A New Resource for Central Texas Jazz Lovers: jazzinaustin.com is live!

Greetings jazz lovers! I am thrilled to announce the creation of a brand new website for anyone in or visiting the Central Texas area: jazzinaustin.com!

Jazz In Austin is a one-stop site for all jazz-related events happening in and around the Capital City. Whether you're a hardcore jazz aficionado, an enthusiast of the music, or just looking for a great show to see, there is music to be heard each and every night of the week.

In addition the the extensive calendar, visitors to the site can get information on the many fantastic jazz musicians Austin has to offer from the profiles section, check out the city's jazz clubs from the venues page, or even contact the administrators for information on booking an artist.

Last, but certainly not least, musicians themselves can register for a profile. This comes with a few nice perks, including a JIA profile page, the ability to edit any of the user's shows that were automatically uploaded to the calendar, and the option to view any shows the user is tagged in.

I'm incredibly fortunate to be one of the leads on the Jazz In Austin project, and I want to encourage anyone and everyone interested in jazz to visit the site, and maybe even leave a comment here on the blog. We're lucky to have a burgeoning scene for jazz music here in Austin, and a vibrant community of musicians, venues, and enthusiastic fans to support it. Who knows--maybe someday soon, we'll be able to expand our reach, and effect a little bit of net positive change on the world's jazz community! But for now, we have to start somewhere--and I'm glad that place is Austin, Texas!

--Art

EP Recorded, 2015 SAS Jazz Fest A Success

It's been a little while since the last update, and things are going well for Art and Candy! Our recording session with George Shalda at Bear Dog Studios was an absolute blast--George gets unbelievably amazing sound from his equipment, and it made the entire process seem effortless! The tracks are amidst George's long queue of mixing and mastering projects, but we should have a projected date soon. More importantly, we'll be starting a Kickstarter campaign to raise the last bit of money we'll need to put the finishing touches on the CD. More on that soon--and there will be some great perks for any and all that can pitch in!

And last but certainly not least, our performance at San Antonio's 2015 Summer Art and Jazz Fest was a smashing success! Despite the sun, we had a great, energetic crowd cheering on myself and Candy, as well as our good friend Brandon Guerra (drums) and the phenomenal San Antonio local bass favorite Bob Storck. We also got to meet the awesome Chieli Manucci of Queens, NY, one of the festival's featured guitarists! I will openly admit to blushing pretty hard when he mentioned that he and his crew were watching my hands throughout our performance.

That's about everything for now! Our regular Friday shows continue, 6:00-8:30 at Austin's Brass House, and keep an eye on the AJCJazz calendar for updates on new shows. See you out there!

Art and Candy EP Recording Date Locked In

It's official! On May 16 Art and Candy will be teaming up with George Shalda and Bear Dog Studios to record an EP of jazz standards. There are some pretty cool arrangements on tap--hopefully I'll be able to get some rehearsal or live performance footage up onto ajcjazz or YouTube soon. Also considering throwing in some cool extras on release--possibly solo transcriptions, arrangement lead sheets, etc. Subscribe to the RSS feed or follow me on Twitter for immediate notifications!