Tony Miceli Quartet Plays the Music of the MJQ July 18

Dolans Upstairs, July 18 2013

Doors 8.30, Gig 9.15, Adm €10

Tony Miceli, Vibraphone

Phil Ware, Piano

Daver Redmond, Bass

John Daly, Drums

The Modern Jazz Quartet are probably one of the best known jazz quartets ever to grace any stage Formed in 1962 and feat Milt Jackson vibes, John Lewis piano ,Percy Heath Bass and Connie Kaye Drums later replaced by Kenny Clarke.The enigma of the MJQ’s music-making was that each individual member could improvise with an exciting vibrancy but in toto the group specialised in genteel baroque counterpoint. Their approach to jazz attracted promoters who sponsored “jazz package” concerts during the 1950s. One show would consist of several contrasting groups. The MJQ were ideal participants because no other group sounded like them. They provided a visual contrast as well, formally attired in their customary tuxedos.

The group played blues as much as they did fugues, but the result was tantalising when one considered the hard-swinging potential of each individual player. Their best-selling record, Django, typified their neo-classical approach to polyphony.

This group features Philadelphian Tony Miceli who has been playing vibes since his early teens. Having started on drums then moving to guitar and eventually settled on vibes and has proven to be one of the finest exponents of the instruments alive today. He is also an seasoned educator teaching in several music Colleges in his hometown.  Tony is no stranger to these parts and has been coming to Limerick for the past 5 years running highly informative workshops on jazz improvisation. Last November Tony recordeed this quartet in Dublin and the CD will be released soon. He is the founder of a truly amazing site which boasts over 3000 vibe players worldwide www.vibesworkshop.com  and this has helped enormously to reinvent this great instrument.He has a impressive resume of which is too extensive to list here but one can check him out here   http://tonymiceli.com/node/97 . On this particular tour Tony will be joined by three of Ireland’s finest musicians Phil Ware on Piano, Dave Redmond  on Bass and John Daly on Drums.

Tonight’s concert is supported by Limerick City Council