Tag Archive: James M. Gregg


 

Studio time is booked.  Fundraising campaign is coming together so stay tuned!  Last night we rehearsed with some of the auxiliary  members: Marc Hutchinson, James M. Gregg, and Andrew Oliver.  Janaka and Chris Jayawardena were there to shoot some candid rehearsal video.  Last week I met with Mary Flower who will be also be a part of the project. It has been more than 2 years since we recorded the first CD and the band has made tremendous strides.  All in all, a very exciting time for the band!

If you haven’t been here for a while check out some of the changes to the site….new photography by Tim Dension, and a page dedicated to our poster art.  Enjoy!

 

Who
Ninkasi Presents: Trio Flux @ The Blue Monk
When
Sunday, November 6, 2011
8:00pm - $3-7 - 21+ Buy Tickets
Where
3341 SE Belmont St.

Portland, OR 97214
Other Info
Trio Flux w/ special guests Andrew Oliver, James M. Gregg, and Marc Hutchinson, perform original indie-jazz and funk/fusion classics.

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October has flown by.  It’s been fun preparing for our upcoming show at the Blue Monk (details).  The horn parts sounded really nice in rehearsal.  And adding Fender Rhodes to the mix has highlighted some of the harmonic intricacies that aren’t always apparent in our trio performances.  It is tempting to take the emboldened sound of the sextet and consider making the change in instrumentation permanent.  However, the trio is a crucial medium for my musical development as an improvising musician and composer.  I see the challenges of the trio as opportunities in disguise, which is part of the reason that it’s in the band’s name.

That said….

Boy, do we have a great show lined up for you next Sunday! Allow me to introduce our special guests…

On keys: Andrew Oliver – the highly sought after jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and side-man whose musical associations include: Andrew Oliver Sextet, Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble, Andrew Oliver Kora Band, Sound for the Organization of Society, Bridgetown Sextet, Sam Howard Band, Fractal Quintet, The Ocular Concern, James M. Gregg Quintet, and Krebsic Orkestar Gypsy Brass Band.

On trumpet: James M. Gregg – the former professor of jazz turned bandleader extraordinaire directs the 20-piece Bureau of Standards Big Band, a mainstay at Tony Starlight’s Supper Club and Lounge.  Gregg also leads his own project, the James M. Gregg Quintet, whose debut release Another Bridge Born (featuring both Andrew Oliver on keys and Neil Mattson on guitar) can be found online or at your local music store.  He has played with artists such as The Decemberists, Devin Phillips, Shelly Rudolph, Chris Robley, and has appeared as a guest artist and sideman on over 20 locally-produced recordings by rock, pop and jazz artists.

On tenor sax: Marc Hutchinson – one of the best tenor saxophonists in town, is a very active member of the Portland music scene and has performed with Darrell Grant, Mel Brown, Dan Faenhle, the D.K. Stewart Band, Patrick Lamb, the Ken Derouchie Band, as well as with national artists Ingrid Jensen and Don Braden.  Marc can also be found performing regularly with the Rocktet, the Dave Fleschner Band, Pete Peterson’s Big Band, Shelly Rudolph, The Notables, Greg Goebel, and his own projects, Ouroborus and the Winning Team Band.

And then there were three… (Trio Flux bio).

A few words about the music.  When asked to describe the kind of music Trio Flux plays, the words fusion, funky, and jazz never seem to encapsulate the essence of what our music is about.  We play highly structured, originally composed, instrumental music that gathers elements from many musical genres and forms, with lots of room for improvisation.  Trio Flux is a little jazz, country, pop, rock, funk, free, etc….all mixed together.  For the Blue Monk show on November 6th we will play music from our debut release and new music slated for the next record with varying instrumentation, everything from trio to sextet, including 6 or 7 different combinations of musicians.  Included in the set are some very choice Herbie Hancock arrangements, and a totally new reworking Miles Davis‘s Nardis (sounds like a good place for a trumpet feature!!).  Also a very special surprise inclusion: the never before heard chords to Adam’s tune, Snow Crash!!

If all this weren’t cool enough, the Blue Monk show will be filmed by local filmmaker, Janaka Jayawardena.  All the more reason to come down and be a part of a special evening of great music.

Hope to see you there!

Note: Special thanks to Tina Granzo of City Beautiful Design for another beautiful poster design!

 

 

We’ve got many plates spinning, pots cooking, choose your metaphor…Trio Flux is working hard this fall on a number of exciting projects! Last week we were in the studio recording our latest work, a 3-part rock suite composed by Neil. It’s nearly 25 minutes of musical flux-uations, a sort of homage to our favorite rock bands of our youth with a healthy dose of formal and harmonic complexities. We plan on releasing unleashing the currently untitled piece via bandcamp.com as soon as it’s mixed and mastered. This will be a download-only digital offering to keep our fans satisfied while we work on our next full length record.

Speaking of the next record! We’ve got nearly enough new material to fill out an album. Many of these tunes we’ve been playing at our shows over the past few months. Our plan is to begin recording this winter with a release goal for the end of summer 2012.

As far as shows goes, we have 3 big ones coming up…

10/7 – Acoustic Flux: Trio Flux @ Barile’ Wine & Beer, 8pm, no cover (details).

All acoustic, all night! Neil on flat-top acoustic guitar, Julio upright bass, and Adam on brushes. The toned-down texture offers us the opportunity to re-interpret Trio Flux classics! Throw in some Bill Frisell (and maybe some Lefty too!!) this will be a memorable night of music!

10/21 – Trio Flux @ Camellia Lounge, 9pm, $5 (details).

Back to our old tricks again, full blown Trio Flux in all its glory. Don’t miss this show – and perhaps a chance to hear the aforementioned and currently untitled Rock Suite!

11/6 – Ninkasi Brewery Presents: Trio Flux @ The Blue Monk, 8pm, $3-7 (details).

This is the big one we’ve all been waiting for. Trio Flux with special guests Andrew Oliver (keys), James M. Gregg (trumpet), and Marc Hutchinson (tenor sax). New arrangements for the expanded instrumentation, Herbie, Miles, and more. Don’t miss this one!!