UM-Flint’s Jazz Combo Kicks Off Jazz Nights @ Soggy Bottom

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UM-Flint’s Jazz Combo Kicks Off Jazz Nights @ Soggy Bottom

Local community hopes to bring back regular jazz performances featuring Flint musicians

Beginning in 2015 and continuing until the COVID-19 global pandemic, jazz musicians from around Michigan would meet each Tuesday at Soggy Bottom to jam.

“It started just as a jazz trio, headed by one of my former students at Mott Community College, Jack MacDonald,” recalled John Hall, a local music teacher who works at Oxford High School and the Flint Institute of Music. “When he transferred to Western Michigan to continue his studies, I took it over, and we built it up – it was going super strong until it fell apart during the pandemic.”

While the original jazz night featured musicians from all over the state, Hall wanted to resurrect the weekly event and focus it on Flint’s local music scene. He contacted Brian DiBlassio, associate professor of music at the University of Michigan-Flint.

“I was excited to hear they were trying to bring it back because it had been so vibrant. A lot of professional musicians played there, and it was wonderful,” DiBlassio said. “These kinds of opportunities allow our students to practice as professionals, and they are truly a stepping stone toward performing as professional musicians.”

On Tuesday, June 11th, 2024, the UM-Flint Jazz Combo inaugurated the new series, featuring a sextet of drums, bass guitar, keys, and a trio of horns—alto and tenor saxophone, plus trumpet.

“When you see jazz combos play, they’ll maybe have a single horn player, so this is really special, to have three horns in the combo – it just brings a different level of sound,” shared DiBlassio. 

The UM-Flint Jazz Combo performing at Soggy Bottom

The UM-Flint Jazz Combo includes:

  • Micah Baldermann on drums
  • Aaron Hamady on bass guitar
  • Chris Morden on keys
  • Roland Rice on alto saxophone
  • Antonio Salerno on trumpet
  • Andy Teel on tenor saxophone

Hill hopes to build upon the success of the first Jazz Night. “My favorite part about it in the past was that it was such a wonderful cross-section of the entire Flint community,” Hill remembered. “It was shoulder-to-shoulder for years; you couldn’t get a seat! We helped bring everyone together, and I’m looking forward to doing that again.”

Stay tuned for more jazz nights on Soggy Bottom’s website.

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