Rudder with The Crawl at Martyrs (Event Over)

RUDDER:
Chris Cheek (saxophones) is now somewhat of an icon in the saxophone world. His playing has been heard for years with the Paul Motion electric bebop band. He is also a member of Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra and has recently been playing with guitar great Bill Frisell. As a leader, Chris has four noteworthy albums to his credit in addition to appearing as a sideman on over 60 other CDs. With Rudder, Chris plays tenor, as well as baritone sax and brings his unique usage of effects on his horn to the Rudder sound.
Henry Hey (keyboards) has enjoyed a widely diversified musical career in New York. He has toured and recorded with everyone from Jeff Watts, Alex Sipiagin, Bill Evans, Bill Bruford, Monday Michiru and Till Broenner to Harry Belafonte, PM Dawn, Phil Ramone, Richard Perry, and most recently extended world touring and television appearances as pianist and shared musical director for Rod Stewart. Henry plays rhodes, organ and unique synthesized and sampled textures with Rudder.
Tim Lefebvre (bass) is of the most skilled and sought after bass players in NY, Tim has made appearances in Saturday Night Live's house band over the last few years - his work has also been heard on The Apprentice, The Sopranos, Late Show With David Letterman, The Knights of Prosperity (CBS), 30 Rock (NBC), Oceans 12, Ocean 's 13, The Departed, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, and Analyze That!. He was also the Musical Director/Leader on The Caroline Rhea Show on ABC. He has also appeared recently with Chris Potter, Patti Austin, Uri Caine, and Dave Binney. Tim brings his incredible support and huge low sounds to the Rudder vibe.
Keith Carlock (drums) is quickly becoming one of the most well-known and emulated drummers on the planet. Early on, Keith and Tim formed the backbone that led to some new directions in the trio of guitarist Wayne Krantz. It wasn't long before Keith was heard by others and quickly became the drummer for the Blues Brothers. Shortly after that he was sought out to follow in the footsteps of Peter Erskine and other greats to sit at the drum chair of Steely Dan. Immediately following his first extended tour with Steely Dan, Keith was on the road for a two-year tour with Sting. Keith's singular sound and style are essential to the groove of Rudder.

CRAWL was born out of a set break at a Chicago jazz venue, when the three musicians backing a great local jazz vocalist decided that they really enjoyed each other's unique approach, and wanted to advance that into a setting that actually highlighted each of their unique playing abilities to create an original, instrumental project. Of course, as any musician knows, talk like this is always present on gigs - its usually a great way to seal the deal on a networking opportunity in order to make sure the calls keep coming. Well, this one only took a year of talk before it was put into action.
Three powerhouse Chicago musicians adding yet another project to their roster seemed a daunting task, but as the planets aligned in some supportive fashion, a rehearsal, and then another took place.

Photos by avantchicago

Guestlist not for admission purposes.