Photon’s music sits at the intersection of jazz intelligence and dancefloor instinct — what one reviewer summed up as “like if early STS9 went out for a cup of coffee with Herbie Hancock.” The keyboard-driven collective plays Buffalo Iron Works on Thursday, September 3, making it the only northeastern stop on a fall schedule that runs through Colorado and France.
About the Show
The band is built around keyboardist and composer Jimmy Dunstan, who named the project after a principle in physics: light exists as both a particle and a wave depending on its environment, and the quantum idea that all possibilities exist simultaneously. That philosophy plays out in the music. Photon cites The New Deal, Medeski Martin and Wood, and Tycho as touchstones; press has called them “a futuristic musical enigma,” blending “thoughtful, charismatic jazz motifs with psychedelic soundscapes and electronic improvisation,” with genre tags that span jamtronica, electronica, synth-drenched funk, and jammed-out prog rock. One writer on Dunstan’s keyboard playing: “I never thought I would hear another keyboard player to match the prowess of George Duke. I am delighted to say I was wrong.”
The September 3 show features Dunstan alongside Dan Africano on bass — who has also played with Thievery Corporation and Death by Dub — Neal Evans on drums (also of Dopapod), and Tim Wendel on guitar. The bill is Photon with special guests, though names have not been announced. Guest musicians who have appeared with the band include Felix Pastorius, Chris Michetti, and Tim Palmieri. Prior performances include opening for The Bad Plus and Dopapod at Bluebird Theater in Denver.
Photon releases on Denver-based Color Red Music. Their catalog includes Stranger Woogs, Mouse Hunt, Glow Worm, Renegade, and Bubble Up. The band arrives from the Boulder Roots Music Fest on August 29 and is next slated for Telluride on September 24 before a December date in Alençon, France.
Venue & Logistics
Buffalo Iron Works sits at 49 Illinois Street in Buffalo, a club-size room that suits the kind of set Photon plays: immersive, long-form, and built for a crowd that wants to be inside the music rather than watching from a distance. It is one of the go-to live music rooms in western New York. Show starts at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets
No ticket price was available from sources at the time of publication. Buy tickets