When their first show with Jherek Bischoff sold out quickly, the boys in Redshift decided to double down.
Hence, the perennially favorite island tunesmiths will play a second show with their special guest at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22 at the Treehouse Café.
Tickets are on sale; the cost is $10 per person. Visit www.treehousebainbridge.com to purchase.
Redshift, the Bainbridge-based jazz trio featuring Dave Bristow on piano, Neil Conaty on bass and Kurt Bischoff on drums, have long been performing their unique original pieces, as well as unusual arrangements of jazz and pop standards, throughout the King, Kitsap and Jefferson County area, including their staple monthly performance at the Treehouse Café.
Kurt’s son Jherek, also a much-loved local musician whose 2012 album “Composed” received widespread critical acclaim, moved to Los Angeles, California a year ago, but returned back to Bainbridge recently for his grandmother’s 100th birthday party and this special (now) two-day concert event with his father’s band.
Jherek has been called a “pop polymath” by the New York Times and a “Seattle phenom” by The New Yorker. He has served as an arranger, producer and muse to such luminaries as Internet phenomenon Amanda Palmer, legendary New York musician David Byrne, Australian pop star Missy Higgins and novelist Neil Gaiman. The last few years have seen him land commissions from Lincoln Center to the Kronos Quartet, as well as live appearances at Carnegie Hall, Adelaide Festival, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center and Seattle’s Moore Theater.
The first show sold out quickly, Kurt Bischoff said. Even quicker than Redshift had ever hoped, in fact.
“I was kind of shocked [at] how fast it happened,” he said. “I kind of figured we’d sell out one [show] because when Jherek played about two years ago at [Bainbridge Performing Arts] he sold that place out and he’s got a pretty good local following, and I figured that coupled with the fact that our group has a pretty strong following at the Treehouse.”
Luckily, he said, Jherek had planned to stay on Bainbridge a little longer anyway and the Treehouse was willing and able to offer them the stage again for a second show to accommodate the demand.
The collaborative concert will feature staple tunes from both Jherek and Redshift’s catalogue, Bischoff explained, as well as a few new songs as well.
“[Jherek’s] going to go back to his roots, basically, and play bass in our group on some jazz standards and our normal bass player will move over and play guitar,” he explained. “We’re going to use him to play bass on some of the more funky jazz pieces we do.
“Then we’re going to try and reinterpret some of Jherek’s compositions,” Bischoff added.
“We’ve been working on it at rehearsal. It’s pretty exciting. It’s a little hard trying to reinterpret a piece that was written for a 30-piece orchestra as a three-piece jazz trio, but we’re doing our best and we’re coming up with some rather unique arrangements.”
In addition to Redshift’s collaboration with Jherek, there will also be the first reunion of the Bainbridge Island duo The Dips, composed of just Jherek and his brother Korum Bischoff, which was formed while both them were still attending high school.
They play a unique style of music reminiscent of Primus and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
According to Kurt, because both members were so young at the time, they had a hard time finding places to play that would allow them in the door when alcohol was being served and thus the band broke up while each member pursued their own interests.
Though a historically significant region in the evolution of American music, Kurt said that the Seattle area, and Bainbridge Island in particular, is very much a unique and active spot in the regional music scene right now.
“I’m feeling like things are really kind of exciting right now,” he said.
“It’s starting to be like a renaissance of live music in the Kitsap area,” he added, citing Redshift’s upcoming appearances at several venues around the county and also the impressively diverse lineup of shows put on by Spacecraft at Rolling Bay Hall.
And then there’s the southern standard.
“The Treehouse is a really nice venue,” he added. “They bring in interesting groups and support the local musicians.”
At the Treehouse
What: Redshift, featuring special guest Jherek Bischoff, to play a surprise second show.
When: 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22.
Where: Treehouse Café (4569 Lynwood Center Road NE).
Admission: $10 per person (21-and-over only), visit www.treehousebainbridge.com to purchase.
