Cliff Bell's

DeSean Jones
2024-03-05 19:30 - 2024-03-06 09:30, 2024-03-06 19:30 - 2024-03-07 09:30, 2024-03-07 19:30 - 2024-03-08 09:30, 2024-03-08 19:30 - 2024-03-09 09:30, 2024-03-09 19:30 - 2024-03-10 09:30, 2024-03-10 19:30 - 2024-03-11 09:30, 2024-03-11 19:30 - 2024-03-12 09:30, 2024-03-12 19:30 - 2024-03-13 09:30 (America/Detroit) and 10 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.

CHARU SURI
2024-03-07 19:30 - 21:30, 2024-03-08 19:30 - 21:30, 2024-03-09 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.
“Ink it in as one of the top jazz albums of the year” — All About Jazz
CHARU SURI is a pianist and composer who treads fearlessly between genres, blending several styles and fusing Indian ragas with more traditional jazz into a style she has pioneered, called “raga jazz.”Born in South India, she was a piano prodigy performing in various concert halls at an early age. Charu’s most recent album, RAGS & RAGAS, was recorded with John Patitucci on the double bass, Steve Gadd and Joe Lastie on the drums, and debuted recently at #3 on the iTunes jazz charts, and reached #2 in Kenya. Her previous albums have charted #1 in India in the Jazz and overall albums categories.With mood-invoking ragas (to be played according to the time of day) for many of her compositions, she weaves techniques and sounds from several places including India, Europe, and Africa. Her work has won numerous awards. She received eight nominations in the International Singer Songwriters Association (ISSA) Awards in 2023,and was named Entertainer of the Year (Gold) by ISSA at its annual awards ceremony in Atlanta. Her VERONA WALTZ from her previous album, RAGAS & WALTZES was awarded Best Jazz Song in North America at the Intercontinental Music Awards in 2023. Charu also became the first Indian artist to collaborate with Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans on her latest album, RAGAS & WALTZES, that features drummer Joe Lastie. Previously, she has released “The Book of Ragas” and “The New American Songbook” at Carnegie Hall. She returns to Carnegie Hall for the fourth time on Friday, April 5, 2024.
On May 13, 2023, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra performed her work for the very first time at NJPAC in the family-friendly “Hooray for Bollywood” concert and will also perform arrangements of hers of popular Bollywood tunes.
Follow her @charusurimusic on Instagram and @CharuSuriTrio on Facebook.
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CHARU SURI
2024-03-10 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.
“Ink it in as one of the top jazz albums of the year” — All About Jazz
CHARU SURI is a pianist and composer who treads fearlessly between genres, blending several styles and fusing Indian ragas with more traditional jazz into a style she has pioneered, called “raga jazz.”Born in South India, she was a piano prodigy performing in various concert halls at an early age. Charu’s most recent album, RAGS & RAGAS, was recorded with John Patitucci on the double bass, Steve Gadd and Joe Lastie on the drums, and debuted recently at #3 on the iTunes jazz charts, and reached #2 in Kenya. Her previous albums have charted #1 in India in the Jazz and overall albums categories.With mood-invoking ragas (to be played according to the time of day) for many of her compositions, she weaves techniques and sounds from several places including India, Europe, and Africa. Her work has won numerous awards. She received eight nominations in the International Singer Songwriters Association (ISSA) Awards in 2023,and was named Entertainer of the Year (Gold) by ISSA at its annual awards ceremony in Atlanta. Her VERONA WALTZ from her previous album, RAGAS & WALTZES was awarded Best Jazz Song in North America at the Intercontinental Music Awards in 2023. Charu also became the first Indian artist to collaborate with Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans on her latest album, RAGAS & WALTZES, that features drummer Joe Lastie. Previously, she has released “The Book of Ragas” and “The New American Songbook” at Carnegie Hall. She returns to Carnegie Hall for the fourth time on Friday, April 5, 2024.
On May 13, 2023, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra performed her work for the very first time at NJPAC in the family-friendly “Hooray for Bollywood” concert and will also perform arrangements of hers of popular Bollywood tunes.
Follow her @charusurimusic on Instagram and @CharuSuriTrio on Facebook.

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Kasan Belgrave Residency and Session
2024-03-13 19:30 - 23:00
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.
Multi-woodwind-instrumentalist and Detroit native Kasan Belgrave is well-rounded within the Detroit music community. His musical heritage of passing down the knowledge and exposure of Detroit music to the youth; like his father, late trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. Kasan has worked with many greats in his young career such as the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis & Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Dee Bridgewater, Karriem Riggins, Theo Crocker, Etienne Charles, and many others; in his scholar years at University of Michigan he studied under Robert Hurst, pianist Benny Green, and Andrew Bishop, then continued his studies at MSU under the direction of Diego Rivera and Rodney Whitaker. Deeply rooted in the tradition of Black American Music, Kasan is also congruently involved in parallel domains of the strong techno scene in Detroit; he appeared on the track “On My Own” with Jon Dixon & Moodyman; he has also performed with Scott Grooves, Carl Craig, Shigeto, and Kyle Hall. Facebook – Kasan Belgrave Instagram – @baskasanball

Sean Dobbins
2024-03-14 19:30 - 21:30, 2024-03-15 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.

The Eat It Up Trio
2024-03-17 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.
Detroit-based and undeniably swinging, the Eat It Up Trio is Michigan’s premier professional purveyor of possibly the most pleasurable music three humans can safely perform within the parameters of the law. Comprised of drummer Sean Perlmutter, bassist Trevor Lamb, and pianist/vocalist Mike Harrison, the Eat It Up trio delivers original songs and arrangements with a versatile repertoire spanning from traditional jazz to modern R&B, funk to folk country, classic rock to bebop, and all the cracks and crevices in between. Dedicated to putting on an entertaining and accessible show, the Eat It Up Trio is guaranteed to deliver a good time!

The Orrin Evans Trio
2024-03-21 19:30 - 21:30
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance. Seating for the shows begins at 6pm for the first show & 9pm for the second show.
Featuring:
Orrin Evans – Piano
Robert Hurst – Bass
Mark Whitfield Jr. – Drums
For more than two decades, Yamaha pianist Orrin Evans has made an art form of the unexpected. With more than 25 albums to his credit without ever relying on the support of a major label, Evans has become the model of a fiercely independent artist who’s made a habit of rattling the jazz world’s confining cages. That determination has paid off in accolades like topping the “Rising Star Pianist” category in the 2018 DownBeat Critics Poll and two Grammy nominations. As a daring pianist, Evans combines raw-edged vigor and left-field nuance into a sound wholly his own. As an adventurous composer he traverses stylistic boundaries with abandon, drawing on full-throttle swing, deep rooted blues, expressive soul or bracing excursions into the avant-garde. As an audacious bandleader, he delights in daring fellow musicians to take bold risks, whether in mutable small group settings or his raucous Captain Black Big Band. As an inventive collaborator, his projects range from the nerve-rattling collective trio Tarbaby, to the guitar/piano duo project Eubanks-Evans-Experience, and Brazilian project Terreno Comum.

Allen Dennard
2024-03-22 19:30 - 21:30, 2024-03-23 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.
Trumpeter Allen Dennard has one foot firmly planted in the classic jazz canon. The 2016 graduate of the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance leads his own rotating jazz ensemble while also regularly playing with the likes of Detroit legends Marion Hayden, Wendell Harrison, and David McMurray. This April saw his first release Stepping In, which evokes the sounds of Miles Davis’ classic quintet.
That said, he’s not just a strict jazz classicist. His other foot is firmly planted in the melting pot that is the Detroit music scene. Dennard also sits in and records with acts ranging from hip-hop (Kulture) to rock ‘n’ roll (the MC5’s “MC50” 50th anniversary tour), blues (Robert Bradley), soul (Ray J), and gospel (J. Drew Sheard II).
Dennard comes from a musical family: His aunt Elreta Dodds played bass clarinet with the ’70s avant-garde jazz ensemble Griot Galaxy. His father sings, his mother used to play the trumpet and piano, and his older sister played clarinet. But Dennard says he got his start on trumpet on accident. “In 5th grade I wanted to play trombone, but my school didn’t have enough,” he says. “I thought that trumpet was the next best thing. From then on I just never put it down.”
It also helps that Detroit has an amazing legacy of mentorship within the jazz community. Dennard praises his first teacher, jazz flutist Deblon Jackson, for starting him off with ear training before diving into music theory. He also praises trumpeters John Douglas, Dwight Adams, and Rayce Biggs for helping him learn his instrument.
But Dennard’s biggest mentor was none other than Marcus Belgrave, the jazz icon who died in 2015. Dennard says that connection was forged thanks to his aunt, who was best friends with the pianist Geri Allen, who set up Dennard’s first lesson with Marcus when he was in high school.
It wound up being a crucial connection. “At U of M he saved my career,” Dennard says. When Dennard was first given his trumpet, there was no one to teach him the correct way to play, so he found his own way to do it. But by the time he got to college, he found out that his embouchure, or how the mouth is applied to the mouthpiece, was no longer working for him.
“That way got me really far — it got me a scholarship to U of M,” Dennard says. “But in college my notes started cracking and I couldn’t hold a note.” Dennard compares it to being “as bad as breaking your leg if you just got there on a basketball scholarship.” He almost quit.
At a U-M master class, Marcus could tell Denard was struggling, and took him aside for private home lessons for more than a year. “He kind of sensei-ed me through,” Dennard says.
Now, Dennard says he’s inspired by artists like Houston singer, pianist, and producer Robert Glasper. “For me personally, Robert Glasper created this new wave of jazz that’s similar to ’70s jazz fusion,” Dennard says. “Hip-hop evolved into other things, and he put that in his music and created a whole new wave of other artists doing it. It’s common around Detroit.”
Dennard says he just calls it “modern music.” “I love it,” he says. “I think it’s good for the evolution of music. Everything’s always changing — politics, life, all that. Music should too.”
by Doug Coombe January 02, 2019 Detroit Metro Times
https://m.metrotimes.com/detroit/allen-dennard-takes-jazz-into-the-future/Content?oid=19038380

Allen Dennard
2024-03-24 17:30 - 19:30
Showtimes are at 5:30p & 7:30p for this performance. Doors open at 4:30pm for dinner. Seating begins at 5pm for “Dinner & a Show”. The second show starts seating at 7pm.
Trumpeter Allen Dennard has one foot firmly planted in the classic jazz canon. The 2016 graduate of the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance leads his own rotating jazz ensemble while also regularly playing with the likes of Detroit legends Marion Hayden, Wendell Harrison, and David McMurray. This April saw his first release Stepping In, which evokes the sounds of Miles Davis’ classic quintet.
That said, he’s not just a strict jazz classicist. His other foot is firmly planted in the melting pot that is the Detroit music scene. Dennard also sits in and records with acts ranging from hip-hop (Kulture) to rock ‘n’ roll (the MC5’s “MC50” 50th anniversary tour), blues (Robert Bradley), soul (Ray J), and gospel (J. Drew Sheard II).
Dennard comes from a musical family: His aunt Elreta Dodds played bass clarinet with the ’70s avant-garde jazz ensemble Griot Galaxy. His father sings, his mother used to play the trumpet and piano, and his older sister played clarinet. But Dennard says he got his start on trumpet on accident. “In 5th grade I wanted to play trombone, but my school didn’t have enough,” he says. “I thought that trumpet was the next best thing. From then on I just never put it down.”
It also helps that Detroit has an amazing legacy of mentorship within the jazz community. Dennard praises his first teacher, jazz flutist Deblon Jackson, for starting him off with ear training before diving into music theory. He also praises trumpeters John Douglas, Dwight Adams, and Rayce Biggs for helping him learn his instrument.
But Dennard’s biggest mentor was none other than Marcus Belgrave, the jazz icon who died in 2015. Dennard says that connection was forged thanks to his aunt, who was best friends with the pianist Geri Allen, who set up Dennard’s first lesson with Marcus when he was in high school.
It wound up being a crucial connection. “At U of M he saved my career,” Dennard says. When Dennard was first given his trumpet, there was no one to teach him the correct way to play, so he found his own way to do it. But by the time he got to college, he found out that his embouchure, or how the mouth is applied to the mouthpiece, was no longer working for him.
“That way got me really far — it got me a scholarship to U of M,” Dennard says. “But in college my notes started cracking and I couldn’t hold a note.” Dennard compares it to being “as bad as breaking your leg if you just got there on a basketball scholarship.” He almost quit.
At a U-M master class, Marcus could tell Denard was struggling, and took him aside for private home lessons for more than a year. “He kind of sensei-ed me through,” Dennard says.
Now, Dennard says he’s inspired by artists like Houston singer, pianist, and producer Robert Glasper. “For me personally, Robert Glasper created this new wave of jazz that’s similar to ’70s jazz fusion,” Dennard says. “Hip-hop evolved into other things, and he put that in his music and created a whole new wave of other artists doing it. It’s common around Detroit.”
Dennard says he just calls it “modern music.” “I love it,” he says. “I think it’s good for the evolution of music. Everything’s always changing — politics, life, all that. Music should too.”
by Doug Coombe January 02, 2019 Detroit Metro Times
https://m.metrotimes.com/detroit/allen-dennard-takes-jazz-into-the-future/Content?oid=19038380
