Archive for the ‘Gigs’ Category

  • Circus Circus (Circus)!

    Date: 2011.06.28 | Category: Gigs | Response: 0

    Ah, summertime by the Bay–the cold, the rain, the rock-hard peaches. Hope you’re all making the most of it. I wanted to drop a line to let you know about some exciting shows coming up in the next month–many of them free!

    As you may know, and as my wife likes to say, “Ian ran off and joined the circus!” Specifically, I’m playing with the Circus Bella All-Star Band, which accompanies the local independent circus of the same name as they go about their Death-Defying feats of Derring-Do. The band is led by composer/accordionist extraordinaire Rob Reich, and features a fine cast of Bay Area perennials (including the amazing multi-instrumentalist wizard Ralph Carney). The music is an eclectic (I know, but in this case it’s true) mix of early jazz, brass band, Balkan, Gypsy, and indie rock influences, chock full of improvisation and surprises.

    You can catch Circus Bella (& yours truly) at the following dates & places during their 2011 Circus in the Parks series, beginning THIS WEEK! (All free, unless otherwise noted.)

    The band has also recorded a fine new album (click here to sample or purchase) featuring an expanded version of the group, and will be having a CD release show on July 24th (Happy Birthday to me!) at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage at 8pm. There may even be assorted juggling and other unexpected circusness!

    Finally, with the assistance of my lawyers, I will close by saying, Come one, Come all, one of you should come, all of you should come, to the Greatest Show on Earth! to a very good show on this planet!

  • Gig in Berkeley + Bonus Video

    Date: 2011.05.04 | Category: Gigs, Video | Response: 0

    Hi folks, thanks to everyone who came out to recent shows in Berkeley and Oakland. I’ve got another show coming up in Berkeley at Caffe Trieste, home of an array of strange and wonderful coffeemakers worthy of Frankenstein’s lab. I’ll be joining bassist Noah Schenker and friends for an evening of straightahead cookin’ on standards, jazz classics, some originals and other rarities.

    What: The Noah Schenker Quartet
    Who: Noah Schenker, bass; Ian Carey, trumpet; Adam Shulman, piano; TBA, drums (but you know it’ll be somebody good).
    When: Tuesday, May 10, 7-10pm
    Where: Caffe Trieste,  2500 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley
    How Much: Free!

    Also, for those of you who weren’t able to make it to Takoyaki 3’s inaugural show at the Actual Jazz Series last month, series founder Jacob Zimmerman and Theo Padouvas were kind enough to video the entire show, so I thought I’d share two tunes. The first is our take on “How Deep is the Ocean”:

    Read the rest of this entry »

  • Gigs: Berkeley 4/12, Oakland 4/17 + Bonus Audio

    Date: 2011.04.12 | Category: Audio, Gigs | Response: 0

    Hi folks, hope everyone’s swinging through spring and enjoying the weather while avoiding giant villainous clouds of pollen. I wanted to let you know about a couple of shows this week, plus give you a few musical snippets to hopefully whet your appetites.

    First up is a show Tuesday in Berkeley with some longtime musical pals–we’ll be playing a variety of tunes old & new to a steady accompaniment of espresso grinding and milk frothing:

    What: Noah Schenker Quartet
    Who: Noah Schenker, Adam Shulman, Jon Arkin, Ian Carey
    Where: Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley
    When: Tuesday, April 12, 7-10pm

    Next up, this Sunday will be the premiere of my new group, Takoyaki 3, as part of Jacob Zimmerman’s Actual Jazz Series right here in Oakland. For some reason, I described the group this way:

    Takoyaki 3 is a streamlined, street-food-style version of Ian Carey’s successful quintet, featuring longtime collaborators Adam Shulman on Hammond B3 organ and Bryan Bowman on drums. The recipe begins with a delicious batter of original composition and improvisation, adds meaty chunks of the jazz tradition, cooks til golden brown, then tops with a generous handful of experimentation and plenty of mayonnaise.

    We’ll be sharing the bill with the amazing vocaphonist Lorin Benedict who is the curator for the evening and was kind enough to invite us along:

    What: Actual Jazz Series featuring Lorin Benedict/Sam Ospovat Duo and Ian Carey’s Takoyaki 3
    Where: Actual Cafe, Oakland
    When: Sunday, April 17, 5-7pm (My group’s going on first.)

    Believe it or not, both shows have NO COVER! So please come out to either or both of them and support live music. It’s what our founding fathers would have wanted!

    Now as promised, here are a couple of little audio tidbits for your perusal–first, a tune of mine from Takoyaki 3’s rehearsal today. In the spirit of adventure, it’s not a complete take but gives you a taste of what the group is sounding like:

    And for the real die-hards, here’s an interesting Tristano-esque experiment I did recently–I took a playalong of “Cherokee” in a weird key, slowed it to half-time, recorded myself playing over it, then sped the recording back up to normal tempo. The result is strange and kind of interesting and might be a glance at what I could be sounding like some time in the future. Here you go:

  • Ian Carey Quintet at Coda, Weds., 10/13

    Date: 2010.10.01 | Category: Gigs | Response: 1

    Ian Carey Quintet at Coda, Weds. 10/13Hi listeners—

    I wanted to give you a heads-up about a show coming up in a few weeks which I’m excited about—the IC Quintet is returning to Coda (the site of our CD release party and one of our favorite new venues), right in San Francisco’s Inner Mission/Duboce neighborhood. (The food and wine are excellent, the Hammond B3 is the real deal, the music is happening, and the stage banter is… well, it is what it is. I’m working on it!)

    We’ll be playing music from our new CD, Contextualizin’ (“a digital masters’ seminar” —All About Jazz), and 2006’s Sink/Swim (“Catchy and original” —Lewis Porter), plus several new original compositions and arrangements of tunes by American heavyweights like Charles Ives, Wayne Shorter, and Neil Young. (That’d be an interesting trio of dinner guests.)

    So come on by if you can, and please share this with people who like jazz (or could just stand to get out of the house and away from “Jersey Shore” for a few precious hours). Here are the details:

    WHAT: The Ian Carey Quintet
    WHO: Ian Carey, trumpet & flugelhorn; Evan Francis, alto saxophone & flute; Adam Shulman, piano and Hammond B3; Fred Randolph, bass; and Jon Arkin, drums
    WHEN: Wednesday, October 13, 7-11pm
    WHERE: Coda Live Music Supper Club, 1710 Mission St., San Francisco; tel: (415) 551-2632
    HOW MUCH: Just $7

    Thanks!

  • Ian Carey Quintet @ The Jazzschool, Sat. Sept 4

    Date: 2010.08.30 | Category: Gigs | Response: 0

    Ian Carey Quintet @ The JazzschoolHi listeners–I’m really happy to announce a show for the Quintet coming up this Saturday at one of my favorite local venues, The Jazzschool, where Susan Muscarella and a small army of players and instructors have been teaching and presenting great music in the East Bay for over a decade. The performance space is a nice room in downtown Berkeley just steps (and stairs) from Shattuck Avenue, with a cafe for your coffee and vino needs (plus Charlie Parker’s “Confirmation” helpfully spelled out in donor plaques on the wall–feel free to start singing it if you get bored).

    We’ll be playing music from our new CD, Contextualizin’ (“a digital masters’ seminar” −All About Jazz), and 2006’s Sink/Swim (“An exciting set of music with a heavy-hitting lineup of musicians” −Greg Bridges, KCSM), plus several brand-new original compositions (no quotes yet but you could be the first!) and new arrangements of music by American greats Charles Ives and Neil Young.

    Please come out if you can, and tell your friends, enemies, and enemies’ friends. Here are the details:

    WHAT: The Ian Carey Quintet
    WHO: Ian Carey, trumpet & flugelhorn; Evan Francis, alto saxophone & flute; Adam Shulman, piano and Hammond B3; Fred Randolph, bass; and Jon Arkin, drums
    WHEN: Saturday, September 4, 8pm
    WHERE: The Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St., Berkeley; t: (510) 845-5373
    HOW MUCH: $15 ($5 for Jazzschool students)

    UPDATE: We’re a staff pick this weekend in the East Bay Express! “Album titles might not be a window to the soul, but they can certainly reveal something about intellect. In that sense, Ian Carey’s 2010 album, Contextualizin‘, seems apropos. It’s a well-crafted work by an incredibly thinking musician. Carey seems intent on using his trumpet to tell stories and create landscapes, but he’s also good on building on other people’s ideas. His version of “Just Friends” is about the most inventive you’ll find on disc… Bolstered by a talented band — drummer Jon Arkin, saxophonist Evan Frances, bassist Fred Randolph, and pianist Adam Shulman — Carey performs Saturday, Sept. 4, at The Jazzschool.”

  • KVLU Interview + 2 Gigs

    Date: 2010.07.21 | Category: Audio, Gigs | Response: 0

    Hi folks: 2 things–first, want to hear my dulcet tones talking about my CD and my career so far, plus my mumblings about jazz philanthropy and the State of the Gig? Here’s an interview I did last week with KVLU’s Jason Miller. It also features a live cut from our CD release show with guest vocalist Lorin Benedict. Check it out:

    Second, I have a couple of short-notice gigs to tell you about: tonight, I’ll be playing and hosting a jam session with drummer Bryan Bowman and bassist Adam Gay (while Ben Stolorow wows them in Japan) at Kaleidoscope in the Mission. Come on by and bring your music-making things!

    WHAT: The Kaleidoscope Session
    WHO: Adam Gay, Bryan Bowman, and Ian Carey
    WHERE: Kaleidoscope, 3109 24th Street (@ Folsom), SF
    WHEN: Weds., July 21, 7:30-11:00
    HOW MUCH: Free!

    I’m also excited to be playing with the 16-piece Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (the former Pearl’s Monday night band) this Sunday at the Benicia Fine Art & Jazz Festival. Come on out for a bonanza of big band bodaciousness!

    WHAT: The Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (led by Tod Dickow)
    WHERE: The Benicia Fine Art & Jazz Festival, First Street Green, Benicia
    WHEN: Sunday, July 25, 5:00pm
    HOW MUCH: $8 adults, kids free!

  • Video: “Sockdolager” (Live @ Coda)

    Date: 2010.06.23 | Category: Gigs, Updates, Video | Response: 0

    Happy summer! For those of you who weren’t able to make it out to our show last week at Coda, here’s the first video from that great evening (great for us, anyway–I leave the musical judgments to you).

    It’s the tune which has recently become our favorite opener, “Sockdolager” (ironically defined as “a decisive blow or answer : finisher”), as heard on Contextualizin’. It features solos from me, Fred, Evan, and Adam (getting his Rhodes on), with Jon’s tidal groove(s) washing over it all.

    Ian Carey Quintet – Sockdolager from Ian Carey on Vimeo.

    Not only was it great to be playing with these guys again, it was also encouraging that we got such a big, enthusiastic crowd out (you can’t miss them on the video), some of whom I think are a sign that the club is taking off–definitely refreshing to see after so many closures of jazz-friendly venues in the recent past.

    Currently, our next scheduled show as a quintet is at Berkeley’s Jazzschool in September, but we’ve got some feelers out for gigs between now and then so I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, I’ve got appearances coming up with the amazing Circus Bella and the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (formerly of Pearl’s and Rasselas), so it’s looking to be a busy, musical summer.

    BTW: if you haven’t yet, please take a minute to “Like” my jazz page on Facebook (“You like me! You really like me!”), or follow me on Twitter (which I’m really starting to get into, after years of stubborn resistance). Thanks, and stay tuned for some listening recommendations, more gig video, an upcoming radio interview, and some follow-up thoughts on the jazz funding debate. Cheers!

  • Thanks + House Concert, 6/19

    Date: 2010.06.18 | Category: Gigs | Response: 0

    First of all, thanks a million to everyone who made it out to our Wednesday show at Coda–it was great fun, a good crowd (I think there were more people there than at our CD release show, even!), and the band played its collective ass off, if I may be so bold. (And I may! It’s my blog!)

    I will definitely get some photos & video from the show up here soon, so those of you who missed it can still get in on the action.

    Speaking of getting in on the action: I wanted to do a last-minute reminder for a show I’ll be playing in tomorrow (Saturday)–it’s a house concert at the loft of Emeryville resident and Bay Area drumming phenom Bryan Bowman. Originally slated to be the debut of CBVB (Carey Bowman Vogler Benedict), due to some scheduling conflicts it’s now going to be a quintet of myself, vocaphonist Lorin Benedict (who sat in during our Wednesday show), the aforementioned Mr. Bowman, Fred Randolph on bass (lately of the IC Quintet!) and the great Grant Levin on piano. There’s a $10 suggested donation, but nobody will be turned away (unless they’re an executive for BP).

    For details, visit the show’s Facebook event page here.

  • Reminder: IC Quintet @ Coda, Weds. 6/16

    Date: 2010.06.13 | Category: Gigs, Video | Response: 0

    Listeners: This is just a reminder that the Ian Carey Quintet will be returning to SF’s beautiful new club Coda this Wednesday night as part of their “Dinner & A Show” series, for our last scheduled show before September. It’s a great place to play, with good food, drinks, sound, and music (if we have anything to say about it).

    We’ll be playing lots of music from our new CD, Contextualizin’ (“a digital masters seminar” –All About Jazz) and our previous album, plus several brand-spankin’-new originals which will be performed for the very first time (and possibly the second time as well depending on how well the first time goes).

    WHAT: The Ian Carey Quintet
    WHO: Ian Carey, trumpet & flugelhorn; Evan Francis, saxophone/flute; Adam Shulman, Fender Rhodes/Hammond B3; Fred Randolph, bass; Jon Arkin, drums; and special guests
    WHEN: Wednesday, June 16, 7:00-11:00pm
    WHERE: Coda Jazz Supper Club, 1710 Mission St., San Francisco
    HOW MUCH: Just $5!

    So please come on down, bring a friend or 5, and support some live local music!

    P.S. For a preview, enjoy this video from our previous Coda show below (playing a reboot of a composition from our first album called “Thirteen”), and an interview about the group by Brian McCoy of Examiner.com.

    Ian Carey Quintet: Thirteen (Live at Coda) from Ian Carey on Vimeo.

  • Save the Date: IC Quintet @ Coda, 6/16

    Date: 2010.06.02 | Category: Gigs | Response: 0

    Hi Folks, this is just a note to let you know that after a really great CD release show in March, my group has been invited to return to the scene of the crime for another performance next month. We’ll be doing music from the CD, plus favorites from the book and several brand-spankin’-new tunes put together specifically for this show. So mark your calendars, tell your friends, family, and pets, and get your bottomless wineglass-lifting muscles warmed up!

    WHAT: The Ian Carey Quintet
    WHO: Ian Carey, trumpet & flugelhorn; Evan Francis, saxophone/flute; Adam Shulman, Fender Rhodes/Hammond B3; Fred Randolph, bass; Jon Arkin, drums
    WHEN: Wednesday, June 16, 7-11pm
    WHERE: Coda Jazz Supper Club, 1710 Mission St., San Francisco
    HOW MUCH: $5

    Hope to see you there!

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Contextualizin' (2010)
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Sink/Swim (2006)
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