Bryant's "Third Thursdays" w/Chase, Hall, McLaughlin, Crane; then w/Field, Song, William, Newton

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Jan. 5, 2024 - PRLog -- Cambridge-based keyboardist and composer Dave Bryant, a long-time sideman of free jazz legend Ornette Coleman, is putting the finishing touches on his second year of "Third Thursdays" harmolodic jazz concerts, a monthly series launched in April 2022. The musical scope and breadth of these monthly concerts can be found at dbryantmusic.com/third-thursdays, with many of the concerts now available for viewing at dbryantmusic.com/concert-videos. "Oral history chats" conducted by Bryant with "Third Thursdays" guests who also collaborated with Ornette Coleman, can be found at dbryantmusic.com/musician-interviews.

"Third Thursdays" concerts in January and February will showcase locally-based musical luminaries, who will join Bryant in this special exploratory jazz setting. January 18^th will feature Allan Chase (sax), Tom Hall (https://www.freeimprovisation.com/who-is-tom-hall) (tenor sax), Rick McLaughlin (https://www.rickmclaughlin.com/) (bass), and Matt Crane (https://www.matthewallencrane.com/) (drums). And on February 15th, Ken Field (https://kenfield.org/) (alto sax), Jeff Song (https://www.jeffreysong.com/music) (cello), Jacob William (https://www.transientones.com/index.html) (bass), and Curt Newton (https://curtnewton.com/) (drums) will be on the bill.

Bryant notes that "Allan and Tom have a long history of playing together in Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet (https://www.allanchase.com/ynsq), so I'm looking forward to hearing their well-honed rapport in a different setting. The February group includes some of my long-time collaborators, specifically Jeff, Jacob, and Curt—with Ken, who is contributing some of his own compositions, as the wild card."

Stay tuned for the announcement of the March 21st concert, which will conclude the second year of "Third Thursdays" concerts.

All "Third Thursdays" concerts are held at the Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, located just outside Harvard Square, with the following basic information:
"Third Thursdays" with Dave Bryant and Friends: a monthly harmolodic jazz series. Held on the third Thursday of each month, starting at 8:00 pm. Further updates on each month's musical guests can be found at dbryantmusic.com/third-thursdays. Admission at the door: $10 (cash/check/charge). Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138. Contact information: bryantequilibria@gmail.com, 617-447-3030.

Further background information on "Third Thursdays" curator and host:
Dave Bryant ("Third Thursdays" host, keyboards) has been based in Cambridge, MA for many years. Early in his musical career, Bryant was a protégé of harmolodic jazz genius Ornette Coleman, having studied with him, then invited by Coleman to be the first electric keyboardist to perform in his Prime Time group. Bryant joined Prime Time in 1990, touring worldwide and performing on Prime Time's Tone Dialing album. Bryant's own first album, Shock Exchange, with liner notes by Coleman, was recorded in 1986 with his trio at that time, bassist John Turner and percussionist Chris Bowman. In 1999, Bryant released The Eternal Hang with Turner, Bowman, George Garzone, Bob Gullotti, and recording engineer Roger Nichols. That same year he performed on the John Tchicai/Charlie Kolhase Quintet disc, Life Overflowing, which was named "Jazz Album of the Year" by Boston Music Awards. In 2015, Bryant released The Garden of Equilibria, which features performances by Bryant, performing in a variety of settings, both acoustic and electric, with Tom Hall, Neil Leonard, Curt Newton, Eric Rosenthal, Jeff Song, and Jacob William. Bryant's most recent recording Night Visitors is a 2020 collaboration with bassist Charnett Moffett and percussionist Gregg Bendian, which "finds Bryant adapting the Coleman aesthetic to an intensely personal ripple and rumble piano style" (Mike Hobart, jazz critic for the Financial Times). Jazz journalist Howard Mandel considered Night Visitors one of the best jazz albums of 2020. Other credits include performances with Leroy Jenkins, Bern Nix, Eric Person, Badal Roy, Wadada Leo Smith, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Calvin Weston, and more. Bryant has also performed and lectured in Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, and Istanbul. Bryant teaches at Longy School of Music of Bard College. dbryantmusic.com (http://www.dbryantmusic.com/)

Further details on the "Third Thursdays" monthly series:
The "Third Thursdays with Dave Bryant and Friends" harmolodic jazz series began in April 2022, with the overall goal of showcasing a diverse range of Boston-area musical artists, as well as Dave's fellow Ornette Coleman sidemen. Supported by the Appalachian Springs Foundation (ASF) the series is completing a second year.

The intent of "Third Thursdays" is to provide a venue for free jazz improvising artists, both local and national, to perform their work in an acoustically sympathetic performance space with professional video and sound recording to document the event. Dave Bryant was a long-time student and sideman of free jazz legend Ornette Coleman as a member of Coleman's Prime Time group. Consequently, another key purpose of the series is to document the experiences, reminiscences, and musical contributions of members of Coleman's bands for presentation in a podcast. The series is providing well-deserved exposure locally and internationally for local free jazz artists and for Coleman collaborators as well as first-hand insights and information from those collaborators about Coleman's musical processes and philosophy.

All "Third Thursdays" sessions are held monthly at the Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, located a short walking distance from Harvard Square. Audience seating capacity will abide by whatever health and safety protocols are in place on any given month. The "Third Thursdays" harmolodic jazz series is funded in part by the Appalachian Springs Foundation (ASF), a private foundation located in Charleston, WV. As a nonprofit arts and educational organization, ASF has supported dance, film, music, and educational projects. All of the "Third Thursdays" concert and interview videos that have been recorded since April 2022 can be found at dbryantmusic.com/third-thursdays.