Tag Archives: jazz trio

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 >>

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!

3/29 | Evil Genius (LA) w Stray Passage @ Art In

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Wed, 3/29 | $8 doors 730p  / music 800p @ Art In

1444 E Wash Ave., Madison, WI 53703

EVIL GENIUS (LA) – tuba, guitar, drums

Brennan Connors & Stray Passage

Join us for an evening of Jazz Trios at Art In’s spacious gallery!

Evil Genius (Portland/Los Angeles) is a forward-marching experimental jazz trio formed in 2012. The band is made up of Max Kutner on guitars (Grandmothers of Invention, Magic Band, Alphonso Johnson), Stefan Kac on tuba (Milo Fine, Jon Armstong, Hammerstein) and Michael “Bonepocket” Lockwood on drums and percussion (Atomic Ape, Deradoorian, Matt Kivel). The band’s unique sound has drawn comparisons to groups as wide-ranging as the Minutemen, This Heat and Captain Beefheart to jazz figures like John McLaughlin, Steve Lacy, Henry Threadgill and many more. They have received acclaim from the New York City Jazz Record, Bad Alchemy, Los Angeles Jazz Station, Downtown Music Gallery, El Intruso and more. In the words of Larry Koonse, “this band can do it all–whether its in your face rock, free wheeling open improvisation, 20th century classical music, or jazz–they can pull it off and upend all of your expectations.” Their debut album, “Bitter Human” was released in late 2015 and available through Orenda Records in Los Angeles.

Welcome.

You have arrived at the spontaneous soundscapes of Evil Genius, just on the cusp of this dimension of sound and waiting to transcend to another. Sign in here.

Now you may enter. There’s no need to take off your jacket. Take a seat. Here, sip this iced tea. Or would you like a soda? No, there are no soy lattes. Don’t be ridiculous!

Now drink – it will calm your nerves.

You are now ready to begin.

You are now a participant in the experience. A series of experiments. Each experiment will uncover a new layer of understanding, a new level of intrigue.

It may vary for you depending on you – are you cautious? Are you adventurous?

Only time will tell.

We hope you enjoy your stay…

(excerpt from the liner notes by Angela Allan)

5/5 | Audio for the Arts presents: HANGING HEARTS punk/jazz trio (Chi)

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This April, I had the fortunate luck of catching a thrilling late night set from Hanging Hearts punk/jazz trio in Detroit. Ben Willis and I were performing on a different side of town & stopped by afterwards to catch one of our favorite drummers, one of Wisconsin’s best, Devin Drobka. Devin, Chris & Cole of Hanging Hearts brought the house down with incredible energy, driving compositions, and excellent group communication. Even after a quite robust set, people were hungry for more. This in-studio concert will help Hanging Hearts prepare to go back into the studio this June to record their next album, produced by drummer Dave King of The Bad Plus.

Thr, 5/5 |  @ Audio for the Arts Studios
7 S. Blair St., Madison, WI
$10  Doors at 7:30p  /  Music at 8p

Recording Engineer & Host – Steve Gotcher

HANGING HEARTS (Chi) is:
Chris Weller – tenor saxophone
Cole DeGenova – keyboards/effects
Devin Drobka – drums/percussion
http://www.hangingheartsmusic.com/

Hanging Hearts is a Chicago-based jazz trio with rock energy dedicated to the fearless exploration of group improvisation. Described by critics as “hammering the walls between genres,” their music bridges the gap between jazz, rock, and experimental music. The band features Chris Weller on tenor saxophone, Cole DeGenova on keyboards, and Devin Drobka on drums. While Chris and Cole grew up in Chicago, playing professionally in jazz and blues clubs by the age of 15, the trio was completed at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where all three members graduated. The trio’s repertoire consists of their original compositions and free improvisations.

Members of the group have performed around the world and shared the stage with Joe Lovano, Jerry Bergonzi, Greg Osby, Tony Malaby, Tower of Power, Lettuce, Kurt Elling, Snarky Puppy, Lupe Fiasco, Greg Ward, Tim Daisy, and Dave Rempis, among others. Notable performances as a band include the Jazzinec Festival in Czech Republic and Nádasdy Castle in Sárvár, Hungary. Though they have been playing together for years, the group released their debut album in October ’14, with supporting US shows and European tour (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, & Romania).