Tim Whalen Nonet – jazz bursting at the seams

I hope that Jessica Steinhoff, the Isthmus writer who asked, “Whither Jazz,” attended the Tim Whalen Nonet performance last Saturday. Anyone who was at Magnus for that show can appreciate that Madison jazz is more than alive and well. When the Nonet is playing, jazz is bursting at the seams. It was the Nonet’s first Madison show in many months, and the pent up demand was more than could be contained.

Jazz at the Majestic Theater

The Majestic Theater is turning into THE place to hear big name jazz with popular appeal. The Bad Plus was already on the schedule for April 16, now they’ve added John Scofield for the same week, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe  for the end of this month, and Charlie Hunter for early May. All of these are must see shows. Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe may be more funk/RnB than jazz but it is informed by his jazz roots and features his funky sax.

I’ll have more about these artists as we get closer to their concerts. Here’s the lineup as it currently looks:

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe
Saturday, 3/28, 9 pm
Tickets $20-35

John Scofield
Monday, 4/13, 8 pm
Tickets $20-32

Bad Plus
Thursday, 4/16, 8 pm
Tickets $16-25

The Charlie Hunter Duo
Wednesday, 5/6, 8 pm
Tickets $15-30

Harlan Jefferson tonight at R Place

Last week the Isthmus newspaper featured Harlan Jefferson, a talented alto saxophone player from Rockford, as a critics pick for this Wednesday night. That reminded me that I’ve been wanting to check him out since I noticed back in January that he plays at R Place on Park on Wednesday nights. I guess I haven’t gotten there yet because I’m so into the New Breed jam sessions on Wednesday nights. It’s also easy to overlook R Place because I’ve never been there, they don’t have a webpage,  and for some reason they aren’t listed on the Crazeology calendar (they are, however, listed and mapped on the Venue page).

Now it looks like time is running out. Tonight might be the last time to hear Harlan in Madison for a while. Joined by drummer Rick Flowers and keyboardist Cheeseburger McClain, Harlan has been playing his mix of smooth jazz, RnB, and gospel on Wednesday nights for the last two months, but now neither his webpage calendar (which doesn’t extend into March) or the Isthmus show any Madison gigs in March. 

Jazz this Thursday and Friday

First the bad news: there’s almost no live jazz going on in Madison this Saturday. There’s piano jazz at Lilliana’s and Louisianne’s and nothing else that I know of. I noticed a trend like this over the last few Saturdays. What’s up with that?

 The good news is jazz is alive and well tonight and tomorrow. My pick for tonight is Gerri Dimaggio 8:30 – 10:30 at the Cabana Room. Gerri plays every Wednesday at Sambas upstairs but I much prefer hearing jazz in the Cabana Room; the room is intimate and the sound much cleaner. The Sambas dining room is large, the volume not enough to overcome the talking, and nobody seems to pay attention to the music. Sambas is great for gorging on huge slabs of beef, but the Cabana Room does jazz better.

The Cabana Room: a new jazz hot spot

When the Concourse Bar dropped live music the managers of the Cabana Room must have seen an opening and decided to go for it. Since the beginning of the year the Cabana Room on the lower level of Sambas Restaurant has quietly turned into a Madison jazz hot spot. I say quietly because jazz has been added Wednesday through Saturday evenings with barely a word of promotion.

The New Breed Jazz Jam session on Wednesday nights is the one exception. Their gig is listed on the Crazeology Calendar and at the Isthmus guide. And if you follow this site you know I’ve talked it up a lot, and with good reason. Last week the jam was one big party. The room was full, and the audience attentive but animated, enthusiastically cheering on the jammers. It was fun and I hope it lasts; the Cabana Room is a great venue for the jam.

Jazz events this week

The next few days are looking good for Madison jazz fans.

Tonight is the New Breed Jazz Jam at the Cabana Room. Last week there was another good turnout with a mix of new and familiar faces. The rule of thumb seems to be get there by 9:30 if you want a good seat.

Thursday night the Madison Jazz Orchestra is playing their monthly gig at the Brink Lounge. The Brink is the best jazz club in Madison and the Madison Jazz Orchestra is the best Big Band – an unbeatable combination.

Friday night from 6:30 – 8:30 it’s another jazz show at the Brink. Lynette Margulies, the 2007 MAMA winner of the Best Jazz Artist of the Year, will unveil her new group, Lynette’s Enchanted. The group features Lynette on vocals; Joe Wickham on guitar; Diedre Buckley on viola and Jane Reynolds on keyboard. Lynnete will feature several of her compositions revamped and reconstructed for this quartet.

That’s 3 straight days of high quality Madison jazz – go check it out!

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 on New Year’s Eve

Here’s the jazz  happening across Madison tonight.

From the Crazeology calendar:

12/31: Esther Knutson & Cliff Frederiksen, 7pm, Basie’s @ The Radisson Inn
12/31: Dave Stoler & others, 8pm, The Brink Lounge
12/31: Harmonious Wail, 9:30pm, The Concourse Hotel’s The Bar
12/31: The Don Peachey Big Band, 6pm, The East Side Club
12/31: John Chimes & The Gumbo Ya-Yas, 8pm, Louisianne’s – Middleton
12/31: The Doug White Trio featuring Ray Rideout, 9:30pm, Nadia’s
12/31: Swingtime Music, 8pm, Samba Brazilian Grill
12/31: The Stellanovas, 8:30pm, Stella’s Speakeasy – Stoughton

And from other sources:

Mama Digdown’s at the Majestic at 11 pm as part of a multiband lineup.

Rick Flowers Trio
New Year’s Eve Party
Food, party favors and champagne! Dress your best!
R Place on Park
1821 Park Street, Madison – 8:30PM – $12/person or $20/couple

If you think I forgot someone,  let us know via a comment.

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.