Innovative L.A. Jazz Ensemble to Perform in Northern NJ

Unusual for its size, the IJG avoids categorization. Michael Ryan of the Boston Herald has called Durkin’s music “a compelling mix of genres, odd time signatures and tight improvisation,” while Brandt Reiter of the LA Weekly describes it as both “cerebral and swinging, ambitious and accessible, challengingly complex and unabashedly fun.” The group enjoys the support not only of jazz fans (who appreciate what Brian Morton at The Wire calls Durkin’s “machine-tooled modern jazz compositions of exquisite precision and strong aesthetic appeal”), but also of those who typically prefer other genres. As Tom Bowden of Educational Digest explains, “Durkin writes music that people who think they hate jazz would like.”

Formed in the spring of 2000, the IJG is one of the few young independent tentets on the jazz scene today. It has been a persistent force in Los Angeles for five years now, and during that time it has also performed in San Diego, Bakersfield, San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Truckee, and Petaluma (CA), and in Austin (TX, at the SXSW festival). It has received numerous grants from the American Composers Forum, is supported by the NEA and the McKnight Foundation, and has been heard on NPR and hundreds of radio stations around the world. Write-ups on the IJG have appeared in The LA Weekly, The SF Weekly, The Wire, The North Bay Bohemian, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Boston Herald, and numerous other publications. The group is currently on the artist roster at Innova records.

Note: audience members at this show can sign up to receive a free CD-R recording of the performance.

12 Miles West is located at 562 Bloomfield Avenue, Bloomfield, NJ. Tickets: $15 (general) / $10 (students). Show starts at 8 pm. To preorder tickets: 973-259-9187 / www.12mileswest.org.

To learn about other dates on this tour, visit www.uglyrug.com.