Results for "Ann Arbor"

Edgefest 2023

by Frank Rubolino
November 18, 2023

The Michigan town of Ann Arbor, best known as the home to the University of Michigan Wolverines, has another claim to fame in its annual festival of creative improvised music. The appropriately named Edgefest worked its magic for the 27th year, presenting a diverse array of established and emerging talent over a four-day period in October. ...

Julian Lage at Ann Arbor's Ark

by James Aren
October 10, 2023

Julian Lage The Ark Ann Arbor, Michigan September 8, 2023 Julian Lage plays like a man amused. He shakes his head and laughs at the things happening to his guitar as if he didn't make them happen. He rocks back and forth in his chair, tapping his foot, staring ...

Shakti 50th Anniversary Tour at Hill Auditorium

by C. Andrew Hovan
September 27, 2023

Shakti Hill Auditorium University Musical Society's 145th Annual Season Ann Arbor, Michigan September 14, 2023 Having learned his lessons well during his brief stay with Miles Davis in the late '60s, guitarist John McLaughlin has never let any grass grow under his feet, embracing many styles and following his creative ...

Anest, Kendrick, & McKinney: Live at the Blue LLama, Volume 1 & 2

by C. Andrew Hovan
August 18, 2023

When it comes to talent, there's no shortage of gifted jazz artists that call Michigan their home. The Jones brothers long ago put Detroit on the map, but water-tight music programs at Michigan State and the University of Michigan have produced a thriving community of vital musicians. On any given evening, there's live jazz to be ...

Maria Schneider Orchestra at Hill Auditorium

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 21, 2023

Maria Schneider Orchestra Hill Auditorium 55th Performance of the 144th UMS Annual Season Ann Arbor, Michigan March 11, 2023 An independent thinker with a distinctive voice as a composer, Maria Schneider has been at the forefront of creative big band music for decades even as her recognition among casual jazz ...

Sue Foley: A Witness to Certainty in a World Gone Mad

by John Ephland
August 20, 2022

Sue Foley Old Dog Tavern Blues Bash Live 2022 Kalamazoo, MI July 16, 2022 It was a variation on what one might see at a contemporary classical music concert. Lots of grey heads, lawn chairs, not much movement. But there were numbers, lots of them, out to see and ...

Joshua Redman: A MoodSwing Reunion at Hill Auditorium

by C. Andrew Hovan
May 4, 2022

A MoodSwing Reunion Hill Auditorium University Musical Society's Jazz Series Ann Arbor, Michigan April 21, 2022 Back in the '80s and '90s, all the big record labels were pouring boat loads of cash into a younger generation of jazz wannabes that eventually became known as the Young Lions. In hindsight, ...

Oliver Mayman

Born: November 20, 2001

From Ann Arbor, MI, and now based in Philadelphia, Oliver Mayman is a vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Beginning on the drums and piano, the vibraphone was an apt discovery as a teenager – the instrument essentially fusing the mechanics of drumming with the harmonic capabilities of the piano. He has since become a distinguished voice on the instrument, reimagining its role in music through an inventive technical approach and a discerning creative ear.

He has performed as a bandleader across the Midwest and East Coast at storied venues like Cliff Bell’s, the Blue LLama, and Chris’ Jazz Cafe, and has also been featured in several larger, iconic events like the Detroit Jazz Festival and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Additionally a sought-after accompanist and sideman, he has performed in countless other venues with various groups, and aims to play the vibraphone as a suitable alternative to the piano, capable of fully assuming a rhythmically and harmonically supportive role in any setting.

Drummer And Artistic Director Adonis Rose Releases First Live Recording Entitled Piece Of Mind Live At The Blue Llama On Legendary Danish Jazz Imprint Storyville Records

September 25, 2020

Grammy Award-winning New Orleans drummer Adonis Rose is scheduled to release his latest album Adonis Rose Piece Of Mind Live At Blue LLama, on September 25, 2020, on the historic Storyville Records jazz imprint. The album, recorded live last summer at the Blue LLama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor, MI, features a stellar line-up including Tia ...

Derek Worthington

Born: March 5, 1983

Derek Worthington is a trumpet player, composer, and improviser based in Ann Arbor, MI. He is the founder and director of the Arbor Composers Collective, a mid-sized ensemble dedicated to the performance of original, experimental music (which is featured on his album Lovely Properties). Derek leads a quartet, The Great Collapsing Hrung, and the less cleverly named Derek Worthington Quintet, in addition to being a member of the collaborative improvising groups Braintree and Lords and Ladies. He performs as a sideman around Ann Arbor in such bands as creative folk/jazz quartet Mountain Shark and Balkan funk band Ornamatik, among others