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proudly presents the 2007 3rd Annual Edition of: . FIVE WEEKS FOR MILES . 
Produced & directed by Brownman...|...Executive producer Frank Francis @ Trane Studio TraneStudio.com (MAP) 964 Bathurst Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 416.913.8197 Every friday in November 2007 ---- 6:00 pm - open for dinner 9:00pm - show ---- $20 at the door | $15 advance guest list Please email Andrew McIntosh andrew@brownman.com to get on the advance guest list (please include your name and phone number for a callback confirmation of the reservation) or call 416.913.8197 to make a reeservation by phone Table seating will be given preference to those with dinner reservations on a first come first serve basis. Those on the Advanced List should arrive before 8:15pm to ensure good seating. Dinner reservations are being taken & the Trane Studio features some of the finest Caribbean cuisine in Toronto. See menu Reservations: 416.913.8197 ---- In 2007 there are 5 fridays in November. Every friday multi-award winning trumpeter/composer Nick "Brownman" Ali will lead 5 different all-star ensembles through 5 historic eras of jazz which Miles Davis catalyzed & immortalized with his presence. ---- 5 Fridays... 5 Ensembles... 5 Eras of Miles Davis... ---- POSTER (2.1 meg jpg) Brownman, when asked about the tribute and the musicians behind the music, states, "For those who appreciate jazz as a true art form, FIVE WEEKS FOR MILES represents a rare opportunity to understand it's greatest legend's career, where he could have gone and a reminder of what he might have meant to us today. I'm truly honoured to be fronting this sequential tribute and performing with such a monsterous cross-section of players." Brownman has put together a spectacular all-star cast for his production featuring everyone from Canadian jazz legends Pat Labarbera & Terry Clarke, to luminaries in his own generation such as Robi Botos & Dave Restivo; to the best of the youngest new breed of jazz modernists like Tyler Emond & Larnell Lewis. "Whatever age, whatever background, whatever colour - we're all going to be giving all of ourselves over to Miles’ music… to try and do the man and his vision justice”, Brownman concludes. |
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"Young Miles" - The Bird Years At 17 years of age Miles would travel across the river from his home in East St. Louis, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri to hear well-known jazz musicians play in clubs. Mesmerized by their talent and style, he would listen to their all night jam sessions until Charlie "Bird" Parker arrived in St. Louis with the Billy Eckstine Band in 1944. Bird was the creative force behind a new form of jazz later to be dubbed "bebop" and the young Miles would become fascinated with it's complex melodic and harmonic structure leading Miles to follow Bird across the country until he was allowed to substitute for his trumpet player at the time - Dizzy Gillespie. His tenure as Bird's sideman would most exemplify this hard-swinging period of his life. Nick "Brownman" Ali - trumpet Bobby Brough - alto saxophone Dave Restivo - piano Brandi Disterheft - upright bass Archie Alleyne - drums Week 2 - Fri Nov 9, 2007 "Birth Of The Cool & Kind Of Blue" - Post-Bop Miles The term "cool" came to particular prominence in the 1950s to describe a more cerebral, less impassioned way of playing jazz. It's generally supposed that these sessions were part of the inspiration for the 'cool school' of jazz which flourished, particularly on the West Coast, in the 50s. Miles would confound the public's expectations by departing the bop world of Charlie Parker and embracing this new order of jazz as heard on "Birth Of The Cool" (Capitol Records, '49). This 'cooler' form of expression would gradually over the next 10 years lead to the modal approaches of "Kind Of Blue" (Columbia, '59) free of fixed harmony and the now legendary collaboration with the then rising tenor saxophone icon John Coltrane. Nick "Brownman" Ali - trumpet Jeff King - tenor sax (National Jazz Award nominee) Nancy Walker - piano (National Jazz Award nominee) Ross MacIntyre - upright bass (Matt Dusk) Bob McLaren - drums (Canadian jazz legend) The first set will focus on the "Birth Of The Cool" beginnings of this era... the second set will emphasize the "Kind Of Blue" approaches Week 3 - Fri Nov 16, 2007 "Plugged Nickel" - The Shorter Years Two quintets in particular featuring 2 tenor saxophone giants dominated Miles' musical life almost exclusively from the mid 50's, right up until the 70's, one featuring John Coltrane and the other featuring Wayne Shorter. This period would feature an assortment of quintets and sextets all pushing the boundaries of improvisation within a simple modal framework, but the two teamings that would leave the world breathless would be those of Coltrane and Shorter. Of those two teamings it would be the Miles-Shorter pairing that would result in some of the most explosively creative & exploratory jazz in Miles' history. "Live at the Plugged Nickel" (Columbia / Legacy '65) continues to be a paramount recording in the great Miles lineage and considered by many to be some of the most ground-breaking jazz in history. Nick "Brownman" Ali - trumpet Pat LaBarbera - tenor sax (Canadian jazz legend) Robi Botos - piano (National Jazz Award winner) Mark Cashion - upright bass (Shufle Demons) Terry Clarke - drums (Canadian jazz legend) Week 4 - Fri Nov 23, 2007 "From Bitches Brew to Tutu" - Electric Miles Legendary as a kind of line in the sand challenging jazz fans during the ascendance of electric, psychedelic rock, "In a Silent Way" (Colombia Records, 1969) hinted at the repetitive polyrhythms Davis would employ throughout the early '70s. It also partook generously of electric piano and bass tonal colourings previously explored in acoustic settings, but "In a Silent Way" and the subsequent "Bitches Brew" and "Live Evil" recordings remains a clearly electric jazz record, part ambient color exploration, part rock-inflected energy and vibe, and part outright maverick creativity. Long, breathy solos would be a feature of this era, glistening against his new groups' strange admixture of musical moods. Miles would stay on this "electric" path right in to the '80's, continually exploring these textures with newer and younger generations of musicians. Nick "Brownman" Ali - electric trumpet Justin Abedin - electric guitar (JackSoul) Eric Boucher - rhodes & synths (David Clayton Thomas) Marc Rogers - 7-string electric bass (Philosopher Kings) Colin Kingsmore - drums (Brownman Electryc Trio) With Special guests Sundar - alto sax Ruben Esguerra - congas (Chiva) The first set tonight will focus on the "Bitches Brew" 70's era... the second set will emphasize the "Tutu" 80's ideologies. Week 5 - Fri Nov 30, 2007 "Doo-bop" - Had he lived... Towards the end of Miles' life he began an exploration of another sub-component of modern popular music - hip-hop. The "Doo-bop" recording (Warner,'92) would feature rappers and loops and would have marked the beginning of Miles' exploration or this artform. It is often harshly referred to by critics as his "worst" documented recording and as a "forgettable" era of his life, but it still stands strongly as a prime example of the Milesian ethic - his ability to recognize "what's next" and creatively move within and extend that artform. Brownman states "I believe it is extremely probable that Miles would have worked closely with the likes of Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Rakim, Guru, Big Daddy Kane, junglists, DJs, rappers, beat-makers alike... had he lived. Tonight will be a salute to what MIGHT have been." Brownman - electric trumpet Enlight - rapper (Gruvasylum) Lil Jaz - turntables (K-OS) Tyler Emond - 6-string electric bass (Brownman Electryc Trio) Larnell Lewis - drums (Jully Black) With Special guests Professor D - rapper (Dope Poet Society) *Just announced - STUDENT SECOND SET: For Week 5 - the last and final installment of Nick "Brownman" Ali's FIVE WEEKS FOR MILES Tribute Series - all students will be admited for 1/2 price with student I.D. ($10) for the second set at the Trane Studio.. |
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