Come and celebrate the Birth of the Really Cool, Bennie Maupin! For 75 years our world has been given the gift of music through the perception of this extraordinary gentleman!

BENNIE MAUPIN 75TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

at The Blue Whale

Saturday night August 29th

9PM

Two new players in the game… Chitown in the house!!!!

Jeff Parker and Josh Johnson

Of course featuring the brilliance of ..

Patrice Rushen, Darek Oles, Munyungo Jackson and Gene Coye

LeRoy Downs honored and privileged to be your host!

A joyous occasion and great opportunity to see and here our very own Bennie Maupin and explore the enchantment of his adventurous sound; present and future with a giant footprint in the past!

Please be respectful…..

NO SINGLE LENS REFLEX CAMERAS or FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY,

AUDIO OR VIDEO RECORDINGS WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM

MANAGEMENT OR THE ARTIST

Saturday June 6th

Jungle Jazz At The Blue Whale

Euro Zambrano, Karen Briggs, Jimmy Haslip

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With your host LeRoy Downs

The Oracle- The word “oracle” comes from the Latin verb ōrāre “to speak” and properly refers to the priest or priestess uttering the prediction

Another full house here at the Blue Whale, the best room in Los Angeles for premium quality sound. The benevolent and wise Joon Lee, creator of the club is back in town and the music never wavers.

Kendrick Scott, the peaceful soul behind the melody, leading an all-star cast of cognition.Out front Walter Smith III with tenor logistics and Mike Moreno whose guitar fills the room with warm waves of echoing vibrations casting a blanket of love on us.

AG, Aaron Goldberg laying down melodic loveliness as the joy in his notes hold up the sound and reach out to caress us. Joe Sanders, whose tone becomes us as we feel the pulse, caressing and playing as he holds the lady close.

Then, there is Kendrick, king rhythm, driving all roads with a suspension meets every bump and curve with a barrage of distinction. There is a force, a casual calm breeze with tenacious readings on the Richter scale but, we are not shaken as we willfully embrace the power of the music.

Kendrick introduces all of the cats and many he has played with for quite time.

Conviction, the title track of the last album, is about Kendrick addressing himself and asking questions to see if he is living by the standard and mores that are true and in sync with his being. While he searches to find the truth within himself, perhaps we will take that same look at ourselves, the good and the bad and learn from the experience.

They proceed with a Herbie Hancock composition, “I Have a Dream”. For these cats Heroes and legends have turned into peers. The inspiration has grown a new culture that respects, stretches, reaches and uses the environment of today to tell modern day stories while leaving a foot, or at least a few toes in the soil. One thing that any Master will tell you is to speak and be heard by the distinction of your own voice. Music is an art, a search and a journey that can imitate life and transcribe dreams.  A nocturnal spirit connected to notes and prayers.

What I love about the Blue Whale is how the concentration of the audience becomes part of the sound. The silence is so precious and the blessings of sound bestowed upon us are so vast. We are a bundle of energy feeding and feeding off of each other. We are living inside the O of Oracle like an atom; one tiny dot in the Universe whose sound travels through the Galaxy emanating light and love.

There is such a natural and strong bond between the musicians. Friendship and trust are key elements to cohesiveness. Songs are skeletons that are made human every night. They are familiar but never played the same. “Like Water” is a perfect example.
Bruce Lee, Master and lord of the art of Chinese Martial arts says that we should, “be like water my friend”, able to flow and adapt in an every adjusting world. Crash!
Lotus – a tune from the up coming album is sweet and calm as the sun and morning dew produce the elements for life a flower. We listen and imagine life evolving and unfolding before us.

This band is together as a sound. No antics, no drama, no check me out, only the deepest respect and admiration of the beauty of compositions. Bringing them to life through their performance.

Some of this new music will be featured on the next new Oracle album for Blue Note Records. Flying Lotus’, a derivative of Coltrane, composition that features the other Kendrick, Kendrick Lamar was performed by Kendrick Scott who composed this piece from Lamar’s rap. Brother Was, the Blue Note wise one, is reviving the legendary label by signing all of the young brilliance and making sure that when you search for that beacon of sound, the one that draws you near and begs the question ‘Who was That” after hearing the most intriguing vibrations, the epicenter is Blue Note records.

Last set of the tour, the music tonight is on high, titled or untitled, it’s precious. “Milton” is the title of a John Ellis piece, young musicians inspired by young musicians, peers and brothers. Sanders is now is making his instrument weep, tears falling all off of those strings! Aaron’s sense of travel has velocity, while Mike rides on top of the melody. Walter’s tenderness abounds, there are no vocals but the sound sings!
Duke Pearson’s “You know I Care” is a standard but played like an original. Not with new changes and chord structures, but with simplicity, tenderness, respect and ownership.

Laden with groove and direction that starts right here and points towards the future. “What the Oracle told you is only for you, Neo”. “Do not try to bend the spoon, that is impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth; that there is no spoon”.

Be water my friend!

LeRoy Downs

For the first three months of 2014, we are turning our focus toward live collaborative events for our Winter Residency at Downtown Los Angeles’s Blue Whale. On the last Sunday of each month we will present new works and performances curated by different members of our collective.

Sunday January 26, 2014

Showtime 9pm – Tickets $15

EMULSION
CURATED BY TREVOR ANDERIES AND AUBRE HILL

Blurring the lines of sound and music, movement and dance in an evening of new art created when unlikely individuals cross paths.

Featuring Artistis and Groups:
LUMINA DANCE: Aubre Hill, Stefanie Bernhard, Ariel Kasha, Olu Nicole, Angela Rose
WALSH SET TRIO: Brian Walsh, Colin Burgess, Trevor Anderies
RIVER SONG QUINTET: Alina Roitstein, Harrison Kirk, Greg Uhlmann, Lauren Baba, Andrew Rowan
RIVERWALSH: 1st ever combination of both The Walsh Set Trio and River Song for this concert. All new music is being commissioned for this show only!!!!!!

Diving into the definitions of music and dance, this unique evening will bring together artists from a wide range of disciplines, experimenting with how elements collide into new artistic expression.

Sunday February 23, 2014

Showtime 9pm – Tickets $15

SKY CITY
PERFORMANCE IN TWO ACTS BY
DORIAN WOOD AND THE DANIEL ROSENBOOM SEPTET

“As then, but now, the king blinds barefoot. A set of fine mirrors shade his eyes from the transformation all around, and she, his Orange Peeled Harlotan, can only follow the trail of his voice. His mirrors raise. A point is in the making. Her gifted watch is clasped then unclasped, but for what pleasing? Citrus angel hits the sky with none apparent. He rejoices in her humored touch, gently inspecting the under of her arm, back to his side, as if to hint at her hand to settle his leg, down down. Certainly can ruin, and certain to the will of such.”
— Dorian Wood, SKY CITY

Libretto: Dorian Wood
Music: Daniel Rosenboom

Dorian Wood – voice
Daniel Rosenboom – trumpets
Gavin Templeton – woodwinds
Jon Armstrong – woodwinds
Brian Walsh – woodwinds
Daniel Szabo – piano
Hamilton Price – bass
Matt Mayhall – drums

Sunday March 30, 2014

Showtime 9pm – Tickets $15

PUBLIC SECRETS SECRET PUBLICS
CURATED BY ALEXANDER NOICE AND ERON RAUCH

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