Ben Allison and his Jazz Band

Hey Everyone!

Hope the weekend has been amazing! It was certainly an exciting one for me! As an engineer at WNUR on the show, Airplay, where live musicians come in and play on air, I get the chance to meet some pretty awesome artists on a regular basis! Yesterday, I had the pleasure of engineering for Ben Allison and his jazz band which consisted of Michael Blake on Saxophone, Steve Cardenas on Guitar, and Rudy Royston on Drums. The four piece jazz band from New York created a fascinating fusion of jazz, rock, music concrete and alternative. The band was in Chicago for a two-night engagement at The Green Mill, a jazz club downtown known for its awesome music and goer-ship.

On the tail of releasing "Action-Refraction", Allison's 10th album, the band's chemistry was beyond compare as they turned jazz into a full-on jam, giving way to smooth guitar and bass lines with saxophone parts that made you want to get up and dance. Allison (bandleader, composer and master of the upright bass) talked about his new album, a collection of diverse and cross genre covers taking a stab at everything from PJ Harvey to The Carpenters. As a champion of experimentation, Allison is a truly wonderful jazz musician constantly keeping himself interested and excited about the music he creates.

He personally invited me to come check out his club, Kush at 191 Christie Street when I get back to New York. I will be sure to drop by on a night when the band is playing as part of his residency!

On another note, the soundscape that I created and discussed for the last blog is up on soundcloud now! You can listen to it here!

During the performance, people either stayed a while and enjoyed it, or were completely confused and left before the sound ended, as it ran on a continuous loop.

Peace.Love.Music

Kara Ali