Live music in January? What else is there to do?
I mean, in addition to staying home and listening to records.
Here are some highlights:
The expressive singer Roberta Gambarini, who has collaborated with some of the top names in jazz over the course of her respectable career, will perform at Dazzle Jan. 7-8. She’s back in Denver with a top-shelf lineup of local musicians, too: Eric Gunnison, Mark Simon and Paul Romaine. Watch this YouTube video of an extended Dazzle performance from 2022 to hear and see her committed stage presence, with the same rhythm section. The Jan. 7 shows are scheduled for 4 and 630 p.m., and on the following night, there’s a single performance at 6:30. Tickets at dazzledenver.com.
Electric bassist Victor Wooten has been awarded five Grammys for his prowess. Probably best known as a member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Wooten has also dabbled in writing novels and performing with the heavy metal band Nitro. But his current gig is fronting Victor Wooten & The Wooten Brothers, who will play Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom on Jan. 11. Wooten claims to have started playing the bass at the age of 2. Along with his older brothers, keyboardist Joseph, guitarist Regi and Roy “Futureman” on drums, the Wooten Brothers have essentially been performing together on and off since the 1960s. Their music is a pleasant and expert brand of soul fusion, with ample displays of virtuosity. The show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at cervantesmasterpiece.com.
Colorado-based guitarist and educator Matt Fuller has a knack for writing beguiling compositions, so those in search of intelligent sonic discourse won’t want to miss out on his performances of original works at Nocturne on Jan. 11, 18 and 25. Fuller’s quartet includes bassist Jean-Luc Davis, drummer Dru Heller and pianist Adam Revell. There are two shows each evening in the terrific Nocturne space, at 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. Tickets at nocturnejazz.com.
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Streaming music is certainly convenient, but not everything is available online. Many of the albums I showcase on independent labels here aren’t on Spotify or Apple Music. And there’s something to be said for physical media: the tactile aspect, of course, but also the enjoyment associated with immersion in a well-produced collection. You read the liner notes, admire the cover art, and slow down to concentrate on something lovingly assembled.
I had these thoughts while spending much of the past month absorbing the titanic “The Memphis Blues Box,” recently made available from the Bear Family Records label out of Germany. At 20 CDs and with a beautifully curated book (among the best I’ve seen for a box set), you get the sort of transformative experience that streaming can’t provide.
Here are 534 recordings in mostly amazing sound, and it’s safe to say it’s the definition of “comprehensive.” It takes six discs just to get to 1930, and revelations abound. The Memphis Jug Band has never sounded better than on these transfers, and neither has vintage B.B. King or Memphis Minnie.
Featuring blues and jazz from the cradle of one of the most triumphant American music cities, “The Memphis Blues Box” won’t appeal to everyone, especially with a price tag hovering around $400 at amazon.com. But those who seek it out are in for a genuine treasure trove.
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Dazzle is presenting “Good Trouble,” a tribute to John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr., on Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m. It’s being billed as the “live musical equivalent of an old-school mix CD” with a variety of local artists performing. … The Braxton Khan Quartet plays “The Darker Side of Monk” on Jan. 10 and 17… The Emmet Cohen Trio appears at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 3.
Bret Saunders is a freelance writer specializing in music.
