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The Hughes/Smith Quintet has performed at several notable jazz clubs like The Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, The Bop Stop, Cliff Bell’s, Jazz Cafe at Music Hall, Motor City Wine, Cadieux Cafe, Black Lotus Brewery, and sets at the Michigan Jazz Festival, Experience Art Live Royal Oak Festival, St Columban Concert Series, and the Opportunity Detroit Concert Series. They have two recordings, FROM HERE ON OUT (2013) and EVER UP & ONWARD (2015) which made AllMusic’s “Favorite Jazz Album” of 2015 list and has been played on over 100 radio stations throughout the U.S. Look for their new album MOTION due to be released in January 2018.

This is a first of the month residency for the band. each month they pick a jazz great and perform songs from that artist. The last set is a jam session.

“…inspired by the grand Motor City jazz scene of the 1950s and early ’60s, these players update and extend that tradition with excellent writing, arranging, and playing for the 21st century.”– Thom Jurek, allmusic.com

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Shawn Maxwell formed his style early on while growing up in the rich musical history of the Joliet, Illinois school music programs. From the time a clarinet and saxophone first touched his lips, Maxwell knew that music was his calling. With conviction and abilities that belied his age, it was equally clear to others that Shawn Maxwell was destined to be a musician. He quickly became a celebrated performer in the Joliet Central High School band program where his prowess as a soloist was on regular display. Shawn further refined his art in a post-secondary setting, absorbing all that his instructors could teach – earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Millikin University in 1999. Shawn then signed with the prestigious and legendary Conn-Selmer Company to join their Performance and Educational Artist Roster.

After starting his professional career touring internationally, across the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, Maxwell returned home to Chicago. His multi-instrumental talents have been lauded by fellow musicians and critics alike and Maxwell has become one the preeminent performers in the Chicago jazz landscape.

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“Pianist-composer Rod Williams’ typically stimulating original “Home Sweet Home” opens his fine 1989 LP “Hanging in the Balance” (Muse). It would certainly be an appropriate piece for the Detroit-born Williams to include when he returns to the Motor City. Williams made his reputation working with a range of left-of-center voices, among them David Murray, Henry Threadgill, Dewey Redman and Lester Bowie. He has also proven to be an alert accompanist for vocalist Cassandra Wilson early in her career. But like most Detroiters, Williams retains an essential versatility, and there’s not much across the post-bop landscape you could throw at him that he can’t handle. His improvisations alternate between a scampering kind of percussive rumble with a smoother, more pianistic touch, and his compositions reveal a personal approach to melody and structure”

Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press June 17, 2015

Rod says it will be a kind of reunion:
Bowens on saxophone
Jonathon Muir-Cotton on acoustic bass
Djallo Djakate on drums

The post Rod Williams Quartet appeared first on Cliff Bell's.

“Pianist-composer Rod Williams’ typically stimulating original “Home Sweet Home” opens his fine 1989 LP “Hanging in the Balance” (Muse). It would certainly be an appropriate piece for the Detroit-born Williams to include when he returns to the Motor City. Williams made his reputation working with a range of left-of-center voices, among them David Murray, Henry Threadgill, Dewey Redman and Lester Bowie. He has also proven to be an alert accompanist for vocalist Cassandra Wilson early in her career. But like most Detroiters, Williams retains an essential versatility, and there’s not much across the post-bop landscape you could throw at him that he can’t handle. His improvisations alternate between a scampering kind of percussive rumble with a smoother, more pianistic touch, and his compositions reveal a personal approach to melody and structure”

Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press June 17, 2015

Rod says this will be a kind of reunion!
Vincent Bowens on saxophone
Jonathon Muir-Cotton on acoustic bass
Djallo Djakate on drums

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