Boiler House Jazz ONLINE: Sax Gordon (saxophone) & Marty Ballou (bass)
YouTube LINK: youtu.be/PBcOje1XVeo
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The Boiler House Jazz Series returns for 2020 Fridays ONLINE, streaming via YouTube from the Main Gallery of the Charles River Museum.
The Boiler House Jazz Series is made possible by your voluntary financial support, shared equally by the artists and the Museum. Please give what you can. Any amount will be appreciated.
SUGGESTED DONATION: $15
The Boiler House Jazz Series is underwritten in part by
JazzGeneration, a project of KeyedUp.org
SAX GORDON and bassist MARTY BALLOU first hit the road together in the mid-1990s in the band of New England's own Blues & Roots guitar master Duke Robillard and have been making music together ever since. Equally at home playing Jazz, Blues, Soul and more, Marty and Gordon have established themselves as first call musicians for both local gigs and international tours.
Marty Ballou began his career with a Jazz vocal group called "the Ritz," gaining valuable experience when they brought in Jazz legends Frank Wess (sax) and Clark Terry (trumpet) to record. Next came years on the road with the Duke Robillard Band, often backing Blues and Jazz legends like guitarist Herb Ellis, pianist Jay McShann, and singer Jimmy Witherspoon on-stage and in the studio. Marty later joined Blues revivalist John Hammond for international tours and recordings and currently works with R&B and Soul-inspired rock singer (and former J. Geils Band frontman) Peter Wolf.
Gordon first went on the road with Bluesman Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson who had made Boston his home after leaving the Muddy Waters Band in Chicago. Recordings with Luther and Blues and Jazz greats like Pinetop Perkins and Jimmy McGriff were followed by gigs with Bluesmen James Cotton, Junior Wells, Little Milton, and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Next came stints in the bands of Matt "Guitar" Murphy (of Blues Brothers fame), Roomful of Blues, Solomon Burke, and Duke Robillard, who produced Gordon's first 2 albums for Rounder Records, launching Gordon's career touring the world with his own wild sax show.
From Swing to Soul, from Blues to Rock & Roll, American music is what has inspired and carried these musicians around the world, so for this special program they will look back at songs that they feel are part of the fabric of America, melodies that have lasted generations, songs that you may not hear every day but somehow remain familiar.. Drawing on traditional songs, Gospel, Country Music, as well as Blues and Jazz, the minimalist combination of just bass and sax allows Gordon and Marty to seek the true essence of these lasting songs.
