Thursday at Project Lodge and Death of Cabana Room

by Patrick Breiner

Greetings Wisconsinites,

Hot off the presses: The Cabana Room has given the New Breed the ax. We will not be playing this Wednesday, nor the following, nor any subsequent Wednesday night. The reason? Who knows? The explanation given by a high ranking Samba Party official: “We’re not making enough money off it.” That seems strange to this guerilla as the bar is always packed with 50-100 people whenever we play. Where is all that money going? Certainly not to the hard-working citizens who keep the gears a-turnin’.

In any case, the New Breed is currently looking for a new home for underground jazzy camaraderie. We here at WPJB will keep you abreast of the wheelings and dealings.

That being said, come get your weekly fix of great music on Thursday instead!

The deets:
This Thursday, Nov 5
7:30-10:30 pm
at the Project Lodge
817 East Johnson St. at Paterson
$5

Pay admission and dip into a free cooler of Miller High Life! Or BYOB if you’re feeling hoity-toity.

This Thursday will feature, from Chicago:
Caroline Davis – saxophone
Dave Miller – guitar

From Madison:
Patrick Breiner – saxophone
Luke Polipnick – guitar

We’ll also have some awesome stage visuals by Tyler Mackie.

Don’t miss it!

New Breed Jam update

The last 2 weeks the Isthmus Newspaper has listed the New Breed Jam session at the Cabana Room as starting at 10pm.  Just to avoid any confusion, the time of the jam session hasn’t changed. The New Breed starts at 9pm, plays one set, and then jammers are invited up during the next set starting around 10:15.

Some of the jammers don’t arrive until just before the second set, but you’re really missing out if you don’t catch the New Breed’s first set.   The New Breed plays some of the best jazz in Madison, and since the Isthmus Jazz Festival the group has been on fire! They are more focused, concentrating on the music of a particular composer each week, and seem more inspired since they’ve begun regularly mixing in originals.

Unfortunately, sax man Patrick Breiner will be out east the next few weeks so there may be a bit of a letdown. The band seems to feed off his youthful energy and sag a bit when he’s gone. In the meantime, it’s always interesting to hear whoever might fill in, and the special guests that stop by.

“UNK” MEMORIAL JAZZ JAM AND BENEFIT EVENT THIS FRIDAY, MAY 22

On Thursday, April 23rd, Madison lost one of its favorite late-night jazz DJs from WORT Community Radio when Uncle Larry Hancock unexpectedly passed away.  Hancock was known on-air, and since young adulthood to friends and family as well, as “Uncle Larry” or “Unk”. His unique radio program, Crazeology, aired overnight Fridays on WORT 89.9 FM from midnight-6 am and each week featured jazz recorded on that date in history.

On behalf of his family and his favorite radio station, the Madison Music Collective, Friends of Uncle Larry and Mother Fool’s Coffee House will sponsor a multi-player performance and jam session featuring some of Unk’s closest musical friends, including drummer Tom Hamer, reed player Tom Lachmund, vibraphonist & cellist Marianne Egerstrand, stick-player Arthur Durkee, drummer Tommy Thompson, saxophone player JoAnne Pow!ers, laptop improviser Gregory Taylor and many more, recalling the groups Zazu, the Zelda Hayze Unit, the Barbaric Yawps, and others that included Uncle Larry as bassist or vocalist.

The jam will be held Friday, May 22nd at Mother Fool’s Coffee House, beginning at 8 PM.  Donations will be accepted at the door with proceeds going to the immediate family of Uncle Larry. For further information, call Marilyn Fisher at 233-1090 or Sybil Augustine, WORT Music Director at 256-2001. You may also donate by sending a check to the Madison Music Collective (PO Box 2096, Madison, WI 53701-2096) clearly marked as going toward the Uncle Larry Memorial Fund.

Jimmy Cheatham Memorial Jazz Jam Session

Third Annual Memorial Jazz Jam Session
Friday, April 17, 2009
7:00pm – 11:00pm
Best Western Inn on Park, 22 South Carroll Street
Free, Donations accepted

Jimmy Cheatham with wife Jeannie Cheatum

Jimmy Cheatham (1924 – 2007), former University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor in the departments of Music and Afro-American Studies will be honored with a 3rd Annual Memorial Jazz Jam Session. Jimmy Cheatham was the Founder and Director of the Experimental Improvisational Black Music Ensemble (EIBME) and taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1974-1978. The EIBME is still in existence today under the direction of Professor Richard Davis.

The event is free. The public and all musicians, especially former students, are invited to attend and jam in honor of Jimmy Cheaham.  The band includes:

Ron Myers, Piano & Trumpet
Pat Wick, Piano & Keyboards
Bruce Alford, Bass
Rick Flowers, Drums

The Afro-American Studies Department, in cooperation with the African-American Alumni Foundation of the University of Wisconsin, has established the Jimmy Cheathem Black Music Education Fund and donations will be collected at the event. The goal is to raise money for the construction of a 10 million dollar UW African-American Alumni Center on the south side of Madison.

If you can’t make it you can still make a donation to the Jimmy Cheatham Black Music Education Fund (JCBMEF):

Make checks payable to the University of Wisconsin Foundation (UWF), write “Afro-American Studies Dept. – JCBMEF” in the check memo line, and send them to:

University of Wisconsin Foundation
US Bank Lockbox
P.O. Box 78807
Milwaukee, WI 53278-0807

New Breed Jam settles in at Cabana Room

A week ago I posted that the New Breed jam was on the last week of their scheduled eight week run at the Cabana.  That night at the jam Nick announced several times that the New Breed jam happens every Wednesday night at the Cabana and hopefully will continue for a long, long time. It appears the Cabana Room management has extended their stay indefinitely.

Last week of New Breed jam?

This Wednesday night is the last scheduled date of the New Breed Quintet’s eight week run at the Cabana run. According to Nick, the management is reviewing the situation and will be making a decision on whether to keep the jam. Madison jazz fans have been very supportive; open tables are rare . It’s hard to imagine the jam won’t be back, but be there this Wednesday just to make sure.

Jazz jam at Rathskeller

Tonight, 2/26 at 8 pm there is a jam in the Memorial Union Rathskeller. I checked with the Union folks and they are hosting a jazz jam on the last Thursday of  every month during the school year. In the past it was listed in the Isthmus, on Crazeology’s calendar, and in other places, but I haven’t seen it promoted for a long time so thought it wasn’t happening.  I’m not sure who is hosting it, it was Luke Palmer previously. It’s always good to know about another jam.

The return of the New Breed Jazz Jam – Patrick Breiner

Madison folks,

I’ve finally returned after 2 long months troubadoring (it wasn’t a verb before, but it is now) on the East Coast!

Kicking off the new year, the new prez, in a new space is the New Breed!

After a short hiatus we’ve found a new home at Samba’s Cabana Room. Check out Madison Jazz Blog’s review of the space here. We’ll play there every Wednesday for the next 8 weeks – maybe more if you all come show your support for Madison’s best jazz quintet!

It starts tomorrow night:
Wednesday, January 21
9 pm
Samba Brazilian Grill’s Cabana Room
240 West Gilman Street (at State)
FREE!

Don’t forget, this is also a jam session. So if you’re a musician definitely bring your ax.

Hope to see you all very soon.

Best,
Patrick

CD at CD Baby – www.CDBaby.com/VartanMamigonian
Official Website – www.VartanMamigonian.net
Myspace – www.myspace.com/PatrickBreinerMusic

Wednesday Jazz Jam starts Jan 21 at Cabana Room

Not much jazz happening lately in Madison. It seems to get like this during the winter break and then pick up again once school is in. I was looking forward to the jam session beginning again next Wednesday but I hadn’t heard anything more. That didn’t seem good. Well, it’s not happening next week but at least it’s going to happen. Here’s the scoop from Dave Stoler:

Jazz jam reborn at Cabana Room

I can’t help myself. The New Breed gets booted by a sports bar and I have the nerve to compare them to Brett Favre. It’s only for a moment so please humor me. Favre has many Packer fans that continue to follow his play with the Jets. The question is are the New Breed fans just as loyal?

The answer is a no-brainer. The only special thing about the Concourse is it’s acoustics; the New Breed is the attraction. Considering the large crowd at the Cabana Room Wednesday night, playing at the Concourse may have actually limited the audience for the New Breed. The jam was a smashing success: the turnout was large, the room works well for jazz, and it was announced the jam will resume every Wednesday at the Cabana starting the second week of January.