Matt Fuller / Jean-Luc Davis featuring Ron Miles

Matt Fuller

Matt Fuller / Jean-Luc Davis Group featuring Ron Miles & Greg Harris :: Wednesday, March 10, 7pm :: $10.  Denver based guitarist *Matt Fuller* and bassist *Jean-Luc Davis *work in a variety of bands together as sidemen but are stepping out as leaders/composers for this concert. From hard driving rock to ruminative, spacious ballads the music is full of expression and experimentation. Legendary trumpet sensation *Ron Miles* will be featured for this night of creative original music.

Matt Fuller-Guitar
Ron Miles- Trumpet (satva)
Greg Harris-Vibes/Piano
Jean-Luc Davis-Bass
Josh Moore-Drums

Guitarist Matt Fuller established his musical roots in his native state of Colorado. As a founding member of the Greg Harris Vibe Quintet Matt has contributed his playing and compositions on such collaborative CD’s as “Prospector” “Memory of Pilots”, “World Citizen”, and Greg Harris Vibe Quintet’s “Open Space” and “Frames Live” albums. In addition to the Vibe Quintet Matt currently leads his own trio and is a member of the 9th & Lincoln Orchestra, Aakash Mittal Quartet, Adam Revel Quartet, the Windstring Duo, Sundays at Vic’s, and fusion group The Fulldogs.  Matt has been an active freelancing guitarist in the Denver/Boulder area since 2000. He has performed, recorded or toured with such notables as Cuong Vu, Scott Amendola, Amir ElSaffar, Billy Tolles, Hugh Ragin, Rudy Royston, Dana Landry, Jim White, Erik Applegate,, John Gunther, Keith Waters, Don Aliquo, Clay Jenkins, Ed Soph, Colorado Jazz Orchestra, Future Jazz Project, and singer/songwriters Eric Roberson and Megan Burtt. Since 2005 Matt has been a jazz faculty member at the University of Northern Colorado and from 2001 to the present he has been a student of local jazz great Dale Bruning.

Bassist Jean-Luc Davis is an active performer in the Denver/Boulder area.  He is a member of the Aakash Mittal Quartet, Soul Daddy and the Blackfyre Band, Adam Revell Quartet, and the Expansion Quartet. In addition, Jean-Luc has performed or recoded with Ron Miles, 9th and Lincoln Orchestra, Greg Harris, Amir ElSaffar, Marc Sabatella, Mark Donovan, Roch Lockyer, and Jessica Sonner.  A Colorado native, Jean-Luc Davis began playing bass in high school and was a student in the inaugural session of the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts where he learned from Paul Romaine, Greg Gisbert, John Gunther, and Eric Gunnison. Later Jean-Luc studied classical bass performance at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Denver trumpeter Ron Miles’ resume includes time with Bill Frisell, Don Byron, the Ellington Orchestra, and Fred Hess’ Boulder Creative Music Ensemble. Besides
being solicited all over the world for his unique sound, Ron is a staple of the Denver jazz scene and his recent releases as band leader show off his skills as a composer and arranger as well as a “phenomenally gifted trumpeter” (Bill Milkowski). A resident of Denver since he was 11, he began playing the trumpet seriously in junior high school and studied music at the University of Denver (1981-1985) and the Manhattan School of Music (1986).  Miles says that living in Denver has given him an appreciation for a broad array of musical styles that he might not have acquired elsewhere. “Country and Western music, Latin, jazz, and rock are all popular here, so you find yourself trying out a lot of ideas with other musicians and gaining a healthy respect for the music,” he explains. Ron Miles was widely recognized as a musical director and arranger with the release of Ginger Baker’s Coward of the County (Atlantic 1999). His compositions anchor that record and highlight the varied influences from which Ron draws inspiration. Hailed as an inventive composer and gifted trumpeter on his solo releases, Ron cruised through the 1990s with a series of well-received releases on Gramavision (My Cruel Heart, Woman’s Day) and Capri (Witness, Ron Miles Trio). In 2002 Ron slowed it down for a quiet, intimate recording with friend and master jazz
guitarist Bill Frisell. Heaven again showcases Ron’s talent as an arranger, particularly on Hank Williams’ “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” (which Ron heard for the first time in the sessions!)  According to Bill Frisell, “What is so exciting about Ron is that he really has his own voice. It seems like everything that is going on right now is either very conservative or it rejects everything. Ron has found a way to include everything and not reject things, and still be his own person.”  Miles said of his playing with Bill, “I think we share a fondness for  striking melody, patience and the importance of individual timbre.”

Vibraphonist Greg Tanner Harris fronts the "Greg Harris Vibe Quintet," is a member of hip-hop/jazz/soul group Future Jazz Project, 9th & Lincoln Orchestra, a producer for hip-hop trio "The Heights," and recently released 4 albums- Greg Harris Vibe Quintet "Open Space," "Frames Live," Prospector "Memory of Pilots" featuring trumpeter Ron Miles, and "World Citizen" with West African master xylophonist Aaron Bebe Sukura. The Quintet's new album will soon be released on Dazzle Records.  With a Master of Music degree, Greg performs many nights of the week, but also is a passionate teacher. He is a music therapist for clients with developmental delays and cognitive disabilities.  As an ethnomusicologist, Greg has traveled and studied in Ghana, West Africa, and toured nationally and internationally. He performs on the West African Gyil (Xylophone) the music of the Dagara and Lobi peoples of northern Ghana. Greg also became fascinated with frame drums, and explored styles from Ireland, the Middle East, and North Africa. He often utilizes these influences in compositions and performances. These influences have changed both his world perspective and rhythmic style as a percussionist.

Since moving to the Boulder area in 2003 drummer Josh Moore has performed or recorded with many of Denver/Boulder’s top musicians including: Ron Miles,
John Gunther, Greg Harris, Mark Donovan and Aakash Mittal. As a member of The Aakash Mittal Quartet, he has been on two critically acclaimed CDs, toured the Midwest, given clinics, and performed with Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir Elsaffar. He is also involved with a hip-hop/soul project led by Denver area poet and producer Alan Brooks.  Having grown up in Austin (“The Live Music Capital of the World”), Josh honed his skills by watching and performing with some of the many great musicians in the area. Upon graduating from high school he attended the University of North Texas for two years where he studied jazz performance with some of the world’s premier jazz instructors.

http://vibequintet.blogspot.com/

http://mattfullermusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/ronmilesmusic

http://www.myspace.com/jeanlucdavis