centro

JAZZ GUITAR SPOTLIGHT - Featuring Neil Davis & Ben Dameron
2025-09-11 19:00 - 22:00 (America/Chicago) | bar centro, 804 E. Center St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53212
bar centro introduces; JAZZ GUITAR SPOTLIGHT beginning this month and running every second Thursday of the month through the end of the year. Each evening will feature two jazz guitarists.
This month’s performance will begin with Ben Dameron, a sought after performer, composer and pedagogue based in Milwaukee. He received his degrees in classical guitar from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, having studied with Kevin Callahan, Sergio Assad and René Izquierdo. In 2021, he recorded his first studio album “Voyage to Phrygia Session”, a collection of original compositions for jazz quartet. He currently performs in his group Badland as well as Heirloom, Match Stick and Cream City Hotclub. Ben resides on the guitar faculty at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Each month Neil Davis will perform second. Neil Davis, is a jazz guitarist from Milwaukee, the Jazz Guitar teacher at Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra’s jazz studies program and adjunct professor of guitar at UW-Oshkosh. He also helped found Milwaukee Jazz Vision, a jazz advocacy group. Neil lives with his wife and family on Milwaukee’s west side where he has a busy teaching studio called Neil Davis Guitar.

MARCUS DOUCETTE: Sound Travels presents Fantastic Planet
2025-09-12 20:00 - 22:30
The ultimate radio veteran continues a fine run of form with music and good vibes on a new project, Fantastic Planet! An accidental, yet intentional pursuit of global grooves, funk, soul, jazz, beats and more… time and space meet between the ears and the eras. Get lost in the music and find yourself; in the room of good company and the business of being yourself. Trust me, this is a good time.

GARRETT WAITE STANDARDS TRIO - Milwaukee’s maverick guitarist
2025-09-13 20:00 - 22:30
Telepathic improvisations from Milwaukee’s maverick guitarist, Garrett Waite accompanied by Hannah Johnson and Tim Ipsen. This show will feature gems from the American songbook as well as classics by Wayne Shorter, Willie Nelson, and Joe Henderson, plus a few swinging originals.
Garrett Waite – guitar, vocals
Tim Ipsen – upright bass
Hannah Johnson – drums
$12 online, $15 at the door

Jazzy Joan - Beautiful Bass
2025-09-18 19:00 - 23:30
Jazzy Joan welcomes you to her monthly recorded jazz show, “Jazz: Where it is and Where it’s Going.” This month she features the beautiful jazz bass and the artists who stand behind them.
Joan has selected tunes that illustrate the depth of the instrument – the way it grounds, defines and underpins the melodies and moods of jazz music. It will be an exciting night (a “quest” as Joan calls them), where we experience current-day artists “who give us clues where jazz is going.”
Joan looks forward to sharing with you the many outstanding current-day bassists playing the clubs and making recordings today: Gerald Cannon, Billy Peterson, Avishai Cohen, and others, including The Maestro himself, Ron Carter. It will be a gorgeous night of jazz.
Joan introduces her jazz show at 7:00, so get there early! No cover.

TIM WHALEN QUARTET
2025-09-19 20:00 - 22:30
He is an exceptional player who fully understands the jazz language and is fully conversant with all genres of the music.” – Kenny Barron
Milwaukee native Tim Whalen is a highly versatile jazz pianist, keyboard player, producer, composer,
arranger, and educator. His passion and dedication to his art shine in everything he touches. He’s played
all over the world and has written music for everything from solo pieces to orchestras.
From 2010 to late 2023, Tim was a member of the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in
Washington, DC, where he served as keyboard player, arranger, and music director for the pop /
commercial music group Downrange. Outside of the Army Band, he was deeply involved in the DC jazz
scene, where he played with the finest musicians in the area, including Lena Seikaly, Tommy Cecil, Chuck
Redd, Paul Pieper, Tedd Baker, Lyle Link, Kenny Rittenhouse, Kris Funn, Elijah Jamal Balbed, Donvonte
McCoy, Victor Provost, Mark Prince, Zack Pride, Tom Baldwin, Paul Langosch, The Bohemian Caverns
Jazz Orchestra, and others. As a highly respected bandleader, his groups have presented sold-out
concerts at Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center, Twins Jazz, the Smithsonian, and the Strathmore Music
Center. In late 2023 Tim returned home to Milwaukee and quickly re-established himself as a musical force in the
Midwest.
“I have worked with Tim for over a decade and know him to be a dedicated and inspired musician- Ben Sidran
The musicians for the evening will be:
Tim Whalen – piano
Ben Dameron – guitar
John Christensen – bass
Hannah Johnson – drums
They will be playing the music of Tim Whalen, Wayne Shorter, Peter Bernstein, and more…”

MJI PRESENTS: SONNY ON SIX STRINGS
2025-09-20 20:00 - 22:30
Come hear the music of tenor saxophone giant Sonny Rollins, from his iconic compositions such as Oleo and St. Thomas to the standards he put his stamp on…all as interpreted through the lens of guitar, in a trio led by Milwaukee jazz veteran Paul Silbergleit, with fabulous bassist (and fellow MJI faculty member) Clay Schaub, and top-flight Chicago drummer Mike Schlick!

The Band:
Paul Silbergleit – guitar
Clay Schaub – bass
Mike Schlick – drums

PANALURE plus special guest DENNY RAUEN
2025-09-25 20:00 - 22:30
PANALURE
For well over a decade, the six members of Panalure have gathered every Wednesday evening in bassist Ken Hanson’s attic studio to drink adult beverages and work on original material. 2023’s WAMI-nominated release, “EarElephant” is Panalure’s fourth studio album and its most ambitious to date. Deftly crafted lyrics are masterfully woven alongside rich, emotive melodies, taking the listener through an eclectic musical landscape of rock, folk, country, blues and jazz. If you’re looking for a label, “Twisted Americana” will do. They will be introducing a fresh batch of tunes from their soon-to-be released fifth album.
DENNY RAUEN
Master luthier and sublime acoustic guitarist, Riverwest’s own Denny Rauen, will launch the evening with wordless songs of the soul, written with pluck and twang telling the stories of life. Featuring songs from his upcoming album, as well as his recent and internationally acclaimed album, “6/8 Time.”

LATIN SOUL NIGHT - Los Nenes del Lago & Ms. Kaprice
2025-09-26 20:00 - 22:30
When Latin music meets Soul and RnB you get a stronger groove. Join us for a night of dancing and great music.
Doors at 7pm
$15 at door

Troubadours of Rhythm
2025-09-27 20:00 - 22:30
Jon Mroz – string bass
Aidan White – guitar & banjo
S.A. Anderson – piano
Kyle Samuelson – cornet & trombone
Jon Lovas – clarinet
Debuting in 2023, the Troubadours of Rhythm are a captivating journey through time, skillfully led by string bassist Jon Mroz. Drawing inspiration from the electrifying ambiance of the late 1920s and early 1930s south side Chicago (and north side Milwaukee!), the Troubadours are a musical time machine, transporting listeners and dancers to an era of exuberance and innovation.
From stomps to rags; from blues to swing, Mroz and his musical comrades have traveled the country to cleverly revive the syncopated rhythms, timeless melodies and improvisational spirit that defined the golden age of jazz on the cusp of swing. This eclectic five-piece combo features guitar, banjo, upright string bass, acoustic piano, cornet, clarinet, trombone, washboard with vocal shouts and harmonies.
Embark on a sonic journey with the Troubadours as they pay homage to the timeless magic of early jazz & blues, ensuring that its infectious excitement resonates with audiences, both nostalgic and new.

JAZZ JAM - every 1st Thursday - no cover + drink specials
2025-10-02 20:30 - 23:30, 2025-11-06 20:30 - 23:30
doors at 7 / no cover

MIKE PAUERS QUINTET - hard bop harmonies & Afro-Caribbean rhythms
2025-10-03 20:00 - 22:00
Inspired by his studies with Ronnie Cuber, and his assistance with the recent biography of Pepper Adams, Mike Pauers merged his admiration of these two giants of jazz baritone sax with his love of Latin jazz. Calling upon the expert musicianship of his friends from De La Buena, together, these musicians will present the music of Adams and Cuber in a unique fusion of hardbop harmonies and Afro-Caribbean rhythms that will entice casual listeners and jazz fans alike.
Mike Pauers – baritone saxophone
David Wake – piano
Joey Sanchez – bass
Julio Pabon – percussion
Kevin Christensen – drums

Mike Pauers is a baritone saxophonist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He studied saxophone and clarinet with the legendary musician and educator Joe Aaron for ten years, and received additional instruction from Curt Hanrahan (UWM) and the great Ronnie Cuber. Recently, he assisted author and jazz scholar Gary Carner with his excellent biography of the legendary baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams (Reflectory: The Life and Music of Pepper Adams). Mike can be seen around Milwaukee with his own groups, but also with the Latin jazz and salsa powerhouse De La Buena.

THE SAX CHICK - smooth jazz
2025-10-04 20:00 - 22:00
Amanee Avery will bring her smooth jazz saxophone playing to cover for Ms. Kaprice.

The Sam Robinson Quintet
2025-10-10 20:00 - 22:00
Since 2003 Sam Robinson has played in Chicago venues such as Andy’s Jazz Club, The Green Mill, The Jazz Showcase, and many others. He was also a member of the Chicago-based Shelley Yoelin Jazz Workshop Septet and has been a repeated guest soloist at the Serbian Village jazz club. He currently leads the Sam Robinson Quartet. In 2019, he released his debut album, “Sweet Love of Mine,” his second album, “Be With Me: Live at the Eastgate Cafe,” in 2022, and his third album, “Third Time’s a Charm,” in 2023.
According to Chicago Jazz Magazine, Robinson plays, at times, with “elegant restraint and muted tones,” and at other times with “an intelligent extemporization that has a burnished sound and simmering passion.”

FAITH HATCH & MARK SORIANO
2025-10-11 20:00 - 22:00
Come join Faith Hatch and Mark Soriano for a night you won’t forget. Hear them bring your favorite songs to light in a whole new way! The duo will curate a setlist with a little something for everyone and guarantee you will leave wanting more.

Jazzy Joan Presents: Jazz from the UK
2025-10-16 19:00 - 23:30
Jazzy Joan welcomes you to this month’s recorded jazz show featuring current-day jazz artists from the UK. The growing jazz scene in London is experiencing what is known as the “British Jazz Explosion” and we’ll be hearing some of the artists pulling the trigger: Zoe Rahman, Mark Kavuma and Camilla George, to name a few. This music is fresh and often draws rhythms from other lands in exciting ways. The London jazz scene IS explodingl! Joan introduces her show starting at 7:00. Get there early for the hang. No cover
Joan introduces her jazz show at 7:00, so get there early! No cover.

WILLIAM TONEY
2025-10-17 20:00 - 22:00
Step into an unforgettable evening of music as vocalist William Toney brings his signature smoove soul sound, along with his band featuring Tael Estramera, George Ballesteros, Ben Skrade, Yanni Chudnow, Isaac Repinski, and Eddy Magallanes to the intimate setting of Bar Centro. With a voice that flows like velvet and stirs the soul, William weaves together rich threads of jazz, blues, soul, & funk into a timeless musical tapestry

MJI PRESENTS: GEOF BRADFIELD QUINTET
2025-10-18 20:00 - 22:30
Chicago-based saxophonist Geof Bradfield leads a quintet featuring music from his recent release Colossal Abundance.

DOVEKEEPER and TONE POEM
2025-10-23 20:00 - 22:00
DOVEKEEPER

Milwaukee musician Yonat Piva is a singer-songwriter guitarist who performs under the stage name Dovekeeper. Her songs vary from introspective 70s AM radio acoustic guitar tracks to bluesy, funky contemporary rockers.
TONE POEM

Powerful and poetic. Engaging, relaxed and relevant to our times. Tone Poem singer songwriters; Sarah Moore and of Tone Poem offer a deep and inspiring musical experience.

ETHAN PHILION QUARTET
2025-10-24 20:00 - 22:00
Ethan Philion Quartet feat. Ben Dameron, Millie Ahearn, and Jayden Richardson.

The Ethan Philion Quartet will perform two sets of original music featuring sparkling group improvisation and daring compositions. The quartet features Milwaukee guitarist Ben Dameron (a frequent Bar Centro bandleader himself) as well as renowned Chicagoans Millie Ahearn and Jayden Richardson. The group will perform new works as well as Philion’s compositions from his 2023 quartet album, Gnosis, which has been met with critical praise including from Michael Chacona at All About Jazz who awarded it 4 Stars and described it as “burning with ardor.” Downbeat Magazine gave Gnosis 4 stars and praised the group’s “deep listening” and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised the group for offering “the best of jazz to come.”
Philion’s debut album, Meditations on Mingus, received widespread praise from Downbeat, JAZZIZ, Jazzwise, and the project was featured as a headlining act for the 2022 Chicago Jazz Festival. Philion was one of the 2022 Jazz Institute of Chicago’s New Works Fresh Voices Fellowship recipients and has won fellowships with Luminarts and Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead. He was also the winner of the 2019 International Society of Bassists Jazz Competition.
Ben Dameron is a sought after performer, composer and pedagogue based in Milwaukee, WI. He currently performs in his group Badland as well as Heirloom, Match Stick and Cream City Hotclub, and resides on the guitar faculty at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Millie Ahearn is a creative and forward-thinking musician in the Chicago music scene. She blends her dynamic bandleading and compositional flair with a commitment to mentorship and community building, directing her musical voice in all channels towards social change. Her music houses the experiences of a transgender musician navigating expressions of queerness through jazz, focusing largely on transformation and the coming of the self into new life. As a sidewoman, Millie has had the fortune to perform with various high-profile musicians, including Martha & the Vandellas and members of The Temptations, The Four Tops, and The Platters.
Drummer Jayden Richardson has appeared at esteemed venues and festivals worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, the Harris Theatre, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Le Duc des Lombards in Paris. His festival credits include the Atlanta, Detroit, and Chicago Jazz Festivals, among others. He has shared the stage with some of the defining voices in modern music, including Marcus Roberts, Rufus Reid, Isaiah Collier, Etienne Charles, and Steve Wilson.

THE MUSIC of HERBIE HANCOCK - Tael Estremera Trio
2025-10-25 20:00 - 22:00
Tael Estremera is a multi-instrumentalist based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He’s been a musician for over a decade and has been in the Milwaukee jazz scene for a handful of years playing at various venues.
Doors at 7

BELLA JOAN - jazz singer/songwriter
2025-10-30 20:00 - 22:00
Bella Joan is a dynamic jazz singer/songwriter who weaves jazz, soul, blues, and R&B into a sound that swings while both dreamy and bold. Born in Milwaukee, WI, and later raised in Vermont’s Green Mountains, she grew up in a musical family and started singing and songwriting in handmade books at an early age, revealing her natural ear and spontaneity.
Her voice moves like a spell- smooth, soulful, silky, scat, raw emotion, and fearless improvisation. Fronting her band, formerly known as Bella and The Notables, she brings fire to the stage and depth to every note. As a board-certified music therapist, she sees music as both ritual and remedy.
Her debut album, Bella Joan, recorded at the iconic Tank Studio and arranged/co-produced by Sam Atallah, is a vivid portrait and genre-blending journey rooted in jazz and reaching for the cosmic, raw and real, with fire and grace.
In October 2025, Bella has a mini album tour with shows featuring standards and originals. Shows are booked in New Orleans, Louisiana (at 30/-90 and The AllWays Cabaret Lounge & Cabaret) with the Bob Gagnon Quartet (Steve Sawyer, Josh Smith, Norbert Susemihl), in Montreal, Quebec (at La Petite Marche) with Bob Gagnon and Rob Duguay, in Burlington, Vermont (at The 126) with Bob Gagnon, Tom Teare, and Brent Thomas, and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (at Bar Centro) with Keith Johnson and Aaron Johnson.

HALLOWEEN BASH - no cover-drink specials
2025-10-31 20:00 - 23:30
doors at 8
no cover

SOUND EXCHANGE
2025-11-01 20:00 - 22:00
Sound Exchange is a collaborative effort led by artists Sam Kacala and Mark J Soriano that gives the audience a look into the process of performance. Each show features a cast of local artists from various mediums to highlight their creativity and the value of the spaces that hold it. Joining Sam Kacala and Mark J Soriano will be Jeff Zimpel; an interdisciplinary former artist-in-residence at Saint Kate-The Arts Hotel, Dan Kimpel; music journalist and author, and Pete Geraci; saxophonist.

Sam Kacala explains, “It can be seen more as acts of a play featuring its actors and supporting roles, as opposed to sets of music.” It is, per the series’ subtitle, the process of performance (including rehearsal) that Sound Exchange‘s musician actors will enact.

FLEX TRIO
2025-11-07 20:00 - 22:00
Formed in 2020, FLEX TRIO is composed of three of Chicago’s finest improvisers: saxophonist Chris Madsen, drummer Neil Hemphill, and two-time Grammy-award-winning bassist Clark Sommers. The group interprets songs within and outside of the jazz canon, putting their original stamp on works by Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, and Jimmy Webb, to name a few. To this end, their debut album Facets of Form (released February 2024) finds the musicians exploring both well-known and more obscure material. FLEX trio has performed extensively in the Chicago area at many venues and has held several residencies at Dorian’s Speakeasy.

The GIL Jazz Combo
2025-11-08 20:00 - 22:00
Joel Lehman; band leader, trumpet, and vocals
Joel Lehman has played throughout Milwaukee since moving to town in 2018. His voice and collection of unique Monette trumpets bring new life to the standards and his story telling carries the audience along for the ride.
DOORS AT 7

JAZZ GUITAR SPOTLIGHT - Neil Davis & Steve Peplin
2025-11-13 19:00 - 22:00
bar centro introduces; JAZZ GUITAR SPOTLIGHT beginning this month and running every second Thursday of the month through the end of the year. Each evening will feature two jazz guitarists.
This month’s performance will begin with Steve Peplin. Steve Peplin has been deeply involved in the Milwaukee creative music scene for over 20 years as a guitarist, composer, professor (Lawrence University and MATC) and arranger. Steve is a member of several important Milwaukee based groups including Strangelander, the David Wake Five, Choirfight, Hush Ensemble, Davis / Peplin Duo, Carlos Adames Trio, the Amanda Huff Quartet, and meny others. Steve has played with notable jazz musicians and orchestras such as Dr. Art Davis, Doc Severinsen, Howard Levy, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, De La Buena, The Static Chicken, Dierdre Fellner and more.
Each month Neil Davis will perform second. Neil Davis, is a jazz guitarist from Milwaukee, the Jazz Guitar teacher at Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra’s jazz studies program and adjunct professor of guitar at UW-Oshkosh. He also helped found Milwaukee Jazz Vision, a jazz advocacy group. Neil lives with his wife and family on Milwaukee’s west side where he has a busy teaching studio called Neil Davis Guitar.

BULL FIDDLE FOUR - post-war electric blues
2025-11-14 20:00 - 22:30
Jon Mroz & His Bull Fiddle Four is a Milwaukee-based post-war electric blues combo featuring Jon Mroz on upright bass and vocals.
Mroz, known for leading the Swingin’ Kools in the 1990s and the early jazz band Troubadours of Rhythm today, assembled his Bull Fiddle Four to celebrate the raw energy and pioneering sound of late 1940s and early 1950s blues legends like Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, and Little Walter.
The lineup features some of the Midwest’s most accomplished musicians:
Big Al Dorn, Wisconsin’s premier harmonica talent (2025 WAMI winner!) and a protégé of blues icon Jim Liban.
Paul Stilin, a veteran guitarist with a storied career in Milwaukee’s blues and jazz scenes.
Tael Estremera, a multi-instrumentalist whose virtuosic piano playing adds a rich dimension to the band’s sound.
Patrick Morrow, a powerhouse drummer of taste who has toured with roots acts across the country.

ANNE DAVIS & friends
2025-11-15 20:00 - 22:00
Join us for an enchanting evening of live jazz at Bar Centro, where the cozy ambiance and exceptional talent set the stage for a night to remember. Let the smooth, masterful sounds of Mike Kubicki on piano and Jim Paolo on bass weave a melody-filled tapestry as Anne’s voice carries you through a repertoire of beloved standards and hidden gems.
Sip, savor, and sink into the rhythm of a night dedicated to jazz lovers and newcomers alike.
Peter Garafalo -piano
Jim Paolo – bass
Anne Davis- vocals
DOORS AT 7

Jazzy Joan Presents: A Night of Jazz Clarinet, Accordion and Harmonica
2025-11-20 19:00 - 23:30
Jazzy Joan welcomes you to this month’s recorded jazz show featuring the beautiful (and less-heard) instruments of jazz: the gorgeous and comfortably melancholic harmonica; the wandering spirit of the clarinet; and the accordion’s rapture of the tango. With their ties to folk music, these instruments continue to evolve, as heard by the magnificent current-day jazz artists Joan will be featuring. Joan introduces her show starting at 7:00. Get there early for her introduction of this exciting show! No cover.
