Brian Lynch & Greg Tardy at The Jazz Estate

Presented in collaboration with the Jazz Institute of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
Friday, June 30 at 8 PM – 11 PM

We are pleased to welcome Grammy Award Winner Brian Lynch and saxophonist Greg Tardy to the Estate Stage. They will be backed up by Milwaukee’s own Mark Davis, Jeff Hamman, and Dave Bayles.

$15 Door Charge

Limited Front Row Reserved Tables: http://lynchtardy.brownpapertickets.com/
Sales start 7/3/17 12pm

Grammy© Award Winning trumpeter Brian Lynch brings to his music an unparalleled depth and breadth of experience. A honored graduate of two of the jazz world’s most distinguished academies, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and the Horace Silver Quintet, he received wide acclaim during his long tenures with Latin Jazz legend Eddie Palmieri and straight ahead master Phil Woods. He has been a valued collaborator with jazz artists such as Benny Golson, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Charles McPherson; Latin music icons as diverse as Hector LaVoe and Lila Downs; and pop luminaries such as Prince. As a bandleader and recording artist he has released over 20 critically acclaimed CDs featuring his distinctive composing and arranging, and has toured the world at the helm of various ensembles reflecting the wide sweep of his music.

Greg Tardy Tenor saxophonist, who has released albums for the record labels SteepleChase Records, J Curve Records, and Impulse! Records. He has played with Elvin Jones, Avishai Cohen, Aaron Goldberg, Brad Mehldau, and Joshua Redman, among others. Tardy studied classical clarinet as a child, encouraged by his parents, both of whom were opera singers. His mother, Jo Anne Tardy, after singing classical music became a gospel-influenced jazz singer. After switching to tenor saxophone, Tardy played with funk bands in Milwaukee before his brother urged him to listen to jazz, after which he was especially influenced by John Coltrane’s recordings. He studied at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and at the University of New Orleans, along the way encountering Ellis Marsalis who became tutor and mentor. Resident in New York City from 1992, Tardy became deeply involved in the contemporary jazz and improvised music scenes. Among musicians with whom he has played are Rashied Ali, Omer Avitel, Jonathan Blake, Betty Carter, Steve Coleman, George Colligan, Ravi Coltrane, Sean Conly, Xavier Davis, Dave Douglas, Bill Frisell, Aaron Goldberg, Russell Gunn, Eric Harland, Tom Harrell, Antonio Hart, Andrew Hill, Elvin Jones, Joe Lovano, Ellis Marsalis, Jason Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Jay McShann, Mulgrew Miller, James Moody, John Patitucci, Nicholas Payton, Chris Potter, Dewy Redman, David Schumacher, Mark Turner and Bobby Watson, the latter being cited as an especially important influence.

Dave King Trucking Company and Hanging Hearts at The Cactus Club

Saturday, June 10 at 9 PM – 12 AM
Advance tickets on sale this Wednesday, April 19th at 10 am
$15 ADV // $20 DOS
Doors 9 PM // +21

Cactus Club
2496 S Wentworth Ave
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53207

Dave King Trucking Company
Erik Fratzke – guitar
Dave King – drums
Chris Morrissey – bass
Chris Speed – tenor saxophone
Brandon Wozniak – tenor saxophone

Hanging Hearts
Chris Weller – saxophone
Cole Degenova – keyboards
Devin Drobka – drums

Dave King Trucking Company
Prolific drummer/composer Dave King is well known for his propulsive work in a number of different bands. From The Bad Plus to Happy Apple to Halloween, Alaska, each group has its own sound and approach, but all are approached in a steadfast manner. These groups are all serious units of focused players who are completely dialed in, honing a solid band sound and identity. It is King’s attraction to a strong group concept that led to his creation of his Trucking Company band and his increasing focus thereon. On its third recording, Surrounded By The Night, the Trucking Company has solidified its identity with new material and a slightly changed lineup. The addition of the Minneapolis born, Brooklyn based bassist Chris Morrissey strengthens the Minnesota-New York connection that has been part of the identity of the ensemble, featuring the saxophone (and clarinet!) of Brooklynite Chris Speed alongside Minnesotans saxophonist Brandon Wozniak and guitarist Erik Fratzke, since its inception.

Hanging Hearts
Hanging Hearts is a free-spirited, Chicago-based trio described by European audiences as “hammering the walls between genres.” Bridging the gap between jazz, rock, and experimental music, the band offers listeners what is ultimately their own tribal music–a combination of their varying musical backgrounds ranging from jazz and classical, to funk, alternative soul, and full on metal. Each a bandleader and composer in their own right, Hanging Hearts features Chris Weller on tenor and bass saxophones, Cole DeGenova on keyboards, and Devin Drobka on drums.

In June 2016, Hanging Hearts went back into the studio at Howl Street Recordings in Milwaukee, WI with drummer Dave King of The Bad Plus as producer to make their second album, Into a Myth. A strong step forward from their last, the record features eight cut-to-the-chase originals referencing various themes from creation myths to cosmic rights of passage. Into a Myth releases on June 9, 2017 on the Minneapolis-based label Shifting Paradigm Records with supporting U.S. tours.

Jackie Allen at The Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts

Jackie Allen with
Johannes Wallman, piano
Hans Dturm, bass
Dane Richeson, drums
Wednesday, May 31 at 7:30pm

The Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts
926 E. Center St.
MIlwaukee, WI 53212

Jackie Allen is celebrating the release of her 12th CD as leader! Rose Fingered Dawn features a brand range of compositions, from sultry bossa novas to exotic middle eastern grooves and hard swinging blues. Each tune was lovely written for her over the years by her husband, critically acclaimed bassist and composer, Hans Sturm. Described as “utterly distinctive and even innovative” by Billboard Magazine, Jackie is renown for her transcendent interpretations. Her extraordinary talent has taken her on multiple tours of Europe, Morocco, Brazil, China and Taiwan. Nationally she has toured both coasts and in-between appearing in Los Angeles at Catalina’s, San Francisco at Yoshi’s, San Diego at Humphrey’s, and New York City at The Blue Note and The Josef Papp Public Theater. She was featured artist with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic in Chicago’s Millennium Park and Auditorium Theater for Ella Fitzgerald’s 95 Birthday Celebration. She has performed international festivals in Detroit, Chicago, Paris, The Hague, Stuttgart, Edinburgh, Bologna, Beijing, Hong Kong, Thessaloniki, Sao Paulo and more.

Ted Nash and Kristen Lee Sergeant

Saturday May 20th, 2017 8pm-11pm

The Jazz Estate
2423 North Murray Ave.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53211

Kristen Lee Sergeant‘s emergence on the NYC jazz scene has branded this innovative artist with a distinct musicality, an intuitive sense of vocal phrasing, fresh lyrical interpretations, and arrangements all her own – and the word is spreading nationally. Jay Edwards, WCLK-FM Atlanta’s On-Air Jazz Tones host says “Sergeant takes your breath away as an effervescent spirit whose superb vocals and phrasing inject the lyrics with new life.” The Boston Globe has called her “especially entertaining.”

In October, Sergeant debuted the record at Birdland, and the performance spoke to even greater things to come. Downbeat chose her CD as its’ Editors’ Pick (September ‘16) – praising her “buttery to deliciously tart” vocals and “dramatically fresh arrangements.” Jay Edwards of WCLK-Atlanta notes her “effervescent spirit which injects the lyrics with new life.” Grammy winning writer, Bob Blumenthal, says her “superior intonation and control, an interpretive command that ranges from defiance to gentility, a willingness to take risks with harmony and rhythm, the freshness of her arrangements, synchronicity with her accompanists, and the manner in which all these elements yield a supremely musical package.”

Ted Nash enjoys an extraordinary career as a performer, conductor, composer, arranger and educator. Born in Los Angeles into a musical family (his father, Dick Nash, and uncle, the late Ted Nash, were both well-known jazz and studio musicians), Nash has that uncanny ability to mix freedom with substance, blues with intellect, and risk-taking with clarity. He is a co-founder of the New York-based Jazz Composers Collective, a musician-run, non-profit innovative entity dedicated to presenting the original works of composers pushing the boundaries of their self-expression. Nash is also a long-standing member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, with Wynton Marsalis.

Nash has become one of the most significant jazz composers of the 21st century. His recordings have received wide critical acclaim, appearing on the “best-of” lists in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Village Voice, and The Boston Globe. Portrait in Seven Shades, his first big band recording, garnered two Grammy nominations. His following big band album, Chakra, received critical acclaim and charted on Billboard.

“Neither a poster boy for the avant-garde nor a blinders-on traditionalist, Nash is simply his own man.” -Washington Post

http://tednash.com/index.html

http://kristenleesergeant.com/

Dave King Trio featuring Bill Carrothers and Billy Peterson

Wednesday May 17th, 2017 8pm-11pm

The Jazz Estate
2423 North Murray Ave.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53211

Dave King is one of the most celebrated drummers in modern jazz. His contributions to the Minneapolis and New York jazz scenes are incalculable, and his imagination and boundless enthusiasm behind (and around) the drum set are singular and stunning. He has performed in 75 countries on six continents, and has been a member of bands like The Bad Plus, Happy Apple, Halloween Alaska, 12 Rods, Love Cars, The Gang Font, and others. He has also recorded or performed with Bill Frisell, Joshua Redman, Jeff Beck, Tim Berne, Mason Jennings, Mark Morris Dance Company, Haley Bonar, Meat Beat Manifesto, Craig Taborn, Jason Moran, David Torn, Atmosphere, and many others.

Bill Carrothers has been a professional pianist for over 25 years. He has played many venues throughout the U. S. and Europe including the Village Gate, Knitting Factory, Birdland, Blues Alley, New Morning (Paris), the Audi Jazz Festival in Brussels, the Nevers Jazz Festival (where he shared the bill with Abbey Lincoln), the Montreal Jazz Festival , Jazz Middelheim, and the Marciac Festival in France. In October of 2000, Mr. Carrothers headlined the prestigious Rising Star Tour throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. He has been a leader on seventeen recordings, all of which have received critical acclaim. His sideman credits have included some of the greatest names in jazz, including Joe Beck, Scot t Colley, Buddy DeFranco, Dave Douglas, Curtis Fuller, Eric Gravatt, Drew Gress, Tim Hagans, Billy Higgins, Ari Hoenig, Lee Konitz, James Moody, Gary Peacock, Dewey Redman, Charlie Rouse, James Spaulding, Bill Stewart, Ben Street, Ira Sullivan, Toots Thielemans, and Benny Wallace.

Billy Peterson is one of the premier bass players in the world, as well as being a successful producer and arranger, having worked with Ben Sidran, Eddie Harris, Leo Kottke, Bob Dylan and Steve Miller, to name a few. Billy has been the bassist for the Steve Miller band for 15 years and they are currently touring. He is also the musical director for a cooking show which is produced in the south of France, soon to be seen in the US.

http://daveking.net/

Survival Unit III – Joe McPhee, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Michael Zerang

Tuesday, May 30th | 8pm
The Sugar Maple
441 E Lincoln Ave, Milwaukee, WI

$15 General Admission

Joe McPhee (reeds, brass)
Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello, electronics)
Michael Zerang (percussion)

Legendary master musician and improviser, Joe McPhee, returns to Milwaukee with one of his essential bands, Survival Unit III. This trio features two of the most significant musicians from the Chicago scene, Fred Lonberg-Holm and Michael Zerang, who are both critically acclaimed on an international scale and rightfully so.

“They are firmly of the American post-Impulse! free jazz continuum, and they make no concession to anything much outside it, except of course that the tradition has often incorporated sympathetic innovations from the broader culture… reference to Jimi Hendrix and sound artist Maryanne Amacher, gives pretty accurate co-ordinates for the Survival Units’ musical range and stance. Their playing is an update and a progression of the tradition, and a seriously powerful and affecting one at that.”
– The Jazzmann

Charlie Hunter Trio – The Back Room at Colectivo

Sunday, April 9
Doors 7PM / Show 8PM
The Back Room @ Colectivo Coffee
2211 N Prospect Ave, Milwaukee, WI
(414) 273-3753

http://www.pabsttheater.org/show/charliehuntertrio2017

An amazing BACK ROOM show!!! Charlie Hunter, it seems, has always loved a good groove — from his early days in the San Francisco Bay area playing with the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy to his work with his own trio and with T.J. Kirk, the three-guitar band that drew its name and inspiration from Thelonious Monk, James Brown and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He is both incredibly swift with technique and open to the spontaneity of improvisation. Piecing together songs with his custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars, bass and drums, his songs are calculated and full of genuine expertise.

Russ Johnson New Quartet with Aruàn Ortiz, Michael Formanek, Gerald Cleaver

Russ Johnson New Quartet
Saturday, February 18 at 8 PM

The Jazz Estate
2423 N Murray Ave
Milwaukee, WI
 
Aruán Ortiz – Piano “An avatar of creative and progressive improvisation,” Cuban-born, Brooklyn-based pianist, violist, and composer Aruán Ortiz has written music for jazz ensembles, orchestras, dance companies, chamber groups, and feature films. His work incorporates influences from contemporary classical music, Cuban-Haitian rhythms, and avant-garde improvisation; and consistently strives to break stylistic musical boundaries. He has been called “the latest Cuban wunderkind to arrive in the United States” by BET Jazz. Although Aruán tours predominantly with his own trio, he has also played, toured, or recorded with Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Wadada Leo Smith, Don Byron, Greg Osby, Wallace Roney, Nicole Mitchell, Steve Turre, Cameron Brown,and Nasheet Waits, to name a few.

Michael Formanek – Bass One marker of bassist Michael Formanek’s creativity and versatility is the range of distinguished musicians of several generations he’s worked with. While still a teenager in the 1970s he toured with drummer Tony Williams and saxophonist Joe Henderson; starting in the ’80s he played long stints with Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Fred Hersch and Freddie Hubbard. (As a callback to those days, Formanek recorded with hardbop pianist Freddie Redd in 2013). The bassist has played a pivotal role on New York’s creative jazz scene going back to the ’90s when he notably led his own quintet and played in Tim Berne’s barnstorming quartet Bloodcount. Nowadays Formanek’s in the co-op Thumbscrew with Brooklyn guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Tomas Fujiwara. Formanek is also a composer and leader of various bands. His principal recording and international touring vehicle is his acclaimed quartet with Tim Berne on alto saxophone, Craig Taborn on piano and Gerald Cleaver on drums, which records for ECM; 2010’s The Rub and Spare Change and 2012’s Small Places both earned coveted five-star raves in Down Beat.

Gerald Cleaver- Drummer Gerald Cleaver, born May 4, 1963 and raised in Detroit, is a product of the city’s rich music tradition. Inspired by his father, drummer John Cleaver, he began playing the drums at an early age. He also played violin in elementary school and trumpet in junior high school and high school. He gained early invaluable experience with Detroit jazz masters Ali Muhammad Jackson, Lamont Hamilton, Earl Van Riper, and Pancho Hagood. While attending the University of Michigan as a music education major, he was awarded a Jazz Study Grant, from the National Endowment for the Arts, to study with drummer Victor Lewis. He graduated in 1992 and began teaching in Detroit where he worked with Rodney Whitaker, A. Spencer Barefield, Marcus Belgrave, Donald Walden, Wendell Harrison, and with visiting musicians Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris, Kenny Burrell, Frank Foster, Cecil Bridgewater, Ray Bryant, Eddie Harris, Dennis Rowland, Howard Johnson, Diana Krall, and Don Byron. In 1995 he accepted an appointment as assistant professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Michigan, and in 1998 also joined the jazz faculty at Michigan State University. He moved to New York in 2002.
He has toured and/or recorded with Henry Threadgill, Roscoe Mitchell, Lotte Anker, Matt Shipp, William Parker, Craig Taborn, Kevin Mahogany, Charles Gayle, Mario Pavone, Ralph Alessi, Jacky Terrasson, Muhal Richard Abrams, Tim Berne, Jeremy Pelt, Ellery Eskelin, David Torn, Miroslav Vitous, Terje Rypdal, Michael Formanek, Tomasz Stanko, Charles Lloyd, and Bill Frisell, among others.

Peter Bernstein Quartet and Trio

BLU
424 E Wisconsin Ave
Milwaukee, WI

Friday & Saturday Feb 17 & 18, from 8-12 with
Mark Davis piano, Jeff Hamann bass, and David Bayles drums

Gibraltar
538 W National Ave
Milwaukee, WI

Sunday Feb 19th Peter will be performing from 8-12 with
Dan Trudell on Hammond B-3 & Organ and David Bayles on drums.

Jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein (b. 1967, New York City) has been a part of the jazz scene in New York and abroad since 1989. During that time he has participated in over 80 recordings and numerous festival, concert and club performances with musicians from all generations. As a leader, Peter has released nine albums and a DVD, Live at Smoke. He got his first break while attending the New School when he met the legendary guitarist Jim Hall. Hall asked Peter to participate in his Invitational Concert as part of the 1990 JVC Jazz Festival. The event featured such guitarists as John Scofield and Pat Metheny and was release as Live at Town Hall Vol. 2. by Music Masters. Hall noted that Peter “…has paid attention to the past as well as the future. He is the most impressive guitarist I’ve heard. He plays the best of them all for swing, logic, feel and taste.”

Also in 1990, Peter Bernstein was discovered by alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson and took part in the first of four recordings with him. He was a regular member of his group throughout the 1990s. “Some people just have it.” Donaldson said. “…most of the time you have to teach someone what to do, but Peter knows it all.” Peter has also enjoyed long musical associations with legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb (Cobb’s Mob), as well as organist Larry Goldings and drummer Bill Stewart as a member of their highly acclaimed trio. The New York Times called them “the best organ trio of the last decade”. Together they recorded a dozen of records, all of which display their distinctive sound, whether exploring the depths of jazz standards or playing their original compositions.

From 1995 through 1997, Peter was a member of Joshua Redman’s band and played on Redman’s Freedom in the Groove CD. He played with Diana Krall’s quartet from 1999 through 2001 and with Dr. Lonnie Smith, the legendary organist who made his debut on the George Benson Cookbook albums. He has also recorded five CDs with organist Melvin Rhyne, known for his association with Wes Montgomery. In addition, Peter has appeared in groups led by Nicholas Payton, Sonny Rollins, Lee Konitz, Tom Harrell, and Eric Alexander. Current projects include his recent album, Monk, recorded for the newly reactivated Xanadu label. Together with Doug Weiss and Bill Stewart, he put their own spin on the rich legacy of Thelonious Monk. In September, Bernstein released a solo guitar record, Solo Guitar – Live at Smalls (Smalls Live), an intimate recording that makes you feel like you’re sitting in the front row at Small’s jazz club in New York City.

Peter’s an extremely elegant musician with a gorgeous tone that seems to relax you when you hear it. – The Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles

The jazz guitarist, among the most sought after in the New York area, has a feather-light touch, an encyclopedic knowledge of chords and the ability to play standards like he’s inventing them on the spot. – The Los Angeles Daily News

Mr. Bernstein is a fluidly improvising guitarist in the post-bop tradition, with control over harmony and a beautiful sound. – The New York Times

Peter Bernstein produces a warm, ringing, muscular tone which echoes that of such giants as Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall, and Kenny Burrell. – Jazziz

MJO featuring Roger Ingram and Warren Hanrahan at the Woody Herman Jazz Festival

10th annual Woody Herman Jazz Educational Workshop and Concert

Saturday March 11, 2017 – 7:30pm

Bader Auditorium at UW-Milwaukee
Featuring The Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra
with Roger Ingram trumpet, Warren Hanrahan on drums, Tim Hanrahan on bass

Original compositions and arrangements by Curt Hanrahan, Steve Lewandowski, Jack Cortner, Tony Klatka and more…

Tickets are available through the UWM box office psoacal.uwm.edu

Also a CD release event for the Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra’s new Blujazz release “Welcome To Swingsville” About the Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra: The Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra, led by Curt Hanrahan, Director of Jazz Studies at the Univ of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, is an A-list roster of Milwaukee musicians. A superb program of three original compositions, an Ellington/Tizol classic, a standard arranged by Don Schamber, tune from the Woody Herman book and a rare Charlie Parker/Gil Evans collaboration.

The recording is a perfect balance of classic and contemporary, standard and original, swinging and soulful, traditional and cutting-edge.

Curt Hanrahan is the head of jazz studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He co-founded the Lakeshore Conservatory of Music in Racine Wisconsin, performs with the Milwaukee Symphony. He has worked with artists Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Cab Calloway, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Harry Connick Jr., Arturo Sandoval Big Band, Manhattan Transfer, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Doc Severinsen, Frank Sinatra Jr. and Ray Charles.

Warren Hanrahan graduated from legendary North Texas State Univ. and performed with the renowned 1 O’clock Lab Band under Neil Slater. He then moved on to tenures with The Glenn Miller Orchestra and the S.S Norway Big Band. He has performed with Tony Bennett, Paul Anka, Billy Joel, Clark Terry, Keely Smith, John Davidson, Vanessa Williams: and in the Broadway shows Chicago, Godspell, West Side Story and Ain’t Misbehavin’: R&B legends: The Drifters, The Duprees, The Shirelles, and TV legends: Milton Berle, Danny Thomas, Sid Caesar, and Skitch Henderson.

Special Guest for the Woody Herman Fest Concert: Roger Ingram is one of the most prolific lead trumpet players and session musicians of our time. Roger has toured with and/or recorded with, the Louie Bellson Big Band, the Quincy Jones Big Band, pop star Tom Jones, the Woody Herman Orchestra on lead trumpet,, the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, Harry Connick, Jr., recording 19 albums, Frank Sinatra Orchestra, with Wynton Marsalis and his Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and with Ray Charles.