Club Red: Karl Denson Back for an Encore, 2/16 & 2/17!

11 Feb Club Red: Karl Denson Back for an Encore, 2/16 & 2/17!

Named by Skiing Magazine as one of ski country’s best concert venues, Club Red brings a wide variety of crowd-pleasing entertainers to Telluride and Mountain Village. Given the fact the Telluride region has long been a hotbed for national touring acts, Club Red adds another chapter to that rich history. The intimate music venue inside the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village is family-friendly and allows guests to get up close and personal with the talent.

All shows are open to all ages, with a variety of ticket options ranging from general admission to high-table seating to preferred platform seating, and some VIP-ticketed experiences.

Denise Mongan of Beyond the Groove programs Club Red (with support from Telski, Telluride Mountain Village Owner’s Association, and Mountain Village). And she always nails it. Which means Club Red shows sell out quickly.

The line-up for the venue for the remainder of the 2020 season includes Con Brio (Mar. 12); Anders Osborne & Jackie Greene (Mar. 21). Next up: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. Feb. 16 and Feb. 17. Doors, 7:30 p.m.; show time, 8 p.m. Tickets, $35 – $60, here.

Please scroll down for a preview of the show.

Karl Denson

No strangers to Telluride, Karl Denson and his Tiny Universe have headlined at the Telluride Jazz Festival  – and at Club Red.

Since 1998, Denson and his high octane music machine have played a funky jazz tailor-made for getting a groove on, so get ready to get down and shake a shoe when Denson returns for an encore at Club Red.

For those who have been living in a cave, singer and saxophonist Denson fronts the Tiny Universe as if he’s preaching the gospel. His energy and spirit are contagious, while his songwriting serves a larger message of fellowship — across generations, genders, religions, and cultures. Not surprisingly, the man is none too pleased with the current state of political discourse. Thus the reason why KDTU’s recent album, Gnomes & Badgers, out now on Seven Spheres Records, is Denson’s hard-grooving answer to these tragically divisive times.

Highly regarded as one of the best live acts on the planet, KDTU distills the sweeping stylistic range of its concert performances into their own authentic sound throughout the recording. With Gnomes & Badgers, the inimitable Denson and his long-standing seven piece unit that includes guitarist DJ Williams; drummer Zak Najor; bassist Chris Stillwell; keyboardist David Veith; trumpeter Chris Littlefield; and slide/lap steel guitarist Seth Freeman have delivered what is undoubtedly their strongest work yet.

Along with KDTU, Denson serves as the touring saxophonist with The Rolling Stones, while continuing to hold down his role as a founding member of the seminal funk band, The Greyboy Allstars.

For funk virgins, the genre is a story written in black and blue: black jazz and blues roots.The African American musical mode initially cropped up during the tie-dyed 1960s with artist such as James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and The Meters. Funk was a key influence in the growth of disco, hip hop, and punk rock.

A multi-faceted recording and performing artist, Karl Denson’s rise to funky jazz fame began in 1988, when he met Lenny Kravitz at a recording session.

After working together for a number of years, recording and touring, when Kravtiz bid adieu to his horns, Denson said adios to rock ‘n roll and began a jazz recording career in 1992.

One doors closed, another opened: the Kravtiz/Denson project known as the Greyboy All-Stars, (which defined the acid jazz movement of the early aughts) gave way to Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, the jam/groove phenom riding high on the shoulders of legends like James Brown, Maceo Parker, and Parliament-Funkadelic.

Denson ratcheted up his act to the next level by putting greater emphasis on vocals and adding some funk, R&B and hip-hop elements into the mix. The winning combination placed KDTU at the top of the heap in the touring world.

“My style is based in dance,” Denson shared. “I love the idea of creating something that naturally makes people want to move.”

KDTU has headlined and performed at festivals around the country and around the globe, including Bonnaroo, The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Moscow Jazz Festival.

Denson and his outfit have also, as mentioned, made multiple appearances in Telluride, including stops at the Telluride High School where he taught  master classes in funk.