The members of the Free Bridge Quintet are well known by jazz fans around town. The band is made up of the much-esteemed players from the McIntire Department of Music’s jazz quintet-in-residence. But if you have never been out to hear one of their fine performances at Cabell Hall, you can catch the Quintet this Saturday, March 31, as they put the magic of one of their shows onto tape (uh, disc). The show of original music is at Cabell at 8pm. The CD should be released next fall.
 Free Bridge Quintet loves the palpable energy from the audience in Cabell Hall. They’ll play there on Saturday, March 31. |
“It’s a special place to play,” says drummer Robert Jospé. “Part of it is the great natural acoustics of the hall, but an even more important part of is the intimacy between performers and audience that this space creates. We get so much energy from the audience, it’s truly palpable. You just can’t re-create that in a recording studio.”
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The next evening, jazz fans should get out again as WTJU and The Charlottesville Jazz Society presents the return of jazz drummer John Hollenbeck. Last year, when Hollenbeck was in town, Free Bridge drummer Jospé sat in the front row. This time around, Hollenbeck brings The Refuge Trio, a group that formed in 2002 for a Joni Mitchell tribute gig. Besides the music of Mitchell, the band plays Thelonious Monk, Dmitri Shostakovich and originals. The band also features in-demand pianist Gary Versace and Theo Bleckmann, who is said to be an amazing vocalist, although not a singer. That show is at Garrett Hall at 7pm.
One of the sponsors of the Hollenbeck show, The Charlottesville Jazz Society, formed about six months ago. One of the Society’s founders, WTJU DJ Gary Funston, says that the group assembled “to do whatever we can to get clubs in town to book more jazz music.” The Society also meets for a monthly lecture that is open to the public. The next meeting, April 19 at Saxx, will feature Free Bridge’s great saxophonist Jeff Decker. You can join check out online jazz radio stations, upcoming events and music recommendations at the group’s website, www.cvillejazz.org. Join up while you are there.
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Drummer Jospé and his excellent group, Inner Rhythm, will also make an appearance at the Gravity Lounge on Friday, April 6.
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On the rock scene, longtime bandleader of The Lilys, Kurt Heasley, recently moved to town from Philadelphia. Though he grew up in D.C. and Virginia Beach, he has spent many years moving around the country: Denver, L.A. and Boston. Heasley says that he loves Charlottesville so much that it “almost makes me want to go out and meet people.” Check out The Lilys at Myspace and let’s hope for a local performance in the near future.
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How did you pay your way through college? If you drove a UVA bus, you might have ended up in The Stabones. The local punk rock group is made up of four former bus drivers who formed a band and it stuck. They will play their 100th gig this Thursday night at The Outback Lodge. Fire At Will opens.
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Heinz Musitronics is not moving from Ivy Square, but they are knocking out the wall to the space next door to double their inventory space. Stephen Hobeck, who bought the store from Heinz Pors in 2002, says, “The new space will give us the room to display top-of-the-line speakers, amplifiers, mixers, DJ equipment, as well as recording gear.” The store will also offer more space for all sorts of lessons and workshops, from guitar technique to home recording. Customers can register at Heinz beginning April 7th to win one of the many prizes given away during the Grand Expansion Celebration Saturday, April 14, 2007.
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Speaking of Heinz, Hey Tom Howard!! Where did you get to? Bent over a dub version of a Bach cantata?
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Big ups to Fellini’s for their support of the Charlottesville High School Orchestra. The restaurant, which generously hosts live music most nights of the week, donated a portion of their Sunday brunch sales to the Orchestra, so that all members could go to the Heritage Festival of Music in London the first week of April.
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Kurt Heasley’s current favorite spin to get busy to: A Daedalus song called “Grind”.