Status: In a Relationship
City: MINNEAPOLIS
State: MINNESOTA
Country: US
Signup Date: 6/25/2006
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
|
Current mood:  ninja
Category: Music
BEYOND SUNDAY NIGHT: ZACC HARRIS, MATT PETERSON, PETE HENNIG CD RELEASE AT THE AQ Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor, JazzPolice.com
For the past two years, the Riverview Wine Bar in south Minneapolis has played host weekly to one of the more intriguing guitar trios in a jazz community that boasts many (e.g., Red Planet, Framework, Dean Granros). Originally dubbed the Zacc Harris Trio, and now known as the collective Zacc Harris/Matt Peterson/Pete Hennig ensemble, the musicians will release their self-titled debut recording at the Artists Quarter in St. Paul on Wednesday, July 29th.
The Band Guitarist Zacc Harris has led the trio since its first gigs at the Riverview in 2007. He lived in Carbondale, IL from 1997 to 2005, earning a BA in music from Southern Illinois University while playing and recording with bands including Caravan, Madcap and Broken Grass. In 2005, Zacc relocated to the Twin Cities and quickly became one of the area’s busiest bandleaders. In addition to his trio, Zacc leads the Atlantis Quartet, Monk In Motian, Vital Organ, and CounterClockWise, and is a member of the Dakota Jazz Club's 2009 Late Night All-Stars. As sideman, Zacc also maintains a busy schedule with such artists as Katie Gearty, John Starkey, Adam Meckler, Sophia Shorai, Tanner Taylor, Jay Epstein, Power of Ten and more. Zacc also devotes time to teaching, at Matt's Pro Guitar in St. Paul and Schmitt Music in Edina, as well as a minicourse at the University of Minnesota. Zacc’s been garnering glowing press lately: In his review of the Atlantis Quartet’s release (Again Too Soon), Jazz Improv Magazine critic Clive Griffin wrote, "Harris delivers a sound that is lucid, clear...providing rich-sounding accompaniment and well-crafted solos." And Bill Stieger of the Villager wrote, "You can hear [Wes] Montgomery's influence in Harris' playing. He has the flowing lines, the mellow tones, the feel for the blues and articulation needed to play that style." Bassist Matt Peterson studied music at the University of Minnesota Duluth, arriving on the Twin Cities jazz scene in 2004. A regular member of Ingo Bethke, Zacc Harris Trio, Monk In Motian, Robert Bell's Hot Swing Combo, and the Bella Galla Big Band, Matt has also appeared with such local luminaries as Tanner Taylor, Jay Epstein, Arne Fogel, Nancy Harms, John Starkey, the Twin Cities Hot Club, and more. Drummer Pete Hennig is a graduate of McNally Smith College of Music, and has studied with Dave King (Bad Plus and Happy Apple). Often sharing the bandstand with Zacc Harris, Hennig co-leads the Atlantis Quartet and manages the trapset for Monk In Motian and Vital Organ. His current work also includes the Fantastic Merlins, the Wild Colonial Boys, Charlie Devanna, and the Sam Kuusisto Band. As a sideman, his credits also include Debbie Duncan, Andra Suchy, John Starkey, and Patrick Harrison, among many others.
The Recording Their first CD was not really a planned project, explains Zacc. “It was really just a fun little project that came about because we were already in the studio recording something else, and had an extra hour or two, so we figured we'd lay down a few standards and originals. The recording turned out very nice thanks to Greg Schutte's engineering, so we thought we'd put out a CD. We are looking at it as more of a ‘record,’ that is, a record of what we do on Sunday nights at the Riverview... Every week, someone asks us if we have anything recorded, and now we can finally say yes.” With a mix of standards and originals, the musicians feel the recording indeed captures the vibe of their Sunday nights at the Riverview. “The nature of our Sunday night shows at the Riverview have shaped a certain sound for this group, which I think is embodied on the recording,” says Harris. “It's an interesting mix of inside and outside, but with an overall subdued feeling, reminiscent of a mellow Sunday evening. That said, I'm looking forward to cutting loose a bit more at the Artists' Quarter." Adds Peterson, "I feel like it displays some very solid straight ahead playing with three unique voices.” The seven tracks include two originals from Peterson and one from Harris, along with four jazz classics. And indeed, it flows like a mellow Sunday evening, where the familiar rubs shoulders with invention. The set opens with a Zacc Harris original, “Eastern Horizon.” The leader’s probing guitar line is subtly countered by bassist Peterson, with a clicky accompaniment from Hennig interrupted by sharp pounding bursts from guitar and drums. Midway, Harris initiates a repeating 4-note riff as Hennig antes up the percussion, and the overall vibe conjures a Middle Eastern village. Peterson’s “Soul Rush” follows, marked by hesitations in the rhythm that keep the brain and ear fully engaged. The bassist’s solo is dark and slithery, while Zacc adds harmonic layers before taking back the improvisational lead.
The four standards follow in sequence, “Stella By Starlight” as a 21st century flavored swing. Peterson plays off in counterpoint to Harris, who launches his personal improv after a twisting tour of the melody. Pete Hennig keeps the cymbal chatter ever present, and Peterson provides a bounding solo. The trio’s intro to “East of the Sun” hints at the melody to follow, which Zacc outlines with dark low tones over barely audible bass and cymbals. As the guitarist begins his meandering journey, Matt heads off in a compatible but distinctly unique path while Pete demonstrates the pacesetting effects of the cymbals. There’s a musical pun on the title, as the music feels more East than West. Matt’s solo brings the vibe back toward American bop ballad, as Zacc eases the trio back into the melody. From My Fair Lady, “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” is given an exquisite trio rendering, with a slightly jagged melody line from Zacc and lovely accompaniment from Matt and Pete (using brushes here). The collective pulse seems to exaggerate the even tempo, only to jerk it with sudden shifts that remind us that this show tune is indeed a jazz standard in the hands of jazz artists. On “Easy to Love,” Zacc jumps right into the Cole Porter melody, the pace a romping boppish midtempo. Harris offers a strong display of his dexterity and skill in presenting slippery single lines buoyed by deftly placed chords. Peterson similarly offers a sparkling solo with chordal interjections from Harris and nonstop zing and punch from Hennig. The set closes with Matt Peterson’s “B Horror,” the initial dirge-like ostinato from Peterson reminiscent of a Reid Anderson intro (Bad Plus). The minor key theme is sounded by Harris with alternating clangy and rumbly percussion from Hennig. There’s a sense of forboding that grows over the track like a B Horror film. Peterson breaks away from his vamp to take a more assertive direction. His solo adds to the mystery and anxiety, thanks in part to Zacc’s ambient chords that form dark clouds around the basslines. The final passage finds the guitarist recalling the earlier dirge, Hennig suggesting an impending catastrophe until the trio resolves with a sudden halt. It’s the little things—the sudden halts, the unexpected shifts in rhythm and mood―that give both the original tunes and standards a wash of originality, that demand more attention than might be expected of Sunday nights at the wine bar. The band debuted at the Artists' Quarter in April and recently performed at the Turf Club's Clown Lounge, known as one of the leading area venues for modern and experimental jazz. And while these musicians continue to savor their weekly Sunday nights at the Riverview, the CD release celebration at the Artists' Quarter on July 29th will mark “an increasing frequency of more freewheeling performances for the trio,” notes Zacc. The CD should help to ensure that this music finds a broad audience to reinforce further explorations. The Artists Quarter is located at 408 St. Peter Street in downtown St. Paul, in the lower level of the Hamm Building (entry on 7th Place); sets at 9 pm (www.artistsquarter.com). More information at www.myspace.com/zaccharrismusic orwww.zaccharris.com
Powered by  | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|
|
|
|
Saturday, June 20, 2009
|
Current mood: ninja
Category: Music
Four-part Harmony
Atlantis Quartet's varied backgrounds play out in the versatility of their jazz
By Bill Stieger
Guitarist Zacc Harris moved to Minnesota "for the same reason everybody else does," he said. "My fiancee is from here and her sisters lived here. So we moved here in 2005 from Carbondale, Illinois." Harris said it was among the best decisions he's ever made. "The Twin Cities area is a great place to work if you're a musician," he said.
Harris, a resident of Minneapolis' Nokomis East neighborhood, is a member of the Atlantis Quartet. A jazz outfit whose songbook consists of 90 percent original compositions, the Atlantis Quartet will perform at 8:30p.m. Saturday, June 20, at the Hat Trick Lounge in downtown St. Paul as part of the 11th annual Twin Cities Jazz Fest.
Harris and his mates--saxophonist Brandon Wozniak, bassist Chris Bates and drummer Pete Hennig--are an improvisational quartet that can lean in any direction. They can blow up-tempo bop at Charlie Parker light speed, stretch out on a 7/8 tune in fine funk fashion, perform ballads a la John Coltrane, float like ECM Records' most ethereal Euro-jazzers or go Brazilian in the manner of the Stan Getz Quartet.
Before landing in the Twin Cities, Harris led a peripatetic life. He spent a good deal of his childhood in Long Beach, California, then moved with his parents to Charlottesville, Virginia. There, he first encountered the guitar. "Nobody in my family played music," he said, "so there was never an instrument around. But a friend of mine in high school got a guitar. He showed me the basics, and I soon became obsessed."
Harris' parents got him a guitar for his 17th birthday, and he played in a few rock 'n' roll bands in high school. Following graduation, he studied music at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
"I got lucky," he said. "I started playing in a club with some musicians who were enrolled in the jazz program at the college. They encouraged me to do the same. So I had the opportunity to be in a jazz group with regular gigs for five years, and I switched my music major to a focus on jazz performance."
In high school, Harris was influenced by blues and rock guitarists with an improvisational bent, such as Dicky Betts of the Allman Brothers. In college, he said, "I went right from the blues into jazz. I was never into the so-called fusion music that at one time was so popular. I'd have to say that the guitarist who had the most influence on me is Wes Montgomery."
You can hear Montgomery's influence in Harris' playing. He has the flowing lines, the mellow tones, the feel for the blues and the articulation needed to play that style.
Since its formation in 2006, the Atlantis Quartet has performed at all the top Twin Cities jazz venues, including the Artists' Quarter, the Dakota, the Times, the Kitty Cat Klub and the Turf Club. The group has also made forays into rock clubs, such as the Uptown Bar and Bunker's.
The Atlantis Quartet's first CD, "Again, Too Soon," was praised by the now-defunct The Pulse newspaper for its "strong compositions and insanely serious chops." Jazz Improv Magazine critic Clive Griffin wrote that it is "abundantly clear that the Atlantis Quartet are highly skilled musicians who have invested themselves heavily to develop their individual approaches...They sound genuinely inspired, enjoying the music they are making together."
"I think what helps us play together so well is that none of us is the leader," Harris said. "Each of us contributes original music for the group to play. The group in not just one musician's concept."
"Zacc is a really great, versatile guitarist," said his bandmate Bates, who has played bass with many of the top jazz musicians in the Twin Cities. "He writes great tunes. He's imaginative, and he's a real workhorse when it comes to doing what needs to be done to play this music at a high level. Everyone in the group contributes toward us having a loose but intense sound."
Following the festival, Twin Cities jazz aficionados may catch the Atlantis Quartet at the Turf Club's Clown Lounge on June 22 and at the Artists' Quarter on July 8.
According to Harris, the group is planning to release another full-length recording before the end of the year.
"After that, I'm hoping we'll go on the road, playing at jazz clubs across the U.S.," he said. "And you never know, we may end up doing a tour of Europe."
Powered by | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
|
Current mood: chipper
Category: Music
.. -->Amazon_CLS_IM_START--> ..tr> | The Atlantis Quartet. Slightly Revised at the Dakota, August 20th |  |  | ..table> ..tr> | Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor | | Monday, 18 August 2008 |  Zacc Harris©Andrea Canter About one year ago, the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis hosted the prime-time debut and CD Release Party for the Atlantis Quartet, an ensemble of serious artists who bill themselves as "a rock band playing original jazz." Now the band returns, again in prime time, with acclaimed area bassist Chris Bates now joining guitarist Zaac Harris, saxophonist Brand Wozniak and drummer Pete Hennig. The Atlantis Quartet has been making waves since its debut and weekly gig at Jitters in fall 2006, an ensemble described as having "strong compositions and insanely serious chops" (Dwight Hobbs, Pulse). In the past year, the foursome has played throughout the metro, at the Dakota, Times, Rossi's and Nomad, as well as at clubs more known as rock venues, including the Uptown Bar and Bunkers.  Brandon Wozniak©Andrea Canter
 Chris Bates©Andrea Canter
Again, Too Soon, the debut recording of the Atlantis Quartet, is a set of eight original compositions recorded at Fur Seal Studio in Minneapolis. Despite the four individual minds at work, there is a surprising unity in their efforts, and for the most part the tracks are separated by subtle differences rather than dramatic changes in pace or harmonic devices. While they share some common ground with other bands that meld fusiony sonics with post bop ideas, the Atlantis Quartet is less concerned with creating danceable rhythms and more focused on exploring musical ideas. To appreciate this recording, the listener should be fully engaged. [Click here for a full review]
 Pete Hennig©Andrea Canter This return performance of the Atlantis Quartet, and the intriguing addition of bassist Chris Bates, offer a perfect introduction to some of the most serious jazz on the Dakota prime time schedule this month. Don't bring your dancing shoes—just your ears. The Dakota is located at 1010 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis; www.dakotacooks.com. The Atlantis Quartet will also appear on August 22nd at the newly relocated Acadia Café at 329 Cedar in Minneapolis. More information is available at www.atlantisquartet.com. | ..table>
Powered by | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|
|
Monday, July 14, 2008
|
Current mood: excited
Category: Music
The following is a review posted by Twin Cities jazz critic Andrea Canter at www.jazzink.blogspot.com:
"Whether or not you are a particular fan of the often quirky music of Thelonious Monk, it's nearly impossible to avoid his influence if you listen to jazz, live or recorded, vocal or instrumental. Even the most casual jazz listener has heard such great standards as "Round Midnight," "Ask Me Now," "Rhythmining." Among the most serious musicians, the Monk songbook often has biblical significance, a source of inspiration for improvisers and composers.
Although often cast as one of the founders of bebop, Monk's style veered off in an idiocyncratic direction, his compositions marked by dissonant harmonies and angular melodic twists, while his unique, self-taught piano style featured a highly percussive attack with abrupt use of silence and hesitations. One of the greatest (and most prolific) composers of the 20th century, for many years only the most sophisticated jazz musicians, including Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane, appreciated his genius. Yet today, Monk's compositions are part of the standard repertoire of jazz, from straight ahead to avant garde. Not only did Monk write hundreds of tunes, his off-kilter structures and rhythms offer endless avenues for interpretation regardless of stylistic leanings.
One renowned interpreter of Monk is the great drummer Paul Motian, himself a partner of Monk in the 1950s before defining stints with Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley and Charlie Haden. In the late 70s, Motian formed the Electric Bebop Band, a unique ensemble with two guitars, sax (or two saxes), bass and drums that reinvented compositions of Monk, Bud Powell and other great bop-era composers. This transposition of the work of one genius through the creative mind of another was the impetus for a new Twin Cities band, aptly calling itself Monk in Motian, pun intended.
Monk in Motian debuted as part of the Late at the Dakota series of weekend, after-hours performances by the area's most cutting-edge and experimental bands. Monk in Motian certainly qualifies on both counts. It's core includes members of the fusion-fueled Atlantis Quartet—guitarist Zacc Harris, saxophonist Brandon Wozniak and drummer Pete Hennig, as well as their frequent collaborators guitarist Park Evans and bassist Cody McKinney. McKinney missed the debut, replaced for the evening by Jeremy Boettcher, a recent grad of the the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Boettcher was recently on the Dakota stage with the John Raymond Project, so he's certainly had experience with innovative jazz ensembles.
As familiar as I think I am with Monk's songbook, hearing some of his less familiar compositions ("Introspection" ? I have not yet tracked down a recording of that one!) as well as those that seemed vaguely familiar but totally disguised by this instrumentation was akin to hearing new works. As anticipated, given this was billed as "in the style of Paul Motian," the gig proved to be a drummer's playground, Pete Hennig grinning from one rim shot to another, driving hard and fast, popping left and right, contorting above the snare with arms flailing from crash to ride....the man barely removed from the boy sitting on the kitchen floor, delightedly banging mom's pots and pans. What joy to be a drummer uninhibited by musical convention, surrounded by kindred spirits unashamedly adding twists and angles to what was already jagged and bent? Monk's music is innately filled with movement, across intervals, across time zones, and tonight's band thrived on the double meaning of its name.
The dueling guitars of Zacc Harris and Park Evans, along with Jeremy Boettcher's electric bass, and given the absence of a keyboard, are the purveyors of much of the motion, alternately ambient and angular, a debate among forces of acoustic and electronic, sometimes playing in unison, sometimes back and forth, sometimes in simultaneous rampage. Brandon Wozniak shifts between leading man and supporting roles, often matching the lines of one guitar or the other, otherwise adding harmonic tension or pulling at the melodic thread. That thread was most evident on the one ballad of the first set, "Ask Me Now," one of the easily identified themes of the night.
Neither listeners nor performers can get too complacent regarding Monk's compositions. For more than 50 years, we have been fascinated by these engaging, irregular, elastic sequences of sounds and silences. Monk has been imitated, dissected, reassembled by countless artists from the most conservative swinger to the most adventurous explorer. Paul Motian has been one of the most innovative in his effort to excise the essence of Monk. Locally, Monk in Motian offers a new way to examine that innovation, an effort that forces us to rethink our own understanding of the mind and music of Thelonious Monk. And have a lot of fun!"
Check out Monk in Motian at www.myspace.com/monkinmotian
Powered by | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|
|
|
|
Saturday, April 19, 2008
|
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Music
Clive Griffin's complete review of Atlantis Quartet's debut album Again, Too Soon which appears in the spring 2008 issue of Jazz Improv Magazine.
"One of the great pursuits for jazz artists is finding or developing their own sounds. Often times, artists may have developed their own identifiable sound and don't even know it yet. Has the Atlantis Quartet developed a sound of their own? That is a subjective question that each listener needs to answer for himself/herself. One this is for sure, the group assimilates a variety of stylistic influences into their makeup. During the first couple of songs, I heard melodies and guitar, sax and drum sounds, all of which momentarily jogged my inner ear to think Yellowjackets, Ornette Coleman, Steps Ahead, Weather Report, Abercrombie, Pat Metheny, Coltrane, among others.
What is abundantly clear is that each of the members of the Atlantis Quartet are highly skilled musicians who have invested themselves heavily to develop their individual approaches - technique, vocabulary, sound, and so forth. Saxophonist Wozniak is a graduate of Indiana University, and has played with jazz groups as well as touring artists ranging from the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra to the Four Tops. Guitarist Harris moved up to Minneapolis after graduating Southern Illinois University and works all the time; and bassist Schilling, and drummer Hennig moved to twon to attend McNally Smith Music College. Together, they sound genuinely inspired, enjoying the music-making they're doing together.
The album opener, "Meter Matrix" is dark. The tempo is moderate, a very deliberate kind of groove, relaxed but driving. Hennig employs tom-tom sounds to support Zacc Harris' ostinato melodic figures. Wozniak sounds like he has listened to all the important tenor players - Coltrane, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano - his solo bubbling with an amalgam of the sounds and expressions of the past...fused into his own.
Pete Hennig demonstrates his formidable chops on drums in an impressive round -the-set solo on "The Crave". "Light Rail" is a straight eighth note piece - with Latin, pop and funk flavors percolating underneath solos. Brandon Wozniak demonstrates impeccable articulation as he explores the possibilities throughout the range of the saxophone. He articulates with finesse, moving easily in and out of extended 16th-note flourishes, solid driving rhythms, and guttural, screaming sounds on the horn. Guitarist Zacc Harris delivers a sound that is lucid, clear - doubling some of the melody lines with Wozniak, providing rich-sounding accompaniment, and well-crafted solos.
"Wait For Spring" offers a calming change of pace to the more energetic tempos and dynamics of the first three songs. Wozniak states the theme on this composition by guitarist Harris. Wozniak's sound is warm and full - as appealing as classic acoustic jazz ballad renditions of the 1950s and 1960s. "Twenty80" sweeps us into an abrupt change of pace, as the fast tempo reaches for the stars. Wozniak and drummer Hennig interact with gusto, lots of drum support and pushes, all of which work to spar on Wozniak's driving sax exploration. He shows the consistent kind of articulation and command that he expressed throughout the various other tempos and styles that characterize the array of compositions on Again, Too Soon.
"The Cannonball" is another original by Harris. The groove is funky, and Harris has his guitar sounding almost like an organ. Pete Hennig gets some time in the spotlight on drums. They break the groove for a freer few moments, underlining some guitar work, and then back into the drums funkin' it up - as a platform for some more exploratory kind of work by Wozniak on sax.
This is an album of original music. While the music is not what might be considered free or avant-garde, the improvisational aspect of the music is abundant. It is very much tonal, it is fusion, it is acoustic, it is electric guitar. There are no standards or well-known songs from the jazz repertoire. Most of the eight tracks are six to twelve minutes long - so there is a lot of playing.
The Atlantis Quartet is a versatile group of jazz musicians whose music evidences their understanding and appreciation of important jazz influences - influences that they have assimilated into their own individual and group creativity, to reach this notable moment of expressions that is the album Again, Too Soon."
Powered by | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|
|
|
|
|
|