Deeds: Flying M gets a CD; jazz fest retools; and Yes! (yep, the band)

From the entertainment notebook: Fans of live music usually don't mention Flying M Coffeegarage in the same breath as the Knitting Factory, Neurolux or even Pengilly's Saloon. But the Nampa java joint's booking manager, Nathan Walker, wants to change that.

So he masterminded something cool: A $5 CD to showcase the club.

"Coffeegaragerock" is a compilation of bands that have played the Flying M Coffeegarage since it opened at 1314 2nd St. South in downtown Nampa in 2006. Walker assembled 20 tracks from national and local acts.

The Flying M upgraded its stage and sound system this fall. Walker was looking for a way to publicize the fact that Flying M is taking live music seriously.

"It just came from the idea that, like, man, I'm hearing these great acts and nobody's here to hear them," Walker explained. "I just felt like if people could realize what is going on in downtown Nampa, then maybe they'd come out and enjoy it."

The CD, which is available at Flying M in Nampa and Boise, features Idaho bands such as Finn Riggins and The Universal as well as out-of-staters, such as Portland group Point Juncture, WA and Los Angeles' Seneca Hawk.

Try it as a stocking stuffer.

The Gene Harris Jazz Festival, which saw attendance drop significantly after reinventing itself in 2008, will be revamped once again when it is held April 1-3, 2009.

Jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and singer Curtis Stigers - previously reported as the headliners - aren't going to perform after all.

Instead, the festival will downsize in an effort to save and refocus itself. Boise State music professor Mike Samball has taken over as interim director. He'll oversee a jazz festival that happens solely on campus at locations such as the Stueckle Sky Club and the Jordan Ballroom.

Highlights include a Gene Harris Legacy Night, a "campus jazz-club crawl," concerts from the Pete Escovedo Latin Jazz Orchestra and Pat Coil Sextet, and some educational restructuring.

The 180-degree change of plans regarding Sandoval and Stigers is disappointing news but probably for the best. If the Gene Harris Jazz Festival had suffered a financial hit from a sparsely attended major concert at Taco Bell Arena, it could have been difficult to keep its head above water and work toward a sustainable future.

* Classic-rock band Yes has been booked Feb. 19 at the Knitting Factory Concert House in Boise as part of its "In the Present" tour.

One of the pioneers of artsy, long-winded progressive-rock, the British group is remembered by mainstream rock listeners for Top 20 hits such as "Roundabout" (1972) and "Owner of a Lonely Heart" (1983).

"That's a big band to play a small room," Knitting Factory talent buyer Mark Dinerstein said - and he's right. Yes playing a 1,000-capacity bar is a notable gig. However, it also should be noted that vocalist Jon Anderson, who has been ill, is on hiatus. Guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White will be joined by singer Benot David and keyboardist Oliver Wakeman.

Nevertheless, it is most of Yes. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 9, at TicketWeb for $37.50. There will be no opening act. Dinerstein said the concert is slated to last approximately three hours. So Yes should be able to fit in at least four or five prog-rock songs, right?

* Other recently booked shows: Rockstar Taste the Chaos Tour, March 26 at the Knitting Factory, featuring Thursday, Cancer Bats, Four Year Strong, Pierce the Veil and Bring Me the Horizon. Tickets are $22 advance at TicketWeb and on sale now.

* Coming to Neurolux in Boise: Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band on Saturday, Jan. 10, Tapes 'N Tapes on Monday, Jan. 19, Lifesavas with Chief Xcel of Blackalicious on Sunday, Feb. 1.

* Congratulations to Eagle singer-songwriter Kayleigh Jack, who made it all the way to the final eight of Country Music Television's annual "Music City Madness" unsigned talent competition before finally getting eliminated.

* Got plans for New Year's Eve? If not, hold tight one week. Scene will assemble a whole bunch of options for adults and kids in its Friday, Dec. 26 issue.

Michael Deeds co-hosts "The Other Studio" at 9 p.m. Sundays on 94.9 FM "The River." This week: Holiday music.