Results for "Michigan"

Peter Erskine: Revisiting Weather Report

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 20, 2025

A standout drum prodigy of his generation, Peter Erskine began playing at the age of four. After honing his skills at Interlochen, he launched his professional career in 1972 with Stan Kenton. Four years later, he joined Maynard Ferguson before making a pivotal move, replacing Alex Acuña in Weather Report. In the spring ...

Ten Terrific Sax Plus Organ Combinations

by Artur Moral
February 12, 2025

OK, maybe the electric guitar was its first and most celebrated love affair, but the organ's alliances with the saxophone's family members are undoubtedly among the richest musical combinations, both in terms of sound and the intense interrelationships that typically develop in such encounters. Whether it be a tenor with a Hammond, a soprano with an ...

Kasan Belgrave Takes Off

by Paul Rauch
August 4, 2024

As a jazz journalist, attending summer festivals is almost a rite of passage, a journey to a place where so many pieces of the international jazz community are gathered in one spot to sample, or to indulge oneself. Over the years, accompanied by repeated visits, the sights and sounds of the festival locations become clearer and ...

Gilmore Piano Festival 2024

by John Ephland
June 5, 2024

Irving S. Gilmore International Piano FestivalKalamazoo, MIApril 24 to May 12, 2024 Thelonious Monk ends his 1967 album Straight, No Chaser with the song “We See." This Monk classic quartet remake from the 1950s was also the last piece of jazz music performed at this year's Irving S. Gilmore International Piano Festival. ...

Weather Bird: Sullivan Fortner and Ambrose Akinmusire at Rackham Auditorium

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 31, 2024

Weather Bird: Sullivan Fortner and Ambrose Akinmusire Rackham Auditorium 27th Performance of the UMS 145th Annual Season Ann Arbor, MI March 22, 2024 When it comes to its annual concert series, Ann Arbor's University Musical Society utilizes Hill Auditorium and the Michigan Theater as the venues for the majority of ...

Colin Wood

Dr. Colin Wood is a versatile saxophonist and educator passionate about helping all musicians understand and unlock their ability to improvise. He has performed in a variety of settings and genres in the northeast and midwest and studied and performed choro and bossa nova in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. He currently serves as the Director of Jazz Studies at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan. Wood studied at West Virginia University and Ohio State University with Paul Scea, Dr. Shawn Wallace, Dr. Michael Rene Torres, and Dr. Michael Ibrahim.

Edgefest 2023

by Frank Rubolino
November 18, 2023

The Michigan town of jny: Ann Arbor, best known as the home to the University of Michigan Wolverines, has another claim to fame in its annual festival of creative improvised music. The appropriately named Edgefest worked its magic for the 27th year, presenting a diverse array of established and emerging talent over a four-day period in ...

Julian Lage at Ann Arbor's Ark

by James Aren
October 10, 2023

Julian Lage The Ark Ann Arbor, Michigan September 8, 2023 Julian Lage plays like a man amused. He shakes his head and laughs at the things happening to his guitar as if he didn't make them happen. He rocks back and forth in his chair, tapping his foot, staring ...

Shakti 50th Anniversary Tour at Hill Auditorium

by C. Andrew Hovan
September 27, 2023

Shakti Hill Auditorium University Musical Society's 145th Annual Season Ann Arbor, Michigan September 14, 2023 Having learned his lessons well during his brief stay with Miles Davis in the late '60s, guitarist John McLaughlin has never let any grass grow under his feet, embracing many styles and following his creative ...

Alex Anest

Born: July 31, 1974

Alex Anest is an American guitarist, teacher, and bandleader currently based in Southeast Michigan.

His projects as a leader or co-leader have included The Alex Anest Organ Trio/Electric Four, Nomad, The Ann Arbor Guitar Trio, and Giraffe, among others. These groups focus on improvisation, groove, creativity, and most of all a commitment to connection, both among the group members and with the audience.

He has released fourteen recordings as leader or co-leader and has appeared on another twenty-five records by a staggering variety of other artists including Gayelynn McKinney, Evan Veasey, Makadem, Nancy Ambrose King, Kevin Meisel, and Dave Sharp. Music has taken Alex around the midwest, south, and northeast of the U.S. as well as to Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Italy.