Guest Artist Residency: Oakland University Jazz and World Music Programs
Mini residency with Oakland University’s jazz and world music program engaging in a variety of performing, clinic and academic presentations. Prof. Mark Stone, coordinator.
Thursday, March 24
10am - Music of World Cultures Class
Noon - Jazz Combo Class
5:30pm - Big Band Rehearsal/Clinic
7:30pm - Jazz and World Music Masterclass
Friday: times TBD (flexible)
Saxophone Studio Class
Sectional with Big Band Saxos
Private lessons with students pursuing the jazz minor
8pm - Final Concert w/ Oakland University Jazz Faculty Group
Damani Phillips and Quincy Stewart in Concert
Two of Pontiac’s finest come together for a night of hard-nosed jazz unlike anything else being plyed in the city right now. After well over 6 years since we’ve shared the stage, the time is right to make this happen.
Iowa Jazz Faculty Tour: Augusta University
The University of Iowa jazz faculty is newly updated and excited to hit the road! WIth the beleif that we need to bring our music TO prosepctive students, we’re very pleased to be visiting several colleges and universities in the metro Atlanta area this November. Exciting new thigs are happening in the Iowa jazz program, and we look forward to sharing the love! The UI Jazz Studies Faculty Includes:
Dr. Damani Phillips - saxes, jazz area head
Dr. William Menefield - piano
Prof. Curtis Taylor - trumpet
Prof. Angelo Stokes - drums
Brandon Meeks - bass (featured special guest)
Iowa Jazz Faculty Tour: Jackson State University
The University of Iowa jazz faculty is newly updated and excited to hit the road! WIth the beleif that we need to bring our music TO prosepctive students, we’re very pleased to be visiting several colleges and universities in the metro Atlanta area this November. Exciting new thigs are happening in the Iowa jazz program, and we look forward to sharing the love! The UI Jazz Studies Faculty Includes:
Dr. Damani Phillips - saxes, jazz area head
Dr. William Menefield - piano
Prof. Curtis Taylor - trumpet
Prof. Angelo Stokes - drums
Brandon Meeks - bass (featured special guest)
Iowa Jazz Faculty Tour: Morehouse College
The University of Iowa jazz faculty is newly updated and excited to hit the road! WIth the beleif that we need to bring our music TO prosepctive students, we’re very pleased to be visiting several colleges and universities in the metro Atlanta area this November. Exciting new thigs are happening in the Iowa jazz program, and we look forward to sharing the love! The UI Jazz Studies Faculty Includes:
Dr. Damani Phillips - saxes, jazz area head
Dr. William Menefield - piano
Prof. Curtis Taylor - trumpet
Prof. Angelo Stokes - drums
Brandon Meeks - bass (featured special guest)
"Road Scholars" Spyro Gyra Tribute Band Debut
The Road Scholars (w/ Dan Moore and Damani Phillips)
Co-lead by U of I professors Damani Phillips (saxes) and Dan Moore (mallet percussion), “The Road Scholars” is Iowa’s newest tribute band. Focusing exclusively on the music of the iconic jazz group Spyro Gyra, “The Road Scholars” is the first and only group of its type in the region. Landmark hits like Morning Dance, Catching the Sun and Café Amore have established Spyro Gyra as a legitimate force to be reckoned with in jazz music over the last 30 years. Moore and Phillips are joined by all-star Iowa musicians William Menefield (keys), Steve Charlson (basses) and Tim Crumley (drums) in the revival and celebration of this incredibly fun, inviting and vibrant music that you won’t hear anywhere else in the Midwest!
Facebook event page: https://fb.me/e/3uUx7i6z3. Get advance tickets at www.nocedsm.com. These will sell out fast!
Cannonball Addreley Tribute
Combining forces with Des Moines trumpet powerhouse Dave Rezek in a tribute to the man, the myth and the legend Cannonball Adderley. For those of you who know me, you know that Cannonball is MY GUY on alto sax. An honor and a privelege to fill this role in the group. Pleaying the very best of Cannonball’s recrodings from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s! This is one that you will NOT want to miss! Tickets available at www.noce.com.
Guest Presenter: UNLV Shaw Center for Popular Music
Pleased to speand a couple of days in residence at the University of Nevada Las Vegas presenting the research from my book “What is This Thing Called Soul” and engaging students in pointed conversation on the topics of appropriation, cultural connectivity and the lack of Black culyure in the teaching of Black music in college environments. Presentation description:
“What Is This Thing Called Soul: The State of Black Cultural Influence in Collegiate Jazz Pedagogy”
How does collegiate jazz education affect the Black cultural value of “soulfulness” in jazz music? Does jazz music’s foundational roots in African-American music culture require educators and practitioners to adjust both how the music is taught and performed by those who claim expertise in the field? Does presenting jazz in an academic setting perpetuate a problematic fixation on those quantifiable and theoretical elements that thrust aside intangible elements that directly connect jazz to African-American music culture? If the centrality of musical elements like soulfulness, expressiveness, and/or other emotive musical aspects are not prioritized by those who teach jazz to others, do we run the risk of negating (or potential erasure) of the Black cultural stamp that is vital to the very identity of one of the greatest artistic accomplishments of African-American culture?
This presentation will explore Phillips’ 2017 book What is This Thing Called Soul: Conversations on Black Culture and Jazz Education; the very first academic offering to directly and openly explore the potential consequences of forcing the Black musical style of jazz into an academic system that is specifically designed to facilitate the practice and pedagogy of European classical music. His work argues that the cultural, emotional and esthetic elements at the very core of jazz’s unique identity - along with the music’s overt sonic connection to Black culture - is effectively being “lost in translation” in traversing the divide between academic and non‐academic (street) jazz spheres. The validity of the problem’s likely source being the academy itself has yet to be closely examined within the field of jazz studies, jazz education, ethnomusicology or cultural studies prior to WITTCS’s publication.
The Eric Thomson Quintet
Please to be performing as part of Iowa jazz drum standout Eric Thompson’s quintet at beautiful Noce of DSM. Tickets available at www.nocedsm.com!
The DPQ Returns to Solera Wine Bar
The DPQ returns to one of our favorite Midwest music venues after a year hiatus!
"The Syndicate" Plays Jazz in July
Jazz in July returns to Des Moines and I’m bringing one hell of a group to celebrate the occasion!
The Damani Phillips Quartet - introducing William Menefield
Damani Phillips returns to Noce Jazz and Cabaret in Des Moines for a night of hard-hitting jazz, and he’s bringing along a new friend. Pleased to be introducing UIowa’s new professor of jazz piano Dr. William Menefield. Menefield is an absolute monster on the piano, and sure to become a regular name arund the state of Iowa. Combining forces for the first time on stage, Phillips and Menefield are guaranteed to bring the heat! Tix and more info availabe at www.nocedsm.com as the date of the event nears.
A Night of Blue Note, Vol 4
Another hard hitting night of favorites from the Blue Note catalogue!
The Mitch Towne Organ Trio wsg Damani Phillips
Pleased to be rejoining forces with Omaha’s finest Mitch Towne on organ for a night of musical melee. Joind by Kansas city standout John Kizilarmut on drums. 6:30 start time. The Jewell is one of the nicest jazz clubs in the midwest, and is exercising every percaution as it reopens its doors to the public in welcoming back live audiences. Check the club’s website for detailed information on COVID percautions being implemented.