October 25, 2021: The nominees for New York’s Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards have been announced. Bright Dog Red’s 2020 Ropeadope release, “Somethin’ Comes Along,” has been nominated in the Album of the Year category. This nomination marks the ensemble’s such recognition. The group’s 2019 release, “How’s by You?” was also nominated for Album of the Year in 2020.
Known locally as the Eddies, the awards nomination process involved 40 members of the Capital Region music community, which represents Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and the surrounding areas. Nominating committee members included local artists, members of the media and others working in the music industry. Roughly 100 local members of the music community have been invited to vote for winners among the nominees.
For additional information, interview requests, or other inquiries, contact fabian@ropeadope.com.
NEW YORK (March 1, 2021): Bright Dog Red (BDR), an improvising collective from Albany, New York, will release In Vivo, a live album, on June 11, 2021. In Vivo is the ensemble’s fourth release since signing to Ropeadope in 2018.
From its inception, Bright Dog Red has pursued a singular approach to making music. Chris Sampson of the Joy Sounds Podcast explains, “Bright Dog Red is making it up as they go along, literally. All of their music is created in the moment, through free improvisation.” Each of Bright Dog Red’s Ropeadope albums reflects this same, “thoroughly improvised,” modus operandi (Downbeat).
In Vivo was captured in the course of performance, during a single set at Brooklyn's ShapeShifter Lab. The recording faithfully represents the music improvised that evening, as it unfolded, in sequence, and with minimal editing.
Bright Dog Red, increasingly recognized for “improvisation that defies categorization” and “ups the ante of free music,” (Dan Ouellette) has garnered comparisons to “Mahavishnu Orchestra meets Digable Planets” (Paul Schulman), “Romantic Warrior era Return to Forever” (Rimas e Batidas), and “electronic Ahmad Jamal,” (Don Lucoff), as well as to other psychedelic, jazz fusion, and hip hop luminaries.
Founded by drummer Joe Pignato, BDR is comprised of a rotating cast of players. In addition to Pignato, In Vivo features Eric Person(soprano and alto saxes, flute), Tyreek Jackson (guitar), Cody Davies(sounds), Anthony Berman (acoustic bass), and Matt Coonan(poetry, freestyling).
In Vivo releases June 11, 2021. Two singles from the album, “We Ain’t Gotta” and “Under the Porch,” will be released in advance May 14 and May 28, 2021 respectively.
For additional information, interview requests, or other inquiries, contact fabian@ropeadope.com.
NEW YORK (October 26, 2020): Bright Dog Red and ShapeShifter Lab have announced a live stream performance of the improvising collective at the renowned Brooklyn venue.
The event, scheduled for November 07, 2020 at 7:30 PM, will feature "the most dynamic incarnation of Bright Dog Red yet" (SF Gate, US) running through "a joyous gamut of music now synonymous with the BDR brand" (UK Vibe, UK). This will be the "innovative" (Alt Weekly) ensemble's first performance in support of their recent Ropeadope Double album release, Somethin' Comes Along.
Joe Pignato, Bright Dog Red’s drummer and founder, expressed his excitement: “We’re looking forward to getting back together. The current circumstances have prevented that and ShapeShifter Lab’s giving us the space and the platform to play and reconnect with fans, safely and in compliance with the best protocols. The venue has been critical to this group’s development, offering us some our first public bookings so it seems fitting for what could be our only performance of 2020 to take place in that space.”
In addition to Pignato, Bright Dog Red features Eric Person(alto/soprano saxophones, flute), Cody Davies (sounds, electronics), Tyreek Jackson (electric guitar), Anthony Berman(acoustic bass) and the award winning poet, Matt Coonan(rhymes, freestyling, and poetry).
Bright Dog Red’s appearance comes in the wake of Somethin’ Comes Along, a critically acclaimed double album released on Ropeadope in late September. Jazz Journalist Association Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Dan Ouelletteremarked, the album “ups the ante of free music…bursting with improvisation that defies categorization.” Bright Dog Red will employ the same “thoroughly improvised” approach for this event (Downbeat).
ABOUT THE EVENT: This is a live streamed improvised performance by Albany based Bright Dog Red. The live stream is scheduled for November 07, 2020 at 7:30 PM ET at ShapeShifter Lab. There will be no in person attendance.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for the live stream, available for a minimum of $10.00 US, can be purchased online at https://shapeshifterlab.com/bdr. Ticket holders can watch the live stream event in real time or view the recorded event at their leisure for three days following the live stream.
ABOUT BRIGHT DOG RED: “Starting as a jazz-meets-hip-hop jam band with a loosely-defined membership, Bright Dog Red has become a fixture on the NYC jazz and improvisation scene” (Jazz Journal). The band’s “spirited, full throttle go-for-it charge for the line" (Marlbank) performances have distinguished BDR as "as group on the rise" (The Bolg), generating comparisons to “Mahavishnu Orchestra meets Digable Planets” (Paul Schulman), “electronic Ahmad Jamal,” (Don Lucoff), and to other psychedelic, jazz fusion, and hip hop luminaries.
LINKS:
Tickets
Bright Dog Red’s Website
Bright Dog Red’s Somethin’ Comes Along
Bright Dog Red on Ropeadope
ABOUT SHAPESHIFTER LAB: ShapeShifter Lab is a 4,200 square foot performance space. ShapeShifter Lab regularly hosts the world’s most innovative artists who are looking for a flexible platform to present their work. Bass player Matthew Garrison, son of Jimmy Garrison (bass player for John Coltrane), is the co-owner and creative director with his business partner, Fortuna Sung. With many years as a successful touring musician under his belt, Matt and his team have designed the space with versatility in sound, lighting and layout, each of which can be tailored to each artist. With state-of-the-art equipment and raw space, Matt and his team are creating something truly unique and desperately needed in today’s venue scene in New York City.
NEW YORK (September 25, 2020): Bright Dog Red (BDR), an improvising collective from Albany, New York, released “Somethin’ Comes Along,” a double album, on Ropeadope. Somethin’ Comes Along, marks the ensemble’s third release for the influential Philadelphia area music, clothing, and culture imprint.
Somethin’ Comes Along, the most ambitious of BDR’s three Ropeadope releases, "sees Bright Dog Red revisit the rulebook once again for a two-disc album showcasing some stunning compositions…the music runs a joyous gamut now synonymous with the BDR brand" (UK Vibe). Jazz Journalist Association Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Dan Ouellette remarked, the album “ups the ante of free music…bursting with improvisation that defies categorization.”
NEW YORK (August 28, 2020): Bright Dog Red (BDR), an improvising collective from Albany, New York, released “Somethin’ Comes Along,” the hard-edged title track to their forthcoming double album, on Ropeadope (September 25, street date). Somethin’ Comes Along, marks the ensemble’s third release for the influential Philadelphia area music, clothing, and culture imprint.
Somethin’ Comes Along, the most ambitious of BDR’s three Ropeadope releases, "sees Bright Dog Red revisit the rulebook once again for a two-disc album showcasing some stunning compositions…the music runs a joyous gamut now synonymous with the BDR brand." (UK Vibe).
A second single, “Trouble Come My Way,” culled from the second side will release on September 11, 2020. The album is available for pre-order on all major platforms.
NEW YORK (July 10, 2020): Bright Dog Red (BDR), an improvising collective from Albany, New York, will release Somethin’ Comes Along, a double album, on Ropeadope, September 25, 2020. Somethin’ Comes Along, marks the ensemble’s third release for the influential Philadelphia area music, clothing, and culture imprint.
Somethin’ Comes Along, the most ambitious of BDR’s three Ropeadope albums, features two hourlong sides culled from three discrete sessions. The first side, Somethin’, features the “fiery, free-flowing” improvisation for which Bright Dog Red has increasingly become known (Glide Magazine). The second side, Somethin’ Else, builds on the more abstract, “spaced out” tendencies of the ensemble (Jay Hunter).
The collective’s two previous Ropeadope releases, 2019’s How’s by You? and 2018’s Means to the Ends, have at once bemused and beguiled critics, fans, and music industry observers. Louis Marks, CEO of Ropeadope explains: “Bright Dog Red is perhaps the most unique band to grace the halls of Ropeadope, and that’s quite an accomplishment. Bright Dog Red hits the stage without charts or set list – they simply start playing and improvise, taking cues from each other and from the audience and room. It’s adventurous, and due to the skill and rapport of the players, surprisingly cohesive.”
Ropeadope, long at the nexus of jazz, hip hop, and electronica, has proven an apt partner for BDR’s “innovative and psychedelic mesh” of genres (The Alt Weekly). The label’s extensive catalog includes releases from DJ Logic, Snarky Puppy, Christian McBride, Ghost Note, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Christian Scott, Ramsey Lewis, and Eddie Palmieri, among many others.
Since partnering with Ropeadope, Bright Dog Red has enjoyed a widening audience, including increased recognition in North America, the UK, and Europe. Somethin’ Comes Along represents a bold next step for the Albany based collective.
ABOUT BRIGHT DOG RED: “Starting as a jazz-meets-hip-hop jam band with a loosely-defined membership, Bright Dog Red has become a fixture on the NYC jazz and improvisation scene” (Jazz Journal). The band’s performances have distinguished BDR as "as group on the rise" (The Bolg), generating comparisons to “Mahavishnu Orchestra meets Digable Planets” (Paul Schulman), “electronic Ahmad Jamal,” (Don Lucoff), and to other psychedelic, jazz fusion, and hip hop luminaries.
“We'd urge anyone not aboard the Bright Dog Red train to grab a ticket.
Theirs is an unrivalled approach to contemporary jazz” (Blue in Green Radio).
January 22, 2020: The nominees for New York’s Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards have been announced. Bright Dog Red’s 2019 Ropeadope release, “How’s by You?,” has been nominated in the Album of the Year category.
Known locally as the Eddies, the awards nomination process involved 40 members of the Capital Region music community, which represents Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and the surrounding areas. Nominating committee members included local artists, members of the media and others working in the music industry. Roughly 100 local members of the music community have been invited to vote for winners among the nominees.
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