TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — Jazz-fusion is one thing. A completely improvised live performance with a live painter is another. Enter Willie Waldman Project. The art of group composing on the spot takes a creative set of musicians with sharp ears that can have instantaneous musical dialogues. The experimental evening of music at the Mangy Moose will include Waldman on trumpet, drummer Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction, Banyan), guitarist Eden Perkins, live painter Norton Wisdom, legendary Memphis drummer Terry Saffold, vocalist Nic Placek, and two veteran Teton County musicians—bassist Andy Calder and guitarist Jeff Eidemiller. The upcoming Twenty Below Tour will feature four local performances: Feb. 8 at Tetonia Club, Feb. 13 at the Mangy Moose, and Feb. 14-15 at the Trap Bar at Grand Targhee Resort.
The name Willie Waldman might not strike an immediate chord, but it’s one you’ll find in the liner notes of great artists and groups such as Banyan, Rob Wasserman, Perry Farrell and the late Tupac Shakur. He’s been called “one of the white boys” of Death Row, working with the label since its beginnings and blowing trumpet on some of the biggest hip-hop records released. Waldman’s trumpet can be heard on albums by Warren G., Sublime, Tupac Shakur, Salt-N-Pepa, and others.
A childhood fascination with the trumpet led Waldman to his high school band and eventually to a scholarship at Memphis State University. While in Memphis, he began playing in Beale St. clubs and eventually hooked up with Herman Green, Calvin Newborn, and Jimmie Ellis at Club Hardy. The band morphed into Freeworld, which was a fusion band that met some commercial success and toured with Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Robert Cray Band, Albert King, and Joe Cocker.
Ox Presents Willie Waldman Project, 9 p.m. Monday Feb. 13 at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village. $29. MangyMoose.com. For information on the other (free) shows, visit WillieWaldman.com.
