Bass-Playing Sports Nut from Philly is Coming Back to Dazzle Jazz

Passionate and Proud.  That’s what comes to mind when I think of the people o f Philadelphia.  They are passionate about their city.  They are proud of their city. Hell, every child in America learns how to become proud of Philly in any elementary American History class.

                                                             Nice Bell!

Here’s another reason to be proud of the City of Brotherly Love: Christian McBride. 

And here’s a reason for Coloradoans to be excited: McBride is coming to Denver on February 3^rd and 4^th to join Denver’s own Friday night powerhouse, Convergence, at Dazzle Jazz.  They will be playing two shows a night during this Thursday-Friday set and each will be fantastic. 

Um, Mister Jones.

McBride is up their with Marcus Miller, Dave Holland, Eddie Gomez et al as the shortlist of best living Jazz bassists and he’s only in his late 30’s.   The list of names he played in the past year is unreal.  

He plucked away on stage with the likes of  Ornette Coleman, Roy Haynes and Sonny Rollins for Sonny’s 80^th birthday party at the Beacon Theater in NYC in September.

                                               Pardon us! We're extra dope.

He also toured along with Brian Blades in Chick Corea’s trio.  

That's a mean trio!

But Jazz isn't the only thing McBride is passionate about.  This man LOVES Philadelphia sports.  Just like every other sports fan I've met from Philly, McBride reps his home teams hard.  He's a huge Eagles and Phillies fan and isn't afraid to show it.

                                              "To Marinos." (Don't worry 'bout that).

He has graced various magazine covers wearing various Phillies and Eagles gear and his Twitter page is always covered in Phillies and Eagles topics.

I don't want to seem unpleasant, but if you don't go and see this Passionate Bassist from The City That Loves You Back, you have serious issues and you need to re-evaluate your priorities in life.  

Convergence plays every first Friday of the month at Dazzle Jazz and the group has shared Dazzle’s stage with the likes of Roberta Gambarini, Rene Marie, Houston Person, John McNeil and Chris Potter in the past year.

-NOS

  

Minneapolis Took Over Dazzle Jazz

December was an outstanding month for Jazz in Denver as many local and national acts came to visit the Rocky Mountain Region.  But my favorite group to stop by in December was from my hometown of Minneapolis.

Being from Minnesota means I MUST love all things Minnesotan, from Joe Mauer to Spam, however even if I was from Kuala Lumpur I would still be a fan of The Bad Plus.  It’s just a big plus that I was born and raised in the same city they come from.

The trio, consisting of Ethan Iverson on piano, bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King graced the Dazzle Jazz stage for two nights (Dec 11 & 12) in support of their new album, Never Stop:

With their unique blend of everything from straight-ahead to avant-garde Jazz the three Midwesterners played many of their originals (with various long and interesting titles) along with standards and covers of pop and rock tunes.

All of the sounds The Bad Plus makes are appealing and fun to listen to, but my favorite piece of theirs is, “1972 Bronze Medalist,” from their second album These Are The Vistas (2003):

And not only are the three mild-mannered Jazzmen excellent musicians, they are also three of the nicest guys I've met.  Especially drummer Dave King who I got to talk with many times over their stay about (what else) all things Minnesota.  We discussed bands from the area, people we both knew, radio stations like Radio K and the collapse of the Metrodome. 

Dave plays with another Minneapolis-based group called Halloween, Alaska. You should check them out too!

I was lucky enough to see the Bad Plus perform around 10 years ago at the old Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and I must say that they blew me away then and have not lost a beat along the way.

-Nos

Otis Taylor holds down Dazzle Jazz on New Year's Weekend.

Boulder-via-Chicago bluesman Otis Taylor played three nights at Dazzle Jazz to ring in the New year this past weekend.  Otis and his band blew the crowd away with two shows a night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Taylor's group consisted of his daughter Cassie Taylor on Bass and vocals, West African percussionist Fara Tolo, Pedal Steel Guitarist Chuck Campbell,  Larry Thompson on drums and the crowd-pleasing Anne Harris (Sat and Sun shows only) on violin.

The six musicians delighted all in attendance with their mix of blues, neo-blues, rock and folk music.  Otis’ on-stage persona was hard to ignore as he enticed the crowd to join his band with various call-and-response duties while he forced them to get up and dance (in a nice way).

Never was yelling, “Hambone” along with 100 other people so fun.

Taylor, who lives in Boulder with his wife Carol Ellen Bjork visits Dazzle Jazz about twice a year to perform.  

Don’t miss him next time he’s here.