Late gig add

That's a neighborhood in Brussels, which you know if you are in any position to come to the show. Espacio ON is located at Steenweg op Etterbeek 172, 1040 Etterbeek, Brussels, Belgium. Phone number is 0486278929. We will play at around 7 or 8pm (precise details coming this evening), and there is a cover of 5 euros.

See our other tour dates here.

Rehearsal @ Jazz Station in Brussels

A few shots from my quartet´s rehearsal at the Jazz Station (who were kind enough to let us play on the premises) in Brussels this afternoon. The band is myself with Jean-Paul Estiévenart (trumpet), Martin Méreau (vibes) & Olivier Stalon (bass):

 

More after the break:

It's tour time

My partner Casey Scott and I are flying to Brussels tomorrow to make her a record (for the Topsy Turvy label), and to do my tour in support of my new record, Little Played Little Bird. We'll be rehearsing through the weekend, recording my drum tracks at Jet Studio on Tuesday and Wednesday, and gigging my stuff from November 1-10.

Playing with me will be:
Jean-Paul Estevenart — trumpet
Martin Mereau — vibes
Olivier Stalon — bass

Come on down, hear us play and say hello if you're in the vicinity, and check back here or at my drumming blog Cruise Ship Drummer! updates from the road.


Thursday, Nov. 1
Bar Belge — Paris  
97, avenue du Général Leclerc
94700 Maisons-Alfort FRANCE
01.43.68.20.50

Friday, Nov. 2  
Le Bab-ilo — Paris
9 Rue Baigneur, 75018 Paris, FRANCE
01 42 23 99 19

Sunday, Nov. 4 
Café Belga — Brussels
Place Eugène Flagey Plein
B-1050 Bruxelles/Brussel BELGIUM
Tel:+32 2 640 35 08

Tuesday, Nov. 6
LiquID  — Luxembourg
15-17 Rue Munster
 L-2160 Luxembourg-Grund
(352) 22 44 55

Wednesday, Nov. 7
Buster  — Antwerp 
Kaasrui 1 2000
Antwerpen, BELGIUM
+32(0)497 71 81 33

Thursday, Nov. 8 
Sazz'n Jazz — Brussels
Rue Royale 241 /  241 Koningsstraat
1210-Bruxelles BELGIUM
32 (0) 475 78 23 78

Friday, Nov. 9  — 22:00
Centre d’Ecologie Urbaine — Brussels 
789 Chaussée de Waterloo
 B-1180 Bruxelles BELGIUM
+32-2-34-32-281 ou +32-488-88-36-43
With songwriter Casey Scott.

Saturday, Nov. 10  
Jakobshof — Aachen
Stromgasse 31 52064 Aachen GERMANY
0241 36800

Anyone who wants to contact me can reach me most reliably through Olivier Stalon— I will be available for private lessons until November 10th.

My brother John Bishop, a great drummer, will also be in Belgium at the same time, incredibly, and you should go see him play if possible.

Tour poster

Airplay update

Radio airplay is still going strong-- since our last update Little Played Little Bird has had play the following stations, among others:

WUOT 91.9 Knoxville, KDVS 90.3 Chicago, KMUW 89.1 Wichita, KSJS 90.5 San Jose, WCPN 90.3 Cleveland, KRFC 88.9 Ft. Collins, WNMC 90.7 Traverse City, TaintRadio.org, WTJU 91.1 Charlottesville, VA, WFCR New England Public Radio, Gallery41.com,

Thanks everyone!

Notice: LA Jazz Scene - Scotty Yanow

Here's a nice little review of Little Played Little Bird by jazz historian and author Scotty Yanow, for LA Jazz Scene. A brief pull:

 The lack of an alto and trumpet allows the quintet to get a bit of distance from Ornette Coleman’s recordings, as does the utilization of Iago’s Fender Rhodes. The music is explored on its own terms. Ranging from free bop romps to lyrical ballad statements, with the highpoints including spirited renditions of “Friends And Neighbors” and “Check Up,” these fresh and adventurous interpretations cast new light on Ornette Coleman’s songs. Little Played Little Bird is easily recommended and available from www.origin-records.com.

Review: Bird is the Worm - Dave Sumner

Here's a nice review from Dave Sumner's excellent Bird is the Worm jazz blog. Dave is an editor at Allaboutjazz.com and a writer for eMusic.com as well as MusicIsGood.org. It's a nice piece of writing, and I hate to excerpt from it, but here are some choice bits:

Taking ownership of a series of obscure Ornette Coleman songs, drummer Todd Bishop shines them through a facet of his own view of the music, while leaving the beating heart of the originals intact, not a scratch upon them.

Most strikingly, the album is an easy listen. Not in the sense that it’s straight-forward, but instead, Bishop doesn’t needlessly complicate matters. Due to his inventiveness, Coleman’s music already comes with its dangers and pitfalls, wrapped with a bow on top. Bishop doesn’t try to out-free Coleman, instead, just takes the music as it is, and then plays it his way. That’s a big reason why this album works. It’s an impressive music statement to sound both personal and referential, to create music that feels In The Now and simultaneously nostalgic.

[...]

Amazingly, Bishop has negated the requirement of actually needing to like Coleman’s music to enjoy Little Played Little Bird, without extinguishing the heart of the source music, and thus, making this an album accessible to Coleman enthusiasts, too.

 Go pay Dave a visit and read the complete piece.

UPDATE: Here Sumner has put us on his Best of 2012 So Far list...