Jason Mears Quartet and Phil Rodriquez Underbelly

Monday, January 19
Admission: $5, $10 minimum
Showtime: 8pm
reservations are recommended

Jason Mears Quartet:
Jason's compositions are written with the intention of allowing each player to maintain their own unique musical identity, to set up ideal conditions for emergent zones and to fully realize these zones, and to create a music that is greater than the sum of its parts. Drawing influence from life's many sights and sounds the music promises to be diverse and far-reaching but will not simply be a pastiche of different styles.

Jason Mears- saxophone, clarinet, compositions
Nate Wooley- trumpet
Michael Bates- acoustic bass
Harris Eisenstadt- drums
www.myspace.com/jrasme

Underbelly:
Underbelly is a new project led by Brooklyn-based trumpeter/composer Phil Rodriguez. For this band, Rodriguez borrows heavily from various non-jazz influences, including rock, electronic, ambient, 20th Century minimalism, and Scandinavian avant-pop. The musical result is filtered through a drum-less instrumentation to create highly melodic, lushly layered and often slow-building song forms and harmonic textures. Simplicity in form and rhythm prevails, and while the focus is on the compositional layering, there is room for the musicians to shine as improvisers as well. Underbelly will be entering the studio to record its debut EP in early 2009.

Simon Kafka, guitar
Matt Wrobel, guitar
Kevin Farrell, electric bass
Ben Campbell, acoustic bass
Beth Schenck, alto saxophone
Phil Rodriguez, trumpet/compositions
www.myspace.com/philrodriguezmusic