Hi folks, the long-awaited (by me anyway) day has arrived, and our new album, Roads & Codes, is available for purchase (both physically and digitally) at my new web store, as well as on CDBaby (the only place to get the physical CD so far), Amazon, iTunes, and eMusic. Locals can also pick it up at the great Groove Yard in Oakland (additional stores soon to come).Also, just a quick reminder that tomorrow is our big CD Release & Art show at the Sound Room in Oakland. The band is sounding great and, in addition to all the music from "Roads & Codes," we'll be doing two brand new expanded arrangements of favorite originals from previous albums.WHAT: Kabocha Records and Bay Area Jazz & Arts present The Ian Carey Quintet+1: CD Release & Art Show for Roads & CodesWHO: Evan Francis, flute & tenor saxophone; Kasey Knudsen, alto saxophone; Adam Shulman, piano; Jon Arkin, drums; Fred Randolph, bass; Ian Carey, trumpet, flugelhorn, illustrationsWHEN: Thursday, February 21, 8pmWHERE: The Sound Room, 2147 Broadway (@ 22nd St.), OaklandTICKETS: $15, includes free CD with purchase! (advance tix available here.)Next, some really nice reviews for the album have started to come in, including one in our very own East Bay Express today:

Besides being a clever graphic artist, Carey is a gifted musician who gets a warm sound out of his trumpet and flugelhorn, his approach suggesting Chet Baker, Miles Davis, and Art Farmer. His six original compositions on Roads & Codes not only draw on post-bop traditions but expand on them, particularly in the way Carey imaginatively harmonizes and layers his horns, Knudsen's alto sax, and Francis' tenor sax or flute over pianist Shulman, bassist Randolph, and drummer Arkin's firm yet floating grooves.

There have also been positive reviews from Midwest Record ("champion of a session... solid stuff that never hits a false note") and @CriticalJazz ("on the cutting edge of new sounds and exciting compositions for modern jazz... 4 Stars!").Finally, Phliip Freeman at the music blog Burning Ambulance put together a great feature about the album, including a slideshow of the cover art comic (I'm flattered that he describes it as "Harvey Pekar-esque") and a free streaming track--our version of Neil Young's theme to the movie "Dead Man". Check it out!

Hello folks, one quick announcement and then a free bonus download!First, the announcement: I'm going to be on the Bay Area's great jazz station, KCSM Jazz 91, this week, talking with Alisa Clancy about Roads & Codes (and playing some tunes from the album, too). Local folks can listen at 91.1 on their FM dial, and out-of-towners can stream live here. Tune in to hear me run my mouth off about any number of things!WHAT: Ian Carey interview on Morning Cup of Jazz with Alisa ClancyWHERE: 91.1 FM or kcsm.orgWHEN: Tuesday, February 19, 9amNext, just as a bonus to everyone out there in internet-land, here's a free bonus track from my new album, Roads & Codes. It's an alternate take of my Samurai movie-inspired attempt at a blues Joe Henderson would've enjoyed playing, "Nemuri Kyoshiro."During mixing, I went back and forth about a million times about which take I preferred--the fast and (very) loose first take, or the slightly more relaxed and swinging second take. After picking the brains of many of my musical friends, I settled on the first take. I then promptly changed my mind after last-minute but convincing feedback from another friend--"I know you think your solo was better on the first take, but you're wrong, and here's why"--and put the second one on the album.But, I thought, why not throw Take 1 out there as a bonus? Then people can make up their own minds! So here it is!Ian Carey Quintet+1: Nemuri Kyoshiro (Alt. Take)(w/ Adam Shulman, piano; Ian Carey, trumpet; Fred Randolph, bass; Evan Francis, tenor saxophone; Kasey Knudsen, alto saxophone; Jon Arkin, drums. Recorded 6/5/12 at Studio Trilogy, San Francisco, Dan Feiszli, engineer.)Don't forget, Roads & Codes drops this Tuesday on radio & stores, with CD release show Thursday, Feb. 21 at the Sound Room in Oakland!

Hello folks, I'm pleased to report that after quite a while spent writing, rehearsing, recording, mixing, and designing the artwork,  the CD release show for the Ian Carey Quintet+1's new album, Roads & Codes, will be held February 21 in Oakland! This group has been playing together for close to ten years, but Roads & Codes ("on the cutting edge of new sounds and exciting compositions for modern jazz" --CriticalJazz), represents our most ambitious effort yet.The show will be next Thursday, February 21 at 8pm, at a nice new venue in Oakland’s uptown neighborhood, The Sound Room. It will feature the exact same personnel as the CD, even including Evan Francis, who we’re lucky to have joining us from his new digs in New York, and newest addition to the group, the great Kasey Knudsen, performing all the music from the album (including new arrangements of works by Stravinsky, Ives, and Neil Young) and select "hits" from our previous CDs. The show will also feature the original art which I’ve created for the album in both projected formats and as signed prints for sale.And to sweeten the pot for those on the fence, everyone purchasing a ticket will recieve a FREE COPY of the CD!WHAT: Kabocha Records and Bay Area Jazz & Arts present The Ian Carey Quintet+1: CD Release & Art Show for Roads & CodesWHO: Evan Francis, flute & tenor saxophone; Kasey Knudsen, alto saxophone; Adam Shulman, piano; Jon Arkin, drums; Fred Randolph, bass; Ian Carey, trumpet, flugelhorn, illustrationsWHEN: Thursday, February 21, 8pmWHERE: The Sound Room, 2147 Broadway (@ 22nd St.), OaklandTICKETS: $15, includes free CD with purchase! (advance tix available here.)Next Tuesday (2/19) will be the official "street date" of the album, which means it will be available for purchase at various sites around the web (links to come) and will (knock on wood) be heard on radio stations across the land.Hope to see you Thursday!

Some of you may know that in addition to playing the trumpet, writing music, doing unnecessarily complicated illustrations for my CD, battling raccoons in my garden, and catching up on Japanese soap operas, I also sometimes waste time writing short internet humor pieces which may or may not provide minor amusement (and definitely do not provide even minor financial rewards).Today I've got a new one up at McSweeney's (everyone's favorite way to spend 11 minutes procrastinating on the internet) called "I WILL Kick You Out of Bed for Eating Crackers":

Listen, Kate Upton, we’ve been together for a while now, and while you are undeniably extremely attractive, and I would love to spend countless nights gazing longingly at your barely clothed figure here in our softly lit boudoir, the fact is I am going to have to go against my every instinct and kick you out of this warm, inviting bed.Yes, because of the crackers.

You can read the rest here.And in case you're looking for more ways to make it to the weekend while doing as little work as possible, here are some other bits of mine they've previously kindly published:

• Dan Savage's Wild Kingdom
• Horror Movies for Kids
• Favorite Gerund Movie Titles, Un-gerunded
• Alternatives to "Opening a Can of Whupass" for the Less Confrontationally Inclined
• Failed One-Liners from My Audition for Host of  "Australia's Funniest Home Videos" (with Gladstone)

Since I guess it wasn't enough work for me to write, arrange, rehearse, record, mix, and design my upcoming CD, Roads & Codes (due out Feb. 26),  I decided to incorporate my love of graphic novels and manga into the cover art. (Some of my favorite creators are Daniel Clowes, Jiro Taniguchi, Chris Ware, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, and my dad, who's been compiling books of dream drawings for years.)It'll be a serious time investment, but: a) I'm excited about testing my illustration chops, b) anything that gets the CD noticed and helps it stand out from that pile of discs gathering dust in Joe Jazz Critic's closet (or the used CD bins!) is good, and c) I only do this every few years, so why not go all out?I'm still figuring out what story the front cover is going to tell, but the back cover will feature a series of illustrations, each inspired by one of the tunes. I'll be sharing them here as I finish them.Here's are the first four tune illustrations--the first is for our version of Andante (the first movement of Suite #1 for Small Orch.) by Stravinsky, the second for  "6 Av Local," my tribute to the morning ride from Brooklyn on the F train; the third for "Nemuri Kyoshiro," my samurai-movie-inspired blues; and the fourth for our cover of Neil Young's haunting theme to the great Western Dead Man. (Click to see the full images.) Stay tuned for more--hope I can finish them all in time to press the CD!

It's been a while since the last installment, so looks like it's ime for another edition of the series where I recommend albums which have recently jumped up on my radar--some of which may be new, some of which may be not-so-new, some of which I may be the last person on Earth to hear about (are you guys hip to this "Maybe Call Me" thing?). So here are four great records which are New to Me!Fly — Year of the Snake (2012): This actually is a new one! I was lucky enough to see these guys (Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, and Jeff Ballard, that is) a few years ago when they released their previous album, the great Sky & Country, and they're just getting better. The tunes especially are going new places--everybody's got multiple composing credits and a wide variety of tune types are represented, from the Mingus-y straightahead "Salt & Pepper" to the sound-painting of some of the miniatures that make up the five-part "Western Lands" set. I had a regular trumpet/bass/drums trio for a while in my 20s, and really enjoyed writing music for that format, since--assuming you don't want to just play tunes (which can be fine, too)--it forces you to do more with less, and makes a case for the whole "restriction as inspiration" idea. (See the Ravel below.) Counterpoint becomes especially important, and Fly makes great use of it on this record--see Grenadier's "Kingston." These guys make me want to start writing for that kind of small chord-instrument-free band again.Contemporary Quartet — Plays music of Bacewicz, Kisielewski, Komsta, Lutoslawski, Penderecki (2002): I think this album came to my attention by way of someone on Facebook (like my page here) but I can't remember who. So thanks, whoever you are! The record consists of free jazz-ish renditions of pieces by contemporary Polish classical composers. You can check out the first track, a version of Penderecki's Prelude, here. The tonal palette and instrumentation (definitely the clarinet!) gives it shades of some of my favorite work by the great early-60s Jimmy Giuffre 3 (with Bley & Swallow). Some of the tracks are a little on the thorny side, but it definitely has its moments and is worth a look.Ryan Kisor — Power Source (2009): I've heard a fair amount of Ryan Kisor live and on record in a bunch of different formats (from big bands like the LCJO and the Mingus Big Band, to small groups at... Smalls), and he always sounds good, but this record is my favorite thing he's done so far. It's a pianoless quartet (a no-doubter band of Chris Potter, James Genus and Gene Jackson) and the format seems to really bring out the stretch in everybody. The tunes are geared towards blowing--two Mingus staples, Ornette's "Bird Food," and Potter originals ("Pelog" almost has an Okinawan vibe!) --and everyone delivers, especially Kisor, who has a great sound and fresh ideas, and makes it sound easy. (Side note: Maybe it is, for him! Who knows, all players are not created equal. Sure is nice to listen to, though.)Music at Marlboro— Ravel: Piano Trio / Sonata for Violin & Cello (2011): This is another one I was hipped to by my friend the voracious music consumer (and improvising vocalist) Lorin Benedict. I picked it up mainly for the duo Sonata (played here by Jaime Laredo and Leslie Parnas), which packs more color and texture into two instruments than other composers could get out of entire orchestras. Written in 1922, it reminds me at times of another favorite of mine, Stravinsky's then-recent Histoire du Soldat—especially the 2nd movement, seen here:... while other spots wouldn't be out of place in a Schoenberg piece, and the blues-scale-y opening of the first movement would fit right in with Gershwin, Milhaud or the other jazz borrowers of the 20s. But since it's Ravel, the whole thing works cohesively and will further convince you of what an unremitting badass that guy was. As my old professor Henry Martin said, "pretty much everything he wrote was a masterpiece--except 'Bolero.'" That's a pretty good sign, when your worst piece is one of the most popular tunes in history!