Ian Carey Quintet+1 to Release ROADS & CODES, 2/19

Carey, 38, is also an active music blogger, and generated considerable attention recently (from Twitter to CNN.com) for his essay "How Not to Become a Bitter White Jazz Musician" (written in response to the backlash toward accomplished trumpeter Nicholas Payton's campaign to rename jazz "Black American Music"). In his blog he's also pondered the benefits of jazz philanthropy, and whether an endowment that provided steady gigs in smaller venues might be of more practical use to jazz musicians, and to the future of the music, than a multi-million-dollar building and jazz center.

Born and raised in a musical family in Binghamton, New York, Ian Carey moved with his family to Folsom, California (near Sacramento) in time for high school, where he was inspired to begin studying jazz trumpet seriously. He studied classical trumpet for two years at the University of Nevada in Reno (also performing with the Reno Philharmonic), then enrolled in the New School in New York City and earned a B.A. in Jazz and Contemporary Music.

While in New York, Carey performed with the likes of Eddie Bert, Rory Stuart, and Ravi Coltrane, and at venues such as the Blue Note and Smalls. He led his own Brooklyn-based quartet for several years before moving to San Francisco in 2001.

In addition to leading his quintet, Carey has played around the Bay Area with the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, 8 Legged Monster, the Tommy Igoe Big Band, the Realistic Orchestra, saxophonist Noel Jewkes, vocalist Betty Fu, pianist Ben Stolorow, and accordionist Rob Reich's Circus Bella All-Star Band. His main focus, however, has been on composing and performing original music with the quintet.

"The title of the album is about musical journeys and hidden meanings," Carey says, "and this band is the ideal group to take my blueprints and make those journeys and meanings come to life. I wrote every arrangement with these particular voices in mind, so I couldn't ask for a better set of musical personalities to make it happen."

The Ian Carey Quintet+1 will be performing a CD release show, Thursday 2/21, at the Sound Room, 2147 Broadway, Oakland, 8:00 pm. Tickets are $15 and available at soundroom.org.

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Ian Carey Quintet+1 to Release ROADS & CODES, 2/19 February 05, 2013