Monday, February 23, 2015

PRESS RELEASE: Ancient Future Pacific Northwest Tour Spring 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                  2/23/2015
Contact: Ancient-Future.Com Records
1-888-823-8887
info@ancient-future.com

View online with videos and photos: http://www.ancient-future.com/pr_spring2015tour.html

Ancient Future Pacific Northwest Concert Tour

Featuring World Guitar Pioneer Matthew Montfort and Tabla Virtuoso Vishal Nagar
With Special Guest Seven-String Fretless Bassist Jason Everett


Hi-Res Photo of Matthew Montfort and Vishal Nagar by Devki (1 MB): http://www.ancient-future.com/images/matt_vishal_6x4_300dpi.jpg

Tour Poster (145k .pdf): http://www.ancient-future.com/pdf/spring2015tourposter.pdf

Tuesday, April 28, 2015, 7:30 PM
The Royal Room
5000 Rainier Ave S
Seattle, WA 98118
Info: Call 206-906-9920, email tristan@theroyalroomseattle.com, or visit http://theroyalroomseattle.com
Tix: $15 adv/$18 door. Advance tix at http://www.strangertickets.com/events/23464505

Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 8 PM
Vashon Theatre
17723 Vashon Highway SW
Vashon, WA 98070
Tix: $15 adv/$18 door. Advance tix at http://ancientfuturevashon.brownpapertickets.com
Info: call 206-229-8491 or email jason@misterEmachine.com

Thursday, April 30, 2015, 7:30 PM
The Conway Muse
18444 Spruce St.
Conway, WA 98238
Info: Call 360-445-3000, email elfa@conwaymuse.com or visit http://conwaymuse.com
Tix: $15 adv/$18 door. Advance tix at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1311376

Saturday, May 2, 2015, 5:30 - 7:00 PM
Moscow Renaissance Fair
Main Stage
East City Park, Third and Monroe Streets
Moscow, ID 83843
Info: Visit http://moscowrenfair.org
Tix: Free admission.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moscowrenaissancefair

Hi-Res Photo of Matthew Montfort and Vishal Nagar at Recording Session by Michael Braden (858k): http://www.ancient-future.com/images/yearningmattvishal300dpi6x3.jpg



Celebrating its 36th year, Ancient Future is the world's first and longest running ensemble dedicated to world fusion music. They've sold over 150,000 albums and millions of samplers, and performed over 1,000 concerts. Ancient Future has become a large collective of master musicians from around the world with many smaller ensembles within it. Each program focuses on the traditions of the master musicians involved.

Strains of passionate flamenco and ethereal Indian raga emanate from this program featuring world guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort and renowned Indian tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar. For a portion of the show, special guest and Seattle area fav Jason Everett (aka Mister E) will accompany them on seven-string fretless bass. The program will feature music from the ground breaking world music recordings of Ancient Future, including the first audio/video release in Ancient Future history, 2014's 'Yearning for the Wind.'

"Matthew Montfort subtly coaxes remarkably flowing lines from his scalloped fretboard guitar. And Indian tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar intuitively places incredibly intricate rhythmic patterns into the piece. Ancient Future has been making wonderful world fusion music for three decades. The possibilities remain infinite." — Paul Freeman, PALO ALTO DAILY NEWS

Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard and fretless guitars)
Hi-Res Photo of Matthew Montfort by Julie Marten (2 MB): http://www.ancient-future.com/images/matthewmontfort600.jpg

The leader of the world music group Ancient Future, Matthew Montfort, is a pioneer among guitarists who have had their fretboards scalloped in order to play various forms of world music that require intricate note-bending ornaments while still being able to play chords. Montfort immersed himself in an intensive study with vina master K.S. Subramanian in order to fully apply the South Indian gamaka (note-bending) techniques to the guitar. He has released two solo guitar recordings: 'Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar' and 'Sympathetic Serenade,' for which he was lauded as one of the world's 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists by DigitalDreamDoor.com, a curated "best of" site, along with such luminaries as Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins, John Fahey, Merle Travis, Tommy Emmanuel, Doc Watson, and Alex De Grassi. The December 2009 Les Paul issue of Guitar Player Magazine includes a full page feature on Matthew Montfort with a corresponding GuitarPlayer.Com video and lesson entitled "The Music of Jimi Hendrix Applied to Indian Raga." He has performed concerts worldwide, from the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain to the Festival of India in Mumbai. He has performed live on national radio and TV shows such as the Echoes Living Room Concerts on Public Radio International, and the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. He has worked with many world music legends, including tabla phenomenon Zakir Hussain and Chinese zither master Zhao Hui. Montfort wrote the book Ancient Traditions – Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali, and India, which has been used by many musicians to improve their rhythm skills.

Vishal Nagar (tabla)
Hi-Res Photo of Vishal Nagar by Inni Singh (5 MB): http://www.ancient-future.com/images/vishal_nagar300dpi.jpg

"He has magic in his hands" - Hindustan Times

Vishal Nagar is considered one of the most gifted tabla players of his generation. Born into a family of musicians, Vishal has been surrounded by music in an extremely musically creative and artistic environment. Since childhood, he has been fascinated by tabla and began to play at an early age. Vishal had his initial training for a very brief period with the late Ustad Latif Ahmed Khan of the Delhi Gharana. After his Ustad's untimely demise, Vishal continued his training under the guidance of Ustad Shamim Ahmed Khan of the same Gharana (school). Along with the dense and rare tabla repertoire taleem which was he received from his Ustad, he also has had intense rhythmic (layakari) training from his mother, the renowned and highly respected Kathak dancer and vocalist, Urmila Nagar. Vishal has been praised in the Indian press for his unique combination of melodic tabla sound production with masterful command of rhythm. Vishal has had the privilege of performing with many renowned artists: Ustad Shujaat Khan, Guru Urmila Nagar, Vidhwan Trichur Ramachandran, Pandit Ramesh Misra, and Kala Ramnath, to name a few. Vishal has also expanded his cultural boundaries and collaborated with musicians from around the world. Some of his memorable works have been with the Ghanaian Guitarist Koo Nimo with whom he also appeared in WOMAD USA (a leading world dance and music festival started by Peter Gabriel). Starting his performance career at the age of eight in Patna, Vishal has performed around the globe including performances in many cities in India, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Thailand and the United States. Vishal has also been awarded with the Ministry of Culture Scholarship from the Department of Culture.

Jason Everett (seven-string fretless bass)

"A wonderful bassist to check out!" — BASS FRONTIERS MAGAZINE

Jason Everett (aka Mister E) is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and producer who plays a variety of stringed and percussive instruments including his custom Conklin seven-string fretless bass guitar. Jason attended Northern Arizona University on a full scholarship for music and started playing professional gigs at sixteen years old. He was originally inspired to explore world music after hearing Quiet Fire, the title track to Ancient Future's third album. This passion for world music evolved to avid listening to the works of Indian masters like Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, and Zakir Hussain as well as fusion artists like John McLaughlin, Trilok Gurtu, Matthew Monfort, Pharaoh Sanders, and George Brooks. Jason started his own world fusion group in 1990 called Tal Maya and has since played with many well-known Indian, Arabic, jazz fusion and flamenco artists including Vishal Nagar, Andre Feriante, John Wubbenhorst, Overton Berry, Tarana, and Facing East.

Recent Recordings

Yearning for the Wind by Ancient Future
Ancient-Future.Com AF-90352. Signed Audio/Video E-CD-R-$17.98: http://www.ancient-future.com/yearning.html

Composed by scalloped fretboard guitar innovator Matthew Montfort, 'Yearning for the Wind' is a poignant piece based on Rag Kalyan, an evening raga that corresponds to the Lydian mode. The composition in three movements also incorporates harmony and other guitaristic elements. A duet with Indian tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar, Yearning for the Wind is set in matta tal, a nine beat rhythmic cycle. As a bridge between the slow and fast sections of the piece, Vishal Nagar performs an elegant tabla solo over the soft nine beat groove that slowly builds up to a vibrant rela (a fast tabla composition characterized by rapid drum rolls). Released in HD video and hi-res 96/24 audio, 'Yearning for the Wind' was produced for the Archive of Future Ancient Recordings.

"For fans of world fusion music, it doesn't get much better than this." — Peter Thelen, Exposé

Video of 'Yearning for the Wind' with Matthew Montfort and Vishal Nagar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zurMLOP68K0

The Archive of Future Ancient Recordings by Ancient Future
(Ancient-Future.Com AF-2030). Fan supported: http://www.ancient-future.com/afar.html

During Ancient Future's 30th anniversary year, work started on the next project of the band: the 'Archive of Future Ancient Recordings' (A.F.A.R.). To finance the project, a subscription system model is being employed to fund the recording through fans of world fusion music. The archive already has 70 minutes of music available right now to supporters, with more coming as money is raised for production.

Planet Passion by Ancient Future
(Ancient-Future.Com AF 2010) $17.98: http://www.ancient-future.com/planetpassion.html

'Planet Passion' by Ancient Future features nineteen top masters of of Indian, Nepalese, African, Cuban, Celtic, Arabic, Palestinian, Jewish, Indonesian, Chinese, Eastern European and American music traditions performing music on the theme of mythical stories of love.

"If the members of the United Nations formed a world-fusion band, it might look and sound a little something like Ancient Future’s re-issue of their seventh recording. At its best, Planet Passion strives to preserve the world’s vast musical heritage via international collaboration: the idea that one protects the old by creating something new. This is at the heart of fusion music and the heart of Ancient Future’s global aesthetics, too: a diverse, unified world without borders, a multicultural community, a new, reconstituted sonic reality." — Ryan Allen, LEO WEEKLY, Louisville, Kentucky

70 Word Radio Announcement for Royal Room Concert in Seattle

On Tuesday, April 28, at 7:30 PM, the pioneering world fusion music group Ancient Future will perform a program featuring scalloped fretboard guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort and tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar accompanied by special guest Jason Everett on bass at The Royal Room, located at 5000 Rainier Ave. South in Seattle, Washington. For more information, call 206-906-9920 or visit theroyalroomseattle.com. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.

69 Word Radio Announcement for Vashon Theatre Concert in Vashon

On Wednesday, April 29, at 8 PM, the pioneering world fusion music group Ancient Future will perform a program featuring scalloped fretboard guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort and tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar accompanied by special guest Jason Everett on bass at Vashon Theatre, located at 17723 Vashon Highway SW, in Vashon, Washington. For more information, call 206-229-8491 or visit vashontheatre.com. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.

69 Word Radio Announcement for Conway Muse Concert in Conway

On Thursday, April 30, at 7:30 PM, the pioneering world fusion music group Ancient Future will perform a program featuring scalloped fretboard guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort and tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar accompanied by special guest Jason Everett on bass at The Conway Muse, located at 18444 Spruce St., in Conway, Washington. For more information, call 360-445-3000 or visit conwaymuse.com. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.

140 Word Radio Announcement for Washington Concert Tour

The pioneering world music group Ancient Future will perform three concerts in the Western Washington Area featuring scalloped fretboard guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort and tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar accompanied by special guest Jason Everett on bass. On Tuesday, April 28, at 7:30 PM, they will appear at The Royal Room, located at 5000 Rainier Ave. South in Seattle, Washington. For more information, call 206-906-9920 or visit theroyalroomseattle.com. On Wednesday, April 29, at 8 PM, they will appear at Vashon Theatre, located at 17723 Vashon Highway SW, in Vashon, Washington. For more information, call 206-229-8491 or visit vashontheatre.com. On Thursday, April 30, at 7:30 PM, they will appear at The Conway Muse, located at 18444 Spruce St., in Conway, Washington. For more information, call 360-445-3000 or visit conwaymuse.com. Tickets for each concert are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.

154 Word Radio Announcement for Pacific Northwest Concert Tour

The pioneering world music group Ancient Future will perform four concerts as part of a rare Pacific Northwest concert tour featuring scalloped fretboard guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort and tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar accompanied by special guest Jason Everett on bass. On Tuesday, April 28, at 7:30 PM, they will appear at The Royal Room, located at 5000 Rainier Ave. South in Seattle, Washington. On Wednesday, April 29, at 8 PM, they will appear at Vashon Theatre, located at 17723 Vashon Highway SW, in Vashon, Washington. On Thursday, April 30, at 7:30 PM, they will appear at The Conway Muse, located at 18444 Spruce St., in Conway, Washington. On Saturday, May 2, at 5:30 PM, they will appear with free admission at the main stage of the Moscow Renaissance Fair, located at East City Park at Third and Monroe Streets in Moscow, Idaho. Tickets for the Washington concerts are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.

USA, CA: PRESS RELEASE: Original Ancient Future Reunion April 19, 2015, at Throckmorton Theatre

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 2/19/2015
Contact: Ancient-Future.Com Records
1-888-823-8887 • info@ancient-future.com
Original Ancient Future Reunion
featuring Mindia Devi Klein (flutes), Benjy Wertheimer (tabla), and Matthew Montfort (guitars) plus Special Guests

Hi-Res Photo of Ancient Future Circa 1981 (1.2 MB): http://www.ancient-future.com/images/af2front300dpi6x4.jpg
Shown: Mindia Devi Klein, Benjy Wertheimer, Matthew Montfort



Sunday, April 19, 7:30 PM
142 Throckmorton Theatre
142 Throckmorton Avenue
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Tix: $20 adv, $25 at door, $35 reserved seating. Doors open at 7 PM.
Info: 415-383-9600
Venue Website: http://www.142ThrockmortonTheatre.com

On Sunday, April 19, the original line-up of the pioneering world fusion music group Ancient Future will perform together for the first time this century. Ancient Future was formed in 1978 by students at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California, including Mindia Devi Klein, Matthew Montfort, Benjy Wertheimer, and Phil Fong. Ancient Future's first concert took place to a packed house on February 11, 1979, at the original Sleeping Lady Cafe in Fairfax, California, then a vegetarian cafe and music club co-op that was the center of a vibrant local music scene.

This line-up of Ancient Future made two recordings that are now considered world fusion classics. In December, 1978, the band went into Tres Virgos Studio in Mill Valley to record Montfort's song Moonbath. The song became the springboard for the first Ancient Future record, Visions of a Peaceful Planet.

The concept for Natural Rhythms, the band's second record, grew out of a magical spontaneous recording session at a friend's recording studio near a frog pond. When Montfort and Klein noticed the sound of croaking frogs leaking into the studio, they were inspired to record them. Montfort went out to the pond with a zither and began to play, and found that certain rhythms produced musical responses. Several months later, Montfort and Klein went to Bali to study gamelan music. They were amazed to find paintings all over the island portraying Balinese rice paddy frogs playing gamelan instruments. They decided to extend their musical experiments to include the Balinese rice paddy frogs. Late at night, they gathered their musical Balinese friends, went out into the rice paddies, and jammed with the frogs. Again, some very magical moments of music were recorded, and became part of the Natural Rhythms release.

Hi-Res Photo of Ancient Future Circa 1981 (1.1 MB): http://www.ancient-future.com/images/af1981boulder300dpi4x6.jpg
Shown: Benjy Wertheimer, Mindia Devi Klein, Matthew Montfort



Sarodist Phil Fong initiated a successful change of careers soon after Natural Rhythms was recorded, but kept in touch periodically. Unfortunately, it has been a few years since anyone in the band has heard from him. The band would like to extend this invitation to Phil to sit in at the reunion. Phil, if you see this, contact your former band mates!

Hi-Res Photo of Ancient Future Circa 1979 (1.3 MB): images/af1http://www.ancient-future.com/979photo300dpi6x4.jpg
Shown: Benjy Wertheimer, Phil Fong, Mindia Devi Klein, Matthew Montfort

Matthew Montfort (scalloped fretboard and fretless guitars)

The leader of Ancient Future, Matthew Montfort, is a pioneer among guitarists who have had their fretboards scalloped in order to play various forms of world music that require intricate note-bending ornaments while still being able to play chords. Montfort immersed himself in an intensive study with vina master K.S. Subramanian in order to fully apply the South Indian gamaka (note-bending) techniques to the guitar. He is recognized as one of the world's 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists by DigitalDreamDoor.com, a curated "best of" site, along with such luminaries as Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins, John Fahey, Merle Travis, John Renbourn, Tommy Emmanuel, Doc Watson, Pierre Bensusan, Alex De Grassi, and Peppino D'Agostino. The December 2009 Les Paul issue of Guitar Player Magazine includes a full page feature on Matthew Montfort with a corresponding GuitarPlayer.Com video and lesson entitled "The Music of Jimi Hendrix Applied to Indian Raga." He has performed concerts worldwide, from the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain to the Festival of India in Mumbai. He has performed live on national radio and TV shows such as the Echoes Living Room Concerts on Public Radio International, and the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. He has worked with many world music legends, including tabla phenomenon Zakir Hussain and Chinese zither master Zhao Hui. Montfort wrote the book Ancient Traditions – Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali, and India, which has been used by many musicians to improve their rhythm skills.

Mindia Devi Klein (Indian bansuri & silver flutes, Balinese gamelan)

Mindia Devi Klein is an award winning musician, composer and educator. Known primarily for her rare and haunting Indian bansuri flute music, she was actually born in Brooklyn, New York where she began her formal music training at the tender age of 2 with African American folk singer Charity Bailey. Early exposure to the jazz greats and the vast diversity of the world's music left her hungering for a doorway into the mystic heart and roots of music. She followed her muse to California and the Ali Akbar College of Music where she met and began training with her root guru, the late great Ustad Ali Akbar Khan who taught Indian music in the ancient guru-shishya style for over 40 years at Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California. She also trained under bansuri maestro G.S. Sachdev and then learned in India under guidance of world renown bansuri flutist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. A recipient of the American Institute for Indian Studies Smithsonian Fellowship, the Fulbright Scholarship in Balinese gamelan and numerous community arts and composition awards, Mindia's training and insight into the world's ancient and ever evolving contemporary music of today has impressed itself deeply on her own. Her playing and compositions blend together the sounds and ideas of many worlds in a subtle and unique way. An international performing and recording artist, she can be heard on many albums of note including several as a founding member of Ancient Future.

Benjy Wertheimer (tabla, percussion, and esraj)

An award-winning musician, composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist equally accomplished on tabla, congas, percussion, esraj, guitar, and keyboards, Benjy Wertheimer has performed and recorded with such artists as Krishna Das, Deva Premal and Miten, Jai Uttal, Walter Becker of Steely Dan, virtuoso guitarist Michael Mandrell, tabla master Zakir Hussain, and renowned bamboo flute master G. S. Sachdev. He has also opened for such well-known artists as Carlos Santana, Paul Winter, and Narada Michael Walden. Benjy is a founding member of the internationally acclaimed world fusion ensemble Ancient Future. He began his musical studies at age five, starting with piano and later violin, flamenco guitar, and Afro-Cuban percussion. Benjy has been a student of Indian classical music for over 25 years, sitting with some of the greatest masters of that tradition, including Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussain, Ali Akbar Khan and Z. M. Dagar. Along with the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart, he was a contributing composer and member of the Zakir Hussain Rhythm Experience. Trained in audio engineering at San Francisco State University, Benjy is also very much in demand as a producer, engineer and studio session musician. For over five years, Benjy scored music for the internationally syndicated NBC series Santa Barbara, and his CD Circle of Fire went to #1 on the international New Age radio charts in 2002. Making his home in Portland, Oregon, he now tours internationally with his wife Heather in the kirtan group Shantala.

67 Word Radio Announcement

On Sunday, April 19, at 7:30 PM, Matthew Montfort, Mindia Devi Klein, and Benjy Wertheimer, the original line-up of the pioneering world fusion music group Ancient Future, will perform together for the first time this century at Throckmorton Theatre, located at 142 Throckmorton Avenue in Mill Valley, California. For more information, call 415-383-9600 or visit www.142ThrockmortonTheatre.com

. Tickets are $20 advance, $25 at door, and $35 reserved seating.

Friday, February 20, 2015

92Y Jazz In July Festival Announces 2015 Program: Ambitious 31st Season


  
92Y Jazz In July Festival Announces 2015 Program:
Ambitious 31st Season
 Curated and Led by Artistic Director Bill Charlap
 
Featuring: Ernie Andrews, Dick Hyman, Kurt Elling,
Marcus Roberts, Ann Hampton Callaway, Steve Wilson,
Jeremy Pelt, Renee Rosnes, Bucky Pizzarelli, Joe Locke,
 Matt Wilson, and More

Tickets on Sale Today, February 18, at 92Y.org/JazzinJuly

February 18, 2015: New York, NY - 92nd Street Y announces the 31st Annual 92Y Jazz in July Festival, curated by Bill Charlap, who begins his second decade as artistic director of the time-honored annual Festival. Jazz in July runs from Tuesday, July 21 through Thursday, July 30, bringing together some of the world's finest jazz players for specially designed performances. Programming for this year's festival features a highly anticipated return visit from vocalist Ernie Andrews in a program entitled Duke Ellington: Drop Me Off In Harlem. The Broadway themed program Jazz & Sondheim, Side By Side, will showcase vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway and saxophonist Steve Wilson in performance with Grammy® Award-nominated drummer/composer, Matt Wilson.

One of the world's premier jazz pianists, Bill Charlap has performed and recorded with many of the leading jazz artists of our time. With his longtime trio of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, he has released seven highly-acclaimed albums for the Blue Note label, including the GRAMMY® Award-nominated albums The Bill Charlap Trio - Live at the Village Vanguard and Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein. In 2010, Charlap released Double Portrait, a collaboration with his wife, the celebrated jazz pianist Renee Rosnes, recorded at 92nd Street Y. He has also released two CDs with his mother, the renowned Sandy Stewart: Love Is Here to Stay and Something to Remember.

Charlap curates 92Y Jazz in July in collaboration with Hanna Arie-Gaifman, Director of 92Y Tisch Center for the Arts, which produces 92Y's concert series, including Jazz in July

 

92Y Jazz In July 2015 Schedule:

Tue, Jul 21, 8 pm
BILL & DICK's ALL STAR JAZZ PARTY
Two generations of jazz - piano titan Dick Hyman and heir to the throne Bill Charlap, plus clarinet superstar Anat Cohen - blaze through American Songbook classics and swing standards.
Bill Charlap's New York Trio: Bill Charlap, piano / Jay Leonhart, bass / Bill Stewart, drums
Dick Hyman Trio: Dick Hyman, piano / Howard Alden, guitar / Jay Leonhart, bass / with special guest Anat Cohen, clarinet
Wed, Jul 22, 8 pm
DUKE ELLINGTON: DROP ME OFF IN HARLEM
"It Don't Mean a Thing," "Prelude to a Kiss," and "Sophisticated Lady" - Edward Kennedy Ellington was American music royalty. Now another member of the jazz aristocracy, legendary vocalist Ernie Andrews, makes a rare New York appearance to put his stamp on these timeless tunes. The soulful sounds of Houston Person's tenor sax, plus vibes virtuoso Steve Nelson make it jazz heaven.
Ernie Andrews, vocals / Bill Charlap, piano / Renee Rosnes, piano / Houston Person, tenor saxophone / Jeremy Pelt, trumpet / Steve Nelson, vibes / Peter Washington, bass / Kenny Washington, drums
Thu, Jul 23, 8 pm
THE PIANO MEN: FROM JELLY ROLL TO OSCAR
Jelly Roll Morton claimed he "invented" jazz. True? Well, he and other keyboard giants-from ragtime pioneer Scott Joplin to swinging virtuoso Oscar Peterson-enriched the form like nobody else. Hear their syncopated stylings come alive in the lightning hands of modern-day piano greats Bill Charlap, Marcus Roberts and Jeb Patton.
Bill Charlap, piano / Marcus Roberts, piano / Jeb Patton, piano / Todd Coolman, bass / Willie Jones III, drums
Tue, Jul 28, 8 pm
SWING A SONG OF SINATRA
No one sang like Sinatra, and no one sings Sinatra like Kurt Elling. Celebrate Ol' Blue Eyes' centenary with this superstar Grammy® Award-winning vocalist - and a band that boasts Benny Goodman veteran Warren Vaché on cornet.
Kurt Elling, vocals / Bill Charlap, piano / Harry Allen, tenor saxophone / Warren Vaché, cornet /
Peter Washington, bass / Kenny Washington, drums
Wed, Jul 29, 8 pm
JAZZ & SONDHEIM, SIDE BY SIDE
Piano duo Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes' offer up stunning jazz treatments of Sondheim's masterpieces from groundbreaking shows like Company, Follies and Sweeney Todd. This is a night for both theater and jazz fans, with the dynamic voice of Ann Hampton Callaway and a soaring string ensemble to bring out the beauty of Broadway's best.
Bill Charlap, piano / Ann Hampton Callaway, vocals / Steve Wilson, alto & soprano saxophone / Renee Rosnes, piano / Sean Smith, bass / Matt Wilson, drums / String Ensemble TBA
Thu, Jul 30, 8 pm
BENNY, BASIE & BUCKY!
Guitar icon Bucky Pizzarelli, clarinet marvel Ken Peplowski and ace drummer Dennis Mackrel are the living personification of the swinging legacies of Count Basie and Benny Goodman. The stars come out to finish the festival with a big bang.
Bill Charlap, piano / Sandy Stewart, vocals / Ken Peplowski, clarinet / Randy Sandke, trumpet / Joe Locke, vibes Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar / Jay Leonhart, bass / Dennis Mackrel, drums
___________________________________________________
ABOUT JAZZ IN JULY 
This annual summer jazz festival, directed by pianist Bill Charlap, brings together some of the world's best jazz musicians for once-in-a-lifetime performances at 92nd Street Y. Recent Festival shows have explored be-bop and Latin jazz; celebrated jazz legend Jimmy Heath and former artistic director Dick Hyman; and sampled the work of great composers, from Cole Porter to Thelonious Monk. Recent line-ups have featured jazz greats Ray Bryant, Barry Harris, Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Palmieri, Trio Da Paz, and Frank Wess.

92Y Jazz in July is partially endowed by Simona and Jerome A. Chazen.
ABOUT 92ND STREET Y
92nd Street Y is a world-class, nonprofit cultural and community center that fosters the mental, physical and spiritual health of people throughout their lives, offering: wide-ranging conversations with the world's best minds; an outstanding range of programming in the performing, visual and literary arts; fitness and sports programs; and activities for children and families. 92Y is reimagining what it means to be a community center in the digital age with initiatives like the award-winning #GivingTuesday, launched by 92Y in 2012 and now recognized across the US and in a growing number of regions worldwide as a day to celebrate and promote giving. These kinds of initiatives are transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action both locally and around the world. More than 300,000 people visit 92Y annually; millions more participate in 92Y's digital and online initiatives. A proudly Jewish organization, 92Y embraces its Jewish heritage and welcomes people of all backgrounds and perspectives. For more information, visit www.92Y.org
 
All Concerts at 8:00 pm
92nd Street Y
Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street
phone: 212.415.5500

Tickets from $52 / Age 35 and Under - $25
Subscription Packages Available
To purchase tickets and for more info on Jazz in July, please visit: 92Y.org/JazzinJuly

For more info on 92Y, please visit 92Y.org


For media inquires, please contact:
DL Media - 610-667-0501
Matthew Jurasek - matthew@dlmediamusic.com
Don Lucoff - don@dlmediamusic.com

Serving the Finest in Jazz Since 1988

Information and press materials (including album covers, promotional photos and bios)
on all DL Media artists can be found at our new website: dlmediamusic.com

Bassist/Composer Mark Wade Debuts with "Event Horizon," Feb. 17

Bassist/Composer Mark Wade Debuts with
"Event Horizon,"
Featuring His Trio
Pianist Tim Harrison, Drummer Scott Neumann
 
New CD Scheduled for February 17 Release

CD Release Shows by the Mark Wade Trio:
Somethin' Jazz Club, NYC,, 3/5
St. Peter's Church Midday Jazz Series, NYC, 4/15


December 16, 2014
 

Mark Wade Event Horizon
Bassist Mark Wade takes the art of the trio to brilliant new heights with his debut recording Event Horizon, to be released February 17, 2015 by his Mark Wade Music imprint. Working with trio-mates Tim Harrison, piano, and Scott Neumann, drums, Wade shines as an instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader.

"I always loved listening to great piano trios," the Queens, New York-based bassist says. "With no horn players or other musicians, there is so much space for expression, but with that comes the responsibility to have something to say. You can't hide behind a lot of other musicians. Everybody has to really stand out. I wanted to challenge myself and put myself in a situation where I had to be an excellent soloist."

Writing for the piano trio was a challenge Wade embraced. "How can you orchestrate and arrange three instruments to sound big and full?" he asks. "If you've got 12 or 20 people, you have a lot more colors at your disposal as a writer. With three people, it forces you to think about what is really essential to get across a musical idea."

Wade's compositions range from the opening waltz, "Jump for Joy," and the peaceful ballad "Cold Spring" to the aggressive, edgy "Twist in the Wind" and the Afro-Cuban-flavored "Tossed." The ballad "Apogee" has no time, while "Singsong" has no melody ("It's a motif that keeps coming back, holding the song together"). The only non-original on the disc, Harold Arlen's "If I Only Had a Brain," is notable for its use of swinging 5/4 and its re-harmonization and modulations.

The title Event Horizon, says the self-described "science enthusiast," refers to "where you go from not being in a black hole to falling in. In a broader concept, it's the edge at which something happens. This album for me is kind of the edge of something happening because I'm launching my solo career. I see it as an adventure, a stepping-off point."

Mark Wade

Wade first worked in a trio setting with Tim Harrison and Scott Neumann while the bassist was an artist-in-residence at the historic Flushing (NY) Town Hall in 2013 and '14. The three connected so well that Wade began composing for the new trio. "Their musicality," he says, "influenced the writing choices I made."

"Tim really excels," says Wade of the Nottingham, England-born Harrison, "not just as a soloist but also as an ensemble player and an accompanist. He's very sensitive, he listens, and he's really conscious about getting the music right and sounding good."

"Scott is a unique voice on the drum set," Wade says of Neumann, who was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and whose extensive credits include work with Woody Herman, David Liebman, and Kenny Barron. "There's a never-ending supply of ideas for everybody to play off of."

Mark Wade
Mark Wade was born in Livonia, Michigan (Dec. 29, 1974) and raised there and in Long Valley and Morristown, New Jersey, where he taught himself to play electric bass at age 14. At New York University, he studied with Mike Richmond, who encouraged him to also take up acoustic bass for jazz gigs. Wade considers Richmond a major influence, along with Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, and Scott LaFaro.

Since graduating NYU, Wade has busied himself in a variety of musical contexts, from jazz to classical. His jazz credits include playing in the string section for the Jimmy Heath Big Band's performances of Ernie Wilkins's Four Black Immortals, appearing with vocalist Stacey Kent on The Today Show, playing with Bill Warfield's New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra, and recording with vocalist Elli Fordyce. And Wade has played with numerous classical ensembles, including the Key West Symphony with which he backed guitarist Sharon Isbin and violinist Robert McDuffie, both of them Grammy winners.

Wade also directs New Music Horizons, an organization he founded in 2014 to perform and promote the works of emerging jazz and classical composers. "There are a lot of challenges composers face in getting their music accepted," he says. "Top venues often don't want to program artists who don't already have a large following. Reaching new audiences is difficult when you aren't playing at top venues. It's a tough cycle to break. I started New Music Horizons to give composers a chance to showcase their work at established arts venues to attract new audiences to their music. I think this kind of support is critical to the long-term success of new music."

The Mark Wade Trio will be performing at two CD release shows in support of Event Horizon: 3/5 Somethin' Jazz Club, 212 E. 52nd Street, NYC, 7:00-8:45pm; and 4/15 St. Peter's Church Midday Jazz Series, 619 Lexington Ave. at 54th Street, NYC, 1:00-2:00pm.


Photography: Jesse Winter


 

"Apogee" (excerpt), from "Event Horizon"


 
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JazzWorldQuest Web Player update: Circadian Rhythm Kings: Zippity and the Mystic Avengers at Dawn

" An incredible New Album by the Circadian Rhythm Kings featuring: Todd Brunel: clarinet, bass clarinet, Bulgarian Flute, producer Andrew Hickman: Tenor sax, percussion Mike Carey: Alto sax flute Jerry Sabatini: Trumpet track 1 John Funkhouser: Double bass, piano Gary Fieldman: drums

Inspired funky grooves, infused with free form improvisation and musical spirit that transcends boundaries. Given 4 stars and called, " Intelligent and Progressive" by Fiona Ord-Shrimpton of All About Jazz"

" Todd Brunel is the bandleader for this fantastic high-energy CD that features Andrew Hickman doing tenor sax, percussion; Mike Carey on alto sax, flute; Todd Brunel on clarinets, ethnic flute; John Funkhouser doing double bass, piano and Gary Fieldman on drums. 

When you consider that the dictionary says these are “physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s environment”, you’ll realize that you’re probably going to up for the full-cycle spinning these red-hot & smokin’ rhythmic smokers over & over (& over) again! 

Tunes like the 6:11 “Sashes to Sashes” will W-O-W you with more than just cute titles… Funkhouser’s bass drives this one into total oblivion, & the screeches (at about 5:30) definitely reminded me of some of the free jazz sessions I used to do back in the day! 

Excellent recording quality and ultra-high energy drive this one to an immediate MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of (a perfect) 5.00… which means that this one gets the “PICK” of this issue for “best accessible free jazz”! 

Get more information at Todd’s Clarinet Conspiracy website"

Sunday, February 15, 2015

INVITO/TerraeMotus[voci,traccia] - Installazione site specific@RialtoSantAmbrogio - 22/02 - dale ore 19


TerraeMotus [voci, traccia]
Installazione  I   Performance  I   Suoni   I   Visioni
Site specific  I  Rialto Sant’Ambrogio   I   22/02/2015 - dalle ore 19
a cura di Fabio Orecchini

 
L’atto poetico come funzione_finzione rammemorante, oscillazione e scarto che apre al senso del presente, contagiato_ricontamina il passato, nella forma aporetica del dialogo mancante -inutile dire, inutile non dire- omesso il vero, il verso: come porsi nell’abisso_l’epicentro, tracciare un nesso, col mondo della realtà superstite, la memoria estromessa: tenere a mente non occorre, cosa occorre ? ricucire la frattura, lo iato tra rimozione e rigenerazione, tra scrittura e storia, la faglia emersa della gola: spalancare la bocca, seppur l’ultima, inseppellibile che slarga, rantola, si fagocita nel dirsi: sondare i buchi con l’orecchio, le porte di legno, toccare con mano la ferita, che rimargina e riapre, non resta, essere un tramite tremante, un mantra terrestre, voce trapassata, che trapassa, occultata traccia del remoto, della terra il moto : l’Aquila estinta, la città che sprofonda nel giorno, infinito tendere e tenere di mani, con mani, questo scavare, continuo come di cani, in un infinito presente.


Il Rialto immaginato come paesaggio/passaggio [ visivo/semantico/sonoro ] di rimemorazione che sedimenta_si dimentica, sequenza di bocche per voci mancanti,  allegoria dell’odierno luogo “comune”: il nostro tempo, che non da scampo, e come un forcipe attrae_sottrae vita, verità e vita.

TerraeMotus, poesia contemporanea ritrasmessa-riconnessa-relata, ad aprire la seconda stagione dei Giardini d'Inverno, rassegna che quest'anno, oltre ai consueti appuntamenti al Cinema Palazzo "Sala Vittorio Arrigoni", avrà una sua sede meticcia, aperta agli sconfinamenti e alle commistioni fra le arti, nello spazio che da sempre occupa un ruolo centrale per la ricerca dei nuovi linguaggi della contemporaneità a Roma, il Rialto Sant'Ambrogio.


Artisti coinvolti :
Fabio Orecchini/poeta, ideazione e cura  I  Kate Louise Samuels/performer  I  Pane/musiche e voce   Marco Vitale/video  I  Alessandro Morino/artista
  a seguire – dalle ore 21:00


Pane [Live Acustico]
Claudio Orlandi/voce
Vito Andrea Arcomano/chitarra acustica
Claudio Madaudo/flauto traverso

Pane, folk impregnato di radici jazz, colta, etnica e palpabili impronte progressive. Un folk-rock prima del rock, acustico ma scosso da un'energia che presagisce elettricità, il lirismo che si nutre di inquietudini antiche come base e sfondo di una crisi contemporanea; ogni brano un atto di questa tragicommedia umana troppo umana appesa al filo della voce vibrante e stentorea di Claudio Orlandi, interprete dalla vasta e furibonda sensibilità che diresti discendere in qualche modo dalle evoluzioni terrigne e febbricitanti d'un Demetrio Stratos e di Tim Buckley.

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TerraeMotus[installazione/performance] + concerto Pane – Ingr. dalle ore 19 c/tess Arci + 5€ contributo artisti.
Evento realizzato nell’ambito della rassegna Giardini d’inverno a cura di Ivan Schiavone ed Emanuela Cherubini.
Rialto Sant’Ambrogio – Via di S.Ambrogio, 4 - Roma – http://www.rialtosantambrogio.it/


Una sequenza dal testo  "TerraeMotus" qui
Evento su facebook

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Note biobiblio

Fabio Orecchini (Roma, 1981)
Come autore realizza opere che attraversano diversi ambiti e media artistici rivolgendo la sua attenzione alle dinamiche linguistiche e culturali di incorporazione e bio-potere. Ha presentato i suoi lavori nei maggiori Festival italiani di poesia, al Museo d'arte contemporanea MAXXI, al Teatro Valle Occupato e al Teatro India di Roma.  Nel 2014 ha pubblicato per i tipi di Luca Sossella Editore l’opera testuale e verbosonora Dismissione collaborando con il progetto musicale Pane.

Maggiori info su:  http://www.fabioorecchinipoesia.wix.com/dismissione


Pane

Pane, formazione romana composta dal pianista Maurizio Polsinelli, il chitarrista Vito Andrea Arcomano, il batterista Ivan Macera, il flautista Claudio Madaudo e Claudio Orlandi alla voce, ha iniziato il suo percorso nei primi anni '90, sempre alla ricerca di uno stile personale, in forte equilibrio tra parola e musica. La centralità del testo è sostenuta da un tessuto musicale che trae le sue origini da diverse fonti, in particolare dall'epica rock, dalla ricerca pianistica del primo Novecento, dalla teatro-canzone, dal jazz, dal mondo della poesia sonora con appelli al progressive italiano.

Discografia:  Pane (2003), Tutta la dolcezza ai vermi (2008), Orsa Maggiore (2011), Dismissione(2014).

Sito web: www.progettopane.org