Dave Liebman & Ellery Eskelin DIFFERENT BUT THE SAME
Friday, September 5th, 2008 to Saturday, September 6th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Dave Liebman & Ellery Eskelin - saxophones, Tony Marino - bass, Jim Black - drums

In 2005, saxophonists Dave Liebman and Ellery Eskelin released a fascinating quartet album on Hatology called Different But the Same. Since then they've honed their dialogue in engagements and Birdland and other top venues around the world. The Gallery is honored to welcome these two important figures in jazz. They'll be joined by Tony Marino, a longtime Liebman sideman, on bass; and Jim Black, a key Eskelin collaborator, on drums.

As their CD title suggests, Liebman and Eskelin come from two different yet compatible areas of the jazz improvisation continuum. Liebman emerged as a contender in the late '60s early '70s, appearing on John McLaughlin's My Goals Beyond, Miles Davis's classic On the Corner and Dark Magus, and numerous albums by the great Elvin Jones. Thus did Liebman become established as a direct link between the tradition of all-out, swinging, post-Coltrane acoustic jazz on the one hand, and the emerging discourse of cross-cultural, electric proto-fusion on the other. He went on to form the bands Lookout Farm and Quest, create an incomparable duo language with pianist Richie Beirach, and become one of the most influential players and jazz educators of our time. He continues to work with a host of musicians in duo, small group and big band settings, appearing not long ago at the Gallery in a memorable quartet with Phil Markowitz, Adam Nussbaum and John Benitez.

Eskelin came up in the generation following Liebman's, moving from his native Baltimore in 1983 and jumping into the cauldron of New York, where he began studying with none other than Dave Liebman, among others. Finding a strong affinity with the downtown scene, Eskelin began to explore unorthodox ensemble configurations with such likeminded players as Joe Daley, Joey Baron and Marc Ribot. His richly varied recorded output began in 1987, and his working trio with Jim Black and accordionist Andrea Parkins remains one of the most compelling units in the realm of avant-garde composition and improvisation. Time Out New York described Eskelin as having "one foot firmly in the tradition, the other in the cosmos." The Village Voice has called him "an imaginative, daring improviser ... The tenor saxophonist favors long sinuous phrases with enough twists and turns to keep his solos in a state of surprise, and his edgy tone lets you know it's all animated by a cagey authority."

James Carney Group
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$12.00 / $10.00 for Members
James Carney Group presents Ways and Means featuring James Carney - piano, Ralph Alessi - trumpet, Tony Malaby - tenor saxophone, Peter Epstein - soprano saxophone, Josh Roseman - trombone, Chris Lightcap - bass, Mark Ferber - drums

James Carney was recently praised by the New York Times as "a sharp pianist and a broadly imaginative conceptualist and composer," and his 2007 recording Green-Wood (Songlines) certainly bears that out. Jazz Times hailed James's music as "meticulously crafted but hard to pin down, passing through an eclectic series of modernist riffs and unusual grooves, funky rhythms and moody meditations."

Originally from Syracuse, James made his home in Los Angeles for 18 years and made the move to New York in late 2004. Since then he's been busy writing ambitious long-form music and working with a who's who of New York jazz and improvised music talent, not to mention founding and curating the Tuesday night "konceptions" series at Biscuit BBQ in Park Slope (currently on hiatus during renovations).

Fronting a formidable working band whose members need no introduction to Jazz Gallery regulars, James will present the Manhattan premiere of Ways and Means. Created with support from Chamber Music of America, this is James's "virtual" film score, written and performed as visual accompaniment yet not reliant on the images or plot line of any specific film. The next day, James and the band enter the studio to record Ways and Means for a 2009 Songlines release. Be among the first to hear it live!

Miles Okazaki Group
Thursday, September 11th, 2008 to Friday, September 12th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Miles Okazaki presents Generations featuring Miles Okazaki - guitar, Jen Shyu - vocals, David Binney - alto saxophone, Miguel Zenon - alto saxophone, Christof Knoche - reeds, Jon Flaugher - bass, Dan Weiss - drums

Praised by Hot House for his "encyclopedic command of guitar styles," Miles Okazaki played the Jazz Gallery last year to mark the release of his debut CD, Mirror - which the great Rodney Jones described as "a landmark in recorded guitar literature." We could scarcely wait to have him back, and the time is now. With support of a New Works commission from Chamber Music America, Miles has created a new extended piece for septet called Generations, which he will premiere over the course of two nights this week.

Miles is a musician who paints in bold strokes, imbuing every passage with a sense of grandeur and mystery, not to mention rhythmic complexity. Born in 1974, he grew up in Port Townsend, WA and studied mathematics at Harvard but ultimately embarked on a career in music, settling in New York in 1997 and going on to finish second in the 2005 Monk guitar competition. He has distinguished himself as a sideman and arranger with Jane Monheit, and can be heard accompanying Dan Weiss on the drummer's remarkable Tintal Drumset Solo.

Miles's Mirror grew out of a student-run workshop in the late '90s at the Manhattan School of Music, involving him and his classmates Weiss, Christof Knoche and Miguel Zenon. Generations - involving the same extraordinary players - expands on the themes from Mirror, exploring ideas of organic generation, growth, and metamorphosis in musical form and improvisation.

Tyshawn Sorey Wu-Wei Quartet
Saturday, September 13th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Tyshawn Sorey - drums, Todd Neufeld - guitar, Masabumi Kikuchi - piano, Thomas Morgan - bass

Tyshawn Sorey is a breathtaking, multitalented drummer and composer - Gallery audiences will recall being floored by his appearances with the Vijay Iyer Quartet. Credentials also include Fieldwork (with Vijay Iyer and Steve Lehman), Dave Douglas's Nomad, Steve Coleman's Five Elements, ensembles led by legends Muhal Richard Abrams, Mario Pavone and Wadada Leo Smith as well as up and comers Pete Robbins and Timucin Sahin, among many others.

Tyshawn debuted on record in 2007 with That Not, a bold two-disc outing that he workshopped here at the Gallery before bringing his group into the studio. It turned out to be one of that year's most critically acclaimed recordings, feted as the top debut by the Village Voice jazz critics poll, and described by Steve Smith in Time Out New York as "a vivid impression of Sorey's range ... sit back and be amazed." Now Tyshawn returns to the Gallery to lead a hornless group called the Wu-Wei Quartet, featuring veteran pianist Masabumi Kikuchi (of Paul Motian's Tethered Moon trio), in a new multi-chapter work commissioned by Roulette Intermedium.

John Escreet Project
Thursday, September 18th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$12.00 / $10.00 for Members
John Escreet celebrates the release of his new CD from Posi-Tone Records.
John Escreet - piano, David Binney - alto saxophone, Ambrose Akinmusire - trumpet, Zack Lober - double bass, Tyshawn Sorey - drums

Bill Stewart Quartet
Friday, September 19th, 2008 to Saturday, September 20th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Bill Stewart - drums, Seamus Blake - saxophones, Kevin Hays - piano, Doug Weiss - bass

"Steve Coleman Presents"
Monday, September 22nd, 2008 | 9:00 p.m. - Midnight
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Weekly workshop / Masterclass. The season will continue through November 17th.

Ben van Gelder
Thursday, September 25th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$12.00 / $10.00 for Members
Ben van Gelder - saxophone, Gavin Fallow - bass

Ron Blake Trio
Friday, September 26th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Ron Blake - saxophones, bass - tba, Clarence Penn - drums

Seamus Blake Quartet
Saturday, September 27th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Seamus Blake - saxophones, David Kikoski - piano, Boris Kozlov - bass, Bill Stewart - drums

"Steve Coleman Presents"
Monday, September 29th, 2008 | 9:00 p.m. - Midnight
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Weekly workshop / masterclass.

Sofia Koutsovitis
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$12.00 / $10.00 for Members

Avishai Cohen's TRIVENI
Friday, October 3rd, 2008 to Saturday, October 4th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Avishai Cohen - trumpet, Omer Avital - bass, Nasheet Waits - drums

Omer Klein
Friday, October 17th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members

ENCLAVE
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$12.00 / $10.00 for Members
ENCLAVE presents the CMA commissioned piece Clay, Iron, Water.

Hilary Noble - saxophones/flute/percussion, Rebecca Cline - piano, Fernando Huergo - bass, Steve Langone - drums plus special guests Charles Neville - saxophones, Pedro Martinez - percussion/vocals

Adam Rogers
Friday, October 24th, 2008 to Saturday, October 25th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members

Anne Metter Iversen
Thursday, October 30th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$12.00 / $10.00 for Members

NYU Jazz Ensemble
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 | TBA
$10.00

Taylor Ho Bynum
Friday, November 14th, 2008 to Saturday, November 15th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members

Jaleel Shaw
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members

Jean-Michel Pilc Trio
Friday, November 28th, 2008 to Saturday, November 29th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Jean-Michel Pilc - piano, bass - tba, Billy Hart - drums

Miguel Zenon
Thursday, December 4th, 2008 to Saturday, December 6th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members

Gerald Clayton
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 to Thursday, December 11th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members

Darcy James Argue's SECRET SOCIETY
Friday, December 12th, 2008 to Saturday, December 13th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Memebers

Steve Lehman
Friday, December 19th, 2008 to Saturday, December 20th, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members

Sherisse Rogers
Friday, January 9th, 2009 to Friday, January 9th, 2009

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members

Josh Roseman
Saturday, January 17th, 2009 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members

Tigran Hamasyan Trio
Thursday, September 4th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$12.00 / $10.00 for Members
Tigran Hamasyan - piano, Francois Moutin - bass, Zach Harmon - drums

Before he won the 2006 Thelonious Monk piano competition, Tigran Hamasyan had already collected honors at competitions in Paris, Monaco, Montreux and Moscow. And all this before turning 20. He is a player of enormous chops but also disarming subtlety and musical insight - Ben Ratliff of the New York Times has described him as "intensely searching … jazz, for [Hamasyan], is about constantly moving around the rhythmic accents … so that nearly every bar seems to be in a different time signature from the last."

Tigran came from his native Armenia to study at USC at Los Angeles, and is now regarded as one of the most promising voices of the new millennium. He debuted in 2006 with World Passion and has recently followed up with the remarkable New Era. At the Gallery he'll be joined by bassist François Moutin and drummer Ari Hoenig, two of the most riveting rhythm section players anywhere, as they proved time and again in trio settings with Jean-Michel Pilc. Hamasyan gets them just as fired up, and ready to explore without limit.

Will Vinson Quintet
Saturday, August 30th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Will Vinson - alto saxophone, Lage Lund - guitar, Luis Perdomo - piano, Orlando Le Fleming - bass, Jochen Ruekert - drums

Alto saxophonist Will Vinson, born and raised in London, has become an integral voice on the New York jazz scene since his arrival nine years ago. He has worked in venues across the city, and the world, with such artists as Chris Potter, Eddie Gomez, Mike Stern, the Mingus Big Band, Ingrid Jensen, Ari Hoenig and Jonathan Kreisberg, as well as Gallery regulars Dafnis Prieto, Pedro Giraudo, Lage Lund, John Ellis and Aaron Parks. Will is also no stranger to pop music artistry at its most refined, having worked with Rufus Wainwright and Sufjan Stevens. He debuted as a leader in 2004 with It's For You, and in spring of this year he celebrated the release of Promises here at the Gallery.

Will challenges his bandmates with original music of high complexity and a boundless sense of swing; as a soloist he has integrated bop, post-bop and beyond into a language of great intensity and melodic purity. His talented quintet, featuring guitarist and Monk competition winner Lage Lund and Composers Series II participant Luis Perdomo, will leave you with something memorable indeed.

Vijay Iyer Special Quintet
Friday, August 29th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Vijay Iyer - piano, Ambrose Akinmusire - trumpet, Prasanna - guitar, Stephan Crump - bass, Marcus Gilmore - drums

Vijay Iyer, voted the #1 Rising Star Jazz Artist and #1 Rising Star Composer in the Downbeat Critics Poll for both 2006 and 2007, was described in The Village Voice as "the most commanding pianist and composer to emerge in recent years." The Jazz Gallery is proud to have taken a leading role in presenting this groundbreaking artist throughout the past decade. In this instance, Vijay will take to the bandstand with his Special Quintet - an augmented edition of his trio with bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Marcus Gilmore, plus the compelling additional voices of rising-star trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and adventurous pan-stylistic guitarist Prasanna.

The son of Indian immigrants from Rochester, NY, Vijay worked extensively with Steve Coleman in the '90s and then went on to blaze his own inspired path as a leader. His music incorporates an array of influences, from bebop to M-Base and the AACM, from hip-hop to Carnatic (South Indian) classical music. Among his ambitious works: two acclaimed multimedia collaborations with the poet Mike Ladd (In What Language? and Still Life With Commentator); regular performances with altoist Rudresh Mahanthappa in the duo Raw Materials; three highly regarded albums with the experimental trio Fieldwork (most recently Door); and a succession of innovative quartet albums, including this year's outstanding Tragicomic, as well as Blood Sutra, music from which Vijay premiered at the Gallery in June 2002.

Also appearing in Vijay Iyer's Special Quintet: Ambrose Akinmusire, a vital member of the Jazz Gallery family well before he took first prize in the 2007 Thelonious Monk trumpet competition. Named one of "25 Trumpeters for the Future" in the June 2007 issue of Downbeat, Ambrose appeared with Vijay on In What Language? Guitarist Prasanna, hailed by Bill Milkowski as "a true world-music visionary," has a wide variety of releases to his credit, and is currently one-third of Vijay's TIRTHA project, a trio featuring tabla virtuoso Nitin Mitta.

Gregg August Sextet
Friday, August 15th, 2008 | 9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for the Members
Gregg August - bass, John Bailey- trumpet, Jaleel Shaw- alto saxophone, JD Allen - tenor saxlphone, Luis Perdomo - piano, EJ Strickland- drums

Bassist Gregg August, from upstate New York, is at home in a number of different musical worlds. Trained at Eastman, he is a serious classical player, with sustained experience ranging from the Brooklyn Philharmonic to the Bang on a Can All-Stars. He is also a devotee of Afro-Cuban music, racking up experience with such greats as Ray Barretto and Paquito D'Rivera. Gregg's radiant original music can be heard on his acclaimed debut from 2005, Late August, which boasts the talents of Frank Wess, Myron Walden and Donny McCaslin and was praised by the Hartford Courant for its "crackling … kinetic energy, bright harmonies, crisp melodies and subtly shifting meters." Gregg's sophomore release of 2007, One Peace, described by Jim Macnie as "an edge-of-your-seat program" and by Tony Hall of Jazzwise as "one of the year's very best albums," features such Jazz Gallery superstars as Yosvany Terry and Luis Perdomo, two of the spotlighted artists in our 2007 Composers Series.

Gregg has appeared at the Gallery in recent months not only as a member of J. D. Allen's captivating trio (hear the tenorist's amazing I Am I Am), but also as a leader of his talent-packed sextet. We're thrilled to have him back to keep our summer 2008 season at a boil.

Lage Lund 5
Friday, August 1st, 2008 to Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

9:00 & 10:30 p.m.
$15.00 / $10.00 for Members
Lage Lund - guitar, Seamus Blake - saxophones, Aaron Parks - piano, Ben Street - bass, Johnathan Blake - drums

Lage Lund is the winner of the 2005 International Thelonious Monk Guitar Competition, and in fact one of a number of Monk Competition winners who developed a deep connection to the Jazz Gallery well before their victory.

A Berklee alum and the first-ever electric guitarist to attend Juilliard, Lage has been praised by Down Beat magazine for his "effortless prowess" and "intricate, beautifully contoured lines." The young, Norwegian-born rising star, currently working with the David Sanchez Quartet, has also made memorable appearances with Marcus Strickland, Seamus Blake, Kendrick Scott, Jaleel Shaw, Donny McCaslin, Will Vinson and many others. Alongside drummer Rodney Green, he has worked with the living legends Mulgrew Miller and Ron Carter. His debut recording, Standards, is available at iTunes and Amazon, and will soon be followed by a quintet album of original compositions for Criss Cross.

Returning to our bandstand as a leader, Lage will surround himself with esteemed figures from the Jazz Gallery family, including 2002 Monk Saxophone Competition winner Seamus Blake, and Blue Note recording artist Aaron Parks, featured to brilliant effect last fall in our Composers Series II. Expect the unexpected!