The smoke in the air has been hiding beautiful Montana sky.  Although some wildfires help to regenerate forests I am hoping for good rain on paces fires are going on.
* To musician friends, if you would like to add your message or on going projects like new albums on this website or news letter please contact me!
* Detail of these concerts can be changed due to artists/venues’ circumstances.

AUGUST 14TH SWAMP DAWG IN BILLINGS

Join Swamp Dawg in Billings at the Josephine Crossing Summer Concert series. This free concert at outdoor amphitheater will benefit Josephine Crossing’s Songbird Community Garden.
Josephine Crossing Summer Concert Series
1800 Front St, Billings, Montana 59101
Tuesday, August 14th
5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
https://www.facebook.com/events/160686094598653/

ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT PLONK

On Wednesday, August 15th from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Will Brown Trio will be performing at Plonk! The Will Brown Trio is a New York City based group that blends standard jazz repertoire with jazz and folk inspired original compositions. Will seeks to combine the sounds of his upbringing with modern jazz harmony and rhythm. The trio features John Koozin on bass, Chris Garriga on drums, and Will Brown on saxophones. Please come down to enjoy the music and support local musicians with glass of wine and delicious food! No Charge.
Plonk Wine Bozeman
Wednesday, August 15th
8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
https://plonkwine.com/

AUGUST 16TH MONTANA MANOUCHE AT FOLLOW YER’ NOSE BBQ

Gypsy Jazz band Montana Manouche is so excited to play at Follow Yer Nose BBQ for the first time! Legendary BBQ!  You’ll hear many Django Reinhardt compositions along with American jazz standards played in the Gypsy Jazz style.
Follow Yer’ Nose BBQ (Emigrant, MT)
Thursday, August 16th
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
http://www.followyernosebbq.com/

ON FRIDAY NIGHT AT RED TRACTOR PIZZA

Every Friday, there is a Jazz Night at Red Tractor Pizza in Bozeman from 7:00p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  On August 17th Craig Hall on guitar, Alex Platt on drums, and Shawn Lehmann on bass will be playing fantastic music! Enjoy your Friday night with good live music and of course delicious pizza and beer/wine!
Red Tractor pizza
Friday, August 17th
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
http://www.redtractorpizza.com/

ON SUNDAY NIGHT AT THE EAGLES THE BRIDGER MOUNTAIN BIG BAND

The Bridger Mountain Big Band performs at The Eagles on every Sunday led by a drummer Adam Greenberg.  No cover charge but there will be a tip jar so be generous. 😉 For more information please check https://www.facebook.com/TheBridgerMountainBigBand/.
The Eagles
Sunday, August 19th
7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
https://www.facebook.com/bozemaneagles326/

ON SUNDAY NIGHT AT WALKERS IN BILLINGS

On every Sunday American Grill & Tapas Bar Walkers in Billings has Jazz night through 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.  This week Arterial Drive will be performing!! Please come down to enjoy the music with delicious food and drinks! No charge.
American Grill & Tapas Bar Walkers
Sunday, August 19th
7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
http://walkersgrill.com/

UPCOMING JAZZ & MORE CONCERTS

August 22nd @ Saffron Table

Montana Manouche

August 22nd @ PLONK

Eric Olson, Bob Bowman, Brad Edwards


BOZEMAN SWING CLUB PRESENTS TUESDAY SWING SPECIAL

This special dance is going to be full of goodness with international swing musicians Jonathan Doyle and Jack Sanders plus Bob Bowman joining in the fun. We will have amazing music to swing to all night long!
A basic swing lesson from 6:30-7pm to help you get out on the dance floor. Live music with Jonathan Doyle on Sax and Clarinet, Jake Sanders on Guitar and Banjo, and local musician Bob Bowman is joining in on upright Bass. These amazing musicians will play from 8-10pm for all of our dancing pleasure.
Plus, there will be a performance from Cold Smoke Fight Club! Social Jams and other fun too!
$10 at the door. No partner or experience needed. Just bring your happy feet, some friends be sure to come and get in on this goodness!
Masonic Lodge
14 S Tracy Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715-4659
Tuesday, August 21st
6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Tickets : $10.00 at the door
https://www.facebook.com/events/477168946029390/


BACKBURNER REUNION ON AUGUST 23RD AT RIALTO

BACKBURNER is a Bozeman, Montana-based poly-stylistic jazz quartet that has worked together for almost 20 years. During that time they recorded five CDs, all favorably reviewed by the, prestigious international jazz music magazine “Le Jazz Hot” [Paris]. The group was featured on season 1 of the 9-time Emmy Award winning Montana PBS-TV program “11th & Grant with Eric Funk” and is partly responsible for the creation of that series due to the powerful public response to the PBS Christmas Special “A Jazz Peace” in 2004. The group features Alan Fauque, saxophones, Eric Funk, piano, Eddie Tsuru, bass, and Mike Gillan, drums.
Rialto
Thursday, August 23rd 6:00 p.m. ~ / 9:00 p.m. ~
Tickets at Rialto : http://rialtobozeman.ticketfly.com/


HISTORIC BOZEMAN JAZZ GROUP REUNITES FOR SQUIRE HOUSE PERFORMANCE

On Sunday, August 26, the Squire House, a new venue in The Element Hotel on Mendenhall, hosts a very special jazz/dinner concert performance: a reunion of jazz musicians who performed together in and around Bozeman in the early 90’s forward. Widely recognized pianist Adam Platt returns to Bozeman from New York City, joined by his brother Alex Platt on drums, along with Bozeman and Great Falls bassist Rob Kohler, and Bozemanite Craig Hall on guitar. With Kohler and Hall as their early mentors, the Platt brothers have gone on to have prolific careers in New York and Los Angeles. As a quartet, this will be their first performance together in over 20 years.  Seating for dinner (optional but highly recommended) begins around 6 PM, music at 7. (Diners get the best seats!)  The concert will end around 9:00. Concert tickets ($25) are will-call, available at Squire House, at Eventbrite.com or by contacting plattalex@gmail.com or texting 310.428.8604. Make dinner reservations separately by calling Squire House at 577-2773.  With no big band at the Eagles that night, the evening is wide open. You won’t want to miss this! Make reservations today!
Pianist Adam Platt was the recipient of multiple DownBeat Magazine’s student music awards, and as a child was a winner and then was featured at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, Idaho.  He studied at New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, then moved to New York City where he performs with his own jazz trio #AP3 and electronic trio Dance Fight, He has been the pianist/keyboardist for Dana Leong, Reggie Watts, jazz vocalist Tessa Souter, The Prigs, and many others. Platt is also a member of Sweetpro,  a music production house in New York City, with whom he has composed and produced music for several Emmy award-winning productions. In addition to performing and recording, he teaches jazz to young children at Jazz at  Lincoln Center.

Alex Platt has been performing and recording on the drums for over 30 years.  Having studied with masters such as Joe LaBarbera and Charlie Haden at the California Institute of the Arts, Alex has since made appearances with such names as Alice Coltrane, Jack Walrath, Ambrose Akinmusire, Oranyan Coltrane, Persian maestros Bahram Bajelan and Merdad Arabi, country artist Stephanie Quayle, soul/funk singer Big Joe Hurt, Jake Faulkner and Zac Sokolow of The Americans, Christian Lee Hutson, and many more.  He has also been a part of the rotating faculty at the renown Stanford Jazz Workshop. He has recently returned to Bozeman to reestablish his Montana roots after 22 years of performing, recording, and teaching in Los Angeles.

Bassist, composer, and educator Rob Kohler has been a featured performer at many music festivals around the world including Montreux, Strawberry, Vancouver International, and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He has been a faculty member at the Stanford Jazz Workshop since 1991, and was the Education Director there from 2006-08. He helped to design and implement a successful middle school jazz program at NOCCA in New Orleans and is a regular clinician there. As a composer Rob has been the recipient of two NEA Grants and his originals have been featured on numerous recordings.  His greatly anticipated Jazz Theory Book is available through Kohler Music Press.

Craig Hall is a living institution of Bozeman jazz. He plays guitar and bass, has toured four continents and across most states, and has played with innumerous jazz and pop greats. He has recently completed a suite, or ‘travelogue’ of compositions for piano and guitar, inspired by his Montana and Wyoming travels through the years. He teaches the Childbloom Classical Guitar Method to area youngsters, and performs and teaches continuously throughout the region.

Squire House
Sunday, August 26th 7:00 p.m. –
*Seating for dinner (optional but highly recommended) from 6:00 p.m. –
Concert tickets ($25) are will-call, available at Squire House, at Eventbrite.com or by contacting plattalex@gmail.com or texting 310.428.8604


More to come!
We are planning to bring back these great musicians : pianists Dan Haerle and Phil DeGreg, drummer Steve Houghton, vibraphonist Peter Schlamb, saxophonist Matt Otto, and drummer John Kizilarmut from Kansas City, MO, and guitarist John Stowell, saxophonist Loren Stillman, and pianist David Morgenroth  in Spring & Summer!


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