Slide Huxtable

The long standing and long distance Minneapolis/New York based quartet Slide Huxtable will be celebrating the release of their debut CD, The Return of Slide Huxtable on Thursday, July 12th at 9:00pm at The Artists’ Quarter, 408 St. Peter Street in St. Paul, MN. There is a $7 cover, CD will be on sale for only $10 at the door.  Formed in 1998 as an offshoot of the popular Twin Cities jazz ensemble Motion Poets, Slide Huxtable is comprised of Mark Miller on trombone, Bill Bergmann on guitar, Chris Bates on bass and J.T. Bates on drums. The group initially played with regularity at St. Paul’s Clown Lounge, but has gigged much more sporadically since Miller moved to New York City in 1999. The band’s name is inspired by Bill Cosby’s on-screen father Russell “Slide” Huxtable as played by Earle Hyman (Trombone performed by Slide Hampton) in the 80’s hit sitcom “The Cosby Show”.

Slide Huxtable

Mark Miller © Andrea Canter

Trombonist Mark Miller grew up in Racine, Wisconsin and attended the University of Minnesota where he studied with Tom Ashworth. An ever-present sound on the Minneapolis music scene in the 1990s, he was a founding member of the Motion Poets and played with Happy Apple, Latin Sounds, Salsa Del Soul, and the Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble. Mark also counts among his credits performances with such legends as Billy Joel, Doc Severinsen, Ernie Watts, Frank Foster, Cy Coleman, Gloria Gaynor, and the Jason Lindner Big Band. Mark recently completed a three year run on the road with the Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp Tony Award winning hit Broadway musical “Movin’ Out”. His first Broadway tour was with “Swing!” in 2002/03. A featured soloist at the London, San Jose, and the Discover Jazz Festivals, Mark has toured extensively in 46 states and 17 countries. He currently resides in New York City.

Bill Bergmann

Chris Bates © Andrea Canter

JT Bates © Andera Canter

Of the nine tracks on The Return of Slide Huxtable, five of which are original compositions including four by Mark Miller and one by Chris Bates. “The Juggla” is a hard-hitting straight ahead jazz number by Anthony Cox’s former drummer Ralph Peterson and was originally featured on Cox’s Factor of Faces CD. Mark Miller’s “Salt of the Earth” is an odd metered folksy tune that features Bergmann’s soulful acoustic guitar playing and a simplistic mantra like melody. “For J.J.”, also by Miller, is a mournful ballad in tribute to the late great trombone master J.J. Johnson. Then the album takes a more electric turn with a reggae version of the old Broadway hit “Whatever Lola Wants Lola Gets”. “The Chicken” follows as a straight up funk number, which was penned by James Brown’s tenor man Pee Wee Ellis and made popular by Jaco Pastorius. Bassist Chris Bates contributes “Warren Ashtabula”, another odd metered groover with Bergmann again taking the lead. Miller’s next ballad “Let” starts with a pseudo-classical melody showcasing Chris Bates’ beautiful arco bow work. It also features younger brother J.T. Bates on a rare ballad solo for drum set. “Bop Slop” is exactly as it sounds: sloppy bebop, but on purpose, demonstrating Miller’s wild, humorous trombone style. The final track is a Dave Holland tribute to Charles Mingus entitled “Blues for C.M.” It is a slow blues that has that ‘end of the evening’ feeling that makes you want to order one more for the road and hit the hay. The album will be made available for sale for $10 on Thursday, July 12th, when we celebrate our CD release with a gig at the Artist's Quarter. For more information visit: www.artistsquarter.com, www.myspace.com/slidehuxtable and www.markjmiller.net.