Casey O’Brien Album Release Show Tonight

Most Twin Citians would probably recognize local artist Casey O’Brien from his gig as the bassist for the popular throwback soul group Sonny Knight and the Lakers (or perhaps his other projects Coloring Time, PaviElle, or Mina Moore) . What many might not know though is that O’Brien is an accomplished jazz musician who has been an integral part of the local jazz scene for years.  O’Brien has just finished off a new album of his original works, Ghost Dance, which he’ll release at Icehouse tonight in Minneapolis.  The work has been a long time in coming – O’Brien has had sketches of the album’s 8 tunes bouncing around in his head for “a long time.”  According to the bassist, it was only with the collaboration of saxophone player Nathan Hanson and drummer Davu Seru that he was able to “[find] the kind of performers who could create the musical mood that gave the songs their unique feel.”

The resulting works are certainly unique compositions – throughout Ghost Dance’s 8 tunes the bass, percussion, and saxophone interact seamlessly, winding around each other to throw complex shadows across an expansive musical range.   You can stream tunes from Ghost Dance below and if you are into them, the show is happening tonight at Icehouse at 9:30pm.

— Jon