TICKETS are $10 General/$5 Student. End time is estimate.

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from the Wells Philanthropic Services provided by grants from the John, Anna, and Martha Jane Fields Memorial Trust Foundation, Stanley A. and Flora P. Clark Memorial Community Trust Foundation, and the Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust, The Esther and George Jaruga Charitable Foundation, the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County's ArtsEverywhere initiative, and the Arts Project Support Grant and Arts Recovery Grant through the Indiana Arts Commission. Special concert event support provided by the Arts Midwest Grow, Invest, Gather (GIG) Fund grant (2022-2023 season).

Embrace the Rain

Swanson’s latest project delivers an eclectic mix of influence sourced from the unsuspecting places where life’s curiosities lie. Fusing his interest in European folkloric and classical melody, he combines the feel of a chamber string ensemble with the instrumentation of an electric guitar trio, encouraging the listener to reconsider what is possible for a small ensemble to achieve. At their core, the new works reflect inspiration from Swanson’s Swedish American heritage, evoking a story of previous generations and filtered through the modern experience in sound, beat, and improvisation. Embrace the Rain features Chicago luminaries Matt Ulery on the upright bass and Jon Deitemeyer on drum set. Together the dynamic trio weaves a rhythmic tale of midwestern melancholy.

Embrace the Rain live at the green mill video link: https://youtu.be/TDyVA5UoFCw

More Video: https://youtu.be/zpLf0SPbUnE?t=31

Jeff Swanson - guitar

Matt Ulery - bass

Jon Deitemyer - drums

Guitarist Jeff Swanson’s unique voice and open mind have been a valued part of Chicago’s diverse music scene for over a decade. A strong player in many disciplines, he has been featured all around the world including the Jazz Zone (Lima, Peru), Chicago Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Iowa City Jazz Festival, Chicago Gospel Festival.    His adaptability and creativity on the instrument have led to collaborative performances and recordings with artists including Dustin Laurenzi’s Natural Language, Quentin Coaxum Quintet, SamThousand & The Soul Vortex/Acoustic Audile, Wills McKenna Quintet, Greg Artry Jr., Artie Black (Living Bridge), Caroline Davis & Charles Rumback (Whirlpool), Juan Pastor’s Chinchano, Erthe St. James, Jesse Palter, Connor Bernhard, and Christopher McBride.    As a leader, Jeff composes music for his trio featuring Matt Ulery and Jon Deitemyer. He has also recorded two albums with his high-energy electric jazz-influenced project, Case-fitter, on BACE Records. Jeff is currently working on his third album featuring the trio and composing new music for a solo guitar project debuting in 2023. www.jeffswansonmusic.com

Chicago based bassist/composer and bandleader, Matt Ulery, has developed an instantly recognizable sound. Known for his sweeping lyricism, unconventional phrase structures, expressionistic emotionalism, Ulery’s music, from small, diverse chamber ensembles to full orchestras, is informed by the entire spectrum of jazz, classical, rock, pop, and folk– specifically American, South American, Balkan, and other European folk styles. He has been performing for 25 years on upright, electric, and brass basses.  

For over two decades, Ulery has been the leader of his own groups and frequent collaborator. Ulery has produced and released 11 albums of all original music under his name.  Ulery holds music degrees from Depaul and Roosevelt University and is in high demand as a bassist in Chicago. As a composer, Ulery has collaborated with diverse ensembles such as Eighth Blackbird, Miami String Quartet, New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago, Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music Festival of Lexington, Axiom Brass, Wild Belle, Guimaraes (Portugal) Jazz Festival, Projeto Arcomusical, and the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition.     When not touring parts of the U.S. and Europe, Matt is extremely active in the Chicago area music scenes and has performed with his own groups at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, NYC Winter Jazz Festival, Chicago Orchestra Hall, Millennium Park Pritzker Pavillion, Chicago Cultural Center, The Krannert Center, Jazz Showcase, The Metro, Chicago Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Chicago World Music Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Guimaraes Jazz Festival, and countless other fine music listening rooms. In addition to performing, recording, and writing, Ulery is on faculty at Loyola University Chicago and gives masterclasses and clinics nationwide and beyond.     Matt Ulery leads and composes all the music for several of his own ensembles, including Sifting Stars Orchestra (orchestral art songs), Loom Large (jazz big band), Loom (jazz quintet), Delicate Charms (jazz quintet), Pollinator (jazz brass band), By a Little Light Ensemble (chamber jazz nonet), string quintet, and various other pet projects.

Jon Deitemyer has been a member of Greenleaf artist Matt Ulery’s various ensembles since 2006, and currently performs with ArtistShare recording artist Patricia Barber. In addition, Jon has performed and recorded with Zach Brock, Phil Markowitz, Ben Paterson (MaxJazz), Grazyna Auguscik (EMI), Renee Fleming, Lynne Arriale, and American Public Media’s “Prairie Home Companion”.    Jon is also an active educator, with positions at Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago, and the Chicago Academy for the Arts.