Austin - Jazz trumpeter Jeff Lofton brings his quintet back to the Elephant Room, 315 Congress Avenue, Saturday, August 1, 9:30 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. Cover is $5.00. The quintet features Tony Campise on saxophone, Dr. James Polk on piano, Chris Jones on bass, and Butch Miles on drums.
Tony Campise played lead alto in the Stan Kenton band, and has backed many world class artists such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Lyle Lovett, Arnett Cobb, Sarah Vaughan, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, Joe Henderson, and Lee Konitz. Tony Campise's |
Once in a Blue Moon was voted for nomination as "Best Jazz Album of the Year" and "Best Instrumental Solo" by NARAS for the 1992 Grammy's. The album won the Honorable Mention as "Best Jazz Album of the Year" by NAIRD. Once in a Blue Moon was in the top twenty of Billboard Jazz charts for three months, while reaching #3 on Gavin and R&R in the national radio charts.
Dr. James Polk was the musical director for Ray Charles for ten years and is a two-time Grammy nominee. He led the jazz studies department at Southwest Texas State University, received an honorary doctorate from Huston-Tillotson, and was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame.
Chris Jones studied at the New School in Manhattan, and recently relocated to Austin after living in Japan for eight years.
As the drummer for the world-famous Count Basie Orchestra (1975-1979 and 1997-2007), Butch Miles quickly became renowned for his swinging big band style and techniques. Butch has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival (now the "JVC Jazz Festival") in New York since 1975 and the Grande Parade Du Jazz in Nice, France nine times. He has performed at every major jazz festival in the world, and with such luminaries as Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dave Brubeck, Mel Torme, Lena Horne, Joe Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman, Clark Terry, Gerry Mulligan, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Benny Goodman, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Zubin Mehta, Itzak Pearlman, Dick Hyman and others.
Jazz fans can expect to enjoy straight-ahead and bebop standards along with Lofton originals, such as "Shana's Song," selected for Austin Music Vol. 8, the Austin Convention and Visitor Bureau's annual compilation. Lofton recently recorded ten originals and two covers for a new album, "Jazz to the People" to be released in the fall.
For Jeff Lofton's Miles Davis Tribute in February fans lined up Congress Avenue in the cold night with many waiting over an hour and others being turned away. The tribute show kicked off an Elephant Room series in collaboration with the Blanton Museum's spring show "Birth of the Cool." Lofton recorded a segment on KUT's Aielli Unleashed (http://kut.org/items/show/16208) in March for a segment on the museum's exhibit. Lofton took the tribute to Scat Jazz Lounge in Ft. Worth in April and it was featured at the Blanton Museum's B Scene monthly art party in May.
"I enjoy creating melodic inventions - my own style, melody and recreation of melody," Lofton said. "I want to expand what's possible on the trumpet. Like Miles, I'm deeply entrenched in the re-creation of standards. The best way to get jazz to the people and people to the jazz is to present familiar themes and melodies."
"Listen up Miles Davis fans..." from the Austin American-Statesman and "... channels Miles Davis..." from the Daily Texan were some of the early reviews of jazz trumpeter Jeff Lofton when he arrived in Austin in 2007. Mostly unknown to the local jazz scene, word-of-mouth drew people to hear his unique sound at small bars in East Austin. Lofton's All Miles 1950's tribute debuted at the historic Victory Grill and was quickly booked at the Elephant Room, Austin's famous jazz bar. Soon his shows were being described as "...crazy good and crazy crowded." (Austin American-Statesman/Austin360.com).
Currently the Jeff Lofton Quartet plays every Thursday at The Belmont, 305 W. Sixth St., from 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., and a weekly Sunday Jazz Brunch at Waterloo Ice House (at Hill Country Galleria) from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Recently he performed at the fourteenth annual Jazz at St. James Festival in Austin which featured jazz legends Curtis Fuller and David "Fathead" Newman.
Lofton's sound has garnered press clippings such as from the Austinist.com: "... Lofton's brand of jazz is in the Davis/Gillespie/Coltrane vein, sultry and sensual as a summer afternoon"; The Brownsville Herald, "Critics in Austin give trumpeter Jeff Lofton serious kudos for his blend of the old school and new styles of jazz, comparing him to the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane..."; and The State, "Jeff's trumpet flies onto tracks like singing birds into morning sunshine."
Since arriving in Austin, Lofton has shared the stage with the Marc Devine Trio at Reed's Jazz and Supper Club, and often sits in at the Elephant Room's Mike Mardecai Jazz Jam on Monday nights. He frequently plays with local jazz greats Dr. James Polk, Alex Coke, Red Young, Mark Nelms, Marc Devine, Michael Stevens, Ed Friedland, Masumi Jones and many other. Austin performances include Antone's (Austin Music Vol 8 CD release party), the Victory Grill, Waterloo Ice House, Central Market, Club 40, Kick Butt Coffee, the Austin Light Bar, Club 1808, Jerry's Artarama Artist Festival and a Barack Obama fund raising event. Other recent Texas shows include Scat Jazz Lounge in Fort Worth, Kirby's Fine Dining in San Antonio, Cine El Rey historic theatre and Espana Mediterranean Cuisine in McAllen, and Shenanigan's in Brownsville.
Lofton debuted his first jazz CD, Jazz Therapy, in 2005, with the Jeff Lofton Quartet. The self-produced CD mixes old style be-bop with modern forms of jazz in the tradition of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane. In addition to Lofton on trumpet, the CD also includes Roland Haynes on piano, Reggie Sullivan on bass and Kenneth Salters on drums. Since he plans to record again soon, Lofton offers free downloads of Jazz Therapy on his website.
Born in Germany to American parents, Lofton grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, where he studied music at the University of South Carolina. Playing trumpet for thirty years, Lofton has spent time on the road in Chicago and New York City. He has performed with such musical talents as guitarist Jim Mings, saxophonist Rene Sandoval, Ron Westray and Wycliff Gordon of the Wynton Marsalis septet, Fred Wesley of the James Brown horn section, Fred Hampton of the Chicago A.A.C.M., and South Carolina musicians Skip Pearson, Robert Gardner, Dr. Dick Goodwin, Dr. John Enkey, Teddy Linder and many others.
Lofton also works as an R&B and hip-hop producer, producing such artists as Legend and The Gutsmen. As a winner of the juried competition, Lofton was an artist in the music category of the South Carolina Arts Commission's Arts in Education Roster. The program provides grants for work in educational settings statewide. He has lead jazz clinics for high school students in Austin.
In South Carolina, the Jeff Lofton Quartet had a strong local following from a long-running Friday night show at Meritage in the Vista, as well as performances at Mac's on Main. Lofton is also well known for the Jazz Therapy Jazz Quintet featuring himself and Skip Pearson performing on Sundays at the club Group Therapy. Other groups Lofton has played with include Defellas (an avant guard jazz group), Deja Voodoo (a hip-hop/jazz fusion group) and Wadada (a reggae group). |
|
Terrance is a great musician and comp...
Terence Blanchard will be performing ...
It's gonna be a great show I'm gonna ...
I've seen this guy a couple of times ...