Katie Bull Group Project at The Buttonwood

Singer, songwriter, improvisor, and poet Katie Bull will be in Middletown this Friday night to perform in the cozy performance space of The Buttonwood Tree, 605 Main Street.  She and the Katie Bull Group Project will present the entirety of her new CD, "All Hot Bodies Radiate" (Ashkokan Indie). The 13-song, 65-minute collection features all original material save for a lovely reading of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "If I Loved You" and a somewhat off-center reading of "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead." The musicians on the CD are the ones who'll be onstage and they include Landon Knoblock (piano, electronics, vocals), Jeff Lederer (tenor and soprano saxophone), plus the very active rhythm section of bassist Joe Fonda (pictured above with Ms. Bull) and drummer George Schuller.

The album, Ms. Bull's 5th as a leader or a co-leader, blends poetry, wordless vocals, "free jazz", swing, folk and so much more. The musicians swirl, wail. rock, and add so much support. The variety of sounds the quintet creates is quite impressive and the music often moves in unexpected directions. Knoblock's keyboard is inventive and forceful while the saxophone work of Lederer can go just about anywhere at any time.

The music starts at 8 p.m.  For more information, go to buttonwood.org. To find out more about Ms. Bull and her many projects, go to www.katiebull.com. Here's the Katie Bull Group Project in action from last summer's Monday Night Jazz Series in Hartford's Bushnell Park:



(A version of this post appears on steptempest.blogspot.com.)

Music of the World and more

The John Funkhouser Trio - Mr. Funkhouser (piano, keyboards), Greg Loughman (acoustic bass), and Mike Connors (drums) - return to The Buttonwood Tree, 605 Main Street in Middletown.   This Saturday's show is the band's 3rd appearance in the venue in the last 2 years; this time around, they are celebrating the release of "Still" (Jazsyzygy Records), the JFT's 3rd release and first in 4 years.

If you have ever seen and heard the JFT (pictured left) in person, you know how much energy they bring to a live show.  Yes, each musician has technique to burn (and, there are moments when they let it rip) but they're also extremely musical.  The material on the new CD ranges from a Latin-inspired romp through Thelonious Monk's "Little Rootie Tootie" to a blues-drenched rendition of "House of the Rising Sun" (featuring a long but emotionally rich bass solo from Loughman) to a long and satisfying journey through the Rodgers/Hart standard "My Romance."  There are also 5 Funkhouser originals including the often fiery opener "Indigo Montoya's Great Escape" (named for the pianist's cat) to the multi-sectioned "The Deep"(1 of 3 tracks featuring guitarist Phil Sargent and 1 of 2 featuring the wordless vocals of Aubrey Johnson). Ms. Johnson also appears on "Leda", a ballad that turns up-tempo, propelled by Connors' splendid drum work. The CD closes with the haunting and mysterious title track; it features a fine bass solo, a hint of George Harrison's "Within You, Without You" in the melody line, atmospheric guitar, more splendid drum work and a mesmerizing piano solo.

The John Funkhouser Trio is, often, wildly inventive and great fun to watch and listen to - they can also play with grace and sweetness.  The Buttonwood gig starts at 8 p.m. tonight.  Go to www.buttonwood.org for more information and to reserve a seat (or 2).  To learn more about Mr. Funkhouser and his talented comrades, go to www.johnfunkhouser.com.  

On Sunday evening, the Buttonwood welcomes Jussi Reijonen and his Un quartet for an evening of music inspired by American jazz, Middle Eastern and African rhythms and the desire to create music that stitches these various influences into a warm, inviting, quilt of sound.  Reijonen, born in Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle in northern Finland, spent his formative years traveling from Scandanavia to the Middle East to Africa.  At an early age, he gravitated towards music and now plays fretted and fretless guitars as well as the oud.   He relocated to Boston where he earned degrees from the Berklee School in 2011 and the New England Conservatory; he has studied with pianist Ran Blake, percussionist Simon Shaheen and guitarists such as Mick Goodrick, David Gilmore, David Tronzo and David Fiuczynski.  

Earlier this year, Reijonen self-released his debut CD, "Un", recorded the basic group (plus guests) that is accompanying him at The Buttonwood.  Actually, one could say his group is akin to the UN (United Nations) as it brings together the guitarist from Finland, pianist Utar Artun from Turkey, Swedish-born bassist Bruno Raberg and Palestinian percussionist Tareq Rantisi. The CD and the live show features a large percentage of original music plus a mesmerizing performance of John Coltrane's "Naima" (played so softly, one needs to lean into to hear the interactions.)  You can hear African rhythms in the guitar melody solos on "Toumani (Blues for Mick)" and the pulsing desert sounds swirling through the CD opener "Serpentine."  Reijonen's arrangement on the latter track incorporates the melodic piano work of Artun, echoing the phrases of the leader's oud.  "Nuku Sie" is a duet for fretless electric guitar and acoustic bass that is trance-like, beautiful, and slow to unfold (at times, sounding somewhat like Miles Davis's "In A Silent Way".)

Jussi Reijonen's music reflects the myriad travels of his youth as well as the relative quiet of his native land (although his place of birth bills itself as the "hometown of Santa Claus!)  The Buttonwood Tree's intimate performance space should lend itself nicely to Reijonen's music, the audience seated close to the musicians who will need little amplification for their music to resonate throughout the room.  For reservations, go to www.buttonwood.org or call 860-347-4957.  To learn more about the artist, go to jussireijonen.com.   

Joseph FireCrow at The Buttonwood Tree

There is no musical sound as haunting as a Native American flute (save for certain voices).  In the hands, heart and mind of Joseph FireCrow, the flute not only relates age-old stories that have been handed down from one generation to the next but also works to heal the rifts caused by the thoughtless settlers and politicians over the past 3+ centuries.

He brings his music to The Buttonwood Tree on Saturday August 3, a solo performance that starts at 8 p.m.  A member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, Joseph FireCrow has been recording and touring for over 2 decades.  He's won numerous Native American Music Awards (NAMMYs) as well as a GRAMMY in 2010 as Best New Age music for a recording he made with cellist David Darling.

To find out more, go to josephfirecrow.com.  For tickets, go to www.buttonwood.org.

Isra-Aliens Land at The Buttonwood!

(Author's note - this post also appears on my blog, Step Tempest.)

Chanukah commences at sundown this Saturday (December 8) - while not the religious celebration that Christmas is, the holiday celebrates a military victory as well as the the miracle of the oil that lasted 8 nights (read more here.)  Usually the holiday falls near the winter solstice and the light coming from the menorah is always a welcome site.

Not sure if Anne-Marie of The Buttonwood Tree had Chanukah in mind when she booked Isra-Alien for this Saturday but the acoustic guitar duo of Oren Neiman and Gilad Ben-Zvi will definitely light up the performance space at 605 Main Street in Middletown. The duo, both natives of Israel, met during their compulsory military service in the Israeli army and have been friends ever since.  After moving to New York City in 2005, they formed this ensemble with Neiman on nylon-string guitar and Ben-Zvi on steel string.  They released their self-titled, self-produced and self-released debut CD in 2009 and their latest, "Somewhere Is Here" just a few months ago. Their music is a joyous blend of Middle-Eastern melodies, Eastern European klezmer tunes, jazz, and world music - one can hear the influence of Belgian guitar genius Django Reinhardt as well as tango in the duo's eclectic mix.  

Isra-Alien will be in The Buttonwood's spotlight at 8 p.m. - for more information, go to www.buttonwood.org.  To learn more about the duo and hear selections of their infectious music, go to www.israalien.com.  

Scenes from open mic at The Buttonwood Tree

Every Monday at 8PM The Buttonwood Tree holds is open mic showcase. Hosted By J-Cherry, the weekly show frequently features musicians, poets, stand-up comedians, dancers and all sorts of other performers.

Here are a few pictures from last Monday's performance. It's was a lively event and lots of fun.

Check it out next week. The Buttonwood Tree is located at 605 Main Street in Middletown. Sign up is at 7:30PM and the show starts at 8. A different show every week!