Kneebody has had many labels thrown at it, but none seem to fit. Just the same, the members of the transcontinental quintet (saxophonist Ben Wendel, keyboardist Adam Benjamin, drummer Nate Wood and Denver natives, trumpeter Shane Endsley and bassist Kaveh Rastegar) haven’t exactly gone out of their way to make…
SAT | DENVER JAZZFEST at NATIONAL WESTERN | 10/5/13 The inaugural Denver Jazz Fest includes contemporary jazz stars like keyboardist Brian Culbertson, Hiroshima, who formed almost three decades ago, Horns of Plenty (featuring saxophonist Darren Rahn and flutist Althea Rene) as well as R&B singer Kenny Lattimore and the legendary…
“You can cut your wrist wide open and bleed out all of your miseries,” sings Lil Thunder’s Marie Litton on “Serpent and the Rainbow,” the rousing opener to Razor Blades & Sunshine, the followup to the band’s self-titled debut EP, released in 2011. It’s just one of many poignant lines…
It’s probably the most unhappy I’ve ever been as an adult,” says Dan Aid, frontman for the Wiredogs, the band previously known as the Hate. He’s referring to the group’s name change, a stressful process that involved wading through hundreds of possibilities. “The reason for the name change was mostly…
For her best-selling debut, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, novelist Marisha Pessl precisely mapped out her characters and plot using spreadsheets, graphs and tables. But for her followup, a psychological thriller called Night Film, she took a more exploratory approach. The book tells the story of a mysterious horror-film director…
For her best-selling debut, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, novelist Marisha Pessl precisely mapped out her characters and plot using spreadsheets, graphs and tables. But for her followup, a psychological thriller called Night Film, she took a more exploratory approach. “The book takes on a life of its own,” she…
When Ryan James recorded 2011’s Fall Systems Go under the Belle Jar moniker, he handled all of the vocals and all of the instruments. Since then, the project has grown into a six-piece; fittingly, for the recently released Union Station, the group took a collaborative approach to writing. As a…
Ben Goldberg is a virtuosic Bay Area clarinetist who grew up in Denver and went to East High School. For his outstanding new album, Unfold Ordinary Mind, Goldberg enlisted some of his favorite players, including guitar wizard Nels Cline, consummate tenor saxophonists Ellery Eskelin and Rob Sudduth, and brilliant drummer…
In advance of the National’s show tonight at Red Rocks, we spoke with Aaron Dessner. We printed the excerpts from our chat with him in this week’s paper, and today on the blog, we have the full Q&A. Dessner talks about what could be in store for the band’s next…
At the end of August, the Colorado Springs-based Independent Records chain closed its store at 937 East Colfax Avenue. Angelo’s CDs, which recently opened a new store at 1959 South Broadway and has stores in Aurora and Wheat Ridge, has since moved into the space next door to the Ogden…
In jazz discussions, the saxophonists and the trumpeters generally dominate the conversation, and rightly so. Equally as integral to the music, though, is the rest of the band. While we’ve already listed the pianists, and we’ll soon be taking a look at bassists and drummers, today we focus on the…
The Monkey Barrel, a new bar and live music venue being opened by Rock-a-Billies owner Jimmy Nigg, was slated to open last weekend. We’ve just got word that the opening has been pushed back to sometime in October due to construction delays. See also: The Monkey Barrel set to open…
A psychotherapist by day, Boulder-based singer-songwriter Jeremy Dion also knows a few things about penning heartfelt slices of Americana. On Golden Some Day, the followup to his 2008 debut full-length, Finally, he takes a few vocal cues from David Gray, especially on the relaxed title track, the sprawling ballad “Legend…
After finishing their tour in support of 2010’s High Violet, the members of the National didn’t have any immediate plans to record again. But guitarist Aaron Dessner, whose daughter had just been born, ended up with a lot of time on his hands. He began writing songs in his backyard…
After finishing their tour in support of 2010’s High Violet, the members of the National didn’t have any immediate plans to record again. But guitarist Aaron Dessner, whose daughter had just been born, ended up with a lot of time on his hands. He began writing songs in his backyard…
Master luthier Scott Baxendale lives in Athens, Georgia, these days, but he still has Denver on his mind. In fact, he says he has plans to move back here at some point. Right now, though, the guitar maker and former Colfax Guitar Shop owner has his hands full in Athens,…
Looking to make a more professionally produced album that might be more radio-friendly, Elephant Revival teamed up with producer Ryan Hadlock, who’s worked with the Lumineers and Brandi Carlile, to make These Changing Skies. While the thirteen-track album certainly sounds better than previous efforts, the songs are better as well;…
No rules. Pay homage to the song. Don’t do too much or too little. These are the three philosophies that the Royal has adhered to since forming over two years ago. “Whatever is effective for the song, pay homage to the song,” frontman Tyler Hayden explains. “Because if the song…
PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND @ BOULDER THEATER | THU, 9/12 The Preservation Hall Jazz Band got its start at the legendary New Orleans venue that it’s named after over five decades ago. The group has gone through many line-up changes over the last fifty years with some of the group’s…
Founded more than a decade ago, the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts is a mentoring program founded for high-school and middle-school students to learn more about jazz performance, history and language. Hang Time features two groups of CCJA musicians headed up by local pianist Eric Gunnison (Group Gunn) and…
With the exception of players like Thelonious Monk or Art Tatum, piano players don’t quite have the name recognition of their horn playing counterparts. All the same, these ivory ticklers play an equally integral role in jazz. As such, just like our lists of the ten best sax players and…
New York-based jam band moe. returns to the Ogden Theatre for a two-night stand on Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7. General admission tickets ($30) go on sale on Saturday, August 31, at 10 a.m. Keep reading to see what other shows are on sale, what songs are being…
