Chase Garrett’s 7th Annual Blues & Boogie Woogie Piano Stomp

Genre: Blues, Boogie Woogie, MusicVenue: Englert Theatre

Ticketing: $45 Zone 1 Golden Circle / $30 Zone 2 Reserved Seating + Fees

Purchase tickets at the Box Office or Online

More Info: Chase Garrett

DESCRIPTION

CHASE GARRETT’S 7TH ANNUAL BLUES & BOOGIE WOOGIE PIANO STOMP is back and bigger than ever! Featuring four of the most demanded leaders in blues and boogie woogie piano from around the world today! Prepare to be blown away as Chase Garrett (Iowa City, IA), Barrelhouse Chuck (Chicago, IL), Chris Conz (Uster, Switzerland) and returning favorite Lluís Coloma (Barcelona, Spain) hit the stage alongside internationally acclaimed saxophonist Sax Gordon (Boston, MA) world renowned rockabilly guitarist George Bedard (Ann Arbor, MI) phenomenal percussionist and artistic director of the Bix Festival in Davenport, IA Josh Duffee (Davenport, IA) and legendary local bassist Craig Dove (Cedar Rapids, IA) to bring you the best boogie woogie festival in the midwest!

Featuring 4 international pianists utilizing two pianos and 4 highly acclaimed rhythm section members, this one day festival at The Englert Theatre will become a veritable breeding ground for the high energy showmanship, top quality musicianship and authentic swing, blues and boogie woogie sounds of the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. When swing music was at an all time high and America’s popular music was jazz! A time when the likes of Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Billie Holiday ruled the airwaves, boogie woogie pianists Meade “Lux” Lewis, Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson were busy popularizing boogie woogie everywhere from rent parties in Chicago to Carnegie Hall concerts in New York City and blues pianists such as Champion Jack Dupree, Speckled Red, Memphis Slim and later Otis Spann were performing in barrelhouses and juke joints across the U.S.

CHASE GARRETT (IOWA CITY, IA)

Iowa City native Chase Garrett, voted “Best Local Act” in Iowa City, IA by the Daily Iowan in 2011, began playing piano professionally at age 17 and within a few years was performing at blues and boogie woogie festivals across the U.S. and Europe. Having been heavily influenced by artists such as Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Sunnyland Slim and Meade “Lux” Lewis, his style has grown into an infectious and diverse blend of boogie woogie, blues, swing and stride piano that is sure to satisfy any audience. Chase has dedicated himself to the piano not only as a pianist, but also as a piano technician, instructor, event organizer, transcriber and producer. He has brought world class pianists, dancers and musicians to The Englert Theatre in Iowa City, IA for his annual Blues & Boogie Woogie Piano Stomp Festival and has taught master classes and piano performance at colleges, blues weeks and swing camps across the U.S. Chase now resides in St. Louis. MO.

More info can be found @ www.chasegarrett.com

LLUIS COLOMA (BARCELONA, SPAIN)

Since the beginning of his career the ambassador of Blues & Boogie Woogie piano in Spain, acclaimed for his innovative vision and amazing energy, has been developing his personal touch in the interpretation of Blues & Boogie Woogie, both in performance and in his own compositions. Lluís has recorded more than 10 CD’s playing solo piano, or with his trio or septet, and has also recorded duets with other piano greats of this genre such as Carl Sonny Leyland, Barrelhouse Chuck, Bob Seeley, Mitch Woods, Mark “Mr B” Braun, and Frank Muschalle. He has also recorded a CD with Sax Gordon, one of the best rhythm and blues saxophonists in the world. Lluís is fully devoted to the promotion of Blues and Boogie Woogie in Spain where he gives master classes and organizes annual events, including the International Campi Qui Boogie www.boogiewoogie.es and Blues & Boogie Reunion in Terrassa www.BluesBoogieSpain.com as well as Nits de Boogie Woogie in Sabadell and Llinars del Vallès.

More info can be found @ www.lluiscoloma.com

CHRIS CONZ (USTER, SWITZERLAND)

Chris began playing piano at a young age and by the time he was 11 had dedicating himself to the learning the special jazz style of boogie woogie, which he discovered through Swiss pianist Hamp Ruosch. Chris took lessons from Hamp for a short time during which he became influenced by boogie woogie pianists Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, Meade “Lux” Lewis, Axel Zwingenberger, and Vince Weber. At age 16 Chris met Swiss boogie woogie pianist Silvan Zingg, who is the organizer of the International Boogie Festival held in Lugano, Switzerland and soon after Chris was making appearances as a guest at Zingg’s festival and being invited to perform at international festivals throughout Europe and the U.S. Today Chris performs regularly throughout Europe as a solo pianist as well as with his duo and trio which won the coveted, “Swiss Jazz Award” in 2013. Which is an enormous honor in Switzerland. Chris also hosts, organizes and directs the Annual International Boogie Nights in Uster, Switzerland which is currently in it’s 6th year.

More info can be found @ www.boogiepiano.ch

BARRELHOUSE CHUCK (CHICAGO, IL)

Barrelhouse Chuck first began to play the drums at age 6 in his hometown of Columbus, OH, but would later switch to the piano when his family moved to Gainesville, Florida. It was here that Chuck heard his first Muddy Waters record featuring Otis Spann on piano. He was hooked. Chuck soon after moved to Chicago in 1979 and spent the next 16 years of his life studying with blues piano greats such as Pinetop Perkins, Blind John Davis, Detroit Junior, Little Brother Montgomery and Sunnyland Slim. During the past Three decades Chuck has performed all across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America and tours Europe regularly. He is a 2010 Grammy Award nominee, a 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 Blues Music Award and Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year nominee and in 2014 was awarded the Living Blues Magazine Critics Poll Award for “Most Outstanding Musician.” Through his experiences Barrelhouse Chuck has truly become a living legend himself and it shows in his performances as he draws on his distinguished lineage to create a blues, boogie-woogie and barrelhouse piano style, that places him at the forefront of this celebrated tradition.

More info can be found @ www.barrelhousechuck.com

SAX GORDON (CAMBRIDGE, MA)

No other performer on the scene today brings to life and pushes forward the great tradition of American R&B Sax like Sax Gordon! From an early start in garage bands, church groups, jazz combos and big bands in northern California, Gordon graduated to work and record with Bay-Area Blues giant Johnny Heartsman. After relocating to the East coast, five years and many recordings with Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson established Gordon on the international scene. With Luther’s encouragement, Gordon continued to develop his signature style, hard-blowing, exciting, gutsy sax steeped in the traditions of Blues and Soul. Currently Gordon can be found leading his own groups worldwide. The Sax Gordon Band plays rockin’ R&B, Blues and Soul, sometimes with a full horn section, while another group, Sax Gordon & the Little Town Rockers specializes in Jump Blues and Swing. Gordon continues to appear as a special guest with groups all over the globe, conducts clinics at schools and festivals and also works as a sideman, backing both established performers and up-and-coming artists.

More info can be found @ www.saxgordon.com

GEORGE BEDARD (ANN ARBOR, MI) – GUITAR

George Bedard has been a seminal figure on the Michigan roots rock scene for more than 20 years. A member of the Silvertones in the 1970s and Tracy Lee & the Leonards in the 1980s, Bedard has been increasingly attracting the attention that his energetic guitar playing and gutsy vocals deserve as leader of his own band, the Kingpins. Goldmine recently called Bedard “one of the best rockabilly pickers on the planet,” while Record Roundup wrote “Bedard may not become the next trendy thing, but as far as this kind of music, he’s already the next cool thing.” The Kingpins have developed a reputation as one of Michigan’s best bands since their formation in the early ’90s. Their debut album, Upside, was named “Blues Album of the Year” by CD Review in 1992. Upon the album’s release, Guitar Player referred to it as “a brainy composite of blues phrasing and rockabilly bad-boy twang.” Following the release of “Pickin’ Apart the Past” in 2011, Bedard has now released a live blues recording “Further On”.

More info can be found @ www.georgebedard.com

CRAIG DOVE (CEDAR RAPIDS, IA) – UPRIGHT BASS

Craig Dove has a long and varied history as a musician. He plays both upright and electric bass, piano, guitar and is also an accomplished vocalist. He has performed extensively throughout the U.S. at jazz clubs, cathedrals and concert halls and at various jazz festivals in the U.K. Most notably the Croydon Jazz Festival in London, England as well as having previously opened for Duke Ellington and Dionne Warwick in the U.S. Craig is also a composer and has recorded several records with a variety of local and national musicians as well as having made several solo recordings. To augment his life as a musician, Craig is a physician specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

JOSH DUFFEE (DAVENPORT, IA) – PERCUSSION

Josh Duffee has been a featured musician at jazz festivals all over the world and has toured England and Australia multiple times, while being featured at venues all over the United States, including Jazz at Lincoln Center. He is the leader of many groups in the Quad City area including The Graystone Monarchs, Josh Duffee & His Orchestra, and The Josh Duffee Jazz Quartet. Josh’s influences in drumming include many great musicians such as Chauncey Morehouse, Baby Dodds, Zutty Singleton, Gene Krupa, Chick Webb and Vic Berton. One of his good friends growing up was the great Louie Bellson, who Josh took lessons from when he visited the Quad Cities. Josh’s drumming is full of energy and excitement, but he also knows how to help drive the rhythm section behind the front line. He performs on his vintage Leedy drum kit which helps capture the true swing-era drumming sound. Josh also has a drum studio at his home in Davenport, and enjoys spending his free-time with his wife Crystal, and their 8-year-old son, Chauncey.

More info can be found @ www.joshduffee.com