Kevin Martinez - John Chacona writes

For Saxophonist Bruno Every Time On Stage Is Show Time

Published 2 December, 2025 By John Chacona

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.

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Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO May 23 – 29

Published 23 May, 2024 By John Chacona

Nehemiah Stix Baker — *Nehemiah “Stix” Baker*

Friendly experiencers,

If this week’s scorching temperatures didn’t already announce the fact, summer is here. Memorial Day weekend is your signal to break out the camp chairs, throw out last year’s swimwear and enjoy the increasingly less short, but always sweet summer vibe. This weekend, it’s more affordable than ever with the must-see three events spotlighted below all available to you for $20 or less. Those of us who grew up enduring Great Lakes winters have a hard time finding an excuse to be indoors once the temperatures rise. This column is here to supply you with three of the best the weekend has to offer. See you out there.

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Moto Perpetuo Drummer Anthony Taddeo’s Next Project: Recording Alla Boara Live

Published 5 July, 2023 By John Chacona

Alla Boara

If drummer Anthony Taddeo were a piece of music, he’d be marked Allegro vivace con brio é giocoso. Here’s a bit more Italian to represent the bilingual Taddeo: preso dalla testa ai piedi, an idiom for being in constant motion from head to toe.

This weekend finds the in-demand sideman, dependable session musician and busy bandleader in the familiar setting of Hingetown’s Bop Stop with his Alla Boara project for a two-night engagement that will be recorded for audio and video release.

A Venerable Free Improv Showcase Finds Its Way Back

Published 28 March, 2023 By John Chacona

*Togishi (from left): Mike Sopko, Joe Tomino, Dan Wenninger*

After the cultural extinction event of 2020, some lifeforms re-emerged sooner than others. You would expect the ones with the most funding to be among the first to return, though perhaps not at their previous strength. And you might imagine that the more DIY scenes, the ones for which precarity is an ongoing fact, would also survive.

The 1Way at the Go Factory series of free improvisation shows curated by saxophonist Dan Wenninger, is one of the survivors, though it’s more like a cicada than a hardy cockroach. It hasn’t been dormant for seven years; there were a few scattered comebacks last fall. When the series resumes March 28 at the Go Factory loft, with Togishi and the Folger/Bruce/Martinez Trio, it will mark what Wenninger hopes will be a second beginning, a 1Way 2.0.

Tag: Kevin Martinez

For Saxophonist Bruno Every Time On Stage Is Show Time

Countdown: Where To Go & What To Hear In NEO May 23 – 29

Moto Perpetuo Drummer Anthony Taddeo’s Next Project: Recording Alla Boara Live

A Venerable Free Improv Showcase Finds Its Way Back