"Allen Lowe grew up in Massapequa Park, New York in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He started playing saxophone in jazz groups at age 15 and had some of his first jazz experiences, as a teenager, at the legendary Lower East Sideclub Slugs, seeing Ornette Coleman's band and Charles Mingus, among others. Coming of age at the end of the 1960s he also saw groups like Super Session (Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper), the Grateful Dead (at their first Central Park concert in 1967), the Mothers of Invention (at Columbia University, 1968). Not to mention Louis Armstrong at Freedomland, circa 1964. When his young band (with guitarist Joel Perry) was booked for a festival in Bedford Stuyvesant circa 1968, they turned out to be one of the opening acts for the comeback appearance of Eubie Blake.

After he dropped out of college in the middle 1970s Lowe returned to New York City, at a time when jazz was in something of an eclipse. He befriended a few veterans of the bebop era, like Al Haig, Curly Russell, Bill Triglia, Percy France, Dick Katz, Dave Schildkaut, and Tommy Potter. He even spent an odd afternoon with Lenny Tristano at Tristano's house in Jamaica Estates, became good friends with Barry Harris and Bob Neloms, got to know Jaki Byard while writing for a Boston music publication, and, in this same capacity, had some strange adventures one afternoon in Boston with Art Pepper.

Lowe had long since stopped performing, and by the time he picked up the saxophone again in the early 1980s he was living in New Haven Connecticut (by way of a brief attendance at the Yale School of Drama), where he became active in the local jazz scene with musicians like the bassist Jeff Fuller and drummer Ray Kaczynski. Originally an unreconstructed bebopper, he gradually became more and more interested in what was then known as "new music," and began composing, performing and recording more actively in the new idiom. He was in contact with musicians like Julius Hemphill, Don Byron, David Murray, Doc Cheatham, Roswell Rudd, Loren Schoenberg, Jimmy Knepper, Randy Sandke, and others, all of whom subsequently played or recorded with Lowe's bands. During this time Lowe recorded 2 compact discs at the Knitting Factory (with Murray, Cheatham, Hemphill, Schoenberg) as well as sessions for Enja and Music and Arts (with Ben Goldberg, Randy Sandke, Roswell Rudd) - and on the Music and arts Album he performed what turned out to be the first jazz interpretation of Blind Willie Johnson's Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground.

In 1990 Lowe began working for the Mayor of New Haven, and became Director of Jazz New Haven, the yearly summer free outdoor festival held on the New Haven Green. He ran the festival for three years, booking musicians like Tony Williams, Max Roach, Jaki Byard, Tito Puente, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Ray Barretto, and James Moody.

In 1996 he moved to South Portland Maine, and what followed was a period of involuntary musical retirement. There was little musical work, no interest in his music, and a local arts scene dominated by folk music, retro-Indie Rock, and people under the age of 30. Out of sheer boredom he took up the guitar and began composing again, and also taught himself the technique of sound restoration. During this time Lowe wrote 4 books - American Pop from Minstrel to Mojo (a survey of American music from 1896-1946, published by Cadence and issued with a 9 CD set); That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History 1900-1950 (published by Music and Arts and issued with a 36 CD set); God Didn't Like It: Electric Hillbillies, Singing Preachers, and the Beginning of Rock and Roll, 1950-1970 (unpublished); The Lost Generation: Jazz of the 1950s (unpublished); and then, most recently, Really the Blues? A Blues History, 1893-1959 (with a 36 CD set and 80,000 words of notes). For all of these that were issued with compact discs sets Lowe did all mastering and sound restoration, and also began doing freelance sound work, for Rhino, Shout, Rykodisc, Sony, Michael Feinstein, Terry Gross (Fresh Air), Venus Records, and others. The last two historical reissue projects he has done (That Devilin Tune and Really the Blues?) remain as two of the largest independent projects ever done on the history of American music, and were completed without any outside, institutional support.

As a result of all of this one reviewer called Lowe "the Harry Smith of the 21st century." Greil Marcus remarked that "Lowe has made a substantial contribution to American culture, and all of those who want to see our musical history whole are in his debt." John Szwed commented that "Allen Lowe has forced us to rethink everything we 'know' about jazz - but I'll add that he's also forced us to question what we know about pop, country, and the blues as well. He has historicized pop music brilliantly...and the fact that he did it, and not one of the 'big' recording companies who are sitting on treasures of American music, is all the more astonishing. This collection should be in every household, or at the least in every library and school. Bravo! Encore!"

In the meantime, Lowe began doing yearly lectures on various musical topics and moderating panels at the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies and the annual EMP Pop Conference in Seattle, Washington. He also lectured for the United States Information Agency in Europe. His books were used in courses at both Harvard and Yale, and entries appeared on him in the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz and The Penguin Guide to Jazz on Compact Disc. There is also an entire chapter on him in the book Bebop and Nothingness, by Francis Davis.

Finally, around 2001, Lowe began playing and recording again, on both guitar and alto saxophone. In 2007 he recorded a disc with Matthew Shipp, Lewis Porter, Randy Sandke, Marc Ribot, Scott Robinson, and Erin Mckeown. A mix of jazz, punk rock, and American roots music, it received little national notice, but high praise from the likes of Anthony Braxton "Allen Lowe is a great writer. It's hillbilly music but it's trans-national. Allen Lowe is one of the few musicians doing anything new today. He is the tradition. I'm a big fan of Allen Lowe and I think as a musician and a scholar he is very important and I think he is deeply misunderstood because he doesn't hate himself" and led to Lowe's inclusion in a book called Jazz Jews (Mike Gerber, Five Leaves Publications) in which it was advised that Lowe "extracts the most soulful sounds out of a synthesizer since Steve Wonder, composes ambient-evocative instrumentals, and songs with vernacular lyrics that stick in the mind like those of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Mose Allison or Lou Reed."

An uncomfortable encounter in 2008 with Wynton Marsalis led to Lowe's current project/obsession, the reissue Really the Blues? A Blues History 1893-1959 (see above) as well as a recording project and New York concert of his own music based on the blues and its various related forms. He has been recording in the last year with Matthew Shipp, Marc Ribot, Lewis Porter, Randy Sandke, and Roswell Rudd, and is currently rehearsing a new Portland-based group in a series of blues and blues variations that also touch on gospel and other forms of street-music."

-Allen Lowe Website (http://allenlowe.com/about)
10/2/2024

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"Aaron M. Johnson is a Saxophonist, Clarinetist and Flutist based in New York City where he leads his quartet and freelances as a jazz musician and commercial woodwind doubler. In addition to leading his own group in nearly every New York jazz establishment, from Smalls to Jazz at Lincoln Center, he has worked with notable jazz musicians such as Jon Batiste, Dick Hyman, Chuck Israels, Ken Peplowski, Connie Crothers, Slide Hampton, John Colianni, Ed Palermo, Pete Barbutti, Joey "G Clef" Cavaseno, Jon-Erik Kellso, Dwayne Clemons, Sacha Perry and many more. Johnson is currently an artist in residence for the famed Catskill Jazz Factory and 23arts. Through these organizations, he has premiered 4 commissioned projects since 2017.

As a commercial/classical/woodwind musician, Aaron has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, played in the house band for Bill Irwin's Old Hats, Toured with 2009 American Idol Winner Lee DeWyze and is a member of the Siletz Bay Festival Orchestra (Oregon) in addition to freelancing with many local/regional symphonies/chamber ensembles in the New York Metro Area. Currently playing lead alto with the John Colianni jazz orchestra, Aaron is also a member of the Ken Peplowski big band and leads his own groups and projects nationally as well as abroad.

In addition to his performing, Aaron Johnson is an in demand scholar and lecturer of Jazz history. He has presented and spoken many times at Jazz at Lincoln Center, conducting pre-concert lectures, moderating panels and presenting listening party lectures. Other schools Aaron has presented at include NYU and the College of William & Mary.

Aaron plans to release his first two albums in the fall of 2019- the first, recorded in January, is a quartet album produced by Ken Peplowski and Engineered by Bill Moss at Flux studios featuring Jordan Piper (piano), Neal Miner (bass) and Charles Goold (drums). The 2nd, a live concert recorded at the Oregon Coast Music festival in July and engineered by Vincent Cavarra, features Jazz great Chuck Israels on Bass as well as frequent collaborator Jordan Piper on Piano and will be released by Joey Cavaseno's label, Soul Kid Jazz. "

-Aaron Johnson Website (https://aaronmjohnsonjazz.com/bio.html)
10/2/2024

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"Elijah Shiffer is a New York-based musician who has been involved with nearly every facet of the city's jazz scene as a saxophonist, bandleader, composer, arranger, editor, and critic. He has released four CDs as a leader, each with a regularly performing band. The most recent is "Dada Bebop", which explores experimental possibilities of the bebop tradition while incorporating the influence of 1910s-20s Dada sound poetry. "City Of Birds, Volume I", his third CD, is the first installment of a collection of compositions inspired by every species of bird native to New York City; it features a quartet named All The Birds. More volumes of this series are coming soon. Elijah's second CD, "Star Jelly", which came out in February 2023, features an expanded lineup of the Star Jelly Horns: an eclectic, sax-heavy version of a New Orleans-style "brass" band which grew out of busking in Prospect Park in 2020. Elijah also leads the Robber Crabs, a quartet combining the influences of early jazz and avant-garde jazz; with this group he recorded his debut CD "Unhinged", released in April 2018. Elijah won an ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award with the title track from this album. "Dada Bebop", "City Of Birds, Vol. 1", and "Star Jelly" were recorded at the historic Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey and released on Elijah's own label also called Star Jelly.

"Elijah is a regular member of the Shrine Big Band, which has a monthly residency at The Shrine in Harlem. He also currently plays in guitarist Christian Cail's Stress Assembly quartet and violinist Ben Sutin's Klazz-Ma-Tazz; Elijah is on both of the latter's CDs. Other leaders Elijah has played with include Xander Naylor (with whom he's recorded and toured), Tyshawn Sorey, Sean Cronin, Cecilia Coleman, Bobby Sanabria, Kyle Athayde, and Nicolas Letman-Burtinovic. Besides countless jazz venues around NYC, Elijah has performed in a variety of other spaces including City Reliquary, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and MoMA PS1.

From 2016 to 2019, Elijah was a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. In February 2020, he premiered four big band compositions in a Jazz Composers Showcase concert at the Jazz Gallery. Elijah created an improvised solo sax soundtrack for "Always For The First Time", a short film by John Caliendo and Victoria Meade that won Best Experimental Short Film at the 2022 Tallahassee Film Festival. Elijah has composed for the chamber ensembles Du.0 and Xelana Duo, and arranged for Dandy Wellington And His Band and the Evan Sherman Big Band.

Since early 2014, Elijah has been working for the jazz publishing company Second Floor Music. Besides editing their sheet music, Elijah writes descriptions of songs for the company's website, jazzleadsheets.com. His playing is featured on several videos on the jazzleadsheets.com YouTube channel. In 2022 Elijah started writing album reviews; these can be read in The New York City Jazz Record, jazzrightnow.com, and his own blog Extra Special Music.

Elijah is a graduate of Manhattan School Of Music, where he studied with Steve Wilson, Donny McCaslin, Jim McNeely, Dave Liebman, Samir Chatterjee, and Todd Reynolds. Earlier mentors of his include Ed Palermo and the late Barry Harris and Charles Davis.

Besides music, Elijah has always been very interested in birds. He can often be found birdwatching in NYC parks. A former member of the Linnaean Society of New York and the Brooklyn Bird Club, Elijah got to perform some of his compositions for the former's lecture series at the American Museum of Natural History in November 2013. Since 2021, he has been leading birdwatching walks for the Lower East Side Ecology Center; he performed (with his All The Birds band) for this organization's annual Fall Social in 2021 and 2022. In 2023 he started Avant Birde, a birdwatching club focused on musicians (though non-musicians are certainly welcome)."

-Elijah Shiffer Website (https://www.elijahshiffer.com/bio)
10/2/2024

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"Saxophonist, bandleader, composer and educator Nicole Glover, is based in New York City and has established herself as a rising star and a musician in great demand. Her most recent solo release "Plays", featuring her regular trio of bassist Tyrone Allen and drummer Kayvon Gordon plus vibraphone master Steve Nelson, received 4.5 stars in Downbeat, and was called "The State of the Tenor Circa 2024".

Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Nicole was a student of the American Music Program, a nationally recognized and award-winning program dedicated to priming students for a career in jazz. In 2009, she moved east to attend the jazz program at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. There, she studied with pianists Harold Mabern, Mulgrew Miller and tenor saxophonist Rich Perry.

Currently, Nicole is a member of Ursa Major, led by bassist Christian McBride, and she performs often with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In August 2023, she toured Australia with JLCO, performing Marsalis' symphonic work "All Rise" with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Nicole is also an integral member of the supergroup ARTEMIS, led by musical director Renee Rosnes. In May 2023, the collective released their 2nd recording, In Real Time on Blue Note Records, and in November 2023, they were elected "Best Jazz Group" by the Downbeat Reader's Poll. She has also worked with drummers Al Foster, Victor Lewis, Lenny White, and Kenny Washington, Grammy award winning vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Buika, Bassists Harish Raghavan, Reggie Workman, Ben Wolfe, and Or Bareket, saxophonist Rudresh Manhanthappa, vibraphonist Joel Ross, and pianists Bill Charlap, Geoffrey Keezer, Luis Perdomo, Micah Thomas, and George Colligan among others. She recently performed Mary Lou Williams' "Zodiac Suite" with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the musical direction of pianist Aaron Diehl. She is also featured on Aaron Diehl and The Knights' album Zodiac Suite, which has been nominated for a 2024 Grammy Award for "Best Classical Compendium".

An experienced educator, Nicole is on faculty at Manhattan School of Music. She is a passionate teacher, and has given many masterclasses and private lessons to aspiring musicians all over the globe."

-Nicole Glover Website (https://www.nicoleglover.com/about)
10/2/2024

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"Frank Lacy (born August 9, 1958, Houston, Texas) is an American jazz trombonist who has spent many years as a member of the Mingus Big Band.

Lacy's father was a teacher who played guitar with Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, and Eddie Cleanhead Vinson. His mother was a gospel singer. When Lacy was eight, he started learning piano. In his teens, he played trumpet, tuba, and euphonium before switching to trombone. He got a degree in physics from Texas Southern University. In 1979, he went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, studying trombone and composition. His classmates included Branford Marsalis, Greg Osby, and Marvin Smith.

Lacy moved to New York City in 1981. In 1986, he played with Illinois Jacquet's big band, and a couple years later he was musical director for Art Blakey. He released his first album as a band leader in 1991 with his father on guitar. He has also worked with Lester Bowie, Marty Ehrlich, Michael Formanek, Slide Hampton, Roy Hargrove, Rufus Reid, Henry Threadgill, Steve Turre, McCoy Tyner, and Bobby Watson. He has spent over twenty years as a member of the Mingus Big Band."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lacy)
10/2/2024

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"Ray Anderson has been continually noted as a contributor to the legacy of the slide trombone since his emergence in the 1970's, having won numerous Down Beat Critics Polls. He has shown remarkable musical range on the slide trombone and as a result reawakened interest in the instrument's expressive possibilities and sonic scope. He has led or co-led and composed for a daunting assortment of projects including tradition-minded ensembles, experimental groups, big bands, blues and funk projects and even a trombone quartet. He has performed and recorded with Anthony Braxton, David Murray, Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, Dr. John, the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Luther Allison, Bennie Wallace, Henry Threadgill, John Scofield, Roscoe Mitchell, the New York Composers Orchestra, Sam Rivers' Rivbea Orchestra and countless others. Anderson is a gifted teacher and has been the Director of Jazz Studies at Stony Brook University since 2003. Anderson has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fund for U.S. Artists at International Festivals, the Oberon Foundation and Chamber Music America. In 2001 he became a John S. Guggenheim Fellow."

-Ray Anderson Website (http://www.rayanderson.com)
10/2/2024

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"Trombonist, educator, arranger, composer, musician, and artist Brian Simontacchi started on trombone at age 8 in the Denville, NJ public school system. It was apparent from the very beginning that he had talent. One teacher remarked when he was 9 that he could major in music. This left an impression on him.

Glenn Miller and the music of the swing era left an early impression on him, but it wasn't until he discovered "The Best of John Coltrane" that he truly fell in love with jazz and improvised music.

Brian attended the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School of Music, receiving a scholarship to study with renowned legend Steve Davis starting in the fall of 2010. Other professors during Brian's time included Jeremy Pelt, Nat Reeves, Eric McPherson, Rene McLean, Javon Jackson, Andy LaVerne, Shawnn Monteiro and Abraham Burton. Brian grew from their tutelage.

Brian graduated in May of 2014 with a B.M. in Jazz Studies. Since then Brian has been fortunate to work regularly with the likes of Josh Evans, Allen Lowe, Fabio Morgera, Mark Johnson, The Makanda Project, Frank Lacy, Jovan Alexandre, Jonathan Barber, Kendrick Oliver & The New Life Jazz Orchestra, Dr. Lewis Porter and more. In September 2013, Brian was fortunate to record alongside NEA Jazz Master Gary Bartz on Allen Lowe's project "Man with Guitar: Where's Robert Johnson?"

In 2019, Brian formed o3 with Corey Garcia and Matt Dwonszyk. Brian is currently working with Frank Lacy's Septet and the Josh Evans Big Band."

-Brian Simontacchi Website (https://www.briansimontacchi.com/about)
10/2/2024

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"An accomplished Jazz musician, Andy Stein has been a featured soloist with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Paquito D'Rivera, Phil Woods, Manhattan Transfer, Jon Faddis, Dick Hyman, Jon Hendricks, Eddie Daniels, Turtle Island String Quartet, Vince Giordano's Nighthawks, Ken Peplowski, Bob Wilbur, Harold Ashby, Andy Bey, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, etc. Since the 1980's Stein has been known for his recreations of the early work of Joe Venuti, considered the first jazz violinist of the 1920's, whose recordings inspired the careers of Stephane Grapelli and many others. Stein's tributes in concert and and on two discs have all met with critical acclaim."

-Andy Stein Website (https://www.andysteinmusic.com/untitled-cnnz)
10/2/2024

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"Ursula Oppens, a legend among American pianists, is widely admired for her original and perceptive readings of new music, but also for her knowing interpretations of the standard repertoire. No other artist alive today has commissioned and premiered more new works for the piano that have entered the permanent repertoire. Over the years, Ms. Oppens has premiered works by such leading composers as John Adams, Luciano Berio, Anthony Braxton, Elliott Carter, John Corigliano, John Harbison, Julius Hemphill, Conlon Nancarrow, Charles Wuorinen, as well as many more.

A prolific recording artist with five Grammy nominations, Ms. Oppens most recently released a recording of Frederic Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated, nominated for a Grammy in 2016, and Piano Songs, a collaboration with Meredith Monk. Earlier releases include Winging It: Piano Music of John Corigliano; Oppens Plays Carter; a recording of Elliot Carter's complete piano works for Cedille Records; Piano Music of Our Time featuring compositions by John Adams, Elliott Carter, and others; and a two-piano CD for Cedille Records devoted to Messiaen's Visions de l'Amen and Debussy's En blanc et noir performed with pianist Jerome Lowenthal.

Currently Ms. Oppens is performing special 80th birthday programs for Messrs. Corigliano, Rzewski, and Wuorinen. Other performances appearances will include performances of works by Jonathan Harvey, and a joint recital with pianist Phillip Moll which will feature Mozart's Concerto for two Pianos.As an orchestral guest soloist, Ms. Oppens has performed with virtually all of the world's major orchestras; highlights include the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony, and London Philharmonic Orchestras. Ms. Oppens is also an avid chamber musician, performing with the Arditti, Juilliard, and Pacifica quartets, among others.

Ursula Oppens joined the faculty of Mannes College in fall 2017, and is a Distinguished Professor of Music at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City."

-The New School (https://www.newschool.edu/mannes/faculty/Ursula-Oppens/)
10/2/2024

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"Lewis Porter, pianist, keyboardist, and composer, appears on 30 albums with Dave Liebman, Marc Ribot, Gary Bartz and many others, and his 2018 album Beauty And Mystery features John Patitucci, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Tia Fuller. His latest are the exciting jazz-rock album Transcendent with guitar virtuoso Ray Suhy, on Sunnyside, and Solo Piano on the new label Next To Silence. AllAboutJazz writes that Porter's music draws from many sources to make "a beautifully creative whole" and that he is "a first-rate pianist," to which NYC Jazz Record adds that he has "a mind-boggling array of approaches at his ...fingertips." He received a Grammy nomination in 1995. He has performed across the USA and Europe with Liebman (who premiered one of Dr. Porter's saxophone concertos), Joe Lovano, Wycliffe Gordon, Ravi Coltrane, Ribot, and many others.

Awarded a Ph.D. in musicology in 1983, he is well-known as a jazz educator, researcher, and author, most notably of a celebrated book on John Coltrane. A long-time former music professor at Rutgers in Newark and at Tufts U, he also taught at The New School, The Manhattan School of Music, NYU, William Paterson U, and Brandeis, as well as being a guest teacher throughout the USA and Europe. He also teaches private students worldwide by Zoom/Skype/Facetime/GoogleMeet, etc. Please follow him at Lewisporter.com and on Facebook."

-Lewis Porter Website (https://www.lewisporter.com/bio)
10/2/2024

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"Loren Schoenberg, who's the senior scholar of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, is on the faculty at Juilliard and has also taught at Manhattan School of Music and the New School. Schoenberg has lectured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the White House, the New York Philharmonic, Stanford University, and the Aspen Institute. He has conducted the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as well as the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the American Jazz Orchestra, and the WDR Jazz Orchestra in Koln, Germany. Schoenberg, a tenor saxophonist/pianist, has played and recorded with Benny Carter, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Heath, Eddie Durham, Marian McPartland, Clark Terry, John Lewis, Christian McBride, and Buck Clayton, and he was musical director for Bobby Short from 1997 to 2005. He also received two Grammy awards for best album notes, in 1994 and 2004. From 1986 to 1995, he oversaw the Benny Goodman Archives at Yale University. He has taught for several Jazz at Lincoln Center education programs and served as a screening judge for its Essentially Ellington program for 20 years. Schoenberg has been published widely (including in the New York Times), and his book, The NPR Guide to Jazz, was released in 2003. He was hired in 2001 to lead the effort to establish the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and served for more than a decade as its executive director, creating many of its signal programs and enlisting Christian McBride, Jonathan Batiste, Ken Burns, and Wynton Marsalis to help further the museum's mission."

-Julliard (https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/schoenberg-loren)
10/2/2024

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"Matthew Shipp was born December 7, 1960 in Wilmington, Delaware. He started piano at 5 years old with the regular piano lessons most kids have experienced. He fell in love with jazz at 12 years old. After moving to New York in 1984 he quickly became one of the leading lights in the New York jazz scene. He was a sideman in the David S. Ware quartet and also for Roscoe Mitchell's Note Factory before making the decision to concentrate on his own music.

Mr Shipp has reached the holy grail of jazz in that he possesses a unique style on his instrument that is all of his own- and he's one of the few in jazz that can say so. Mr. Shipp has recorded a lot of albums with many labels but his 2 most enduring relationships have been with two labels. In the 1990s he recorded a number of chamber jazz cds with Hatology, a group of cds that charted a new course for jazz that, to this day, the jazz world has not realized. In the 2000s Mr Shipp has been curator and director of the label Thirsty Ear's "Blue Series" and has also recorded for them. In this collection of recordings he has generated a whole body of work that is visionary, far reaching and many faceted."

-Matthew Shipp Website (http://www.matthewshipp.com/bio.html)
10/2/2024

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"Danish award-winning pianist, composer and bandleader, born 1988.Based in Copenhagen. Performing as a solo artist as well as in bands such as Horse Orchestra and Jeppe Zeeberg and the Absolute Pinnacle of Human Achievement.

His music is a personal, uncompromising blend of genres that has been described by All About Jazz as A beautiful, convincing proposal for how modern jazz or contemporary music may sound."

-Jeppe Zeeberg Website (http://www.jeppezeeberg.com/biography)
10/2/2024

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"Marc Ribot (pronounced REE-bow) was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1954. As a teen, he played guitar in various garage bands while studying with his mentor, Haitian classical guitarist and composer Frantz Casseus. After moving to New York City in 1978, Ribot was a member of the soul/punk Realtones, and from 1984 - 1989, of John Lurie's Lounge Lizards. Between 1979 and 1985, Ribot also worked as a side musician with Brother Jack McDuff, Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Chuck Berry, and many others.

Rolling Stone points out that "Guitarist Marc Ribot helped Tom Waits refine a new, weird Americana on 1985's "Rain Dogs", and since then he's become the go-to guitar guy for all kinds of roots-music adventurers: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, John Mellencamp." Additional recording credits include Soloman Burke, Neko Case, Diana Krall, Beth Orton, Marianne Faithful, Arto Lindsay, Caetano Veloso, Laurie Anderson, Susana Baca, McCoy Tyner, The Jazz Passengers, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Cibo Matto, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, James Carter, Vinicio Capposella (Italy), Auktyon (Russia), Vinicius Cantuaria, Sierra Maestra (Cuba), Alain Bashung (France), Marisa Monte, Allen Ginsburg, Madeleine Peyroux, Sam Phillips, and more recently Joe Henry, Allen Toussaint, Norah Jones, Akiko Yano, The Black Keys, Jeff Bridges, Jolie Holland, Elton John/Leon Russell and many others. Ribot frequently collaborates with producer T Bone Burnett, most notably on Alison Krauss and Robert Plant's Grammy Award winning "Raising Sand" and regularly works with composer John Zorn.

Marc has released over 20 albums under his own name over a 35-year career, exploring everything from the pioneering jazz of Albert Ayler with his group "Spiritual Unity" (Pi Recordings), to the Cuban son of Arsenio Rodríguez with two critically acclaimed releases on Atlantic Records under "Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos". His avant power trio/post-rock band, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog (Pi Recordings), continues the lineage of his earlier experimental no-wave/punk/noise groups Rootless Cosmopolitans (Island Antilles) and Shrek (Tzadik). Marc's solo recordings include "Marc Ribot Plays The Complete Works of Frantz Casseus" (Les Disques Du Crepuscule), "John Zorn's The Book of Heads" (Tzadik), "Don't Blame Me" (DIW), "Saints" (Atlantic), "Exercises in Futility" (Tzadik), and his latest "Silent Movies" released in 2010 on Pi Recordings was described as a "down-in-mouth-near master piece" by the Village Voice and has landed on several Best of 2010 lists including the LA Times and critical praise across the board. 2013 saw the release of "Your Turn" (Northern Spy), the sophomore effort from Ribot's post-rock/noise trio Ceramic Dog, and 2014 saw the monumental release: "Marc Ribot Trio Live at the Village Vanguard" (Pi Recordings), documenting Marc's first headline and the return of Henry Grimes at the historical venue in 2012 already included on Best of 2014 lists including Downbeat Magazine and NPR's 50 Favorites.

Marc has performed on scores such as "The Kids Are All Right," "Where the Wild Things Are," "Walk The Line (Mangold)," "Everything is Illuminated," and "The Departed" (Scorcese)." Marc has also composed original scores including the French film Gare du Nord (Simon), the PBS documentary "Revolucion: Cinco Miradas," the film "Drunkboat," starring John Malkovich and John Goodman, a documentary film by Greg Feldman titled "Joe Schmoe," a feature film by director Joe Brewster titled "The Killing Zone", and dance pieces "In as Much as Life is Borrowed", by famed Belgian choreographer, Wim Vandekeybus, and Yoshiko Chuma's "Altogether Different". Marc is also currently touring his live solo guitar score to Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid", which was commissioned by the NY Guitar Festival and premiered Jan 2010 at Merkin Hall, as well as a program of new arrangements of classic Film Noir scores commissioned by the New School Noir Arts Festival 2011.

In 2009, Marc was named curator and musical director for the year's Century of Song Festival, part of the Ruhr Triennale in Germany. The concert series sparked new collaborations with Iggy Pop, Marianne Faithfull, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, master cajón player Juan Medrano Cotito, Carla Bozulich and Tine Kindermann.

Marc's talents have also been showcased with a full symphony orchestra. Composer Stewart Wallace wrote a guitar concerto with orchestra specifically for Marc. The piece was premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC in July of 2004 and also appeared at The Cabrillo Festival in Santa Cruz, CA in August of 2005.

Marc is currently touring with several projects including the Marc Ribot Trio, a free jazz group featuring legendary bassist Henry Grimes and Chad Taylor on drums, his power trio Ceramic Dog with bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Ches Smith, the Philly soul meets the harmolodics of Ornette Coleman's The Young Philadelphians with Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Calvin Weston, and with Caged Funk, a project of funk arrangements of John Cage's music featuring Bernie Worrell of Parliament Funkadelic fame."

-Marc Ribot Website (http://marcribot.com/bio)
10/2/2024

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"Hailing from Biddeford, Maine, and currently residing in Asbury Park, New Jersey, bandleader Ray Suhy is an accomplished and versatile guitarist whose playing style spans multiple genres.

While Ray grew up playing classic rock, blues and metal, he gravitated towards jazz in his teen years after hearing John Coltrane for the first time.

Ray continued to hone his skills by attending Berklee College of Music and The New School Jazz Program. Ray also studied jazz improvisation and theory privately with Charlie Banacos for over ten years.

After college, Ray toured with the bands Colepitz and The Baltic Sea before joining up with East Of The Wall, touring and recording with them from 2011 to 2015. Ray has recorded as a sideman on free jazz records with the likes of Allen Lowe, Matthew Ship and Lewis Porter.

Ray is currently touring and performing with Seasons Of Mist and Dangerous Muse, a 1980s style electro pop band. Ray is also an in-demand New Jersey session guitarist and has been a private guitar instructor for more than 25 years."

-Lake House Music Academy (https://www.lakehousemusicacademy.com/ray-suhy)
10/2/2024

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"Hailing from Durham, NC and beginning his musical career in communities rich with mentorship, Will Goble is steadily carving out a unique space for himself as a bassist, composer, bandleader, and educator.

Will became interested in Jazz and related art forms after growing up within the creative music scene that still thrives around the Research Triangle area in North Carolina. Upon departing Durham for Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL in the early 2000s, Will quickly flourished under the tutelage of bassist Rodney Jordan and famed pianist Marcus Roberts. His relationship with Roberts extended onto the bandstand as Marcus invited Will to perform with his trio on a number of performances through the years. Through Roberts, Will met drummer and vibraphonist Jason Marsalis, eventually joining Jason's quartet in 2008. He can be heard on four of Jason's most recent studio releases, Music Update (2009), In a World of Mallets, (2013), The 21st Century Trad Band (2014), and Melody Reimagined, Vol. 1 (2018).

During his twenty-plus year career, Will has contributed to a number of musical communities, released two albums under his own name, and worked steadily alongside longtime collaborators. His first album,

Some Stories Tells No Lies

(2012), features his own trio (drummer Dave Potter and Pianist Austin Johnson) joined by trumpeter Marcus Printup and saxophonist Chad Eby. His second album, "Consider The Blues" was released in 2016 on OA2 Records (Origin Arts). Consider The Blues highlights Will's growth as a composer and is bolstered by strong performances from Potter, pianist Louis Heriveaux, and saxophonist Gregory Tardy. Currently based in New Haven, CT, Will continues to perform as a sideman and bandleader. Along with Marsalis and Roberts, Will has appeared with Marcus and Joan Belgrave, Wessell Anderson, Vincent Gardner, Eric Reed, Gregory Tardy, Warren Wolf, Martin Bejerano, Nick Finzer, Eric Rasmussen, George Colligan, Lew Soloff, Etienne Charles, Michael Kocour, Fred Wesley, and many others.

An active educator, Will spent several years as faculty at Scottsdale Community College and Grand Canyon University in Arizona, and as a community teaching artist at The Nash, the performance and education home of Jazz In Arizona. Will also spent a year on faculty at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, NC, before relocating to New Haven, CT.

-Will Goble Website (https://www.willgoblemusic.com/bio)
10/2/2024

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"Colson Jimenez is a bass-player who, as a sophomore in high school, was accepted into the WMEA All State jazz band, as well as Berklee's Global Jazz Institute Workshop at Newport Jazz Festival where he will attend a workshop and play at Newport this summer. He picked up an interest in jazz upon moving to the San Francisco Bay Area five years ago (from his hometown of Anaheim, CA), and quickly began honing his craft by practicing and listening devotedly and gigging all over Oakland and San Francisco." Jimenez currently is based in New York City.

-Stoneway Cafe, iBeam Brooklyn (http://www.stonewaycafe.com/new-events/2016/8/16/colson-jimenez)
10/2/2024

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"Nicholas Jozwiak was born in the Chicagoland area to a family of musicians. He studied classical piano at a young age followed closely by the double bass. His first teacher was young bassist educator Virginia Dixon, followed by the enigmatic former principle of the Honolulu Symphony, Tony Monaco. Discovering jazz and improvisation in high school, Nick was invited to study at the Dave Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony, (under Ingrid Jensen and Geoffrey Keezer), the Vail, Colorado Jazz Workshop (under John Clayton) and the Berklee Summer Jazz Workshop (under Terri Lynne Carrington). He also performed as principle bassist for the Chicago Youth Symphony's 2006-2007 season, performing Brahms, Strauss and Barber in Eastern Europe. In 2007 Nick moved to New York City to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. There he studied with William Parker, Mark Helias, Ben Street, Richard Boukas and Ron Petrides, developing a strong appreciation for abstraction, experimentalism, free jazz and improvisation. Meanwhile, Nick participated in a rich DIY scene in the Bushwick, Brooklyn area, centered around two sister venues, the Freedom Garden and 1012 Willoughby, performing and organizing shows. Performances range from live collage art, conductions, free improvisations, experimental ensemble compositions and drone-based, throat-sung solos. As a prolific sideman he has made acid-country music on tour with Jolie Holland, burning straight ahead jazz with Kimberly Thompson, bubble gum folk with Oh! My Blackbird, pop-rock on tour with Dylan Gardner, improvised performance art with Jay-Zee Sushi Car and Muyassar Kurdi, neo-soul/r&b with José James, and forward-thinking contemporary jazz with Aaron Burnett."

-Roulette (https://roulette.org/event/aaron-burnett-presents-compound-gravity/)
10/2/2024

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"Kresten Osgood is one of these people who at the same time defy and totally own categories. An extraordinary drummer and improviser who with the fullest respect to tradition, challenges it at any given moment of his creative endeavors. He has about a 100 albums to his credit, toured practically everywhere, has been performing and/or recording with legends like Roscoe Mitchell, Paul Bley, Lee Scratch Perry, William Parker, Masabumi Kikuchi, Derek Bailey, Wadada Leo Smith, Jason Moran, Michael Blake, Oliver Lake, Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Tchicai, Tim Berne, Justin Vernon, Peter Brötzman, Joshua Redman, Eugene Chadbourne, Billy Preston, Alan Silva, Brad Mehldau, Mats Gustafsson, Bennie Maupin, The National, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Sam Rivers, Henry Grimes, Dr. Yusef Lateef, Warren Smith, and many many others.

But even that doesn't really cover the full spectrum of what he has been up to in his career. A successful rapper, composer, pianist, vocalist, saxophonist and trumpeter, a true multi-instrumentalist, a powerful organizer being an extremely important driving force in lifting and pushing the music life in Copenhagen forward, entertainer with his own shows in TV and radio, receiver of numerous awards and honors, A very sharp kaleidoscope man, regardless of the context always realizing his fullest potential.

Kresten has been involved in a 17 part series about the history of danish jazz. a podcast released by the Danish National radio."

10/2/2024

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