Growing up in Chicago with a father who played old-school rock and blues, saxophonist Anthony Bruno got an early immersion in the grind of the working musician.
“Whether it was in rehearsal spaces, bars, festivals, green rooms, recording rooms– that was just my life,” he said. “So when I would hang out and talk to other kids in school they’d be like, ‘What did you do this weekend?’ I’m like, ‘I was at this festival, then this rehearsal, and this thing,’ and they’re like, ‘What is that?’ I was like, ‘Oh! That’s not what every kid does all the time?’”
It’s what Bruno does all the time, and increasingly, in Cleveland where he will lead a high-powered quartet at BOP STOP Friday.
Friday’s gig will be the second this year for the saxophonist, who came to the Hingetown club in February as a member of New Nostalgia. That nine-piece outfit extends the Windy City’s tradition of horn bands serving a Chicago dog of meaty rock rhythms garnished with a five-piece horn section.
It’s the kind of music Bruno grew up on, but Friday’s show is a quartet date, a more intimate affair, where choosing the right players is essential.
Fortunately, Bruno has connections. Drummer Noah Sherman is an Oberlin alumnus who recently relocated from Chicago to New York. “He’s got all the groove and the heart and the soul and all the energy that I love,” Bruno said. “So I was like, Noah’s got this.”
Kevin Martinez will hold down the bottom on bass, but though he’s a mainstay on the northeast Ohio scene, Bruno said, “We worked together, probably about 20 years ago, in Chicago when Kevin lived there.”
“It’s hard,” Bruno said, “to play piano in my group because you need to understand jazz, you need to understand gospel, you need to understand rock, you need to understand R&B, even, like, indie pop punk vibes. So a very eclectic player that can bring a lot of a lot of different feels and sensations to the music.” That’s Theron Brown.
There’s something else Bruno learned following his father around Chicago from gig to gig: the importance of giving the audience what it wants. “There is a value to entertainment, and people in the Midwest want a lot of value for the money that they earn,” Bruno said. “When I’m on stage, it’s about creating a special moment for all of us to really enjoy and be transcendent. You know, anybody can play music, but can you put on a show? Can you make people feel different walking out than the way that they did walking in?”
Anthony Bruno Quartet, Fri., Dec. 5, 8 p.m., BOP STOP, 2920 Detroit Ave., Cleveland. (tickets)
Trading Fours
There’s never a bad time to get out and commune in the same room with creative musicians. Below are four musical events of interest in the coming week that you might want to check out.
Holiday Latin Jazz Concert with the St. Ignatius High School Jazz
Ensemble, Tres Magos wsg Bobby Sanabria
Saturday, Dec. 6, 7 p.m.
Hummer Theater, Breen Center For The Performing Arts, 2008 W 30 St., Cleveland, free
Percussionist, educator and broadcaster Bobby Sanabria crackles with enough energy to power several AI data centers all by himself. Lately he’s applied his manifold gifts to young musicians in northeast Ohio, having recently concluded a teaching residency at Kent State. This week he turns his attention to the Roberto Ocasio Foundation, which is the beneficiary of this free holiday concert of Latin Jazz.
David Janeway Trio
Saturday, Dec. 6, 8 p.m.
BOP STOP, 2920 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, tickets
Pianist Janeway has been a presence on the New York scene for years, but he’s part of the distinguished lineage of Detroit pianists. For this return visit to Hingetown (his last BOP STOP appearance was 18 months ago, previewed here), he’ll be joined by bassist Jeff Pedraz and percussionist Jamey Haddad.
Third Law Collective Poetry Project
Sunday, Dec. 7, 7 p.m.
BOP STOP, 2920 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, tickets
Poetry is composition, no? So the a pairing of verse and original music is a natural way for the composers collective to bring their monthly series to a close for another year. Vocalist Alyssa Boyd joins the tentet of the area’s most notable players and composers for an unusual early-month concert.
Friends And Neighbors
Monday, Dec. 8, 8 p.m.
Treelawn Social Club, 15335 Waterloo Rd., Cleveland, tickets
For those listeners whose idea of Nordic jazz evokes the chilly austerity of the ECM label, this Norwegian/Swedish collective offers a bracing alternative in the penultimate New Ghosts show of 2025. The band takes its name from an Ornette Coleman composition, and music made by Thomas Johansson on trumpet, reedist Fredrik Ljungkvist, Oscar Grönberg on piano, bassist Jon Rune Strøm and Tollef Østvang drums leans more toward heat than hygge.
For the most complete listing of jazz and jazz-adjacent events., look to Jim Szabo’s essential, weekly Northeast Ohio jazz calendar.
