Dr. Lonnie Smith. Photo by Jimmy Katz.
This week is absolutely packed to the brim with great shows.
Thursday, March 27th, 9 p.m., Betty’s Grill, 407 49th Ave N, Nashville, Tennessee 37209
Underground free jazz saxophonist Jack Wright teams up with experimental percussionist Andrew Drury. The press release states,
The core of this duo is the depth and originality of the individual voices combined with their intense listening and commitment to the present moment. It is intimate music, often raucous and always adventurous. And it is executed with minimal materials—a couple saxophones and usually, instead of a full drum set, just a floor tom and some percussion accoutrements. Wright is a somewhat underground figure in the U.S., at the same time legendary for giving revelatory performances that reach both experienced listeners and people unaccustomed to free improvisation. Drury works some kind of promethean magic on a floor tom, using it as a stage for a theater of small objects that he charms into producing amazing sounds.
Also appearing are People (Noa Ben-Amotz and Chris Davis) and Onika & Allen. UPDATE: Noise artist/circuit bender Derek Schartung got added to the bill. More info on the Facebook event page.
Friday, March 28th, 9 p.m., Boheme Collectif, 919 Gallatin Ave., Suite 8, Nashville, Tennessee 37206
Mike Kluge brings you the first Future Night of 2014. This one features the music of The Perfect Hours, Autran, Lust and the Black Cat, and Gay Vibes and the installations of Adrienne Outlaw, Zach Adams, Yospeh Kennerly, David Wright Lagrone, and Dale Liska. The show will feature projections by Devin Lamp.
More info on the Facebook event page.
Sunday, March 30th, 10 p.m., Betty’s Grill, 407 49th Ave N, Nashville, Tennessee 37209
Thrash violinist Joey Molinaro is passing through Nashville and will be joined by Graphic Tease, Marid, and Pleasuredome. I wrote about it here.
Monday, March 31st, 7 p.m., Fisk Memorial Chapel, Nashville, Tennessee 37208
Legendary organist Dr. Lonnie Smith will be performing with pianist Cyrus Chestnut. Don’t miss this one!
More from the press release:
The evening will begin with an energized set of solo piano from master jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut making his 1st return to Nashville in over a decade. The New York Times notes Chestnut as a “highly intelligent improviser with one of the surest senses of swing in jazz.”
Since last year’s sold out appearance in Nashville last April, Dr. Lonnie Smith released the double CD “In The Beginning” featuring tunes originally composed and recorded during the 1960s alongside peers such as trumpeter Lee Morgan, saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman, guitarists George Benson and Melvin Sparks and drummer Idris Muhammad. The recording topped year end “top album” jazz lists in such publications as Jazz Times, Downbeat and The New York City Jazz Record. Throughout his five decade career, Dr. Lonnie has topped both the Jazz Journalist Association and Downbeat Critics and Readers polls as “#1 Jazz Organist”.
All ticket proceeds will go to benefit Fisk University and Daniel Payne Outreach Ministries. Founded in 1866, Fisk is Nashville’s 1st university. Fisk received a charter for the first chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society on a predominantly black campus in 1953. Fisk’s outstanding faculty and students continue to enhance the University’s national reputation for academic excellence that is validated year after year by the leading third party reviewers, as well as by the pool of talented applicants and the large percentage of alumni who complete graduate or professional degrees and become leaders and scholars in their fields.
More info on the Facebook event page.
Tuesday, April 1st, 10 p.m., Betty’s Grill, 407 49th Ave N, Nashville, Tennessee 37209
Chris Murray is curating some “April Fools wackiness at Betty’s” for this show featuring Close Your Eyes I’m Changing, Flesh Control, Harvest Team, Night Moves, and a special guest. More info on the Facebook event page.
