Double Header | The Songs Trio (Brennan Connors) & Saideira Pagode and Brazilian Food Pop-Up

On this special evening, we present a double bill consisting of Brennan Connors's new jazz trio project "The Songs Trio" at 7 PM, with Brennan on saxophone/flute/vocals, Ari Smith on upright bass, and Richard Hildner on guitar. The second part would be Saideira Pagode with Brazilian music at 9 PM. The two bands have distinct but overlapping followings and styles. Saideira Pagode will be bringing their Brazilian rhythms and Chef Lorraine Frossard will be serving Brazilian food! The Songs Trio is Brennan Connors, Richard Hildner, and Ari Smith reveling in beautiful tunes as we take a dive into material from the Great American Songbook repertoire, jazz standards, contemporary sources, and some originals. It's straight-ahead jazz, but not so straight ahead that it gets squared up. Brennan Connors (on saxophone and vocals) continues his wide eyed, open eared journey exploring music, sound, and whatever is around such things. He currently leads the experimental jazz trio Brennan Connors & Stray Passage as well as working with Samba Novstas, The Crux of the Anima, and an ever expanding world of diverse musicians and ensembles. Richard Hildner Armacanqui (on guitar) grew up in Madison playing Peruvian Andean guitar styles with his grandfather and uncles. He has continued in that lineage while studying and performing with musical legends Juan Medrano Cotito and Maestro Carlos Hayre, as well as finding mentorship in jazz with Paul Jefffery and Richard Davis. Having played nationally and internationally, Richard Hildner believes in creating spaces of music and art where all cultures can understand each other as one community. Ari Smith (on double bass) is a genre spanning composer and performer currently residing in Madison. He strives to explore all possibilities of sonic performance through conventional and unconventional instrumentation, scoring methods, and approaches to improvisation. Ari has shared the stage with artists such as Hanah Jon Taylor, Vincent Davis, Jim Baker, and Isaiah Collier. Saideira Pagode (sy-DAY-ruh pa-GOH-jee) is an ensemble of Madison based sambistas, dedicated to the study and performance of old school pagode music and samba de raiz (“roots samba”) from the hills of Rio de Janeiro, often played informally around a table in barrooms and at backyard parties. Hand percussion, nylon-string guitar, and cavaquinho (Brazil’s ubiquitous steel-string ukulele) weave a subtly complex groove, seamlessly embroidered with group singing and call and response, creating a tapestry of tonality guaranteed to get your toes tapping around our roda de samba. Saude! Saideira Pagode will be bringing their Brazilian rhythms and Chef Lorraine Frossard will be serving Brazilian food! Ticket: $20 for the whole evening with these great bands and some delicious food!