Dave Douglas on Jam Sessions

Scouring the intraweb for jazz blogs, I came across this recent post from Dave Douglas about jam sessions.  Since getting regular jazz jam sessions up and running here and Nashville has been such a focus of this blog, I wanted to link to his article which asks “What is a Jam Session?”. Raises some interesting questions.  In the meantime, please keep coming out to the monthly jazz jam at the Nashville Jazz Workshop – the third Sunday of each month at 4pm.  Next one is June 20th! – evan

Read More

Nashville Jazz Workshop May Jam Session

This coming Sunday, May 16th, is the 3rd installment of the reworked Nashville Jazz Workshop Jam Session.  We’ll be continuing with a constructive format, including speaking about learning tunes, using our ears, and jam sessions in general.  The featured guest for this month is none other than the director of the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, Jim Williamson.  Rounding out the ensemble will be Joe Davidian, Mike Rinne, and Ted Tretiak.  Hope you can make it down – it’s from 4 – 6 and it’s FREE.  Oh yeah, it’s BYOB too.

Read More

Flood Relief

Last night Keith Olbermann commented on Countdown that “if there’s anything worse than your community being hit by a disaster, it’s being hit by a disaster while other and bigger disasters unfold.” Being from the New York area, I’ve been closely following the attempted car bomb plot in Times Square and last night’s resulting arrest.  This past weekend I also happened to be in New Orleans for jazz fest, but news was dominated by the unfurling oil spill disaster in the Gulf, which continues to pose imminent ecological and economic catastrophes. Anyways, since many of you who read this are from out of the Tennessee area and the national coverage seems to be a bit lacking, I figured I’ll post some information about the latest …

Read More

Jam Session This Sunday

The second installment of the revamped Nashville Jazz Workshop Jam Session is this Sunday, April 18th from 4 – 6 pm with featured guest Mason Embry.  Mason is a terrific pianist and arranger who will be sharing his talents and experience with jazz standards with us.  Be sure to arrive early to get your name on the sign-up list and hear Mason stretch out with a very fine rhythm section.  Did I mention this event is completely free? Oh and here is a sneak preview of this month’s tune that all attendees will be playing: [audio:http://www.evancobbjazz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/April-18-Mystery.mp3] – evan

Read More

Nashville Jazz Workshop Jam

The Return of the Nashville Jazz Workshop Jam Session with special guest Joe Davidian hosted by the Evan Cobb Quartet On Sunday, March 21st the Nashville Jazz Workshop Jam Session returns with featured guest Joe Davidian.  The jam session will take place from 4 – 6, is free, and participation is designed for musicians of all ability levels.  The return of the Workshop Jam Session is a bit reformatted.  Besides playing (or singing) a few choice selections, the featured guest artist will be speaking about the songs they selected, learning tunes in general, and their personal experiences with jam sessions.  The host band will also provide the guest artist with a new tune (with copies for everyone in attendance) so that the audience can hear …

Read More

Bob Marley Tribute This Friday

Local production group Kid Electric Concerts puts on a couple of stellar tribute concerts each year, augmented only by the fact that they put them together for charity.  Their mission is “to raise funds and awareness for local non-profit and community based organizations who aim to change not only our great city but the world.  We celebrate these organizations by putting on creatively themed benefit concerts that showcase Nashville’s best artists and pay tribute to great and timeless music.  It is our hope and passion that these concerts motivate our community to get out there and get involved.” This Friday night it’s a Bob Marley tribute act raising money for HESP, benefitting children in Haiti.  It’s going be to a really fun night for a …

Read More

Successful First Jazz Jam Night

The jam session this past Wednesday night at Edgehill Studios Cafe was a rousing success.  We had a good turnout, many original works played, and plenty of learning experiences all around. Happily, the jam session is forging ahead!   So mark your calendars for the next installment on Monday, March 1st again at 7pm at Edgehill.  We’ll be keeping the same format, so be sure to put your name down on the sign-up sheet along with what you want to play.  Original tunes and arrangements will continue to get preference. -evan

Read More

Nashville Jazz Jam Sessions Return

Our favorite musical art form, jazz, has a great history of jam sessions.  Traditionally, the language of jazz has been developed and passed down through generations of musicians aurally.  Jam sessions provide a chance for musicians of all ability levels to learn – musically, personally, and professionally. Recently Nashville has lost many of the regular learning opportunities provided by jam sessions.  Despite having a large pool of fantastic jazz musicians, there are currently no regular jam sessions for them to listen, play, and network together.  In a city where the majority of professional musicians have their hands involved with dozens of recording and touring projects ranging the entire musical gamete, how can we ensure that the Nashville jazz scene receives the local and national attention …

Read More

Cobb’s Mob! Coming Right Up

Friends, I hope that you’ll be able to join me for great fun this Thursday night at the 12 South Taproom.  Cobb’s Mob! will be performing an array of my material and a couple of standards.  I’ve also got a special surprise arrangement for those of you who watched cartoons in the late 1980’s. So please come support – great music and it’s FREE! Cobb’s Mob! 9 pm at the 12 South Taproom featuring: Matthew White, trumpet Adam Agati, guitar Michael Rinne, bass Bob Mater, drums Hope to see you there. -evan

Read More

Nashville Jazz Jam Sessions Return

I’m very pleased to announce the return of two separate but important jazz jam sessions here in Nashville.  Firstly, I’ve found a new home for the since defunct Cafe CoCo Jazz Jam Session.  Edgehill Studios Cafe has been kind enough to agree to host the jam on a trial basis.  Instead of Sunday afternoon, the jazz jam will take place on Wednesday evening.  The first session is scheduled for Wednesday, February 10th at 7pm.  If you’re one of the many folks who misses the weekly hang from CoCo, be sure to attend the jam at Edgehill.  The jam will be “on trial” for a regular spot in their lineup, so we’ll need your support!  Even if you didn’t attend the Cafe CoCo jam but are …

Read More