Aaron Johnston, drummer and founding member of Brazilian Girls and current member of David Byrne‘s touring band, is bringing his new project, J.E.D.I. (Jazz Electronic Dance Improvisation), to New Orleans for a very special Jazz Fest late-night performance. The new collaborative project, which features a rotating cast of musical characters at each performance, is set to take place at Maison on Sunday, April 29th. Johnston, who will be performing with Byrne at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival earlier that day, has put together an all-star lineup for this edition of J.E.D.I., featuring bassist Marc Brownstein from The Disco Biscuits, keyboardist Borahm Lee of Break Science and Pretty Lights Live Band, and Lettuce saxophonist Ryan Zoidis.

The quartet will blend a myriad of musical elements from a diverse range of genres including jazz, afrobeat, dub, funk, dance and more to create a “live music abstraction,” taking listeners on a first-class intergalactic musical journey. Zoidis’ counterpart in Lettuce, trumpeter Eric “Benny” Bloom, has already been confirmed as a special guest, as has guitarist Eddie Roberts of The New Mastersounds and vocalist Shira Elias from Turkuaz.

J.E.D.I. at Ardmore Music Hall 11/30/17:

[via Bud Fulginiti]

Johnston debuted the project late last year for a three-night-run in the Northeast with Lee, Zoidis, and The Nth Power bassist Nate Edgar, and followed that up with a run through Colorado this past January under the Big Brazilian Cheese moniker with Michael Kang from The String Cheese Incident, Big Gigantic‘s Dominic Lalli, Avi Bortnick from John Scofield’s Überjam, and Brazilian Girls band member Jesse Murphy.

Tickets for J.E.D.I.’s special late night show at Maison are now on sale.

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“The J.E.D.I. show is sponsored by Denver-based company, Pure CBD Exchange, which creates and sells a number of CBD/cannabidiol products (What is CBD?) from concentrates, tinctures, extracts, lotions, creams, and more. The use of CBD has gained much notoriety as of late, for use as both a health and wellness supplement and to treat conditions such as epilepsy, PTSD, cancer and a number of mental disorders and is also used for anti-inflammation, nausea reduction, sleep aid, and more. Pure CBD Exchange was co-founded by Gregg Allman Band organist/keyboardist Peter Levin back in 2017, and 

Pure CBD Exchange focuses on low-THC cannabis products with high CBD content. We work within the Colorado Industrial Hemp pilot program to distribute non-psychoactive tinctures, extracts, lotions, and more all over the world. The company has featured by companies like VICE, High Times, Leafly, and more.”

– SHOW INFO –
Band: J.E.D.I. (Jazz Electronic Dance Improvisation) feat. Aaron Johnston (Brazilian Girls), Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits), Borahm Lee (Break Science / Pretty Lights Live Band), Ryan Zoidis (Lettuce / Shady Horns) + special guests Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce), Eddie Roberts (The New Mastersounds) & Shira Elias (Turkuaz)
Date: Sunday, April 29th
Venue: Maison – 508 Frenchmen Street – New Orleans, LA 70116
Time: 9:30 pm Doors / 10:00pm Show
Tickets: GA – $25 / VIP – $55 (gains access to VIP balcony, private bar, and expedited entry into venue)

[Artwork courtesy of Jimmy Rector – Instagram @jimmyrector / FB – Accepted Perspective / Website – www.acceptedperspective.com]