Tag Archives: Brennan Connors & Stray Passage

10/18 | BlueStem Jazz Presents: Brennan Connors & Stray Passage live audience in-studio recording session at Audio For The Arts!

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Friday, 10/18/2024
8pm, $15 tix
Audio For The Arts recording studio
7 S Blair St # 1, Madison, WI 53703

Presented by BlueStem Jazz and Audio for the Arts.
Brennan Connors & Stray Passage Jazz trio return to AFA studios once again to record their new album in front of a live studio audience! As any free-improviser will tell you, the audience is also a bandmate. You are crucial to the performance of improvised music! It is a feedback loop between the performer and the listener. Whatever energy you give to us we respond and give back to you. However you react to our music, in that moment changes what we play and which direction the improvisation moves in. It’s a give and take, so come be a part of that magic circle and inspire us with your presence! It’s just not the same without you.

Brennan Connors & Stray Passage has maintained a presence in Madison, Wisconsin as rugged experimental jazz trio for nearly a decade and a half. In 2016 we recorded our first album, which was released in 2017 on the Italian record label Setola Di Maiale. It’s time to make a new document of where we currently are with our music, and you are invited. This event will be a live in-studio recording at Audio for the Arts, and a ticket to the live show comes along with a CD and a digital download of the new album once it is officially released.
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Brennan Connors (saxophones & flutes) continues his wide eyed, open eared journey exploring music, sound, and whatever is around such things. He has been leading the trio into spaces that reflect and express those explorations, here and now.

Brian Grimm (strings & effects) is currently composing musical scores and soundscapes full-time for professional live theatre throughout the Midwest.

Geoff Brady (drums, percussion, theremin) still brings his excellent drum work to the trio (Mr. Harvey Pekar wrote, “Brady is a fine, subtle percussionist.”). He has also been utilizing his virtuosity on the theremin as new staple in Stray Passage’s sonic lineup.

This event is BYOB.

Check out some clips from our March 2024 concert at Cafe Coda!

Our album “Emergence” (2017) was also recorded live with a live in-studio audience back in 2016 at Audio For The Arts. You can check it out here >>

Fri 6/2 | BlueStem Jazz presents Brennan Connors & Stray Passage at Garver Feed Mill Patio

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GARVER FEED MILL PATIO 
FRIDAY  JUNE 2  7pm  $15 
TICKETS

Bluestem Jazz Presents
BRENNAN CONNORS & STRAY PASSAGE   
BRENNAN CONNORS – sax
BRIAN GRIMM – bass/cello/guqin + pedalboard
GEOFF BRADY – drums/theremin/electronics



Brennan Connors & Stray Passage maintained a regular presence in Madison as an improvising/experimental jazz unit for over a decade. Their album “Emergence” was released in 2017 via the Italian record label Setola Di Maiale.  Saxophonist and leader Brennan Connors has been delving further into his own musical and compositional concepts. Brian Grimm (bass guitar and electric cello) has been composing scores and sounds scapes for live theatre in Chicago, Indianapolis, and throughout Wisconsin for the past 2 years as Geoff Brady (drums, theremin, and electronics) maintains his presence as one of the top percussionists in Madison. “All three members weave in and out of freely tumultuous passages and desolate spaciousness, achieving a collective, convincing direction that challenges the listener’s understanding of the passing of time in live composition” (Emili Earhart, Tone Madison). Always listening deeply to one another and the audience in the room, the trio connects directly to the listener with sensitivity, a wide dynamic range, and deep emotional engagement. Don’t miss the rare chance to see this trio live and in full swing!

Live from Cafe Code in 2021

BlueStem Jazz is a non-profit venture dedicated to presenting progressive, avant-garde, experimental jazz in Madison WI.

Be sure to check out their website to see their many upcoming events! BlueStem Jazz has been working incredibly hard to book as much high quality Jazz and Improvised music as possible in Madison, WI. Including supporting both local and touring talents.

Garver Feed Mill

(from their website)
Located on Madison’s near East Side, nestled behind Olbrich Gardens, the award-winning Garver Feed Mill® is a multi-faceted destination that features local artisans, producers, wellness studios, and retailers offering visitors everything from coffee to ice cream, catering to kombucha.

The renovated Feed Mill honors and preserves Madison’s rich agricultural and industrial history by re-activating the building as a next-generation food production center and provide visitors with the opportunity to taste the best of Madison. The historic Mill has been transformed into a platform for local food businesses to grow, and in turn, expand Madison’s profile as a Midwestern hub of high quality, hand crafted food and drink.

Private and public events in our indoor and outdoor event spaces keep Garver bustling throughout the year, bringing people from near and far to “the Soul of Madison” – the vibrant East Side of the City. In winter months, Garver is home to the Dane County Farmers Market, the largest producer only farmers market in the nation.

Health and wellness enthusiasts looking to connect with themselves, each other, and the world around them will also find community at Garver Feed Mill through a variety of spiritual and physical wellness offerings from yoga and meditation classes to aromatherapy and spa retreats.

Garver is a foodie and wellness destination for locals and out-of-towners alike, benefiting from the close proximity and future programming with Olbrich Botanical Gardens and Olbrich Park.

Fri 02/10/23 – Adult Swim: Winter Weirderland

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5:30-9pm at Madison Children’s Museum
Tix: madisonchildrensmuseum.org/event/adult-swim-winter-weirderland

Though the wind may howl and yetis prowl, Adult Swim is keeping it warm, wacky, and weird!

Brennan Connors & Stray Passage + Laminal Animal double trio from 6:30-8:30pm!

click on image for facebook event details!

Laminal Animal, a Madison-based trio consisting of Luke Leavitt (piano and electronics), Tim Russell (percussion and electronics), and Ari Smith (bass, percussion and electronics), utilizes improvisation to investigate emergent, complex social interactions in order to create and navigate new sonic landscapes.

Adult Swim at Madison Children’s Museum honors the public pool tradition of kicking the kids out so adults can have the space to themselves (without the water or need for a swimsuit). This 21-and-up event series offers adults the opportunity to play like a grown-up for the evening—crawling, sliding, crafting, and dancing their way through the museum.

Adult Swim is presented by the Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co.

7/20 | Brennan Connors & Stray Passage Jazz Trio @ the Mason Lounge

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Tuesday, 7/20/2021 | 7-10pm, No Cover @ the Mason Lounge

Brennan Connors & Stray Passage returns to the Mason Lounge for a night of fascinating adventures into jazz, sound, and musical narrative. Geoff Brady on drums, homemade electronics, and Theremin. Brian Grimm on electric Frankencello and electric bass. Brennan Connors on saxophones. Craft Brew, Jazz Delights, No Cover.

“Their sets embrace plenty of sinuous melody and conversational interplay, but can just as easily dive into minimalism and dissonance.”

– Tone Madison
Watch the trio’s first return to Cafe Coda since the pandemic hit, live streamed on Facebook in May 2021.

“For those who seek to shake themselves out of musical complacency, there’s Stray Passage, an improvisational jazz trio that explodes boundaries, playing off the energy in the room and audience. The group, led by saxophonist Brennan Connors, includes master percussionist Geoff Brady and Brian Grimm on bowing cello, contra-cello and electric bass. The album they’re releasing on an Italian label (Setola di Maiale) was recorded live by Steve Gotcher at Audio for the Arts.“

~ Isthmus Daily Page
Check out Brennan and Geoff playing as a Duo (due to pandemic performance restrictions) at Cafe Coda back in May of 2020!