Gerard Gibbs and ORGANized Crime
2020-09-11 21:00 - 2020-09-12 00:00, 2020-09-10 21:00 - 2020-09-11 00:00 (America/Detroit)
Gerard Gibbs, leader and producer of Gerard Gibbs & ORGANized Crime, conceived the idea to form this group in order to both commemorate the teachings of his mentor, the late Richard “Groove” Holmes, and to fully embrace his love for the Hammond B-3 organ and the electric keyboards. He has been playing keyboards and organ for 35 years, and attributes his accomplishments and overall musical development to the late organist as well as his father and mother, and the many local and national musicians who worked with him along the way. Gibbs currently leads this band, and tours nationally and internationally playing piano, keyboards and organ for saxophonist James Carter. While not around the world performing, Mr. Gibbs remains busy as a husband to his wife, Tira and raising his two sons, Tyler Landon Gibbs and Alexander William Gibbs all while performing with this elite jazz organ trio.
Featuring:
Gerard Gibbs, Hammond B3
Perry Hughes, guitar
Jabari “The Acrobat” Kersey, drums

DeSean Jones
2020-09-11 19:30 - 2020-09-12 09:30, 2020-09-10 19:30 - 2020-09-11 09:30, 2020-09-09 19:30 - 2020-09-10 09:30, 2020-09-08 19:30 - 2020-09-09 09:30, 2020-09-07 19:30 - 2020-09-08 09:30, 2020-09-06 19:30 - 2020-09-07 09:30, 2020-09-05 19:30 - 2020-09-06 09:30, 2020-09-04 19:30 - 2020-09-05 09:30 and 1 more date
De’Sean Jones is a Detroit based saxophonist, billboard charting recording artist and grammy nominated arranger. Over the past 20 years De’Sean has toured the world recording or performing with music Icons like Stevie Wonder, Faith Evans, along with a host of Detroit Legends; Marcus Belgrave, The Clark Sisters, Kierra Sheard and techno pioneer Mad Mike Banks of Underground Resistance.
As a bandleader & producer Jones has curated an eclectic approach that is widely viewed as progressive and undeniably rooted in the rich history of black culture. De’Sean actively pushes the boundaries of social consciousness through music in ways that are authentic, emotionally dynamic and intellectually stimulating.

All musical projects from De’Sean Jones can be accessed through his record label KNMDK Records.

Airey B Quartet - CANCELED do to water-main construction at Woodward and Elizabeth. We will be closed tonight.
2020-09-09 21:00 - 2020-09-10 01:00
Free Admission
Airey is bold, impressive, and bodacious. A singer/songwriter as well as guitar player and pianist. Her voice is captivating, expressive and emotional. She invokes the spirit of the first ladies of the blues like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith & Lizzie Miles. A breath of fresh air, she helps to revive the true spirit of the blues for generations to come. Now backed by a group of excellent-musicians that include veteran Detroit trumpeter and singer James O’Donnell, and the strong young rhythm section of bassist Jeff Cuny and drummer Jake Matthews.

DeSean Jones 4tet featuring Sheefy McFly
2020-09-05 21:30 - 2020-09-06 01:30
De’Sean Jones is a Detroit based saxophonist, billboard charting recording artist and grammy nominated arranger. Over the past 20 years De’Sean has toured the world recording or performing with music Icons like Stevie Wonder, Faith Evans, along with a host of Detroit Legends; Marcus Belgrave, The Clark Sisters, Kierra Sheard and techno pioneer Mad Mike Banks of Underground Resistance.
As a bandleader & producer Jones has curated an eclectic approach that is widely viewed as progressive and undeniably rooted in the rich history of black culture. De’Sean actively pushes the boundaries of social consciousness through music in ways that are authentic, emotionally dynamic and intellectually stimulating.

All musical projects from De’Sean Jones can be accessed through his record label KNMDK Records.
https://www.detroitmusicfactory.com/artists/desean-jones

DeSean Jones 4tet featuring Jon Dixon
2020-09-04 21:00 - 2020-09-05 01:00

D-Three+Two
2020-03-03 20:00
David Alvarez III is a Jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and music educator based in the Metro-Detroit area. The drum set was introduced to him at the age of five, growing up playing in church. At the age of nine, he started to learn how to play Jazz through a summer program called The Arts League of Michigan. Afterwards, for eight years he furthered his studies of the art form through the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Jazz Program, learning from Professors and College mentors from both Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2017 with a Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies with Teacher Certification. Since then, he has toured with the Benny Green Trio, and has recently joined the Clayton Brothers Quintet. Currently he freelances and teaches music in Southeast Michigan.

Tbone Paxton w/ RJ Spangler Quintet CD Release Party
2020-03-01 19:00
John “Tbone” Paxton Takes the Spotlight in “Back in Your Own Backyard”
One of John “Tbone” Paxton’s prize possessions hangs just above his piano. It’s a caricature drawing of his late father, musician Fred Paxton, drawn in 1949 at the London Chop House. The elder Paxton was a highly regarded pianist, clarinetist and music teacher. Many of Detroit’s great bebop artists had been students in the school where he taught music, and he was a regular on Detroit’s jazz scene. Among his frequent gigs was the London Chop House, where he played piano for five decades.
“He was quite a guy, my dad,” says Tbone, who now plays the London Chop House just as his father had a generation ago. “Definitely my greatest musical influence in life.”
Following in his father’s musical steps, Tbone is a true son of the jazz age. He has played with many of Detroit’s great band leaders. Fans of Detroit Music Factory recording group Planet D Nonet know Tbone as the band’s featured singer and trombone soloist, but he has also shared stages with such prominent jazz, blues and R&B luminaries as Earl King, Sir Mac Rice, Pinetop Perkins and Eddie Palmieri.
Tbone’s discography spans dozens and dozens of recording projects, but his 2019 release on Detroit Music Factory, “Back in Your Own Backyard,” marks the first time he’s the featured artist on a full-length CD. He’s joined on the record by his longtime musical partner and fellow Detroit Music Factory recording artist, drummer RJ Spangler, as well as the RJ Spangler Quartet, and a number of guest artists.
The tracks on “Back in Your Own Backyard” are a selection of pre-WWII jazz and transitional rhythm and blues tunes. They’re not the most famous tunes, but they’re some of the most moving. This isn’t Gershwin or Cole Porter; these are tunes from the dark corners of “The Great American Songbook,” or as Tbone likes to call them, “the non-standard standards.”
Many of the tunes on “Back in Your Own Backyard” were curated for their powerful lyrics, and “Room With a View of the Blues” is no exception. It’s a song that Tbone performed regularly with one of the world’s great soul and bluesmen, the late Johnny Adams. It’s a song that speaks to the loneliness of finding yourself in a place where you’re not with another person, and the longing for that missing connectedness. The lyrics are heavy with a sense of loss, and Tbone’s interpretation is fraught with honesty and emotion.
The paired down arrangement on the track is decidedly bluesy. The horns are simple and the solos, as any good blues tune should, feature guitar and piano.
Perhaps one of the reasons “Back in Your Own Backyard” hits you in all the right places is that Tbone draws on the strengths of the musicians on the record.
“It’s not just about ‘what can you play for me,’” he says of the sessions and the session players, “but ‘what ideas can you contribute to the success of the track?’ Everybody had great suggestions. It was very collaborative.”
On the tune “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” Tbone and alto saxophone player Keith Kaminski do a great job working together to come up with a three-part expansion on Louis Jordan’s original intro. With the alto saxophone playing that familiar melody, Kaminski’s arrangement voices it down through the section with the trumpet playing the second voice and the tenor sax playing the third.
The album’s lone instrumental is “Petite Fleur” by legendary New Orleans clarinetist Sidney Bechet. Chris Tabaczyski’s metal clarinet does a beautiful job of mimicking the brightness of the soprano saxophone Bechet was known to play. The arrangement features a fluid musical conversation between Tabaczyski and Tbone, each in turn playing the melody, while the other plays harmony around him, always in the open space, never on top. Then each time they came to a big turnaround, they played in two-part harmony. The effect is an exotic and plaintiff mood; dual like the light at twilight.
Tbone’s performance throughout the record is much like his live performances. Behind the trombone, he connects with his audience through his soulful phrasing and sense of swing. When he steps out as a singer, he breaks down the distance between the music and the listener with a vocal delivery that imbues the lyrics with personal meaning. When he sings, he feels it, and so do you.
“My perspective is from live performance,” he says. “It’s what I’ve done my whole life. My main concern as an artist is to be emotionally honest and authentic. When you do that, people get it. They understand the music.”
While the music of “Back in Your Own Backyard” was written nearly a hundred years ago, Tbone finds energy in a growing number of younger listeners. He points out that the live music scene in New Orleans is filled with music lovers in their 20s and 30s that are really engaged with pre-war jazz from a deep cultural understanding.
“Young people are really digging reaching back in time,” says Tbone. “Because it’s jazz, there’s still freshness and spontaneity in the experience. It’s still being performed live so they’re able to appreciate it for the artistry that it is.”

Jeff Pedraz Duo
2020-02-23 19:00 - 22:00
Jeff Pedraz is a Philadelphia native and now Detroit-area resident bassist and composer. Working on both the double bass and electric bass, and has worked in an array of musical genres, ranging from traditional orchestral to modern Jazz. Pedraz received much of his training on stage at Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus in Philadelphia in the 1990’s, where he had the chance to play with and learn from the house band which included Shirley Scott, Mickey Roker, Arthur Harper, Mike Boone and Sid Simmons. Major career highlights include both national and international touring with groups such as Pat Martino Quintet, Jimmy Bruno Trio, Terell Stafford Quintet, George Garzone Quartet, Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet, Freddy Cole Quartet, Kurt Elling Quintet and the Johnny O’neal trio. Throughout his career, Jeff has shared the stage with notable jazz luminaries such as Donald Byrd, Cecil Payne, Sheila Jordan, Christine Ebersol, Arturo Sandoval, John Swana, Jodi Christian, Frank Tiberi, Uri Cane, Eric Alexander, Bryan Lynch, Ellis Marsalis, Richie Cole, Bootsie Barnes and many others. He continues to perform in major venues and festivals worldwide while maintaining a presence in the vibrant Detroit music community, where he strives to grow artistically and share the great Jazz tradition with fellow musicians and audiences all over the city.
Jeff also spends much time at the piano and will be joined alongside Detroit trumpeter and singer Dave Vessella for an intimate and laid back setting playing selections from the American songbook.

The SMA Jam Academy
2020-02-23 17:00 - 19:00
Drummer/Educator Sean Dobbins and the Southeastern Music Academy has an outstanding music faculty – successful performers with strong academic credentials that perform regularly with professional groups.

The Jeff Cuny Trio
2020-02-21 18:00 - 20:30, 2020-02-14 17:15 - 19:45
Jeff Cuny is an excellent string bassist. He is also the chief arranger & bassist for the Planet D Nonet and appears around the city with singer/trombonist Tbone Paxton as well as his own groups. His fellow musicians include David Dunham on guitar & David Alvarez III on drums.

SPHERICAL AGENDA- CANCELLED, THURSDAY, 2/20/2020
2020-02-20 20:00
CLIFF BELLS IS CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE EVENT

Tbone Paxton & RJ Spangler
2020-02-16 19:00 - 22:00
Lifelong buddy’s RJ Spangler & Tbone Paxton started working together in 1980 with a very popular band around Detroit called the Sun Messengers. They toured the east coast, Midwest and deep south for a number of years. Back then Tbone was awarded a Motor City Music Award for best trombonist. Since then, he has also become quite an engaging vocalist. In fact, he has been nominated the last three years as best jazz vocalist at the Detroit Music Awards.
The two are cornerstone members of the Planet D Nonet, and as such, have toured to 11 states, released as many CDs and garnered 7 Detroit Music Awards. Now they have offer this stripped-down project – just four musicians, with a new CD about to drop next month nationally!
Tbone and RJ have performed in New Orleans and backed singers from there on their tours up north like Johnny Adams, Earl King & Edde Bo for many years, so the music of NOLA is always prominent in their performances; from trad-jazz to R&B. The Great American Songbook: Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington & the Harlem Jive of Fats Waller as well as the proto jump/swing of Louis Jordan are also a big part of each performance. Add some gut-bucket trombone & RJ’s experience with blues, swing and world jazz on drums and you have an idea what to expect at their shows.
Matt LoRusso on guitar & Jeff Cuny on string bass

WSU Jam
2020-02-16 16:00 - 18:30
The students of the Wayne State University Jazz Program run a fantastic jam session! All invited!

Vanessa Rubin
2020-02-15 21:30
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.
One of the surest tests of a jazz singer is her acceptance by skilled players; the relationship between instrumentalist and vocalist is so often fraught with distrust. Vanessa Rubin has never experienced such travails. From the time she joined the New York jazz community in the early 80s, under the guidance of such grandmasters as Barry Harris and Frank Foster, Rubin’s acceptance has been universal. Instrumentalists have always been impressed by her way around a song, her willingness to flow with their muse, and her innate ability to swing that music.
The list of great musicians who have graced her recordings and bandstands is quite impressive: Monty Alexander, Cecil Bridgewater, Kenny Burrell, Frank Foster, Billy Higgins, Etta Jones, Lewis Nash, Houston Person, Patience Higgins, Don Braden, Toots Thielemans, Steve Turre, Cedar Walton, Grover Washington, Jr., and James Williams are just a few of the masters who’ve lent their skills to support Ms. Rubin’s artistry. More recently she has completed auspicious global tours with Herbie Hancock, the Woody Herman Orchestra, and the Jazz Crusaders.

The Ben Rosenblum Trio w/ Shahida Nurullah
2020-02-14 20:00 - 23:00
Two big shows! 8:00p – 9:15 and 9:45 – 11p.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Cliff Bell’s with a special program of love songs from legendary Detroit vocalist Shahida Nurullah, in collaboration with award-winning New York City based pianist Ben Rosenblum and his trio, on tour in Detroit for one night only!
Deeply steeped in the generations of great Jazz and Blues that centers the rich musical legacy of Detroit (which includes Kenn Cox, Donald Walden, Marcus Belgrave and Thomas “Beans” Bowles), Shahida Nurullah is one of the motor city’s premier and most treasured jazz vocalists. Her outstanding musical intelligence is vibrantly reflected through a versatile repertoire that includes blues, jazz, samba, bossa nova, show tunes and more. Shahida has performed at the Detroit International Jazz Festival on a number of occasions including with Charlie Gabriel of the Preservation Hall Band and with clarinetist Eddie Daniels in a jazz version of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”. Shahida performed in the inaugural festival with Kenn Cox and the Guerilla Jam Band. She performed an “American Songbook” concert with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and as a guest vocalist with the Preservation Hall Band at Preservation Hall New Orleans, LA. Shahida and her trio regularly play at clubs throughout southeastern Michigan, including The Dirty Dog Jazz Café and Cliff Bell’s. Shahida recorded and performed with internationally lauded pianist Geri Allen’s band “Open on All Sides,” throughout Europe. The New York Times lauded her performance with Allen at New York’s Knitting Factory and she is a recipient of the Spirit of Detroit Award.
Shahida is joined by internationally-touring jazz pianist Ben Rosenblum and his trio. Rosenblum has been called “mature beyond his years,” (Sea of Tranquility), an “impressive talent” (All About Jazz) who “caresses [the music] with the reverence it merits” (Downbeat Magazine). Since the release of his debut trio album, Instead (4 stars, Downbeat), Rosenblum has toured with his trio throughout the United States, including multiple extensive tours of the Northeast, Midwest, South and West Coast, and internationally in Canada, Europe and Japan. He was a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall’s Stern-Perelman Auditorium – with Reona Ito’s New York Harmonic Band – and has appeared at prestigious venues throughout the world, including at the Appel Room at Lincoln Center, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Ravinia, Himawari-No-Sato Concert Hall in Yokohama, Bird’s Eye in Basel and the Library of Congress. His second album, River City, was called “richly romantic” and “well-realized” by JAZZIZ Magazine, which featured the title track as part of their Fall 2018 CD.
This evening will feature Rosenblum’s regular touring band, with Marty Jaffe on bass and Ben Zweig on drums. The trio has come to perform at Cliff Bell’s on multiple previous tours, and is honored to be joined by Shahida for what promises to be an incredibly special night!
https://youtu.be/eZXvvmvo3fE
https://youtu.be/S-JNrcywCk8

The Scott Gwinnell Jazz Orchestra
2020-02-13 19:00
Scott Gwinnell is an award-winning pianist, composer/arranger, and educator born in Detroit, and residing in the Metro-Detroit area. He currently freelances as a sideman and leads various groups; the most well-known being the 16-piece Scott Gwinnell Jazz Orchestra. He is an adjunct professor of music at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, and an ensemble director at Michigan State University’s Detroit Campus.
Mulgrew-ology, the second Detroit Music Factory recording by the Scott Gwinnell Jazz Orchestra, explores this lesser-spotlighted side of Miller.
Gwinnell intersperses Miller’s compositional ideas throughout a body of arrangements that include songs penned by Miller as well as other artists’ compositions for which he was famous for playing in his certain way—because even when Miller played someone else’s tune, it was a markedly Mulgrew Miller version.
“There are certain albums where the work is about you and you want to shine through your own work,” says Gwinnell. “But this record is more about Mulgrew than about me.”
Just as the inflections, the words, the idiosyncrasies that make up a person’s manner of speaking sum up into one’s personality, Miller’s compositions and playing have a definitive voice. Gwinnell mined for those nuances, the subtle licks and chord progressions, choices like the melodic sequence that Miller plays over a diminished harmony, the stuff that tells you you’re listening to Mulgrew Miller.
The Troy Athens High School band will open the show at 7pm.

D-Three+Two CANCELED TUES, 2/11/2020
2020-02-11 20:00
Cliff Bells is closed Tuesday, 2/11/2020.
D-Three + Two will return Tuesday, 2/18/2020 @ 8p.

Speakeasy Sundays
2020-02-09 20:30
Speakeasy Sundays is a monthly Detroit burlesque show featuring talent from around the globe, hosted at historic Cliff Bell’s.
Cliff Bell’s originally opened in 1935 by John Clifford Bell and retains many of its original features to this day, including its luxurious mahogany and brass interior. It is one of the last remaining burlesque venues from the early days of Detroit’s Park Avenue alley and the only remaining club from 1930s Park Avenue to still feature burlesque today.
Speakeasy Sundays burlesque hosts renowned talent from across the US and from around the world. Ray Gunn, Eva La Feva, Jeez Loueez, Danielle Colby of American Pickers, Elektra Cute, Roxi D’Lite among many others have graced the Speakeasy Sundays stage. Over the past 3 years event partnerships with the Steel City Kitty Burlesque & Variety show, Front Row Paul and the Theatre Bizarre Orchestra made Speakeasy Sundays a show never to be missed. Just wait until you see what is in store for 2020!
Speakeasy Sunday
February 9th
Doors 8pm / Show 8:30pm
Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/speakeasy-sundays-february-love-lust-edition-tickets-90485419325
Facebook: https://facebook.com/events/s/speakeasy-sundays-february-lov/793926924462297
Featuring:
Danielle Colby (from American Pickers)
Eartha Kitten
Miss Holly Hock
Lilith Von Tal
Eva la Feva
Lilly Rascal

the Zen Zadravec Quintet
2020-02-08 21:30
Zen Zadravec, Jazz pianist and saxophonist, is a musical chameleon. Whether it is Jazz, R&B, Funk, Rock, or Pop, he plays each with a freshness and confidence rarely found in someone so young. Born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1974, Zadravec studied classical piano from the age of five. At eleven he began the saxophone and the flute. Hearing Miles Davis transformed his life and influenced his decision to become a Jazz musician.
In 1992, Zadravec attended York University’s Jazz Program (Toronto, Canada) and in 1997 he graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Arts. During his time at York he was also the recipient of two Oscar Peterson Awards for excellence as a Jazz pianist. In 2000, he earned a Masters Degree in Jazz Performance at Rutgers University. Zadravec also has studied with some of the biggest names in Jazz such as: Kenny Barron, Don Thompson, John Gittens, Vic Juris, Ted Dunbar and Ralph Bowen. Versatile, creative, energetic, and dynamic, Zen is constantly experimenting and refining his sound and musical conception through concerts, recordings and education.
A natural innovator and leader, he runs three of his own bands: the Zen Zadravec Quartet (straight ahead Jazz), Human Revolution (Jazz Fusion), and Ritmo Y Corazon- Rhythm of the Heart (Latin/Cuban Jazz). Zadravec is also very much in demand as a side man in straight ahead Jazz, Fusion, and Funk and has performed or recorded with: Kenny Davis, Steve Turre, Ralph Bowen, Derrick Gardner, Sean Jones, Conrad Herwig, Freddie Hendrix, Don Thompson, Barry Elmes, Mike Murley, Lorne Lofsky, Charles Fambrough, Valery Ponomarev, Dave Watson, Darryl Dixon, Gloria Gaynor, among many others. Zen has performed on the WHOOPI GOLDBERG radio show on WKTU in New York, THE TODAY SHOW with GLORIA GAYNOR on NBC with Kathie-Lee Gifford hosting, and has released a debut CD with his quartet entitled COMING OF AGE. With this new release, the Zen Zadravec Quartet has been turning heads and exciting audiences in the Jazz world.
Along with his Jazz quartet, and his Fusion group “Human Revolution,” Zen works with Gloria Gaynor, Percussionist Kevin “Bujo” Jones with TENTH WORLD, and plays with the power-house Funk/Jazz/Soul group-”CHOPS” The Band. Along with creating scores for Television and Film, Zadravec continues to pursue the path of the performer, the composer, sideman, and the ARTIST. Zadravec’s Jazz groups also pursue a busy concert schedule with dates in the United States, Canada, Europe, India, and Japan.

Djangophonique
2020-02-07 21:30
Djangophonique is a musical project born out of reverence for the Parisian Jazz Manouche style that was made popular by the legendary Sinti guitarist Django Reinhardt and his Quintette du Hot Club de France. While remaining steeped in the rich and virtuosic tradition, the group aims to bring this music into the present with their own character and personality. Hot swing, lush ballads, musette waltzes, jazz standards, boleros, and moody minor pieces are all fused together with theatrical sensibility and a sense of humor.
Born in a sandstone victorian farmhouse that has been in his family since it was built four generations ago, Andrew Brown is the son of a Motown session musician and grew up listening to the sounds of his dad’s piano as he steeped in musical influences from Duke Ellington to Stevie Wonder. As a young man returning from a trip to New Orleans with a newfound interest in Swing music, he co-founded the eclectic americana group Appleseed Collective, with whom he has toured 150+ dates a year. Traveling all over the continental United States, playing esteemed venues and festivals such as The Ark, Sisters Folk Festival, Wheatland, Cervantes Ballroom, Summercamp Music Festival, Schuba’s, and The Ann Arbor Folk Festival at Hill Auditorium, he cut his teeth as a guitarist, songwriter and band leader. Since slowing down his touring schedule in 2017 he began tirelessly practicing and performing the music of his favorite guitar player: Django Reinhardt. Since then he has studied at various music camps with many of the genres heavy hitting players such as Angelo Debarre, Sebastian Gineaux, and Gonzalo Bergara, and was even invited to back up Denis Chang at one of his concerts. Andrew currently plays throughout Michigan with his own project Djangophonique, his band Appleseed Collective, and his friends projects Third Coast Gypsy Jazz, Smoking Dandies. He also teaches guitar, both generally and specifically in the style of Django.
