Nomad Jazz Series ends this month, Icehouse adds improvised/creative music shows

Bassist/composer/bandleader James Buckley, curator of the latest installment of the Nomad Jazz Series since August 2011, has announced that the series will end at the close of this month (July 2012). Two shows remain, each demonstrating the imagination with which the series has been programmed.

• July 19: Leisure Valley: Bruce Thornton (clarinet), Patrick Harison (accordion), Chris Bates (bass), Joey Van Phillips (drums)

• July 25: Deconunisms: Luke Polipnick (guitar), Devin Drobka (drums), John Christiansen (bass)

Music starts at 10. No cover.

(Local music trivia: I learned the other day that "Van" is actually Joey Phillips' middle name, not a nobiliary particle, the technical term for those odd little bits in names like "van," "von," "de" and "d'." Anyway, I thought that was interesting. Moving on.)

Meanwhile, Buckley has a brand-new gig: booking several shows each week at Icehouse, the new very hot spot on Eat Street. These are the times and events he's programming:

• Wednesdays from 10:30 p.m. - close (World Beat Wednesdays)
• Thursdays from 10:30 p.m. - close (Showcase Night; team effort with Brian Liebeck)
• Fridays from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. (dinner set; piano/bass duo)
• Fridays from 11 p.m. - close (Lounge Night; with Brian Liebeck)
• Saturdays from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. (dinner set; piano/bass duo)
• Saturdays from 11 p.m. - close (Lounge Night; with Brian Liebeck)
• Sundays from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Revival Brunch)

Check the online events calendar for specifics.

Add these dates to JT Bates's Monday-night Jazz Implosion (sets at 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.) and the music at Icehouse is looking very good for fans of improvised/creative music. Some might call it jazz, and some will, but let's not get too hung up on terminology, especially with a word that carries so much baggage these days it would not be allowed on most commercial airlines. What I've seen so far at Icehouse is music I enjoy by some of the finest musicians in the Twin Cities, all of whom can play pretty much anything. That's what keeps me coming back for more.

BTW, Buckley needs a website.