Jazz in Kentucky (Upcoming Show): Ernie Watts, Laurence Hobgood & Jacob Duncan’s Liberation Prophecy in Louisville

A stellar show is happening tomorrow night in Louisville’s Kentucky Country Day School Theater, with jazz veterans Ernie Watts & Laurence Hobgood headlining a show that features opening act Liberation Prophecy, an ensemble led by Louisville’s own Jacob Duncan.  The show is being put on by the Louisville Jazz Society.

Date:  Tuesday, October 8th, 2013

Show times:  Liberation Prophecy goes on at 7:30 pm, with Watts & Hobgood going on at 8:30.

Saxophonist Ernie Watts has been on the scene for the better part of fifty years, and appearing on the albums and stages of a disparate group of artsts ranging from Cannonball Adderley, Buddy Rich, Oliver Nelson, Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orichestra to Frank Zappa and Aretha Franklin.  His 2011 release Oasis is pretty terrific, the kind of hard charging bop that is gonna grab the ear of all jazz fans, no matter how they typically prefer having it served up.

Pianist Laurence Hobgood is best known for his long-time collaboration with supreme jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, which resulted in a handful of Grammy nominations and a Grammy award for best vocal jazz record in 2010.  Hobgood also has several albums under his own name:  Left to My Own Devices, Crazy World, and When the Heart Dances, all on the Naim Label.  On When the Heart Dances, Hobgood’s piano is joined by jazz giant, bassist Charlie Haden, for a set of sublime pieces, with a guest appearance by vocalist Kurt Elling on a few tracks.  If you’re looking for a quiet evening jazz album, you should probably pick this one up.

Saxophonist Jacob Duncan is well-known on the Louisville scene, notably for his Wednesday night regular show at the Nach Bar in Germantown, though equally notable is his contribution to the recordings of former Louisville resident John Goldsby, like his 2010 release The Innkeeper’s Gun, which is a highly regarded under-the-radar recording amongst modern jazz fans.  On previous recordings (and performances), Duncan brings a ferocity to his music to rival any insistence to bop… however, on his new project, the genre-shattering Liberation Prophecy, he adopts a light tone as he, vocalist Carly Johnson, and an octet of Louisville jazz musicians bring a mix of jazz, folk, pop, and cabaret, focusing on a formal song structure that allows some room for tiny eddies and cross-currents of creative expressiveness to emerge within the borders.  Their debut album is called Invisible House.  It’s intriguing music, and, I suppose, considering Duncan’s collaboration with fellow-local Will Oldham, not all that surprising to hear him experimenting with this lovely sound.

It’s a great opportunity to see what different generations from the jazz scene are doing, plus just solid music all around.

I caught Watts & Hobgood at the KCDS Theater when they came through town last year, and it’s a great venue and was a great show.  You can’t go wrong here.  In fact, though I can’t confirm it as of this time, but it’s possible that trumpeter Marquis Hill will be part of Hobgood’s quintet, and if that’s true, you definitely don’t want to miss this show… Hill is one of the more exciting trumpeters on the scene today.  You can search this site for ample evidence of this claim.

Ticket Prices are: $15 Public, $10 Jazz Society Members, and $5 Students.

Location:  Kentucky Country Day School Theater
4100 Springdale Road
Louisville, KY‎  40241
(502) 423-0440

Here’s a link to more info on the KCD Theater site.

There’s plenty of parking out there.

Link to Google Map of venue