Sunday
Jun252017

 

OriginalModernJazz. The Bay Area instrumental jazz group, DUST MOTIF, takes the stage to excite audiences and bring their new EP, “Rootball”, to life!  Musical director and woodwind maestro Dave Tidball leads the pack through the thick soundscapes of his timeless and finely crafted tunes. Whether digging into up-tempo swing, global fusion or modern grooves, DUST MOTIF is in their element.

     Galen Grant-Drums, Dave Tidball- Saxes, Mike Wynar- Guitar, Ben Lee- Bass

 

 

 

 Meet the musicians:

Dave Tidball was born in Cardiff, Wales and began playing sax and clarinet with his father's dance band. After leaving home, he became active on the London jazz scene in the 1970s, principally with British jazz fusion pioneers Turning Point, recording two albums. In '79 he moved to Boston and led Minotaur (a seven-piece band) and the DT Trio (a sax/bass/drums unit). Since 1985, he has been living and working in the Bay Area and has been involved with many of its great musicians. In the early 90s, he formed another sax/bass/drums unit (Threedom) with Bill Douglas and Robert Kaufman and played all over with this group including a long residency at the legendary Café Babar in San Francisco. He also enjoyed working with singer Paula West during this period. Currently, he is a member of the original quintet FivePlay as well as Tony Corman's big band (Morchestra). His most recent recordings have been with FivePlay ("Five and More") and with percussionist Ian Dogole "Outside The Box", featuring fellow-woodwind specialist Paul McCandless.

Bay Area drummer Galen Grant (www.galengrant.com) became passionately involved in music at age 10, and has since committed himself fully to the art! Galen was born an East Coaster, in Pittsburgh. After competing and performing both locally and in Europe during High School, Galen decided to answer the calling of the West Coast that rang true since his time in Seattle as a kid. While in pursuit of a New College of San Francisco degree in Art and Social Change, Galen had the opportunity to take full advantage of Berkeley’s California Jazz Conservatory were he studied with Bay Area greats such as Wil Blades, Seward McCain, Colin Bailey, Brian Pardo, Pete Magidini and many other influential musicians. During this time Galen cultivated his eclectic rhythmic sensibilities at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music studying under tabla guru Swapan Chaudury. Galen's direction has always been molded by many musicians.  He is constantly in search of the 'New Music', drawing from the rhythmic concepts of Jazz, Jungle, Latin, Indo-Jazz fusion grooves, and the entire Funk diaspora. Grant has worked professionally with Bay Area musicians Max Cowan (Atta Kid, Otis McDonald), Mike Wynar (Kuckaw, Strike Iron), Lagos Roots (former Fela Kuti bandmates), Eli Hurwitz (Hot Pocket), Aspect McCarthy (Jazz Mafia), Gabby LaLa (Les Claypool), and the I-World International Rockers opening for such acts as Eeka Mouse, Donald Harrison and Les Claypool! Galen currently plays with the free jazz project, The Sound Effekt, modern jazz group, Dust Motif, and standard jazz ensemble, Project West.

Michael Wynar is a guitarist and educator hailing from the city of Los Angeles, California.  Michael has studied jazz at the graduate level with guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque at Northern Illinois University. During this time Michael had the pleasure of working with many talented Chicago musicians, and after making it through several cold winters headed back west to the Bay Area. Michael has performed internationally with local Bay Area band Dynamic at the Chiapas Jazz Festival.  Currently Michael performs with a diverse number of groups and musical styles and can be heard performing with bass virtuoso Victor Little's Big Hit, sax titan Joe Cohen, sultry vocalist Sally Green (Sal's Greehouse), Albino! Afro-beat (Strike Iron), Dynamic, original funk band Kuckaw and modern jazz projects The Sound Effekt, and Dust Motif.  

Born in Los Angeles, California, bassist Ben Lee grew up in an incredibly diverse soundscape. His first library of music was his father’s record collection, which melded Laurel Canyon sounds with classic rock, folk, jazz, soul, and spirituals.  Studying under bassists Louis Allen, Dave Culwell, John Heard, and Ivan Johnson, Ben learned how versatile the bass could be.  Listening to the likes of Ray Brown, John Clayton, Charlie Haden, Ron Carter, Jaco Pastorious, Paul Chambers—and most importantly Charles Mingus—opened his ears. Climbing through the ranks of his school program, he eventually became a faculty member for the Academy of Creative Education and worked for three years with the Academy’s music department. After moving to San Diego in 2008, Ben continued his musical education by pursuing a B.A. in Jazz Performance at the University of California, San Diego. Under the mentorship of one of the most important teachers in Ben’s life—legendary pianist and sax player Kamau Kenyatta—he began composing, arranging, and recording as never before.Now based in Oakland, California, Ben is performing and recording with a multitude of groups around town including the fusion jazz group The Orbital Quintet, the 18-piece Big O Big Band,  Rabbit Quinn's all original piano trio, contemporary jazz quartet Dust Motif, and the psychedelic hip hop group known as the Lucy Project, to name a few.  When he isn't on stage or in the studio, Ben stays busy teaching bass lessons in and around Oakland and San Francisco, as well as working furiously on his own compositions.