Hello Folks,I wanted to let you know about a show coming up this Monday night which I'm excited about--I'm going to be debuting a brand new project at the Monday Make Out music series at the Make Out Room in the Mission, which has been a great showcase for creative and experimental music for years.Based on a shared love of free jazz and group improvisation, IJKL brings together my long-time collaborators alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen and drummer Jon Arkin, along with acclaimed bassist and composer Lisa Mezzacappa ("one of the most imaginative figures on the Bay Area creative jazz scene" —San Jose Mercury News) in this adventurous new quartet.The group is dedicated to performing a new book of compositions by me, inspired by classic and current legends of free improvisation including Ornette Coleman, Anthony Braxton, John Carter, Jimmy Giuffre and others.We're going to be playing the third and final set of the night (probably starting around 10pm) and will be preceded by Sound Etiquette (Aaron Levin, Nick Obando and Eli Wallace) and Past-Present-Future (Myles Boisen, John Hanes and Lisa Mezzacappa).And there's no cover! Hope to see you there.WHAT: The Monday Make Out, with IJKL (Kasey Knudsen, alto saxophone; Jon Arkin, drums; Lisa Mezzacappa, bass; and Ian Carey, trumpet), plus Sound Etiquette and Past-Present-FutureWHEN: Monday, September 7, 8:30pWHERE: The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd St, San FranciscoHOW MUCH: Free!

Hi folks,I wanted to let you know about some exciting events coming up:First, next Friday July 31, I am very happy to be bringing my Quintet+1 to the Presidio Sessions series, which is presented by San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music at the Presidio Officers' Club. The room is beautiful, parking is easy, and best of all, it's FREE! (However, seating is limited and these shows have been popular, so they suggest you reserve a spot through Eventbrite.) As a bonus, I'm very excited to have as a special guest, from New York, the amazing flutist and saxophonist (and alumnus of the Quintet+1) Evan Francis. We'll be playing music from our albums Roads & Codes ("4-1/2 stars" -Downbeat) and my new suite Interview Music (coming to a CD near you in 2016). The series encourages a casual atmosphere and interaction with the musicians (but no stage diving!).WHAT: The Ian Carey Quintet+1 featuring Evan FrancisWHO: Jon Arkin, drums; Sheldon Brown, bass clarinet & saxophone; Ian Carey, trumpet; Fred Randolph, bass; Adam Shulman, piano; and Evan Francis, flute & saxophoneWHEN: Friday, July 31, 6:00pm-7:30pmWHERE: The Presidio Officers' Club, 50 Moraga Ave, San FranciscoHOW MUCH: Free! (Reserve a seat here)The following Sunday (8/2), my partner-in-crime Ben Stolorow and I will be presenting a two-hour workshop for musicians at the California Jazz Conservatory on the Art of the Duo. Drawing from the techniques presented on our 2014 album Duocracy, we will demonstrate the range of possibilities of the duo, outlining the traditional roles of each instrument as well as showing the potential for creating more abstract contrapuntal textures. Special emphasis placed on the importance of rhythmic feel in performing in this fun yet challenging format. Open to all instrumentalists and improvising vocalists.WHAT: The Art of the Duo: a WorkshopWHO: Ian Carey, trumpet; Ben Stolorow, pianoWHEN: Sunday, August 2, 2pm-4pmWHERE: California Jazz Conservatory, 2087 Addison St, BerkeleyHOW MUCH: $30 advance, $45 day of workshopFinally, after the duo workshop, I will be heading to Portola Vineyards for an evening performance with the great bassist Fred Randoph and his Quintet as part of their summer jazz series. We'll be playing music from Fred's great new album Song Without Singing.WHAT: Portola Vineyards Summer Jazz Presents the Fred Randolph QuintetWHO: Fred Randolph, bass; Greg Wyser-Pratt, drums; Matt Clark, piano; Rob Roth, tenor saxophone; Ian Carey, trumpetWHEN: Sunday, August 2, 5:30pm-7pmWHERE: Portola Vineyards, 850 Los Trancos Rd, Portola Valley, CAHOW MUCH: $15 adult, $4 childThanks, and hope to see you at one or more of these events!

Hi folks, this is just a quick update to tell you about a few upcoming shows I'm excited about.This Thursday (7/2) I'll be joining local legendary pianist, composer, author and poet Don Alberts and his Renaissance Band for my first appearance at Cafe Stritch, San Jose's very happening Rahsaan Roland Kirk-inspired jazz spot. We'll be playing Don's swinging original tunes.What: Don Alberts Renaissance BandWho: Don Alberts, piano; Stu Pilorz, trombone; Ron Marabuto, drums; Ian Carey, trumpet; Larry Epstein, bassWhen: Thursday, July 2, 8:30p-12amWhere: Cafe Stritch, 374 S 1st St, San Jose CA 95113Monday, I'm very excited to be playing for the first time with one of my favorite Bay Area creative music aggregations: the Nathan Clevenger Group, which plays exclusively Nathan's beautiful and thorny compositions, as part of the venerable Monday Make Out series. (I will be shedding this relentlessly unpredictable music until about 8 minutes before the gig in the hope of not crashing and burning in such heavy company.) Also on the bill are two additional bands featuring plenty of other big-time local improvisers!What: The Nathan Clevenger GroupWho: Marcus Stephens: clarinet, tenor sax; Ian Carey: trumpet; Rachel Condry: bass clarinet, clarinet; Sam Bevan: bass; Jon Arkin: drums; Jason Levis: drums, percussion; Nathan Clevenger: guitar and compositionsWhen: Monday, July 6, 10ish? (The show starts at 8:30 and we play the third set, following sets by EGW Trio and Ryan Pate.)Where: The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street (& Mission), San FranciscoHow Much: FREE!Finally, I am fortunate to perform once again with Circus Bella, the Bay Area's independent circus, as they begin their 2015 Circus in the Parks series--all shows are free, with live music by Rob Reich and the Circus Bella All-Star Band (Reich, accordion; Ralph Carney, saxophone; Ian Carey, trumpet; Greg Stephens, trombone; Jonathan Seiberlich, sousaphone; and Michael Pinkham, drums). Upcoming shows are:July 3rd, 6pm: Mosswood Park, OaklandJuly 10th, 6pm: Studio One Arts Center, OaklandJuly 11th, 2pm: Hamilton Playground, San FranciscoJuly 12th, 2pm: Union Square, San FranciscoJuly 19th, 12pm: Dimond Park, OaklandJuly 25th, 2pm: Pickleweed Park, San RafaelJuly 26th, 2pm: Herons Head Park, San FranciscoAugust 1st, 1pm: Mission Bay, San FranciscoThanks!P.S. my new graphic design site is now live—please have a look and let me know if you have any design needs!

Hello Fans of Interesting Music!

I'm excited to invite you to a very special performance next Saturday: my Quintet+1, which has done me the great honor of digging deeply into my music for the past decade, will be returning to The Sound Room in Oakland's Downtown arts district for our first show of 2015. 

The Sound Room, a labor of love by proprietors Robert Bradsby and Karen Van Leuven, has made a significant positive contribution to the downtown district and the East Bay jazz scene, and is one of our favorite places to play. (It's also very close to a variety of happening restaurants and BART.)

The Quintet+1 (Kasey Knudsen on alto saxophone, Adam Shulman on piano, Fred Randolph on bass, Jon Arkin on drums, Sheldon Brown on bass clarinet, flute, and saxophone, and myself on trumpet and flugelhorn) will be playing original music from our previous 3 albums (2006's Sink/Swim, 2010's Contextualizin', and 2013's Roads & Codes), plus selections from my new 4-part suite "'Interview Music," as well as arrangements of music by some of my favorite composers like Charles Ives and Jimmy Giuffre. We are fresh out of the studio (recording our next album, due in the fall) and the band is sounding great—judge for yourself in the video below. 

We hope very much to see you next week!

WHAT: The Ian Carey Quintet+1WHERE: The Sound Room, 2147 Broadway, OaklandWHEN: Saturday, May 16, 8pm (doors open at 7)TICKETS: $15 (available here or at the door)

Hello Folks! I wanted to let you know about some exciting musical stuff coming up that I'm glad to be a part of.Firstly, the Ian Carey Quintet+1's next album, Interview Music, was recorded this past weekend at the legendary Fantasy Studios in Berkeley (in the same room as "Don't Stop Believin'", if you can believe that). The band put a herculean effort into a very long day (and my pain in the @#$ compositions) and I couldn't be happier with the result. The album is on track for a fall release.Speaking of which: the Quintet+1 (Kasey Knudsen, alto sax; Sheldon Brown, bass clarinet; Adam Shulman, piano; Fred Randolph, bass; Jon Arkin, drums; and me) will be returning next month to the great downtown Oakland venue The Sound Room. The show is on Saturday, May 16th, so please save the date for what should be a very exciting show.I'm also excited about a new album I was fortunate to record with the great local drummer and composer Bryan Bowman and his quintet (with saxophonist Bob Kenmotsu, pianist Matt Clark and bassist Doug Miller). The album, titled Like Minds, features many of Bryan's beautiful compositions. The CD release show for the album will be held Thursday, May 7 at 8pm at Bird & Beckett Books in SF.I've also been playing quite a bit with two very interesting big bands, both dedicated to original arrangements--which is especially great since just a couple of years ago the Bay Area seemed to be becoming a big band dead zone.  The first is guitarist/composer Tony Corman's Morchestra, which will be playing this Friday, April 24 at 8pm at the California Jazz Conservatory (aka the Jazzschool) in Berkeley. In addition to Tony's beautiful charts, we'll be joined by a special guest vocalist, the great Ed Reed.The other big band is the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra (led by trumpeter/composer Erik Jekabson), which features a who's who of local heavies and only performs arrangements written by members of the group. I was lucky enough to play on several tunes of their upcoming album Cheap Rent and have been playing fairly often with the group (and they've been gracious enough to play one of my compositions). I'll be joining them at their regular (free!) Sunday night residency at Doc's Lab in SF on the following Sundays: 4/26, 5/3. 5/24, 6/7, 6/21 (all shows from 6:30-9pm).And later on in the summer, I'm excited to be playing for the first time with one of my compositional and bandleading idols, Nathan Clevenger, so stay tuned for details.Finally, I'm planning on expanding both my musical instruction and graphic design business in the next year, so please don't hesitate to reach out if you know someone interested in trumpet, improvisation, or composition lessons, or who is in need of graphic design assistance.Thanks and hope to see you at a show soon!

Hi folks, I wanted to let you know about a show coming up I'm very excited about--my partner in crime Ben Stolorow and I will be returning to the hills of Tiburon for a Sunday afternoon appearance at the historic Old St. Hilary's, a former church-turned-beautiful performance venue.This will be our second appearance at Old St. Hilary's--our show there last spring was one of my favorite Duocracy shows so far. We'll be offering our unique take on favorites and forgotten gems from the American Popular Songbook, along with some jazz rarities and possibly even an original or two.  Hope to see you there, and please pass on the word to any North Bay friends!WHAT: Duocracy (Ben Stolorow, piano; Ian Carey, trumpet)WHEN: Sunday, March 1, 4:00pWHERE: Old St. Hilary's, TiburonTICKETS: $20/$15, available here