RVANews

Listening Back: Brian Jones

Dean Christesen — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 11:00:52 +0000

In Listening Back, we chronicle the happenings at The Camel’s free weekly jazz series on Tuesday nights. Be there if you can. But if you can’t, stop by here every Saturday for a recap in sights and sounds. This week, Brian Jones continued the series with two of his groups.

Listen to Brian Jones + JC Kuhl:
[audio:http://media.rvanews.com/Brian%20Jones%20and%20JC%20Kuhl%20022211.mp3|titles=Live at The Camel February 22 2011|artists=Brian Jones JC Kuhl]

Listen to Brian Jones Quintet:
[audio:http://media.rvanews.com/Brian%20Jones%20Quintet%20022211.mp3|titles=Live at The Camel February 22 2011|artists=Brian Jones Quintet]

Listen to Marty McCavitt:
[audio:http://media.rvanews.com/Marty%20McCavit%20022211.mp3|titles=Live at The Camel February 22 2011|artists=Marty McCavitt]

On Tuesday, Compass Rose Orchestra and UTV continue the free series. The Camel is located at 1621 W. Broad St. in Richmond, VA. More information is available at thecamel.org.

Listen back to other gigs in Richmond

Photos by Lucas Fritz

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Moving on with Kessler

Dean Christesen — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:37:42 +0000

The Richmond Jazz Festival is over, and so is our coverage of it. Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Like this. It's pianist Steve Kessler's birthday, and on Tuesday night he'll be celebrating with a CD pre-release party and a performance by his trio. His eccentric style is one of a kind, and it seems that his methods of releasing an album are just as unique. While there won't be CDs for sale, you'll be able to listen to the band that made it as well as Brian Jones Percussion Ensemble. Pianist and experimental musician Marty McCavitt will perform during set break.

View event details

May: Recording In Our Clubs Month

Dean Christesen — Wed, 26 May 2010 10:00:38 +0000

All photos and videos by Lucas Fritz

With May flowers came a couple notable club gigs in Richmond this month. Fight the Big Bull, celebrating the release of their new album, played three consecutive nights at Balliceaux. The next week, Brian Jones Quintet played two sets at his monthly gig at The Camel.

The common thread: all four nights were recorded by Minimum Wage Studios's Lance Koehler to be released as two separate albums.

Being there while a record is being made is a pretty exciting thing, and something that not a lot of jazz groups in Richmond have done lately. No BS! Brass alluded to the concept with their last studio album Alive in Richmond, but no bands in recent memory have recorded a true live album.

While we'll likely have to wait a while to hear the final product from both bands' outings, we've got photos and videos to enjoy now, courtesy of Lucas Fritz.

Fight the Big Bull at Balliceaux:

Fight the Big Bull is Matt White (guitar), Pinson Chanselle (trap kit), Cameron Ralston (bass), Jason Scott (tenor sax, clarinet), John Lilley (tenor sax), Bryan Hooten (trombone), Reggie Pace (trombone), Bob Miller (trumpet).

View the entire photo album on flickr

Brian Jones Quintet at The Camel:

Brian Jones Quintet is Brian Jones (drums), Wells Hanley (keyboard), Marcus Tenney (trumpet), J.C. Kuhl (tenor sax), and Randall Pharr (bass).

Pianist Marty McCavitt played at the bar during set break.

View the entire photo album on flickr

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryGjY6UcSFo[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpYj81IItfc[/youtube]
To see all seven videos from the evening, check out Brian Jones's new YouTube page.

Third Tuesdays belong to Brian Jones

Dean Christesen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:58:31 +0000

Tomorrow night, drummer Brian Jones's monthly series returns to The Camel. This time, it features his New Trio, which includes JC Kuhl on tenor saxophone and Alan Parker on guitar, and his duo with experimental musician and keyboardist Marty McCavitt.

The first round of the series -- which has so far celebrated the releases of new albums by his (Guitar) Quartet in September and his quartet with trumpeter John D'earth in October -- concludes next month on December 15 with performances by his Wurlitzer Trio (with keyboardist Daniel Clarke) and his Double Quartet. The series will pick back up in 2010 with one of Jones's quartets, which is booked at the club monthly from January to May.

I still can't get enough of the (Guitar) Quartet's new album Wool and the Jones/D'earth quartet's Redhead. Do yourself a favor and pick up a CD at the show, whether it's a new release or it's from back in the day.

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Fight the Big Bull to Hit U Street

Dean Christesen — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:33:00 +0000

Wednesday night is Cous Cous night. Fight the Big Bull has made this so, and now that the Richmond super-group has made its debut on the world stage earlier this month with its Clean Feed release, Dying Will Be Easy (which has enjoyed an excellent reception), Wednesday nights at Cous Cous will only become more popular.

On October 1, Fight the Big Bull (perhaps going under the alias "Ride the Big Bull" as the festival's schedule suggests?) will be appearing with Marty McCavitt at the Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music in D.C. at Velvet Lounge. Tonight at Cous Cous was the group's first appearance with the artist and a preview of what they'll have to offer in D.C. next week.

Immediately noticeable tonight was a new dimension of sound floating above the rest, electronics over a mostly acoustic band. McCavitt worked his amplified zither in various ways: during "California is for Suckers," his effects made the band sound like they were playing from within a grandfather clock. "K.V. Experiment #1" (written by band leader Matt White for the band's Chicago gig with Ken Vandermark) began by nicely blending together McCavitt's Hohner keyboard with bassist Cameron Ralston's arco under a chorus of subdued horns.

The themes of that tune--including a frantically plucked and strummed zither accompanied by only a choppy drum beat and two trombones--certainly made it a highlight of the first set. Not overshadowed, however, was the amount of sheer soul in "Uncloudy Day." The piece sounded straight out of the hymnal, fit for a baptism in the James River.

To our D.C. readers: they don't cross the Potomac often, so catch them while you can next Wednesday.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music (9/28-10/5)
Fight the Big Bull with Marty McCavitt
Also performing: Paul Flaherty/Randall Colbourne Duo, Elliott Levin/Dan Scofield/Aaron Martin/Britton Powell/Scott Verrastro Quintet, KBD
9 pm (doors)
$8, 18+
[where: 915 U Street NW, Washington, DC, 20001]