SETS NIGHTLY AT 7:30 & 9:30
FRI & SAT, THIRD SET AT 11:30
SETS NIGHTLY AT 7:30 & 9:30
FRI & SAT, THIRD SET AT 11:30
Thursday - Sunday March 29 - April 1
PATRICIA BARBER (7:30PM & 9:30PM ONLY)
Patricia Barber – piano, vocals
John Kregor – guitar
Larry Kohut – bass
Jon Deitemyer – drums
Although she plays a regular residency at the Green Mill in Chicago, Patricia Barber isn’t often seen in New York these days. So we’re delighted to welcome back this sui generis artist whom one critic recently described as “stretching the boundaries of both jazz composition and small group performance…Soloing wasn't really the point, however. The set was more of an extended musical conversation between the performers, between equal partners.” In this much–anticipated engagement, Patricia will preview some of the new compositions to be featured on her forthcoming label debut for Concord Music.
Tickets: $25 / $30 Friday & Saturday - PURCHASE NOW
Monday April 2
MINGUS BIG BAND
The mighty Mingus Big Band – whose Live at Jazz Standard CD earned the group its first Grammy Award last year – returns to kick off another month of “Mingus Mondays” dedicated to the music of legendary jazz bassist, composer, and bandleader Charles Mingus (1922–1979). “Mingus’ diverse repertoire includes everything from gospel hollers and church music to lush ballads, swinging dance tunes, bebop and the blues…The music is, like Mingus himself, earthy, passionate, soulful and intense – and at all times swinging.” (Mark Schramm, National Public Radio, 1/5/2009)
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday April 3
MELISSA STYLIANOU QUINTET Plus Special Guests ANAT COHEN & GENE BERTONCINI
Melissa Stylianou – vocal
Pete McCann – guitar
Jamie Reynolds – piano
Gary Wang – bass
Mark Ferber – drums
Special Guests:
Anat Cohen – clarinet and saxophone
Gene Bertoncini – guitar
With the release of Silent Movie – her fourth career album and first for Anzic Records – Melissa Stylianou moves closer than ever to the essence of storytelling in song. Stylianou renews standards long beloved in jazz – “Smile,” “Moon River,” “The Folks Who Live on the Hill” – even as she broadens the field with songs by James Taylor, Paul Simon, Johnny Cash and Joanna Newsom. Stylianou also sets her own lyrics to the music of celebrated composers, breathing fresh life into works by Edgar Meyer and Vince Mendoza. For this showcase of her new material, Melissa and her expert working band will welcome two very special guests, saxophonist and clarinetist Anat Cohen and veteran guitarist Gene Bertoncini. “The sort of warm, open and secure singer for whom ‘style’ is a means, not an end.” (Toronto Globe & Mail)
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Wednesday - Sunday April 4 - 8
CHANO DOMINGUEZ: FLAMENCO SKETCHES
Chano Domínguez – piano
Omer Avital – bass
Blas Cordoba – vocals/percussion
Dafnis Prieto – drums
In 1959, “Flamenco Sketches” was one of the most haunting tracks on Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue – later to become the best–selling album in jazz history. Now, Flamenco Sketches is the title track of a new Blue Note CD by Chano Domínguez, wherein this brilliant Spanish flamenco jazz pianist offers a fresh and invigorating take on the songs of Kind Of Blue. Flamenco Sketches was recorded live on our stage over four incredible nights as part of the 41st Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Festival. Born 1960 in Cadíz, Spain, the artist transcended early influences like Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk to become an explorer of flamenco forms through the lens of the post–bop tradition, including collaborations with Paquito D’Rivera, Paco de Lucía, and Wynton Marsalis. Chano first played Jazz Standard as a featured artist in the “Catalan Days | Barcelona Nights” event in May 2009, and we welcome him back to celebrate our tenth anniversary.
Tickets: $30 - PURCHASE NOW
Monday April 9
MINGUS BIG BAND
Craig Handy, Wayne Escoffery – tenor saxophone
Alex Foster, Scott Robinson – alto saxophone, flute
Jason Marshall – baritone saxophone
Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Conrad Herwig, Earl McIntyre – trombones
Alex Sipiagin, Philip Harper, Earl Gardner – trumpets
David Kikoski – piano
Boris Kozlov – bass
Tommy Campbell – drums
“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.” (The Los Angeles Times)
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday - Wednesday April 10 - 11
Yosvany Terry Quintet Plus Special Guest Pedrito Martinez
The fiery Cuban altoist Yosvany Terry has appeared regularly on our stage as a leader and featured sideman since his 2007 debut in our series “New Dimensions in Latin Jazz” – and he never fails to captivate. Tonight he launches his new album Today's Opinion (Criss Cross) and reunites with his brother, bassist Yunior Terry and pianist Osmany Paredes, both of whom were on the stand for his ’07 debut. “Yosvany Terry’s group has helped redefine Latin jazz as a complex new idiom.” (New York Times) The multi-talented percussionist/vocalist Pedrito Martinez, who awed Jazz Standard audiences last month with his own group, joins Yosvany's group for back-to-back nights.
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Thursday - Sunday April 12 - 15
STEVE WILSON SUPER BAND plus special guest CARLA COOK (4/13-4/14 only)
Steve Wilson – alto & soprano saxophone
Patrice Rushen – piano
James Genus – bass (4/12–13, 4/15)
Kenny Davis – bass (4/14)
Billy Kilson – drums
Our tenth anniversary celebration would not be complete without an appearance by Steve Wilson, who’s been playing Jazz Standard for more than a decade and continues to be “essential to this city’s jazz landscape” (Wall Street Journal). Formerly a crucial sideman in the bands of Lionel Hampton, Dave Holland, Buster Williams, and Chick Corea; his recording career as a leader began in 1991 with New York Summit (Criss Cross). During the past year, Steve has played rapturously received sets at the Detroit Jazz Festival with his post–bop quartet, Wilsonian’s Grain; and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. with his moving Charlie Parker tribute “Bird With Strings.” This week, Steve returns to Jazz Standard with an exceptional quartet including the wonderful multi-Grammy nominated and first female Musical Director of the Grammy Awards (46th–48th) pianist/keyboardist Patrice Rushen (remember her Eighties hits “Remind Me” and “Forget Me Nots?”). “That’s why I call this Super Band – I don’t want to put this into a certain category, I want free range for us all to explore, be creative, and most of all have fun.” (Steve Wilson)
Tickets: $25/$30 Friday & Saturday - PURCHASE NOW
Monday April 16
MINGUS ORCHESTRA
Craig Handy - tenor saxophone, flute
Alex Foster - alto & soprano saxophone, flute
Ku-umba Frank Lacy - trombone
Philip Harper - trumpet
Michael Rabinowitz - bassoon
John Clark - French horn
Doug Yates - bass clarinet
Freddie Bryant - guitar
Dezron Douglas - bass
Adam Cruz - drums
The Mingus Orchestra is considered by many to be the most adventurous and intellectually daring of the three Mingus legacy bands. The group combines jazz and “non–jazz” instruments, such as oboe and bassoon; and the repertoire ranges from the moody ballad “Noon Night” to “Half Mast Inhibition,” described by Nate Chinen in The New York Times as moving “from a frantic march to a sumptuous dose of Orientalism, and on through a flamenco–like waltz.”
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday April 17
DARIUS JONES QUARTET
Darius Jones – alto saxophone
Matt Mitchell – piano
Trevor Dunn – bass
Chad Taylor – drums
In 2009, the alto saxophonist/composer Darius Jones inaugurated an ambitious series of thematically– linked recordings with the release of Man’ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing), followed the next year by Big Gurl (Smell My Dream). Last year Darius made his impressive debut on our stage in a duo setting with pianist Matthew Shipp to celebrate the release of Cosmic Lieder. This month, AUM Fidelity will release Book of Mæ’bul (Another Kind of Sunrise), the third chapter in Jones’ ongoing epic. “Beauty is not universal and Love is manifest differently from person to person,” says Darius Jones. “Mæ’bul is my attempt at creating a totem to represent my spiritual pursuit of these two elements in sound.” Steve Dollar says in the Wall Street Journal: “There's a lot of humidity in his sound, stretching the alto's range as he vaults from a caressing, luxuriously rounded bottom register into a scorching cascade of notes at the instrument's upper limits.”
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Wednesday April 18
KATE MCGARRY QUARTET
Kate McGarry – vocals
Keith Ganz – guitar
Gary Versace – Hammond B–3 organ
Clarence Penn – drums
Kate McGarry is one of her generation's most individual and influential singers, one who “embraces jazz’s freedom yet points the genre toward a future that’s as fresh and thrilling as its past." (The Nashville Scene) With Girl Talk, her fifth Palmetto Records CD due out 4/10, she pays homage to some of the great women of the jazz vocal tradition, including Betty Carter, Sheila Jordan, and Carmen McRae. Here Kate puts her own inimitable spin on such classic songs as “We Kiss In A Shadow,” “The Man I Love,” and (in a dream duet with Kurt Elling) the Brazilian classic “O Cantador.” Kate McGarry says: “Starry-eyed admiration and gratitude for our strong lineage of visionary jazz women is what fueled the making of Girl Talk…These icons were co–creators of the great art of jazz singing at a time in our nation's history when women's voices and dreams were so easily silenced or devalued.”
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Thursday - Sunday April 19 - 22
REGINA CARTER
Regina Carter – violin
Will Holshouser – accordion
Yacouba Sissoko – kora
Chris Lightcap – bass
Alvester Garnett – drums
Few musicians of her generation can match Regina Carter’s résumé for sheer eclecticism. In a career now past the quarter–century mark, this gifted violinist, composer and bandleader has performed and/or recorded with Faith Evans and Mary J. Blige, with Max Roach and Kenny Barron, and on the soundtrack of Ken Burns’ acclaimed PBS series The Civil War. In September 2006, Carter was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant”; with this support, she undertook an extended journey to Africa and in 2010 recorded Reverse Thread (E1 Music), an album of folk songs culled from the African continent and its New World diaspora. This week on our stage Regina Carter reconvenes the Reverse Thread band to play songs from that acclaimed album as well as new material and perhaps even a jazz standard or two!
Tickets: $30 - PURCHASE NOW
Monday April 23
MINGUS BIG BAND
Craig Handy, Wayne Escoffery – tenor saxophone
Alex Foster, Abraham Burton – alto saxophone, flute
Lauren Sevian – baritone saxophone
Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Conrad Herwig, Earl McIntyre – trombones
Greg Gisbert, Philip Harper, TBA – trumpets
David Kikoski – piano
Dezron Douglas – bass
Adam Cruz – drums
“Unlike some, this repertory band doesn’t grow stale or ossified – the reasons are threefold. One, the touring personnel is constantly shifting, bringing in fresh approaches. Two, the repertory of Mingus is so vast, varied and unpredictable that it might always be a renewable resource. Three, founder/guiding light Sue Mingus won’t let the spirit wither.” (Daily Variety)
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday April 24
GEORGE COLLIGAN QUARTET plus special guest JALEEL SHAW
George Colligan – piano
Lonnie Plaxico – bass
Clarence Penn – drums
Debbie Deane – vocals
Special guest: Jaleel Shaw – alto saxophone
Multi–instrumentalist, composer, educator, and bandleader, George Colligan is also “one of the best– kept secrets in jazz” (Chris Hoven, AllAboutJazz.com) who “has developed an intrepid attitude that goes hand–in–hand with a strong sense of identity.” George majored in classical trumpet and learned to play drums before switching to piano, on which instrument he’s worked with Lee Konitz, Nicholas Payton, Cassandra Wilson, Don Byron and Benny Golson, just to name a few. As a sideman, Colligan is featured on over 100 recordings; in October 2011, he released his 22nd album as a leader. Tonight, George Colligan leads a top–shelf trio (with Lonnie Plaxico and Clarence Penn) – with the added attractions of the scintillating vocalist, Debbie Deane, and expressive saxophonist, Jaleel Shaw – featuring songs George wrote around the poetry of his younger sister Dana.
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Wednesday April 25
ROMAIN COLLIN TRIO
Romain Collin – piano
Luques Curtis – bass
Nate Wood – drums
Described by NPR host Jon Weber as “a visionary composer, an extraordinary jazz pianist and a very bright young rising star in the jazz world,” the French–born pianist and composer Romain Collin continues to develop his singular vision, effortlessly blending the improvisational tradition with classical influences and new designs in sound. The Calling – produced by Matt Pierson and due out 4/24 on Palmetto Records – is Romain’s second album as a leader and the successor to his 2009 Fresh Sound debut, The Rise and Fall of Pipokuhn. (“An astonishingly mature and ambitious debut that secures Collin a placeholder in the continuing evolution of the grand tradition of the piano trio.” – Phil Di Pietro, AllAboutJazz.com) Joe Lovano says: “Romain Colling takes you on a beautiful journey, whether interpreting standards or exploring originals.”
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Thursday - Sunday April 26 - 29
AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE QUINTET
Ambrose Akinmusire – trumpet
Walter Smith III – tenor saxophone
Sam Harris – piano
Harish Raghavan – bass
Justin Brown – drums
Our tenth anniversary festivities continue this week with this gifted young trumpeter, who first played Jazz Standard in April 2008 (with a stellar quintet of Mark Turner, Aaron Parks, Ben Street and Eric Harland). Ambrose will be back on the bandstand bearing rave notices from critics and a wave of support from a steadily growing fan base. Writing in The New York Times in December 2011, Nate Chinen named his Blue Note label debut When The Heart Emerges Glistening as the Number One album (jazz or otherwise) of the year. Chinen called Akinmusire “an earnest young trumpeter with a bracingly original style” and his CD “a smart dispatch from the new post–bop frontier.” Meanwhile, in a four–star review for DownBeat, John Corbett wrote: “Akinmusire’s forceful outing is as noteworthy for the strength of the overall concept as for the individual accomplishments of its leader, head-turning as they are…Clearly something very special and personal is at work here, a vision of jazz that’s bigger than camps, broader and more intellectually restless than blowing sessions.”
Tickets: $25/$30 Friday & Saturday - PURCHASE NOW
Monday April 30
MINGUS ORCHESTRA
Craig Handy - tenor saxophone, flute
Alex Foster - alto & soprano saxophone, flute
Ku-umba Frank Lacy - trombone
Philip Harper - trumpet
Michael Rabinowitz - bassoon
John Clark - French horn
Doug Yates - bass clarinet
Freddie Bryant - guitar
Dezron Douglas - bass
Tommy Campbell - drums
The absorbing jazz–meets–classical sounds of the Mingus Orchestra will fill Jazz Standard tonight. “Mingus generates and keeps generating such personal force that if you have been listening to jazz at all, it is almost impossible not to recognize his bass, his compositions, his small combos and his orchestras instantly,” wrote critic and author Nat Hentoff in the 1970s. “Like Duke. Like Monk. And like them, unlike anybody.”
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW