Thursday, February 25 2010

Weekly Jazz Worship Service featuring outstanding musicians who either live or are performing in the local area and hosted by Willie Sordillo, saxophonist.

February 18th - Vocalist Kaoruko and pianist John Reed join Willie in concert.

As they have a rotating cast of some of the Boston area's finest jazz and gospel musicians, every week is different, and things are always fresh. In their fifth year now, things are going strong and even building. They welcome you whenever you're able to join them!

Starchild is AJC owner/ manager Gwenn Vivian's own musical project, appearing weekly on Thursday nights before the Blues Jam. with:

Molly Flannery/ piano

Gwenn Vivian/ vocals

Larry Roland/ bass and

Miki Matsuki/ drums

A modern approach to jazz standards!

The Jazz Depot is an organic Jazz sextet performing Jazz standards, Swing, Latin, Bebop and Blues with focus on improvisation. Among their credits are multiple appearances on FATV, performances for GALA ( the Gardner Area League of Artists) and many performances in Central Mass.

Cellist Erik Friedlander is back at the Lilypad performing the music from Vol. 8 of John Zorn's Book of Angels series: an intimate and breathtaking recital by one of the world’s most accomplished cellists. A vital member of the Masada family from the very beginning, Erik is stepping out in this special solo project which shows off his remarkable technique. Volac is Friedlander and Zorn at their best: rich, romantic, gripping music that will both challenge and soothe the savage beast. http://www.erikfriedlander.com/

"Sparkling guitar and compelling alto voice ... reminiscent of Pentangle's best efforts ... a gentle and magical recording that I will return to time and again." -Tom Druckenmiller, Sing Out  http://www.sarahmcquaid.com/

Pot luck dinner 6:30-7:30pm, concert 7:30-9:30pm  Suggested donation: $15

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED: notlobreservations@gmail.com

Tune in to Worcester Community Radio WCUW (91.3fm, streaming at www.wcuw.org) Monday, February 22 between 5-8pm when Sarah will be Patrick Moriarty's guest.

Known as “a masterful tunesmith” (Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com) with “a fresh take on what a jazz big band can do” (Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen), Darcy James Argue is one of the most visible young composers in jazz. Critics have credited him with developing “a nearly perfect creative synthesis between tradition and innovation” (John Eyles, BBC.com), calling his compositions “ambitious, sprawling, mesmerizing” (Juan Rodriguez, Montreal Gazette) and noting his “big, broad musical vocabulary” (Ben Ratliff, New York Times). Time Out New York’s Hank Shteamer adds, “Argue draws on the full spectrum of modern rock, jazz and classical music” in a way that “handily transcends pastiche.”

Since 2005, Argue has led his own 18-piece big band, Secret Society, in regular performances around New York City at a diverse range of venues.The band’s debut recording, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records), which takes its name from a John Philip Sousa quote about the dangers of music technology, was released in May 2009 to widespread acclaim. Newsweek’s Seth Colter Walls praised it as “a wholly original take on big band’s past, present and future” and Time Out New York’s David R. Adler awarded it five stars and proclaimed it “a seven-track marvel of imagination.”

Our Amazing Things Folk Open Mike offers a friendly supportive venue for developing singer-songwriters and folks who "just like to play". It is a great way to get to know the music community, and to share ideas and techniques. All types of music is welcome. Fans come to see fantastic local artists, and never go away disappointed. See and be seen - heck build a fan base! Always a feature, always fun.

Our host, singer-songwriter Dan Cloutier, (www.dancloutiermusic.com) takes excellent care of the performers and listeners alike. A beautiful grand piano is available too. To sign up early you can email Dan at dancloutiermusic@hotmail.com.

The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, Mark Harvey music director, celebrates the centennial of jazz great Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981), often called the The First Lady of Jazz, with a program showcasing her creative genius from Swing-era classics to modernist explorations to sacred music. The concert honors her legacy as a great American composer whose works span five decades and many genres. www.aardvarkjazz.com

Information: http://www.stonehill.edu/x19603.xml or 508-565-1669

Béla Fleck, the world’s premier banjo player and 2010 Grammy-winner for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Contemporary World Music Album for Throw Down Your Heart, brings The Africa Project to Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts

Fleck collaborates with amazing African musicians including Bassekou Kouyate, who leads the seven-piece Malian band Ngoni Ba, Tanzanian singer and guitarist John Kitime, and fellow Tanzanian Anania Ngoliga, a blind thumb-piano player whom Fleck describes as a “kindred spirit.” Together they evoke naked humanity — tears, laughter, passion and the unalloyed bliss of making music.

In a program that transcends the barriers of language and culture, Fleck creates some of the most exciting, beautiful and memorable music of his career. In so doing, he reveals many subtle facets of African music, from the fully modern to the deeply traditional. His “reverence for his fellow players allows for the honey of the African sounds to seem that much sweeter,” says Popmatters.com.

Tickets are $27 and $30. For tickets and information, call 860.486.4226, or order online at jorgensen.uconn.edu. Convenient free parking is available across the street in the North Garage.

Originally from rural western-most Massachusetts, Meg Hutchinson now lives in the Boston area. She has won numerous songwriting awards in the US, Ireland and UK, including recognition from John Lennon Songwriting Competition, Billboard Song Contest and prestigious competitions. She released Come Up Full on Red House Records in 2008, and is now prepared for the release of her new album The Living Side. http://www.meghutchinson.com/index.html

Noelie McDonnell’s songwriting has been recognized by both fans and fellow musicians for its beautiful and simple observations on everyday life. He won the hearts of new fan's all over the nation with his Irish chart topping single, 'Nearly Four'. After releasing the album 'Beyond Hard Places', he was hailed by New York Post ‘ as a startlingly good new Irish talent’ and the album spent two months in the iTunes Top 10 folk album chart. http://www.myspace.com/noeliemcdonnell

An Acton institution since 1997with rotating hosts:

1st Thursday: Tom Yates

2nd Thursday: Hatrack Gallagher

3rd Thursday: Herb Hirsch

4th Thursday: B.J. Magoon

5th Thursday: Bobby Gus

Musicians, music lovers & dancers of all ages, all levels are welcome! Full band equipment lineup including Drums, Amps, 16 Channel PA, Grand Piano and Hammond Organ w/Leslie Cabs. Just bring your self & your instrument!

1st come, 1st sign-up list, Jam starts at 8pm, get there early, it’ll be a great night!

Bezanson Recital Hall - World premiere performance by William Parker, bass, Hamid Drake, drums, and special guest, Conny Bauer, trombone.

This year the Magic Triangle Jazz Series celebrates William Parker and Hamid Drake - respected around the world for their commitment and musicality - with three concerts, featuring special guests. "William Parker and Hamid Drake are the best rhythm section in jazz right now," says Alternative Press. This has been true for 15 years. "Not since Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell joined forces have two musicians so organically wedded world-music influences with free jazz," writes Jazziz.

Parker and Drake invite the reknown German trombonist Konrad "Conny" Bauer to perform in Amherst. "Bauer has mastered the wide range of techniques available to the contemporary trombonist," writes John Corbett, "as well as the web of genres in which the instrument is imbricated.

Tickets are $12/general public and $7/students and are available through the Fine Arts Center Box Office, 1-800-999-UMAS.

On Wednesday evening, February 24, Bauer will perform a short solo concert at 7:00pm in Room 137 Isenberg School of Management, UMass, before a screening of “Lights From Afar”, the 1998 German film that he scored.

In 1996 The Verve Pipe broke through in the glow of a massive hit, “The Freshmen”, which took on anthemic status for a generation on the cusp of adulthood making the first real mistakes of their lives. With sales of three million albums worldwide and a reputation for spectacular live performances, lead singer Brian Vander Ark continues to lead the group with a grainy Peter Gabriel-influenced vocal style and strong “adult contemporary” songwriting. www.thevervepipe.com

Yarn owes as much to Gram Parsons and Earl Scruggs as to Jerry Garcia and Exile On Main Street-era Rolling Stones. Following in a fine tradition that includes forward thinking roots bands like The Flying Burrito Brothers, New Riders of The Purple Sage and Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Yarn weaves roots musical idioms into a fresh, exciting sound that turns on hipsters and country fans alike. http://www.myspace.com/brooklynyarn

Called the "Manhattan Transfer of the 21st Century" (Boston Globe), Syncopation is the latest vocal jazz quartet to hit the international stage! Syncopation, originally formed in January of 2002 at Berklee College of Music and mentored by Cheryl Bentyne of the Manhattan Transfer, performs catchy swing, Latin and pop tunes along with a cappella jazz and improvisation pieces.

Boston’s coolest sax man John Aruda’s “super-cool” 5 piece afflicts some heavy soul-jazz commotion. Ain’t it funky now!?