James Farm, www.jamesfarmmusic.com, founded in 2009, is an exciting quartet of four of some of the finest, seasoned jazz musicians of the their generation; Joshua Redman (Saxophone), Aaron Parks (Piano), Matt Penman (Bass) and Eric Harland (Drums). They've come to this project as equals, each contributing compelling original material to a very democratic, powerfully interactive group, with one foot rooted in the strong jazz traditions of the 20th Century, bridging with the other foot into the 21st Century and the varied musical influences and grooves of the new millenium. Their music is fresh, progressive and charts intriguing new territory and exploratory improvisation. For those interested in dynamic and intelligent jazz, don't miss this opportunity to hear James Farm live this week in Seattle.
I am including here a very well recorded live You tube video of Joshua Redman's tune "Polliwog", made during the quartet's June 2011 appearance at the Jazz Standard, in N.Y.C. This is one of my favorite tunes from their self- titled CD and I think it captures, as a good example, some of the contemporary, funky grooves that they have incorporated into their work and the tight, sophisticated and complex interplay amongst the four musicians.
I have also included Jazz Alley's information about James Farm and their three night appearance below.
James Farm - Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman and Eric Harland
The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley presents James Farm with Joshua Redman (saxophone), Aaron Parks (piano), Matt Penman (bass) and Eric Harland (drums). Set times on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm Tuesday and 5:30pm Wednesday and Thursday.
Formed in 2009, James Farm is an acoustic jazz quartet collaborative consisting of saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland. These four free-thinking musicians all individually hold a stake in the future of jazz, and together form a group with a new take on song-based improvisation, a group that invites you to share in the navigation of their own musical future. From their first gig at the Montreal Jazz Festival they have been writing and honing music that carries strong melodies and buoyant grooves, but defies facile comparisons. They strive, in their own words "to make new musical connections for the times we live in, and make new beats for what now surrounds us." Indeed, there is physicality to their music, as well as an urgency that comes across in the live performances especially. This band wants to move you, and only asks for an open mind.
These four virtuoso instrumentalists are committed to finding new ways to balance their work as composers with the vitality of improvisation, melding the two into a brand of storytelling uniquely their own. They're also committed to the concept of the Band, where the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Penman explains, "There’s an artistic strength in being four equal members of a group that we're enjoying exploring. Put our four heads together and you get a lot of ideas … some of them cosmic, some of them plain nuts, but its all part of the process."
Redman, Penman and Harland all worked extensively together in the SF Jazz Collective 2005-2007, while Parks and Penman traded duties on each other's latest records, both with Eric Harland on drums. Parks explains "James Farm makes me play in a different way, sometimes taking more chances than I would otherwise. It forces me to step up.” He continues, "One of the things I love in this band is the balance of different energies. Our individual temperaments seem to be complementary in a way that makes for a unique creative environment, one with natural and intuitive communication, where we're constantly challenging and bringing out different sides of one another. Its complex and it's simple and it feels like a living thing."
Overall, James Farm gives followers of contemporary music much to be excited about with their forward-thinking and open approach to the jazz idiom. For all their compositional ambitions, their spirit is still best summed up by their drummer. “I have no idea what’s going to happen,” Harland admits, “but I am looking forward to the journey.”
The fabulous guitarist, composer, instrument inventor, Pat Metheny will appear for two nights, in a duo, with wonderful bassist and longtime Metheny collaborator, Larry Grenadier at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, Seattle, September 20 and 21, 2011. (See Jazz Alley's show description at right)
This is an amazing and rare opportunity to hear Metheny in an intimate club setting and I highly recommend these performances. Metheny is one of my all time favorite musicians and I've enjoyed his numerous projects with the Pat Metheny Group, his work with smaller ensembles and his work with his complex, multi-faceted, new, remarkable, full room sized musical instrument, Orchestrion, which he invented.
Larry Grenadier has played bass with many jazz legends. He is a sensitive, musically astute, creative and lyrical performer whom I've enjoyed, since hearing him, for the first time, in his younger days, touring with the late, great, jazz vocalist, Betty Carter.
Don't miss this!
For those in the Bellingham, Washington area, Metheny and Grenadier will be also be playing a concert, for one night only, on September 18, 2011 at the Mt. Baker Theatre, 7 PM .
I have included below a youtube video of Pat Metheny playing with bassist, Larry Grenadier (and drummer, Bill Stewart).
An Evening with Pat Metheny with Larry Grenadier
September 20-21, 2011 $55.00
This show is assigned seating, you may purchase On-line or by Phone. To continue your purchase on-line click here. To make your purchase by phone call 206-441-9729.
The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley proudly presents 18-time Grammy-winning guitarist Pat Metheny for two nights and four shows. Joining Mr. Metheny will be Larry Grenadier on bass. Set times Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm and 9:30pm. Doors open at 5:30pm.
It is one thing to attain popularity as a musician, but it is another to receive the kind of acclaim Pat Metheny has garnered from both critics and peers. Over the years, Metheny has won countless polls as “Best Jazz Guitarist” and awards, including three gold records for Still Live Talking, Letter from Home, and Secret Story. In addition, Metheny has won eighteen of his thirty-three Grammy Award nominations, spread out over a wide variety of categories including Best Rock Instrumental, Best Contemporary Jazz Recording, Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, and Best Instrumental Composition. The year 2010 brought continuing recognition and success for the star, as he won “Guitarist of the Year” and “Best Jazz Album-Orchestrion” from the Downbeat 75th Readers Poll. Spending most of his life on tour, averaging 120-240 shows a year since 1974, he continues to be one of the brightest musicians of the jazz community, dedicating time to both his own projects and those of emerging artists and established veterans alike.
As well as being an accomplished musician, Metheny has also participated in the academic arena as a music educator at universities and music workshops/clinics all over the world. At 18, he was the youngest teacher ever at the University of Miami. The following year at age 19, he became the youngest teacher ever at the Berklee College of Music, where more than twenty years later in 1996, he received an honorary doctorate. Over the years, he has performed with a diverse range of artists such as Steve Reich, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Jim Hall and David Bowie, and the list goes on. www.patmetheny.com
Bassist Larry Grenadier, well known for his time spent performing with Brad Mehldau, fell in love with music at the young age of eleven, playing with his brothers in his family’s band. Inspired by jazz-bassists such as Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, and Paul Chambers, Grenadier began formal study to emulate the jazz musicians heard on his home recordings. By sixteen, Grenadier had a blossoming career playing in the San-Francisco area with local musicians and those traveling through town in need of a bass player. Grenadier has spent the last two decades touring around the world with Brad Mehldau’s Trio and performing with countless other jazz-musicians such as Joe Henderson, Gary Burton, Billy Higgins, and Pat Metheny, whom he credits his experiences with as a significant learning experience . “I really enjoy the art of being a bass player; supplying all that is needed from the bottom up; grounding and inspiring." –Larry Grenadier
This is a pre-sale show with reserved seating. All purchases are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Vouchers, donated gift certificates, student, senior and military discounts, children under 12 free discounts and 2 for 1 cards are not applicable for this show. All shows are all ages.
