Great music happening this month:

So far:

Thursday Oct. 5- The new Orleans Klezmer All Stars, 9PM, Siberia-
 

Last month we played at Siberia, and it was a fitting return for Glenn Hartman, our keyboardist and blood pumper.  The food is excellent and Eastern Euro.  Everyone loved it. Folks can't help but dance and imbibe. Come out for this one.

Thursday Oct 12th- The Naked Orchestra, 10PM, Allways Lounge-

The full 20 odd piece Naked Orchestra performs again, at a new venue for us.  Come see some of the greatest and most exciting improvisors and composers from across the scene.  It's always an instant party. 

Friday Oct. 13th- The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars, 9pm Chickie Wah Wah

This will be a party and some really driving music a) because it's the klez and b) because it's my birthday, and you are all invited c) it's friday the 13th again..  Let's really go crazy, it's been a tough year.  This one is going to rock!

Saturday Oct. 14th- Wadada Leo Smith performs 10 Freedom Summers at Loyola.

I'm happy to have contributed to the effort to help get Wadada here to perform and work with the New Orleans music community.  He is a great artist with great vision and this is a seminal work about civil rights.  This group is not to be missed and is augmented by string quartet and strong multimedia presentation..  The information on the show is here... please attend you will be edified.

Sunday Oct. 15th- w/ James Singleton quintet, 8 and 10PM- Snug Harbor-

What a band James assembles! Check it out.

Wednesday Oct. 18th- Naked On The Floor- 9PM Three Keys, Ace Hotel

My flagship chamber group, in a great room. Rex Gregory- saxes etc; Cyrus Nabipoor-trumpet; Rick Trolsen-trombone; James Singleton-bass; Stanton Moore-drums; Jonathan Freilich- guitar.  Yep, you read right.  Our original drummer, Stanton is back for a great evening of music.

Thursday Oct. 19th- w/ singer, Annie Ellicott- 8:43PM- The Sidebar

Annie is a great writer and fascinatingly flexible vocalist.  If you haven't checked out the sidebar you are living in a dream where you can't figure out what's up. 

And that's just to start, get you salivating at the diversity, and give you some strength to take on the adversity.

Wadada Leo Smith at New Quorum. Also, the new Group: J. Free and the Down-Low-Mon. 9th of May.

It's been so busy that there has been no mention yet of my new operating group- J. Free and the Down Low.  We have had two shows so far and they have gone very well.  I suppose the group is exploring original compositions and arrangements, but also new ways of dealing with the language of developing improvisations.  There are many stages to the rhythmic nature of the music, some masked beneath the surface and some openly manifested in the sound surfaces.  Check the exciting lineup-

Dan Oestreicher- Alto sax/ Bari sax/ Electronics
Jeff Albert- Trombone
Doug Garrison- Drums
Devon Taylor- Tuba
Jonathan Freilich- guitar

Who is J. Free?  You'd have to ask Wadada Leo Smith or Lisa Harris or Gianna Chachere or Damon Locks.

Which brings me to the more important part of this post.  Wadada Leo Smith is coming in to New Orleans to give a presentation on his cycle, Ten Freedom Summers,  about the civil rights movement across the 20th century.  This will be at The New Quorum, on this same evening.  The talk is part of gearing up for a performance on the work in New Orleans later in the year.  The whole thing kicks off at 6:30pm.

Where: The New Quorum- 2435 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, Louisiana 70119

Other details: 

Trumpeter/composer, 2016 Doris Duke Performing Artist, and former New Quorum resident, Wadada Leo Smith is returning to New Orleans! Join us for a special presentation about his Pulitzer Prize nominated work Ten Freedom Summers, which will be produced in New Orleans. Followed by a short performance by Wadada and additional music by J.Free and the Down Low. Refreshments served.

Ten Freedom Summers is the work of a lifetime by one of jazz’s true visionaries, a kaleidoscopic, spiritually charged opus inspired by the struggle for African-American freedom and equality before the law.