At the Suite - Yardbird Suite

Available JellyFormed in the 1970s, AvailableJelly has developed into a constantfeature of the Dutch improvised musicscene. Their music has a theatricalityand eclecticism meshed with a morepersonal improvisational style.The group’s influences, rangingfrom New Orleans jazz to Ellingtonia tocontemporary composition to ethnicand popular music, are evident on theirfour recordings released to date.Michael Moore and Eric Boerenprovide the majority of the originalmaterial and arrangements forAvailable Jelly. Moore’s compositionsshow great variety, incorporatingEuropean folk traditions, baroquelikewind arrangements, sweetmelodies and pop songs into a soundthat is definitely jazz but with atheatrical flavour typical ofcontemporary continental jazz.Probably the best known member ofAvailable Jelly, Michael Moore hasperformed with Clusone Trio, ICPOrchestra, Fred Hersch, GerryHemingway, Myra Melford, MarkHelias and Marilyn Crispell.Eric Boeren’s compositionsemphasize the important place ofimprovisation, allowing each groupmember to put their own individualstamp on the music. His quartetpresented one of the outstandingconcerts at the Edmonton Art GalleryTheatre during this year’s Jazz CityInternational Music Festival.Since moving to Amsterdam in1984, saxophonist Tobias Delius hasperformed with Steve Lacy, LouisMoholo, Bill Frissell, Ray Andersonand ICP Orchestra as well as leadinghis own quartet.Trombonist Wolter Wierbos hasrecorded prolifically over the yearsand has been awarded many prizesincluding the most important Dutchjazz award, the Boy Edgar prize. Heworks currently with the ICPOrchestra, Gerry Hemingway, MaartenAltena and the large European groupBik Bent Braam.Another member of ICP is bassistErnst Glerum. He is an instructor atthe Conservatory of Amsterdam inaddition to performing throughout hiscareer with Steve Lacy, George Lewis,Bud Shank, Lee Konitz, John Zorn andDon Byron.The other American ex-patriot inAvailable Jelly besides Michael Mooreis drummer Michael Vatcher. Heworked with Moore in Californiabefore eventually moving toAmsterdam where he now works withdancers as well as a variety of jazzcontingents.For this concert, expect theunexpected. Since the group startedperforming, the lineup and repertoirehave changed but there is one thingyou can be sure of - there will besome strong melodies. The music canbe wild, dense, smooth or swingingbut it will always be interesting.Tobias Delius - tenor sax and clarinetMichael Moore - alto sax and clarinetEric Boeren - cornetWolter Wierbos - tromboneErnst Glerum - bassMichael Vatcher - percussionSATURDAY 4 OCTOBER 11DOORS 8PM 4 SHOW 9PM 4 MEMBERS $14/GUESTS $18Melissa Walker GroupMelissa Walker was born inEdmonton at a time when her fatherwas playing for the EdmontonEskimos. She was raised here andafter completing high school, sheattended Brown University.Abandoning plans to go to lawschool, she eventually moved to theNew York area to pursue her vocalcareer and was the first singer signedto Enja Records since Abbey Lincoln.Three acclaimed discs later, shemakes her Yardbird Suite debut in herhome town. Her first Enja release in1997 “May I Feel” was produced byGary Bartz and received anHonourable Mention at the U.S. IndieAwards. It is a wonderful mix ofstandards and originals, some ofwhich have become signature songsfor Melissa.Her third recording “I Saw theSky” was a 2002 Juno nominee forBest Jazz Vocal Album of the Year.Backed by her trio of ShedrickMitchell, Kiyoshi Kitagawa andClarence Penn, the disc displaysWalker’s extraordinary talents as asinger and lyricist. Kenny Barron,Makoto Ozone and Stefon Harrisguest on this outstanding CD.“The music of Carmen McRaeand Sarah Vaughan really influencedme,” she says, “and I admired BettyCarter’s commanding presence onstage.” Comparisons have also beenmade to Dee Dee Bridgewater andCassandra Wilson.Walker continues, “I think ofsongs as stories. They are the meansby which we all become friendsbecause songs are stories that we allknow. Standards are how we talk toeach other ... It’s our connection tothe past. But it’s also important tokeep expanding the canon of musicand encourage new artists. That’s whyI prefer to combine a mix of bothstandards and new original songs onmy recordings.”With one foot in the past and theother in the future, Melissa Walkercombines the best of both worlds.She’s blessed with an artisticimagination that is pointed towardstomorrow and a reverence for the richjazz tradition of the past - a musicalintertwining that’s hard to beat.“Melissa has one of the richestvoices I have heard in years.”Gene LeesMelissa Walker - vocals- piano- bass- drumsFRI&SAT4 OCT 17&18DOORS 8PM 4 SHOW 9PM 4 MEMBERS $14/GUESTS $18SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003Page 5

Lina Allemano FourEdmonton native LinaAllemano has carved out a veryimpressive career sincecompleting the MusicPerformance program at GrantMacEwan Community Collegeand heading to Toronto in 1993.She is currently a member ofa wide variety of groups basedmainly in Toronto includingNOJO, Tim Posgate’s Jazzstoryand Horn Band, the Rob CluttonBand and the Jane Fair/RosemaryGalloway Quintet. In addition,she is the co-leader of the Carn-Allemano Quintet withtrombonist William Carn.Other performance creditsinclude the all female New Yorkbased big band Diva, TimeWarp, Kieran Overs Nonet, BarryElmes Quintet and the DaveMcMurdo Jazz Orchestra. Shehas also graced the bandstandwith Don Byron, Dave Holland,Pat LaBarbera, Mike Murley, JoeLovano, Don Thompson, KennyWheeler and Dave Young.This will be Lina’s firstappearance in Edmonton withher Lina Allemano Four. The touris in support of the group’s newCD “Concentric” and featuresthree other outstanding Torontobasedmusicians who haveappeared at the Yardbird Suite inthe past with other groups -guitarist David Occhipinti, bassistAndrew Downing and drummerAnthony Michelli.The group is known for itsdistinctively fresh soundfeaturing Lina’s own melodic yetsubtly crafted songs, intriguingoriginals from guitarist Occhipintiand the occasional lesser-knownjazz standard.Lina Allemano - trumpetDavid Occhipinti - guitarAndrew Downing - bassAnthony Michelli - drumsTHURSDAY 4 OCT 23DOORS 7:30PM 4 SHOW 8PM 4 MEMBERS $8/GUESTS $12Leszek Zadlo & Jan Jarczyk QuartetThis is a rare opportunity to presenttwo prominent veterans of the Polish jazzscene. Both Jarczyk and Zadlo were bornand raised in Krakow, a city known for itslong tradition in music and arts. Althoughneither one of them lives in Polandanymore, they quite frequently travel backto their native country to play, and toteach. This past July, both Jan and Leszektaught at the ‘Warsztaty Jazzowe’ inChodzierz, Poland.Leszek Zadlo, though being amongsaxophone players that refer to JohnColtrane, has developed a very personaland full of contrasts musical language.In 1972 he founded his own LeszekZadlo Ensemble, and then the PolishJazz Ensemble in 1983. In 1999 Leszekwas appointed leader of the EuropeanArt Orchestra.He has worked with numerousrenowned bands and musicians of thejazz scene, such as Elvin Jones, DexterGordon, Jimmy Heath, Art Farmer, HaroldRubin, Joachim Kühn, George Russel,Thad Jones Big Band, Slide Hampton BigBand, European Jazz Quintet, as well as,for the past 20 years, working withGerman composer and organ playerClaus Bantzer. One of the results of thisfruitful cooperation was their 1997improvisation CD " Illumination". His own‘Leszek Zadlo Ensemble’ has recorded 8CDs and LPs with different musicians. Theband plays music where improvisation,and emotion are of primary interest. Themusic is melodic, harmonic and rhythmic.Besides his performances atprestigious festivals and lots of recordingsfor radio, TV, and more than 70 LP/CDs,Zadlo has also become known as acomposer of stage and film music. Since1986 he has been teaching saxophoneand flute at the jazz department of theMusic Conservatory in Würzburg, andsince 1991 at the Richard StraussConservatory in Munich. Earlier this yearhe was nominated a Professor at theMusic Conservatory in Würzburg.He is very individual and moderntenor player whose improvisations arefull of contrasts, where one can feel andhear that he is aware of the tradition ofhis instrument.Jan Jarczyk, pianist and composer,played the Yardbird Suite stage last fall.His performance was described by theEdmonton Journal writer RogerLevesque as one of the “notableperformances of 2002.”At the age of 15 Jan began to playjazz under the tutelage of Tomasz Stanko.He received a Master's Degree incomposition from the Academy of Musicin Krakow and was a recipient of thePolish Composers Association Scholarship.FRI&SAT 4 OCTOBER 24-25DOORS 8PM 4 SHOW 9PM 4 MEMBERS $12/GUESTS $16Since 1986, after teaching harmony andcomposition for several years at theBerklee College of Music, he has been aprofessor at McGill University in Montréal.For several years he worked aspianist/composer/arranger with the PolishRadio Jazz Orchestra, and had his worksdocumented on the'Polish Jazz' record label.Jan was an originalmember of ZbigniewSeifert Quartet, and,while in Poland, heworked asperformer/arranger andpianist/trombonist withZbigniew Namyslowski,Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski,Tomasz Stanko, andbetween 1970-1976appeared on manyrecords as a member ofvarious Polish jazz groups. After movingto North America, Jan worked with PhilWilson, Greg Hopkins, Tim Hagans,Kenny Wheeler, and Kevin Dean.Jarczyk's works range from music forString Quartet and Jazz Trio, Quartet,Quintet Music to his 12 piece JazzOrchestra, not to mention solo piano. Heregularly plays concerts in the Montrealarea, Quebec, and Toronto, and recordshis original music for CBC Radio Networkin Montreal. Mr. Jarczyk's latestpresentations include performances of hismusic in Rome during the InternationalFestival of New Contemporary Music, thepremiere of a theatrical play 'Images' withhis music inPoland, a CBCsession with anew Montrealbased jazz group,MomentsMusicaux.Since 1985he has recorded 7CDs as pianist,leader andarranger-composer. One of them, 'ThingsTo Look For' received a nomination for aFelix Award in 1996. Mr. Jarczyk isdividing his time between composing,performing and attending to his teachingduties as Professor at McGill UniversityFaculty of Music.Leszek Zadlo & Jan Jarczyk Quartetwill play original music written by bothco-leaders of this group.Jan Jarczyk - pianoLeszek Zadlo - tenor saxtba - bassDan Skakun- drumsPage 6SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003

Marty Ehrlich QuartetBilly Kilson & BK GrooveOne of the highlights of the 2002-2003 season at the Yardbird Suite wasBobby Previte & Bump. One of thehighlights of Bobby’s quintet wassaxophonist Marty Ehrlich. Marty returnsto the Yardbird Suite in support of hisnew Palmetto release “Line on Love”.Marty Ehrlich is one of the mostcelebrated jazz musicians of hisgeneration, critically acclaimed as bothcomposer and player. Equally fluent onclarinet, saxophone and flute, he hasbeen hailed by the Village Voice as “oneof the most formidable multiinstrumentalistssince Eric Dolphy.” TheNew York Times calls him “one of thepremier melodicists of his generation.”Besides his own acclaimedrecordings, Marty has appeared on over100 recordings by other artists too manyof whom to list here. He has beenawarded an Outstanding Alumni Awardfrom the prestigious New EnglandConservatory as well as receiving a DownBeat Talent Deserving Wider Recognitionaward for the clarinet and the WindPlayer of the Year award from the JazzJournalists Association.Since moving to New York in the late1970s, Ehrlich has performed hiscompositions with three ongoingensembles - The Traveler’s Tales Group, aquartet of two horns and rhythm section;The Dark Woods Ensemble, featuring hiswoodwinds with cello and bass; and TheMarty Ehrlich Quartet, the group he isbringing to the Yardbird Suite. He hasrecorded 14 CDs with these groups forvarious labels.The Marty Ehrlich Quartet, with CraigTaborn, Mark Helias and Allison Millerappearing in Edmonton with MartyEhrlich, has been called “sophisticated,rewarding work of a mature artist’s vision,masterfully realized” bybarnesandnoble.com.Besides his own trio, pianist CraigTaborn has recorded with the JamesCarter Quartet, Roscoe Mitchell andHugh Ragin, and performed with TimBerne, William Parker and Mat Maneri.He is equally accomplished in a variety ofcontexts from straight ahead jazz to moreoutside music.Mark Helias has been makinginnovative music since the mid-1970s. Hehad a seventeen year association withdrummer Eddie Blackwell and he hascollaborated with Ray Anderson and GerryHemingway in BassDrumBone for twentysixyears. He has nine recordings under hisown name and many others as asideman, in co-operative bands or as aproducer for artists such as Mark Dresser,Don Cherry, Dewey Redman and BarryAltshcul.Allison Miller is an exciting newdrummer currently making a name forherself in New York. Her recording andperforming credits already include NatalieMerchant, Kenny Barron, Mike Stern, IngridJensen, Kevin Mahogany and Oliver Lake.Marty Ehrlich - saxophones,clarinet and fluteCraig Taborn - pianoMark Helias - bassAllison Miller - drumsOne of the most exhilaratingelements of a Dave Holland Quintetconcert is the interaction betweenthe leader on bass and drummerBilly Kilson. Those who were at theYardbird Suite to hear Dave Hollanda few years back can attest to this.At the time, Kilson was the newestmember of the group so hisathletic, swing-meets-funk beatscombined with his lyricism were anextremely exciting surprise for thosewho hadn’t seen him performbefore. In fact, in some respects, hestole the show.Now, after six years with DaveHolland, Billy Kilson is getting somewell-deserved recognition, currentlyfinding himself near the top of boththe Down Beat Critics’ and Readers’Polls as well as earning a Grammyaward as a member of the DaveHolland Big Band.Kilson was exposed to jazz,funk and R & B from an early age.Like so many other greatmusicians, he graduated from theBerklee College of Music wheresome of his fellow studentsincluded Jeff “Tain” Watts andMarvin “Smitty” Smith. Beingessentially a self-taught player tothat time, he practiced fourteenhours a day to catch up to his moreexperienced classmates. He wasalso mentored by the late AlanDawson.For seven years, Billy wasDianne Reeves’ drummer. Inaddition to his gig with DaveHolland, he currently works withBob James and Larry Carlton. Hisdiscography extends to sixtyrecordings.BK Groove’s bassist Kenny Davisspent three years as part of KevinEubanks’ band on “The TonightShow”. Saxophonist Michael Simhas toured with Michael Franks, theMingus Big Band and Lee Ritenour.Pianist Henry Hey has toured withJeff “Tain” Watts, Rod Stewart andHarry Belafonte.BK Groove is a musical meltingpot. Their funky jazz fusion is asummation of the vast talents,experiences and influences of eachindividual band member. The music isdiverse, original and inspired, alwayskeeping the groove going. Theuniqueness of their music will inciteheads to bob and feet to dance.Billy Kilson - drumsMichael Sim - saxHenry Hey - pianoKenny Davis - bassFRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 31DOORS 8PM 4 SHOW 9PM 4 MEMBERS $18/GUESTS $22SATURDAY 4 NOV 1DOORS 8PM 4 SHOW 9PM 4 MEMBERS $16/GUESTS $20SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003 Page 7

Yardbird Suite at GlanceAll shows begin at 9pm unless otherwise noted.MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAYSeptember29 30JAM withCharlieAustinFriday & Saturday • September 19 & 2022 23 24 25 28Trevor Watts &FernThe CelebrationBandJAM withKenHoffmanFriday • September 26Wayne Horvitz &Sweeter Than The DaySaturday • September 27MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAYOctoberardbird Suite BLUESDawn Tyler WatsonFriday & Saturday • October 3 & 46 7 8 9 Double12Duo:AvailableTheUnexpectedJellyJAM withLane ArndtFriday • October 10Saturday • October 1113 14 15 16 19JAM withBill RichardsMelissa Walker GroupFriday & Saturday • October 17 & 1820 21 22 Lina26AllemanoFourJAM withBryan SimDoors:7:30pmShow: 8pmThu • Oct 2327 28 29 30JAM withBlake KinleyLeszek Zadlo/Jan Jarczyk QuartetFriday & Saturday • October 24 & 25MartyEhrlichQuartetFriday • October 31BillyKilson &BK GrooveSaturday • November 1215Annual General MeetingNotice is hereby given that the annual generalmeeting of members of the Edmonton Jazz Society(1973) will be held at the Yardbird Suite, 11 TommyBanks Way, Edmonton, Alberta, on Thursday,October 30, 2003 at 7:00 PM for the purpose of:1. Receiving the report of the president;2. Receiving and considering the report of thetreasurer of the Society for the fiscal year endedJuly 31, 2003 including the appointment of theauditors for the coming year;3. Election of the board of directors and officersof the Society;4. The transition of such further business as mayproperly come before the meeting or anyadjournment thereof.Further information regarding the business to bediscussed at the annual general meeting can beobtained by contacting the Yardbird Suite attelephone 432-0428, or fax 433-3773.Dated at the city of Edmonton, in the Provinceof Alberta, this first day of September, 2003.THE YARDBIRD SUITE IS ACONCERT VENUE.During the show, please turn offyour cell phones and pagers.THE YARDBIRD SUITE IS ANON-SMOKING VENUEFor upcoming shows visitwww.yardbirdsuite.com