Jazz/Rock Drummer Aaron Comess to Focus on ‘Jazz of the 1960s’ in His Return to Smoke Jazz in NYC, August 13th
Quintet Will Represent Different Stages of Comess’ Career
Respected jazz & rock drummer/multi-instrumentalist/composer/producer Aaron Comess has confirmed an August 13th quintet concert at Smoke Jazz in New York City. Comess, whose Smoke Jazz appearance last year was previewed in The NY Times, Modern Drummer and elsewhere, has long ties to jazz, and has played with such greats as Roy Hargrove, Brad Meldau, Robert Glasper, Bilal, Roswell Rudd, Arnie Lawrence, Deanna Kirk and more. The NY Times’ Nate Chinen affirmed, “Comess has long been a jazz adept.” As a member of the group New York Electric Piano (for the past 11 years,) Comess and band-mates scored a Top 10 jazz album with their most recent CD. Comess is currently studying with legendary drum master Michael Carvin.
At Smoke Jazz on August 13th, The Aaron Comess Quintet plans a straight-up jazz concert with a focus on his favorite material from the 1960s, some original music and more. Comess has brought together a group of musicians to reflect his eclectic career, merging some members of his original group ‘Beautiful Mistake’ and his jazz quintet as well as an old high school friend from the Arts Magnet High School in Dallas on sax. The terrific band will feature:
Aaron Comess – Drums
Barney McAll – Keyboards
(Dewey Redman, Jimmy Cobb, Kenny Garrett)
Richard Hammond – Bass
(Angelique Kidjo, Raul Midon)
Teddy Kumpel – Guitar
(Rickie Lee Jones, New York Electric Piano)
Keith Loftis – Saxophone
(Michael Carvin; the Roy Hargrove Big Band)
Smoke Jazz
2751 Broadway New York, NY 10025
Sets: 7pm, 9pm & 10:30pm – No music charge
212-864-6662 http://smokejazz.com/
Comess has had strong roots in jazz since his early musical life. As far back to the 1980s, he was Best Jazz Soloist for two consecutive years via Downbeat’s High School Student Awards. Then, when attending arts magnet school in Dallas, jazz groups he played in won Best Big Band and Best Small Group for three years in a row. Comess went on to attend Berklee College of Music on scholarship, and then attended The New School Jazz Program in NYC. He comments: “I’ve always had a true love for listening to and playing jazz that has filtered in to all the work I have done since. I love playing songs just as much as I love to improvise, and the freedom that comes from playing jazz music is something I very much love to do.”
“I’m bringing together members of my jazz group and my originals instrumental group “Beautiful Mistake,” experimenting with merging these groups together moving towards my next recording but leaning on the jazz side for this show. I consider Barney the anchor of the jazz groπup and Teddy the anchor of the original group, so I’m excited to bring these elements together with Rich (who I play with so much,) and my old friend Keith. I’m bringing many familiar faces together for this show. We’re going to be focusing on some of my favorite material, mostly from the 1960s — The innovation and quality was so high in this period of jazz, and we are looking forward to exploring this material with our own twist on things. We will also include some of my originals of my 2 records “Catskills Cry” and “Beautiful Mistake”.
Aaron Comess also happens to be the drummer and a founding member of the multi-platinum-selling SPIN DOCTORS. The band recently celebrated the 20th Anniversary of their smash CD ‘Pocket Full of Kryptonite’ and recently released a new album of original Blues music, ‘If the River Was Whiskey,’ which is earning the best reviews of their career and has been riding the Top Ten Blues Charts.
Aaron Comess:
Drummer/multi-instrumentalist/composer/producer Aaron Comess won wide acclaim for his powerful 2011 solo CD, ‘Beautiful Mistake’. For Comess, who wrote and produced the album, ‘Beautiful Mistake’ marked an opportunity to step out of the shadows of his many notable collaborative efforts, and into the spotlight. He deftly created sweeping songs that were emotive without words, leaving his commanding drum work and the ‘voice’ of his band’s electric guitar (Teddy Kumpel) and bass (Richard Hammond) to weave a dramatic soundscape. Comess is the drummer and a founding member of the multi-platinum-selling SPIN DOCTORS, and the band recently celebrated the 20th Anniversary of their smash CD ‘Pocket Full of Kryptonite’ and recently released a new album of original Blues music, ‘If the River Was Whiskey,’ which is getting the best reviews of their career and has been riding the top ten Blues charts.
Comess also played on Joan Osborne’s recent Grammy-nominated CD, — He is a musician’s musician, long respected as a collaborator who has played on, co-written and/or produced over two hundred albums with an acclaimed and diverse roster of artists including Osborne, Edie Brickel, Isaac Hayes, Marc Cohn, Bilal, Rachael Yamagata, James Maddock, and more. Other upcoming and/or recent work includes Phil Ramone, Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, Malcolm Burn and Natasha Bedingfield. Comess is active in the local NYC rock, jazz, experimental music scenes and singer songwriter circuits, and records and produces at his ‘His House Studio’ in the East Village. As a member of the band New York Electric Piano, Comess recently had a Top 10 CD on the CMJ charts. Comess has successfully navigated the tricky music industry for over 20 years, managing to keep his original band (Spin Doctors) together, build an active career as a sideman/session player/producer, and make his own records as a composer/leader. With ‘Beautiful Mistake’, he shines as a songwriter and continues to distinguish himself. Visit Comess’ eclectic Discography to get a sense of the wide range of projects he’s been involved with over the years, from Chris Whitley’s final album to Joan Osborne’s ‘Righteous Love’ to a dozen releases as a member of Spin Doctors: http://www.aaroncomess.com/discography.htm
Visit: www.aaroncomess.com
Key press coverage here:
http://www.aaroncomess.com/press.htm
