Fri 12/3 & Sat 12/4 @ 8PM
Having the opportunity to hear a world-class musician like Jamey Haddad in an intimate local club with a fair amount of frequency reminds us once again of the array of top jazz talent with which Northeast Ohio is blessed.
Jazz/global music drummer/percussionist Haddad became interested in percussion instruments from around the world as a child growing up in Cleveland. But then he departed his home town for more than three decades, first to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston (where he later became a professor), then to move to New York to built a career that has included more than two decades as a member of Paul Simon’s touring band and playing on hundreds of albums by an array of musicians in a variety of genres, from Yo-Yo Ma to Sting to fellow Cleveland native Joe Lovano. In addition, he creates his own percussion instruments, claiming to have made more than 1,000, to take his music into new sonic territory.
In the early 2000s, he returned to his hometown to join the faculty of Oberlin Conservatory to teach percussion and improvisation. Since then he’s been a regular on area stages, always managed to assemble topnotch musicians to join him onstage. When he’s back at the BOP STOP for two shows this week, he’ll be joined by pianist Ben Tweedt, guitarist Brandon Coleman and bassist Eli Naragon.
Tickets for the in-person shows are $25. You can also access the live stream for free on the BOP STOP’s Facebook page, which is free, but you can make a donation here.