ryan Hanseler 7/23; --Ryan & his quartet will also be at the Beyu Friday 7/25; --if I was free to do so, I'd seriously consider seeing Brian Horton under the stars Saturday 7/19 at Straw Valley on the Durham-Chapel Hill border; --Eric Hirsh will continue with his quartet, this time at Sharp Nine at 8 on Saturday 7/26, building on his recent appearances locally; --Last but certainly no least, Kate McGarry & Keith Ganz plus other musicians will be at Sharp Nine the night before Eric, at 8 on Friday 7/25; go to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/758775 for tickets. Is that enough for the next two weeks? |
AuthorPeter Burke has liked jazz since he was in high school. Having lived & worked in exotic places with & without local jazz scenes, he has also led a Guide To Local Jazz class in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Duke. Archives
March 2024
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