The Jazz Voyager
Just a short hop by plane from Ann Arbor, Michigan west to Chicago, Illinois for this year’s edition of their jazz festival, however, this Jazz Voyager, tired of planes, is going to take a leisurely four hour drive and catch some scenery along the way and round the tip of Lake Michigan to the Windy City.
If you’ve never been to the Chicago Jazz Festival, this is a perfect way to close out the summer! The city is featuring several stages presenting the likes of Ron Carter, Chico Freeman, Ari Brown, Dianne Reeves, Makaya McCraven, Billy Valentine and Juan de Marcos and the Afro-Cuban All Stars, with a host of other performers. Running from August 31 ~ September 3, the music starts at 11:00am, goes to 9:00pm and admission is free. I’ll be there all weekend.
More info at www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_jazz_festival5.
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The Jazz Voyager
Leaving India and heading east for Asia, the Jazz Voyager is landing at Itami Airport in Osaka, Japan. I will then transfer to a bus for a 36 kilometers ride, about 22 miles, and fifty-five minutes through the countryside to Kyoto where I will find Le Club Jazz. A non-smoking jazz bar that is closed on Monday but presents live performances and workshops the rest of the week. Performances start at 7:30pm each night.
Serving up drinks by the shot is one of their offerings and they invite musicians to bring their instruments and play during their sessions. This week I will be in attendance for a one night performance by saxophonists Eric Alexander on tenor and Vincent Herring on alto, Yoichi Kobayashi on drums and Koji Yasuda on bass.
Located in Sanyo, Kyoto, Japan at 〒604-8082 Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, Miyukicho Nishiiri Benkeiishicho 48. For more information they can be reached at +81 75-211-5800.
Le Club Jazz ~ Eric Alexander & Vincent Herring | Kyoto, JapanMore Posts: adventure,club,festival,genius,jazz,music,preserving,restaurant,travel
The Jazz Voyager
Leaving the African continent for India the next layover for the Jazz Voyager is the Bombay Jazz Club. It is a one of its kind music venture hosting performances at its cozy Bandra space quite regularly. With fairy lights, framed artworks on the back wall and luminous red lamp shades typify this narrow space’s aesthetic.
Founded in 2012 by D. Wood nd Rajesh Punjab, they have consistently produced weekly programming of live jazz at the Bandra Base. They are dedicated to keeping jazz as a central part of the city and country’s music scene. With a self-titled house band performing, in addition to collaborations between Spanish, Japanese and American musicians, they continue to bring extraordinary musicians together, transforming any environment into an authentic jazz experience.
The adventure continues as this will be a new visit to the venue located in Mumbai at Baitush Saraf Building, Off Waterfield Road, TPS 3, 29th Rd, Bandra West. For more information they can be reached at +91-98211-21048.
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The Jazz Voyager
Remaining on the continent the next sojourn takes The Jazz Voyager to Ethiopia and the African Jazz Village. An intimate venue in Addis Ababa, one can enjoy great musicians, including the timeless Father of Ethiopian Jazz, Dr. Mulatu Astateke.
Located on the spacious, verdant compound of the Ghion Hotel, popularly known as ‘The Garden Palace Hotel of East Africa’, which dates back to 1950s, one will be surrounded by tranquil trees and gardens filled with indigenous flora and bird life.
This week the adventure continues as this Jazz Voyager is going to hold down a performance by the Ethio Jazz Band starting at 9:30pm. And maybe I will be fortunate enough to catch a set with the doctor himself. The address is 2Q75+HVM, Addis Ababa Harar City. For more information they can be reached at +251 91 189 7438.
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The Jazz Voyager
This week the Jazz Voyager is flying out of Paris and is off to Denmark’s capital city to be part of the audience in the legendary jazz venue, Jazzhus Montmartre. The club gained its status as one of Europe’s preeminent venues during the Sixties when homegrown world class stars such as bassist Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen emerged. Soon Black musicians Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon and Ben Webster, worn down by their treatment at home became Copenhagen residents and were intrigued by the warmth shown to them by Scandi audiences.
There I’ll be witness to a jazz competition between three up and coming jazz groups with their own take on where the music is heading. The jazz competition focuses on the development of young jazz musicians by offering them the opportunity to play live at professional venues, get professional feedback on their music, coaching and the opportunity to be exposed on the radio via P8 Jazz.
Kosmos Trio plays modern jazz in a minimalist and Nordic-sounding sound universe. The trio speaks a simple and understandable language via complex compositional ideas. This field of tension makes them an interesting and wide-ranging group that ensures a present and great concert experience. The trio is Frede Holger: Piano, Harald Hagelskjær: bass, Gustav Hagelskjær: drums.
KÖZ is a burgeoning band with origins in the Roots & Hybrid scene in Aarhus. The band fuses genres and styles from distant lands with modern western tones. The music encourages dancing as well as reflection. Rock, hip-hop, jazz and Afro-grooves are mixed with odd tones and time signatures and melancholic floating universes from the cold north. :The group is Anne Skov Frost Jensen, vocals & trombone, Alma Hjelholt: vocals & trumpet, Aske Høj Krogh: bass, Bjarke Frandsen Andersen: keys & rap, Frederik Lyhne Uhrenholt: guitar, Jacob Tang Maunsbach: guitar, Johanna Mosbech: vocals & trumpet , Mathias Ploug: drums.
Aske Stubkjær plays Nordic-sounding jazz with an experimental approach. The tracks emerge from visual and auditory observations from everyday natural actions. He captures situations in the present, and tries to embrace the moment in his music by using real sound and integrating the moments in the tracks. The duo is Aske Stubkjær: piano, Daniel Skov: guitar & synthesizer.The club is located at Store Regnegade 19A, 1110 Copenhagen K. For more info the number is 70 20 20 96.
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