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Tag: Akron

Countdown: Gigs, Concerts and Shows To Check Out August 10-16

 

Spyro Gyra
Friday, August 11, 7:30 p.m.
Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St., Kent (tickets)

Are they jazz? After 49 years, it’s kind of a moot point. OG saxophonist Jay Beckenstein and his bubbly, rhythm-happy crew have making heads nod and feet pat for a lot of folks–probably more than a few hardcore jazz stans among them. This summertime music should fill the house at Kent Stage.

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Trading Fours: Your Guide To The Weekend’s Most Interesting Music

Friendly Experiencers,

The response to last week’s Trading Fours post was so positive that I’ll make it a weekly feature on Thursdays. Think of it as your planning guide to a weekend of music and good times.

The Rumble, Thursday, August 3 , 8 p.m., Beachland Ballroom

Fat Tuesday may be six months in the future, but it’s never too early to get your second line strut on, especially when New Orleans funk krewe The Rumble rolls into the Beachland Ballroom. Led by Second Chief Joseph Boudreaux, Jr. of the Golden Eagles (son of Big Chief Monk), this seven-man party machine has the pedigree to turn Collinwood into the Quarter, if only for a night. Crazy Marvin & the Blues Express opens.

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Always At Home With Music, Lucas Kadish Returns To NEO With A New Band and Recording

Lucas Kadish

“To me, music is home,” said guitarist Lucas Kadish in response to a question I posed by email last week.

It’s a pretty sentiment metaphorically, but Saturday, it becomes a statement of fact when the Hudson native brings his trio to BOP STOP to celebrate the release of his new recording Tundra.

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This Is New: Trading Fours

Friendly Experiencers,

Because my interview with this week’s feature artist fell through, I decided to improvise and do something different. Instead of stuffing the Trading Fours roundup of capsule event previews at the end of a 700-word feature article, today they’re the main event. Short and sweet. I’m going to open the comments for this post so you can tell me if you like it or think this should be a one-and-done. 

Dan Bruce :beta collective with Alyssa Boyd, Cain Park, Tuesday, July 25

In the language of software developers, a beta project is one that is in development. That’s a pretty good description of the jazz playbook, too, especially as practiced by Lakewood guitarist Dan Bruce. His :beta collective balances a mutable blend of electric and acoustic instruments, composition and improvisation, jazz and prog rock influences. For the latest iteration of his tinkerer’s project in sound, Bruce has added a new wrinkle: the voice of Alyssa Boyd. That makes for an intriguing proposition for us musical beta testers, and as part of the free concert series supported by the Local 4 Music Fund, you can’t beat the price.

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Local Musicians Add Flavor To the Sauce At Tri-C JazzFest

For fans of improvised music in the Black American tradition, the arrival of Tri-C JazzFest to Playhouse Square with a roster of artists including Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride and phenomenal shooting-star vocalist Samara Joy is hands down the biggest week of the year.

The touring artists whose shelves are heavy with Grammy Awards and other honors deservedly grab the clicks and dominate the buzz, but for dozens of musicians from throughout Northeast Ohio, JazzFest will be the biggest gig of their year. For some of them, it will be the biggest opportunity of their young careers.

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