frank rosaly's green and gold
(playing the music of prince lasha and sonny simmons)
cameron pfiffner - reeds
nick mazzarella - reeds
tomeka reid - cello
anton hatwich - bass
frank rosaly - drums
frank rosaly's green and gold will be exploring the collaborative efforts of prince lasha and sonny simmons by way of their 1968 recording, firebirds (contemporary s 7617), as well as some tunes from their collaboration with elvin jones and jimmy garrison (from the recording, illumination!) and the bossa tres.
below is a recent preview for green and gold's premiere performance earlier this year from critic peter margasak:
tonight at the skylark, superb local percussionist frank rosaly debuts a good-looking quintet called Green and Gold, which he formed to play the music made in the 60s by the duo of reedists prince lasha and sonny simmons. lasha, best known as a flute player, was born in forth worth, texas, but moved to california in the 50s, alongside fellow free-jazz travelers and former texans like ornette coleman, john carter, and bobby bradford. he died in 2008, and sadly he's been all but forgotten. last year dusty groove reissued his album insight, a 1966 date recorded live in london.
simmons, who grew up in the bay area, has also been overlooked in jazz histories, but he's a superb post-coleman alto saxophonist (and one of the few jazz musicians to play the english horn). In addition to working with lasha, he made some great albums for esp-disk and contemporary. simmons no longer plays like he did at his peak in the 60s, but in the past few years he's put out a few new albums on the jazzaway label, run by norwegian reedist jon klette.
green and gold features rosaly, reedists nick mazzarella and cameron pfiffner (the underrated coleader of the sabertooth quartet), cellist tomeka reid, and bassist anton hatwich. tonight the group will focus on compositions from the excellent 1963 album the cry! (Contemporary). rosaly plans to tackle the music from the other key prince lasha/sonny simmons album, 1967's firebirds, down the road.
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below is a listing for the entire month of music
august 1
paul hartsaw trio
paul hartsaw - reeds
alex wing - bassd
amon shot - drums
the latest incarnation of paul hartsaw’s Trio, featuring alex wing on bass and damon short on drums, expands upon his previous work by introducing unconventional notation and procedures to further explore improvisational possibilities.
august 8
james falzone's klang
james falzone - clarinet
jason adasiewicz - vibraphone
jason roebke - bass
tim daisy - drums
clarinetist/composer james falzone founded klang for a pending january 2006 gig at a now-defunct improvised music series in chicago. he used that opportunity to recruit three other mainstays of the city's creative music scene he had always wanted to work with, jason adasiewicz, jason roebke and tim daisy. driven by their common interests in the clarinetvibes sound and the vast musical legacy of the legendary jimmy giuffre, the quartet has worked together ever since, performing at prominent festivals, series and venues around the country.
august 15
read the reader preview by peter margasak here
tim haldeman/keefe jackson combination
tim haldeman - tenor sax
keefe jackson - tenor sax
michael avery - drums
jake vinsel - bass
since 1997, saxophonist tim haldeman has been performing, recording, and touring with some of chicago's premiere jazz groups, including mike reed's people places and things, and matt ulery's loom. currently based in ann arbor, haldeman has recently been leading his own trios and quartets, groups that experiment with modern and traditional approaches to composition and improvisation.
sharing a deep appreciation for the great tenor tradition, saxophonists keefe jackson and tim haldeman unite for a blowing session in celebration of their favorites. the groups repetoire consists of seldom heard bebop, ballads, and blues songs, all of which are enriched by the mellow combination of the two tenor men.
here's the preview of their performance by peter margasak:
Tenor saxophonist Tim Haldeman moved to Ann Arbor a couple of years ago, but because he's still a member of Matt Ulery's Loom and Mike Reed's People, Places & Things, he maintains a regular presence here. What Chicagoans don't get to see so often anymore is Haldeman in an informal, ad hoc group—which is one reason this one-off partnership with fellow reedist Keefe Jackson is so exciting. Both players are tradition-minded explorers who bring a keen historical sensibility to even their most outward-bound playing, and for this show they're joined by bassist Jake Vinsel and drummer Mikel Avery. Haldeman and Jackson will contribute original tunes to a carefully chosen slate of overlooked bebop and blues gems, including songs associated with Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Julian Priester, Jackie McLean, and Baby Face Willette. —Peter Margasak
haugust 22
marquis hill blacktet
marquis hill - trumpet
josh johnson - alto sax
nate baker - guitar
patrick mulcahy - bass
jeremy cunningham - drums
at age 24, marquis hill is already a well-known name on the chicago jazz scene. after retrieving a bachelors degree in music education/jazz studies and studying privately at northern illinois university, he started performing heavily in chicago. he has performed with artist such as: dee alexander, tito carrillo, bobby broom, willie pickens, ron perrillo, victor garcia, benny golson, antonio hart, rodney whitaker, steve turre , ernest dawkins, maurice brown, corey wilkes, willerm delisfort, brian lynch and many others. he has toured the U.S and abroad with many different artist and groups; sirens of sound, The delisfort project, chicago 12, bebop brass, ronald carter big band and new horzions.
august 29
frank rosaly's green and gold
(playing the music of prince lasha and sonny simmons)
cameron pfiffner - reeds
nick mazzarella - reeds
tomeka reid - cello
anton hatwich - bass
frank rosaly - drums
frank rosaly's green and gold will be exploring the collaborative efforts of prince lasha and sonny simmons by way of their 1968 recording, firebirds (contemporary s 7617). below is a recent preview for green and gold's premiere performance earlier this year from critic peter margasak:
tonight at the skylark, superb local percussionist frank rosaly debuts a good-looking quintet called Green and Gold, which he formed to play the music made in the 60s by the duo of reedists prince lasha and sonny simmons. lasha, best known as a flute player, was born in forth worth, texas, but moved to california in the 50s, alongside fellow free-jazz travelers and former texans like ornette coleman, john carter, and bobby bradford. he died in 2008, and sadly he's been all but forgotten. last year dusty groove reissued his album insight, a 1966 date recorded live in london.
simmons, who grew up in the bay area, has also been overlooked in jazz histories, but he's a superb post-coleman alto saxophonist (and one of the few jazz musicians to play the english horn). In addition to working with lasha, he made some great albums for esp-disk and contemporary. simmons no longer plays like he did at his peak in the 60s, but in the past few years he's put out a few new albums on the jazzaway label, run by norwegian reedist jon klette.
green and gold features rosaly, reedists nick mazzarella and cameron pfiffner (the underrated coleader of the sabertooth quartet), cellist tomeka reid, and bassist anton hatwich. tonight the group will focus on compositions from the excellent 1963 album the cry! (Contemporary). rosaly plans to tackle the music from the other key prince lasha/sonny simmons album, 1967's firebirds, down the road.
