Vertigo Jazz Project & One Leg Up
MoDaddys
Saturday, New Year’s Eve 12/31
Complementary Champagne Toast and Balloon Drop at Midnight!
Masquerade and Photo Booth!
$15 / $10 before 10pm (So get there early and save $5)
Open for dinner all night, NYE event starts at 9pm
Music begins at 10pm sharp with One Leg Up.
(828) 258-1550
77 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
www.modaddysbar.com
Throw out your expectations of what “jazz music” is or might be. Jazz is a giant tree with thick roots, a twisted trunk and continuously expanding branches. Just pull up the wikipedia page and you’ll find countless sub-genres and off-shoots. Over the past century jazz musicians have always pulled inspiration from many sources, be it Latin, funk, or even pop music.
Asheville, North Carolina’s Vertigo Jazz Project is doing just that. It being the 21st Century, we are bombarded by music from all sides,and thus influenced by it whether we like it or not. VJP decided to embrace that influence and is creating original jazz music for modern audiences. And, yes, taking jazz back to its foundation- the dance floor. This is music to move to. Throw out your inhibitions and come have fun watching some musicians play the %#$! out of their instruments. But, if that’s not your thing that’s okay, you’ll enjoy listening as well.
Speaking of musicians and their instruments, VJP is a power trio (i.e. guitar, bass and drum set). And speaking of influences, guitarist and son of a preacher man Preston Cate learned music in church at an early age, bringing some blue-eyed soul and gymnastic improv skills to the group. Meanwhile, Ryan Reardon on electric bass has been all over the map, from symphony orchestras to studying in West Africa. Rounding out the trio is Sean Mason on drum set, learning vicariously through his father, former member of The Fugs, play in all sorts of musical settings.
VJP is currently in the studio working on their third album, entitled “This is Rock?”, set for release in spring 2012. They tour throughout the southeast and enjoy frequent well-known guest soloists. Here’s a link to a great video of the band live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zCqohNhaa0.
To quote the great Thelonious Monk- “Where’s jazz going? I don’t know? Maybe it’s going to hell. You can’t make anything go anywhere. It just happens.” www.vertigojazzproject.com
One Leg Up:
Based in Asheville, North Carolina, One Leg Up performs a vibrant mixture of upbeat Gypsy Jazz, Latin, Swing and original jazz compositions and is a favorite of club, concert, and festival stages throughout the southeastern United States. One Leg Up is John Stineman (guitar, vocals), Jim Tanner (Guitar), Zack Page (bass), Mike Guzalak (Clarinet, Sax) and Steve Trismen (violin, vocals). They formed in 2003 as a “String Swing” band in the style of famed French gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt.
Propelled by their excellent self-produced debut recording “Gypsy Blue”, they soon won critical acclaim for their “hot club” prowess and were tapped to back up award-winning Spanish guitarist Pere Soto on some of his 2005 U.S. tour dates. Also in 2005, One Leg Up performed at a concert and book show with Michael Dregni, author of Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend. Over the years, One Leg Up has broadened its repertoire to include fresh arrangements of Django classics, vocal harmonies, original compositions, and innovative adaptations of classic jazz numbers in the French “hot club” and American “big band” styles. Now more than just a Django band, their latest recording “Pere La Chaise” is a music mix that is danceable and accessible. One Leg Up continues to attract a growing, varied, and enthusiastic fan base with music that always swings. www.onelegupjazz.com
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