UPCOMING EVENTS
TYPE OF EVENT
Jazz Casual: Jamie Saft Trio
Jamie Saft has collaborated with the greatest masters of music including Iggy Pop, Bad Brains, Roswell Rudd, Hamid Drake, Wadada Leo Smith, Steve Swallow, and Bobby Previte. The Jamie Saft Trio has performed at legendary venues in the US including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Village Vanguard. Saft’s trios have been featured at major festivals worldwide including in San Sebastián, Spain, Moscow, all over Europe, South America, Australia, Canada, and Japan. Saft was the pianist for the John Adams opera “Ceiling/ Sky” and has been featured on recordings by a diverse array of artists including the B52s, Beastie Boys, Marshall Allen, and Cyro Baptista.
For this special concert at The Dance Hall, Saft’s trio will feature a diverse array of music from the Great American Songbook including compositions by Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, and John and Alice Coltrane. This formation of the trio first played together in 1990!!! A rare opportunity to see the Jamie Saft Trio right here in Maine!
Jamie Saft- Fender Rhodes
Tim Kelly- bass guitar
John Mettam- drums
About Jazz Casual:
Jazz Casual is dedicated to the preservation of a distinctly American art form and related improvised musics. Showcasing an eclectic array of local, national and international talent, the series supports the advancement of this art form by programming artists who are writing original works and uniquely arranging traditional music in progressive and imaginative ways.
$15 advance | $18 day-of | $10 student
*fees not included ($2 facility fee per ticket + cc processing fees)
Jazz Casual: Sad Bastards / Loose Standards
Sad Bastards / Loose Standards
Record Release Concert
A killer record. A deep, moving, swinging hybrid of sacred music, blues, and jazz, that at times verges into something akin to gospel noir. "We Pass for What We Are" echoes the Charlie Haden / Hank Jones masterpiece "Spirituals," but also brings listeners back to Albert Ayler, in its acknowledgement of suffering and promise of a joyful transcendance. Time and Mercy offers an uncommonly cathartic musical experience well suited to hard times like these.
- Joe Keohane, music journalist for the Boston Globe
The trumpet and piano duo Sad Bastards / Loose Standards are proud to release their sophomore album "We Pass for What we Are" to the world this Fall. The record is a celebration of the unlikely intersection of Spirituals, grunge and indie rock, hymnody, and avant-garde jazz. Equally featuring the music of Nirvana and Big Thief alongside early Christian chant and Appalachian sacred melodies, the duo brings the listener along for the joyride of their constant pursuit of a musical grand unification theory.
Area men Chris Klaxton and Mike Effenberger join forces to plumb the depths of the great American songbook of jazz standards, the lesser American songbook, Spirituals, new standards, and the good and bad news of this post-tonal musical world. “To plumb the depths” comes from the concept of lowering a lead weight into the ocean on a long rope to establish the water’s distance downward. To do so one would be required to drop the weight to the very bottom, extending the line entirely until the answer is found. May it be so.
Preview the record here: Preview: We Pass For What We Are
Chris Klaxton
chrisklaxton.com
@klaxto
Mike Effenberger
theletterf.org
About Jazz Casual:
Jazz Casual is dedicated to the preservation of a distinctly American art form and related improvised musics. Showcasing an eclectic array of local, national and international talent, the series supports the advancement of this art form by programming artists who are writing original works and uniquely arranging traditional music in progressive and imaginative ways.
$15 advance | $18 day-of | $10 student
*fees not included ($2 facility fee per ticket + cc processing fees)
Jazz Casual: Miles Ahlstrom's "DCA"
Miles Ahlstrom's "DCA"
DCA is a modern electric jazz trio. It began with the spark of instantaneous chemistry through a shared love of listening and bold communication. Each member inhibits a deep sense of supportive musicianship that grants the confidence to walk on their own musical tightrope. Based in New Hampshire and New York, the group blends original compositions with explorations of tunes by artists ranging from Steve Swallow and Pat Metheny, to Death Cab for Cutie and Radiohead. Their sound is energetic, fearless, and conversational, with a focus on dynamic interplay. DCA is committed to displaying the arc of composition through the playfulness of improvisation.
About Jazz Casual:
Jazz Casual is dedicated to the preservation of a distinctly American art form and related improvised musics. Showcasing an eclectic array of local, national and international talent, the series supports the advancement of this art form by programming artists who are writing original works and uniquely arranging traditional music in progressive and imaginative ways.
$15 advance | $18 day-of | $10 student
*fees not included ($2 facility fee per ticket + cc processing fees)
Jazz Casual: Man On Land ft. Lihi Haruvi
Man on Land ft. Lihi Haruvi
“Man on Land displays not only individual virtuosity but a kind of group composure that comes from deference to form, narrative, and a warm ensemble sound.”
--Jon Garelick, Arts Fuse
Man On Land is a jazz collective formed in 2009 by longtime musical cohorts Greg Loughman, Austin McMahon and Brian Friedland. For their new album, Echo The Hills, they have teamed up with Lihi Haruvi on sopranino and soprano saxophone for a collection of engaging and melodic modern jazz featuring compositions from each band member.
“For the last 15 years Man On Land has been demonstrating that the musical whole can be even greater than the sum of the parts. All three write beautifully and their rapport is uncanny. Adding a new melodic voice to this rich ecosystem, Lihi Haruvi's dextrous sopranino sounds like it belongs, in the best way. The delight the four share in playing together is its own lively presence on the bandstand. I can't wait to hear more.”
––Mark Redmond, Presenter, Mandorla Music
About Jazz Casual:
Jazz Casual is dedicated to the preservation of a distinctly American art form and related improvised musics. Showcasing an eclectic array of local, national and international talent, the series supports the advancement of this art form by programming artists who are writing original works and uniquely arranging traditional music in progressive and imaginative ways.
$15 advance | $18 day-of | $10 student
*fees not included ($2 facility fee per ticket + cc processing fees)
Soggy Po Boys
THIS IS A DANCE PARTY!
The Po Boys formed in 2012 to shake the walls of a local club on a Fat Tuesday but have honed their sound and become more than a Mardi Gras centerpiece. Exploring the vast musical traditions of New Orleans and expanding their repertoire to look beyond NOLA jazz, the band includes traditional Caribbean tunes (it’s been said that New Orleans is the northernmost city in the Caribbean), as well as Meters funk, soul, and brass band / street beat music. “...These guys have done their homework, worked it out on the bandstand and put in the hours in the studio. It all adds up to a party you can bring with you when you want to treat your friends to a real good time.” -Ben Schenck of New Orleans’ Panorama Jazz Band”.
Shaina Schwartz - Lead Vocals
Jim Dozet - Vocals / Guitar
Eric Klaxton- Clarinet/Sop. Sax
Josh Gagnon - Trombone
Nick Mainella- Tenor Sax
Mike Effenberger- Piano
Brian Waterhouse- Drums
Scott Kiefner- Bass
$17 adv | $22 day-of | $10 Student + fees
440 Gypsy Jazz Quartet
440 expands the gypsy jazz tradition of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli with swinging sounds of the 1930s and 40s. Their snappy, hot jazz will make you tapping your feet and dancing in no time!
440 has been actively performing in New England area since 2013. They appeared in numerous concert series and festivals including Newtonville Jazz Festival, Mandorla Music Summer Concert Series at Eustis Estate, 19 Carter Summer Concert Series, Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Brookline Village Fair, and Dot Jazz Series, as well as coffehouse performances at Homegrown Coffeehouse and New Revival Coffeehouse. They have released two albums, "Why Why" in 2017 and "Yo-ki Swing" in 2019.
Tomoko Iwamoto, a leader/violin, graduate of Berklee College of Music, has been in Boston jazz scene for more than 30 years. Being a "jazzy" violinist with a strong classical background, she expanded her repertoire in jazz, rock, pop to world music, toured with Hypnotic Clambake, while studying Jazz Composition and Arranging at Berklee College of Music. Tomoko appears as a guest with Women In World Jazz, and performs with a legendary clarinetist, Billy Novick in swing jazz trio "Jazz Tapestry". She also collaborates with Jim Kweskin, the founder of the legendary 1960s Jim Kweskin Jug Band. On her European tour in 2024, she performed at Django Festival Portugal in Lisbon and joined with Rumbo Sur in Madrid, Spain. In Japan, she performed a gypsy jazz trio in her hometown, Osaka.
John Clark, clarinet, is the founder of the Wolverine Jazz Band and has been a fixture on the New England Jazz scene for many years. He has played professionally in the Boston area with numerous traditional jazz and big bands, including the High Society Dance Orchestra, Dan Gabel's Abeltones, Commonwealth Jazz, the New Black Eagle Jazz Band, and the Paramount Jazz Band of Boston. Clark also regularly appears with Dave Whitney and His Orchestra, the Swing Legacy, and the Mood Elevators, among others. John is an acknowledged authority on the history of jazz and has recorded extensively. He also holds a PhD. in Musicology and has published books and articles on the foundations of Early Jazz.
Jack Soref, guitar, graduate of Berklee College of Music, is a mainstay of Django Festivals Django in June and the Midwest Gypsy Swing Fest, where he has performed as recently as 2023. The track "Dr. Soref" from Jack's album of original compositions, Rain on the Terrace, has been featured on the compilation album Django Festival 14 released by legendary record label Hot Club Records. Jack is the 2023 recipient of the Henry Mac Fund award. Throughout his career Jack has performed as an accompanist for Jazz Manouche luminaries like Joscho Stephan, Tim Kliphius, Gonzalo Bergara, Jason Anick, Olli Soikkeli, Adrien Moignard, Ben Powell, Aurélien Bouly, Henry Acker, Samuel Farthing, Max O'Rourke and Titi Bamberger.
Gregory Toro, bass, was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He fell in love with music and rhythm as a child, and at the age of ten joined a neighborhood steel band that played calypso and church music on weekends. He later took up guitar and piano, but found his true calling as a bass player when he was sixteen years old. Greg studied electric and upright bass and jazz composition at Berklee College of Music, where he had the opportunity to collaborate with musicians from many different countries and cultures. He has gone on to travel the world with jazz and rock groups, and continues to perform nightly in a wide variety of styles.
$17 advance | $22 day-of
*fees not included