Ornette Coleman was pivotal in the free jazz movement of the late 50s with playing "outside" the jazz norm. Guitarist Dave Corbus and his bandmates will explore the ways that Ornette's music featured more "inside" jazz elements in the spirit of the moment including blues-based melodies, modal based improvisations, a "harmolodic" universal music language, and happenstance (defined as a chance or accidental happening in the moment!).

John Gunther - Sax, Marc Niehoff - Bass, Dru Heller - Drums

Lindy Hop and Swing dancing! Jeremy Mohney is swing! The Jeremy Mohney Band’s music conveys the pure joy of life through catchy rhythms, floating melodies and vocals that can woo any sceptic. Whether singing or playing the sax, Mohney’s knack for timing and harmony is always swinging. He’ll have you tapping your toe if you aren’t already up dancing.

Dance to the Jeremy Mohney Band. Money is swinging hard for dancers with his band, sax, singing voice and original compositions that all sound straight out of 1939.

The mission of this jam is to educate and engage the Jazz loving community of Denver by creating a theme based jam session where musicians play specific arrangements from historic jazz recordings. Through a limitation of content, we hope to bring a greater sense of preparedness and fulfillment from a gathering of like-minded musicians. We welcome dedicated musicians of all skill levels to come to celebrate this music with us in order to keep our collective community and musical standards evolving.

Kurt Rosenwinkel is an American jazz guitarist and keyboardist who came to prominence in the 1990s.

Mark's hard-grooving acoustic bass sound was birthed in the New York area, where he learned to play many musical styles. In 1980 he moved to Colorado with the band Arabesque and has since been a sought after sideman on over 100 albums.

Mark Klagstad - Guitar, Andy Weyl - Piano, Mark Diamond - Bass, Alejandro Castaño - Drums

Makaya McCraven is a beat scientist. The cutting edge drummer, producer, and sonic collagist is a multi-talented force whose inventive process & intuitive style of performance defy categorization.

His breakthrough album In the Moment was released with International Anthem Recording Co. (IARC) in January of 2015 and quickly named “Album of the Week” on BBC 6 Radio by influential DJ Gilles Peterson. By the end of the year it was a “Best of 2015” selection for Los Angeles Times, Pop Matters, NPR Music’s Jazz Critics Poll, and Apple Music.

1972-The year I got turnt. In the year 1972, I was 17 years old.

In a distant galaxy (Wyoming) a long time ago (maybe 18 years), a little 6-year-old boy began playing piano, inspired by his father, who played classic rock. A year or so later, his brother came home from middle school with a saxophone, and Dad declared “We have a band!” That little family band played local gigs with two keyboards and a sax, and to no one’s surprise, a star was born.

Tom Amend, pianist and organ player, was that young boy.

Three words explain this special April series: Dynamic. Thrilling. Swingin’.

Award-winning drummer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Brian Claxton is known for his electrifying groove and rhythmic mastery. This series will feature Claxton’s compositions and arrangements performed by some of Denver’s finest: Tom Amend, Dana Landry, Steve Kovalcheck, and Erik Applegate. Brian is a two-time Nocturne artist in residency alumni and we can't wait to bring his sound back to our stage!