Jazz Standard Announces August Concert Schedule

 

AUGUST 2014 SCHEDULE

7/31 – 8/3 Kenny Barron Quartet featuring Stefon Harris

Kenny Barron – piano

Stefon Harris – vibes & marimba

Kiyoshi Kitigawa – bass

Johnathan Blake – drums

Kenny Barron’s unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with his elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms is what inspired the Los Angles Times to name him “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” and the Jazz Weekly to call him “the most lyrical piano player of our time.” Born 1943 in Philadelphia, both Kenny and his late brother, saxophonist Bill Barron, were playing professionally while still in their teens. When Kenny joined Dizzy Gillespie’s band in 1962 for a five-year stint, he was ele­vated to the upper echelons of the New York jazz world, and he was soon in demand by such leaders as Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson, Buddy Rich and Yusef Lateef. In 1974, Barron re­leased his first album, Sunset To Dawn (Muse)—first of the nine-time GRAMMY Award nominee’s more than 40 recordings as a leader. This week at Jazz Standard, the Kenny Barron Quartet welcomes its very special guest, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, whose energetic playing graced the pianist’s 2006 CD The Perfect Set: Live At Bradley’s, Part Two.

Music Charge: $30

8/4 Mingus Orchestra

Our ever-popular “Mingus Monday” residency continues tonight as the Mingus Orchestra brings its unique blend of jazz and classi­cal instrumentation to bear on some of the most inventive compositions by the legendary Charles Mingus (1922–1979). “The lean, sharp ten-piece band features such uncommon instrumentation as a bassoon and a French horn, but this isn’t staid cham­ber jazz. When the spirit of the late great one hits them, they steam.” (The New Yorker)

Music Charge: $25

8/5 Becca Stevens Band

Becca Stevens – voice, guitar

Liam Robinson – accordion and keyboards

Chris Tordini – bass

Jordan Perlson – drums and percussion

Over the course of three impressive albums, Becca Stevens’ intimate vocals have communicated both warmth and effortless urgency set to understated arrangements and seamlessly crafted tunes. It’s a be­guiling blend of head and heart that defies easy categorization, drawing upon elements of pop, jazz or folk without limiting itself to the rules of any particular genre. “Stevens’ singing is remarkable, soulful, pitch-perfect and subtle in its controlled acrobatics. The arrangements are exquisitely produced, and her acous­tic songs boast musical textures and colors that embrace the adventurism of jazz.” — Winston-Salem (NC) Journal

Music Charge: $20

 

 

8/6 The Dave Stryker Eight Track Project

Dave Stryker – guitar

Warren Wolf – vibraphone

Jared Gold – organ

McClenty Hunter – drums

Growing up in the 1970s, Dave Stryker always had one ear glued to Top 40 radio in an era where the sounds of Paul McCartney and Marvin Gaye, Elton John and Stevie Wonder were programmed side by side. Eventually he became one of the country’s finest jazz guitarists, with 30 albums as a leader and six appearances on the DownBeat critics and readers polls—but many of those pop hits stuck with him, and occasionally one or two would appear in his straight-ahead jazz sets. Finally, Stryker gave in to popular demand and released Eight Track, featuring his interpretations of songs by Bread (“Make It With You”), Curtis Mayfield (“Pusherman”), and Earth, Wind and Fire (“That’s the Way of the World”) among other chart-toppers of his youth. Eight Track became the guitarist’s most successful release to date, logging 21 consecutive weeks on the JazzWeek radio chart. Tonight, Dave Stryker and his great group (with special guest Warren Wolf on vibes) will bring these classic songs to life as only he can—only at Jazz Standard!

Music Charge: $20

 

8/7–10 Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (7:30pm & 9:30pm only)

Gabriel “Hudah” Hubert – trumpet

Amal “Baji” Hubert – trumpet

Jafar “Yosh” Graves – trumpet

Tarik “Smoove” Graves – trumpet

Saiph “Cid” Graves – trombone

Seba “Clef” Graves – trombone

Uttama “Rocco” Hubert – baritone horn

The core of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is comprised of the seven youngest sons of trumpeter Kelan Phil Cohran. The Sun Ra Arkestra/AACM veteran began teaching his offspring to play brass instruments when the boys were between three and five years old. After a stint as a hip-hop group called the Wolf Pack, the Cohran scions created the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble in 1999 and worked their way up from street performances around Manhattan to collaborations with Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def), Maxwell, and Erykah Badu. HBE have recorded three independently produced albums and starred in the 2013 documentary Brothers Hypnotic, directed by Reuben Atlas. “[The sound is] a tightly welded knot that seems to dance on the spot. . . The trombonists and baritone set up their own hectic patterns, while the trumpets blast a narrow melody above. Underneath the hip-hop ‘attitude’, hints of a strange cosmic mysticism emerge, which remind us that these musicians are heirs to the mystical strain in bands like the Sun Ra Arkestra.” — The Guardian.

Music Charge: $25/$30 Friday & Saturday

8/11 Mingus Big Band

This “Mingus Monday” features two incendiary sets by the star-studded Mingus Big Band—winners of a 2011 Grammy Award for their blazing CD Live At Jazz Standard. “The hippest big band in the universe—robust, earthy, sanctified!” (Time Out New York)

Music Charge: $25

8/12 Yelena Eckemoff Quintet

Yelena Eckemoff – piano

Donny McCaslin – tenor saxophone

George Mraz – bass

Eric McPherson – drums

Born and raised in Moscow, Yelena Eckemoff was a musical prodigy who began playing piano by ear at age four and graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory with a master’s degree in piano perfor­mance and pedagogy. Yelena’s move to the US allowed her a deeper immersion in jazz, and in 2009 she released her first jazz CD Cold Sun. Her most recent CD Lions was recorded in New York in March 2013, with Arild Andersen on bass and Billy Hart on drums.  For this special Jazz Standard one-nighter Yelena will be joined by Grammy nominated saxophonist Donny McCaslin and bass master George Mraz. “For several decades, Eckemoff has been establishing her reputation for creative music that is both free and romantic. Slower tempos reinforce the modest and restrained expressions, yet at the same time we discover that this group’s vision is to make transcendent musical statements. The result is je ne sais quoi, with fascinating elements and qualities which are hard to describe.” — Seattle Post–Intelligencer

Music Charge: $20

8/13 Swallow/Talmor/Nussbaum

Ohad Talmor – tenor saxophone

Steve Swallow – bass

Adam Nussbaum – drums

Jazz Standard is proud to host a rare performance by three master musicians and longtime collaborators, each of whom is as in de­mand as he is talented. Of the Swallow/Talmor/Nussbaum debut CD Playing In Traffic (Auand, 2009), John Fordham wrote in The Guardian: “This is a wonderful contemporary jazz record…[combining] slyly swinging jazz references with all kinds of eclectic inflections…On the title track, Talmor’s Joe Lovano-like staccato phrasing turns into Konitz/Warne Marsh-like long-line figures, but some pieces are such slow, smoky swingers they almost stop, while others are curling note-texture examinations cushioned by Swallow’s purr.”

Music Charge: $20

8/14 Regina Carter’s “Southern Comfort” (11:30pm Saturday only)

Regina Carter – violin

Marvin Sewell – guitar

Will Holshouser – accordion

Chris Lightcap – bass

Alvester Garnett – drums

Regina Carter is considered the foremost jazz violinist of her generation—but like her winning a MacArthur Fellowship, it’s an honor that doesn’t quite paint the full picture of her singular artistry. On her new Sony Music Masterworks album Southern Comfort, Carter undertakes an eclectic exploration into the sounds of the American South, one that encompasses both traditional songs and classics of the modern era by Gram Parsons and Hank Williams. The result “is a polished, incredibly intelligent LP,” wrote Brent Faulkner at PopMatters.com. “Regina Carter never misses the mark, continually impressing with her incredible violin skill and thoughtful choice of material.”

Music Charge: $25/$30 Friday & Saturday

8/18 Mingus Big Band

“Bold and brawny, the Mingus Big Band roars in ways that would please its late namesake…Mingus’ sound is indomitable. Over time, his music has not lost an iota—instead, it has gained hefty measures—of relevance and resonance, wit and grit.” — From Down Beat four-star review of Gun-Slinging Bird by the Mingus Big Band.

Music Charge: $25

8/19 – 20 Amina Figarova Sextet

Amina Figarova – piano

Bart Platteau – flute

Alex Pope Norris – trumpet

Marc Mommaas – tenor saxophone

Rashaan Carter – bass

Jason Brown – drums

Amina Figavora’s commanding stylistic reach has stretched from the multi-keyboard fusion-oriented funk of Another Me (1998) to the avant-garde experimentation of September Suite (2005). This much- anticipated Jazz Standard appearance celebrates the release of the composer/pianist’s twelfth album, appropriately titled Twelve — her debut release on the renowned independent German label In + Out. Composed after moving with her husband and musical partner, flutist Bart Platteau, to Forest Hills, Queens, from their longtime European base, Twelve is suffused with the heightened expectations, sense of adventure and fresh percep­tions that voluntary emigrés enjoy, as well as the confidence, creative energies and nuanced fulfillment that artists gain from being in the right place at the right time. “This is a band that built its reputation playing original repertoire, each musician a powerful soloist in his or her own right; yet it is their signa­ture interplay that moves the Amina Figarova Sextet above and beyond the vast majority of large chamber ensembles in modern jazz and places the pianist among the top echelon of composer/bandleaders…” – JazzPolice.com

Music Charge: $20

8/21 – 8/24 Gerald Clayton Trio + 1

Gerald Clayton – piano

Joe Sanders – bass

Bill Stewart – drums (8/21 only)

Kendrick Scott – drums (8/22–8/24)

With Special Guests:

8/21 Peter Bernstein – guitar

8/22 Becca Stevens – voice, guitar

8/23 Lage Lund – guitar

8/24 Lionel Loueke – guitar

Over the course of eight years, with three albums as a leader including his latest Concord Jazz CD Life Forum, and countless live performances, pianist/composer Gerald Clayton has established himself as a leading figure on today’s international jazz scene. Hailed by The New York Times for his ‘huge, authori­tative presence,” Clayton is well on his way toward etching his own enduring mark in the long and rich tradition of jazz. This week at Jazz Standard, Gerald Clayton takes another creative giant step as he col­laborates with some of the finest guitarists working today. “In a generation of technical, and resourceful, wunderkinds, Clayton, 24, stands out for his nuanced touch, precise articulation and the way he constructs a narrative for his solos.” — Down Beat

Music Charge: $25/$30 Friday & Saturday

8/25 Mingus Big Band

“My whole conception…deals with nothing written. I ‘write’ compositions but only on mental score paper – then I lay out the composition part by part to the musicians. I play them the ‘framework’ on piano so that they are all familiar with my interpretation and feeling and with the scale and chord progressions to be used…but they choose their own notes and play them in their own style, from scales as well as chords, except where a particular mood is indicated. In this way, I find it possible to keep my own com­positional flavor in the pieces and yet to allow the musicians more individual freedom in the creation of their group lines and solos.” — Charles Mingus, from his liner notes to the 1956 Atlantic LP Pithecanthro­pus Erectus.

Music Charge: $25

8/26 – 8/31 Ron Carter Big Band (7:30pm & 9:30pm only)

Throughout his illustrious career, bassist/composer Ron Carter has played it all: as an integral member of Miles Davis’ classic quintet of the Sixties, as the anchor for countless CTI Records sessions in the Seventies, as the fountainhead of multifarious musical projects including his cello-infused, chamber-jazz nonet and his trio of bass, piano, and guitar.

But Carter had never led or recorded with a big band of his own—until September 2011 and the Sunny­side release of Ron Carter’s Great Big Band. “Instead of banking on the contours of extrapolation, [the album] revels in the power of pith,” wrote Jim Macnie in The Village Voice. “The longest tune is just over five minutes, so concision rules and a songbook of standards dominates. From ‘Con Alma’ to ‘Footprints’ to ‘St. Louis Blues,’ each track boasts a great punch, as well as moment or two of fantasia. There’s something wonderfully simple yet rich to these charts.” The Ron Carter Big Band made its live debut on our stage in 2011 to a rapturous critical and audience response—and we’re extremely pleased to recall this great ensemble for another thrilling run at Jazz Standard. Make your reservations now!

Music Charge: $30/$35 Friday & Saturday