Showbiz Roundup

Aaron Stroessner chased his rock’n’roll dreams to New York City in the 1990s where he spent a decade performing with his band ‘Dead Left’ and working behind the scenes at the Knitting Factory. Fast forward a few years, he now hangs his fedora in eastern Nebraska where he’s an essential member of that region’s jazz scene. For those keeping score at home: the frontman of the band Soul Coughing was M...

The duo of tenor saxophone and drums is a classic free improv pairing, but the music and sounds each group makes are guaranteed to go in an infinite number of singular directions. That will certainly be the case at Audio for the Arts on July 22nd when Chicago meets Switzerland in the form of the Julian Kirshner/"Nikolaj Klemins" (aka Sebi) duo.

The band Lovely Socialite celebrates their latest album "The Drift" to be released on the ten-year anniversary of their first record, 2012’s "Registers Her Delight." Unfolding into its second decade, the band continues to build on its legacy of odd orchestration, subtle mirth, and stylistic alchemy.

Even with an unrivaled and prestigious body of work behind him, steel pan maestro Andy Narell continues to strive to improve, explore, reinvent, and push the boundaries of what the steel pan can do. He’ll be in Madison this August for a not-to-be-missed whirlwind of performances, appearances, and collaborations .

After a few years cultivating his craft in Michigan and Philadelphia, Michael Hudson-Casanova has established himself in Chicago with a new trio featuring Erik Skov on guitar, and Gustavo Coriñas on drums. Dance, another art form that has special significance for this alto saxophonist, will feature prominently on the trio’s Madison date.

Andy Milne’s outstanding career spans a wide breadth from collaborating among the elite of North American creative music, to being an accomplished film scorer and educator. I originally spoke with Andy in early 2020 in advance of his tour for his then newly released trio album The reMission . That canceled tour has been rescheduled, now two years later, but much has happened with the trio Andy Mil...

I spoke with the other members of the Jackson-Heinemann-Shead trio, Keefe Jackson and Adam Shead recently for other projects, so I thought I’d give bassist Jakob Heinemann his due on this program. A Madison native now living and working in Chicago, Jakob joins me to talk about his history and his burgeoning career.

Josh Smith, Jeremy Bleich, and Joe Tomino came together as the band Birth in Cleveland in 1998 with a shared mission that launched them into a world of meaningful and rewarding musical experiences. After a number of years they parted onto different paths. But they’re back now wiser, stronger, tested, and keen to bring their evolved sound to receptive ears.

Pianist Paul Hecht—who divides his time between Chicago and Eau Claire—joins me to talk about an exciting new chapter in his musical life, his delight in exploring some new music with accomplished Chicago-based collaborators, and some personal insights into the Eau Claire Jazz scene.

Jeff Kimmel, Ishmael Ali, and Bill Harris commandeered an air b’n’b in the wilds of Michigan during the height of the pandemic in 2020 to record their latest release “Vivary.” The record is an abstract electro-acoustic tour-de-force, and a fitting document of this period of experimental existence.

It would be a challenge to run an 18-piece jazz ensemble that plays non-traditional big band music anywhere, but the fact that Paul Dietrich does it in Wisconsin, and attracts the caliber of musicians that he does—and let’s face it, no one’s getting rich off of this—is a testament to his leadership, his composing and arranging prowess, and the individuality of his musical vision.

Darren Johnston’s pandemic routine included lots of practicing the trumpet and composing. As things opened up he recorded three sessions of his music with different groups in New York and Chicago. The first of these albums “Life in Time” has now been released and will be showcased in Madison with his quartet of Chicago heavies. For those keeping track: The name of the bassist Darren couldn’t remem...

Ballister is a trio of muscular disquisitive improvisors, whose palette is equal parts bombast, and subtle nuance. After thirteen years together and ten album releases, including this year’s Chrysopoeia, they’re still going strong.

When Ken Vandermark was last here with (air quotes) Laul Pytton, in March of 2020, although he didn’t know it he was days away from a canceled tour and an 18 month hiatus from the road. He returns triumphantly now with the full trio that was supposed to perform on that date—as his touring schedule ramps up to approach its pre-pandemic pace.

Craig Taborn is one of the most brilliant and creative piano and keyboard artists working today. Someone who ordinarily prefers to let the music speak for itself, he was generous enough to join me on this program to discuss his history, and his conception, and approach — which are as deep as they are philosophical.

The new album “Concentric Orbits” from Trans-Atlantic improvisers Quin Kirchner and Rob Clearfield was recorded during the sessions for Quin’s 2020 release “The Shadows and The Light.” Madison is fortunate to host the first night of the release tour for this album of compelling synergy.

Ted Piltzecker has a long history of traveling the world, spreading his lyrical approach to playing the vibraphone. He often collaborates with fine local players, and for this performance he has recruited the Lawrence University Faculty Jazz Ensemble.

Whether he’s speaking in a whisper or a roar, Dave King’s voice is distinctive and recognizable. Indeed, along with a very select few others, he has redefined the role of drummer for his generation and those to follow. His originality extends to his compositions and the extraordinary bands with which he affiliates.

Cody Steinmann is on an earnest quest to realize the sound that fulfills his vision and the direction he wants to take his music. He’s also open about the life struggles early on that formed him as a player and some of the aspects of the music scene where he feels some incongruity.

Tim Whalen left Madison over a decade ago for Washington DC and the US Army band, but his legacy lives on here in the New Breed Jazz Jam, and Phat Phunktion—musical institutions formed with contemporaries at the UW Madison. He returns to showcase the Tim Whalen Nonet, another popular institution formed somewhat later during his Madison tenure.

The Montauk Project [più mosso] is a gathering of improvising musicians and dancers from the western Milwaukee suburbs, the Fox Valley, and Madison itself. A group that expands and contracts to fit the performance, this iteration will include four musicians and three dancers–all of whom come together with the underlying credo of “anything goes.” 

Russ Johnson returned to Wisconsin to take a teaching position in 2011 after thriving on the New York scene for nearly a quarter century. The quality of his work from his New York days through his current endeavors along the Milwaukee-Chicago corridor rivals anything produced by his contemporaries, and deserves to be widely recognized. Russ is one of those musicians whose mere presence serves to e...

Today we’re talking to a multi-generational collective quartet of Chicago improvisers: a nameless band in the tradition of nameless bands—more on that later. The members of this group span a spectrum from L.A. studio veteran to up-and-coming software engineer, but they gather with the unified purpose of advancing their humanity through musical exploration.

Guitarist, arranger, ethnomusicologist Mike Allemana traces much of his inspiration back to the influence of Von Freeman, and his nights at the fabled Apartment Lounge where he engaged with both the elders and the youth of the culture. His band the Regulators pushes the limits of rhythm while always maintaining a Funk connection, and acknowledging the lineage of Steve Coleman, Von Freeman, and man...

The Bridge is an exchange of music and culture between France and Chicago that began in 2012. Each edition includes a new batch of improvisors who join forces over an extended period of time, performing numerous shows in Europe and the U.S., and combining their individuality into a group sound that is coherent and unique. The performance in Madison includes Chicago reedmen Keefe Jackson and Dave R...