MARCUS MILLER, TANK & THE BANGAS, SOUL REBELS, DJ LOGIC
The opening of our free concert series, SummerStage and long standing programming partner, Blue Note Jazz Festival, has assembled a group of performers that stretch the boundaries of jazz and funk to incorporate the wide variety of African Diaspora sounds. “Laid Black” multi-instrumentalist Marcus Miller has collaborated closely with artists who can be called legends without any hyperbole: Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Luther Vandross, Wayne Shorter, and David Sanborn– to name a few.
The two-time GRAMMY winning artist’s chops are deadly serious, but he still knows how to keep it loose, counting “Da Butt,” the tongue-in-cheek anthem from Spike Lee’s School Daze, among his impressive songwriting credits. The evening also features two New Orleans-based SummerStage alumni: Tank and the Bangas, the NPR Tiny Desk contest-winning ensemble that fuses funk, soul, hip-hop, rock, and spoken-word poetry into an unforgettable performance, fresh off a GRAMMY win for leading lady Tank’s spoken word album; and The Soul Rebels, an eight-piece ensemble revolutionizing the conventional brass band framework to inject new life into sounds from across the pop spectrum. DJ Logic will be on the ones and twos between sets.
Cover: Free
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,bass,genius,instrumental,jazz,music,preserving,travel,vocal
SABERTOOTH
Founded around 1990, Sabertooth is led by two saxophonists: Cameron Pfiffner & Pat Mallinger. The band started out with the unique pairing of its two lead reedmen at an old musicians hang called Jazz Bulls in Lincoln Park West neighborhood of Chicago. From that night’s collaboration the idea of Sabertooth began to take shape with a driving force behind the widely varied stylings best summed up as, just groove it.
The group has often ventured beyond soul-jazz and hard bop and moved into post-bop and modal territory with John Coltrane’s modal recordings of the early to mid-’60s influencing the groups sound. Sabertoothis both a post-bop group and a soul-jazz/hard bop group with a highly diverse repertoire that includes many original compositions and jazz classics by Duke Ellington, Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Lester Young, John Coltrane, as well as covers by the Beatles, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Bob Marley.
Special invited guests who have performed with the group have included Harry Connick Jr., Kurt Elling, Joe Lovano, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis Band, Jack McDuff, Joey DeFrancesco, Umphrey’s Mcgee Band, and many others.
Showtimes: 6:00pm-7:15pm & 8:15pm-9:30pm
Cover: $15.00
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,club,genius,jazz,music,preserving,saxophone,travel
The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is traveling from Nashville to Philly to investigate a venue that is new to him. It’s called Chris’ Jazz Cafe. Known as an institution in a city for producing revered musical artists as John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday and Ethel Waters, it was founded in 1989 and has become the longest operating jazz venue in the history of the city.
This week taking the stage is bassist David Brodie who started playing the electric bass at the age of thirteen, not taking up the upright until nineteen while at Berklee College of Music. A year in Spain, a return to Philadelphia, and a joining with guitarist Jimmy Bruno, he played with him for the next several years. His reputation well established, he has enjoyed a busy playing and recording career and has performed with some of the world’s greatest jazz musicians while performing regularly with a few of Philly’s finest such as Larry McKenna, John Swana, and Joanna Pascale. Joining him on this date is Chris’ All Star Quartet.
The Band: Dave Brodie ~ Bass | Neil Pogurski ~ Piano | Victor North ~ Saxophone | Byron Landham ~ Drums
Shows: 7:30pm & 9:00pm | Cover: $15.00 | A La Carte Menu
Dinner & Show: $70.00 | Includes 3 Course Inner | VIP Dinner & Show: $90.00 | Includes Dinner, Stage Front Seating | Beverages Not Included
Chris’ Jazz Cafe is located at 1421 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102. For more information contact the venue at https://www.chrisjazzcafe.com.
More Posts: adventure,bass,club,genius,jazz,museum,music,preserving,travel
ULYSSES OWENS JR.
Three time GRAMMY™ Award-Winning Drummer Ulysses Owens Jr., known for being a drummer who (The New York Times) has said “take[s] a back seat to no one,” and “a musician who balances excitement gracefully and shines with innovation.” Generation Y is a band concept that was conceived back in 2019 with the goal promoting the next generation of dynamic talent from the top music conservatories in NYC and beyond.
Led by Ulysses Owens Jr. who is also a producer, educator, author and cultural entrepreneur, he has been the driving force behind such great artists as Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, Wynton Marsalis, Mulgrew Miller, Joey Alexander and many others. Through his relationship with these great bandleaders he learned of the legacy of Art Blakey and Betty Carter, both of whom were renowned for their own bands (which became educational institutions) and launched the careers of many of today’s paradigm-shifting musicians on the jazz scene.
Show Ticket $25 – $30 Dinner is required with all reservations. 6:30 PM SHOW – DINNER RESERVATIONS FROM 5:15 PM *9:00 PM SHOW – DINNER RESERVATIONS FROM 8:00 PM
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,club,drums,genius,instrumental,jazz,music,preserving,travel
The Jazz Voyager
On the way east to Music City USA to check out an authentic jazz experience standing out as a beacon in the city that boasts country music. Rudy’s Jazz Room embodies the history and spirit of traditional jazz clubs, where musicians played their hearts out while people gathered to listen, dance, eat, drink and socialize in a swingin’ atmosphere. The venue raises Nashville to the level of other great jazz cities like New York, New Orleans, Chicago, Kansas City and many more.
Hitting the stage this evening is saxophonist Don Aliquo who Presents Bebop Live and explores the various elements, depths and history of bebop jazz. In the early 1940’s when the younger generation of jazz musicians expanded the creative possibilities of jazz and bebop music first hit the jazz scene it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Tickets: $14.00
Rudy’s Jazz Room is located at 809 Gleaves Street, Nashville, TN 37203. For more information contact the venue at rudysjazzroom.com.
More Posts: adventure,club,composer,genius,jazz,museum,music,preserving,saxophone,travel