New gigs have been announced! Click on the shows page for details, and please come out to see us. Now, a quick review of recent months:
You may remember that, back in June, we predicted a 5-month musical hiatus for Brulee while we all took turns leaving the country for a while, particularly Lex who (FINALLY!) returns from Austria in mid-November. We were wrong. It’s actually been quite busy! Here’s a review of a few recent events in Bruland:
A REALLY big gig: You’ve probably heard us talking about our beloved new-ish keyboard/trumpet/harmonica player Johannes Langkilde. Johannes tells us that he’s sort of a big deal in Denmark, and occasionally, we have to believe him. For example, the Danish Ambassador (a great guy named Lars who can really rock a Strat through a pair of Marshall Amps) asked if Johannes could put together an R&B band for a gala at the Smithsonian Castle to celebrate a visit from the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark. Johannes started with the core of Brulée (Aura, Lou, Andrew, and Johannes himself) and then added a second singer, a drummer to replace Lex, and a three piece horn section. The drummer and horn section were borrowed from the president’s own Marine band. Seriously, Barack himself gave us his horn section for the evening. It was a super-fancy black-tie occasion as we busted out horn-laden R&B covers for a dancing prince and princess. I got to live my dream of playing Earth, Wind, and Fire's "September" with a full horn section.
Adding to the surreal evening, the Danish Embassy flew in the princess’ favorite singer-songwriter from Denmark, a young and wildly talented guy named Mads Langer. We got to back him up on a two songs, and it was quite a thrill, especially when he busted out an unexpected impromptu Prince cover in the middle of one of his songs.
Recording: We finally returned to Bias Studios early in the summer start recording for our next CD (or digital download if you’re more modern than we are). Like last time, we are working with the great Mike Monseur, an extraordinary studio engineer who is uniquely well-suited for our quirky musical style and strong personalities. Three moments from the recording sessions stand out to me as particularly memorable: (1) When all five of us (including our new-ish keyboard player Johannes) sang back up vocals simultaneously on Week 52, (2) Mike coaching me through the rather precise ukulele work on Part-Time Island Girl, and (3) Mike telling me that my guitar solo on Irresistible was totally inappropriate and sending home to come up with a new idea.
Some small gigs: With Lex out of the country, we’ve focused on some smaller gigs, and it’s actually been a great experience to focus on a pared down version of our music for a while. We played a couple of trio gigs, and Aura and I played a duo show with Andrew joining us purely on vocals (like, singing his basslines!). And last weekend, Andrew and I played an evening of guitar-bass jazz duets at a fundraiser for the Democratic Party of Virginia. The evening included a truly inspiring speech from Hillary Clinton’s national political director.
Now we’re more than ready for our beloved drummer Lex to return. So come join us for some shows this fall and winter to help welcome him back.
New shows all over...and check out Andrew's short film!
Thanks so much to everyone who came out for our big night at Villain & Saint in Bethesda last Friday! You really made us feel so supported, and we truly appreciate it. Our calendar now has new shows listed in Brunswick, Takoma Park, and Downtown DC. So CLICK HERE for dates and details.
And CLICK HERE to check out Andrew's amazing new short film which features two Brulee songs and somehow makes a kitchen renovation feel like a truly dramatic, action-adventure, epic. I give it two thumbs up.
Today's blog entry: "What kind of music do you play?
Whenever anyone hears that I play in a band, the first question is always “What kind of music do you play?” For some musicians, the answer is quite easy. I assume Joshua Redman can simply answer “jazz”, and Loudon Wainwright can effortlessly say “folk.” For us, however, it’s not so easy. I usually end up mumbling something long and confusing before changing the subject (e.g., “sort of jazzy, but sometimes kinda rockin’, with an occasional funk vibe, and some American singer-songwriter stuff, sometimes all in the same song, um, how was your weekend?”).
From early on, Aura and I agreed that our band wouldn’t have to settle on one sound. We could have jazz chords, a little polish, some very quiet moments, some loud biting parts, some introspection, occasional goofiness, and any other sound that seems to fit the mood of the song we’re working on. I think it’s easier to market and book a band that fits a single category, but Brûlée wasn’t created for marketing purposes.
The fun thing about playing in a band that can conjure so many moods that we get to play lots of different kinds of gigs. This past summer had a couple of jazz shows (Takoma Park JazzFest, Riversdale House Museum Jazz on the Lawn). Tonight, we’ll be playing a loud rock thing at Roofer’s Union to the late-night Adams Morgan crowd. Tomorrow, we have the honor of playing a backyard party to celebrate a friend’s 2-year-old daughter who recently beat cancer. In November, we’ll be playing our first folky acoustic gig in quite a while. So if you come see us at two consecutive gigs, you might be surprised by the contrasts.
And we’ve booked Villain and Saint for March of next year. I expect that to be one of the nights where we can play all sides of our music. See you there I hope.
Check out the shows link above for dates and details.
From early on, Aura and I agreed that our band wouldn’t have to settle on one sound. We could have jazz chords, a little polish, some very quiet moments, some loud biting parts, some introspection, occasional goofiness, and any other sound that seems to fit the mood of the song we’re working on. I think it’s easier to market and book a band that fits a single category, but Brûlée wasn’t created for marketing purposes.
The fun thing about playing in a band that can conjure so many moods that we get to play lots of different kinds of gigs. This past summer had a couple of jazz shows (Takoma Park JazzFest, Riversdale House Museum Jazz on the Lawn). Tonight, we’ll be playing a loud rock thing at Roofer’s Union to the late-night Adams Morgan crowd. Tomorrow, we have the honor of playing a backyard party to celebrate a friend’s 2-year-old daughter who recently beat cancer. In November, we’ll be playing our first folky acoustic gig in quite a while. So if you come see us at two consecutive gigs, you might be surprised by the contrasts.
And we’ve booked Villain and Saint for March of next year. I expect that to be one of the nights where we can play all sides of our music. See you there I hope.
Check out the shows link above for dates and details.
A detailed interview with Lou, and photos from Brulee's victory at the Jazz Brawl!
In advance of Brulee’s show in Frederick in March, the Frederick News-Post ran a full page interview with guitarist Louis Matza. Click here to read the interview, which was re-printed on the author’s Frederick Playlist blog.
On Sunday February 22 in front of an over-capacity crowd at Busboys and Poets in Takoma Park, Brûlée won the 2015 Takoma Park JazzFest Jazz Brawl! Click here for a brief article with some good photos in the Silver Spring Voice. As the winner, Brûlée was awarded the coveted spot in the summer JazzFest.
April's a slow month for us due to Lou's travel, but we'll be back in full force in May and June with gigs at some familiar places and a few new places. See the shows page for details on the next dates. We did have a pretty nice rehearsal on last Wednesday when we learned songs by Marvin Gaye and Bill Withers. So you may actually hear some covers at our May shows. See you then...
On Sunday February 22 in front of an over-capacity crowd at Busboys and Poets in Takoma Park, Brûlée won the 2015 Takoma Park JazzFest Jazz Brawl! Click here for a brief article with some good photos in the Silver Spring Voice. As the winner, Brûlée was awarded the coveted spot in the summer JazzFest.
April's a slow month for us due to Lou's travel, but we'll be back in full force in May and June with gigs at some familiar places and a few new places. See the shows page for details on the next dates. We did have a pretty nice rehearsal on last Wednesday when we learned songs by Marvin Gaye and Bill Withers. So you may actually hear some covers at our May shows. See you then...
Brûlée wins the 2015 Takoma Park JazzFest Jazz Brawl!
On Sunday February 22 in front of an over-capacity crowd at the new Busboys and Poets in Takoma Park, Brûlée won the 2015 Takoma Park JazzFest Jazz Brawl!
Click here for a brief article with some good photos in the Silver Spring Voice. As the winner, Brûlée was awarded the coveted spot in the summer JazzFest.
Thanks to new FOB (friend of Brulee) Lyle Link on tenor and soprano sax for helping us out.
We'll try to write more details soon if we have time...
Click here for a brief article with some good photos in the Silver Spring Voice. As the winner, Brûlée was awarded the coveted spot in the summer JazzFest.
Thanks to new FOB (friend of Brulee) Lyle Link on tenor and soprano sax for helping us out.
We'll try to write more details soon if we have time...
One more show in 2014... and two unreleased songs posted on the site!
On Sunday, we'll have our last show of the year (Wonderland at 9:00 p.m.). December seems to bring out the most free-wheelin' side of Brulee, so you can expect a few unrehearsed seasonal tunes that would be completely inappropriate in any other month ("Last Christmas" maybe?).
This is also the time of year I can convince Aura to sing two of my favorite Brulee originals: (1) Week 52, which is about the spooky romantic vibe of Washington DC during the last week of the year when almost everyone seems to be somewhere else. (2) January, which is about a Sunday in January several years ago when everything seemed particularly new.
Click on the "music" page, and scroll to the bottom to hear unreleased, unpolished, and hopefully charming versions of both songs.
This is also the time of year I can convince Aura to sing two of my favorite Brulee originals: (1) Week 52, which is about the spooky romantic vibe of Washington DC during the last week of the year when almost everyone seems to be somewhere else. (2) January, which is about a Sunday in January several years ago when everything seemed particularly new.
Click on the "music" page, and scroll to the bottom to hear unreleased, unpolished, and hopefully charming versions of both songs.