Travis Sullivan http://www.travissullivan.com Saxophonist, pianist, composer, and educator in NYC Sat, 02 Jun 2012 20:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 The Travis Sullivan Quartet is back! This Sunday at Sycamore in Brooklyn http://www.travissullivan.com/2012/03/26/the-travis-sullivan-quartet-is-back-this-sunday-at-sycamore-in-brooklyn/ http://www.travissullivan.com/2012/03/26/the-travis-sullivan-quartet-is-back-this-sunday-at-sycamore-in-brooklyn/#comments Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:05:31 +0000 travsul http://www.travissullivan.com/?p=562 Continue reading →]]> The blog is back! It’s been like 9 months since the last installment.  I had to do it, because I’ve been getting such a barrage of emails from my faithful readers asking me…no…begging me to return to the blogosphere.  At least that’s the way it is in Imaginationland. :)

Regardless, I’ve got some great things cooking for the spring, musically speaking.  The first is with my quartet this coming Sunday, April 1st at Sycamore in Brooklyn, as part of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground/Connection Works Jazz Series.  The quartet hasn’t played since September, so I’m very excited to be returning to the stage with a whole set of brand new originals.  We’ll also be performing some of the songs on my latest Posi-Tone CD, “New Directions.”  You have picked up your copy of this album already, haven’t you? If not, check it out.  It’s awesome!

Joining me for Sunday night will be my longtime associate and friend, drummer Brian Fishler, as well as cohorts Sam Minaie on bass, and Mike Eckroth on piano.  Come on down and join the fun!

Also on the not so distant horizon: The Bjorkestra performs at Shapeshifter Lab on April 6th.  More about that one soon!

 

]]> http://www.travissullivan.com/2012/03/26/the-travis-sullivan-quartet-is-back-this-sunday-at-sycamore-in-brooklyn/feed/ 0 Size Matters: The Bjorkestra at The Tea Lounge in Brooklyn Next Month http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/07/15/size-matter-the-bjorkestra-at-the-tea-lounge-in-brooklyn-next-month/ http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/07/15/size-matter-the-bjorkestra-at-the-tea-lounge-in-brooklyn-next-month/#comments Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:27:51 +0000 travsul http://www.travissullivan.com/?p=546 Continue reading →]]> I’m bringing the Bjorkestra into The Tea Lounge on August 22nd as part of it’s ongoing “Size Matters” large ensemble series.  This show is going to be particularly awesome in that it will feature three very distinct and unique vocalists Bjork-ing it out with the band: Hip-hop/Soul/R&B diva Maya Azucena, indie rock crooner Jeff Taylor, and (singing with the Bjorkestra again for the first time in over 3 years) modern jazz songstress Sunny Kim.

Also, this show is absolutely free, although exorbitant band-tipping will be greatly appreciated!

 

]]> http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/07/15/size-matter-the-bjorkestra-at-the-tea-lounge-in-brooklyn-next-month/feed/ 0 The Identity Crisis Rises from the Ashes this Week…with Special Guest Eternia! http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/27/the-identity-crisis-rises-from-the-ashes-this-week-with-special-guest-eternia/ http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/27/the-identity-crisis-rises-from-the-ashes-this-week-with-special-guest-eternia/#comments Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:23:48 +0000 travsul http://www.travissullivan.com/?p=539 Continue reading →]]> It’s been months since the last Identity Crisis gig…but we’re getting the ball rolling again this week!

We are headlining at our favorite Harlem Music Club – The Shrine on Friday July 1, 9pm-11 and will be joined by our always bad ass beatboxer Krusssia, and the viciously talented female rapper, Eternia! NO COVER! Two sets! New tunes! Same phat groove….

For complete gig info and details click here.

Also, to give you a little taste of what you’re in store for, check out this video from Eternia:

]]> http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/27/the-identity-crisis-rises-from-the-ashes-this-week-with-special-guest-eternia/feed/ 0 Bjorkestra vids from The Highline Ballroom http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/22/bjorkestra-vids-from-the-highline-ballroom/ http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/22/bjorkestra-vids-from-the-highline-ballroom/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:57:13 +0000 travsul http://www.travissullivan.com/?p=537 Continue reading →]]> I just came across a bunch of vids on YouTube from Bjorkestra’s show at The Highline Ballroom last week.  They’re all great in both audio and visual sound quality, and captured the band in excellent form!

Here’s a few of them:

]]> http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/22/bjorkestra-vids-from-the-highline-ballroom/feed/ 0 Yoga! http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/22/yoga/ http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/22/yoga/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:23:23 +0000 travsul http://www.travissullivan.com/?p=534 Continue reading →]]> Happy first day of summer! Today I had the pleasure of performing with Bond St. Theatre’s Shinbone Alley Stilt Band as part of the Make Music NY! Festival.  I never pictured myself the stilting type – but I have to admit it can be pretty fun, and now I know what giants must feel like.

Stilting is also, as you can imagine, a little bit demanding physically in terms of balance and overall leg strength and flexibility.  Luckily, about a month ago I started doing yoga again a few times a week, and it made it way easier to feel relaxed and confident on the stilts.  I’ve been going to classes at two separate yoga studios – one in Manhattan and one just a couple of blocks aways from my apartment in Brooklyn, and have had really great experiences at both of them:

Move with Grace – This studio has classes for different types of yoga, as well as pilates and dance classes.  It’s a small studio located in Clinton Hill, and so far the largest class has been 4 or 5 students – which I really like.  I’ve taken mostly Vinyasa yoga classes there, but yesterday I took my first Iyengar yoga class, which was really cool, and suprisingly different.  It’s a little less expensive than most other yoga studios in the city too.

Dharma Yoga – My fiance got me a gift certificate to this studio, which has two spots in the city – Dharma East and Dharma West.  I’ve been to three classes at the Dharma East, and all of them have been great – one of them was one of the best yoga workouts I’ve ever had.  This studio was founded by Dharma Mittra, who teaches advanced classes and gives talks several nights a week at Dharma West.  I’ve heard he’s a pretty remarkable man, and I’m looking forward to going to hear one of his talks soon.

Check these studios out! I’m not getting deals from them or anything for advertising them (but now that I think about it, maybe I should!).

]]> http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/22/yoga/feed/ 1 Martin Luther King and the Importance of Jazz http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/14/martin-luther-king-and-the-importance-of-jazz/ http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/14/martin-luther-king-and-the-importance-of-jazz/#comments Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:31:17 +0000 travsul http://www.travissullivan.com/?p=531 Continue reading →]]> I just came across this great quote that is posted on the HR-57 Center for the Preservation of Jazz & Blues website.  It’s incredibly inspiring and reminds me why jazz remains an important music to play.  I especially love the last few sentences.  Rock on MLK!

“God has brought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create – and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations.

Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life’s difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph. This is triumphant music.

Modern Jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.

It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of “racial identity” as a problem for a multi-racial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.

Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down. And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith. In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these.”

-Martin Luther King

 

 

]]> http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/14/martin-luther-king-and-the-importance-of-jazz/feed/ 0 Bjorkestra Concert Tix Sale: 50% off for the Highline Ballroom 6/14! http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/13/bjorkestra-concert-tix-sale-50-off-for-the-highline-ballroom-614/ http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/13/bjorkestra-concert-tix-sale-50-off-for-the-highline-ballroom-614/#comments Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:51:33 +0000 travsul http://www.travissullivan.com/?p=529 Continue reading →]]> The Bjorkestra is performing tomorrow, Tuesday, June 14 at The Highline Ballroom in NYC as part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival.  As a special last minute offer, there is a 50% discount on all ticket purchases made online through TicketWeb. You can buy online tickets here. and use the “access code”: BIGBAND

Hope to see you tomorrow night…and enjoy this vid from the Bjorkestra archives:

]]> http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/13/bjorkestra-concert-tix-sale-50-off-for-the-highline-ballroom-614/feed/ 0 Now I finally have a Travis Sullivan press kit…it’s about time! http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/07/now-i-finally-have-a-travis-sullivan-press-kit-its-about-time/ http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/07/now-i-finally-have-a-travis-sullivan-press-kit-its-about-time/#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2011 03:36:37 +0000 travsul http://www.travissullivan.com/?p=523 Continue reading →]]> For the past seven years there’s been a lot written about the Bjorkestra, but not so much about me (sniff,sniff, boo hoo, etc.).  Actually, that’s been extremely gratifying, but since I’ve been shifting my focus towards my own music, I’ve realized there has been a huge deficiency in having any press “of my own” that I can utilize to develop a Travis Sullivan press kit to get gigs and, consequently, achieve world domination.

That has all changed over the past few weeks though, because the reviews have been pouring in for “New Directions” and now my website has it’s very own press page.  Also, for your reading pleasure, here are the most recent press items:

And if you like what you read, please go to www.posi-tone.com and buy a copy (or two, or ten) of “New Directions”!

 

]]> http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/07/now-i-finally-have-a-travis-sullivan-press-kit-its-about-time/feed/ 0 First video from the CD Release Party! http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/01/first-video-from-the-cd-release-party/ http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/01/first-video-from-the-cd-release-party/#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:09:20 +0000 travsul http://www.travissullivan.com/?p=520 I’ve posted the first video from the “New Directions” CD Release Party at Cornelia St. Cafe a couple of weeks ago…here it is.  Enjoy!

]]> http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/06/01/first-video-from-the-cd-release-party/feed/ 0 Travis Sullivan “New Directions” CD released today! All About Jazz Review http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/05/17/travis-sullivan-new-directions-cd-released-today-all-about-jazz-review/ http://www.travissullivan.com/2011/05/17/travis-sullivan-new-directions-cd-released-today-all-about-jazz-review/#comments Tue, 17 May 2011 20:55:54 +0000 travsul http://www.travissullivan.com/?p=506 Continue reading →]]> “New Directions,” my first small group CD in over 10 years, has been released as of today! I’m incredibly happy with how everything turned out with this project, from the performance to the packaging, and I’m very excited to share this music with everyone. To purchase the album and to hear samples please go to: http://www.posi-tone.com/travis-sullivan/new-directions.html

The CD got a great review at All About Jazz today as well! Click here to check it out!!!

Also, the CD Release Party is this Friday, May 20, at Cornelia St. Cafe from 9pm-midnight! I hope to see you there…

 

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