Happy 2015 everbody!
After a very (probably overly) relaxing holiday, the gigs are piling up again. The next week and a half will see me performing at the Wednesday Night Hang (Jan. 14), at the Good Will with the newly formed Big dig! Band (Jan. 15), with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (Jan. 16-17), and with Devon Gillingham for Mardi Jazz at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain (Jan. 20).
The Big dig! Band is a new project spearheaded by my colleagues Steve Kirby and Derrick Gardner from the University of Manitoba. They are creating a performance series that is reminiscent of the Mingus Jazz Workshops of the 50s and 60s. The format will be an open rehearsal at 8 p.m. followed by a performance at 9:30. The Good Will is a new venue that I haven’t checked out yet, and this will be an exciting opportunity to play some new music with a lot of great musicians, so I’m excited! For more info check out the Facebook event page.
Devon Gillingham is an outstanding young bassist and composer who is in his second year at the New School in NYC. He’s back for the holidays and we will be performing a bunch of his music at Mardi Jazz next week. Devon is a very talented and prolific composer and it’s always a pleasure to play his music. As an added bonus, the band will include Quincy Davis on drums! For more info about Mardi Jazz check out the CCFM website.
