Five local musicians occupy Thunderbird for Space Exchange, a 'not just jazz' series
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Space Exchange (from left): Matt Booth, Colter Harper, Ben Opie, Chris Parker and David Throckmorton.
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With the shuttering of WDUQ-FM as a jazz radio station and the continuing lack of venues encouraging progressive forms of jazz, a group of local musicians -- some younger, some seasoned, but all with considerable reputations -- resolved to pool their efforts toward a Temporary Autonomous Zone of their own devising. The result begins next week at the Thunderbird Cafe in Lawrenceville at a Tuesday night series called Space Exchange.
Collective oversight of the Exchange falls on the shoulders of its five members: saxophonist Ben Opie, drummer Dave Throckmorton, guitarist Colter Harper, bassist Matt Booth and guitarist/drummer Chris Parker. The idea germinated from an ongoing discussion that Mr. Opie and Mr. Throckmorton had regarding a semi-regular venue to develop their musical ideas.
"I've always felt in certain rooms you have to watch what you play, like something unusual might not go over too well," explains Mr. Throckmorton. "What happens with Thoth [Trio, his group with Mr. Opie] is that we'll start second guessing what we're going to play."
When: 9 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays.
Where: Thunderbird Cafe, 4023 Butler St., Lawrenceville, 412-682-0177. www.thunderbirdcafe.net ; Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/318368218191842 /.
JANUARY SCHEDULE:
Jan. 3: Dave Throckmorton Trio
Jan. 10: Heartache Years
Jan. 17: Flexure
Jan. 24: Colter Harper's East to West
Jan. 31: Matt Booth Quartet: Tribute to Paul Motian
The forces came into alignment on a night in October when Mr. Opie's newest group, Flexure (an electric-jazz Miles Davis-esque quintet including Mr. Opie, Mr. Throckmorton and Mr. Parker) debuted at Club Cafe with the other two gentlemen in the audience. "Chris and I thought we should start a weekly gig where we all trade off weeks, expanding on that concept from Club Cafe and including everyone as bandleaders in their own right," says Mr. Harper.
They decided to approach Thunderbird Cafe owner John Pergal for a shot at a weekly residency. Mr. Pergal had encouraged their various artistic efforts in the past, and Mr. Harper's more famous band, Rusted Root, practices right across the street. The musicians quickly settled on three Fight Club-style rules to define Space Exchange: one can definitely TALK about Space Exchange, but it's not billed as a jazz event, it's not a jam session, and there's no admission charge. That means that you won't find random jazz cats strolling in to display their chops in a specific genre, whether it be the soul-jazz preferred at Ava Lounge's Interval on Monday nights or the more traditional jazz style purveyed at CJ's in the Strip on Thursdays.
"We don't want to market it as a jazz night," explains Mr. Throckmorton. "It's about finding a place where we can book whatever we want, and hope that there's some camaraderie that could build a little scene."
"We're presenting a series of our groups," adds Mr. Harper. "People won't be showing up with their horns."
And the first five weeks in January already display the eclecticism for which Space Exchange participants hope to become known, beginning with the debut of Mr. Throckmorton's new "highly improvised, groove-oriented ... influenced by DJ Shadow and hip-hop" trio with Mr. Parker on guitar and Jeremy McDonald on bass. The following week, Mr. Booth brings in his group Heartache Years, led by singer-songwriter Jim Relja, and then Mr. Opie's Flexure comes to the fore. African and Brazilian pop styles permeate Mr. Harper's trio East to West with Mr. Throckmorton and bassist Jeff Grubbs on Jan. 24, and the final Tuesday in January is a Booth-organized quintet tribute to jazz drumming icon Paul Motian.
"He's someone I've heard a lot over the years, especially those albums with Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano," enthuses Mr. Booth. "When [Motian] died recently, I thought it would be cool not just to highlight his compositions, but anything he played in. Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Paul Bley are all fair game. It's exciting that all five of us will do it -- the Space Exchange House Band."
"We'll make our end-of-the-month joint statement about the State of the Union," jokes Mr. Harper.
"And we'll read the minutes from our last meeting," adds Mr. Opie.
But just like with Occupy Pittsburgh, the Space Exchange's version of "Occupy Thunderbird" has the potential to either grow in fervor or hemorrhage intensity as the cold winter months drag on. "I know that John [Pergal] won't give us a hard time if it starts off slow," assures Mr. Harper. "He's been really supportive with all the groups we've brought through there."
There's a potential to build on the draw of some of the collective's established bands -- for example, Mr. Opie's Sun Ra-influenced free-jazz orchestra Opek tends to draw well wherever it plays, and Mr. Throckmorton's hip-hop ensemble Beam also had a good run several years ago. "My hope is that we're going to hit those same people that like Opek, Beam and maybe even Rusted Root, and it'll become this [long-lasting] thing," says Mr. Opie. "There'll be a Facebook group -- the five of us plus two other people are administrators."
"And we'll try to post a song from each gig for download on that page," adds Mr. Harper. "The gig reflects both the realities of a professional musician and our diverse musical approaches. We're always seeking out new things, and this is going to be a venue for Pittsburgh that will hopefully be interesting because of the variety of offerings."
First Published December 29, 2011 12:00 am
