Pete Siers and Mr B at SEMJA / KCH Club Series
The Pete Siers Duo will play New Year’s Eve (December 31) at Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor at 7:00 p.m. Pianist Mr. B (Mark Lincoln Braun) is the other half of the duo which will be celebrating the release of their first CD called Flea Circus.
This performance is part of the SEMJA / KCH Club Series in cooperation with SEMJA. SEMJA volunteers will serve beer, wine, and soft drinks at the event to create more of a jazz club feel. The first Club Series concert in 2016 will be Mr B’s Birthday Bounce on February 13 at 8:00 p.m.
Both Pete Siers and Mr B are born just below the thumb area of Michigan, Siers in Saginaw and B in Flint. They both gravitated to Ann Arbor and have been part of the Southeast Michigan music scene since at least the 1980s. They have also both traveled the country and internationally with various bands. Most recently Siers has been part of clarinetist Dave Bennett’s groups including a performance at Carnegie Hall commemorating the Benny Goodman Trio. The Pete Siers Trio with Bennett and pianist Tad Weed released a CD called Krupa (PKO Records) in 2013. Siers has for many years played alongside bassist Paul Keller in his various bands, including the Paul Keller Orchestra, which appears regularly at the Zal Gaz Grotto club in Ann Arbor.
Mr B is a boogie-woogie master who learned a lot from Detroit’s legendary Boogie Woogie Red who towards the end of his life played regularly at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. B has a long list of recordings, including Mr B Live, a 2002 CD from his appearance at KCH on his birthday, Joybox in 1998 with Keller and Siers, and Hallelujah Train with the Bird of Paradise Orchestra in 1996. He has also recorded with Detroit jazz legends drummers JC Heard and Roy Brooks and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. Every summer he appears on the streets of the Ann Arbor Art Fair, but it is also special to hear him on the Steinway at Kerrytown for his birthday bounce.
The Kerrytown Concert House is located at 415 North Fourth Ave. in the Kerrytown Market district. You can make reservations by calling 734-769-2999 or going to their website.