Cliff Bell's

Late Nights Early Morning
2016-05-01 18:00 (America/Detroit)
Late Nights Early Mornings (LNEM) is a high energy R&B Soul band based out of Detroit, Michigan. LNEM is comprised of two singers, Larry and Jerel Duren, keyboardist, Frank Simmons, drummer, Chioke Bracy, bassist, Philip Simmons, and trumpeter, Charles Mitchell. Offering original music and show-stopping covers of your favorite songs, the LNEM experience is one that is best experienced in person. LNEM offers live shows with a wide variety of musical styles. Ranging from R&B, (neo) Soul, Jazz, to Gospel. All of which have influenced each of the band members. With a combined total of over 30 years of professional experience in the music industry, LNEM is sure to offer the highest quality musical experience. For the past two years LNEM has taken the Detroit music scene by storm. As a feature at some of Detroit’s premier music venues like Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, The Music Hall, the Max. M. Fischer Music Center, the Roostertail Detroit and others, LNEM is always a fan favorite! The band is currently recording its debut project. Be on the lookout for the band’s first EP “Athazagoraphobia.”

The Taylor Pierson Trio
2016-04-30 18:00 - 20:30, 2016-04-23 18:00 - 20:30, 2016-04-16 18:00, 2016-04-09 18:00 - 20:30, 2016-03-26 18:00 - 20:30 UTC
Join us for dinner music each and every Saturday with this homegrown piano trio.

Vox Vidorra
2016-04-28 21:00 (America/Detroit)
WSG: Britney Stoney and ONEFREQ
“…Collaborative and masterful song crafting… Vox Vidorra stands ready to conquer massive chunks of musical territory in Michigan and beyond.” –localspins.com
Lead by vocal phenom Molly Bouwsma Schultz, the band combines rich, Motown worthy vocals with an underbelly of indie rock, soul, and jazz provided by multi-instrumentalists Scott Schultz, Ryan K Wilson, and Theo Ndawillie II.

The songs are reminiscent of days-gone-by but are rooted in now, exploring inequality, race, and religion, all with a melodic sheen that allows access to the depth of the recordings. The instrumentation is deliberate and often times sparse, highlighting Bouwsma Schultz’s electric mezzo-soprano, but is also complex, utilizing Ndawillie’s composing skills to employ lush string arrangements, propelling the songs over a familiar backbone that hints at Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin.
Written in a collaborative process, each member is essential to the band’s songwriting. With influences like Harry Nilsson, Patrick Watson, Radiohead, and Ella Fitzgerald, the band isn’t held to one sound, but is held together by Bouwsma Schultz’s voice, three-part harmony, and a strong commitment to melody.

http://voxvidorra.com/

Berkley High School Jazz Band
2016-04-25 18:30 (America/Detroit)

Rafael Statin Quartet
2016-04-22 21:00 (America/Detroit)
“Statin swooned and perspired as his post-Coltrane calypso saxophone impressed Detroit jazz cats on Friday night.” – Eric Kiska
Rafael Statin is one of those rarest of young jazz instrumentalist who can combine great passion, intellectual discipline, and a spiritual fire that is evocative of great artistic creativity. He has so far established himself as a remarkable composer and musician. Rafael has had the greatest privilege of sharing the bandstand amongst two of the very best Jazz musicians of today, Robert Hurst III and Jeff “Tain” Watts. Rafael received incredible reviews from New York’s local jazz critics playing with them.

Chris Weller's Hanging Hearts
2016-04-13 20:00 UTC
The Hanging Hearts are a free jazz trio with strong melodic roots dedicated to the fearless exploration of group improvisation. Featuring Chris Weller on tenor saxophone, Cole DeGenova on keyboards, and Devin Drobka on drums.
Chris Weller is a saxophonist and composer living in Oak Park, IL. He attended Berklee College of Music on scholarship from 2007-2010 where he received his bachelors degree in saxophone performance. During that time, Weller performed in jazz, latin, and hip hop groups across the nation. Since college, he has performed internationally as a bandleader, established a reputable private teaching studio, and hosted clinics in the U.S. and abroad on elementary, high school, and college levels.
In 2013, Chris formed his main project Hanging Hearts, with friends Devin Drobka and Cole DeGenova. Described by Pavel Šanda (Neratoviny, Czech Republic) as “hammering the walls between genres,” their music bridges the gap between jazz, rock, and experimental music. The band released their self-titled debut album in October 2014 to international review with supporting US shows and European tour (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania).
http://chriswellermusic.com/

Closed
2016-04-11 00:00 - 23:59, 2016-04-04 00:00 - 23:59, 2016-03-28 00:00 - 23:59, 2016-03-14 00:00 - 23:59, 2016-03-07 00:00 - 23:59, 2016-02-29 00:00 - 23:59, 2016-02-22 00:00 - 23:59 (America/Detroit)

Jarrod Champion
2016-04-10 11:00 - 14:00 UTC
“Stylized folk balladry, nocturnal narratives and closing time croons burn with the romanticism of Jeff Buckley.”
-Jeff Milo, Real Detroit Weekly
Every Sunday Brunch, piano-man Jarrod Champion plays early American music including New Orleans-style jazz, jump blues, early soul, rock and roll, swing-country and mix’s all that in with lounge versions of modern and classic rock.
http://jarrodchampion.com/

The Moth Story SLAM! Jokers
2016-04-07 19:30 UTC
The Moth returns to the Cliff Bell’s stage on the theme: Jokers. Get your stories ready and join us! Tickets are $10 at the door, advance tickets available at themoth.org.
The Rundown

4 p.m. Doors open! Sign up to tell a story, volunteer to be on a judging team or just sit back and listen.
7:30 p.m.: We’ll pick the first name and the show will begin.
Pre-sale tickets guarantee admission, but not seating.
Each teller will have 5 minutes to tell his or her tale. After each story, the judges confer, and give a score. The teller with the highest score becomes our StorySLAM winner. The winner will compete with the year’s other winners in our next GrandSLAM Champions.

Be Forewarned
The Moth is for TRUE STORIES. OK, there won’t be a fact-checker there, and the FBI probably won’t dig into your files to verify the names and dates and places, but please know, emphatically, The Moth is not for fiction stories. The tiny fictions and lies we tell ourselves ARE part of our “true stories” but that one about you, Obama, Ghandi and Einstein up in a spaceship eating brownies… not so much.
The Moth is NOT a venue for readings; it is a venue for tellings. No notes, papers, or cheat sheets allowed. Contestants are judged on sticking to the five-minute time frame, sticking to the theme and having a story that sticks — one that has a conflict and a resolution.
Story Tips

No stand-up routines please: The Moth LOVES funny people but requires that all funny people tell funny STORIES.
Steer clear of meandering endings: your last line should be clear in your head.
Start in the action and set up the stakes.

Stephanie Nilles
2016-04-06 20:00 (America/Detroit)
Chicago-born jazz/punk/barrelhouse musician Stephanie Nilles has been doin’ Kesey proud one bar at a time since 2008, hustling around the United States, Europe, and Canada (except from 2009-2010 for legal reasons), averaging 150 gigs a year, and captivating unsuspecting listeners with a voice that would make Jelly Roll Morton look orthodox and Ma Rainey look sober.
Having studied piano and cello since the age of six, she was a finalist at the Young Concert Artists’ International Competition, a gold medalist at the Fischoff Competition, and had performed on NPR on three separate occasions by the age of seventeen. At twenty-two, she had graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music with a degree in classical piano performance and temporarily relocated to New York City, where she began writing songs and performed regularly on the east village anti-folk scene.
She has since sung with Bobby McFerrin in Carnegie Hall, directed the musical program of a Brooklyn burlesque series, covered Busta Rhymes’ “Break Ya Neck” in the skeletal remains of a bombed-out cathedral in Nuremberg, been invited to perform official showcases at SXSW and International Folk Alliance, and self-released 4 full-length albums, two of which were picked up for European release by German roots/blues label Tradition und Moderne (Taj Mahal, John Fahey).
When Stephanie’s not sleeping in her car, she lives in New Orleans, which might not be the best idea.

http://www.stephanienilles.com/

The Taylor Pierson Trio
2016-04-02 18:00 UTC
Join us for dinner music every Saturday from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with this homegrown piano trio.

Easter Brunch
2016-03-27 11:00 - 16:00 (America/Detroit)
Make a reservation today for a delicious brunch this Easter Sunday! Our chef will be serving up a special brunch menu and we will have live entertainment to keep things jumping.
For reservations please call (313) 961-2543

The Heavyweights Brass Band
2016-03-19 21:30 (America/Detroit)
Inspired by the New Orleans brass band tradition, the Heavyweights’original stance keeps one foot firmly rooted in the rich legacy of jazz, while one foot steps forward into the future. Like the music’s originators, the Heavyweights are unafraid to incorporate influences from disparate areas of the musical spectrum, from pop hits of the day to original compositions, from R&B and funk throwbacks to the infectious rhythms of Latin America, all woven together with the thread of adventuresome sophistication.
http://www.heavyweightsbrassband.com/

Vanessa Rubin
2016-03-18 21:00 (America/Detroit)
Endowed with the kind of liquid phrasing and sheer wisdom that comes from depth of experience on the jazz performance campaign trail, Vanessa Rubin is an ever-evolving classic singer. The development of a true jazz singer is a long-range prospect, laden with learning experiences that forge the voice into a true instrument, rich with passion, deeply invested in living through life’s joys and perils; such is the journey of Vanessa Rubin, jazz singer extraordinaire. Capable of employing the gamut of emotions, the mature Ms. Rubin can range from whisper to shout in the blink of an eye; from honey-laden ballads purring like a kitten, to up tempo swinging and scatting like a fluent saxophone, she delivers the goods.
http://www.vanessarubin.com/

Soul Cycle
2016-03-16 20:00 (America/Detroit)
Soul Cycle plays American Jazz/Soul Organ music styled after the masters. The set contents include contemporary renditions as wells as a litany of classic songs performed by the greats [Dr. Lonnie Smith, Joey DeFrancesco, Soulive, Tony Monaco etc.]
Formed in early 2013, Soul Cycle is comprised of studio musicians from various groups rooted in New England & the Mid-West. The group has roots in funk, jazz & R&B but Soul Cycle excels in the true emulation of gritty Hammond oldies.
http://www.soulcyclemusic.net/

Malena Quartet
2016-03-10 20:00 (America/Detroit)
CD Release party of “Behind the Eyes” Malena Quartet’s debut album
Tonight the Malena Quartet plays selections from its new album “Behind the Eyes.” Worldly and groove-based songs steeped in the jazz tradition with an introspective feel will get their time in the sun.
María Elena was born in New York City but grew up in Massachusetts. She started playing the alto saxophone the summer after third grade when her older brother put aside his for a tenor. In high school she studied both saxophone and clarinet with metro-Boston legends Ken Reid and Mark Miller, respectively. She graduated from Foxborough High School where she had the honor of performing at President Obama’s first Inauguration with the Kennedy Center’s “Let Celebration Swing” concert in 2008 and receiving an Essentially Ellington outstanding soloist award in 2009. María Elena continued her studies at Michigan State University where she studied from the great Wess Anderson and Diego Rivera and performed with MSU at the Detroit Jazz Festival in 2012. Currently, María Elena leads the Malena Quartet which features original compositions and arrangements in gigs across the Midwest. She free-lances across a variety of genres while growing her studio of students in the Ann Arbor Music Center and MSU’s Community Music School in Detroit.
http://malenaexperience.weebly.com

The Guy Mintus Trio
2016-03-09 20:00 (America/Detroit)
“talented young musical emissary who expertly blends the folkloric sound of his homeland with the improvising aesthetic of jazz” (Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen)
Israeli born New York based jazz pianist and composer Guy Mintus creates performances that have “the entire hall listening with held breath” (Barka Fabiánová, Full Moon Zine). At 24, Guy has won awards from ASCAP, Downbeat Magazine, BMI, the American Composers Orchestra, and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. His performance credits include the Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theater, Symphony Space, Red Sea Jazz Festival, and the Israel Festival. With a focus on music as a gateway to cross-cultural understanding, Guy has collaborated with master musicians from Turkey, Greece, Iran, Morocco, Azerbaijan, India, Cuba, and Mali and has participated in multi-disciplinary works with artists in the visual, dance, spoken word, and theater worlds.
Guy’s intimate, boundary-crossing music weaves textures and colors from across cultures. With influences ranging from Stride piano and the Greek Rebetiko blues, to the Turkish Makam, Indian Ragas and Bach-styled counterpoint, a Mintus performance pairs his originals alongside works based on traditional music from the Mediterranean, along with select pearls from the American Songbook.
His recordings include a debut album with the “Offlines Project,” a duo Guy co-leads with Israeli-Turkish percussionist/oudist Yinon Muallem as well as the live solo album “The Mediterranean Piano.”
www.guymintus.com/

The Kandinski Effect
2016-03-03 21:00 UTC
“Synesthesia is one hell of a ride that shows the strength and innovations left in jazz music and all the new styles of music created in the 21st century. A must hear experience…
– Sound Colour Vibration
Conceived on Paris’s cosmopolitan jazz scene, forged on the road in America, and informed by international currents in electronic music, The Kandinsky Effect is a jazz power trio for the 21st century. Now based in New York City and Paris, the band makes its Cuneiform debut with Synesthesia, a roller-coaster ride of an album marked by fierce grooves, subtle electronic textures, intricate metrical shifts, and a commitment to empathic group interplay.
Featuring Warren Walker on saxophone and electronics, bassist Gael Petrina, and drummer Caleb Dolister, The Kandinsky Effectexplores a distinctive swath of sonic territory, inspired by similarly electronica-laced ensembles like Kneebody and Jaga Jazzist. With a long history as a cutting edge format, the saxophone, bass and drums trio is usually employed by horn players looking to explore harmonically unfettered improvisation. The Kandinsky Effect finds a different kind of freedom in the lack of a chordal instrument.
www.thekandinskyeffect.com

Closed due to bad weather
2016-03-01 00:00 - 23:59 (America/Detroit)

Miles Brown's Middle Game
2016-02-28 21:00 (America/Detroit)
Miles Brown‘s Middle Game, consists of Andrew Bishop on saxophone, Kris Johnson on trumpet, Mike Jellick on piano, Jesse Kramer on drums and myself on bass. The name refers to my other passion besides music, chess. The middle game is the part of a chess game that invokes the spirit of improvisation, creativity within a given set of parameters, shifts in energy and momentum, and aesthetic beauty. I’m hoping that these values will inspire the music this bands creates. All the music will be original and/or freely improvised. We’ll play mainly my own compositions, but also tunes from the other band members.

https://milesbrown.wordpress.com/gigs/
