Cliff Bell's

Dmitri Matheny Group
2023-10-13 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-10-15 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Detroit)
Showtimes are at 5:30p & 7:30p for this performance. Doors open at 4pm for dinner. Seating begins at 5pm for “Dinner & a Show”. The second show starts seating at 7pm.
“Dmitri Matheny is a jazz treasure. The lyrical Matheny has impressive chops, but it’s his warmth and soulfulness that win you over.”—All Music Guide
Acclaimed for his warm tone, soaring lyricism and masterful technique, American flugelhornist DMITRI MATHENY has been lauded as “one of the most emotionally expressive improvisers of his generation” (International Review of Music). An honors graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Dmitri Matheny vaulted onto the jazz scene in the 1990s as the protégé of jazz legend Art Farmer. Since then he has garnered critical acclaim and a loyal international following, touring extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, traveling to 19 countries. With over 100 recordings to his credit, Dmitri Matheny has released 12 albums as a leader. The San Francisco Chronicle calls Matheny “one of the jazz world’s most talented horn players.”

DeSean Jones
2023-10-13 19:30 - 2023-10-14 09:30, 2023-10-14 19:30 - 2023-10-15 09:30, 2023-10-15 19:30 - 2023-10-16 09:30, 2023-10-16 19:30 - 2023-10-17 09:30, 2023-10-17 19:30 - 2023-10-18 09:30, 2023-10-18 19:30 - 2023-10-19 09:30, 2023-10-19 19:30 - 2023-10-20 09:30, 2023-10-20 19:30 - 2023-10-21 09:30 and 11 more dates
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.

Dmitri Matheny Group
2023-10-14 19:30 - 21:30
SHOWTIMES ARE AT 7:30PM & 9:30PM FOR THIS PERFORMANCE.
Doors open at 5pm for dinner. Seating begins at 6pm for “Dinner & a Show”. The second show starts seating at 9pm.
“Dmitri Matheny is a jazz treasure. The lyrical Matheny has impressive chops, but it’s his warmth and soulfulness that win you over.”—All Music Guide
Acclaimed for his warm tone, soaring lyricism and masterful technique, American flugelhornist DMITRI MATHENY has been lauded as “one of the most emotionally expressive improvisers of his generation” (International Review of Music). An honors graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Dmitri Matheny vaulted onto the jazz scene in the 1990s as the protégé of jazz legend Art Farmer. Since then he has garnered critical acclaim and a loyal international following, touring extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, traveling to 19 countries. With over 100 recordings to his credit, Dmitri Matheny has released 12 albums as a leader. The San Francisco Chronicle calls Matheny “one of the jazz world’s most talented horn players.”

Noah Jackson & Full Circle: Residency & Session
2023-10-18 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-10-25 19:30 - 21:30
Showtimes are at 7:30pm & 9:30pm for this performance.
Doors open at 5pm for dinner. Seating begins at 6pm for “Dinner & a Show”. The second show starts seating at 9pm.
Musicians pay no cover when they bring their instrument.
A Detroit original, Noah Jackson is a bassist, cellist, and composer specializing in black american music and classical music. Aimed with a curiosity to where sound could touch audiences from within, he has both written and performed music for large international audiences since 2010. A graduate of Michigan State University (B.M.), and Manhattan School of Music (M.M.), Noah has performed with world renowned artists such as NEA Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim, Branford Marsails, Jason Marsalis, The Marsalis Family, Hugh Masekela, Nnenna Freelon, Kenny Garrett, Wizard Harper, George Burton, Jazzmeia Horn, and Christian Sands. Additionally, he’s performed in many prominent venues and jazz festivals including Radio City Music Hall, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Blue Note Jazz Club (New York City and Milan), Royal Albert Hall, Victoria Hall (Geneva), Jazz in Marciac (Marciac, France), The Library of Congress, The Kennedy Center, SFJAZZ, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, London Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, and North Sea Jazz Festival. Noah Jackson also performed as part of the ceremony for the NEA Jazz Masters Award in 2019. He also recorded bass and cello on The Balance with Abdullah Ibrahim which reached #3 on the Billboard Jazz Charts (June 2019).
As a band leader, Noah had put on performances of original creative work with his band Full Circle. In 2011, he made his self-produced debut album, Contemplations- A Suite to critical acclaim and led Full Circle in the Detroit Jazz Festival in 2012. Since then, Noah has collaborated with a wide variety of artists across the jazz spectrum. In 2017, he has worked in collaboration with the American Ballet Theater with his string quartet Asè at Grace Farms in New Canaan, CT. Noah, along with vocalist and co-producer Candice Hoyes, were named recipients of grants for a double jazz and string quartet project: Ellington to the World: Generational Power in Black Culture and Spaces from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and the New York Council of the Arts. The work premiered at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in September 2019 and was performed to a sold out audience in The CUBE @ DSO in February 2020. As of March 2021, Noah has joined Cliff Bell’s in Detroit as Curator and Artist-in-Residence where he will perform with his group Full Circle and host sessions as well as bring in world-class talent to perform on it’s stage.
Noah is endorsed by Aguilar Amps, David Gage REAList LifeLine pickups, and NOAH Guitars of Italy. Noah currently resides in Detroit, Michigan.
Find out more about Noah here!

the Joel Frahm Trio
2023-10-19 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-10-20 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-10-21 19:30 - 21:30
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance. Doors open at 5pm for dinner. Seating begins at 6pm for “Dinner & a Show”. The second show starts seating at 9pm.
Pianoless trios can sound shambolic, even with great players, as if everyone is bailing furiously to keep the boat from swamping. Here, though, the trio plays as a unit, with absolute confidence… He called a previous album We Used To Dance. These guys still do.
-Brian Morton – Downbeat

The Joel Frahm Triois a new band featuring Frahm on tenor and soprano saxophones, Dan Loomis on bass, and Ernesto Cervini on drums. The Bright Side is their debut recording for Anzic Records, and is the culmination of a musical partnership that has developed over the course of many tours and recording sessions spanning the last decade. Frahm first encountered the chord-less trio format as a teenager, and says he was “mesmerized by the music they created and hooked by the feeling of freedom and space the “chordless” trio provided me as a listener.”

the Joel Frahm Trio
2023-10-22 17:30 - 19:30
Showtimes are at 5:30p & 7:30p for this performance. Doors open at 4pm for dinner. Seating begins at 5pm for “Dinner & a Show”. The second show starts seating at 7pm.
Pianoless trios can sound shambolic, even with great players, as if everyone is bailing furiously to keep the boat from swamping. Here, though, the trio plays as a unit, with absolute confidence… He called a previous album We Used To Dance. These guys still do.
-Brian Morton – Downbeat

The Joel Frahm Triois a new band featuring Frahm on tenor and soprano saxophones, Dan Loomis on bass, and Ernesto Cervini on drums. The Bright Side is their debut recording for Anzic Records, and is the culmination of a musical partnership that has developed over the course of many tours and recording sessions spanning the last decade. Frahm first encountered the chord-less trio format as a teenager, and says he was “mesmerized by the music they created and hooked by the feeling of freedom and space the “chordless” trio provided me as a listener.”

Sean Dobbins
2023-10-27 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-10-28 19:30 - 21:30
There will be two separate seatings at 7:30pm & 9:30pm for this performance.
Doors open at 5pm for dinner. Seating begins at 6pm for “Dinner & a Show”. The second show starts seating at 9pm.
Jazz drummer Sean Dobbins got his start as sought-after Detroit area jazz sideman at a young age, when he would regularly play with Blue Note artist Louis Smith. As Sean’s Career progressed, he found himself the recipient of many awards and accolades including the “Woody Herman Jazz Award”, an award for outstanding musicianship, as well as the Louis Armstrong Scholarship. Due to Sean’s great talent both as a player and an educator, he has been the focus of countless news articles and jazz radio programs.
Though still young by jazz standards, Dobbins has amassed an impressive list of playing companions. He has performed/toured/recorded with Johnny Basset, Benny Golson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Frank Morgan, Joey DeFrancesco, George Cables, James “Blood” Ulmer, Marcus Belgrave, Larry Willis, Rodney Whittaker, Claude Black, Johnny O’Neal, Paul Keller, Tad Weed, Kurt Krahnke, Jon Hendricks, David “Fathead” Newman, Donald Walden, Cyrus Chesnut, Barry Harris, David Baker, Randy Johnston, Marion Hayden, Mose Allison, and a host of other great musicians.
Sean’s sound can best be described as hard-driving, solid rhythm with refreshing melodic sensibility. Some of Sean’s influences include Art Blakey, Jeff Hamilton, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Ed Thigpen, Sonny Payne, and also Detroit area greats Gerald Cleaver and the one and only Elvin Jones. A product of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, Sean has stayed devoted to education throughout his life. Early mentor Louis Smith, an Ann Arbor Public Schools band teacher, impressed the importance of a good education upon Sean at an early age. Sean is known in his community as a band director, drum teacher and positive influence for many.
