The Headlands, a quartet featuring Wisconsin transplant Russ Johnson, will headline at Arts + Literature Lab at 9:15, with special guest Greg Ward.
There’s an avant-garde jazz scene burgeoning in Madison, and its epicenter is a matchbox-sized brick building on the city’s east side. Inside this unassuming structure at 2021 Winnebago St., Arts + Literature Lab has quietly developed into a destination for musicians of international renown. After a steady stream of bookings over the last three years, the community art space is having a coming-out party.
The first-ever ALL Jazz Fest on May 4 will feature 16 bands and more than 50 individual musicians, from solo artists to quintets. Performances will take place in seven venues — from a bank to a hair salon — located within a two-block radius in the Schenk’s Corners neighborhood. All shows will be free.
Saxophonist Greg Ward, will sit in with several ensembles, and Mrs. Fun plays Studio Paran at 8 p.m.
The wizard behind the curtain of ALL’s jazz programming is Thomas Ferrella, a retired emergency room physician and artist who describes himself as a “jazz superfan.” Ferrella wanted to see more live jazz in Madison, so three years ago he started working with ALL’s Jolynne Roorda to book acts.
That partnership has developed into one of the steadiest and longest-running calendars of avant-garde performances that Madison has ever seen. ALL will have hosted seven performances just this month, and has four more May performances on the books in addition to the festival. The nonprofit has spotlighted local artists while also attracting national and internationally touring musicians who have heard of the club’s enthusiastic audiences. With the festival, Ferrella wants more people in Madison to be aware of this great music happening in their own backyard.
“The main goal for this festival is to absolutely showcase our amazing Wisconsin talent,” Ferrella says. “These are the guys that are pushing the jazz genre forward. They’re writing new stuff. They’re building bridges with each other and with people outside the state. These are exactly the cats I want to work with.”
YINS play MadCity Music at 6 p.m.
For example, Ferrella points out local baritone saxophonist Anders Svanoe, who plays in at least three different bands and carries on the jazz tradition of open collaboration. The festival will also feature UW music students.
Ferrella’s other goal for the festival is to form connections between Madison- and Wisconsin-based artists and musicians from other states. To that end, Chicago saxophonist Greg Ward will sit in with a number of bands, acting somewhat like the festival’s roaming artist-in-residence.
“Now he gets to play with our guys and our guys get to play with him,” says Ferrella. “It’s building these bridges, these communication pathways — that’s vital.”
Ferrella sees potential for Madison’s jazz scene to grow even more. After all, nearby Chicago is home to the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, which launched careers of saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and many other pioneers.
Major Vistas play Monona State Bank at 7 p.m.
“I just opened a door and in walked Roscoe Mitchell and thereafter Andrew Cyrille, Hamid Drake, Ken Vandermark and Tomeika Reid,” Ferrella says, listing some of ALL’s noteworthy performers so far. “I travel extensively to hear jazz and now I know I can walk down the street and hear this great American art form in my own neighborhood. That’s pretty fabulous.”
Performances kick off May 4 at 5 p.m. with concurrent shows at Monona State Bank and Studio Paran. ALL will host the headlining act at 9:15 pm, a quartet featuring recent Wisconsin transplant Russ Johnson on trumpet. The Tony Castaneda Quintet will play at the after-party hosted by Alchemy at 10:30 p.m.
