I'm so excited to be coming to perform in the Greater Rochester Area of upstate New York where I lived for almost six years while attending a DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) program at the famous Eastman School of Music 2011-2015. I lived on Grantham Rd. in East Irondequoit for the duration of my time there, moving to Cincinnati in 2017.
Besides school, gigs, and teaching privately, I also worked as a delivery driver at the (also) famous Donuts Delite/Salvatore's Pizza. As I anticipate my return to that area, my head fills with so many memories of the friends I made and the experiences I had . . . as they say, time and distance makes the heart grow fonder!
I am traveling with my recording trio of Mason Daugherty-bass & Michael Meloy-drums. Mason and I recorded “A Place for Bass - Chamber Jazz Duets” in 2023 to rave reviews by luminaries such as Rufus Reid, Dave Stryker, John Clayton, Rodney Jones, Ron McClure, Pete Bernstein and many others. “Life After 40” came out a little over a month ago, featuring former Miles Davis percussionist, Steve Thornton on all but one track, and pianist Wayne Yeager on 3 tracks. Both of those albums, like most of the ones preceding them, contain all Chako originals, and the mini-tour coming up will feature mostly the material from both those albums.
We start at Cleveland's Bop Stop for one night only Thurs Mar. 14th: https://www.themusicsettlement.org/events/2024/03/14/greg-chako-trio-bop-stop
Fri/Sat night & Sunday Brunch (Mar. 15/16/17), we're at The Linden Social Club in Geneva, NY: https://gregchako.com/event/5481032/673329183/greg-chako-trio-live-on-the-road
My wife and I are staying in East Irondequoit where we lived before relocating to Cincinnati, and my two bandmates will be staying nearby, also in Irondequoit. I'm looking forward to seeing some friends and I will be calling you if you don't call me first! In Cleveland, I'm keen to meet some friends and fans I've known for a while but never actually met in person. I am anticipating an exciting time and some great music too!
It was March when my wife and I moved to Cincinnati and I recall well that it was snowing in ROC! I checked the weather report today and so far it looks like we'll be snow-safe this trip. Can't wait to meet everyone and make the rounds!
This trio pictured above and below have already tracked a new album. Titled “Standard Roots,” it is my 17th album and unlike previous releases which featured all-originals, this newest one will be a return to the type of music I played at the outset of my career more than 30 years ago - it contains all first-takes of the kinds of songs from The Great American Songbook that we often play on local gigs today. We went into the studio and just played whatever came to mind. I'll have physical copies much sooner, but the official label release for World-Wide streaming will be in either May or June this year. Stay tuned . . . and hope to see you in person soon!
For those in Cincinnati, my next performance is this Friday Mar. 8, with my 2nd favorite trio in the land, details here: https://gregchako.com/event/5411703/668763678/david-lloyd-trio-featuring-greg-chako-todd-remmy
Greg Chako, Tue. Mar. 5th 2024, Blog #11 from “Up & Coming!”