Friday: The Andreas Kapsalis Trio 9:30 at Magnus. Too bad the sound quality of their YouTube clips is so bad, check out their MySpace page instead. They have some very interesting music including a jazzy version of Pink Floyd’s “Money” and a high energy piece called “Ethnic Cleansing.”
Sunday: Eric Schneider Quintet 2-5 pm at Jingles Coliseum Bar. See my sampler of the Madison Jazz Society (MJS) spring series. I have to admit that MJS concerts usually don’t interest me because they seldom feature music from beyond the 1930’s, but this may be an exception. Checking out the YouTube clips and his resume suggests Eric Schneider may be playing bebop as well as swing. My only problem with this concert is the price tag: $25 for an unknown player when groups like the Bad Plus, Charlie Hunter, and John Scofield charge the same.
On Thursday, March 19th, the Madison Music Collective will present a program of poetry and music dedicated to the life and music of Mary Lou Williams. (see special events for details). The program will feature Madison Poet Laureate Fabu Carter Brisco and Madison-based pianist/composer/teacher Jane Reynolds. Inspired by the Williams biography, “Morning Glory,” Fabu has written poetry about the people and events in Mary Lou’s life as an African-American woman and artist, with each poem taking the title of a different Williams composition, while Reynolds will be playing a wide variety of Williams compositions representing the many styles that she embraced over the course of a career that spanned nearly 60 years, from the 1920s into the 1980s. Together, Fabu and Jane will tell part of the wonderful musical adventures of Mary Lou Williams while paying tribute, duringWomen’s History Month, to arguably the greatest female musician in the history of jazz.
This week Madison Jazz is featuring a selection from a Madison Music Collective (MMC) CD called Gathering. The CD is a compilation that was put together in 1996 and showcases some of the members from that time. It is still available and sold at MMC events to raise funds for the organization. I don’t know much more about it, maybe Joan, Jane, or Marilyn can comment on the history behind it.
Tracks on the CD are by the Joan Wildman Trio, Matt Turner, Don Linke, Harmonious Wail, Doc DeHaven, Doug Brown & Marilyn Fisher, the Diedre Buckley Trio, Al Jewer, Dangerous Odds, and the Scott Fields Ensemble.
The track I chose to feature is called Unbridled Song, written and produced by Jane Reynolds, and performedby the Jane Reynolds Trio. The musicians are:
Jane Reynolds – piano
Hans Sturm – bass
Vincent Davis – drums
At 9 pm tonight WYOU (Charter Channel 95 or Digital 991) will air Part 2 of a Lecture/ Demonstration by Joan Wildman and Friends that occured April, 2008 as part of an MMC presentation. The musicians include:
Joan Wildman, pianist
Richard Lottridge, bassoon
Willy Walter, bassoon
Laurie Lang, bass
Ben Karetnick, drums
MMC Presents events are broadcast on WYOU every Sunday evening at 9 p.m.
Upcoming MMC events:
2/12/09 El Clan Destino performance
3/19/09 Jane Reynolds/Fabu Carter Brisco on Mary Lou Williams
4/02/09 Joan Wildman/Joe Fonda/Ben Karetnick performance & animations
5/21/09 Randall Harrison Trio performance
MMC Presents is presented in the Capitol Lakes Grand Hall, 333 W Main
St., Madison, WI.
