Common Chord, Davenport, Has a Busy December Lined Up
The QC music nonprofit Common Chord has a lot going on this month.
At Common Chord (2nd and Main streets, Davenport), a generous anonymous donor is offering to match all gifts to the Steve Trainor Fund until Dec. 31 up to $5,000.
The fund is named in memory of Steve Trainor and his herculean contributions to the annual Bix Jazz Festival. “We are building this fund into an endowment held at our local community foundation, with the ultimate goal to fund the festival in perpetuity!” Common Chord says.
Ticket sales make up for less than one-third of the cost of the festival, yet they strive to keep tickets as affordable as possible. “In recent years, we have seen many jazz festivals across the country permanently cease operations. But with a gift to this fund, you can help us ensure a long, successful future for the Bix Jazz Festival,” Common Chord says.
Steve Trainor, 76, s longtime Bix Jazz Society volunteer, received the “Bix Lives” award in August 2023, a month before his death.
A 76-year-old former TV broadcaster, actor and past Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Society board president, Trainor died from cancer at his Hampton home on Sept. 2, 2023.
Less than a month before Trainor’s passing, he was honored Aug. 4, at the 52nd-annual Bix Jazz Festival at the Rhythm City Casino Event Center, Davenport, with the annual Bix Lives Award. Since 2007, the Bix Lives award has been given to people who exemplify what it means to keep Bix’s legacy alive, said Nate Kraft, director of the Bix Beiderbecke Museum and World Archives.
The Bix Jazz Society now operates under the aegis of Common Chord, the longtime former home of the Bix Beiderbecke Museum, which honors the Davenport native and jazz legend.
Since 1971, the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Society has preserved and celebrated the music and memory of Bix Beiderbecke, producing 54 Bix Jazz Festivals.
The Bix Society and its programs (the Bix Jazz Festival and the Bix Youth Band) has merged with Common Chord, a larger and well-known music nonprofit in Davenport.
“Not only does this allow the Festival to benefit from the capacity and professional experience of Common Chord’s staff, it allows Bix to have a greater reach into the more than 50,000 community members Common Chord serves each year through its concert and educational programs,” according to the Common Chord website.
Through the establishment of a committee known as the Bix Society Advisory Board, the former board members of the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society nonprofit have joined with Common Chord to continue these successful programs – and build them to be even stronger.
Dec. 7 jazz concert
The Bix Beiderbecke Museum & Common Chord are presenting a jazz concert Sunday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m., featuring singer Laura Anglade and pianist Ben Rosenblum, at the Redstone Room, 129 Main St., Davenport.
Tickets are $12 in advance / $15 at the door, available at www.CommonChordQC.org/events. Bix Jazz Society members can get tickets at half price, using the coupon code: BIXLIVES1225.
French-American singer Laura Anglade is reminiscent of many of the great traditional vocal stylists of the 20th century, but her voice is uniquely her own, according to a promo release. As she digs emotionally and eloquently into a lyric, her story-telling abilities portray a soul beyond her years.
French-American singer Laura Anglade will perform at Redstone Room on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m.
Her debut release, “I’ve Got Just About Everything” (Justin Time Records, 2019) saw the vocalist, along with her quintet, fearlessly plunging headlong into a wide range of material drawn from both the Broadway stage as well as the Great American Songbook. On her Juno-nominated sophomore recording, “Venez Donc Chez Moi” (Justin Time Records, 2022), Laura teams up with Montreal guitarist Sam Kirmayer and New York based accordionist Benjamin Rosenblum on two tracks.
It is an homage of sorts; a nod to Laura’s beloved France. The record features French classics made famous by Barbara, Charles Trenet, Edith Piaf, and Michel Legrand to name a few.
Anglade leads an active international touring schedule and has performed at venues including Olympia (Paris), Royal Festival Hall (London), Town Hall (New York City), the Ace Theatre Hotel (Los Angeles), and the main stage at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. She opened for Gregory Porter at the Victoria Jazz Festival (summer 2022), and Melody Gardot (fall 2022), joining her across the east and west coasts of the US and Europe. She is currently based in Toronto.
Pianist, accordionist and composer Ben Rosenblum has traversed a unique musical path, one that has seen him perform alongside world-class musicians across more than 20 music genres and 25 countries, lead bands at prestigious venues across the world, all while maintaining a signature, melodic musical voice. Rosenblum’s journey has taken him on tours with Grammy-winning pop artist Rickie Lee Jones, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Catherine Russell and Juno-winning contemporary Indian singer Kiran Ahluwalia.
He’s played Brazilian choro with Ephrat Asherie Dance and Brazilian forró with The Late Night Show’s Nêgah Santos and famed forró band Forró in the Dark. His roots in jazz have led to an over ten-year relationship with Grammy-winning bassist Curtis Lundy, performing at festivals alongside jazz luminaries Bobby Watson, Sean Jones and Warren Wolf.
He has appeared with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on accordion, and as a guest soloist on piano at Carnegie Hall’s Stern-Perelman Auditorium with Maestro Reona Ito’s New York Harmonic Band. Throughout it all, Rosenblum has always maintained the same priority – to tell a compelling story with his music, reaching the hearts of his audience and connecting on an emotional, intellectual and spiritual level.
Rosenblum brings this wealth and diversity of experiences to his projects as a leader, overseeing a full tour schedule as a solo artist, with his trio and most recently, with his six-piece ensemble, the Nebula Project. Since his first album as a leader, “Instead” (4 stars, Downbeat Magazine), he has since released three follow-up records to critical acclaim, including favorable reviews in almost every major jazz publication (Downbeat, All About Jazz, Jazziz, JazzTimes, JazzEd, NYC Jazz Record, JazzLife Japan and many more).
Across multiple tours in Japan, Europe, Canada and the U.S., Rosenblum has brought his bands to perform at some of the world’s most respected music venues, including Ravinia, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, the Library of Congress, AngraJazz (Terceira Island), Bird’s Eye (Basel) and Yokohama’s Himawari-No-Sato Concert Hall.
Dec. 12 Christmas Trivia Night
On Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m., Common Chord will host a “Christmas Vacation” Trivia Night, at Redstone Room.
Test your knowledge of the holidays and this iconic movie, and wear your ugliest holiday sweater for the ugly sweater contest Special Movie-Related Activities will be:
- “Clark’s Old Fashioned Family Photobooth”
- “Aunt Bethany’s Bake Sale” (with wrapped mystery items and holiday goodies)
- “Margo & Todd’s Silent Auction”
- “Cousin Eddie’s Real Nice 50/50 Raffle”
- “Snot’s Salvation Mulligans”
- “Aunt Bethany’s Bonus” (doubler)
You can register for that HERE.
Seeking new fundraising boss
Common Chord is also seeking a new development director. In the job, you can play the lead role in developing resources to advance Common Chord’s mission and strategic plan through relationship-building with donors, sponsors, volunteers, and community partners.
You will rely on your people skills, self-motivation, creative thinking, and strong desire for results to make new connections between Common Chord and our community, and to grow those connections into mutually beneficial relationships where donor and mission are aligned. You will use your commitment to our mission to nurture donor relationships and build their passion for our work.
Your success in this role will empower Common Chord’s community impact through educational and concert programming and expand our outreach with a focus on equity, accessibility, and inclusion.
To learn more and to apply, visit www.commonchordqc.org/employment.
Common Chord is seeking a new development director.
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