The current edition of the Blessing Brass e-newsletter features an article I was asked to write about touring and life on the road. I have been playing the wonderful trumpets made by the new E. K. Blessing company since early 2010 and really love what they are doing there in Elkhart, Indiana, where all of their instruments are made. Read the article here!
Alan Jones is a tremendous drummer and composer who resides in Portland, OR. I am delighted to be joining Alan’s Sextet at the Brasserie Montmartre on Friday, February 24th. Alan’s band is made up of Portland’s finest, including: Tom Wakeling (bass), Randy Porter (piano), John Gross (tenor) and Warren Rand (alto). The music is rigorous and exciting and the band is a home for several very unique voices. Not to miss if you live in the PDX!
Human Spirit will be joined by pianist George Colligan and bassist Phil Sparks for our set at the Blue Monk as part of the Portland Jazz Festival on Sunday, February 26th. Our album, recorded last fall at the Earshot Jazz Festival, is just about finished and due to be released this spring. The band is sounding great and we are excited to be back at the Blue Monk. Hope we see YOU there.
This past January I had the pleasure of performing at the 2012 Jazz Education Network Conference at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, KY. Trumpeter Ray Vega and I joined up for a performance of material from our album “East-West Trumpet Summit” which made it all the way to Number 1 on the national jazz radio chart JazzWeek. The attendance was superb and we thank you very much for all of your support. It was truly amazing to see so many great musicians and friends.
After the JEN conference, Matt Jorgensen and I played the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis with guitarist Cory Christiansen. We had the pleasure of playing together on Matt Jorgensen’s “Tattooed by Passion” album a few years back and there was a lot of good chemistry. The show at the Jazz Kitchen was wonderful – a great room, a great audience and a good time on the band stand. Information about the show can be found HERE.
Happy New Year!
Friday, December 2nd – “Sharing The Stage” at The Red Bicycle, Vashon Island 8:00 pm
Saturday, December 10th – Tula’s Restaurant & Nightclub – 7:30 pm
Friday December 30th – Eagan’s Ballard Jam House – 9:00 pm w/Gary Fukushima
Friday, December 16th – Thomas Marriott’s Fleixcon at The New Orleans Creole Restaurant
Saunday, December 18th – Washington Composer’s Orchestra – Location TBA
Tuesday, December 20th – The Copper Gate with The Suffering F@$&heads
Monday, December 26th – Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert w/ SRJO- Town Hall
Saturday, December 31st – New Year’s Eve with Carlos Cascante Y Su Tumbao – Century Ballroom
And – don’t forget to see the East-West Trumpet Summit perform live at the Jazz Education Network Convention in Louisville this January. Ray Vega and I are looking forward to seeing you there! More information at jazzednet.org
I am excited to announce that Human Spirit‘s two-night showcase this October at the Earshot Jazz Festival will be recorded for a 2012 release on Origin Records.
We will be debuting some new material as well as some classic originals penned by myself and fellow band-mates Mark Taylor and Matt Jorgensen.
Joining Human Spirit for the weekend will be two of our favorite collaborators, pianist Orrin Evans and bassist Essiet Essiet.
Orrin Evans is one of the busiest piano players on the New York Scene. Having worked extensively with Bobby Watson, Ralph Peterson, The Mingus Big Band and scores of others, Orrin has recorded albums for Criss Cross Records, Palmetto Records and Posi-Tone Records. Last year he was awarded a prestigious Pew Fellowship For The Arts. After playing with him at the Jazz at the River Festival in 2009, Matt & Thomas knew their musical paths would intersect again, as they did for the 2010 East-Coast tour of Jorgensen’s “Tattooed By Passion,” which featured Orrin with great success.
Essiet Essiet is a familiar face to anyone who listens to live jazz. His bass playing has accompanied every major jazz artist of the last three decades. Essiet first rose to prominence as a member of Abdullah Ibrahim’s bands of the 1980′s and then with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He has performed with Art Farmer, Joe Henderson, Kenny Garret, Benny Golson, Freddie Hubbard, James Moody, Kurt Elling and Jackie McLean to name just a few. Matt and Essiet have worked together in bands led by pianist Travis Shook and Human Spirit is delighted to be sharing the bandstand with him for their two-night, live recording at the Earshot Jazz Festival.
This will be an amazing weekend of music and we invite you to join us as a member of the audience.
FRIDAY – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14-15
TULA’S JAZZ CLUB
2214 2nd Ave
Seattle, WA
Sets at 8:00 & 9:30pm
Tickets: $15.00
Reservations: 206-443-4221
Thomas Marriott – trumpet
Mark Taylor – saxophone
Orrin Evans – piano
Essiet Essiet – bass
Matt Jorgensen – drums
The October issue of Downbeat Magazine features a great review of my album “Constraints and Liberations” released late last year on Origin Records. The leading jazz publication gave the album 4 and a half stars out of a possible 5. You can read the review here!
Catch Human Spirit at one of our great upcoming shows!
July 30th – Centrum’s Port Townsend Jazz Festival – Port Townsend, WA
August 28th – The Blue Monk – Portland , OR
Spetember 2nd – The Cellar, Vancouver BC
September 3rd – The Cellar, Vancouver, BC
Septmeber 4th – Bumbershoot Music Festival, Seattle, WA
October 14th – Earshot Jazz Festival – Live Recording!
October 15th – Earshot Jazz Festival – Live Recording!
In April of 2009, I had the great pleasure of recording two very different albums with my friend, the very talented Gary Versace.
The first session was a quintet comprised of Gary on piano, myself, tenor saxophonist Hans Teuber, bassist Jeff Johnson & John Bishop on drums. This session was the first in which I recorded all of my own compositions (and one by Jeff!) The resulting album, “Constraints & Liberations” was released in November of 2010 to wide critical acclaim – including 4 1/2 stars in Downbeat Magazine.
Now, a short 4 months later, the second session is coming out on Origin Records. “Human Spirit” features Versace on B3 organ as well as Mark Taylor (alto) and drummer Matt Jorgensen. This album comes out March 15th, 2011 and we are really looking forward to it’s release. These two albums will be the last to be released by me for quite some time and I hope they have some staying power!
More music to come.
On March 20th, I was awarded my 7th Golden Ear Award by the readers of Earshot Jazz Magazine. What a pleasure and an honor – thanks to all of you for voting and for your continued support. My band Flexicon won the award for “Northwest Outstanding Acoustic Jazz Ensemble.” We’ve been playing every Friday at the New Orleans Creole Restaurant for about a year now and it’s been great to watch the music grow and develop over time. Thank you Seattle jazz community!
Drummer Matt Jorgensen’s exciting new project “Tattooed By Passion” hits the road at the end of February with some very exciting shows around the country.
Here’s where we are going – maybe we’ll see you there!
February 25 – Red Line, Denver, CO
March 4 – The Seasons, Yakima, WA
March 6 – Blue Monk, Portland, OR
March 30 – Chris’ Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia, PA
March 31 – Smalls, New York, NY
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