Around Town
TOP: Tenorist Ben Jansson visited his hometown of Ann Arbor from Japan on August 7. In his quartet at Kerrytown Concert House was pianist Rick Roe, bassist Kurt Krahnke and drummer Pete Siers. Jansson led the group through standards like “Chicago,” Parker tunes, and his own blues songs. It was a joy to hear Ben’s beautiful tenor sound and feel the great sense of swing of the group.
Composer Doug Halladay (left) seems to have an annual concert at Kerrytown Concert House to feature his innovative pieces. On August 12 he presented his Jupiter 2016/12 Moons Rising group which included tenorist Marcus Elliot, trumpeter Dwight Adams (below) , and bassist Kurt Krahnke. Other members were Ian Finkelstein and Gary Schunk on keyboards (and piano), and drummer Kayvon Gordon. The two electric keyboards created a lot of creative tension behind the solos by the frontliners and Schunk in particular.
