Le Percheron with an opening set CD Release by Imminent Standards Trio

8:00pm opening set by the Imminent Standards Trio – CD Release

JC Sanford – Trombone

Abinnet Berhanu – Drums

Charlie Lincoln – Bass

9:30pm Le Percheron

Adam Linz – bass

Cory Healey – drums and cymbals

Noah Ophoven-Baldwin – cornets

Levi Schwartzberg – vibraphone Paul Metzger – guitars

“After Fat Kid Wednesdays had a 10-year run, we slowed down. The guys, including myself, were all doing so many projects. Michael especially was touring a lot, whether it was with Andrew Bird or Bon Iver. I felt like it was time to do me. Fat Kids is great, but you gotta remember Fat Kids is a leaderless trio and, while that sounds fantastic, there’s a lot of problems that can come from that. I might bring something to the group but it might get pushed out because somebody thinks it’s not right for the band. Again, the leaderless trio is very difficult to ascertain. If you don’t have a leader saying, “We’re gonna do this, and it’s gonna go look like this,” that can be hard. Sometimes it’s easier to have a leader than have uncertainty about what the band’s gonna do or who’s in control.

I’m always late to the game, people were like, “Why didn’t you do this 10 years ago?” And I was like, “Man, I just want to have my own group now.” I love being able to have vibes, cornet, bass, drums. I’m a huge Don Cherry fan. One of my favorite Don Cherry groups is that European quartet with Karl Berger. I love that sound. So that’s kind of where the group started. It is an outlet for me to compose.

My goal with Le Percheron is to continue to play with those guys. I don’t believe in overnight success. We’ve been a band for five years now, and I think we’re just getting comfortable. My goal is to keep developing the group. Hopefully, those guys will all stay living here. I know Cory’s having a kid, and Noah’s not planning on going anywhere. Hopefully, Levi will stick around because we need him. How many vibes players are in town? Two? We’re a small town in that way.

I love that sound. I love that those guys are so willing to go with me down this road. I’m not trying to push it so we need to play all the time, either. I like to give things a lot of breathing room, so that when we do play, we have something to play about.”