"Third Thursdays" announces the Fall 2023 lineup: the monthly harmolodic jazz series w/host keyboardist/composer Dave Bryant along w/several fellow Ornette Coleman colleagues on the bill, which also includes special guest James Blood Ulmer.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Oct. 16, 2023 - PRLog -- Cambridge-based keyboardist and composer Dave Bryant, a long-time sideman of free jazz legend Ornette Coleman, continues his second 12-month cycle of presenting monthly "Third Thursdays" harmolodic jazz concerts, with a Fall concert lineup that will include several former colleagues of Bryant's from Ornette Coleman's Prime Time band. The Fall lineup will also include a special guest appearance by guitarist and vocalist James Blood Ulmer.

Since "Third Thursdays" launched back in the Spring of 2022, Bryant has conducted interviews with his former Coleman colleagues, discussing their experience and insights from their time with Coleman. These "oral history chats" can be found at youtube.com/@davebryantmusic, alongside videos of many of the "Third Thursdays" concerts held thus far.

"Third Thursdays" Fall lineup is as follows:

-- October 19th: Bryant will be joined by fellow Ornette Coleman bandmate Kenny Wessel (guitar), along with Tom Hall (tenor sax), John Lockwood (bass), and Bryant's fellow Shock Exchange trio member Chris Bowman (drums). Wessel sat down with Bryant back in August 2022 for the first in a series of "Third Thursdays" interviews. The interview with Wessel can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEf6AmIVn-g.

-- November 16th: Bryant has invited the legendary guitarist and singer James Blood Ulmer, who will perform a solo set for the first half of the evening. The second half will be a set performed by Bryant along with fellow Ornette Coleman collaborators Frederick Williams (bass) and James Kamal Jones (drums), joined by Neil Leonard (saxophone). Interviews with Williams and Jones can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc69qp0OCKU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jeTF_70wsw respectively.

-- December 21st (first day of Winter): This special edition of "Third Thursdays" will attempt to cross the boundaries between painting, music, and dance to build bridges among all three genres. Using Lavelle's paintings as a guide, the group will create music and movement from the works seeking unity and possibly an entirely new jointly artistic space. The event will feature dancer/performance artist K.J. Holmes together with Bryant, and with his fellow Ornette Coleman collaborators Matt Lavelle (trumpet, alto clarinet, visual art), Frederick Williams (bass) and James Kamal Jones (drums). An interview with Lavelle can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2_qHD-jdwE.

Bryant notes that these three Fall (leading into Winter) concerts "represent three different perspectives on the harmolodic tradition: a reunion with my Prime Time bandmate Kenny Wessel, an evening centered around the solo performance of James Blood Ulmer, one of Ornette Coleman's most important early co-conceptualists, and a synesthetic evening of art, dance, and music curated by harmolodic scholar and practitioner Matt Lavelle, with K.J. Holmes."

All "Third Thursdays" concerts are held at the Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, located just outside Harvard Square, with the following basic information:
"Third Thursdays" with Dave Bryant and Friends: a monthly harmolodic jazz series. Held on the third Thursday of each month, starting at 8:00 pm. Further updates on each month's musical guests can be found at dbryantmusic.com/third-thursdays. Admission at the door: $10 (cash/check/charge). [Take note that admission to November's concert, which will include a solo set performed by James "Blood" Ulmer, will be $15, with an opportunity to purchase advance tickets. Details available soon.] Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138. Contact information: bryantequilibria@gmail.com, 617-447-3030.

Further background information on "Third Thursdays" curator and host:
Dave Bryant ("Third Thursdays" host, keyboards) has been based in Cambridge, MA for many years. Early in his musical career, Bryant was a protégé of harmolodic jazz genius Ornette Coleman, having studied with him, then invited by Coleman to be the first electric keyboardist to perform in his Prime Time group. Bryant joined Prime Time in 1990, touring worldwide and performing on Prime Time's Tone Dialing album. Bryant's own first album, Shock Exchange, with liner notes by Coleman, was recorded in 1986 with his trio at that time, bassist John Turner and percussionist Chris Bowman. In 1999, Bryant released The Eternal Hang with Turner, Bowman, George Garzone, Bob Gullotti, and recording engineer Roger Nichols. That same year he performed on the John Tchicai/Charlie Kolhase Quintet disc, Life Overflowing, which was named "Jazz Album of the Year" by Boston Music Awards. In 2015, Bryant released The Garden of Equilibria, which features performances by Bryant, performing in a variety of settings, both acoustic and electric, with Tom Hall, Neil Leonard, Curt Newton, Eric Rosenthal, Jeff Song, and Jacob William. Bryant's most recent recording Night Visitors is a 2020 collaboration with bassist Charnett Moffett and percussionist Gregg Bendian, which "finds Bryant adapting the Coleman aesthetic to an intensely personal ripple and rumble piano style" (Mike Hobart, jazz critic for the Financial Times). Jazz journalist Howard Mandel considered Night Visitors one of the best jazz albums of 2020. Other credits include performances with Leroy Jenkins, Bern Nix, Eric Person, Badal Roy, Wadada Leo Smith, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Calvin Weston, and more. Bryant has also performed and lectured in Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, and Istanbul. Bryant teaches at Longy School of Music of Bard College. dbryantmusic.com

Further details on the "Third Thursdays" monthly series:
The "Third Thursdays with Dave Bryant and Friends" harmolodic jazz series began in April 2022, with the overall goal of showcasing a diverse range of Boston-area musical artists, as well as Dave's fellow Ornette Coleman sidemen. A few months ago, it was announced that the funding for "Third Thursdays" monthly series would be extended for another year, starting in April 2023. Dave Bryant is honored that the series has received additional support from the Appalachian Springs Foundation (ASF) in order to continue this 12-month cycle extension.

The intent of "Third Thursdays" is to provide a venue for free jazz improvising artists, both local and national, to perform their work in an acoustically sympathetic performance space with professional video and sound recording to document the event. Dave Bryant was a long-time student and sideman of free jazz legend Ornette Coleman as a member of Coleman's Prime Time group. Consequently, another key purpose of the series is to document the experiences, reminiscences, and musical contributions of members of Coleman's bands for presentation in a podcast. The series is providing well-deserved exposure locally and internationally for local free jazz artists and for Coleman collaborators as well as first-hand insights and information from those collaborators about Coleman's musical processes and philosophy.

All "Third Thursdays" sessions are held monthly at the Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, located a short walking distance from Harvard Square. Audience seating capacity will abide by whatever health and safety protocols are in place on any given month. The "Third Thursdays" harmolodic jazz series is funded in part by the Appalachian Springs Foundation (ASF), a private foundation located in Charleston, WV. As a nonprofit arts and educational organization, ASF has supported dance, film, music, and educational projects. All of the "Third Thursdays" concert and interview videos that have been recorded since April 2022 can be found at dbryantmusic.com/third-thursdays.

Media Contact
--submitted by marycurtinproductions
(on behalf of “Third Thursdays”)
mary.c.curtin@gmail.com
6174705867
Photos: (Click photo to enlarge)




Source: Dave Bryant Music

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