Feb 24 at the Hall - Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Eldar / Feb 25 at the Massry - Maceo Parker and Cyrille Aimee at Bridge Jazz Festival at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

he Bridge Festival is back for a third year! Two nights of hot jazz as two of the area’s best music venues team up once again for one great event for Capital Region jazz lovers. The Music Hall features pianist extraordinaire Eldar and The Dirty Dozen Brass Bank on February 24. The Massry Center for the Arts features The Chronicles, Cyrille Aimee, and Maceo Parker on the February 25. For more information on The Massry Center performance, or to purchase tickets to just that evening, please contact them at 518-337-4871.

In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club in New Orleans began showcasing a traditional Crescent City brass band. It was a joining of two proud, but antiquated, traditions at the time: social and pleasure clubs dated back over a century to a time when black southerners could rarely afford life insurance, and the clubs would provide proper funeral arrangements. Brass bands, early predecessors of jazz as we know it, would often follow the funeral procession playing somber dirges, then once the family of the deceased was out of earshot, burst into jubilant dance tunes as casual onlookers danced in the streets. By the late '70s, few of either existed. The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club decided to assemble this group as a house band, and over the course of these early gigs, the seven-member ensemble adopted the venue's name: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band....

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he Bridge Festival is back for a third year! Two nights of hot jazz as two of the area’s best music venues team up once again for one great event for Capital Region jazz lovers. The Music Hall features pianist extraordinaire Eldar and The Dirty Dozen Brass Bank on February 24. The Massry Center for the Arts features The Chronicles, Cyrille Aimee, and Maceo Parker on the February 25. For more information on The Massry Center performance, or to purchase tickets to just that evening, please contact them at 518-337-4871.

In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club in New Orleans began showcasing a traditional Crescent City brass band. It was a joining of two proud, but antiquated, traditions at the time: social and pleasure clubs dated back over a century to a time when black southerners could rarely afford life insurance, and the clubs would provide proper funeral arrangements. Brass bands, early predecessors of jazz as we know it, would often follow the funeral procession playing somber dirges, then once the family of the deceased was out of earshot, burst into jubilant dance tunes as casual onlookers danced in the streets. By the late '70s, few of either existed. The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club decided to assemble this group as a house band, and over the course of these early gigs, the seven-member ensemble adopted the venue's name: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Thirty-five years later, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a world famous music machine, whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performances. They have revitalized the brass band in New Orleans and around the world, progressing from local parties, clubs, baseball games and festivals in their early years to touring nearly constantly in the U.S. and in over 30 other countries on five continents. The Dirty Dozen have been featured guests on albums by artists including David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Widespread Panic, Modest Mouse, Dave Matthews Band and the Black Crowes.

The New York Times described the New York based pianist and Grammy-nominated artist Eldar Djangirov as "a blend of musical intelligence, organizational savvy, enthusiasm and prowess that was all the more impressive for seeming so casual... an ebullient impressionist." Jazz Times said, “Maybe he made a pact with Lucifer to be the greatest pianist ever."

When Eldar Djangirov (pronounced john-'gear-ov) was signed to Sony Masterworks at the age of 17, the young pianist from Kansas City was already well known for his prodigious pyrotechnics and precocious knowledge of the bebop tradition. Along the way, he's had the good fortune to meet and work with the masters including Dr. Billy Taylor, Michael Brecker, Marian McPartland, Dave Brubeck, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, Nicholas Payton, Harvey Mason, Chris Botti, Joe Locke, Ron Carter, Pat Martino, Roy Hargrove and many others. Through these opportunities and other wonderful musical experiences, Eldar continues to explore new frontiers through composing and performing, enabling him to ultimately to realize his own musical vision.

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