ambidextrosity

Tim Gill All-Stars media explosion?

2009-04-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

Well, almost. We've got all sorts of stuff going on!

Tracks from our EP are on KJazz 88.1 FM! Helen Borgers has been playing some of our tunes on her radio show, airing 1-5 PM weekdays. You can check it out streaming live online at www.kkjz.org . Also, we are featured on KSPC Claremont 88.7 FM (www.kspc.org) on "Larry the Fox" 's Monday show. KSPC will be running a live interview with yours truly in early June!

YouTube! We have two videos on YouTube now at www.youtube.com/timgillmusic . Both are from our most recent show at the Hip Kitty- an impromptu romp on "C Jam Blues" and our signature opener "Undecided."

And, speaking of the internet; we updated our website to make it look even more spiffy and professional. Check out www.timgillmusic.com to see our new, bells-and-whistles Flash site. It's kept well up to date with our latest performances, and you can join up on our mailing list to find out more about what's going on!

So, Ciao for now...keep your ears on the radio for some more TG All-Stars tunes!

The Session...

2009-01-15T15:08:00.001-08:00

...went amazingly well. The All-Stars and I cut a total of 10 tunes for the album in a session that lasted only 5 hours! It's really a testament to the quality of musicians I work with that we were able to do so much in such a small amount of time- all tracked live, not to mention. Also, a big part of that was the engineering on the part of Jon Kubis. In addition to being an extremely talented musician, he's really a whiz in the studio, and he got a great sound out of this group of cats.

Here's the lineup: Tim Gill (yours truly) on vocals and trumpet, Walter Simonsen and Brian Mantz in the trumpet section, Mike Johnson on trombone, Morgan Jones, Kirsten Edkins, and Phil Moore on Alto, Tenor, and Bari (respectively), Steve Aho on piano, Nick Schaadt on bass, and Jimmy Ford on drums. What a band!

We're going to pre-release a few of the tracks early, and also offer up a free single for download on the myspace site. For those of you not hip to our myspace, it's www.myspace.com/timgilljazz . Also, show up to the gigs, sign up for the e-mail list and get a free 3-song EP for your trouble!

And speaking of gigs, there's lot's coming up:

Jan 22 8-12, TG All-Star Big Band @ the Hip Kitty www.hipkittyjazz.com
Jan 27 6-9, TG Trio @ Vintage Steakhouse www.thevintagesteakhouse.com
Feb 3 6-9, TG Trio @ Vintage Steakhouse www.thevintagesteakhouse.com
Feb 14 9-1, TG All-Star Sextet @ the Hip Kitty www.hipkittyjazz.com
Feb 24 6-9, TG All-Star Big Band @ Vintage Steakhouse www.thevintagesteakhouse.com
Feb 26 8-12, TG All-Star Big Band @ the Hip Kitty www.hipkittyjazz.com

So come check us out! Hip Kitty is up in Claremont, and the Vintage Steakhouse is a new south OC venue- OC people have no more excuse! So we'll see you all there.

One Album, Coming Right Up...

2008-12-21T21:50:00.000-08:00

Finally, I'm getting the album going. Me and the All-Stars are scheduled to lay down some tracks for an album on January 13th, so wish us luck. This will hopefully be the first successful recording of this ensemble, with a bunch of new arrangements we've been using at our latest shows.

I'm extremely happy we're able to do this. As I've said before, nothing makes me happier than leading this big band, and having these wonderful personalities to write for. It makes all the difference to have a lineup of such wonderful cats. I hope that the soul and groove of this band will be apparent when we pre-release the tracks on myspace.

Keep the ears open, cats and kittens....

All-Stars at it Again

2008-09-30T22:26:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm back in my element again.

The long dry-spell that has been plaguing the 10-piece Tim Gill All-Stars' live performance schedule has finally come to an end. We had a blast at both the "Hip Kitty" in Claremont and a surprise last-minute appearance at the Derby last week; what's more, the audience seemed to love every second of it! This is apparent in that we got called back to both venues for more shows in regular rotation.

While I love performing with the small group, nothing can beat the energy and excitement of standing in front of the All-Stars; I have always felt rooted in the big band tradition. When that band is swinging away behind me...well, the energy is really beyond description.

I'm really blessed to have such wonderful guys anchoring the band lately. In the rhythm section, we've had the privelege of hard-swinging Jimmy Ford on the drums, Adam Bravo on keys, Craig Fundyga sitting in on vibes and of course my good friend Nick Schaadt on bass. Morgan Jones is a new addition sitting in on lead alto, and we've had staple players Kirsten Edkins and Adam Schroeder on tenor and bari, respectively. Also big thanks to local giant Edmunt Velasco bringing in his talents to the tenor and bari chairs. The brass section, near and dear to my heart, as always has my good pals Walt Simonsen and Brian Mantz on trumpets, and big thanks to trombonist Keegan Wood, another recent addition, for stepping in at the last minute and playing his ass off.

We're getting the momentum going, and I'm feeling lots of good things for this swinging little group coming up very soon. Many, many thanks and appreciation need to go to Joylani Kamalu for being the motivating force behind the recent TG All-Stars comeback; without her, I would still be moping around, wondering when my big band was getting itself back together!

Watch out world...here we come.

Tim Gill All-Stars:
Thursday, Nov. 6th 8-12 @ the Hip Kitty (502 w 1st st. Claremont, CA)
Sunday, Nov. 9th 9-12 @ the Derby (4500 Los Feliz Blvd. Hollywood, CA)

The Latest

2008-09-07T12:47:00.001-07:00

Hello afficianados,

Well, it's been more than a while since I last posted. Since then, I won a Downbeat Award, Analog became null, I wrote for and conducted the all-stars in a show in Burbank, and arranged/conducted the all-stars for a recording session with a local vocalist.

I got the Downbeat for "Little 'A'," which is something I wrote for my son. It's a boogaloo in 7/4 time, and a freakish chart. You can hear it on the myspace at www.myspace.com/timgilljazz.

Ben, my good trombone-playing-singing-goofball friend is shipping off to do cruise ships in the mediterranean for the next few months, lucky SOB. He was the third in the love triangle that was, for a short amount of time, Analog Empathy. Not sure where the future of that music lies, anyhow.

The show in Burbank was called "A Marvelous Life," and it raised funds for both a new movie production and a foundation that supports Aspberger's syndrome. That was a ride, from both a writing and arranging standpoint. There's a DVD out and I'll get up some clips.

The session came out of the show, singer David Pascucci had us record behind him on a few tracks for his upcoming album. I'll post the mixes when I get 'em, but the session was a blast.