April 7th-9th
1030 Campus Drive
Big Rapids, Michigan 49307
& Matt Moresi Organ Quartet gig @ Schuberg’s Bar & Grill
Friday, April 9th 6-10 p.m.
109 N. Michigan Ave.
www.myspace.com/joemanis
“Saw Joe’s trio at Rontoms during the Portland Jazz Festival and it was certainly some of the most burnin’ tenor sax playing I’ve ever seen on the West Coast. Keep it up Joe!”
3/9/10
http://oregonmusicnews.com/blog/2010/03/06/this-isnt-jazzercise/
“…You did not mention the killer set by Eugene’s Joe Manis and his trio at Rontoms on Sunday night. Joe told me that this was his first show in Portland, although two of his bandmates live up here. Anyway, the trio (Joe on sax, Dave Captien on bass, Kevin Congleton on drums) just tore the place up. Kudos also to organizer, Ben Darwish, and Rontoms for hosting their First Ever jazz show! Look for Joe Manis playing again up here sometime. Any jazz bookers out there, take a listen to his recordings.”
http://oregonmusicnews.com/blog/2010/03/02/portland-jazz-festival-taking-stock/
3/2/10
“Let’s sit over here where I can see my saxophone,” Joe Manis said as we settled down on a Wednesday night beneath the cavernous ceiling of Sam Bond’s Garage in Eugene to talk about life and music an hour before his band, the Joe Manis Trio, took the stage to dissolve the walls of the venue with jazz that can soothe one moment and scathe the next.
Clearly, this is a man who loves his saxophone. Yet, as we speak about his background at the University of Oregon and the New England Conservatory of Music, where Manis received his Masters degree, he recalls instances when “people don’t even know what instrument I play. It’s kind of scary.”
At a time when three minute encapsulations of endlessly repeating pop hooks are accessible in less than a minute from iTunes, Joe Manis is in the unenviable position of playing instrumental jazz improvisation to audiences whose attentions spans are increasingly driven towards the packaged, flashy veneer of modern music.
“Music is just changing,” Manis says. “People download everything now. But they just download the single, not the whole album. People don’t buy CDs. Sometimes it seems like live music is something that annoys people if they’re going to a bar, or it seems like a novelty. Especially, if it’s not bass, guitar and vocal.”
Speaking in these terms, it could be easy to dismiss Manis as unwilling to embrace music’s modern, techno-centric direction. Yet, his calm demeanor and soft voice hold no snobbery or rancor, only a sad acceptance that the majority of the music world does not share his passion for the music that makes up his life. The music that he loves.
“We definitely need people listening. That’s something that’s lacking,” Manis continues. “But that’s what I love about Sam Bond’s. This is my favorite place to play, no question about it. There is such a cool vibe and the sound is great. Plus, you can play anything you want.”
On this night, the bar is half full. Paper pagoda lights hang from the ceiling, casting a hazy pall over the scattered bar scene. Colorful, almost tacky art, haphazardly decorates the walls that echos with the Trio’s flawless jazz. It’s like a caviar taco.
The Trio, which features Manis on tenor, Kevin McDonald on stand-up bass and Ryan Biesack on drums, mix jazz classics from Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane with original compositions by Manis that juxtapose tight grooves with free-form solo sections.
Manis spends much of the show relaxing against the wall, letting his band members explore a song’s musical possibilities before leaping back in with blistering sax lines or melodic accompaniment.
He honed this sense of musical space and ensemble mentality while playing with his other group: the Cherry-Poppin Daddies.
“With the Daddies, it’s about being a solid member of a section and hitting your cut-offs, articulations and dynamics. On any given night, I’ll probably have maybe 12 bars of solo. For some people who would be a downer, but I just don’t view it that way. It’s a challenge and it has helped me grow as a player.”
With the Trio, however, Manis lets it rip, wrenching sounds from his instrument that range from reedy screams to mellow moans. He balances this with a finely tuned melodic and rhythmic sense.
During the second set, Manis invited alto sax player Hashem Assadullahs and trumpet player, former U of O instructor Josh Deutsch, in from New York, to the stage. The ensuing musical interplay between the three players was the highlight of the night. With their instruments, they conversed on stage like old friends, harmonizing, soloing or simply listening and appreciating.
For Manis and the people who enjoy hearing him play, music is the product of dedication, passion and attention. It is not always easily grasped, but it is an experience that is always changing, revealing revelations and rewards at every corner.
http://oregonmusicnews.com/blog/2010/03/06/this-isnt-jazzercise/
University of Texas @ Arlington Department of Music
700 Greek Row Dr.
Arlington, Texas
www.myspace.com/joemanis
Friday, March 5th
Cozmic Pizza
199 West 8th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon
“Following is Eugene’s Joe Manis Trio, a sophisticated fast-punch of intricate and traditional boppy jazz sounds.”
http://saintcleveland.com/support-local-jazz-go-to-the-pdx-jazz-fest/
2/22/2010
Joe Manis-Tenor Saxophone
Dave Captein- Basses
Kevin Congleton-Drums
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1410212639
Sam Bond’s Garage
Wednesday, March 3rd 9 p.m.-midnight
407 Blair Blvd.
Eugene, OR
Joe Manis-Tenor Saxophone, Kevin McDonald-Bass, & Ryan Biesack-Drums
No cover charge
www.myspace.com/joemanis www.sambonds.com
WW PickPDX Jazzfest Aftershow: Joe Manis Trio, Why I Must Be Careful, Lindsey Stormo & Ben Darwish
[TWENTYSOMETHING JAZZ] Nice to see Rontoms getting in on the Portland Jazz Festival. Tonight’s headliner is fine young talent Joe Manis and his trio from Eugene, Oregon. On his 2009 debut, Evidence, Manis unleashes a barrage of notes on the listener, ever fighting the constraints of his standards and original tunes. In doing so, he makes Pink Floyd’s “Money” sound like something a young John Coltrane might have played. While Manis occasionally overplays, his vigor is nice to hear in a sea of young horn players who too often stick to sheet music. The Manis Trio plays with Ben Darwish and Portland-via-New York City vocalist Lindsey Stormo (a singer with influences in the indie-pop and jazz worlds alike); and local experimental duo Why I Must Be Careful (for fans of Au and Quasi’s freaky shit). CASEY JARMAN. 9 pm. Rontoms, 600 E Burnside St., 236-4536. Free. 21+. Map
Original link: http://wweek.com/events/latest/music/
2/25/2010
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