DOORS AT 8:30 PM | CONCERT AT 9:00 PM
The Alex Anest Organ Trio presents a set of exciting repertoire for the classic combination of guitar, organ, and drums. Original tunes as well as works by the likes of Duke Pearson, Emily Remler, Ernie Krivda, Christine Jensen, and Herbie Hancock have found their way into the set list. The lineup includes Galen Bundy on organ/keys and Jesse Kramer on drums. The focus is on working together and connecting with the audience through improvisation, groove, and feel. Music should be fun to listen to as well as to play, and this trio is all about enjoying the music. The Alex Anest Organ Trio has lately been performing around Southeast Michigan and throughout Ohio including dates at the Blue Llama in Ann Arbor, Cliff Bell's in Detroit, Lucille’s in Toledo, and the Treelawn Social Club in Cleveland. This will be the trio's second performance at the North Star Lounge, and the first one was very well received.
Alex Anest is a lifelong guitarist and musician who is fascinated with the endless possibilities of improvisation. While he grew up in Ohio, he has been teaching, performing, and recording in the Southeast Michigan area since 1996. Over the years he has been a founding member of various jazz oriented groups including the Ann Arbor Guitar Trio, Nomad, Giraffe, and Never Nebula. Since 2018 he has played with Gayelynn McKinney in her McKinney Zone project, which won a Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Jazz Recording. Alex has studied with Miles Okazaki, Chris Buzzelli, Benny Green, Mark Kirschenmann, and Ellen Rowe. He has also appeared on over 30 albums, including most recently a pair of organ trio records – Anest, Kendrick, and McKinney Live at the Blue Llama Vol. 1 (available on CD and at bandcamp), and Live at the Blue Llama Vol. 2 (available on vinyl only).
Galen Bundy is a keyboardist, modular synth explorer, and full time performer/educator from Ypsilanti, MI. Largely a jazz musician, he also takes influence from artists like Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, and Meshuggah. With electronic influences displayed in his solo album “lo-fi music to have a mental breakdown to”, and jazz/metal influences with his band Project 206’s “Volatile” and upcoming release “Unsustainable”. Galen is also an effects pedal and modular synth demo artist, a jazz Hammond B3 organist, and holds a bachelor’s degree in jazz piano from BGSU.
Based in Ann Arbor, Jesse Kramer is one of the most in demand drummers in Metro Detroit. Kramer began learning drum set at the age of five, and grew up studying and working with local jazz masters such as Sean Dobbins, Paul Keller, Vincent York, and Claude Black. Kramer graduated from the University of Michigan School of Music in 2011, where he studied with Ellen Rowe, Andrew Bishop, Michael Gould, Marion Hayden, and Geri Allen. While attending U of M, Kramer was awarded a DownBeat Magazine Student Music Award, and represented the University at the 2011 International Association of Schools of Jazz meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, directed by Dave Liebman. Kramer has performed with countless local and national artists, and is himself a respected band leader. He has recorded with artists such as Paul Keller, Demetrius Nabors, Miles Brown, and Vincent Chandler. Kramer performed and recorded in Bangkok with vocalist Natasha Patamapongs and her acclaimed group Mellow Motif for ThaiPBS "BossaNona All-Star Brazilian Concert" in 2011, and for the live DVD recording "Ao Vivo!" released in 2015.
