Events

Guitarist / composer Joel Harrison reunites his groundbreaking group Free Country to tour the mid-Atlantic and Southern regions of the U.S. in April 2022. In visionary arrangements of country and Appalachian tunes, Harrison gave new width and depth to the word Americana. Harrison will be joined by David Binney (saxophone), Stephan Crump (bass), and Jordan Perlson (drums). The group will perform music from all three of their Free Country records. The timeless, haunting melodies of this music anchor the flights of improvisation that the band creates anew every night. The tour is funded in part by South Arts through the auspices of the Doris Duke Fund and the Jazz Road initiative.

Jon Mueller's Afterlife Cartoons are solo acoustic percussion performances that use repetitive tom patterns and subtle shifts in grid-like pulsing to instigate overtones, phasing, and choir-like acoustic phenomena that transform the work from mere drum solo to the sonic illusion of a small orchestra. Rhythmic minimalism, contemporary phrasing, and energetic sustain drive Mueller's improvisations into a space somewhere between modern electronic music and primal drumming, inspiring audiences toward movement and contemplation.

The Memphis Jazz Orchestra was founded in October, 1992 at Joyce Cobb's night club on historic Beale Street. Since 1997 The MJO has been in residence at Alfred’s on Beale Street. The M.J.O. has distinguished itself in a series of concerts featuring such national jazz artists as guitarist Herb Ellis, trumpeter Marvin Stamm and pianist James Williams. A powerful and disciplined ensemble with virtuosic soloists and a command of many styles makes a concert by the Memphis Jazz Orchestra a truly memorable event.

Rachel Maxann is a performer who loves to bend genres with her style. In the last decade she has moved from Cincinnati, New Orleans, Los Angeles and travelled around the world performing. Each new space has allowed her to grow while experimenting with different styles of the culture. Rachel has been happy to create roots in Memphis and to share her love of Vintage Indie-Rock and Post-Modern Folklore music.