Soul Message Band | Arts + Literature Laboratory | Madison Contemporary Arts Center

Soul Message Band

On Saturday, October 26, 2019 at 8pm, Soul Message Band will perform at Arts + Literature Laboratory. Tickets are $10 in advance (https://soulmessageband.bpt.me/) and $15 at the door. Student tickets $5 off with a valid school ID. Advance ticket sales end 1 hour before the show. Doors open at 7:30pm

Soul Message Band: A soulful and infectious style crafted around classic organ grooves, and rooted in the tradition of great Hammond B3 organists like Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Charles Earland, Jack McDuff, and “Groove” Holmes. 

SMB is founded on the enduring partnership of Chris Foreman, the Chicago-based and nationally celebrated Hammond B3 Jazz Organist, and the always solid drummer, Greg Rockingham, aka “The Rock.” Greg and Chris have a 25-year history of collaboration, including groups like the Deep Blue Organ Trio. Mr. Rockingham and Mr. Foreman have an unmistakable chemistry that has taken them from Chicago to Jazz Clubs and Arenas around the world as both headliners and as an opening group for Steely Dan. 

The Group adds Chicago heavyweight and international musician Geof Bradfield on alto sax, and Lee Rothenberg on guitar. 

Soul Message Band is celebrating the release of their new record Soulful Days, on the Delmark Label. 

The concert series is supported in part by the Madison Community Foundation, HotelRED, WORT 89.9FM, and Heid Music.

Chris Foreman

The Deep Blue Organ Trio's organist, Chris Foreman, is a masterful musician and heir to the throne occupied by the soulful, bluesy jazz organ legends who were once his influence. Blind at birth, Foreman started playing piano at age five and began formal training at seven.

As a teenager he was attracted to the organ sounds of Jack McDuff, Groove Holmes, JimmySmith and Jimmy McGriff. This attraction led Chris to pursue playing jazz on the organ, which he undertook through intensive study of recordings. Unlike many African-American musicians whose musical knowledge begins and is established through the church, Chris didn't start his apprenticeship as a church organist until he was almost twenty years old - well after his jazz roots were established.

He has arrived at a most exciting blend of blues-gospel and jazz and has developed a stunning command and range on the instrument. The blend of his sound is evident in his professional experience, which has included work with... Read More

Greg Rockingham

The Deep Blue Organ Trio's drummer, Greg Rockingham, began playing when he was just three years old and debuted as a professional musician at age five in his father's jazz ensemble. An alumnus of the famed Interlochen Arts Academy and Northeastern University, Greg has performed or recorded with a wide range of famous names, including the orchestras of Glenn Miller and Guy Lombardo, vocalists Freddie Cole, Patty Page and Jerry Vale and instrumentalists Nat Adderley, Kenny Burrell, Charles Earland and Ellis Marsalis.

 

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.

Our galleries are open Tuesday through Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday noon to 5pm, and other programs take place throughout the week. Please check the events calendar and education section for details.

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