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“The Chicago-based jazz bassist Harrison Bankhead is an avant-garde-leaning musician with a journeyman's ability to fit within an array of jazz styles from straight-ahead to free jazz.” Matt Collar, The All Music Guide. Grand Rapids celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Chicago’s Association For the Advancement of Creative Musicians with a performance by Harrison Bankhead’s Quartet on Sunday, May 3rd at 3 p.m. in The Underground Series, presented in the unique surroundings of the LaFontsee Galleries, 833 Lake Drive S.E., Grand Rapids, in association with www.adventuremusic.org. Bankhead’s quartet presents a high energy two saxophone front line with proven bass/drums rhythm section reaching heights familiar to John Coltrane’s late period -- highly spiritualized, ecstatic hosannas seeking the universal tone – while able, sometimes within the same piece, of introspectively delving into traditional African musical instruments and cultures. Bassist Harrison Bankhead and drummer Avreeayl Ra are a Chicago rhythm section of enormous range and stylistic flexibility, able to lay down a straight ahead groove as they did at The Wealthy Theatre with trumpeter Malachi Thompson and poet Amiri Baraka in 1999, or push the music into free range as you heard at the Wealthy Theatre when Bankhead joined the Roscoe Mitchell/Fred Anderson Quintet in 2003. Appearing in Grand Rapids powering Harrison Bankhead’s Quartet on Sunday, May 3rd at 3 p.m. they’ll reinforce the multi-directional musical possibilities of saxophonists Mars Williams and Edward Wilkerson Jr., two musicians firmly in the post-John Coltrane/Archie Shepp/Albert Ayler/Roscoe Mitchell saxophone continuum who, as A.A.C.M. artists, play a wide range of woodwinds (including Didgeridoo) and African percussion. With Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians celebrating its 50th Anniversary on April 26th, this is a perfect time to experience the spectacular heights of fire and thunder some of the most creative musicians on the planet improvise in the moment. With this concert, The Underground Series seeks to, in the words of Tum Records, “promote more experienced musicians whose work is not favored by the commercial trends of our time.” As series curator Lazaro Vega said prior to the Charlie Kohlhase Explorers Club concert, “The corptocracy will not give you this music: to find it you have to go underground. Thanks for digging.” Bankhead’s long association with Fred Anderson on the bandstand at Anderson’s The Velvet Lounge in Chicago seasoned the bassist to be ready for anything, and to always groove. He plays beautiful, precise, swinging lines on vocalist Dee Alexander’s new release “Songs My Mother Loves,” and ably takes his working quartet through the sonicsphere on the new album “Velvet Blue.” Ticket are $20 in advance, $10 for students with a student I.D. and $25 at the door. Advance tickets available only from www.adventuremusic.org . The phone number at the LaFontsee Galleries is (616) 451 – 9820. The LaFontsee Galleries are wheel chair accessible. To find LaFontsee Galleries please see, www.lafontsee.us/ .

The Underground Series continues in March with Charlie Kohlhase’s Chicago Explorers Club. “…this wild goulash of Free Jazz bluster, neo-Bebop discipline, and a nutty irreverence is quite a trip…” Stuart Kremsky, Cadence. The LaFontsee Galleries in conjunction with www.Adventuremusic.org continues their new series of improvised music concerts, The Underground Series, Sunday, March 22nd at 3 p.m. with Charlie Kohlhase's Chicago Explorer’s Club, spirited creative improvised music in the unique surroundings of LaFontsee Galleries, 833 Lake Dr SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506; (616) 451-9820. Coming off of two nights at Chicago’s famed Green Mill, the Explorer’s Club promises an afternoon of adventurous, freewheeling, high interaction jazz. Boston/Cambridge area leader/composer Charlie Kohlhase plays alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, is known for decades of work with The Either/Orchestra, cutting his teeth as a musical compatriot of jazz greats Roswell Rudd and the late saxophonist John Tchicai, a leader of various free-jazz minded Boston ensembles since the 1980’s, an educator and jazz radio host, and Explorer’s Club leader for over 10 years. This version of the Explorer’s Club includes fellow East Coast musician Aaron Darrell, bass (www.aarondarrellmusic.com/about); two premier Chicago improvisers, James Falzone, clarinet, and Tim Daisy, drums; plus the former New York trumpeter Russ Johnson, who now teaches at the University of Wisconsin Parkside in Kenosha. For more on Russ please see http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2012/11/21/trumpeter-russ-johnson-raises-his-chicago-profile, or www.uwp.edu/explore/news/Russ-Johnson-article.cfm. For more on Charlie Kohlhase, please click: www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2013/11/18/jazz-fixture-charlie-kohlhase-continues-his-free-wheeling-explorations/O651tLuHQlDkENKvEIdXqK/story.html . In collaboration with Adventuremusic.org -- “Dedicated to the exploration of unique live music” -- the LaFontsee Gallery recalls their halcyon days of presenting live music in the 1990’s at their former gallery, The Underground Studio. Roscoe Mitchell, Reggie Workman, Nels Cline, Regina Carter, Ken Vandermark and the late great Fred Anderson are some of the stellar improvising artists who appeared there. The “Underground Series” will present a concert each October, then February, March and April, though the third concert in this inaugural season takes place Sunday, May 3rd at 3 p.m. with Chicago bassist Harrison Bankhead’s Quartet featuring saxophonists Mars Williams and Edward Wilkerson, Jr.; plus drummer Avreeayl Ra. Ticket are $20 in advance, $10 for students with a student I.D. and $25 at the door. Advance tickets available only from www.adventuremusic.org . The phone number at the LaFontsee Galleries is (616) 451 – 9820. The LaFontsee Galleries are wheel chair accessible. To find LaFontsee Galleries please see, www.lafontsee.us/ . This concert series is curated, in part, by Lazaro Vega, Jazz Director, Blue Lake Public Radio.