mattlangley.com

A new decade?! Zoiks!! I was just getting used to the last one. Ahhh, what is time, anyway other than something to mess with when you’re making music or something to ignore when you’ve got some to yourself. Personally, I won’t miss ‘09 a bit and that is just about that! Here are a few opportunities to mark the passage of time with some sweet sounds in the crispy, crackly brand spankin’ new weeks of 2K10.
Monday, Jan 11 – The FTET at the Press Room – Mike Effenberger’s take on an organ based quartet featuring Chris Klaxton on trumpet and Jim Rudolph on drums. Tunes ranges from Shorter to Radiohead to Monk to Pink Floyd to….Come on in and soak up some sounds and suds.
Sunday, Jan 17 – JOSA with Greg Abate – I’ll make the pilgrimage to Grantham NH to perform with Bill Wightman and the JOSA band along with featured artist Greg Abate. Should be a great time with Tim Gilmore on Drums, Don Williams on Bass, Bill on piano and other special guests. Details and ticket info here: josajazz.com
Friday, Jan 22 – Jazz in January at Concord Community Music School – The annual faculty jazz concert at CCMS is always a sellout so get your tickets early! Featuring David Tonkin on Guitar, Tom Robinson on Piano, Tim Gilmore and John Faggiano on Drums and Richard Gardzina on Saxophones. More details and ticket info here: ccmusicschool.org
Saturday, Jan 30 – Boogaloo Nights at The Press Room - Jim Dozet’s bumpin’ quartet with Chris Thurston on Drums and Jeremy on B3, playing a rockin’ night of boogaloo grooves. Join us on the dance floor.
Sunday, Jan 31 – Composer’s Forum at The Buoy, Kittery, ME - Aporkalypse Now (the composer’s forum) features a host of composers from the seacoast and beyond – Mike Effenberger, Nate Therrien, Chris Klaxton, Jonny Peiffer, Andres Espinosa, and more – in a monthly performance of original works and arrangements performed by the composers and arrnagers themselves.  This month we feature arrangements of the compositions of Charles Mingus. More details here:  buoygallery myspace page

Just talked to my son and he sounded great. I’m thankful for that! Un-seized the wheel on my yike-zool-triketor this afternoon and buzzed around the yard like a fiend…I’m thankful for that! Helped pammie clean up after she cooked up some Lobster Mac and Cheese for our friend who busted his ankle walking his dogs…I’m thankful for that! There’s alot to be thankful for! Here are a few gigs I’m thankful to have…

Sunday, November 22nd – Aporkalypse Now at The Buoy, Kittery Maine – This is the Seacoast composer’s band affectionately known as Aporkalypse Now, and this is the second of our “Second To Last Sunday of Every Month” (got all that?!) gigs. This month we’re all arranging Charles Mingus’ music for the group. I love Mingus’ music so I can’t wait to check out everyone’s take. The band currently consists of Mike Effenberger on keys, Johnny Peiffer on Drums, Nate Therrien on Bass, Nick Mainella on Saxes, Chris Klaxton on Trumpet and Myself on saxes. The Buoy is a great sounding room and it’s BYOB so you can relax and take it all in at your own pace!

Saturday, November 28th – David Tonkin Quartet at Stella Blue, Nashua NH – Old pal Tonky invited me to join him at Stella Blue on the 28th…I’m thankful for that!…Nashua is having some sort of downtown celebration and Jared at Stella Blue – a huge Tonkin fan – want’s to augment the band for the occasion. Well awrighty Jared…we’ll be having a great time playing everything from Ornette Coleman to the Beatles and everything in between. Stella Blue is an excellent restaurant with delicious food and a smoking wine list. You’re sure to enjoy it!

That’s it for now. Some stuff coming up in December but I’ll wait until early in December to unwrap that for you. Until then, I’m thankful you stopped by and if you get a chance to get out and support the arts this month, your generosity will be met with thanks from those you visit!

The air is getting crisp. The mornings are chilly and dark. Leaves are blowing everywhere and the colors are getting more stunning by the day. Fall is taking over. That also means more teaching, lots of rehearsals and some much needed time in the woodshed…putting away the massive pile of wood…and ironing out a wrinkle or two or a couple hundred in the technique. Hopefull you’re chipping away at your “woodpile”…now, for a few gigs to warm your earlobes at, please read on!
Sunday, October 3rd – 8PM – The FTET at The Barley Pub, Dover, NH. The control of the FTET returns to its creator, Mike Effenberger after a successful hijacking I pulled off last week. We’ll put a unique spin on a great collection of tunes from Pink Floyd, Monk, Radiohead, Jefferson Starship…you get the idea! Bring your thirst for music and great beer and I’m confident you’ll go away happy.
Monday, October 12th – 8PM – David Tonkin Group at the Barley House, Concord, NH. Tonky, Donnie, Timmy and Myselfski, getting down on an eclectic repertoire of tunes. Rumor has it Randy Roos may show up this week, Tommy Robinson usually pokes his head in and Richard Gardzina has been know to fly in as well. Should be fun per usual.
Sunday, October 18th – 8PM – Aporkalypse Now at the Barley Pub, Dover, NH. A composer collective featuring Jonny Peiffer, Mike Effenberger, Nate Therrien, Chris Klaxton, Nick Mainella, Aaron Hartley, Myself and….did miss anyone? All orginal tunes or original arrangements for the group.
Sunday, October 25th – 8PM – Aporkalypse Now at the Buoy, Kittery ME. Johnny Peiffer and the folks at the Buoy have been working hard on putting together a regular monthly venue for this group. This will be the first of what we hope are many great nights at the Buoy. Join us for an exciting night of creative, original music.
Saturday, October 31st – 9PM – ILevel at the Press Room, Portsmouth, NH. I’ll be masquerading as a member of Matt Jenson’s ILevel. T’row on the costume and come dance to a kickin’ mix of reggae and latin tunes at Portsmouth’s best live music venue.

In my tradition of waiting to the last minute to tell anyone about my gigs, allow me to mention a great band that is playing at the Press Room in Portsmouth, NH TOMORROW – September 21st – at 8PM. It ’s really Mike Effenberger’s band but I have HIJACKED the whole lot of ‘em for a monday at the Press Room. We’ll hear from Eff on keys, Chris Klaxton on Trumpet, Jim Rudolph on drums and Jef Charland on the bass. Do come by if you are so inclined! The rest of this month is pretty quiet on the club scene for me but next month has some good stuff. More on that soon!

Hey, hey. Thanks for the visit. Just wanted to be sure you were aware of tomorrow’s gig at the Press Room. I like to put up a new picture when I put up a new post and I found this one in the files from a performance at New England College. I got a chance to play a duet with Delfeayo and had a blast. He’s a great player, educator and performer. He has the crowd on the edge of every note he plays.  Very enjoyable!

Anyway…Sunday, August 30th – Tim Webb Quartet at The Press Room - Tim is a great bass player and improviser and this is a chance to hear him with a unique quartet featuring Tom Snow on piano, Steve Grover on drums and myself on saxomophones.  Tim has selected an excellent variety of standards, originals and not so standard material. Should be a great night of music and, if you’re there, the circle will be complete and we’ll have a reason communicate through notes and spaces and sounds and stuff! Please join us.

September is just around the corner and I’ll be doing some fun stuff with some great musicians. I’ll tell you more later but until then I just wanted to say good luck heading back to school all students AND teachers. May the school year present an exciting challenge that raises the creative and spiritual bar for all involved.

Wow, august is cranking by like a New England thunderstorm. Sorry, we’ve had so many of them this summer that I’m using them for time passage metaphors. Ungh! Maybe someday I’ll get off the weather as an opener for my gig blurb posts but for now, it’s what I’ve got. Believe me, you definitely don’t want me to start ranting about politics. Quick…let’s talk upcoming gigs…QUICK…
Friday, August 7th – Jan Van Voorst at the Dogfish, Portand, ME Jan Van Voorst has been holding this gig down for years now and this month the band will include my close friend Charlie Kohlhase on saxophones, Curtis Clark on Piano, Fitz Jenkins on Bass, Jan on drums and myself on saxes. Last month this collection of players made some very special music so please join us friday night for more!
Monday, August 10th – David Tonkin and friends at the Barley House, Concord, NH This has turned into quite an event this summer. Last month we had the double quartet featuring David Tonkin on Guitar, Randy Roos on Guitar, Tim Gilmore on drums, John Fagiano on percussion, Tom Robinson on Keyboards, Don Williams on Bass, Richard Gardzina on sax and myself on sax. I hear many of the same dudes will be on hand this month. We managed to record this session last month and who knows, maybe David will pull it off again this month. Join us if you can!
Friday,August 28th – Curtis Clark Sextet at Rivertree Arts, Kennebunk, ME Curtis is a gifted pianist and composer who has traveled the world making music. We’re fortunate that he is currently residing in Portland aine. This sextet has performed a number of times and this evening Chris Gutcher will record the concert. The group will feature Curtis on piano, Titus Abbot on saxes, Mark Tipton on trumpet, Jim Lyden on bass, Gary Gimmitti on drums and myself on saxes.
Sunday, August 30th – Tim Webb Quartet at The Press Room, Portsmouth, NH Bassist Tim Webb has put together a great band for this gig including Tom Snow on piano, Steve Grover on drums and myself on saxes. We’ll play selected originals as well as a standard or two. Should be a great night of music!

sending some sounds your way

Okay, enough with the rain! The gardens love it but even the plants need a little sun. Bike riding has been sporadic at best and the woodpile is getting way too soggy. Looks like no letup in sight though so we’ll have to spread sunshine through music and good vibrations, eh?! Here are a few things I have going on that would always be improved by your presence.

Saturday, June  20 4:00PM – Charlie Kohlhase Explorer’s Club and Joe’s Jazz & Blues Festival – Somerville Mass – Come hear the Explorers bust out a shining 45 minute set for the first annual Somerville BLues and Jazz fest Download a schedule here and support Somerville’s foray into the festival sunshine (..? a reach, I know…but it’s my website!…)

Sunday, June 21 8:00PM – Scott Solsky Quintet – The Barley Pub – Dover, NH - Scott’s a great guitar player who will have just returned from a vacation with the family in search of sun, searing rays, and warmth…a rest, relaxation and chart writing. Should be a good time at Dover’s best Sunday night jazz hang.

Monday, June 29 8:00PM – Seacoast Composers Forum – The Press Room – Portsmouth, NH – This will be the second gig for this group. The idea is to all bring in a few originals and work up a night of music. Our first gig showed a lot of potential and this time out there have been some personnel changes so things will be interesting to say the least. We’d love to have you there.

That’s it fow now. Thanks for stopping by. If you can’t make one of my gigs please go out and support live music, theater or a visual artist sometime soon. We’ll all be better off for it!

Finally! We’re warming up, thawing out and getting outside. Pam and I turned over the vegetable patch this weekend and dumped the first pile of stanky compost into the soil. Dang, we eat a lot of eggs! Picking egg shells out of a bowl of scramblers is one thing but try picking them out of a rather large pile of dirt…that smells like #$%^. Now that’s a good time. Anything for some fresh tomatoes! Here’s some music you can harvest in May without getting too dirty

Friday, May 1: Avante Coast “Call it Anything” at The Kittery Studio – This a new venue for the Avante Coast crew and this is going to be a great night.  The band includes Chris Klaxton (trumpet), Thom Keith (saxophones), Matt
Langley (saxophones), Jonathan Paul (guitar), Mark Barnette (drums), and Tim Webb (bass) and we’ll experiment with combinations of musicians from time to time.  The Kittery Studio is at 5 Shapleigh Road (Dan’s Crossing on Route 236), Kittery, ME. The show starts at 8. If you need directions or a personally delivered prodding, give me a call 207 337 2375 or send an email.

Saturday, May 9: Combo Sabroso at Amazing Things Arts Center Matt Jensen’s Latin band in a concert setting at the Amazing Things Arts Center. Last time we played here we had a great time and we’re looking forward to returning and maybe even making the chinese food hang afterward. C’mon down and join us.

Monday, May 11: David Tonkin Group at  The Barley House, Concord NH – Tonky and the boys serving up a heaping helping of 12 note stew with a serious side of your favorite tune or two. Tim Gilmore, Don Williams, David Tonkin and myself along with whoever else decides to bring their utensils. We’d love to dine with you.

Saturday, May 16th: Combo Sabroso at The Muddy River, Portsmouth, NH – The latin vibes of Matt Jensen’s Combo Sabroso head north to a new venue for us – The Muddy River. The dance floor is nice and big, the sound system is nice and loud and the ribs are kickin’. Come get a little greazy with tasty combo.

Monday, May 18th: Matt Langley/Tm O’Dell Quartet at The Press Room, Portsmouth, NH – An all too rare appearance of this quartet. O’Dell has some new music for this night and i might have a new one or two as well. This band also features Jim Lyden on Bass and Luther Gray on drums.

I’ve been playing catch-up for far too long! This month I’m all over it and I’m sure you’re happy about it too. Just for the record, I rode to work on my bike today for the first time this year and I gotta tell you, I froze my butt off! I was walking out to the garage thinking to mysel, “nah….too cold…throw the bike in the back of the car and ride at lunch time…” and then the twin spoke up “….don’t be a wus, get on the bike and RIDE!!!….” well, it was chilly to say the least but the ride home was pretty good. More to come soon but I think I’m driving tomorrow!

Here’s some info on upcoming music I’m invloved in…

Saturday, April 11. Combo Sabroso at the Press Room in Portsmouth. 9PM. Matt Jenson’s latin band with Matt on keys, Alex Alvear on Bass and Vocals, myself on saxophones and a host of others. Always a great night of latin dancing at the Press Room. Get there early and stay all night!

Sunday, April 12. Barley Pub Dover NH – The Seacoast Composer’s Forum. This is the premier gig of a new group formed by Mike Effenberger featuring Chel Illingworth on saxes, John Ludwig on saxes, myself, Chris Klaxton on Trumpet & keys, Jim Clark on trumpet, Jon Peiffer on keys, Nate Therrien on bass, Scott Solsky on guitar and Mike Walsh on drums. Everyone has been requested to contribute an arrangement of an original piece or an arrangement of a tune we don’t play all the time.  This should be a great night of music.

Monday, April 13. Barley House, Concord, NH – David Tonkin Group. Tonky and the boys taking requests, pulling chestnuts out of the repertoire, straining the cranium to bring you the very best in improvised jazz, blues and whatever in the comfportable and suprisingly nice sounding Barley House in Concord. You really should come out for this don’t you think?

Thanks for stopping by. Check the gig calendar for changes…I will too!…and if you don’t come out to hear any of this great music, go hear someone else. Go to a play…buy a piece of art…eat in a local restaurant…you’ll be glad you did and so will we!

Thanks for visiting. We’ve got some catching up to do for sure. February was so busy I never made it here to update any info. FYI, the calendar is always up to date and it’s the first place to check if you want to come out and hear some music I’m involved in. I welcome any inquiries…use the form on the site under the contact me link up above (gotta fend off the spam idiots)…I’ll get back to you promptly.

This weekend the Explorer’s Club is making a rare Portmouth appearance at the West End Studio Theater. This is a perfect setting for creative music…not too big, not too small, comfortable seating, no obstructed views and great acoustics. Here’s a link to more info: West End Theater Jazz Weekend

Don’t miss Eric Hofbauer’s CNM Pro tour on saturday at the WEST! The first set will feature the guitar duo of Eric Hofbauer and Garrison Fewell and the second set will feature Eric’s “Infrared Band“. Should be an incredible night.

Friday, March 13th at Blue in Portland, ME. Titus Abbott presents the music of Curtis Clark with Myself, Mark Tipton on trumpet, Gary Gemitti on drums and Jim Lyden on bass. This is a great opportunity to hear Curtis’ music presented with a full group and with him at the keyboards.