On Saturday, October 10, at 7:30 p.m., internationally acclaimed, widely celebrated composer-pianist Brian Roy Haas will be giving a rare solo performance at the Golden Magnolia Sanctuary. Presented by Puffer Planetary Airways, the evening is billed as “a journey into inner and outer space, melting face, saving grace,” a musical exploration into uncharted territory.
If you were lucky enough to attend the recent Blue Rose Ballroom grand opening, you experienced the liquid fingers of Nolatet’s piano prodigy-turned-maestro Brian Haas. Subtle, expressive, sometimes explosive melodies danced in cascading phrases woven deftly into the rhythmic uberfeel of legendary New Orleans drum king Johnny Vidacovich and the mellifluous clank and tingle of Mike Dillon’s vivacious vibes—all buoyed by the singularity of James Singleton’s magic granddaddy double bass.
Haas, whose prolific discography comprises nearly 40 records, was not only attired in the coolest pants imaginable, his playing floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. The New Orleans-based quartet was the first musical act to grace the Blue Rose stage, a crown entertainment jewel and truly magnificent venue.
I ask Scott Puffer what prompted him to organize this event to showcase Haas’s considerable talent.
“I was watching Brian play in Nolatet a while back, sitting very close,” he tells me. “His passion, technique, creativity, all abundantly clear. It just struck me that a solo performance, outside of the confines of an ensemble setting, free of constraints, would be an amazing vehicle for Haas’s gifts and could be a powerful transformative journey for the com-munity. When I approached him about it, he was immediately on board, flashing that award-winning smile.”
Classically trained from the age of four, Haas basically won every competition he entered till he was 16. While enjoying a full scholarship to Tulsa University, he found his affinity for jazz growing, inspired by Coltrane, Monk, and Miles. The joy, challenge, freedom, and intrigue of improvisation was the pull, the magic sauce, if you will, a contrast to the exacting rigors of the classical approach.
In 1994, he founded the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (JFJO), a genre-bending jazz-funk instrumental configuration that definitely tripped the light fandango, playing Fairfield some years back. In 2011, the group released Race Riot Suite, a concept record highlighting the tragic Tulsa race riot of 1921. JFJO (a Jazz Odyssey moniker inspired by Spinal Tap bassist Derek Small’s pretentious side project of the same name) has made 26 recordings with 16 different members, and toured Europe 13 times over three decades, under the capable leadership of Haas.
Brian has worked with many artists, including the Funky Meters, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Rebirth Brass Band, Nikki Glaspie, George Porter Jr., Helen Gillet, Matt Chamberlain, Les Claypool, Charlie Hunter, and Punkadelick and Nolatet—two groups featuring New Orleans fixture and Fairfield favorite Mike Dillon.
To put it simply, Brian Roy Haas is a lifelong world-class talent and a soulful lighthouse—i.e., the real deal. This will be a night to remember. The white grand piano. The Golden Magnolia Sanctuary. Golden indeed. Puffer Planetary Airways has some surprises in store as well for this very special event.
Tickets can be purchased at the door at Golden Magnolia Sanctuary, 200 S. Main Street in Fairfield.