John Ellis Quartet featuring Jason Marsalis
Wednesday February 8     7PM    $15

Featuring Aaron Goldberg on piano, Roland Guerin on bass and Jason Marsalis on drums

John Ellis' "Bonus Round" - Live at Yoshi's
Be patient for download

"...John Ellis stays true to the idea of the Southern- expression in jazz, from New Orleans funk to folkloric melodies...he has the knack for writing catchy, fluid, optimistic songs; but he is also fascinated by the ways musicians can break down structure and create it on the fly."
-- New York Times
 
"Ellis slithers from funky second-line rhythms ("Happy") to high-velocity postbop ("Work in Progress") to traditionals ("Michael Finnegan," "Sippin' Cider") and makes the disparate repertoire sound of a piece."
-- Chicago Reader

John Ellis makes a return visit to Cleveland's venerable jazz club, Nighttown, on Wednesday, February 8th in the midst of a Midwest tour. The young tenor saxophonist, who's best known for his work as a member of the Charlie Hunter Trio, leads a red hot quartet that deftly fuses post modern jazz urgency with a laid-back New Orleans funk swagger. The unique combination melds the many years Ellis spent living and performing in the Big Easy with his most recent adventures on the New York City scene. 

Nowhere is this more evident than on his critically acclaimed recording, One Foot In The Swamp. Alongside special guests like John Scofield, Nicholas Payton and Gregoire Maret, Ellis finds a meeting ground for improvisational exploration and populist groove. On April 4th, 2006, John Ellis will release it's follow up on HYENA Records entitled, "By A Thread".
 
Don't miss the return performance of John Ellis along with Jason Marsalis at Nighttown on Wednesday, February 8th.

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The Bad Plus
Thursday February 9     8PM    $20



Not exactly a bull in a china shop, more a like a rhino in an outlet mall, The Bad Plus have spent the last few years busting up any and all preconceived notions of what an acoustic jazz trio ought to be. You don’t need a lab coat or any particular listening pedigree to appreciate the partnership between bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson and drummer David King. Regardless of how you might describe The Kind Of Music You Like, this acclaimed trio’s passionate, eclectic language speaks directly to you and to anyone with a functioning heart, ears and nervous system.
 
Since their proper formation in the year 2000, The Bad Plus have released two independent discs and three more for Sony/Columbia. On their three Columbia/ Sony  albums “These Are the Vistas” and 2004’s “Give”, and their latest "Suspiciaous Activity?", they collaborated with renowned producer and restless studio maestro Tchad Blake. (His work on “Give” yielded a Grammy nomination.) On the road, The Bad Plus have laid waste to a wide variety of physical structures, witnessed by audiences that vary wildly in size, shape, temperament and citizenship.  Currently they are touring in support of their new CD on Columbia records "Suspicious Activity?".
 
 Do they play jazz clubs? Yes. Rock clubs? Yes. Festivals from Bonnaroo to Bumbershoot? Damn straight. Opening slots for alt-rock heroes the Pixies? Uh-huh. Dreamy residencies at New York’s legendary Village Vanguard? Several. Private parties attended by the likes of Jake LaMotta and George Steinbrenner? Well, once. Crackling collaborations with the distinguished Mark Morris Dance Group? Go ahead and Google it.  Has there been any setting anywhere in which The Bad Plus has not thrown down with mighty force? No, there has not.
 
If you’ve read about The Bad Plus in magazines, you probably know they play some covers. If you’ve read about The Bad Plus in particularly good magazines, you also know that they mostly play their own material, with all three members recognized as first-rate composers. Regardless of authorship, the band brings a winningly disparate body of influences to the stage. This is not a jazz trio for whom being “rock-influenced” means simply playing loud or referencing Zeppelin. With deep experience writing and performing across several genres, these guys are shrewd, hearty improvisers with the ability to build, contort, distort, destroy, rebuild and reinvent without losing grasp of The Song. This is disarmingly futuristic stuff in which all three players share the control room.
 
Don't miss the return of The Bad Plus at Nighttown on Thursday, February 9th.

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Bill Rudman and Nancy Maier Present  “Sweet Talk. . . . A Valentine’s Day Cabaret” Also featuring Kate Rockwell and Stephen Trafton Sunday February 12     7PM    $10 An evening of love songs from musical theater and the Great American Songbook – some touching, some witty and all irresistible!  Music from the great composers and lyracists of the Great American Songbook including the Gershwin brothers, Rodgers and Hart, Lerner and Loewe, Cole Porter and Stephen Sondheim. Presented by Bill Rudman and Nancy Maier, internationally known authorities on The Great American Songbook.   Bill Rudman says, “we want to recapture the intimate atmosphere of a New York cabaret in the 1940s or 50s, when audiences flocked to the best clubs to hear stories told in brilliantly crafted songs. And of course, Nightown is the perfect place to do that.” BILL RUDMAN is the artistic director of Musical Theater Education Programming, whose mission is to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of the American musical and the Great American Songbook by creating programs that educate as well as entertain people of all ages. His weekly radio program “Footlight Parade” has been heard for 22 years on WCLV 104.9 FM, and for the past eight years in national syndication. In addition, he produces and hosts “On the Aisle” for XM Satellite Radio’s all-Broadway Channel 28. Bill has co-produced a number of jazz albums celebrating classic American song and featuring such artists as Peggy Lee and Maxine Sullivan (one of his Sullivan discs was nominated for a Grammy Award). Bill created and co-hosts (usually with Joe Hunter) the concert series “The Song Is You!” – a celebration of the Great American Songbook – which this season is being presented by Tri-C JazzFest, the Stocker Center, the Jewish Community Center and the Cleveland Play House. In 2000 he became the first recipient of the Robert Bergman Prize for his work in arts education and community outreach. NANCY MAIER is well known in the Cleveland area as a music director, vocal coach and accompanist. She spent years in New York City honing her skills in these areas, along with doing nightclub work as a singer-pianist. Nancy is currently music director/coach for the acclaimed musical theater program at Baldwin-Wallace College under the direction of Victoria Bussert, and she is resident music director for Cain Park, where her musical direction has included “A Little Night Music,” “Into the Woods,” “Big River,” “The Music Man,” “Side Show,” “Goblin Market, “Avenue X, “tick, tick…BOOM!” and the recent “Songs for a New World.” She has also music-directed for Great Lakes Theater Festival, Porthouse Theatre, the Cleveland Play House, Beck Center and Karamu House. She married to jazz pianist Dan Maier.

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Special Events at Nighttown Winter 2005

12387 Cedar Road (top of Cedar Hill)
Cleveland Heights, OH
Tickets/reservations 216-795-0550
www.nighttowncleveland.com
Map to Nighttown

Jim Wadsworth Productions
www.jwpjazz.com

Nighttown
12387 Cedar Road
Cleveland Heights
Tickets/reservations by calling 216-795-0550
www.nighttowncleveland.com
Map to Nighttown

Jim Wadsworth Productions
www.jwpjazz.com