RELEASED 2004 — "LIVE AT THE LITTLE" CD
Recorded live at the Little Theatre Café in 2004
Available here for $12 including postage.
See review from D&C below.

Featuring 10 tracks from 8 artists
BRADY MILLER TRIO
THE WHITE HOTS
BEN GALLINA TRIO
MARGARET EXPLOSION
TRIO EAST
BOB SNEIDER DUO
DIANE ARMESTO QUARTET
GENE BERTONCINI

Click cd cover for enlargement

TRACKS INCLUDE:
1. Brady Miller Trio “Qui Zas, Qui Zas, Qui Zas” (6:16)
2. The White Hots “Black Cat Bone” (4:15)
3. The White Hots “Why Don't You Do Right?” (3:54)
4. Ben Gallina Trio “Windows” (9:53)
5. Margaret Explosion “Floating at the Bug Jar” (5:57)
6. Trio East “Stop-Start” (6:48)
7. Bob Sneider Duo “Benjamin” (4:26)
8. Bob Sneider Duo “My Funny Valentine” (3:50)
9. Diane Armesto Quartet “I Fall In Love Too Easily” (7:29)
10. Gene Bertoncini “Cavatina/The Shadow of Your Smile” (7:45)

PRODUCED BY BOB MARTIN

LINER NOTES:
Yessir, the Little Theatre Café; where time and calories are of no concern or consequence and where mellow is allreet.

Wish you could’ve been there. You shoulda seen me; the perfect two-tone, gabardine, patent leather personification of lonely and hopeful. Man, it was tres cool. I strolled in the joint rejected, dejected, determined to wallow in my woe over a cup of joe, to replace lost affection with confection. And dig the tunes.

Now, the cheesecake never bent to adjust its hose, nor did the brownies waltz around with bellies full of Ektachrome, but I knew them all well. We were pals. We had indulged in each other over the blood of the bean for many, many nights.

Nestled in the hip pocket of Rochester’s art house movie palace, the café hops and hums and buzzes nightly with the smart set’s witty back ’n’ forth and live jazz.

Jazz groups like those you now hold in your hot little hands serve as punctuation to each point you make, every mood you feel…even a little heartache.

You see, the red head beauty with the green eyes had just given me a one-way ticket on the adiós express leaving me with little ‘cept for a burning passion for music and dessert.

And besides the carnival monkey playing a calliope in my head, jazz has always been my soundtrack.

In fact it’s yours too.

The subtle pangs of joy or righteous indignation or elation are jazz. Those lows so low they seem like numb-less highs are jazz. If it’s in the back of your mind working its way to the tip of your tongue, it’s jazz. It’s the way you walk, the way you talk. Now you know.

It’s taken me years to arrive at this, and when I finally did, I felt pretty damn smart. As well, every time I emerge from a movie, I feel somehow smarter. And I find myself (post cinematically, I suppose) wanting to prove it in the Little Theatre Café waxing – reflectively, esoterically while waving a hand that would have a cigarette in it if John Houston directed my life. Then again if he did, maybe the redhead wouldn’t have left. Or maybe she would have simply killed me instead. Perhaps he’d have me sipping espresso as opposed to my usual cup of java with enough sugar to stand a spoon in. I do know one thing…he’d have this music, sho’ ‘nuff.
Bring a date, save room for dessert. Spin this disc in the meantime.

— Frank De Blase

The Little Theatre has been a fixture in downtown Rochester since 1929, expanding from a single screen movie theatre to 5 screens, a café and gallery. Our line-up of American independent and foreign films, art and music provides Rochesterians with an exciting alternative to the multiplex. We’re proud to host film festivals, student screenings, visiting filmmakers and to provide a venue for artists and some of the area’s finest musicians.

In 1998, to insure that the Little would remain a vital part of Rochester’s cultural community, the Theatre was converted to a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation. Now with over 1600 members and growing, the Little will continue to provide an alternative to the multiplex.

A lot of good ideas never come to fruition. It takes individuals with energy and talent to make them happen. This cd would not have been possible if it were not for the talent, and dedication of Bob Martin who spent countless hours recording and engineering the musicians who appear nightly in the Little Theatre Café.

Special thanks goes out to Paul Dodd and Peggi Fournier who not only are fine musicians but also designed the cd package. And of course the musicians who perform in the café because they love their art and are willing to share it with the community.

Bill Coppard — Executive Director — Little Theatre Film Society

CD Package Designed by 4D Advertising
© 2004 Little Theatre
 
CAFE HAS ITS OWN SOUNDTRACK
 
Jeff Spevak
Democrat and Chronicle
 
7/21/2004 -- Eight local jazz acts, most with strong ties to the Eastman School of Music, demonstrate the broad palate of jazz with Live at the Little.

A night at the Little Theatre Cafe can be eclectic, traditional or downright weird. The CD is an excellent sampling of Rochester's cafe ambience, whether we're talking about the relaxing guitar of the omnipresent Bob Sneider or the avant-garde Margaret Explosion.

The disc opens with the Brady Miller Trio's delightfully light “Qui Zas, Qui Zas, Qui Zas,” highlighted by Red Wierenga's piano.It's followed by two pieces by the White Hots, currently holding down Monday nights at the bistro. On “Black Cat Bone,” the quirky group continues to move toward the blues with the addition of vocalist Tina Albright.

The Ben Gallina Trio features pianist Jared Coen on Chick Corea's relaxed “Windows.” The Margaret Explosion offers its tribute to the local punk bar with “Floating at the Bug Jar,” a six-minute avant-garde jazz dream of Peggi Fournier's soprano sax, like Kenny G trapped in a jar of ether.

The all-star Trio East has the boppingest cut of the collection with “Stop-Start.” Rochester jazz doesn't get better than Clay Jenkins on trumpet, Jeff Campbell on bass and Rich Thompson on drums.
Bob Sneider, who has as many looks as a Swiss Army knife, teams up with pianist Paul Hofmann for the Bob Sneider Duo and the easygoing Hoffmann composition “Benjamin,” then a wandering exploration of “My Funny Valentine.”
Diane Armesto continues to dominate the local market of tortured-chanteuse vocalists with her smoky, throaty version of “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” with a group of accomplished locals in drummer Mike Melito, bassist Fred Stone and pianist Bill Dobbins. Guitarist Gene Bertocini puts the project to bed with “Cavatina” and “The Shadow of Your Smile.”

jspevak@DemocratandChronicle.com.

ARTISTS INCLUDE

BRADY MILLER TRIO

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Qui Zas, Qui Zas, Qui Zas
(traditional)
Red Wierenga – Piano
Dan Loomis – Bass
Brady Miller – Drums
bradymidd@hotmail.com

THE WHITE HOTS

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Black Cat Bone
(Wilson, Semien (BMI), Clarity Music)
Why Don't You Do Right?
(Joe McCoy, Morley Music)
Steve Greene – Guitar
Tom Hanney – Harmonica
Ted Mosher – Bass
Aleks Disljenkovic – Guitar,
Tina Albright – Vocals
www.thewhitehots.com

BEN GALLINA TRIO
Windows
(Chick Corea, Universal-MCA Music Pub Obo Litha Music )
Jared Coen – Piano
Ben Gallina – String Bass
Brady Miller – Drums
bengallina@aol.com

MARGARET EXPLOSION

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Floating at the Bug Jar
(Margaret Explosion, Lint Music)
Peggi Fournier – Soprano Sax
Bob Martin – Guitar
Greg Slack – Bass
Paul Dodd – Drums
Pete LaBonne - piano
www.margaretexplosion.com

TRIO EAST

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Stop-Start
(Lee Morgan, Conrad Music, A Div. of ARC Music Corp. BMI)
Clay Jenkins – Trumpet
Jeff Campbell – Bass
Rich Thompson – Drums
www.richthompson.net

BOB SNEIDER DUO

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Benjamin
(Paul Hofmann, PBH Music BMI)
My Funny Valentine
(Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart, Chapell & Co Inc ASCAP)
Bob Sneider – Guitar
Paul Hofmann – Piano
www.sonsofsound.com, www.bobsneider.com and www.mhrrecords.com

DIANE ARMESTO QUARTET

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I Fall In Love Too Easily
(Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne, EMI Feist Catalog Inc)
Mike Melito – Drums
Fred Stone – Bass
Bill Dobbins – Piano
www.dianearmesto.com

GENE BERTONCINI

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Cavatina*/The Shadow of Your Smile**
*From ”Deer Hunter” (Stanley Myers ASCAP, EMI Glenwood Music Corp)
**(J. Mandel, P.F. Webster, EMI Miller Catalog Inc.)
Gene Bertoncini - Guitar
www.genebertoncini.com