Jazz Calendar

THE FRINGE:

JOHN LOCKWOOD
FRANCISCO MELA
Special Guest: JIM HOBBS
ABOUT JIM HOBBS

Jim Hobbs was born and raised in north-eastern Indiana at the convergence of three rivers. He is a recipient of the Doris Duke New Works Grant for composition from Chamber Music America. After a childhood of chewing hay and catching salamanders he began playing the saxophone. He received a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music where he majored in composition. It was there that he met bassist Timo Shanko and started the Fully Celebrated Orchestra (FCO), which has released 10+ recordings on various labels including Silkheart, Skycap and Innova. Jim has performed and recorded with Joe Morris, Luther Gray, Taylor Ho Bynum, Bill Lowe, The Jazz Composers Alliance, Forbes Graham, The Prodigal Suns, Mackie Burnett, Fred Hopkins, Laurence Cook, Jon Voight, Junko Simons, Nightstick, The Death's Head Quartet, Josh Roseman, Curtis Hasselbring, The Lunch Factor, Laura Andel, Brother Blue and many others.
ABOUT JOHN LOCKWOOD

Acoustic and electric bassist John Lockwood has toured the U.S. and Europe with Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Gary Burton, the Mel Lewis Big Band and The Fringe. He has also performed with The Buffalo Philharmonic, The Boston Pops, MIT Symphony, Pat Metheny, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Toots Thielemans, Stan Getz and Art Farmer.

A veteran jazzman, George Garzone has appeared on over 20 recordings. He began on the tenor when he was six, played in a family band and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston.

In addition, George Garzone has guested in many situations, touring Europe with Jamaaladeen Tacuma and performing with Danilo Perez, Joe Lovano, Jack DeJohnette, Rachel Z, Peter Erskine and John Patitucci among others.

ABOUT FRANCISCO MELA

Francisco Jose Mela is a Cuban drummer and percussionist who has performed with a wide array of prominent international Latin and jazz artists including Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz, JoAnne Brackeen, Jane Bunnett, Regina Carter, Anat Cohen, Paquito D'Rivera, George Garzone, Larry Grenadier, Stefon Harris, Lionel Loueke, Joe Lovano, Jason Moran, John Patitucci, John Scofield, Esperanza Spalding, Mark Turner McCoy Tyner, Chucho Valdés, Kenny Werner, and many others.

Mela released his first CD entitled Melao in 2006 to favorable reviews. His second release as a leader, Cirio which was on Half Note Records, was recorded in 2008 over a week-long residency at the New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club and features Mark Turner, Jason Moran, Larry Grenadier and Lionel Loueke. Tree Of Life (2011), Mela’s third recording and second release on Half Note, is an amalgamation of his favorite bands that inspired him to become a drummer (Miles Davis’ fusion group featuring Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett, Weather Report, and the Latin-jazz super group Irakere). The album highlights an ensemble coined “Cuban Safari,” and provides Mela space to showcase a diverse fusion of Cuban and jazz polyrhythms. Tree Of Life received critical acclaim by a range of jazz journalists and critics and solidified Mela as one of his generation’s rising band leaders.