“Listen To This” returns to “Third Thursdays”

continues their
exploration of
Miles Davis’
early electric period
(from 1968-1975)

held on the
first evening
of summer
June 20
at 8 pm

hosted by
Dave Bryant

Harvard-Epworth
United Methodist
Church
in Cambridge

For the past several years, improvising keyboardist Dave Bryant, curator and host of the “Third Thursdays” series of monthly harmolodic jazz concerts, has also been involved with the “Listen To This” musical project, which explores the rich legacy of Miles Davis, particularly during his early electric period from 1968-1975.

The project includes founder Jerome Deupree of Morphine and Either/Orchestra (drums), Russ Gershon of Either/Orchestra (woodwinds, organ), Rick Barry of Bim Skala Bim and Lookie Lookie (percussion), Todd Brunel of Know Orchestra (bass clarinet), J Johnson of Parlour Bells (guitar), Rick McLaughlin of Either/Orchestra (bass), and Bryan Murphy of The Shills (trumpet), along with Bryant of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time (keyboards).

“Listen To This” last appeared at “Third Thursdays” in July of 2023, and since then the group has been performing in many local and greater New England venues. As one audience member so rightly put it: “Listen To This fills the room with hot blue sparks and a primeval, funked-up vibe, the element that pushes a good show to greatness . . . a brilliant flash of improvisation, beyond genre, the ghost of a ghost who shows up out of nowhere and just hangs out. . . .”

About the “Listen To This” project, Bryant notes “LTT is one of our favorite ‘Third Thursdays’ events: we hosted the band’s inaugural concert and the vibe in the room is always fun and engaging. In addition, this will be our third annual opportunity to document the group’s ongoing development in our video series. Expect some variations on our well-established themes!”

This concert will launch the third summer of “Third Thursdays” monthly performances. The third season, which runs from April 2024 through March 2025, will continue to periodically feature artists who were former Ornette Coleman colleagues of Dave Bryant. The ultimate goal of “Third Thursdays” is to share personal experiences regarding the free jazz played using Coleman’s unique approach. Each month’s concert is a totally different experience, catapulting performers—and their listeners—out of their usual comfort zone with ear-catching transcendent musical moments.

Listings information for June:
“Third Thursdays” with Dave Bryant and Friends: a monthly harmolodic jazz series. Continues on Thursday, June 20, 8:00 pm, with “Listen To This” playing the music of Miles Davis from his early electric period 1968-1975. With founder Jerome Deupree (drums), Russ Gershon (woodwinds, organ), Rick Barry (percussion), Dave Bryant (keyboards), Todd Brunel (bass clarinet), J. Johnson (guitar), Rick McLaughlin (bass), and Bryan Murphy (trumpet). For further updates, visit dbryantmusic.com/third-thursdays/. Admission at the door: $10/person (cash/check/charge/venmo). Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138. Contact information:

bryantequilibria@gmail.com, 617-447-3030.

Bryant’s “Third Thursdays” monthly schedule for July and August into early Fall will be made available by early July. These harmolodic jazz concerts are made possible by the generous support of the Appalachian Springs Foundation.

Thus far, the monthly performances and interviews have all been video recorded, with the goal being for this documentation to be made available to all who are interested in exploring further the huge impact that Ornette Coleman had on the free jazz movement. Researchers will be able to peruse both dbryantmusic.com/third-thursdays and dbryantmusic.com/musician-interviews to further their investigation. All videos, including interviews with Bryant’s former Coleman colleagues, are also available on youtube.com/@davebryantmusic/videos.

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 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

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 started its third 12-month cycle in April 2024.

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” concerts 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 Wheeling, 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.