Bates Update March 2015

Not much to say right now. Super busy.

New gigs posted on the calendar thru May. Lots to look forward to.

I got adjusted last month by bass chiropractor Mark Dresser (www.markdresser.com). It was truly a pleasure to play for him at a master class at the UofMN (thanks to Chris Brown) but it was even more intense and rewarding when he came to Jazz Central later that evening and played quartet with myself, Jt and George Cartwright. Never stop learning. It’s the only way to keep feeling fresh and moving forward.

I’m composing in collaboration with Steven Hobert and Soloman Parham for the KBEM Jazz Noir radio drama that will be presented on April 26th. We have approx. 3 weeks to write the accompanying music for this one hour radio drama. It will be a fun and rewarding process as we work on the music until the end of March and then spend much of April tweaking and fine tuning our music to fit into the drama. A new and exciting challenge.

Just finished recording and mixing the Dean Granros Quartet album at the Terrarium with Dean, Zacc Harris and Jay Epstein. This is a totally new quartet that debuted last fall and we already have essentially two full albums of material to present to you. Mostly we recorded Dean’s tunes with a couple of Monk moments thrown in for good measure. During the sessions we finally came up with a name for the band – Tall Tales. Look for that album on www.shiftingparadigmrecords.com in early summer.

Additionally I’m debuting a new project over the next two nights (3/10-11). I’ve played with drummer Jay Epstein (www.jayepstein.weebly.com) on literally hundreds of gigs in the last 20 years. He is a consummate professional and a highly creative and ingenious rhythmatist who colors the air with sound. We’ve never played duo before and it’s really forced me to step up my game on the melodic side of my playing. Needless to say we’re thrilled to play for you. Please join us for the debut of this artful project – Wood in Bronze.

Tonight 3/09 Tall Tales @ Icehouse  09:30pm  $8  21+

3/10 – Wood in Bronze @ Black Dog  07:30pm  $5-10  All Ages

3/11 – Wood in Bronze @ Jazz Central  08:30pm  $5-10  All Ages

3/14 – What Would Monk Do @ Black Dog  08:30pm  $10  All Ages

3/20 – Atlantis @ Grand Kabaret New Ulm, MN  08:00pm

3/21 – Zacc Harris/Dave Hagedorn play Bags Meets Wes @ Studio Z  07:00  $10

3/23 – Zacc Harris Quartet @Icehouse  09:30pm  $8  21+

3/25 – Enormous Quartet @ Cafe Maude 07:00pm FREE

3/27 – How Birds Work @ Nicollet  08:30pm  $10  All Ages

Thanks for listening and paying attention!

CB