Jazz at the Spring presents a special Halloween Event.

Dom Minasi and the DTR trio will be performing selections from his masterwork Vampire's Revenge (inspired by novelist Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles). Minasi's opus, through composed avant jazz is, inventive and challenging and sharp and incisive. Trick or Treat? Or both, but certainly not for the faint of heart. Featuring: Dom Minasi, guitar Tomas Ulrich, cello and Ratzo Harris, bass.

Dan Bilawsky of AllAboutJazz.com, says of Minasi, "Improvising musicians all pay lip service to the idea of working without a net, but most end up building safety precautions no matter how slight or subtle they may be into their work. Dom Minasi, however, isn't one of those musicians. The indefatigable guitarist has no interest in sonic safeguards or insurance. He's a law unto himself, creating music that speaks to his intelligence, fearlessness, and mischievous nature...."

Dom Minasi has been playing guitar for over 50 years, and is part of New York City's illustrious Downtown Scene. An innovator in the field of improvisational Jazz, Dom wears many hats: musician, composer, arranger, educator, author, producer and owner and president of CDM Records, an independent record label. He became a professional jazz musician at fifteen, and in 1974, he was signed to Blue Note Records. After recording two albums he left the label and did not record again as a leader until 1999 when he signed to CIMP records, choosing to make his living composing, authoring three books on harmony and improvisation, teaching and arranging.

In the late seventies he had the opportunity to work and perform with some jazz giants including Arnie Lawrence, George Coleman, Frank Foster, Jimmy Heath and Dave Brubeck. After working with and being inspired by Roger Kellaway in 74, Dom began seriously composing in all genres, including songwriting (both music & lyrics) jazz tunes and serious long hair contemporary pieces. He was the major composer for M.I.C.E. (Manhattan Improvisational Chamber Ensemble) which specialized in through--composed music with improvisation. He composes all the music for his many varied groups.

Dom also worked for Young Audiences New York, where he was the first teaching artist to use song writing as a Literacy learning tool. Since then he has composed over three hundred children songs.

In order to have complete creative control over the recording process Dom and his wife Carol Mennie founded CDM records to release, Takin' The Duke Out live, in October 2001. Since then CDM has released Goin' Out Again (2002) and Time Will Tell (2003). In 2004 CDM released Quick Response and Carol Mennie’s I’m Not A Sometime Thing. In March 2006, Dom’s most ambitious project was released The Vampires Revenge, selections from this masterwork have been specially adapted for this concert. Minasi continues to perform and record, his most recent release, Remembering Cecil (April 2019), is an homage to the deceased giant of the Avant Garde, Cecil Taylor.

Cellist-Composer Tomas Ulrich received music degrees from Boston University and the Manhattan School of Music. He cites composers Dmitri Shostakovich and Olivier Messiaen, along with Dolphy and Mingus, among his influences, and has performed and recorded with such artists as Anthony Davis, Joe Lovano, Alice and Ravi Coltrane, Anthony Braxton, McCoy Tyner, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Merchant and many others. Jay Collins from Signal to Noise has written that, "Tomas Ulrich is surely one of the most accomplished and intriguing cellists in improvised music, with a brilliant technical mastery and ability to play prickly improv, jazz, classical, film music or pretty much anything he desires."

Ratzo B. Harris is among the world's premier six-string upright bassists. Harris, a 1995 Thelonious Monk Competition semi-finalist, is a past contributing columnist for Bass Player Magazine, teacher, composer and author. An innovative bassist, he has worked with some of the greatest musicians of our times. His career spans 45 years and includes collaborations with: Bobby Hutcherson, Cal Tjader, Les Paul, David Friedman, Jon Hendricks, David Samuels, Joe Henderson, Charles Lloyd, John Handy, Betty Carter, Joe Lovano, Jim Pepper, Betty Buckley, Andrew Hill, Jane Ira Bloom, and Steve Weisberg to name a very few. Lisa Alvarado of BLOGCRITICS.ORG Describes Ratzo Harris’ playing as, “...muscular, a rebar of sonic foundation, yet sinuous and subtle. From the heartbeat of free jazz, to aural filigrees on jazz standards, he's at the top of his game. Ratzo Harris plays bass that's living root and steel girder.”

Jazz at the Spring is held the last Thursday of each month at the Spring Street Gallery, Saratoga Springs, and is sponsored by Capital District Jazz, Ltd. (CDJ) a 501©3 not-for-profit organization formed by practitioners and fans who love jazz music. American in origin, jazz reaches and draws from millions of performers and listeners around the globe who are inspired by its rich history, excited by its technical complexity, and moved by its emotional depth. The members of CDJ want to share their love of jazz with current and potential performers and enthusiasts throughout the “Capital District”. CDJ’s mission is to build and serve a wider audience for jazz through education; to create performance opportunities for jazz musicians; and to develop venues for these pursuits. CDJ supports All Ears: Jazz and Improvised Music Workshop, which is a fun hands-on way for students of all ages to learn about jazz.

CDJ is offering a number of free tickets for youth age 17 and under. If you are interested in obtaining a free ticket please inquire via email mailto:info@cdjazz.org. Tickets are available in advance at: brown paper tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4400156