Let’s just get this out of the way: jazz fans, the coming week is absolutely stacked. It’s so full of notable shows that it took two let’s call this posts to begin to cover it–and a third might not get to the bottom of the good stuff.
If the music calendar for the week were a dart board, you could close your eyes and hit a bullseye every time.
So as March goes out like a lion here’s your bulldog edition of Pull UP! Now have fun filling up that calendar.
Things have been a bit quiet lately here at let’s call this. That’s because we were in the middle of moving across town to a funky, 130-year-old former farmhouse in Lakewood’s Birdtown Historic District. The circumstances that brought us here are a long story that I’ll spare you, but suffice to say we have landed safely and happily (well, the cats aren’t happy yet, buuuuuut . . . ) and the WiFi has been connected. I’m typing this from my man cave, the first time in years that I’ve had a dedicated–and acoustically fine–listening room. That means more music will fill the Birdhouse, and with any kind of luck, more words about music will fill this blog.
Expect that to happen soon. October looks like a busy month, and previews of upcoming gigs by John Fedchock, Marta Sanchez, Ethan Iverson and the big BOP STOP tenth anniversary rager are in the works.
As per usual, look for a new installment of Pull Up! this and every Thursday?too. Meantime, I’ve got to put another record on, Bye.
(from left) Sean Conly, Michael Sarin, Joe Fiedler, Steven Bernstein (with duckie), Jeff Lederer. photocredit: Peter Gannushkin
Public radio often talks about “driveway moments,” listening experiences that keep you in your car listening even after you’ve reached your destination. Trombonist and bandleader Joe Fiedler had one that changed his life and set him on a career path that brings him and his Open Sesame band to The Treelawn on Friday.
Pull up! I see this all over my social feeds, an exhortation from my musician friends to get out and experience the music the way it’s meant to be heard: live.
This weekend brings a pair of shows on the west side–both on Friday (are you superstitious?). Good luck deciding which one you’ll want to pull up to. While you make up your mind, enjoy tomorrow’s theme song in the composer’s authoritative version with all-timer Walter Theodore Rollins, who turned 94 last Saturday the 7th.
Turning 40 doesn’t have the big-deal, inflection-point significance of milestone birthdays like 21 or 65, but don’t try that argument on Bryan Kennard. The composer, flutist and organizer has plenty of highlights to mark as he heads into his fifth decade this week with a new big band and a celebratory concert at BOP STOP Sunday.