An Evening with Charles Blenzig

Join us at eTown in welcoming legendary jazz pianist Charles Blenzig for an evening with his trio to celebrate the release of his new album Simple Math. Each ticket purchased comes with your own copy of Simple Math.

Featuring:

Charles Blenzig - Piano
Shane Endsley - Trumpet and Effects
Hunter Roberts - Basses
Shane Dahler - Drums

Doors: 6 p.m.
Show: 7 p.m.

All Ages Welcome
No Refunds or Exchanges

With every eTown ticket purchase, you're supporting the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. eTown donates $1 per ticket to Conscious Alliance, aiding hunger relief, youth programs and sustainable solutions for the Oglala Lakota Nation.

About Charles Blenzig:  

Charles Blenzig is a pianist, composer, arranger, producer and educator who slips effortlessly among musical styles while retaining his own distinct sound. Born in the Bronx, he was fortunate to hear most of his heroes on any given night in small, dingy Manhattan jazz clubs and learned his craft the traditional way, by ear. This direct lineage is crucial to his sound as a pianist and composer. Charles was part of the NYC jazz scene for over 35 years and has performed at such legendary clubs as The Blue Note, Birdland, The 55 Bar, Sweet Basil, Fat Tuesdays, Smalls and Mezzrow.

His first major gig was with the Gil Evans Orchestra, which performed every Monday night at Sweet Basil Jazz Club in N.Y.C. for over eight years. Performing with the orchestra gave him the opportunity to play some of the most influential arrangements in the history of jazz and to work with some of the finest musicians in the world including Lou Soloff, Hiram Bullock, Mark Egan, Alex Foster, Delmar Brown, Kenwood Denard, Gil Goldstein, Tim Hagens, John Clarke, Dave Taylor and George Adams.

Charles has also collaborated with Michael Brecker, Gato Barbieri, Bill Evans (sax with Miles Davis), Mike Stern, Will Lee, Marcus Miller, Larry Coryell, Joe Beck, Joe Locke, Eddie Gomez, Jerry Bergonzi, Grady Tate, Buster Williams, Roy Ayers, John Patitucci, Billy Hart, Harvey Mason, Alex Foster, Lee Ritenour, Tom Kennedy, Denis Chambers, Dave Weckl, Patti Austin, Randy Brecker, John Faddis and many others.

In the late 1990s he hosted The Late Night Session at the iconic Blue Note Jazz Club in the heart of Greenwich Village. The jam session was a steady gig for eight years, making him a recognizable figure in the jazz community and introducing him to scores of both seasoned and emerging musicians from around the globe.

Blenzig has been musical director for singer-songwriter Michael Franks for over 30 years, co-composing, producing and recording with him, as well as arranging an evening of Franks’ songs for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Michael has taken him on tour around the world including Africa, Indonesia, Japan, Russia and Thailand.

He has performed on over 100 recordings, including four CDs as a leader: Charles Blenzig (Chase Music Group, 1988), Say What You Mean (Big World Music, 1993), Certain Standards (True Space Records, 1997) and It’s About Time(Double Time Records, 2003).

Along with performing, Charles is passionate about teaching jazz to younger generations. He was an associate professor at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase for close to 20 years and now leads ensembles for the Colorado Conservatory of Jazz Arts (CCJA) while accepting private students.

About three years ago Charles relocated to Longmont, Colorado, where he formed a new trio, Simple Math, featuring prodigy drummer J.J. Mazza and Denver first-call bassist Hunter Roberts. The trio will release their first recording on Octave Records.