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Aaron Goldberg is a pianist and composer performing at the vanguard of jazz music. His new album Home (April 2010, Sunnyside) builds upon his last, Worlds, both exhibiting the sensitivity and dynamism of his longstanding trio featuring Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland. In addition to heading his trio, Aaron has spent the last 12 years touring with many of the most brilliant voices in jazz--Joshua Redman, Wynton Marsalis, Betty Carter, Nicholas Payton, Al Foster, Stefon Harris, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Madeleine Peyroux and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchesta among others.

Aaron was born in Boston and got hooked on jazz in high school by Bob Sinicrope and Jerry Bergonzi, two master educators. He spent a year at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music before graduating magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1996 with a degree in History and Science and a concentration in Mind, Brain and Behavior. On weekends he held a long-time residence at Wally's Cafe in Boston, and the fall after graduation he moved to Brooklyn.

He began performing with a cross-generational array of legends and peers--including Tom Harrell, Freddie Hubbard, Mark Turner, Greg Tardy--in addition to working with his own trio. In 1998 he joined the quartet of Joshua Redman, with whom he toured for 4 years and recorded two albums. Along with Aaron’s 4 albums as a leader and 4 more as a coleader of the OAM Trio, Aaron has recorded over 60 cds with a diverse spectrum of artists.

Born in Baku, capitol of Azerbijan, to a high-achieving, musically appreciative family, Amina as a child enjoyed her parents' records of Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. She was drawn to the piano at age two and commenced "special school" musical studies, which emphasized late 19th century European composition, at age six. She has recorded repertoire of Rachmaninoff and Scriabin.

On Sketches, as on her previous albums Above the Clouds (2008), Come Escape With Me (2005), Amina and company revel in a rich and varied program. The album concentrates, though, on the central aspect of her stylistic grasp, which extends from avant-garde experiments (as in September Suite, her shocked and sad response to terrorists attacks on American soil) to multi-keyboard fusion-oriented funk (on Another Me). Always, her compositions are infused with grace, color and warmth, her solos with confident wit and her fellow musicians' contributions with passionate originality. Amina Figarova makes the most of her music. Time and again she conjures multi-faceted, entertaining and affecting mini-concertos. Since she thinks of them as humble Sketches, one wonders what she will accomplish when she sets herself to writing masterworks. 

Iraqi-American trumpeter, santour player, vocalist, and composer Amir ElSaffar is on the forefront of a wave of musicians who are incorporating the traditional musical styles of their cultural backgrounds with modern sensibilities, blurring the lines and conventions that differentiate styles, toward a music that resonates human. Whether playing trumpet in a jazz context, or singing and playing santour in an Iraqi setting, ElSaffar brings a depth of emotion and authenticity to his music that has spoken to musicians and audiences globally.

ElSaffar has also composed for theater projects, including the Wilma Theater's productions of Heather Raffo's Nine Parts of Desire and Wajdi Mouawad's Scorched. He performed with Raffo, singer Gaida Hinnawi, and others at the Kennedy Center as part of the Arabesque Festival in March, 2009. He has composed, improvised, and performed on several film soundtracks, and appeared in Jonathan Demme's Oscar-nominated film, Rachel Getting Married.

An established bandleader and prolific composer, idiomatically conversant with modern and traditional jazz, classical music, Brazilian choro, Argentine tango, and an expansive timeline of Afro-Cuban styles, Anat Cohen has established herself as one of the primary voices of her generation on both the tenor saxophone and clarinet since arriving in New York in 1999. 

 

Anat has performed for audiences in New York’s Village Vanguard, Jazz Standard, Iridium, The Jazz Gallery, and the JVC Jazz Festival. She has also appeared at the Chicago Jazz Festival, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, San Francisco’s Yoshi's, Boston’s Regattabar, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, and the Montreal Jazz Festival. Anat’s July 2007 engagement at the Village Vanguard in New York was a historic one; Anat is the first female reed player, and the first Israeli to headline at the club.  

 

Ms. Cohen’s accomplishments have been recognized in a flurry of awards and distinctions from critics and fans alike; She topped the Rising Star- Clarinet category in DownBeat Magazine’s critics poll in both 2007 and 2008, and placed prominently in a total of four categories including Rising Star Jazz Artist - where she ranked second and was the only female artist to make the list. Anat was also mentioned on DownBeat’s readers poll in 2007 and 2008. The Jazz Journalists Association named Anat Cohen Clarinetist of the Year by in both 2007 and 2008 – the first time in the history of the awards that an artist has earned top clarinet honors two years running. Noir and Poetica both appeared on many year-end best-of summary lists, including those of Paste magazine, The New York Sun, Slate, JazzTimes and others.  

An important musical leader, Andrew D’Angelo is an iconoclastic alto saxophonist who has worked with Tyft, Human Feel, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Erik Friedlander, and Jamie Saft among others. He is a former Seattleite who’s been making an impact in New York relocating there in the 1990’s. 

After making his mark in New York with his trio and working with diverse artists from Pat Metheny to David Bowie, trumpeter Cuong Vuhas returned to Seattle where he’s recognized by the transformation he has brought to the University of Washington’s Jazz Program and its impact on the local scene of young boundary pushing musicians.

Drawing on their 20 year relationship of musical research and growth, Vu and D’Angelo team up to recruit amazing young talents Luke Bergman (bass) and Evan Woodle (drums) as fellow collaborators.  Together, they create music infused with a new perspective, brimming with energy and current musical trends. AGOGIC pushes musical boundaries as their rock tinged aggression and deep grooves make listeners jump out of their seats. 

Pianist, composer, educator and winner of the Latin Jazz USA Outstanding Achievement Award for 2003, Artuto was born  in Mexico and grew up  in New York City.  In 2002, Mr. O’Farrill  created  the  Afro  Latin  Jazz Orchestra  for  Jazz  at  Lincoln  Center  due in part to a large and  very demanding body of substantial music in the genre of Latin and Afro Cuban Jazz that deserves to be much more widely appreciated and experienced by the general jazz audience. His debut album with the Orchestra “Una Noche Inolvidable” earned a GRAMMY award nomination in 2006.

Besides recording eight albums as a leader for Milestone Records, 32 Jazz, Zoho  and M &  I  (Bloodlines, A Night  in Tunisia, Cumana Bop, Live  in Brooklyn, The Jim Seeley/Arturo O’Farrill Quintet, Song for Chico with the Afro Latin  Jazz Orchestra  and  In These Shoes, with Claudia Acuna), Mr. O’Farrill  has appeared  on numerous records  including  the Grammynominated  Heart  of a  Legend, Carambola,  and the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed movie  Calle  54.  Mr. O’Farrill was a special  guest soloist at three landmark Jazz  at  Lincoln Center  concerts— Afro-Cuban Jazz: Chico O’Farrill’s Afro-Cuban  Jazz Orchestra, November 1995; Con Alma: The Latin Tinge in Big Band Jazz, September 1998;  and  the 2001 Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala: The Spirit of Tito Puente, November 2001.  In the Spring and Fall of 2002, he was also the featured artist in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz in the Schools Tour, when he led a Latin jazz quintet for more than 50 educational performances that reached over 10,000 students in NYC metropolitan area schools

Asphalt Orchestra is a radical new street band that brings ambitious processional music to the mobile masses.  Created by the founders of the “relentlessly inventive” new music presenter Bang on a Can (Justin Davidson, NY Magazine), Asphalt Orchestra unleashes innovative music from concert halls, rock clubs and jazz basements and takes it to the streets.

With movement direction from internationally acclaimed choreographers Susan Marshall and Mark DeChiazza and costume design by Elizabeth Hope Clancy, the 12-member band brings together some of the most exciting rock, jazz and classical players in New York City: Jessica Schmitz (piccolo), Alex Hamlin, Peter Hess and Ken Thomson (saxophones), Shane Endsley and Stephanie Richards (trumpets), Jen Baker and Alan Ferber (trombones), Kenny Bentley (sousaphone), Sunny Jain, Nick Jenkins and Yuri Yamashita (percussion), who The New York Times have called “12 top-notch brass and percussion players.”

Asphalt Orchestra’s debut performances stretched 5 packed nights at the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival and one afternoon at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station in August 2009.  Since then they have traveled throughout the US and abroad performing music by pop wizard Björk, jazz legend Charles Mingus, rock progressive Frank Zappa, Brazilian iconoclast songwriter Tom Zé, Zimbabwean provocateur Thomas Mapfumo, Swedish metal band Meshuggah, and new pieces written for the band by David Byrne and Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Yoko Ono, Goran Bregovic, Tyondai Braxton (Battles), and Stew and Heidi Rodewald (Broadway and Spike Lee’s Passing Strange).

In a musical age of predominantly solo careers, Bad Touch – alto saxophonist Loren Stillman, guitarist Nate Radley, organist Gary Versace, and drummer Ted Poor – has set out to nurture their identity as a collective. With a shared goal of developing improvised music, these likeminded musicians draw on a wide spectrum of jazz improvisational techniques within original compositions. Bad Touch believes that mutual friendship and commitment yields the most fulfilling musical adventures, and aims for their work to reflect this philosophy. As freelance musicians, each has collaborated, recorded, and traveled internationally with some of the most established names in jazz, including Bill Frisell, Paul Motian, Cuong Vu, Chris Potter, Ben Monder, Billy Hart, John Scofield, Maria Schneider, John Abercrombie, Al Foster and Charlie Haden. Like a Magic Kiss marks the first self-release by the collective. Tour dates are available at www.badtouchmusic.com “This exploratory quartet relies on the collective input of the alto saxophonist Loren Stillman, the guitarist Nate Radley, the organist Gary Versace and the drummer Ted Poor: resourceful improvisers, to a man.” (Chinen, NyTimes) “Originally the brainchild of local saxist Loren Stillman, Bad Touch has evolved into a collective quartet, featuring the reedman, guitarist Nate Radley, organist Gary Versace and drummer Ted Poor. The band’s quirkily soulful mix hinges on Versace’s vintage tones.” (Chinen, NyTimes)

With the release of Bigmouth, Chris Lightcap's sophomore effort on the Fresh Sound label, he continues to carve a unique niche into the modern jazz world. His music adroitly surfs the waves between mainstream and avant-garde sensibilities, managing to do so without insulting either camp. The quartet is comprised of two strong tenor sax players up front alongside the able support of drummer Gerald Cleaver and Lightcap on upright bass.

If you enjoy the classic quartet music of Ornette Coleman, you can find plenty of parallels between what Lightcap is doing now and what Coleman was doing earlier. There is a harmolodic quality to Lightcap's approach to melody, harmony, and rhythm that is quite compelling, and his bass work reveals an affinity to the "inside/outside" stance of Charlie Haden or Charlie Mingus. Make no mistake though, Lightcap is doing his own thing. He is a very informed practitioner of the modern state of jazz, and he has developed a killer band to express his particular vision in regards to "the shape of jazz to come."

The brainchild of Chris Speed, YeahNO was created in 1996, after the improvisations the band made in their early rehearsals were developed into an unusual book of music. Using their love of free jazz, modern rock, eastern folk and minimalistic ideas as their pallet they fused their strong individual improvisational talents into a warm, cohesive and explosive sound. Since their debut record in 1997, they thrived in the center of new music in NYC, and have toured in the States and Europe. After a run of three records (yeah NO, Deviantics, Emit) on the Canadian label Songlines, they joined with the avant/experimental labelSquealer Records, who released their latest cd ‘Swell Henry’ in 2004.

Most jazz quartets today consist of a horn and rhythm section. The horn is the leader, having the melody and conducting the ensemble. For this quartet, the percussion is the base, the leader and inspiration. Rhythms are taken from literally all over the world and mixed and composed through a rarely seen jazz quartet combination. They follow in the footsteps of Herbie Hancock, Red Garland, Noro Morales, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gilepsie, who have all focused on the percussion at on point. Africa is the essence of jazz and that is where the Curtis Brothers takes it.

Their unique rhythmic concept is what separates them from most any other jazz quartets. All of their music, original or not, is base on the percussive concepts that they have accumulated throughout their experiences. Since 2001 "Rhythmic Prophecies" have been performing around the U.S. and abroad. Their original sound has captivated audiences from New York, California to India. Most of the time the members are seen playing together with the 7-piece Latin-jazz ensemble, "Insight." With only four members and with music that is arranged for the rhythm section, the Curtis Brothers Quartet are free to explore so many more avenues of music. Even as they explore odd meters, world music, and group improvisation, they keep their audiences on the edge of their seats getting ready to jump up and dance.

Individually, the members of the Curits Brothers bands are or have been sidemen for some of the greatest musicians alive such as Herbie Hancock, Eddie Palmieri, Chick Corea, Jimmy Greene, David Valentin, Kenny Werner, Miguel Zenon, Ralph Peterson, Brian Lynch, Gary Burton, Ralph Irizzary and Donald Harrison. CBQ is proud to note that they have been hand picked by Ray Barretto and Hilton Ruiz, in 2005, to be involved in U.S. state department's "American Music Abroad (Jazz Ambassadors) program."

Since making its debut at the Whitney Museum in early 2009, the Proverb Trio has deepened its rapport and honed its sound in a series of New York club appearances and on a tour of the Western US. The entirely improvised interactions of Dafnis Prieto’s virtuosic and dynamic drumming, Kokayi's rapid-fire rapping and soulful singing, and Jason Lindner's harmonic sophistication and daring sound explorations yield exhilarating results. Because the group creates advanced compositional structures on the spot, the music is full of surprises and takes a different, explosive shape every night, but always with the Proverb Trio’s distinct personality and engaging spirit. 

The seeds for the Proverb Trio were planted when Cuban-born drummer/composer Prieto and Washington D.C.–based poet and vocalist artist Kokayi first performed together at the 2004 Saalfelden Jazz Festival in Austria. Their immediate musical rapport inspired them to play several more duo concerts in Europe and New York, after which they were ready to expand into a trio with keyboardist Lindner, who had collaborated with Prieto in the drummer’s Absolute Quintet. 

Dan Tepfer is a New York-based pianist and composer and one of the most formidable jazz musicians on the international stage — hailed as “brilliant” by The Boston Globe, “remarkable” by The Washington Post, a “rugged and emphatic” player by the New York Times, “a new knight of the keys” by BSC News (France). By age 28, he has performed the world over in contexts ranging from solo piano to full orchestra, chronicling his talents on the solo disc Twelve Improvisations in Twelve Keys (2009) as well as the trio sessions Before the Storm (2005), Oxygen (2007) and his forthcoming 2010 Sunnyside release with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Ted Poor. Dan has also had the extraordinary privilege of a sustained, ongoing duo partnership with alto saxophonist and jazz luminary Lee Konitz, documented on the acclaimed 2009 Sunnyside CD Duos With Lee (“a benchmark of human potential” – JazzInsideNY). As France’s Jazz Magazine has noted, Dan is “gifted with a heightened sense for form and an extraordinary confidence in his angles of attack.” His playing, whatever the context, is a model of fluidity and steady, effortless motion, immersed in jazz history but creating new history in turn.

Moving jazz forward has been David Weiss’s modus operandi ever since he appeared on the scene in the late eighties, when he established himself in the Big Apple as a versatile sideman with everyone from Bobby Hutcherson, Curtis Fuller and Jaki Byard to Jimmy Heath, Tom Harrell and Christian McBride.

Weiss was born and raised in Queens, New York and began taking piano lessons when he was ten years old, adding trumpet when he was 13. The music in his neighborhood was rock-n-roll and the favorites were the likes of Led Zepplin and Black Sabbath, which he embraced. His tastes soon evolved to more progressive rock like King Crimson and Gentle Giant and then to further out European rock groups like Magma, Area, and Henry Cow. In high school, he began playing keyboards (and also a little trumpet through effects) in some local rock bands and right before leaving for college began to play in a band that eventually morphed into the group Material, featuring future producers Bill Laswell and Michael Beinhorn. While a student at CalArts, Weiss became more exposed to free jazz and began to focus primarily on trumpet again. He also had the opportunity to perform with Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, and Henry Kaiser. He then left CalArts to attend Karl Berger’s Creative Music Studio studying with George Lewis, Jimmy Giuffre, Leo Smith, Pauline Oliveros, Gerry Hemingway, and John Zorn among many others. At the suggestion of Mr. Giuffre, Weiss sought out a more fully rounded music education and transferred to North Texas State University. 

Upon graduating, Weiss returned to New York and soon found work with Jaki Byard and Jimmy Heath. He also became a mainstay in New York’s thriving salsa scene, playing with many of the legends of the music. He also played in many of the top Haitian and soca bands in New York and toured extensively throughout the Carribean with these groups. Weiss also did a short stint with Ray Charles and assisted in scoring the music for the TV show “The Cosby Mysteries” starring Bill Cosby. 

In 1996, Weiss formed The New Jazz Composer’s Octet, which has recorded five CDs. "Snuck In" is Weiss' third CD as a leader, following 2001's Breathing Room and 2004's The Mirror, both for Fresh Sound New Talent.  He’s also composed commissioned pieces for the American Composers Forum's Jerome Composers Commissioning Program and the Chamber Music America Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project: New Works Creation and Presentation Grant.

Indeed, the much buzzed-about singer/songwriter/guitarist's remarkable new album Beautiful Yesterday may well be too musically eclectic and emotionally complex to slot into any simplistic music-biz marketing niche.  But therein lies much of the dozen-song collection's appeal, with Kurtz channeling a deep affinity for these different genres into an unmistakably personal vision. The lack of a ready stylistic tag hasn't stopped the resourceful New Jersey native from building a substantial audience—and a compelling body of recorded work—on her own terms.  She maintains an enthusiastic international fan base that's embraced the poetic passion of her songwriting and the communicative power of her voice, an unforgettable, distinctly husky instrument that's capable of immense depth and sensitivity.  She has also inspired reams of rapturous acclaim from critics and won admiration from her musical peers.  Kismet Records has issued a trio of full-length Kurtz CDs: the intimate live-performance souvenir Otherwise Luscious Life, the impressively accomplished studio effort Postcards from Downtown, and the new Beautiful Yesterday.  Where her first two releases showcased Kurtz's own songwriting skills, Beautiful Yesterday emphasizes her equally riveting interpretive abilities.  In addition to three  originals—"Music Box," "Love, Where Did You Go" and the haunting title number—she applies her voice to a diverse assortment of material drawn from Billie Holiday, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Sam Cooke, Eszter Balint and others.  Beautiful Yesterday also features guest appearances from Kurtz admirers Norah Jones, who volunteered to duet with Dayna on a warm, subdued take on Duke Ellington's "I Got It Bad," and the genre-busting classical quartet Ethel, who compliment Kurtz’s reading of “Parlez-Moi D’Amour,” a tune from the soundtrack to the 1991 film ‘Henry and June,’ and according to Kurtz “one of the loveliest melodies ever written.”

Derrick Hodge's debut recording is a showcase of his widely respected versatility and melodic sensitivity, creating a unique sound all his own. Hodge represents something inventive and refreshing, fronting the wave of a unique generation of renaissance musicians working across all genres without borders.  This release is a mural of what is now and where he comes from, representing the new and respecting the classic.  His music is sure to touch the soul and not be forgotten.  

Hodge has spent his youthful career transcending between various styles of Hip-Hop, Gospel, R&B, Funk, Singer/Songwriter and Jazz, performing and/or recording with Grammy Nominated and Awarded artists such as Maxwell, Common, Q-Tip, Mos Def, Timbaland, Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, Bilal,Gerald Levert, Kanye West, Andre 3000, Sade, Terence Blanchard, Mulgrew Miller, Clark Terry, Donald Byrd, and many more. In 2008, he was commissioned to write a piece by the Chicago Symphony entitled "Infinite Reflections", and was selected to be a part of the Sundance Composer Lab.  Currently, he serves as the Musical Director for Maxwell, while maintaining a steady career as a film composer and performing as a solo artist in front of sold out crowds at various venues such as Summerstage and Blue Note Jazz Club.  

From the start of his career as a bandleader in the early 1990s, Don Byron has reveled in interpreting music of a wildly diverse range of styles and artists, including Duke Ellington, Igor Stravinsky, Mickey Katz, Raymond Scott, John Kirby, Sly Stone, Henry Mancini, Sugar Hill Records’ early hip-hop, Earth Wind & Fire, Herb Alpert, and most recently, R&B icon Junior Walker. 

Don Byron’s current project grows out of his in-depth studies of gospel music. Gospel pioneer Thomas A. Dorsey is a major inspiration, and Byron revisits some of the master songwriter’s works alongside other classics as well as lesser-known gems of the genre.

“In the past few years I have listened more intensively to black religious music than ever before. Examining the specific blues styles peculiar to country, R&B, and rock led me to thorough studies of the blues based religious music of White and Black Southern Gospel. I am combining my own compositions with traditional Gospel pieces in a way I have not attempted before. This project coincides with a growth in my own faith and is for me a religious expression.”  –Don Byron.

The Don Byron New Gospel Quintet was launched in the spring of 2009 and had its world premiere during a four-night run at the Jazz Standard in New York. The band has since then toured Europe and been received enthusiastically by audiences and critics alike. 

Born August 11, 1966, McCaslin grew up in in Santa Cruz, CA; inspired by his father, a pianist and vibraphonist, the youngster started playing tenor saxophone at 12, and quickly progressed, touring Europe and participating in the prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival’s California All-Star band while in high school. After attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he joined Berklee professor Gary Burton’s quintet, with whom he toured for four years. McCaslin moved to New York, in 1991, working with bassist Eddie Gomez and then joining the group Steps Ahead, with whom he made the 1995 disc Vibe (NYC Records). But he really began to turn heads with his solo work in larger ensembles – first Ken Schaphorst’s big band, and subsequently the acclaimed Maria Schneider Orchestra, where his performance on the album Concert In The Garden received a Grammy nomination for “Best Jazz Instrumental Solo” in 2004.

So much for McCaslin’s “traditional” credentials, which provide the anchor for his much-admired work in more adventurous realms. Chief among these is the pianoless quartet Lan Xang (which evolved from an experimental partnership with fellow New York saxist David Binney) and the quintet led by the widely lionized trumpeter Dave Douglas, who added McCaslin to his band in 2005. Reviewing the Douglas Quintet in Jazz Times, Josef Woodard wrote of McCaslin: “

Thanks to the high profile of the Dave Douglas Quintet, McCaslin in the last two years has achieved wider praise for the incisive twists and purposeful turns of his emotionally charged solos. But those qualities – along with his sometimes startling virtuosity, and his distinctive voice as a composer – had actually been on display for much of the previous decade, during which McCaslin proved himself a valued sideman on recordings by Danilo Perez, Luciana Souza, and performances with Tom Harrell, Brian Blade, John Pattitucci, The Mingus Band, and Pat Metheny. . Meanwhile, the previous albums under his own name have shown him subtly incorporating elements of Latin American music within adventurous jazz frameworks.

Born in Huy, Belgium, on February 20 1970, Eric Legnini was one of the most talented young pianists around. After spending two years working in New York with American pianist Richie Beirach, Eric Legnini is now performing and touring Europe with his own group.

Eric Legnini has played with leading musicians such as John Ruocco, Félix Simtaine, Michel Hatzi, Dré Palemaerts, Emanuel Cisi, Toninho Horta, Philippe Catherine, Serge Reggiani, Hein van de Geyn, Marcia Maria, Jacques Pelzer, Aldo Romano, André Ceciarelli, Belmondo 5tet. Eric Legnini used to tour also with world famous Toots Thielemans.

Gregory Porter discovered the music of Nat King Cole through his mother. At the age of five he wrote a song called “Once Upon A Time, I Had A Dreamboat” and recorded it onto a tape. When his mother returned home from work and heard it, she exclaimed in amazement “Boy, you sound like Nat King Cole.” From that moment on, Gregory had a desire to know more about this man and his music, and spent hours playing his mother’s old Cole records on his plastic Playskool record player. Since then, Gregory's passion and commitment to expressing himself through music has remained strong, and he has developed a distinct style that ranges from jazz, funk, R&B, blues and gospel--one that is soulful while still maintaining the elegance he learned from his earlier influences.

Currently, Gregory has developed a show that is a tribute to the music and memory of Nat Cole. Through song and narration, the listener is invited into the life of Nat’s music and how it moved the life of this young boy. He is also an original cast member of the four-time Tony nominated Broadway Musical, “It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues” and has performed in the national tour of the Broadway musical, “The Civil War.”

Gregory has recorded with the world-renowned flautist Hubert Laws, collaborating on Cole's hit, “Smile,” on the album Hubert Laws Remembers the Unforgettable Nat King Cole. He has also worked with Hubert’s brother and sister, Ronnie and Debra Laws, on a song called “Journey” that receives regular airplay on jazz stations. As well as collaborating with other artists, Gregory also recorded a solo jazz and soul project, Water Under Bridges, that is well received by his audience.

In addition to frequent performances at venues in New York City, Gregory has recently toured internationally in Russia, Ukraine and South Africa, spreading his music to thousands. 

Trumpeter, composer, arranger, bandleader…IGMAR THOMAS has developed his craft since the age of 12, picking up appendages to his style from playing with legends such as Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove, Ralph Peterson, and Terri Lynne Carrington. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2006 where he studied on a full scholarship, and met many of the players that would soon make up his group.

Igmar combines the sophistication of Jazz with the influences of hip hop and what sets Igmar apart from other bands is his emphasis on improvisation, a common feature of both Jazz and hip hop. Though the songs are arranged to follow a certain form, Igmar encourages the musicians to bring their own inflections and independence to each piece. "We have an unapologetic approach to improvising to [our] greatest ability every time over fused Jazz and hip hop grooves." These ingredients, structure and freestyle, represent the tug-of-war between the known and unknown, education and instinct. This is the basis for his art and the original basis for music that hasn't been seen years in a seemingly mass-produced industry. "We want to carry on the legacy of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Fela Kuti, 2pac, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Biggie."

Featuring only musicians of the highest caliber, his group will undoubtedly attain longevity in an ever-changing musical scene.

The Inbetweens emerged in the summer of 2002, from the roots of improvisation, curiosity, and like minds. They collectively weave melodies and vamps into intricate spiderwebs of rhythm, circling each other like predators seeking the same prey. Before they were the tweens, they lived in Boston, where they each spent time gigging and studying jazz at the New England Conservatory of Music with gurus such as Bob Moses, George Garzone, John Lockwood, and John Abercrombie. Since then Guitarist Mike Gamble, bassist Noah Jarrett, and drummer Conor Elmes have been performing bi-monthly as a trio in NYC, and touring the northeast, Midwest, and New Orleans. As a trio, they have put out two self-released albums, and have officially released their third record, Quantum Cowboy, on Madison WI’s Layered Music.

Ever since pianist extraordinaire Jacky Terrasson burst upon the jazz scene in 1993 by winning the Thelonious Monk Piano Competition, he has consistently recorded richly refined and remarkably free-spirited music. Terrasson is a two time Grammy nominee (Kindred, Best Jazz Album, 2001 and Into The Blue (2004) with Emmanuel Pahud).  In 2003 he also earned Best Jazz Artist of the Year (Prix Django Reihnardt , Academie de Jazz), Best Jazz Album of the Year for Smile (Victoire de Jazz) and two Django d’Or  awards for Best Jazz Album and Best Artist.  Now, after delivering 10 CDs for Blue Note Records, Terrasson makes his Concord Jazz debut with Push, an 11-track gem of dynamic pianism that opens up a new door onto his creative technique and ingenuity.

“It’s definitely a turning point for me,” says the Berlin-born, Paris-raised, New York-based master of the keys. “I’m with a new label, so that made it important to me to do things differently. I wanted another sound, and I wanted to explore what I’ve been going through personally over the last few years. There are different grooves, beats and vibe.” And like the album title suggests, the music is driven by an inherent thrust forward. Terrasson explains, “Push means to make things happen, to push into new directions. That’s what this album is all about.” Part of this advance includes the pianist making his vocal debut on two songs. “I know I’m not a singer,” he says. “But I’ve been hearing that in my head for years, so I figured why not.” He laughs and adds, “I pushed for it.”

2010 was a busy year for Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey.  The band began the year playing a month long tour in Europe.  JFJO then toured the US behind their 20th album release, Stay Gold, which they released on their label Kinnara Records. 

JazzTimes says that  "The four specialize in a new – to JFJO, at least – type of jazz-rooted fusion, a sprawling, rambling instrumental Americana hinting at everything from Texas swing to psychedelic rock to the dynamic compositions of the Brian Blade Fellowship.  Ambitious, unsettling, unclassifiable."  

The band also premiered their LUDWIG project, consisting of contemporary arrangements of Beethoven's 3rd & 6th Symphonies for jazz quartet + orchestra. Downbeat Magazine called the project and premier "a tour de force of jazz melded with classical."  Billboard has called the band "one of the finest and most exciting jazz groups around."

Pianist, keyboardist and composer James Carney is an improviser who draws inspiration from many different sources of music, and he has been fortunate to work as a sideman/collaborator with unique artists like Ravi Coltrane, Tim Berne, Christian McBride, Michael Cain, Elliot Randall, Darek Oleszkiewicz, Nels Cline, and many other musicians. Carney was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, and in late 2004, he moved from Los Angeles, his home of eighteen years, to New York City. 

James Carney has cultivated a reputation for developing an original, polystylistic approach to making music - a philosophy that respects and explores both tradition and the avant-garde. His latest album as leader, "Green-Wood" (Songlines 1566) was released in 2007 to wide acclaim. The septet he leads on the recording, also known as the James Carney Group, features some of New York’s most creative and in-demand musicians: trumpeter Ralph Alessi, tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, trombonist Josh Roseman, saxophonist Peter Epstein, bassist Chris Lightcap, and drummer Mark Ferber. 

Now Vs. Now (Now Versus Now) = 3 friends who dare to inspire, challenge and push themselves, each other and their music beyond known limits. 

Now vs. Now is the exploratory new electro-groove trio led by keyboardist and composer Jason Lindner, with drummer Mark Guiliana and bassist Panagiotis Andreou. It is raising eyebrows and garnering critical acclaim in NYC. It touches a nerve that excites youth, and beckons acute listeners through its visceral use of lush melodies, layered rhythms and evolving forms.

“Now vs. Now forges into altogether undeveloped musical terrain…I'm not sure I want to describe the music as much as I want to invite people to listen to it. Because this is the sound of…the tension and release of a cosmopolitan society where people of all shades live together: the sound of now.” – NPR (National Public Radio)

October 2009 saw the debut release from Now Vs. Now, Jason Linder Gives You Now Vs Now (Anzic Records). Produced by longtime fan and collaborator Meshell Ndegeocello and mixed by Bob Power (Q-Tip, Roots), Lindner’s electric outfit is steeped in Guiliana’s hard grooves, ambient soundscapes, and topped-off by bassist Andreou’s gypsy-style vocal work.

Born in Illinois from Taiwanese and East Timorese parents, Jen Shyu is a soloist and bandleader now based in NY, and has established herself as a pioneering and original voice in the improvisational, experimental jazz, and creative music and multidisciplinary worlds. Shyu has worked with innovators such as Anthony Braxton, Mark Dresser, Dave Burrell, and currently records and tours with saxophonist/composer Steve Coleman and Five Elements since appearing on his latest albums Harvesting Semblances and Affinities (Pi Recordings 2010) and Lucidarium and Weaving Symbolics (Label Bleu 2005 & 2006).  Jen has also worked closely with actress/performance artist Soomi Kim on her award-winning piece Lee/gendary inspired by Bruce Lee, where Jen composed for and performed with Soomi at the the Beckett Theatre as part of the first National Asian American Theatre Festival.  

Aside from locally at venues such as Brooklyn Academy of Music and Lincoln Center and internationally throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa, Jen was a MacDowell Colony National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in 2008-2009 and has been awarded fellowships from the Asian Cultural Council, Jerome Foundation, the Bronx Council on the Arts, and special commissions from Roulette Space & the Jazz Gallery, for which she collaborated with choreographer/dancer Satoshi Haga.  She has done extensive music research in Cuba, Brazil, Taiwan, China, and most recently, East Timor. 

Audiences may not know his name, but they’ve definitely heard the sounds of Kenneth T. Whalum III.  One could say the “T” stands for talented because at the age of 25 this phenomenal tenor saxophonist has played alongside some of today’s most iconic artists.  He got his big break in 2006 when he was selected to tour with music and fashion mogul Sean “P Diddy” Combs.  Word quickly spread of his professionalism, dedication, versatility and his ability to make audiences feel his music and the jobs just kept coming.  Whalum has appeared on stage with multi-platinum artists Jay-Z and 50 Cent, toured with Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Justin Timberlake, Al Green, Ayo, and Regina Belle and provided recording accompaniment for Beyonce, Fantasia, Joss Stone, and super producer Rodney Jerkins. 

Whalum has been playing the saxophone since he was an adolescent growing up in Memphis, Tennessee.  His love of music and his first “steady gig” began at The New Olivet Baptist Church where his father, Rev. Kenneth T. Whalum, Jr., serves as pastor.  He later joined his high school band and as a teen he began to immerse himself in his craft, practicing hours a day in an attempt to become one of the best musicians to ever place his or her lips on a reed. He further developed his performance skills in local clubs.  Whalum’s musical influences include his chart-topping saxophone playing uncle, Kirk Whalum, John Coltrane, D’ Angelo, Kanye West and Bilal.  

Originally from Colorado, trumpeter Kirk Knuffke has been based in New York City since 2005. Kirk has studied improvisation with great jazz artists Ornette Coleman, Art Lande and Ron Miles. He currently leads his own groups, including the Kirk Knuffke Quartet and trio, with 3 recordings now available as a leader for the Cleanfeed and No Business labels.  He and pianist Jesse Stacken also record for Denmark’s renowned Steeplechase label.

Knuffke stays very busy as a member of the celebrated Matt Wilson Quartet, touring the US, performing and teaching.  Recent trips with Mr. Wilson brought Kirk to play at Jazz at the Lincoln Centers Rose Hall with guest saxophonist Marshall Allen, and the 2010 New Port Jazz festival. Kirk is also a long time veteran of Butch Morris' groups, the Andrew D’angelo Big Band, Josh Roseman’s Extended Constellations, The Jeff Davis Band, Ideal Bread, Lilse Ellis, and Kenny Wollesen's Wollesonic,

Kirk has also played and or recorded in groups featuring, among others, Graham Haynes, Jim Black, Tim Berne, Eddie Henderson, Daniel Carter, John Zorn, Tony Malaby, Dave Douglas, Briggan Krauss, Bill McHenry, Trevor Dunn, Mark Helias, Angelica Sanchez, Joe Bonner, Ted Nash, and Steven Bernstein, and the Mary Halvorson quintet

Matana Roberts is a jazz saxophonist, composer and improviser based in New York City. She is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). The Jazz Journalists Association selected Roberts as a finalist nominee for the 2008 "Up and Coming Musician of the Year" award (which Lionel Loueke ultimately won).

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Roberts was raised on the city's South Side and studied classical clarinet during her youth. She formed a trio, Sticks and Stones, with bassist Josh Abrams and drummer Chad Taylor, with whom she regularly performed at the Velvet Lounge. In 2002, Roberts moved to New York, initially busking in subways and publishing a zine, Fat Ragged, about her experiences.  Roberts is the composer of Coin Coin, a musical work-in-progress about her family history, including the life and times of Marie Therese Coin Coin. Roberts performed at the London Jazz Festival in 2007. In 2008, Central Control released Roberts' The Chicago Project. The album, produced by Vijay Iyer, includes performances by members of Prefuse 73 and Tortoise along with AACM saxophonist Fred Anderson.

In January 2010, Roberts was the guest curator at The Stone.

With the mid-March release of his new album, THE CYCLE OF LOVE (Brown Records), trumpet virtuoso Maurice Brown takes another giant step forward as an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, and performer. Brown's soulful melodies and infectious personality are a dynamic package that uniquely marries traditional be-bop to hip-hop. The road to THE CYCLE OF LOVE has been a long, albeit creative trek for the Chicago native. Six years after his critically acclaimed, chart-topping debut, HIP TO BOP, hit the jazz world with staggering force, Brown is back with his stellar band, The Maurice Brown Effect, for his second album.

Brown and the Full Effect are beginning 2010 with dates all over the word, including Jakarta, Indonesia, New Delhi, India and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. To quote the legendary trumpeter, Clark Terry: “Brownie is the young trumpeter to watch for sure. I see young cats all over the world and Maurice has it.” And THE CYCLE OF LOVE delivers it.

From Bacteria to Boys has existed in various lineups since 2005, but the current foursome first came together in 2009 and clicked immediately. Although the drummer's collaborators exhibit a similarly eclectic work ethic (with the likes of saxophonist Darius Jones, a rising star of avant jazz but equally comfortable in speed-metal-meets-free-jazz collective Little Women), everyone bends to Pride's conception.

The whole band negotiates Pride's constructs so smoothly that listening with half an ear might suggest that this was yet another modern mainstream outing, but that would be to miss the subversive nature of what Pride is attempting here. It is contemporary mainstream seen through a distorting lens: nothing is quite as it seems. In a program of ten cuts, nine stem from the leader's pen, with the odd man out being by his friend reedman Uli Kempendorff. Multi-sectioned compositions are interspersed with more straightforward numbers. Perhaps the only clue that this is a drummer-led group comes from the expansive metric wit, drawing from the hip hop to R&B that Pride incorporates so deftly into a jazz context, reminiscent of pianist Craig Taborn's rhythmically charged trio with Gerald Cleaver behind the trap set.

Cellist/Trombonist/Composer Dana Leong fuses hip-hop, jazz and electronics to create a signature boundless sound. Often referred to as a "hi-def Yo-Yo Ma," Dana's pioneering fusion of electronic music and ethereal jazz sensualities has garnered critical acclaim and wowed audiences worldwide. Whether as a performer, composer, collaborator, or recording producer, he has worked with top artists including Dafnis Prieto, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Wynton Marsalis, Yoko Ono, and Kanye West, to name a few. 

Dana’s genre-bending band, MILK & JADE by Dana Leong, has received worldwide acclaim performing sold out shows at jazz festivals in US, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Finland, Slovenia, Serbia, Austria, Ireland, Mexico, Macau, and China. In 2008, the band served as an American musical ambassador overseas as part of The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad program, produced in conjunction with Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Described as crafting "lines of sublime lyric content" (Chicago Tribune), and "sizzling, highly stylized solos" (Philadelphia Inquirer), Dana was recently commissioned by Apollo Theater to create an evening-length music and video show entitled Life After Dark, which premiered to a sold out house, followed by performances at Joe’s Pub and The Greene Space at WNYC in New York. 

An Asian-American artist of Chinese and Japanese descent, Dana grew up in San Francisco and studied both classical cello and jazz trombone on double scholarships at Manhattan School of Music in New York City. As an official Yamaha artist, Dana gives clinics and workshops around the globe on the use of electronics with cello and trombone, and his unique genre-bending composition techniques.

Guitarist Nels Cline and painter Norton Wisdom, both masters of their medium, joined together last year for an afternoon of sonic and visual improvisation caught on film by Aught Nign. Armed with his guitar and effects, Cline constructs lush soundscapes brought about by Wisdom's brush-stroke spontaneity. Wisdom in turn follows Cline's auditory twists creating and recreating the same canvas. 

Two mesmerizing performances are included on the DVD along with special features like the Norton Headcam, and a behind-the-scenes look into the sessions. 

Guitarist Nguyên Lê, born in Paris to Vietnamese parents, embodies the exotic multi-cultural mosaic fueling the vibrant jazz and world music scenes flourishing in the French capital... A self-taught musician, majored in Philosophy & Visual Arts, Lê has developed a distinctive sound that draws upon rock, funk and jazz as well as traditional Algerian, Indian and Vietnamese styles.

His recording career began in 1985, with the group Ultramarine, which incorporated Jazz with elements of African & Caribbean, & which 2nd album, DE was considered 1989 "Best World Music Album" in the French press. After being part of the French National Jazz Orchestra, Le released his first solo album, MIRACLES recorded with American jazz stalwarts Peter Erskine, Marc Johnson and Art Lande.

World music, jazz, electronica, Afrobeat I hope that we don't get marginalized by any of these terms. We are an American band, and in our hearts I think we're more of a rock band than anything else, but we do love so many different types of music, says band leader Elliot Bergman. We have a set of musicians, and we are trying to organize our sounds in a way that represents ourselves. We're not trying to make a record that sounds like it was recorded in the 70's and we're not trying to make anybody think that this was recorded in Nigeria. We're not trying to fool anybody, and especially not ourselves! This is our music. It is full of life, full of emotion. Its funky, danceable, weird, heavy, exuberant, angry, joyous and raucous, he adds.

The bands perpetual grooves are deeper than ever. The horns are set ablaze and analog synths beam an electrified energy into the music. The homemade percussion arsenal is ramped up a notch, and the electric sawblade gamelan brings gong-like overtones into the tangled vine of synthetic and organic strands. The band taps into its full orchestral potential the arrangements are filled with timbral variety, as the bubbling textures of the percussion meld with the soaring sounds of the horn section. Bergman describes how NOMO evolved to incorporate the wild looped sounds that can be heard throughout the album (nowhere more noticeably than on the screaming electric tone at the top of the introductory track Brainwave), We toured non-stop for a while, and on down time, I would spend every night in my basement recording hours of loops and synth textures. I was fascinated with early Morton Subotnick records, the percussive parts, and when I ran out of records to buy, I just started making my own Subotnick-like loops. I didn't want the end product to sound like early synth music, but I loved the textures and gong-like tones of Silver Apples, Wild Bull, 4 Butterflies, etc, he says. Most of the loops were created with the instruments that I've been making, and have amazing variety, perhaps due to my inconsistency as an instrument manufacturer. Some sound amazingly bassy and others have a chime-like ethereal tone. Eno talks about generative music, and creating a system that produces music with little interference. I like that idea, and every night I would try to create as many loops as possible on these instruments without editing. Then I would go back a few weeks later and listen to these bubbling textures that can be heard in so many different ways. Trying to get the band to learn them always sparked heated arguments about where "the one is!"

The 17 member Captain Black Big Band started in 2009 as another project that jazz pianist Orrin Evans dreamed up.  Over the years, he has constantly thrown himself into new endeavors.  This latest endeavor has been quite labor intensive. 

The Captain Black Big Band, (named after Orrin's late father, Donald T. Evans' favorite tobacco)  consists of (4) trombonists (5) saxophonists (4) trumpeter, a bassist, a drummer and (2) pianists not including the leader, who will occasionally jump in and perform a song or two.  One of the interesting things about this project is that he has enlisted Frank Lacy, Todd Bashore and Darryl Yokley to do arrangements of many of his compositions and also arrangements of standards. One of the other unique qualities about this band is that many of the band members hail from Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey.  In this rather eclectic pairing of musicians, you will find, professors, students, touring artist and professional recording artist. 

Orrin features Grammy nominated musicians on gigs to up the anti and continually raise the bar.  The CBBB ,as they are sometimes called, performed on a weekly basis for four months straight, developing and honing their sound, and then recorded a live recording, which will be released on the Posi-Tone record label January 2011. 

Almost a decade after releasing 3 magnificent albums which rocked the jazz world and touring major venues and festivals around the globe, dazzling titan pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, bona fide bass monster Francois Moutin and irrepressibly kinetic drummer Ari Hoenig will be touring the world as Pilc Moutin Hoenig in 2011. 

 

Formed in 2001, The Respect Sextet is a powerhouse ensemble dedicated to performing a wide variety of improvisational music. Relying on their explosive energy, rare telepathy, outstanding musicianship, and a deep friendship, Respect pieces together free improvisations, original compositions, free jazz classics, television commercial jingles, text pieces, jazz standards, game pieces and more into “a whirling collage,” shouts Exclaim! Magazine, “that ransacks and reshapes the entire jazz tradition, from New Orleans march to Misha Mengelberg, Sun Ra to Charlie Parker.” Named “one of the best and most ambitious new ensembles in jazz” by Signal to Noise, The Respect Sextet continues—after nearly a decade as a collective—to fearlessly push the envelope.

Their newest album, Farcical Built For Six, is a special digital-only release and the group’s first original studio album since their 2003 debut. Respect’s 2009 release, Sirius Respect: The Respect Sextet play the music of Sun Ra & Stockhausen, (Mode/Avant), was called “one of the most compelling recordings of the year” by the Wall Street Journal and filed under “Love It” in Newsweek Magazine (“an out-of-this-world pairing”). Sirius Respect brings together the music of Sun Ra and Karlheinz Stockhausen and views them through Respect-colored glasses. Pieces ranging from Stockhausen’s “Tierkreis” (inspired by the Zodiac) to Sun Ra’s “Saturn” are juxtaposed, layered, deconstructed and re-assembled. “It’s neither jazz nor classical,” says John Schaefer of WNYC’s Sound check, “but something cosmically both.”

Sameer Gupta will offer a new direction in musical possibilities with his Motéma Music debut, "NAMASKAR," an organic creative musical experience which bridges classical Indian melodies and modern American jazz. Gupta's working band - which includes Neel Murgai (sitar); and Rashaan Carter (bass) -  is a breath of fresh air in the world of global fusion: fusing classic songs from the traditions of Indian Raga music, Bollywood and American jazz, with arrangements  that unite these songs into one distinctive sound, drawn from experiences that reflect the musicality of these international artists with passion, intelligence and beauty.

Produced by Gupta and Cary, Namaskar's cast of players and innovative compositions combine to create a sonic journey across a range of musical traditions and eras.  The ethereal sounding sarangi of Pt. Pandit Ramesh Mishra and the masterful tabla of Pt. Anindo Chatterjee hearken back to the golden years of romantic thumris, while Gupta’s subtle grooves and Cary’s vibrant performance on keyboards provide a stirring sense of modernity.  Also contributing to the musical melange are Srinivas Reddy on sitar, David Ewell on acoustic bass, Prasant Radhakrishnan on carnatic sax, David Boyce on sax, bass clarinet, Black Edgar's Musicbox, and Efx, and Charith Premawardanan on viola.

With the January 12, 2010 release in the U.S. of The Traveller, the award-winning Dutch saxophonist Tineke Postma is poised to claim within the all-important American jazz community what she has already earned in Europe and Japan: A legitimate place among today’s leading jazz instrumentalists and composers.

Born in Heerenveen, The Netherlands, on August 31, 1978, Tineke Postma earned an M.A. with honors from the Amsterdam Conservatory in 2003 and currently teaches there. She then received two scholarships to attend the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where she studied with Dick Oatts, David Liebman and Chris Potter. Postma has received, among other honors, the international Sisters In Jazz All-Star Award, the Singer Laren Jazz Award, the Heijmans Award and the distinguished MIDEM International Jazz Revelation of the Year award in 2006 during a French National TV gala broadcast “Victoires du Jazz”.

The Traveller (released in 2009 in Europe and Japan), Postma’s fourth album as a leader, is unquestionably her most impressive recording to date. She is as talented a writer as she is a player and the CD showcases eight original compositions and her arrangement of part of a Heitor Villa-Lobos string quartet that are each superbly interpreted by an all-star quartet featuring pianist Geri Allen, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and bassist Scott Colley , three contemporary American jazz masters who are each leaders in their own right and among the most accomplished musicians in the world on their respective instruments. Postma debuted this sensational band earlier in 2009 at Barbican Hall in London (UK), the North Sea Jazz Festival (NL) and Jazz Ramatuelle (F).

Postma has in a few short years built up a global following through touring and performing with her exciting European quartet existing of the finest European musicians as pianist Marc van Roon, bassist Frans van der Hoeven and drummer Martijn Vink in clubs and at festivals in over 20 countries (North Sea Jazz, Middelheim Festival in Antwerpen, Festival,Young Euro Jazz Berlin, Pori Jazz Festival (Finland) , Trondheim Jazz Festival (Norway), Molde Jazz Festival (Norway , the Jakarta Jazz Festival (Indonesia) Yokohama Jazz Festival ( Japan) and the Hanoi Jazz Festival in Vietnam).

(U)nity was conceived in the summer of 2006. By Cuban American Drummer Amaury Acosta & Cuban Pianist Axel Tosca Laugart.  They envisioned many musical projects and ideas. Their vision was to create a sound that has never been done before. Fusing Their Afro Cuban Culture with Modern Jazz, R&B, Gospel & Hip Hop.  After several months of playing with several musicians they still didn’t find the right candidates. In fall 2008 they met French Guitarist Michael Valeanu, and Minneapolis Native Bassist Christopher Smith, and they began playing and composing collectively. Since then they have performed at West New York music & arts festival, Nu Blu, Zinc Bar, Cachaca, Rose, Dizzy s Club Coca Cola, Avon jazz Festival, Manhattan plaza Music fest, The Shrine, Sweet Rhythm, Fat Cat, The New Jersey Jazz Summit, Spike Hill, Etc. In January 2009 they recorded their first e.p. Entitled "(U)nity Is Power"!!  Luques Curtis, Cuban Percussionists Pedrito Martinez, & Roman Diaz, Haitian Singer Melanie JB Charles, Puerto Rican Bass Giant John Benitez, The Amazing Cuban Vocalist Xiomara Laugart, Casey Benjamin, Armando Gola, Basil, Travis Antonie, Jamal Sawyer, Rashan Carter and Up and Coming Saxophonists Phoenix, Arizona’s Lucas Pino & Hudson Valley New York’s Mike McGaril, French Guitarist & composer Michael Valeanu and others.

Artificial Afrika is a multimedia performance work by acclaimed guitarist and composer Vernon Reid.  In Mr. Reid’s own words: “Artificial Afrika is based upon Africa's incredibly rich and vastly diverse amalgam of micro cultures ranging from Senegal, to Somalia, from Tunisia, to South Africa and all points in between, and the vast, shadowy conceptual landscape -- A Country Of The Mind, so to speak -- that exists in The Heart Of Darkness beating in the Dark Continent. It lives in the fear engendered by the sound of Voodoo Drums -- which only becomes more terrifying when "Bwana, the drums have stopped!"  It is the sound of Tarzan’s celluloid yell, and its enormous and erroneous popularity.  It is the intoxicating beauty of Ritual Objects, taken out of context, collected and displayed proudly in multicultural bourgeois homes. It is those same ritual objects poorly imitated, then mass-produced and sold in tourist shops from Lagos to L.A.  It's the way the Kazoo started out as the Voices Of The Dead and became a novelty item.  It's the very darkest Kind Of Blue. It's the smile of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben. It's a Dashiki worn to a Bar Mitzvah. It is the Hip Hop artist dripping in gold & diamonds who STILL can't see the conflict. It's a beat 1,000 years old being played idly by a suburban teen. It is the countless ways that the West has appropriated, warped, and extended the notion of an overarching "African Culture"; the myriad ways these ideas have warped perception, distorted reality and for good and ill have a life of their own.”

VisionFugitive is a new responsibility to the evolution of music, musicianship and musicality.  It is the revelation that comes with rejuvenation in any art form; the individual perception of collective vision; the focus on a new social-logic.

 

This collaboration between JD Allen and Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris has been a long time coming and may prove to be a major pinnacle from which a music must be judged.

 

Hailed by the New York Times as "a tenor saxophonist with an enigmatic, elegant and hard-driving style," JD Allen is a bright rising light on today’s international jazz scene. His unique and compelling voice on the instrument – the result of a patient and painstaking confrontation with the fundamentals of the art - has recently earned Allen a blaze of critical attention signaling his ascension to the upper ranks of the contemporary jazz world: Downbeat Critics Polls Rising Star finalist in the 2010, 2009 + 2008; I AM I AM and SHINE! TOP 10 ALBUM OF THE YEAR in over 25 publications worldwide including; NPR’S Top 5 Albums of 2009 (Shine!), JazzTimes Top 50 Albums of 2009 (Shine!), Village Voice #9 Jazz Album of the Year (Shine!) and Boston Globe Top Jazz Album of the Year, 2009 (Shine!). His third release on the Sunnyside label, VICTORY! is slated for early 2011.

 

Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris is recognized internationally as the principal theorist and practitioner in the evolution of Conduction®: The practice of conveying and interpreting a lexicon of directives to modify or construct sonic arrangement or composition; astructure - content exchange between composer /conductor /instrumentalist that provides immediate possibility to alter orinitiate harmony, melody, rhythm, tempo, progression, articulation, phrasing or form by manipulating pitch, dynamics (volume/intensity/density), timbre, duration, silence and order in real-time.

 

Mr. Morris's work redefines the roles of composer, conductor, arranger and performer, and bridges the gap between the composer, interpreter and improviser.  Since 1974, his career has been distinguished by unique and outstanding international contributions to television, film, theater, dance, radio, interdisciplinary collaborations, concerts and recordings. He has collaborated with countless musicians, choreographers, filmmakers and writers, and is an advisor to many institutions worldwide.

 

Together they constitute “the closing of ranks” to further facilitate the long awaited, much stronger march toward the evolution of music in general and Jazz in particular.

Josh Roseman's Water Surgeons is a summit which is in the night. 

The quartet features four people, sound therapists who live venturously with trombones and many plethora of instruments and found objectives, including an accordion, an electric guitar. Plus one Barney McAll, a unaccountable jazz piano and master of ambient affairs. The repertoire ranges from "denatured classical excerpts" for trombone quartet to "music drama" for "indeterminate instruments."