From Chicago
Andreas Kapsalis/Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo
Tuesday, August 31
7 PM
$10.

  Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic at youtube

"Combining the sounds of steel- and nylon-string acoustic guitars in a stew seasoned with multifinger attacks, percussive beats, and heavy Serbian and Greek influences, Kapsalis and Ivanovic have created one tasty experimental dish. From the opening ostinato of “Shadow Thief,” the record sounds huge. Throughout, Kapsalis’s two-handed steel-string parts frequently create the illusion of three guitars instead of two. It gets even better on “Vertigo,” where his dizzying eight-finger nubs do justice to the song’s title. Ivanovic is no slouch on the nylon, either, wringing out lithe melodic lines throughout."
- Guitar Player Magazine

A guitar duo that not only celebrate the tradition of guitar performance of the old and the current rapport but also as composers they are a part of a movement in the states who’s aim is to build the new repertoire for the next generation of guitar players.

Steel string ten finger tapping guitar prodigy Andreas Kapsalis, and nylon string classical guitarist Goran Ivanovic have fused their musical roots with modern, classical, world, jazz and beyond in this experimental duo.

As they continue to create "buzz" throughout global music circles, these masterful musicians are also creating genres & musical styles that have yet to be named.

Don't miss the cutting edge Guitar Duo of Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic live at Nighttown on Tuesday, August 31st.

---

---

Cancelled = to be rescheduled later
Phillippe LeJeune with Bill Ransom
Wed. Sept 1   7PM   $10.
 


Cleveland's Favorite
Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
Thursday September 2 & Friday September 3
2 shows each night
Thursday 8 & 10PM
Friday 8 & 10PM
$25

Reservations highly suggested


Listen to an interview with Brian Auger on WCPN 90.3FM's "Around Noon" with host Dee Perry on Thursday September 2 at 12:00Noon

Listen to an interview with Brian Auger on WCSB 89.3FM's "Fusion Show" with host Randy Allar on Friday September 3 at 2:00PM

Current Brian Auger's Oblivion Express video
  Brian Auger's Oblivion Express Live at The Baked Potato
         

Classic Brian Auger video
Brian Auger's Steampacket w/ Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll, and Rod Stewart
Brian Auger's Trinity "Black Cat"
Brian Auger's Trinity with Julie Driscoll "Season of the Witch"


“Brian Auger is one of the best B-3 artists I have ever heard in my life.  His technique is awesome and the amount of energy he generates is unparalleled and relentless.  He is a tremendous talent with a wonderfully warm and compassionate personality, a combination that is hard to beat.  He deserves all the accolades.”
- Herbie Hancock



- “This Wheels on Fire” was a #1 single in 1968.
- 10 albums charted in Billboards Hot 100
Recorded over 30 albums in his career including 14 albums on RCA and Warner Bros
- Has toured and/or recorded with the following artists:  Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, the Yardbirds, Van Morrison, Eric Burdon, Jimmy Page, Robby Krieger (The Doors), Sonny Boy Williamson, and Tony Williams among others.
- Voted Keyboard Magazine’s Best Jazz Organ Player in 1976 and 1977.
- Played harpsichord on The Yardbirds #1 single “For Your Love”.
- Brian’s jazz project “Cab2” was nominated for a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

Members of Brian Auger's groups have gone on to equally illustrious careers including Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll, Robbie MacIntosh (Average White Band), Steve Ferrone (Average White Band), and Alex Ligertwood (17 years lead singer for Santana).


The new incarnation of the Oblivion Express features Nick Sample on bass (son of Joe Sample), Karma Auger on drums and Savannah Auger on vocals.

Don't miss the  return of Brian Auger's Oblivion Express to his favorite Cleveland home at Nighttown on Thursday September 2 and Friday September 3.  What a way to kick off the Labor Day Weekend!!

Freddy Cole Quartet
Featuring: Curtis Boyd-drums, Elias Bailey-acoustic bass, & Randy Napoleon-guitar
Saturday, September 4
8 & 10 PM'
$30.
"Blame It On My Youth" from Freddy Cole's "Because of You" (mp3)
"Getting Some Fun Out of Life" from Freddy Cole's "Because of You" (mp3)
  Freddy sings "I'm Not My Brother, I'm Me"

“He’s one of the few male jazz singers these days who is still at the height of his powers and can be taken seriously.”
Ben Ratliff / The New York Times

“If you quiet your thoughts and really listen, Freddy Cole will open the door to your heart with a key you did not even know existed.”
Ruth Brown / Legendary Blues Singer

Freddy Cole, and the legacy of his brother Nat “King” Cole, will stir up memories that will never be forgotten. Performing professionally for over 40 years, this great singer and pianist has developed a huge following of his own.  The instantly recognizable Cole voice and a veteran quartet, play the classics as well as new compositions and interpretations from a huge repertoire.

Lionel Frederick Cole was born on October 15, 1931, the youngest of Edward and Paulina Nancy Cole’s five children. His three elder brothers, Eddie, Ike and Nat (12 years Freddy’s senior) were all musicians. “I started playing piano at five or six,” Freddy remembers. “Music was all around me.” In the Chicago home of his youth, visitors included Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Lionel Hampton.

Cole moved to New York in 1951, where he studied at the Juillard School of Music and found himself profoundly influenced by John Lewis, Oscar Peterson and Teddy Wilson.  He received a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and then spent several months on the road
as a member of an Earl Bostic band that also included Johnny Coles and Benny Golson.

It was back in New York that Cole successfully laid the groundwork for a career that continues to flourish to this day. He developed a vast repertoire of songs in Manhattan bistros and concurrently began to supplement his live performances with television and radio commercial jingle work.

Cole doesn’t apologize for sounding like his brother, Nat “King” Cole. There are certain unmistakable similarities. He plays piano and sings, and performs live with guitar and upright bass, just like Nat. Yet his voice is raspier, smokier, jazzier even. But he has emerged from the awesome shadow cast by his elder brother. In truth, his phrasing is far closer to that of Frank Sinatra or Billie Holiday than that of his brother and his timing swings a little more.  His vocals – suave, elegant, formidable and articulate – are among the most respected in jazz.

Freddy's latest album, "The Dreamer in Me" on the popular jazz label High Note, was in the top 10 of the Jazz Charts for over 10 weeks this past year.

Appearing with Freddy Cole for his appearance at Nighttown will be guitarist Randy Napoleon.   Napoleon, now with the group for three years, has also been a featured soloist with the Clayton/Hamilton Big Band and he toured with vocalist Michael Buble for three years.  On drums will be the great Curtis Boyd who has been with Freddy off an on for twenty years.  Finally on bass will be Elias Bailey, a member of the group for seven years.

Don't miss the legendary voice of Freddy Cole, when he makes a special Labor Day weekend appearance at Nighttown for one night only on Saturday, September 4th.

---

Just Added!!
From the JB Horns (as in James Brown!!)
Pee Wee Ellis
Featuring: Tony Monaco-Hammond B-3 Organ, & TBA-drums
Wednesday, September 8
7 PM
$20.
 
Pee Wee's "Cherry Red" from "Sepia Tonality" (2010) mp3
Pee Wee's "Moonwalk" from "Soul Masters" (2005) mp3
 

Legendary Music Director and horn player for James Brown and Van Morrison's bands, is joined by Hammond B3 organ monster Tony Monaco.  This show is not to be missed.

Pee Wee Ellis was born to play music. From first piano lessons in Lubbock,Texas to discovering a saxophone in his grandmother’s bureau at age nine,he showed exceptional aptitude. In Texas Pee Wee got to see blues greats like Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland and Fats Domino; by 11 he was sneaking in to play with touring dance bands. With clarinet and sax lessons in school, he was skilled on reeds as well as piano when his family moved to Rochester, New York at age 16.

In Rochester, he began gigging earnestly in a scene that included future bass legend Ron Carter; the two would travel to New York City to see jazz heroes at Birdland. Pee Wee here met Sonny Rollins, who agreed to give him lessons.

Pee Wee joined James Brown in 1965, immediately began writing and soon came up with the first pure hardcore Funk hit, Cold Sweat, followed by 26 others that defined what we think of as Funk to this day. Six months after he was hired, Pee Wee became James Brown’s musical director.

Pee Wee has been called The Man Who Invented Funk: influenced by Miles Davis, he distilled Rhythm and Blues and made complex, polyrhythmic arrangements that created a dialogue with James’ singing rather than just a backing track. Pee Wee’s effect on music was huge, leading directly to George Clinton, Sly Stone and, in a circular twist, Miles Davis’ 70′s work.

Pee Wee yearned to grow beyond the confines of James Brown, and left by 1970 to work as arranger and musical director for CTI-Kudu records, the most popular jazz label of the 70s. He worked with Esther Phillips as well as George Benson, Hank Crawford and dozens of other CTI artists.

In 1979 Van Morrison asked Pee Wee to do arrangements for his Into The Music album, leading to Pee Wee becoming Van’s musical director, an association that lasted for six years and five albums then was repeated for another five years and five more albums in the last half of the 90′s. In between, a reunited JB Horns – Pee Wee, Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker – made several albums and toured extensively.

Also through the early 90′s, Pee Wee released several solo albums that illustrated the depth of his music. As well as funk-jazz , there were big band and two pure jazz albums, 12 and More Blues and Yellin’ Blue, made with just a bassist and drummer; both garnered rave reviews.

Van Morrison came calling in 1992 and Pee Wee’s return to the band coincided with a new surge in popularity for Van; the first album was Days Like This, with the hit title song arranged by Pee Wee, followed by How Long Has This Been Going On? with another hit, That’s Life, big band arrangement by Pee Wee. His last album in this run with Van was Back On Top, yet another hit, critically and commercially.

Since 2000, Pee Wee has released Live ‘n Funky, a brilliant New York live set, Ridin’ Mighty High, a gospel album that has been his biggest hit yet, and his latest project Different Rooms, a new genre for the new millennium “SMUNK”, smooth funk.

Pee Wee Elllis continues to work around the globe, frequently collaborating with Fred Wesley and other artists.

Don't miss the legendary jazz and funk saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis of the JB Horns featuring Tony Monaco live at Nighttown on Wednesday, September 8.

---

C Town Jazz Quintet
Featuring: Kenny Davis-trumpet, David Thomas-piano, Robert Hubbard-drums, Derrick James-bass, & Ide Obese-saxophone.
Thursday, September 9
7 PM
$10.
 

 
Kenny Davis

Veteran trumpeter Kenny Davis brings a wealth of experience to the Nighttown bandstand.  Davis was a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the late 70's.  Additionally he worked in the house band at the legendary Leo's Casino.  At Leo's Davis backed all of the major Motown acts including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, and many more.  In addition to his prolific performing career, Davis is a retired member of the jazz faculty at Oberlin College, where he taught for 20 years.


David Thomas
Dave Thomas is a most  talented piano and organ player. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Thomas was an original member of the R&B group, "Sweet Thunder". He has also performed with numerous artists including the late James Cleveland, Dizzy Gillespie, Albert Ayler, Jean Carn, David Ruffin, and Grover Washington. His musical involvement also includes musical theater as a writer, performer, and musical director in performances such as "The Living Cross," "The Audition," and "Black Nativity," which have played throughout the United States and Canada. He is also a gifted educator, having worked at The Cleveland School of the Arts, Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland State University, and Case Western Reserve University.

Robert Hubbard
Robert l. Hubbard jr. , born in Cleveland, is a gifted and respected drummer, producer and instructor. He began his preparatory studies at the Cleveland Music Settlement and was later accepted into the Cleveland School of Arts.  After graduating CSA, Robert attended Jarvis Christian College in Texas. Robert began his music career playing with Frank McComb and Lafeyette Carthon throughout greater Cleveland . He also spent two years with the Lamar Gains Trio at the Boarding House.  His first major tour was with the R&B group Men at Large. During that time he appeared with Gerald Levert and Men at Large on the Arsenio Hall Show.  He has also worked with Changing Faces, R. Kelly, Conya Doss, Eddie Baccus Jr., Angela Bofill, Sean Jones, Neal Zaza, Lafeyette Carthon ii, Joe McBride , Mike Phillips , Marcus Johnson , Jonny O'Neal , Tony Pulizzi and The Hubbard Brothers Family and Friends. He is the drummer for the Word Church,and drum instructor for The Hubbard School of Fine Arts which he founded with his brother in 2005.
 
Derrick James
Veteran electric bassist Derrick James is well known in the area for his work with the popular contemporary jazz group Horns and Things.  He is also active with Vince Robinson and The Jazz Poets.  James is always there to create a rock solid foundation for whatever group he is working with.
 
Ide Obese
The youngest member of the group.  Ide Obese is quickly emerging as a horn player to be watched.
 
Don't miss the C Town Jazz Quintet live at Nighttown on Thursday, September 9th.

---

 
 
California Guitar Trio
Friday and Saturday, September 10 & 11
8 PM
$25.
 
California Guitar Trio "Echoes" (full mp3 download)
California Guitar Trio's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor"
 


Their performances astounding, and diversity unparalleled, these three revered musicians are not actually natives of the "Golden State." The California Guitar Trio (CGT) is Bert Lams from Belgium, Hideyo Moriya from Japan, and Paul Richards from Utah. Together, their technical wizardry is breathtaking, as is the wide range of instrumental music the group renders... everything from unique originals to dazzling, cleverly-arranged interpretations of jazz, classical music, and even surf rock.

Since their inception in 1991, the Trio has released 12 CDs: seven studio albums (including a Christmas record), four live releases (including An Opening Act from their 1995 worldwide tour with King Crimson) and the recent compilation Highlights, featuring their most popular original works as well classics from Bach’s "Toccata and Fugue" and Beethoven's 9th to Chantays' "Pipeline" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." On screen, CGT can be seen in documentary Following the Music: On The Road w/ California Guitar Trio (©2004 Stone Chapel Films) and the new Hi-Def multi-camera shoot of an intimate house concert in 2009.

In October 2010, the California Guitar Trio releases their 13th career CD Andromeda, an entirely new all-original album nearly three years in the making. In addition, recent stage collaborations with bassist Tony Levin and drummer Paul Mastelotto have renewed demand for national touring.

Don't miss the dynamic California Guitar Trio live at Nighttown on Friday and Saturday, September 10th and 11th.

---

 

Holly Hofmann / Bill Cunliffe Quartet
Featuring: Martin Wind-acoustic bass, &  Tim Horner-drums
Sunday, September 12
7 PM
$20.

Holly_Hofmann_& Bill_Cunliffe's_"Brown_Bossa"_(sample mp3)
Holly_Hofmann_& Bill_Cunliffe's_"Mood_Indigo"_(sample mp3)

Flutist Holly Hofmann and pianist Bill Cunliffe have performed worldwide together. Their formation as a duo was a happy accident; while playing as a quartet at the Telluride Jazz Festival ten years ago, they decided to play a duo tune. Cunliffe recalled, “It was really amazing...Holly and I just seemed to read each others’ minds. I would play a substitute chord change, or change the rhythm, and she was there, right where I was.” After feeling the musical connection and the enthusiastic audience response, they both decided to make the duo a permanent part of their musical lives.

Initially a psychology major at Duke University, Cunliffe fell under the spell of the great Mary Lou Williams during his senior year, subsequently enrolled in the jazz program at the Eastman School of Music. After touring with Buddy Rich and Frank Sinatra, he performed with Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Phil Woods, Art Blakey and James Moody. He is a Thelonious Monk Competition winner and has a number of solo CDs to his credit, including several with his critically praised sextet.

Hofmann is recognized as one of the top flutists in jazz. Although she started playing jazz with her father at five, she began formal classical training with the great Maurice Sharp a few years later and continued to receive degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and University of Northern Colorado. She has numerous CDs as a leader and has performed with Ray Brown, Kenny Barron, Cedar Walton, Houston Person, and Mike Wofford, among many others.

The duo’s two releases on Azica Records were widely acclaimed in most of the major jazz publications, and they have performed in the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. They have done a variety of other projects together, including a session featuring Cunliffe on the B3 organ, in a quintet with the great trumpeter Bobby Shew, and a live recording at Birdland with the great Ray Brown on bass, and stalwart New York drummer Victor Lewis.

Hofmann and Cunliffe are celebrating a brand new duo release this fall, "Three's Company" on the Capri Records label. The recording features special guests Regina Carter, Alvester Garnett, Ken Peplowski and Terell Stafford.

Jazz Times says, “the two are classically trained, with chops a-go-go; both have long jazz resumes, they’re perfectly at ease in both idioms; their playing is so tight they seem to share a single musical brain.”

Joining Holly Hofmann and Bill Cunliffe on the Nighttown stage is a first class rhythm section consisting of Martin Wind-acoustic bass, and Tim Horner-drums.  Wind, a native of Germany is active as a member of the groups of Matt Wilson and Dena DeRose.  Horner has worked with the Maria Schneider and Vanguard orchestras, as many big name small groups.

Don't miss Cleveland native and master flutist Holly Hofmann, when she joins virtuoso pianist Bill Cunfliffe and their Quartet live at Nighttown on Sunday, September 12th.

---

Rebecca Kilgore
with Dan Barrett-trombone, and John Sheridan-piano
Wednesday, September 15
7 PM
$20.

Becky_Kilgore's_"BED"_(sample mp3)
Becky_Kilgore's_"Little_White_Lies"_(sample mp3)

Rebecca Kilgore is one of America's leading song stylists who finds particular delight in preserving and interpreting the great vocal jazz of the 30s and 40s, an era she feels is noted for high quality songwriting and heartfelt lyrics.

With over 30 recordings in her discography, some of her most notable are with Dave Frishberg on piano, and she has teamed with him on long standing engagements in Portland, Oregon, where they both reside. She's also part of the quartet called BED   (“Becky, Eddie—Eddie Erickson (guitar/banjo/voice), Dan—Dan Barrett (trombone)," also featuring Joel Forbes (bass)), which captivates audiences with its eclectic repertoire of classic jazz. She has been invited to perform with the Statesmen Of Jazz, dedicated to perpetuating the art of jazz for future generations.

She regularly performs worldwide at jazz festivals, jazz parties, and on jazz cruises. She is a frequent guest on National Public Radio's 'Fresh Air' with Terry Gross, has appeared on ‘A Prairie Home Companion’, and with Michael Feinstein at Carnegie Hall.

She is also honored to have been inducted in to the Portland (Oregon) Jazz Society’s Hall Of Fame, and to have been invited to perform at New York’s Mabel Mercer Cabaret Convention for two consecutive years at Town Hall and Lincoln Center.

Dan Barrett
Dan Barrett belongs to a new generation of jazz musicians who have more than just a passing interest in the music's origins and development. Dan and his peers draw their inspiration from the many recordings still available from jazz's early years; they look to the past masters for musical foundations upon which to build their own personal styles.

Born in Pasadena, California, and raised in Costa Mesa, Barrett started his jazz career in high school when he formed his first group, the Back Bay Jazz Band, which presented the music of King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton and others to Southern California audiences. During this time, Dan played many local jobs with the great New Orleans musicians Ed "Montudie" Garland, Alton Purnell, Mike DeLay, Joe Darensbourg, Nappy Lamare, and Barney Bigard, hearing about the "old days" first-hand.

Dan and his wife, Laura, moved to New York City in 1983. He spent a busy year playing with and writing for the Widespread Jazz Orchestra, and was a frequent guest at Eddie Condon's Jazz Club and other Manhattan night-spots.

After hearing Barrett at Eddie Condon's in New York, Benny Goodman himself called Dan and invited him to join what turned out to be the King of Swing's last orchestra. Barrett was a featured soloist and even contributed an arrangement to the band's book before Goodman's unexpected death in June of 1986. Ten years later, Dan and his family returned to Southern California where Dan continues to establish his reputation through recordings, interviews, and a busy travel schedule. In 1996 he took part in a heavily documented European tour by Woody Allen's Jazz Band and is featured onscreen in the award-winning movie made about that tour, Wild Man Blues. In 1999 he was nominated for the Second Annual Bell Atlantic Jazz Award as "Trombonist of the Year." Dan has now drawn upon his many years of experience to put together a one-of-a-kind unit, Blue Swing.

John Sheridan
John Sheridan from Columbus, Ohio, got hooked on Jazz when he heard B.G.'s Carnegie Hall Concert records. His first pro job was at 13 in high school. John played in college and then in the U.S. Navy Band. He got his MM degree in 1977 at N. Texas State University. At that time he played with the Upper Dallas Jazz Band. He met Jim Cullum and joined his band in 1979. While with the band, he has written over 1,000 arrangements for the Jim Cullum Jazz Band and other bands. John also has done tours and recording sessions with Warren Vaché, Scott Hamilton, Jake Hanna, Bob Haggart, Yank Lawson, Ralph Sutton, Dick Hyman and many others.

Don't miss vocalist Rebecca Kilgore with Dan Barrett and John Sheridan live at Nighttown on Wednesday, September 15th.