It's 2007, and I thought I'd give a little update about what's going on musically for me and my co-conspirators in the new year, as well as provide a little downloadable jazz goodness for you, the listeners. First the update:

• I've been rehearsing regularly with the Joe Henderson Memorial Big Band, led by the excellent trumpeter and Bay Area native Warren Gale, Jr. It's been a great opportunity to play a book of superb arrangements and compositions by Henderson, Woody Shaw, McCoy Tyner, and other greats of the Blue Note era (as well as a chance to hear Warren tear it up on a weekly basis). Performances and a recording are planned for this year, so I'll be sure to keep you posted.
• I've been working on new music for the Quintet, and hope to premiere several new compositions at our next performance, which will be... soon, I hope.
• I've also been attending some fine jam sessions, including the Beep Trio session at Uptown in Oakland (unfortunately no longer happening), and the Michael Parsons Trio session at Octavia Lounge.
• Adam Shulman, the great pianist who has been a member of my Quintet for several years, recently recorded his second album as a leader, which will be released in the spring. It features saxophonist Dayna Stephens, bassist John Wiitala, and Jon Arkin (also an I.C. Quintet member), and I was pleased when Adam asked me to create the graphic design for the CD.
• Fred Randolph, longtime bassist for the Quintet, also released a fine album, New Day, featuring many local luminaries and some beautiful original writing by Fred.
• Rounding out the Quintet-member news, saxophonist Evan Francis released a CD last fall with his outstanding electro/jazz/hip-hop group Spaceheater, which cracked the Top 100 in the Electronic genre in iTunes.
• Finally, I've been listening to a lot of great music, soaking up excellent releases from Jacob Varmus, Scott McLemore, Joe Lovano/Gunther Schuller, and Ron Horton, among others. I also really enjoyed the week-long Bach Festival from WKCR over the holidays—that radio station is a treasure, and I'm glad that, thanks to the internet, I didn't have to give it up when I left New York.

Well, that's just a bit of what's going on. I'll keep you updated about upcoming gigs or other news as information becomes available. I'll leave you with a bonus track from a performance of the Quintet from last March, just before we left the House of Shields' nest for good:

• Groovin' High (Gillespie) Dizzy's bop burner. With myself on trumpet; Jon Arkin, drums; Adam Shulman, piano; Fred Randolph, bass, and Evan Francis, saxophone. Recorded live, 3/14/06.

For those of you who were unable to catch my radio interview last Friday, you can hear it at the link below in its entirety (except for the album cuts, which are of course available on the album). (However, it does include my very impromptu solo rendition of "Body and Soul," a.k.a. "The Man Who Didn't Warm Up").

Chris Cortez did a great job steering the conversation in interesting directions and making me sound like a decent public speaker--we covered a lot of ground, talking about the history of the Quintet, my background and influences, and the trials and tribulations of playing the trumpet and finding places to perform jazz. (Bonus points for finding where I use the word "fabulous.")

Enjoy, and I hope to see you at the Octavia this Saturday night!

• Ian Carey Interview (34:55, 40 MB); with Chris Cortez, KCSM 91.1 FM, June 30, 2006.

Hi listeners--I hope everyone is enjoying his or her summers. In lieu of lemonade and hot dogs, I have one gig announcement, one travelogue, and one absolutely-free mp3 download for you.

First, I'd like to announce a performance next month which I'm really excited about: on Saturday, July 8, from 8 to midnight, the Quintet will be playing at the Octavia Lounge on Market Street. This will be our first public performance since April, and will feature some new original music as well as selections from our CD (and most likely a few standards and classics). The regular line-up (myself on trumpet, Evan Francis on alto & flute, Adam Shulman on piano--last chance to hear Adam before he heads to France for the rest of the summer!--Fred Randolph on bass, and Jon Arkin on drums) will be there. There's a $10 cover, but it's a small price to pay to hear the band in a beautiful club (with a beautiful piano). So save the date, since I know Saturdays in the summertime book up fast.

Second, Linda and I just got back from a whirlwind tour of Kansas City, where we were able to make it to several jazz-related events. See below for the full story.

Finally, as a bonus for remembering who we are after these past few gig-free months, here's a complete tune from our final House of Shields gig in April. Enjoy!

• Con Alma (Gillespie) Dizzy's classic Cubano chorale. You might subtitle this rendition "Requiem for a Steady Gig." I especially like interplay between Evan and I toward the end of the tune.

All About Jazz, which is an excellent home for jazz reviews, profiles, and articles on the web, has selected "Thirteen," the first track from our album, Sink/Swim, as its Featured Download for today. Click here to listen or download the complete song. (The song will be archived and available permanently at that location.)

Also, for those of you in the Bay Area, I'll be performing tomorrow, Monday the 17th, with the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra at Jazz at Pearl's. The CJO is led by Alex Budman, who sat in with my quintet recently, and on any given Monday, the Orchestra features some of the area's best improvisers, not to mention phenomenal sight-readers. Stop by and soak up some rollicking big band sounds.

Starting in a few weeks, I'll be posting some more highlights from our several-year run at the House of Shields--there may even be a "Best of" live CD-R available if anyone's interested.

Note: You can keep up to date with all the latest info from this site by subscribing to our RSS feed (through a feed-reader such as Bloglines), which will automatically update any time there's new content.

Thanks for listening!

Tuesday's gig went well, and I was happy to see some familiar faces and return visitors. The group has really developed over the past year or so, and it feels good to know it hasn't been in a vacuum.

Alex Budman (who heads up the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra) also sat in for a few tunes, including the Evan Francis-suggested Have You Met Miss Green Dolphin Jones?, which actually worked out better than you would've thought.

The photo is by James "in2jazz", an avid jazz photographer and writer, who stopped by and took some pictures. You can see them all here. An added benefit of this is that I can clearly see that my posture is atrocious. (Especially when you compare it to James's photos of Nicholas Payton, who looks like you could hit him with a wrecking ball while he's playing and it would bounce off.)

In keeping with our policy of offering something for those who couldn't make it this week, here's a long excerpt (the entire song lasted 18 (!) minutes, but I whittled it down to 13 and change) from a familiar tune by Herbie Hancock.

• D*lphin D*nce (Hancock) Soloists: Evan, tenor saxophone; Adam, piano; and Ian, trumpet; with Fred, bass, and Jon, drums.

Enjoy! (Bonus points for finding the spot where a bar patron shouts, "You picked the wrong scene, man!" Never a dull moment at the House of Shields.)

The "original" quintet is back for another hit at the House of Shields. Stop by and soak up some culture, without even having to make a generous pledge or end up on a government watch list!And as a bonus for those who might've missed it the first time around, here's a sample from last Tuesday, followed by a fascinating interaction with a "fan" who really wants to hear When the Saints Go Marching In, and seems to think that insulting the band is the best way to make it happen.You just don't get this level of service from ordinary bands!

• Cherokee (Noble) The old warhorse burner was the last tune of the evening, so it's fast and loose.
• Can you play 'When the Saints'?, featuring the vocal talents of Ian Carey, Evan Francis, a fan who proves that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and the background chorus of the patrons of the House of Shields.

---WHAT: The Ian Carey QuintetWHO: Ian Carey, trumpet; Evan Francis, saxophone; Jon Arkin, drums; Adam Shulman, piano; Fred Randolph, bass.WHEN: Tuesday, March 14, 5:30-8:30 pmWHERE: The House of Shields, 39 New Montgomery, S.F.HOW MUCH: Zip.P.S. Jazz appreciators: Doug Ramsey linked to some great Charlie Parker clips over at Rifftides today. Check 'em out.