Community Calendar

10-piece big band led by Chris Smith, specializing in hot jazz of the 1920s and 30s. Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Duke Ellington and other jazz legends are prominent in their repertoire. Great for listening or dancing.

LuFuki Ismaeel Dhul-Qarnayn is a composer, guitarist, organizer, historian and cultural curator in Detroit. He views music as a spiritual practice that brings about healing and unity, and his art practice centers around Black ancestral legacy. His ensemble Divine Providence is an Afro-Spirit jazz collective of musicians who fuse genres with the intention of connecting hearts in order to promote unity, freedom and social action.

LuFuki is currently working on several projects, including XRoads, a traveling exhibit being housed for the week by the Kalamazoo College Music Department. The exhibit explores the under-documented historical and contemporary intersections between “jazz,” Black Muslims, and social justice movements.

LuFuki will also be conducting a lecture at 4:15 PM on Wednesday, October 22.

This engagement is supported by a John Stites Jazz Event Award from the John Stites Jazz Artist Organization, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) honoring the memory of John Stites and his passion for jazz music.

Jazz guitarist Charlie Ballantine will bring his tribute to the music of Bob Dylan to Trinity House. They’ll be performing music from his album “Life is Brief – The Music of Bob Dylan.” He’ll be performing with his trio.

Named as one of the top 200 living guitarists by All About Jazz Magazine, Charlie Ballantine is acclaimed as one of the finest and most versatile young guitarists on the scene today. JAZZ TIMES MAGAZINE hails his playing as “teeming with intricate grooves and maniacal precision his guitar work is both beautiful and complex” and VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE described his style by stating “Jazz, rock, and folk music peacefully coexist in Charlie Ballantine’s world”.

Equipped with an impressive body of original compositions on albums like “Vonnegut” and “Cold Coffee”, Ballantine also displays a great reverence for the jazz tradition through the inclusion of standards like ‘My One and Only Love’, ‘East of the Sun’ and an entire double album dedicated to the music of Thelonious Monk released September 2021. “In the vein of fellow guitarists like John Scofield, Bill Frisell and Julian Lage, Ballantine reconciles his educational background in jazz with the stylistic background of his instrument. He approaches the gratifying tonal and harmonic language of rock/roots with the groove, ambition and improvisational focus of a jazz musician” – (JAZZIZ MAGAZINE)

After graduating from the Jacobs School of Music under the direction of David Baker, Ballantine relocated to Indianapolis and quickly developed a name for himself with a string of high energy performances at clubs like the Jazz Kitchen and Chatterbox Jazz Club. After releasing two solo albums Ballantine was able to attain global recognition with his award winning third album “Life is Brief: The Music of Bob Dylan” which ALL ABOUT JAZZ named in their top ten jazz albums of the year. “From the opening bars of “The Times They Are a-Changin'” it is clear that something special is happening” – (ALL ABOUT JAZZ)

Although primarily a front man for his own projects with tours and frequent appearances throughout the US and Canada at venues and festivals such as the Indianapolis Jazz Festival, The Winnipeg International Jazz Festival and The Elkhart Jazz Festival, Ballantine also has an extensive list of side man credits having performed with names like Rob Dixon, Emmett Cohen, and Amanda Gardier helping to further solidify him as a creative force and put him in the highest of ranks as a performer.

“Befitting a guitarist from America’s heartland, Charlie Ballantine mixes jazz, folk-rock, surf/instro, blues, pop, and country into a simmering pot of guitar sound and style.” – Vintage Guitar Magazine

Phil Ogilvie’s Rhythm Kings, aka P.O.R.K., bring their take on hot jazz of the 1920s and 30s to the historic sanctuary of First United Methodist Church of Ypsilanti as part of the church’s yearlong bicentennial celebration. Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Duke Ellington and other jazz legends are prominent in their repertoire, which is equally suited for listening and dancing. The event is free and open to the public. A free will offering will be taken.

10-piece big band led by Chris Smith, specializing in hot jazz of the 1920s and 30s. Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Duke Ellington and other jazz legends are prominent in their repertoire. Great for listening or dancing.

New Jazz Underground, an innovative American jazz trio, has earned acclaim for their distinctive approach in establishing themselves as a defining voice in jazz and beyond. Merging traditional jazz sensibilities with modern influences like swing, hip-hop, house/afro-beat, and afro-Cuban music, the trio gained recognition through viral videos showcasing their chemistry, musicality, and raw ambition. Comprised of Abdias Armenteros, Sebastian Rios, and TJ Reddick, each lauded as promising young jazz artists, the Juilliard School graduates have achieved accolades like winning the 2023 DCJazzPrix™ and the 2024 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award. Beyond performance, their independent video production sets a new standard for jazz presentation, attracting millions to an authentic musical expression blending modernism and tradition. Dynamic and powerful performers, New Jazz Underground's talents are re-energizing the contemporary music world, serving as a benchmark for the future of jazz.

2 Stones Events will be bringing in metro Detroit’s finest jazz artists for a new series — Sessions @ The Vinyl Society, in the heart of downtown Detroit’s Paradise Valley. Two shows every Wednesday: 8:00 and 9:45 p.m. — and NEVER a cover charge!
Oct. 8 Heather Black Project
Oct. 15 Ben Sharkey
Oct. 22 Noah Jackson & Full Circle
Oct. 29 Jim Alfredson's Dirty Fingers

2 Stones Events will be bringing in metro Detroit’s finest jazz artists for a new series — Sessions @ The Vinyl Society, in the heart of downtown Detroit’s Paradise Valley. Two shows every Wednesday: 8:00 and 9:45 p.m. — and NEVER a cover charge!
Oct. 8 Heather Black Project
Oct. 15 Ben Sharkey
Oct. 22 Noah Jackson & Full Circle
Oct. 29 Jim Alfredson's Dirty Fingers

2 Stones Events will be bringing in metro Detroit’s finest jazz artists for a new series — Sessions @ The Vinyl Society, in the heart of downtown Detroit’s Paradise Valley. Two shows every Wednesday: 8:00 and 9:45 p.m. — and NEVER a cover charge!
Oct. 8 Heather Black Project
Oct. 15 Ben Sharkey
Oct. 22 Noah Jackson & Full Circle
Oct. 29 Jim Alfredson's Dirty Fingers

This is the fifth season of 2 Stones Events’ monthly concert series – Ciao!Jazz focusing on a wide variety of the jazz genre. Two separate shows (limited to 100 seats per) each evening – 6 and 8:30pm; doors open 30 minutes prior. ‘Cash-only’ (literally) bar: Please, only call the restaurant (810-227-9000) for dinner reservations upstairs before or after your show!
Third Coast Swing has been playing the music of the late Belgium born Romani Gypsy, Django Reinhardt & his band, The Hot Club Of Paris 1930’-1940’s. Think Louis Armstrong with a French accent. Third Coast Swing has changed it up a bit and has toured with the Detroit native Dave Bennett, violinist Grant Flick, vocalist Ella Jury Jarvis and pianist Andrew Henley. Ella and guitarist Kaedin Plummer did a deep dive on early jazz classics by Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billy Holiday and then arranged these songs to fit Third Coast Swings eclectic style