New York’s Jazz Standard Swings Into September

Jazz Standard Swings Into September With Oliver Lake 70^th Birthday Celebration, Donald Harrison’s Quantum Leap, And Jazz Guitar Heroes Roni Ben–Hur, Mike Moreno, Ed Cherry

(New York City, NY) — JAZZ STANDARD, one of the nation’s premier jazz clubs, offers another impressive month of music with jazz legends and rising stars throughout September. Jazz Renaissance man Oliver Lake celebrates his 70^th birthday by leading three great groups including his Organ Quartet (9/13), Big Band (9/14), and Trio 3 (9/15 – 16) with special guest Geri Allen on piano. Saxophonist Donald Harrison leads his exciting band Quantum Leap (9/19 – 23) with fellow New Orleans native Davell Crawford as his special guest. Also on the schedule are three contemporary jazz guitar heroes: Roni Ben–Hur (9/11), Mike Moreno (9/12), and Ed Cherry (9/18). Our ever–popular “Mingus Mon­days” resi­dency continues in September with the Grammy Award–winning Mingus Big Band appearing every week on 9/10, 9/17 and 9/24. Be­low is a com­plete schedule of September per­form­ances at JAZZ STANDARD, along with informa­tion on the musicians. For every­thing else, visit www.jazzstandard.com.

ALL SHOW TIMES:  7:30 & 9:30PM + 11:30PM ON FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS
Jazz Standard is located at 116 E. 27^th Street (between Lexington and Park) Train 6 to E. 28^th Street

NEVER A MINIMUM
Student Discounts (restrictions apply) – Enjoy “NYC’s Best Barbecue” (Time Out New York) from BLUE SMOKE and an extensive wine, beer and cocktail list

Jazz for Kids every Sunday (except April 8^th) – Open for lunch at 1pm, music from 1:30–3pm

For reservations call Jazz Standard at 212.576.2232 or visit www.ticketweb.com – Artists and schedules are subject to change.

SEPTEMBER 2012 SCHEDULE

9/1 – 9/2 Ron Carter Big Band (at 7:30pm & 9:30pm only)

Jay Brandford, David de Jesus, Jerry Dodgion, Bobby LaVell, Ivan Renta  – saxophones
Greg Gisbert, Frank Greene, Alex Norris, Jon Owens – trumpets
James Burton, Steve Davis, Jason Jackson, Douglas Purviance – trombones
Donald Vega – piano
Russell Malone -guitar
Ron Carter – Bass
Kenny Washington – drums

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 2011 and the release of Ron Carter’s Great Big Band, a delightfully swinging set featuring the talents of arranger Bob Freedman. (Freedman had written arrangements for past Carter recordings including Dear Miles, The Golden Striker, and When Skies Are Grey.) “The album’s spirit is a collage of old fashioned big band fun, bop revolt intellect, and a devil-may-care manner of choosing the material,” wrote John Garrett at PopMatters.com. The Ron Carter Big Band made its live debut on our stage in September 2011 to a rapturous response – and we’re proud and pleased to bring this great band back for a second thrilling run. Make your reservations now! – $30 All Shows

9/3 Jazz Standard Closed for Labor Day

9/4 Alfredo Rodriguez Trio

Alfredo Rodriguez – piano
Ricardo Rodriguez – bass
Henry Cole – drums

The extravagantly melodic pianist Alfredo Rodriguez is a protégé of Quincy Jones, who co-produced Alfredo’s  most recent album, THE SOUNDS OF SPACE (released March 2012 on Mack Avenue Records). The eleven-song set “is full of intricate passages that actually go somewhere emotionally, and lyrical passages that display a shockingly high degree of difficulty…Very little rock or electronica can deliver the kind of twisty thrills that Rodriguez seems to be able to pull out of his hat on a regular basis.” (Matt Cibula, PopMatters.com) – $20

9/5 Reunion featuring Gene Bertoncini, Mike Manieri, Michael Moore, Joe Corsello

Gene Bertoncini – guitar
Mike Manieri – vibes
Michael Moore – bass
Joe Corsello – drums

For nearly three decades, Gene Bertoncini and Michael Moore played beautiful, intimate duets at a suc­cession of New York nightspots and on such (now out of print) recordings as Bridges and O Grande Amor. (Bertoncini later told interviewer Mike Joyce that “Mike never played a meaningless note.”) This one–night stand reunites these two superb players – along with the equally talented and experienced vi­braphonist Mike Manieri and drummer Joe Corsello – for two sets of creative music–making at its highest level. “Gene Bertoncini…creates sounds that are refined, elegant, and complex. His playing works a tune from the inside, fully exploring its harmonic, melodic, and textural implications much like a classical composer develops an idea on paper.” (Jim Ferguson, JazzTimes) – $25

9/6 – 9/9 Mulgrew Miller Trio *JS:10 anniversary concert*

Mulgrew Miller – piano
Ivan Taylor – bass
Rodney Green – drums

Over the course of a 30–year–plus career, Mulgrew Miller has emerged as perhaps the finest individual talent among the pool of pianists influenced by the legendary Oscar Peterson and the great but underrated Phineas Newborn. Growing up in Greenwood, Mississippi, young Miller played gospel music in church and blues and R&B with local dance bands; from Mercer Ellington and Betty Carter to his seven–year tenure with drummer Tony Williams, he recalls that “I was literally in a band every single day for 16 years.” Mulgrew Miller has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Diane Reeves, Rene Marie, Steve Turre, Kenny Garrett, Joe Lovano, and Gary Burton; and released his own acclaimed albums on the Landmark, Criss Cross, Verve, and MaxJazz labels. “True to his blues–tinged upbringing, he’s a bop in­tellectual with an unabashed gift for populism. That explains both the thundering jabs in his sparkling runs and the sleekness in his writing and arranging.” (Time Out New York) – $25 / $30 Friday + Saturday

9/10 – Mingus Big Band

“Mingus Monday” continues this month at Jazz Standard, dedicated to the music of legendary bassist, composer and bandleader Charles Mingus (1922–1979).  The L.A. Times praised the Grammy Award–winning Mingus Big Band: “A spirited blend of the lush harmonies and boisterous blues sections, inter­woven ensemble passages and sudden tempo shifts that made the late bassist Charles Mingus one of the most challenging and celebrated artists in jazz.” – $25

9/11 Roni Ben-hur & santi debriano featuring duduka da fonseca

Roni Ben-Hur – guitar
Santi DiBriano – bass
Duduka Da Fonseca – drums

Writing in the Newark Star–Ledger, Zan Stewart praised Roni Ben–Hur as “a deep musician, a story­teller…Ben–Hur works with a warm, glowing sound and has an alluring way of combining engaging notes with supple rhythm.” Since moving to New York in 1985, he’s worked with everyone from Barry Harris to Bill Doggett. This one–nighter (with the inspired rhythm section of bassist Santi DiBriano and drummer Duduka Da Fonseca) celebrates a brand new CD – the guitarist’s ninth career release as a leader and the successor to his acclaimed album Mojave, recorded with Brazilian bassist Nilson Matta. – $20

9/12 Mike Moreno Quartet

Mike Moreno – guitar
Aaron Parks – piano
Matt Brewer – bass
Ted Poor – drums

With Special Guest
Warren Wolf – vibes

If you haven’t heard about Mike Moreno yet…you will! The Houston, Texas native came to NYC to attend the New School; even before graduation, he was earning the rep of a strongly supportive ensemble player and an inventive soloist. Mike has performed with such jazz leaders as Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Terence Blanchard, and Ravi Coltrane; and recorded with progressive R&B stars Bilal and Q–Tip as well as rising jazz stars such as Robert Glasper, John Ellis, and Yosvany Terry. This Jazz Standard performance will showcase the music from Mike’s latest 2012 recording, Another Way, released through World Culture Music. – $20

9/13 – 9/16 Oliver Lake 70^th Birthday Celebration *JS:10 anniversary concert*

More than just a great jazz musician, Oliver Lake has been a vital contributor to the arts in New York through four decades. Lake has executed commissions for the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra and the Brooklyn Philharmonic; arranged for Björk, Lou Reed and A Tribe Called Quest; collaborated with poets, choreographers, and international musicians; led his own Steel Quartet and Big Band, and worked with cooperative ensembles the World Saxophone Quartet and Trio 3. Jazz Standard is proud to host this gala 70^th birthday celebration, featuring the guest of honor at the helm of three entirely different and equally exciting bands.

9/13 Oliver Lake Organ Quartet

Oliver Lake – alto sax
Jared Gold – organ
Freddie Hendrix – trumpet
Chris Beck – drums

In its four and a half–star review of this group’s 2011 album Plan, Down Beat wrote:  “Lake comes out explosively from the opening title track, on which he employs his acerbic tone and sidewinding phrases in unison with trumpeter Freddie Hendrix before blasting off into a vigorous improvisation. Adding to the restive energy is Johnathon Blake’s propulsive drumming and Jared Gold’s squawking, almost pianistic approach to the Hammond B3. When the quartet explores a groove as on the bluesy ‘Backup’ or the Latin–tinged ‘After Touch,’ the rhythmic and harmonic foundation shifts unexpectedly and the front–line horns soar.” – $25

9/14 Oliver Lake Big Band

Oliver Lake – alto saxophone, conductor
James Stewart, Mike Lee – tenor saxophone
Darius Jones, Bruce Williams – alto saxophone
Jason Marshall – baritone saxophone
Freddie Hendrix, Waldron Ricks, Peck Allmond, EJ Allen – trumpet
Aaron Johnson, Stafford Hunter, Al Paterson, Terry Greene – trombone
Yoichi Uzeki – piano
Robert Sabin – bass
Chris Beck – drums

A rare appearance by a group that has been opening ears since at least 2003 with the album Cloth (Passin’ Thru Records). “The band is the ideal vehicle for Lake’s juxtaposition of straight–ahead swing and the kind of energy that comes from the sun (Ra).” (Harvey Sliders, JazzTimes.com) – $30

9/15 & 9/16 TRIO 3 (Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille) Plus Special Guest Geri Allen

Oliver Lake – alto sax
Reggie Workman – bass
Andrew Cyrille – drums

With Special Guest
Geri Allen – piano

For this much-anticipated Jazz Standard run, the “alto saxophonist with a robust and piercing sound” (New York Times) will lead Trio 3 with the peerless rhythm section of Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille and the invaluable addition of pianist Geri Allen. This group has released such outstanding CD as At This Time and The Oliver Lake Trio Live on the artist’s own Passin’ Thru label. – $30

9/17 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.” (DownBeat four–star review of the MBB’s 1995 CD Gun–Slinging Bird) – $25

9/18 Ed Cherry Trio

Ed Cherry – guitar
Pat Bianchi – Hammond B–3 organ
Byron Landham – drums

Ed Cherry played guitar with Dizzy Gillespie from 1978 to 1992, including the Grammy–winning album Live at Royal Festival Hall. (Enja); in 1993, the year after Gillespie’s death, Ed released First Take, his debut as a leader. He went on to tour and record with Paquito D’Rivera, Henry Threadgill’s Very Very Circus, and Hammond organ master John Patton; other significant credits include saxophonist Hamiett Bluiett and vocalist Paula West. “An expressive instrumentalist, Cherry has a hip, melodic approach that is a refreshing contrast to guitarists who frequently resort to playing ‘finger music,’ the execution of rapid streams of notes that serve no musical purpose other than to fill space.” (Jim Ferguson, JazzTimes.com) – $20

9/19 – 9/23 Donald Harrison: Quantum Leap with special guest Davell Crawford *JS:10 anniversary concert*

Donald Harrison – alto saxophone
Detroit Brooks – guitar
Zaccai Curtis – piano, keyboards
Max Moran – bass
Joe Dyson – drums

With Special Guest
Davell Crawford – piano, vocals

Many Jazz Standard patrons will remember Donald Harrison with pleasure from his past appearances on our stage with a various bands. Quantum Leap looks to be one of his best, as the New Orleans–born–and–bred altoist joins forces with another major Crescent City talent, singer/pianist Davell Crawford. “Donald Harrison is a versatile jazz musician with a sense of history and the knowledge of how he can best explore it while advancing his own, very personal, musical vision. Harrison is basically a jazz artist who has em­braced Duke Ellington’s dictum — ‘There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.’ — and used it to showcase his multicultural roots.” (Garaud MacTaggart, Buffalo NY News) – $25 / $30 Friday + Saturday

9/24 Mingus Big Band

“Most people are forced to do things they don’t want to for most of the time, and so they get to the point where they feel they no longer have any choices about anything important – including who they are. We create our own slavery. But I’m going to keep on getting through, and finding out the kind of man I am, through my music. That’s the one place I can be free.” – Charles Mingus, in conversation with author Nat Hentoff – $25

9/25 – 9/30 Gerald Clayton Quintet

Dayna Stephens – tenor saxophone
Logan Richardson – alto saxophone
Gerald Clayton – piano
Joe Sanders – bass
Justin Brown – drums

With Special Guests
Sachal Vasandani & Gretchen Parlato – vocals (9/28 & 9/29 only)

A rising star of post–bop piano and an impressive composer, Gerald Clayton made a thrilling debut with his 2009 album two–shade and earned further critical kudos for his sophomore release bond — the paris sessions. (“A state–of–the–art piano trio record,” wrote Nate Chinen in The New York Times, “beauti­fully recorded, with a sense of soulful equilibrium.”) Gerald has been nominated for two Grammy Awards, as a solo artist and also with the Clayton Broathers. For his last appearance on our stage in July 2011, the pianist led a stellar trio; this time, he’s back with a top–shelf quintet featuring Dayna Stephens and Logan Richardson, two of the most highly– touted younger saxophonists on the scene today. As an added attraction, Gerald’s five–night run will include special guest appearances by vocalists Sachal Vasandani and Gretchen Parlato – both Jazz Standard headliners in their own right. – $25 / $30 Friday + Saturday