Case-fitter

Join us on Friday, August 17, 2018 for the ALL performance by Chicago-based group Case Fitter, who just released their new album on Base Records. The music combines the realms of jazz, improvisation, post-rock and electronic/ambient sounds with some great players, including Greg Ward (alto saxophone), Dustin Laurenzi (tenor saxophone), Paul Bedal (keyboards), Greg Artry (drums), Matt Ulery (bass), and Jeff Swanson (guitar/composer).

Tickets $15 in advance at http://casefitter.bpt.me or $20 at the door. Online ticket sales end 1 hour before the show. Doors open at 7:30pm. General admission.

The ALL Jazz Series is sponsored in part by Dobhan Restaurant, Alchemy, and Heid Music.

Jeff Swanson

Guitarist Jeff Swanson has made his unique voice and open mind a valued part of Chicago’s diverse music scene. A strong player in many disciplines, he has been featured at the Chicago Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Iowa City Jazz Festival, Chicago Gospel Festival.

Case-fitter, is Swanson’s first original full-length release. It was recorded over four weeks in April 2017 during a residency at The Whistler in Chicago. Each week the group used a set repertoire and added members to its core trio, exploring a different experience each week and concluding with the final recorded performance as an octet.

Swanson brings a fresh lyrical approach to bringing jazz, improvisation, electronic and post-rock music together on this release. Featuring a cast of rare talent, Case-fitter explores these seven new compositions to paint boundless landscapes with craft and care.

As a composer his work is also featured in the New York/Chicago Whirlpool. Featuring Caroline... Read More

Dustin Laurenzi

Chicago saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi has developed a distinctly personal approach to improvisation a composition that has garnered the attention of the city's creative music community. Recognized for his "offbeat approach to articulating harmonies and constructin melodies" (NextBop), Laurenzi's music is inspired and informed by jazz, folk, and improvised music. His wide range of influences and inventive improvisational sensibilities have made him a sought-after musician in many circles of Chicago's rich music scene.

In addition to working as a collaborator in Chicago jazz-centric ensembles and with his own projects Twin Talk and Natural Language, the saxophonist has recently toured with Grammy award-winning indie rock band Bon Iver, performing at Coachella Music Festival, Primavera Sound, and the Hollywood Bowl, among others. Laurenzi also appears on the band's critically acclaimed 2016 release 22, A Million.

Greg Ward

Greg Ward is a saxophonist and composer who was born in Peoria, IL. Currently based in Chicago, Ward has had the opportunity to perform and record with a varied group of artists like Prefuse 73, Lupe Fiasco, Tortoise, William Parker, Makaya McCraven, Linda Oh, and Mike Reed. As a bandleader, Ward has produced 4 recordings including Fitted Shards: South Side Story, Phonic Juggernaut, Touch My Beloved’s Thought, and Rogue Parade. As a composer, he has also received commissions from the Jazz Gallery in NYC, the Chicago Jazz Institute, the City of Chicago’s Made In Chicago: World Class Jazz Series, and the Peoria Ballet Company. He has also been awarded the New Music USA Van Lier Fellowship in 2012 and a DCASE IAP grant in 2017.

Greg Artry

Gregory Allen Artry Jr. was born in Pomona, California. His father, who was a professional session drummer, exposed Greg to the drum set at a very early age. At age 10, Greg and his family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. It was here that the evidence of his talent began to unfold and Greg was accepted into the fledgling Performing Arts Magnet Program. This initiative allowed him to study a variety of instruments formally, including the cello and voice. After graduating from Broad Ripple High School with honors, Greg was accepted at the University of Louisville (KY) on scholarship. Upon finishing there, Greg returned to Indy and began his professional career working with some of the finest musicians in the world: Melvin Rhyne, Pharez Whitted, Bobby Broom, Slide Hampton, Bobby Watson, Charles McPhearson, Claudio Roditi, Donald Harrison Jr., Syl Johnson, Steve Turre, Victor Goines, Willie Pickens, Sonny Fortune, and many others in cities throughout the United States.

Paul Bedal

Chicago-based pianist and composer Paul Bedal has developed a recognizable sound both as a band leader and a sideman. Earning his Bachelor of Music in Studio Music and Jazz Performance at the University of Miami and his MFA in Film Composition from Columbia College Chicago, Paul stays active writing for his own projects and contributing his pianistic efforts to various ensembles in the Midwest. His skills as a composer and sideman have lead him to play with the likes of Matt Ulery, Marquis Hill, Caroline Davis, Greg Ward, Jim Black, Roxy Coss, Grace Kelly, Jean Caze, Charles Rumback, Bobby Broom, Dennis Carroll, Joe Rehmer, Russ Johnson, Nick Mazzarella and Geof Bradfield.

Paul is an Ears and Eyes, CAM Jazz and BACE Records recording artist, with his debut record “Chatter” being released in 2014. NYC Jazz Record music critic Ken Micallef writes, “Chatter is also a study in fascinating repetition: melodic and rhythm motifs are introduced and subtly altered as the soloists... Read More

Matt Ulery

Chicago-based bassist/composer and bandleader Matt Ulery has developed an instantly recognizable sound. Known for his sweeping lyricism, unconventional phrase structures, expressionistic emotionalism, Ulery’s music is informed by the entire spectrum of jazz, classical, rock, pop, and folk– specifically American, South American, Balkan, and other European folk styles. He performs not only on upright and electric bass, but doubles on tuba. Ulery has produced and released 6 albums of all original music under his name including his three most recent releases of critical acclaim, “By a Little Light,” “Wake an Echo,” and “In the Ivory,” on Dave Douglas’s Greenleaf Music record label in 2012-2014. Ulery has played in bands with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Phil Markowitz, Jimmy Chamberlin, Fareed Haque, Howard Levy, Patricia Barber, Goran Ivanovic, Jeff Parker and many others. As a composer, Ulery has collaborated with ensembles such as eighth blackbird and the New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago.... Read More