Greg Garrison's Improvised Roots Series mixes Denver's best improvisers with national greats

As far as performing goes, Garrison says his approach became more refined the more bluegrass he played, especially with the Punch Brothers, because they would play and record everything acoustically — or at least as acoustically as they possibly could.

"When you're playing with good musicians in that world who have really good instruments, you have to project — you have to put out a lot of sound," he notes. "So at that point, just sonically and just the way I was able to make my instrument sound, and, I guess, from just a pure tone and presence standpoint, I feel like I grew from a lot from that, and that actually helps me. I feel like now when I play jazz, because I have just a better concept of the percussiveness of the instrument, I generally try to play with as little amplifier as I possibly can, because I really want to hear that natural warmth and attack of the instrument."

Marc Dalio

Greg Garrison feels equally at home in the worlds of jazz and bluegrass.

Location Info

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Dazzle Restaurant & Lounge

930 Lincoln St.
Denver, CO 80203

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Out of Town

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Details

Improvised Roots Series, featuring Greg Garrison, Dave Douglas, Aoife O'Donovan, Matt Flinner and John Gunther, 7 and 9 p.m., Friday, January 13, and Saturday, January 14, Dazzle, 930 Lincoln Street, $22, 303-839-5100.

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More About

• Greg Garrison
• Bill Frisell
• Ron Miles
• Bluegrass
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

According to Garrison, who teaches music at both Metro State and the University of Colorado Denver, one of the most important things he teaches his students is versatility, something that has always served him well. "I try to expose them — whether they're electric-bass players or upright-bass players — to different kinds of music," he says of his students.  "I have my electric-bass players working on Bach and my upright-bass players working on folk music, just to open their ears and see all the different possibilities."