Alley Light at Reggie’s

I’ve lately started playing keys with an awesome new band called Alley Light. Consisting of five of the best young musicians in Chicago, Alley Light plays jazz fusion music with a penchant for electrifying jam sessions. We have been working hard to put some of our favorite music together, and we’re excited to be bringing it to Reggie’s Rock Club tonight!

Slapsauce Halloween Spooktubular

This Halloween we’ve got something spooky up our sleeves…

Slapsauce Music is at it again with another virtual holiday special, this time celebrating one of our favorite holidays. There will be live music performances, interviews, spooky skits, and surprising twists! We put a lot of time and effort into the production of this Halloween special, so watch it now on our YouTube channel to support our work. As always, you can support Slapsauce Music by subscribing to the YouTube channel, buying merch at Slapsauce.com, and/or becoming a Patreon member at Patreon.com/Slapsauce.

Teaching at Saint Xavier University

I’ve accepted an adjunct faculty position at Saint Xavier University, where I will be teaching Aural Skills to undergraduate music majors and minors. The ability to listen is one of the most important skills a musician can have, and I’m honored for the opportunity to be helping young musicians develop this skill to their fullest potential.

Smooth Tuba March Madness!

Slapsauce Music has just released our latest virtual show—Smooth Tuba March Madness! This was a massive project where we surveyed all of our fans, then held an NCAA-style tournament with 64 different Smooth Tuba Tuesday videos, all in the pursuit of crowning the Smoothest Tuba Tuesday of all time. We also had live music, a new track from Axeman Surdu’s debut mixtape, smooth tuba trivia, and t-shirt giveaways. All in all we had a lot of fun, and the tourney results did not disappoint!

You can watch the full show on Slapsauce’s YouTube channel, and find out which video was our final champion!

Jazz Jams at Le Piano (every Wednesday night!)

I’ll be playing jazz sousaphone with Thaddeus Tukes, Ian Mortensen, and a rotating cast of Chicago Freedom Ensemble members at Le Piano every Wednesday night! I’m super excited to get back into performing live, especially with such an incredible group of musicians. Tonight’s jam will be led by Sam Pilnick, a tenor saxophonist and a regular on the Chicago scene.

Come to Le Piano on a Wednesday night if you love fine cocktails and fun jazz music. If you’re a performer you can bring your horn and join us in the jam!

Presidio Brass Virtual Clinic

I just appeared with Presidio Brass for an edition of KHS America Academic Alliance’s Virtual Education Series. The title of our clinic was “Think Small, Play Big: Building Better Bands Through Chamber Music Opportunities.” The clinic was directed toward band directors looking to improve their school programs through the integration of chamber music into the curriculum. This topic resonates strongly with us, being professional chamber musicians and former band students ourselves.

For the “performance” segment of our virtual clinic I produced a special video of us playing “Another Day of Sun” from the movie LaLa Land, a popular tune from our current touring show.

Slapsauce Presents: Valentine’s Day Virtual Show

This Valentine’s Day you can enjoy a smooth soirée at home with your good friends at Slapsauce 💕😘

We’ve been working endlessly for the last week to prepare a special virtual show unlike anything we’ve ever done. We’ll be featuring classic love jams, original music, sketch comedy and more.

So grab your lover, your best friend, your trusty pet, or your favorite beverage, and tune in to the Smooth Tuba Tuesday Facebook page OR the Slapsauce YouTube channel at 6PM CST for an evening of smooth and scintillating romance.

CFE Presents: Le Piano Virtual Streams

Every week the Chicago Freedom Ensemble will be hosting a virtual stream at Le Piano, one of the coolest new venues in all of Chicago. The stream will feature live music from various members of the ensemble.

Le Piano is an upscale club located in Rogers Park, featuring exquisite cocktails, incredible food, and an eclectic atmosphere. Our first show there will feature Emily Kuhn on trumpet, and some of her original tunes.

Hyde Park Jazz Festival w/Thaddeus Tukes

Today I played a duo set with vibraphone virtuoso Thaddeus Tukes at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, a gig unlike any I’ve done for reasons more than one!

To observe social distancing practices, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival was actually held throughout Hyde Park—popup concerts were happening all over the neighborhood, all weekend long. We chose to set up under the 57th Street pedestrian underpass at Lake Shore Drive, a booming tunnel that actually proved to be the perfect amphitheater.

That’s not all, though… near the end of our set, we were joined by more members of the Chicago Freedom Ensemble for a march toward the lake, where we played a rousing set for the crowd. They never saw it coming!

The Chicago Freedom Ensemble is a terrific new organization with big plans for the future, so keep an eye out for them!