CLARK TRACEY QUINTET

Line-up:

CLARK TRACEY drums

JAMES OWSTON double bass

GRAHAM HARVEY piano

ALEX CLARKE alto/tenor sax

EMILY MASSER vocals

Much acclaimed jazz drummer Clark Tracey has been leading his own bands since 1981 and currently leads an ever evolving quintet as well as tribute bands to his father, the late Stan Tracey. His latest quintet features a few of the most exciting young musicians today.

Alex Clarke on alto and tenor sax is aged 23.  She won the Rising Star in the British Jazz Awards 2 years ago and was runner up in the BBC Young Jazz Musician last year.  Last year she successfully released her debut CD “Only A Year” with Dave Newton, Dave Green and Clark Tracey.

Emily Masser is an astonishing vocalist, still 19 years of age and attending Trinity.  Her vocalese skills have already introduced her to hardened jazzers like Claire Martin and Liane Carroll who have both endorsed her and invited her to sit in with them.  Daughter of Dean Masser, her years belie her enormous talent, which began at Chethams School of Music.

Graham Harvey is one of the UK’s most experienced pianists, studied at Berkley, MD of Incognito, Stacey Kent’s pianist and much sought after as a freelancer.

James Owston on bass is 25, a graduate of Birmingham Conservatoire and again a runner up in the BBC Young Jazz Musician Finals a few years ago. Considered by Clark to be one most technically gifted upright bassists in the UK and is now working with a variety of musicians.

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THE BAD PLUS

The Bad Plus

Reid Anderson bass
David King drums
Chris Speed tenor saxophone
Ben Monder guitar

After working as a trio for nearly 20 years, the Bad Plus now is a quartet with saxophonist Chris Speed and guitarist Ben Monder joining the group in 2021. Compared with the group’s original piano trio instrumentation, the addition of saxophone and electric guitar allows TBP to explore new degrees of melodic lyricism, and a broader sonic palette. These new members have a long history with the original members and are prolific performers in their own right. Monder played with Paul Motion and is a current member of the Maria Schneider Orchestra, and even contributed guitar charts to David Bowie’s final album. Speed is a longtime NYC resident with a massive list of eclectic ensembles with which he performs from folk to avant garde to jazz.

In contrast to the large venues where the Bad Plus will be performing in the region (Portland and Seattle over 800 seats, Bend 450 seats), The Jazz Station, with 70 seats, offers an intimate experience unlike any other on their current tour.

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THE BAD PLUS

The Bad Plus

Reid Anderson bass
David King drums
Chris Speed tenor saxophone
Ben Monder guitar

As part of their fall 2023 international tour, The Bad Plus are performing at The Jazz Station on Broadway in downtown Eugene. A breakout worldwide phenomenon when they appeared in the early 2000’s, the group has been together for over 20 years and played every major jazz venue and festival in the world multiple times.

The Bad Plus has won critical acclaim and a legion of fans worldwide with their unique sound and flair for live performance. They seek musical inspiration from all musical genres, having  recorded versions of songs by Nirvana, Blondie, Pink Floyd, Ornette Coleman, The Pixies, Rush, Tears For Fears, Neil Young, David Bowie, Yes, Interpol, Johnny Cash, The Bee Gees, Burt Bacharach, Cyndi Lauper and Black Sabbath, to name a few.

As founding member drummer Dave King puts it, “If it comes down to it and you had to put us in a category, we are most certainly part of the jazz canon. The new band—all of us come from an improvisational background. We have all played different types of jazz. But the influences—they push out the corners of what people think of as jazz.” These influences form the basis for King and bassist Reid Anderson’s original compositions, which are the backbone of TBP’s repertoire.

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MYRNA CLAYTON

Myrna Clayton is a teaching performer, cultural artist, and an international performing arts entertainer based in the USA. Myrna has performed professionally for over 14 years, though she has been singing since the age of 5.

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MADELEINE PEYROUX

Every great musical project starts with a feeling that it’s time.

So it was, in 2004, for Madeleine Peyroux: “when I got around to making Careless Love it had been a good eight years since my first album.” Eight years—forever in the music world. Not long After Dreamland dropped in ’96, she had disappeared from the touring scene as well. Where had she been? What had she been doing, and why?

I was traveling a lot across America, rediscovering the country and re-identifying as an American. I was born here in the States but moved with my mother to live in Paris when I was young. I met family I never met before. I caught up on what was happening with the music here. It was all a culture shock for me. When I came back to New York to make that first album I was like a deer in the headlights. It was my first time in a studio, my first time back in America. Then 9/11 happened. Then George W. got re-elected. It was like the world was going crazy. After Dreamland I had signed with Sony and I was trying to make my second record. I was broke and I didn’t know what I was going to do next.

Self-reflection and spiritual sensitivity are assets to any musician in the process of starting a career, of establishing one’s musical identity and direction. They don’t, however, necessarily lock into the typical velocity of career-building. There were other things Peyroux had to handle. She underwent surgery on her vocal cords. She healed and worked with a vocal coach. As the ‘90s gave way to the first years of a new century, she continued to question the how and, significantly, the why of what she was doing. (Her choice of the Dylan Thomas quote below, from his 1946 poem “In my Craft and Sullen Art,” helps explain her creative motivation.)

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