Michael Manring, Paul Hanson, and Michael Gulezian

Sun. Aug. 13 at 4pm $20 adv./$25 door 

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/michael-manring-paul-hanson-michael-gulezian-tickets-681117068487

Michael Manring:  Hailed by many as the world’s leading solo bassist, Michael Manring  has been pushing back the boundaries of what’s possible on the bass guitar for decades. While his technical skill and innovations always make an impression, it is his ability to communicate on a profound emotional level that most touches listeners. As editor Tom Darter wrote in Keyboard magazine after seeing one of Michael’s solo concerts, “Forget his astounding technique and musicality; forget his absolute command of his instruments; forget how seamlessly the musical ideas and the performance of them were wedded together…The enlightenment came most from feeling (seeing, hearing) the joy Michael felt to be playing…his brand of transcendental chops and musical understanding…was all in the service of the final outcome, the joy of making music.” 

Building on the conceptions of his teacher, the late bass legend Jaco Pastorius, Michael has developed an approach to the instrument that includes unorthodox tunings, techniques and methodologies. He has honed his skills on hundreds of recordings as a session musician and thousands of concerts throughout the world in venues including Carnegie Hall in New York, Yamaha Hall in Tokyo and Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. 

His long-term collaboration and close friendship with the late acoustic guitar genius Michael Hedges led to a lengthy stint as house bassist for Windham Hill Records; a label for whom he also worked as a solo artist, releasing four recordings under his own name: Unusual Weather (1986), Toward the Center of the Night (1989), Drastic Measures (1991) and Thonk (1994).

Paul Hanson: Stunningly innovative and entertaining bassoonist playing electric and acoustic, jazz, funk, rock, world, classical, and more.

“Hanson has brought the double reed instrument into areas where it’s seldom, if ever, gone before, combining a commanding improvisational sensibility with funk, classical and world music influences.”  – Andrew Gilbert, DOWNBEAT Magazine

“Paul Hanson, whose playing on the bassoon, surely the blackest sheep of jazz instruments, is exuberant, playful, energetic and joyous, and it has to be said quite breathtaking.”- Ian Patterson, allaboutjazz.com

“What Paul Hanson does on bassoon is akin to what other innovators like guitarists Charlie Hunter and Stanley Jordan, banjoist Bela Fleck and bassist Jaco Pastorius have done with their respective instruments.”- Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times

Michael Gulezian (gu-LAY-ze-in) is one of the most highly acclaimed solo acoustic instrumental guitarists of our time. He’s a phenomenal technical guitarist with the rare ability to transcend his own virtuosity, creating music that touches and moves people at the deepest level. Fred Kraus, of Minor 7th.com wrote that Gulezian “might be the most accomplished pure guitarist on the planet.” He’s been called the musical link between John Fahey and Michael Hedges. Artists as diverse as Michael Hedges, Willy Porter, and Henry Kaiser have claimed him as a primary musical influence; young lions such as Erik Mongrain, Andy McKee, and Trevor Gordon Hall are quick to acknowledge him as an inspiration. In concert, Michael is all warmth and humor … and though it’s visually breathtaking to watch him perform, a concert with Michael is more than a display of cutting-edge virtuosity – it is the passionate communion of master musician engaged with his audience in the mystery of self-revelation, creating music of atmospheric power, ecstatic joy, and haunting beauty. Michael has an online audience at Pandora of 15,000 monthly listeners, and 10 million cumulative streams. If you enjoy the artistry of musicians such as Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges – guitarists who not only amaze technically but also touch the soul – then you will love Michael Gulezian.

Artist sights and sounds:  https://manthing.com/home

Purchase your tickets now:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/michael-manring-paul-hanson-michael-gulezian-tickets-681117068487