BASSCHAMBER: Deep Bass w/a Bit of Treble
Two weekends ago, I visited Heinz Hall to do a promotional photo shoot with vocalist Tania Grubbs, her PSO bassist husband Jeff, and 4 other bassists from PSO. Tania and I spoke afterward about the March 19 collaboration with Chamber Music Pittsburgh entitled “BASSCHAMBER: Deep Bass with a Bit of Treble.” Enjoy, and hear about the Joe Negri Auditorium on Mount Washington! (note to Chamber Music Pittsburgh: Tania and Mike apologize for “reworking” CMP’s name throughout the interview; we’ll get it right next time!)
The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus performed at the August Wilson Cultural Center in late January. Orrin Evans is the new keyboardist with the edgy acoustic trio, and he’ll be in town again for Pittsburgh Int’l Jazz Festival.
Phil Kirkland
Phil Kirkland’s “Over & Under the Influence” releases on 2/14. He and I will introduce two tracks to the Pgh airwaves on The Soul Show on February 9th: WYEP 91.3fm, streaming worldwide at wyep.org, Saturday 2-5pm Eastern time.
Jasmine Tate
I crossed paths with Jasmine when she opened for Deborah Bond and Zo! at the former 720 in Lawrenceville. She was a solo act: a guitar, a barstool, and a semi-singing/semi-rap approach to her self-written compositions. Jasmine played guard at Robert Morris University. A sidelining injury led her to this singer-songwriter outlet. She found her way to TX a little while back, and I wasn’t sure if performing was still on her mind. It was great news to hear from her recently, and to find out that she was recording again. The latest single debuted last weekend on Three Rivers at Three, the 3:00p-3:20p segment on The Soul Show focused on Pittsburgh talent. Good to have you back, JT!