The Listening Room explains in their guide:

The Listening Room is a curated nonprofit show series organized on a volunteer basis. It is based on common rule and purpose.

• Rule: No talking during performance
• Purpose : Provide a quiet environment for both listening and performing.

I have been performing for a while and have had the opportunity to perform in a variety of venues. Although I love the energy and interaction from more casual environments, I can really appreciate the purpose of this performance series. It is wonderful that Richmond has a casual yet intimate environment where musicians and listeners can participate in live performances without distraction.

The Listening Room is brought to you by The Foundry, Richmond’s indie folk cooperative, and sponsored by The Richmond Scene, a network that works to raise awareness of art and music in Ricmond, Va.

Please check out their sites and support these great organizations.

Our performance in August was with another close friend and long time Richmond musician Toby Whitaker. A wonderful review of the performance given by the Toby Whitaker big band as well as a shockingly good live recording can be found at rvajazz. Smalltown also attempted to record that night’s performance but due to the room noise and inadequate microphones on the vibes, the sound was not so great. Maybe this wednesday will be better. If you plan on coming to the show and you have a portable recording device, I engourage anyone to record the performance. Just make sure you send me a copy. Also, should anyone have suggestions for effectively miking a vibraphone, feel free to comment.

If you are unable to attend this Wednesday performance, no sweat because Smalltown will be performing with the Compass Rose Orchestra at Thee Camel (111 N. Robinson St.) on October 11th.

The BIG performance reminder is this coming Sunday, October 2nd. The Scott Clark 4tet will be performing at Thee Camel, opening up the night for The Claudia Quintet. I can not express how awesome this group is. I will in fact not make any further attempt to do so, but I will provide a link to their myspace page. Otherwise, you just have to come to the show. YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPPOINTED!!

My last update concerns a trip I will be taking for the entire month of November. This is a trip that has been in the making for about 15 years.

When I say the “The Cat’s out of the Bag”, it’s not to imply that I have been hiding anything. It’s because I awoke this morning to discover numerous friend request on my Facebook page from musicians in Turkey, and several tags from Yasar University and Hacettepe Caz.

Here’s the details:

In November I will be travelling to Izmir, Turkey to visit with my good friend Emre Kartari. Emre is a professor of drums and jazz at  Yaşar Üniversitesi. Emre and I attended Virginia Commonwealth University together in the mid 90′s, played in a bunch of bands together, then moved to New York City to attend graduate school at New York University. Following that we played in more bands together and eventually went our seperate ways. Emre and I have shared in countless musical and life experiences and my relationship with him is nothing less than a brother. Emre moved to Ankara, Turkey 2 years ago and is responsible for establishing the first state approved Jazz Program at Hacettepe University. He has since moved and taken a similar position in Izmir.

Since Emre’s first trip to Turkey in 1996, we have discussed the idea of travelling there together. Due to busy schedules, lack of funding, and the pursuance of education in the United States, this opportunity never gained traction. Now, the opportunity has again presented itself and its finally going to happen. I am very excited for the opportunity to visit Turkey and play music with my good friend. We will be performing together throughout the month and I will additionally be providing workshops and music lessons at Yaşar Üniversitesi. At the end of the month I will be joining Doug Richards and Howard Curtis, to perform a composition written by Mr. Richards with the University.

I would like to thank Emre, Yasar University, and anyone else who has helped make this happen. I really look forward to the opportunity to visit Turkey, perform wonderful music, and make lots of new friends.

Check out my Dates page and Media page for updated information and sound files.

First, a reminder about the Scott Clark 4tet show this Sunday at the Taphouse on Robinson street, Richmond. There are new tunes to be heard and a lot of raw energy to be had.

Second, September 27th our new friend Dave Watkins, Scrio and then Scuo will be performing at Sprout starting at 9pm. Check out Dave’s website, a great musician and really creative guy. He has a new album out with probably the coolest CD case I’ve ever seen.

Third, If you need more Scotts’ in your life, come out to Balliceaux September 28th for Smalltown and local math rock-jazz super group, Ombak. Led by our man and steadfast Richmond trombonist Bryan Hooten. Or catch Smalltown again on October 11th at Thee Camel

Finally, I’ve updated the Media section so that it is a little easier to listen to some audio.

I have a few other HUGE projects in the making and I am currently just hammering out the details.

I look forward to seeing you all around town!

Upcoming in September, Fight the Big Bull will be performing at the Hopscotch Festival taking place in downtown Raleigh, NC. This years Hopscotch Festival features more than 135 local, national, and international touring bands of every genre performing in 12 venues.

The Scott Clark 4tet will be performing with the internationally renown Claudia Quintet on October 2nd, led by the award-winning, Grammy nominated, and unbelievably creative John Hollenbeck. As you may have detected, I hold an enormous amount of admiration for this man’s musical talent and we are humbled by the opportunity to perform on the same stage. Please take some time to learn more about Hollenbeck and the Claudia Quintet. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Additional performances for Fight the Big Bull and the Scott Clark 4tet have also been added. I am currently discussing future dates for my ensemble “Smalltown”, so please continue to check back periodically for updated show schedules, band information, and available media.

Thomas Chapin was a hugely influential composer and saxophonist of the 1980′s and 90′s. He was not only recognized for his ability with the instrument, but also his compositional talents and contribution to progressive jazz found in the experimental New York City downtown art scene. A lot of great information can be found at the archival website, www.thomaschapin.com . The video posted below is of a live performance by Thomas Chapin at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1995.