Drummer Dru Heller presents a celebration of the music of Paul Motian. One of the most influential jazz drummers of all time, Motian first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and was a member of Keith Jarrett's 'American Quartet from 1967-76. As a leader he is most known for his trio with saxophonist Joe Lovano and guitarist Bill Frisell, as well as his Electric Bebop Band which showcased many different young lions of jazz, including Joshua Redmand, Kurt Rosenwinkle, and Brad Shepik. These two shows will celebrate Motian's legacy as a bandleader, drawing from his vast book of original compositions, as well as his unique interpretations of American Songbook classics.

Dru Heller - drums, Tim Wendel - guitar, John Gunther - sax, Matt Smiley - bass

Originally from Spokane, Washington, Dru Heller holds a masters degree in Jazz Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He has recorded, performed and toured with artists such as Byron Stripling, John Ellis, Ron Miles, Art Lande, Wycliffe Gordon, John Ellis, Kate McGarry, Dave Pietro, and many others. Dru also leads his own group and maintains a busy schedule as a freelance musician of the Denver jazz scene and is an affiliate faculty member of Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Reservation Information and Important Notes:

During this time of limited indoor capacity, floor seats are only available by reservation as we are limited to 49 socially distanced seats per show/seating.

Music fees are included with all 'Dinner and a Show' packages.

For walk-in guests, an artist fee of $15 per guest applies to this show.

We respectfully request that guests limit their visits to 2 hours so that we may properly clean between sets and comply with Denver's current covid occupancy restrictions.

Current Weekday Music Times:   Set One: 6:30-7:45pm   |   Set Two: 8:30-10:00pm*

*Last call for food and drink is 10:00pm

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Drummer Dru Heller presents a celebration of the music of Paul Motian. One of the most influential jazz drummers of all time, Motian first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and was a member of Keith Jarrett's "American Quartet from 1967-76. As a leader he is most known for his trio with saxophonist Joe Lovano and guitarist Bill Frisell, as well as his Electric Bebop Band which showcased many different young lions of jazz, including Joshua Redmand, Kurt Rosenwinkle, and Brad Shepik. These two shows will celebrate Motian's legacy as a bandleader, drawing from his vast book of original compositions, as well as his unique interpretations of American Songbook classics.

Dru Heller - drums, Tim Wendel - guitar, John Gunther - sax, Matt Smiley - bass

Originally from Spokane, Washington, Dru Heller holds a masters degree in Jazz Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He has recorded, performed and toured with artists such as Byron Stripling, John Ellis, Ron Miles, Art Lande, Wycliffe Gordon, John Ellis, Kate McGarry, Dave Pietro, and many others. Dru also leads his own group and maintains a busy schedule as a freelance musician of the Denver jazz scene and is an affiliate faculty member of Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Reservation Information and Important Notes:

During this time of limited indoor capacity, floor seats are only available by reservation as we are limited to 49 socially distanced seats per show/seating.

Music fees are included with all "Dinner and a Show" packages.

For walk-in guests, an artist fee of $15 per guest applies to this show.

We respectfully request that guests limit their visits to 2 hours so that we may properly clean between sets and comply with Denver's current covid occupancy restrictions.

Current Weekday Music Times:   Set One: 6:30-7:45pm   |   Set Two: 8:30-10:00pm*

*Last call for food and drink is 10:00pm

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Thursday nights in February and March, The Jack Dunleive Trio hosts an engaging series exploring the iconic 1964 album 'We Get Requests' by Oscar Peterson. Jack will be joined on stage by Patrick McDevitt in bass and Kevin Matthews on drums.

Jack Dunlevie is a Denver-based pianist, mandolinist, vocalist, and composer. He graduated in 2015 from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver winning awards in composition and recital performance. Performing full time around Colorado and touring nationally he can be heard playing Jazz, Classical, Salsa, and Bluegrass with a variety of bands both as a side man and as a leader. This will be Jack's second Nocturne residency as a band leader.

Important Notes:

During this time of limited indoor capacity, floor seats are only available by reservation as we are limited to 45 socially distanced seats per show/seating.

Music fees are included with all 'Dinner and a Show' packages.

For walk-in guests, an artist fee of $15 per guest (per set) applies to this show.

We respectfully request that guests limit their visits to 2 hours so that we may properly clean between sets and comply with the occupancy restrictions set fourth by the City of Denver.

Limited Capacity Weekday Music Times:   Set One: 6:30-7:45pm   |   Set Two: 8:30-9:30pm

*In accordance with the City of Denver's COVID dial guidelines, last call for food and drink is 9:40pm until further notice

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Fridays in March, we are delighted to welcome Taylor Clay and his quartet back to the bandstand at Nocturne as they perform original works.

Jack Dunlevie - piano, Seth Lewis - bass, BK Kahn - drums

Taylor Clay was born in Brooklyn, NY and began his musical journeys at the age of 13 and went on to study at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY. After completing his degree in Music Performance in 2012, he moved to Colorado to attend the University of Northern Colorado as a graduate student and teaching assistant. Taylor currently lives in Denver, Colorado works as a busy freelance musician and is a past Nocturne Artist in Residence.

Important Notes:

During this time of limited indoor capacity, floor seats are only available by reservation as we are limited to 45 seats per show/seating.

Music fees are included with all 'Dinner and a Show' packages

For bar and walk-in guests, an artist fee of $25 per guest applies to this show.

During this time of limited seating regulation, guests may only stay for one set.

Friday Music Times:   Set One: 6:30-7:45pm   |   Set Two: 9:00-10:30pm

Last call for food and drink is 10:30pm until further notice

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

GOODRATTLE HARD BOP QUINTET - ORIGINAL WORKS

GoodRattle is a modern hard-bop quintet lead by saxophone & compositional mastermind Wil Swindler. This sharp-edged and relentlessly swinging group is a Nocturne Artist in Residency Alumni and a crowd favorite, and we can't wait to welcome them back to our stage!

Wil Swindler - saxophones, Gabe Mervine - trumpet,

Ben Markley - piano, Matt Smiley - bass, Dru Heller - drums

Wil Swindler is a Colorado based saxophonist, composer and winner of the 2008 Gil Evans Fellowship. He has played with Toshiko Akiyoshi, John Fedchock, Steve Wilson, Bill Warfield, Greg Gisbert, and many others. In addition to a private studio of saxophone and composition students, Mr. Swindler has been faculty at Colorado State University since 2009 as an Associate Director of Jazz Studies. Wil holds a B.M. from the University of North Texas

Important Notes:

During this time of limited indoor capacity, floor seats are only available by reservation as we are limited to 45 seats per show/seating.

Music fees are included with all 'Dinner and a Show' packages

For bar and walk-in guests, an artist fee of $25 per guest applies to this show.

During this time of limited seating regulation, guests may only stay for one set.

Saturday Music Times:   Set One: 6:30-7:45pm   |   Set Two: 9:00-10:30pm

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS