SETS NIGHTLY AT 7:30 & 9:30
FRI & SAT, THIRD SET AT 11:30
Wednesday - Thursday September 1 - 2
“Transcend” – The Cecil McBee Band with special guest Eddie Henderson
Cecil McBee has been one of the most in-demand bass players on the New York scene for more than 40 years, “a full–toned bassist who creates rich, singing phrases in a wide range of contemporary jazz contexts” (The Guinness Who’s Who of Jazz). His voluminous list of recording credits includes such classics as Action by Jackie McLean (1964), Forest Flower by Charles Lloyd (1966), Live at the East by Pharaoh Sanders (1972), Compulsion!! by Andrew Hill (1965), and Expansions by Lonnie Liston Smith (1974). This is a special return engagement of the same group as last September’s standing-room only shows with Cecil as the leader of a generations–spanning quintet featuring special guest trumpeter Eddie Henderson; and saxophonist Noah Preminger, whose Dry Bridge Road CD was perhaps the most acclaimed jazz debut of 2009.
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Friday - Sunday September 3 - 5
MOSE ALLISON TRIO [SHOWS AT 7:30 & 9:30 ONLY]
Singer/songwriter/pianist Mose Allison (born 1927 in the Mississippi Delta hamlet of Tippo) has never retired from live performance, but by 2009 he’d gone for a decade without recording a new studio album. Producer Joe Henry (who’d worked wonders with Bettye LaVette and Solomon Burke) lured him back to create The Way of the World (Anti-). “The result,” wrote Ben Greenman in The New Yorker, “is a late–life triumph that sits comfortably along¬side Allison’s other records—which is to say that it sits happily at an uncomfortable intersection of blues, jazz, and pop.” Jazz Standard welcomes back Mose Allison, a true American original!
Tickets: $30 - PURCHASE NOW
Monday - Tuesday September 6 - 7
Jazz Standard Closed
Wednesday September 8
FRANK KIMBROUGH TRIO
Pianist and composer Frank Kimbrough returns to our stage for this special one–night stand spotlighting the music of Rumors – no, not the Fleetwood Mac zillion–seller but his “casually sumptuous new album” (Nate Chinen, The New York Times) on Palmetto Records. For this recording, Frank reconvened (after a lengthy hiatus) his trio with Masa Kamaguchi on bass and Jeff Hirshfield on drums. “A master of making penetrating statements with small, informal gestures, Kimbrough is in a characteristically reflective state” on Rumors, wrote Lloyd Sachs in Downbeat. “With Kamaguchi’s resonant, hard–edged sound and Hirshfield’s agile attack, the trio leaves a bold im¬print even when the name of the game is underplay. They draw from the songs an affecting, lived–in quality, the hallmark of musicians who trust as well as know each other on a deep level.”
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Thursday - Sunday September 9 - 12
RENE MARIE
Rene Marie’s February 2010 run at Jazz Standard was such a rousing success that we couldn’t wait any longer to bring her back to Manhattan from her home base in Denver, Colorado. Hailed by Jazz Times as “one of the most sensuous songbirds ever captured on disc,” Rene’s repertoire runs the gamut from jazz transformations of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” and Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” to originals like “Colorado River Song” and her stunning Nina Simone tribute “O Nina.” “I have never forgotten the early lessons learned about the power of music,” says Rene Marie. “Today, I try to imbue that feeling of emotion into every song I write, every song I sing, every time.”
Tickets: $30 - PURCHASE NOW
Monday September 13
MINGUS BIG BAND
Our Mingus Mondays residency continues with the most exciting and exploratory big band on the scene today…and yesterday…and tomorrow. "My music is as var¬ied as my feelings are, or the world is,” wrote Charles Mingus in his liner notes for Blues & Roots (Atlantic, 1960), “and one composition or one kind of composition ex¬presses only part of the total world of my music. The greatness of jazz is that is an art of the moment.”
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday - Wednesday September 14 - 15
MARC CARY FOCUS TRIO
Focus Trio Live 2009 (Motéma Music) is the latest release by the multi–dimensional keyboardist Marc Cary, the next step in his ongoing musical explorations. Recorded live at select festivals across Europe and the US, Focus Trio Live 2009 features Sameer Gupta (tabla, drums). The music fuses East Asian, Indian, African, and Native American influences within the African-American blues and jazz traditions. Marc Cary is a four–time Grammy Award nominee for his work on albums like Stefon Harris’ Blackout. His artistic collaborations range across the board to include projects with Meshell Ndegeocello, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, Erykah Badu, Max Roach, Shirley Horn, Ani DiFranco, Wynton Marsalis, and Roy Hargrove, among others.
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Thursday - Sunday September 16 - 19
STEVE GROSSMAN QUARTET
In November 2009, it was our great privilege to present European expatriate Steve Grossman in his first New York appearance in over fifteen years. Steve’s stirring performances turned out to be among the major highlights of the city’s jazz year. Reviewing that engagement for The New York Times, Nate Chinen praised Steve Grossman’s “distinctive voice” and compared his “masculine caress of the melody” (on a version of Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood”) to vintage Dexter Gordon. The 18–year–old saxophonist replaced Wayne Shorter in the Miles Davis band, and he appears on such groundbreaking albums as A Tribute To Jack Johnson, Miles At Fillmore, and Live-Evil. Steve went on to play with Lonnie Liston Smith and Elvin Jones; he emerged as a leader with such acclaimed albums as Some Shapes to Come (1973), Perspective (1974), and the first of his many record¬ings for the Dreyfus label, In New York (1991, with McCoy Tyner and Art Taylor).
Tickets: $25/$30 Friday & Saturday- PURCHASE NOW
Monday September 20
MINGUS ORCHESTRA
With its blend of jazz and classical instrumentation, the Mingus Orchestra is up to the challenge of even its name¬sake’s most complex compositions. “Even without this gigantic personality Charles Mingus had, that personality is in the music and all the musicians will tell you that. It's so personal and emotional and at the same time it leaves all these spaces for these other musicians to come in to put in their own personality and individuality to the music. Which is why the guys have so much fun with it and why it is more modern than the many great composers in jazz.” (Susan Graham Mingus)
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday - Wednesday September 21 - 22
ANTONIO SANCHEZ QUARTET
Born in Mexico City and a professional musician since his early teens, Antonio Sanchez is one of the most creative and dynamic drummers in jazz today. The three–time Grammy Award winner has performed and recorded with such major names as Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden, and Gary Burton; he’s earned an equally stellar reputation as a teacher and drum clinic instructor. This Jazz Standard engagement cele¬brates the release of a new Antonio Sanchez CD (a 2-CD set), Live at Jazz Standard (CAM Jazz). Believe Pat Metheny when he says: “Every generation, a guy comes along who distills the language and everything that preceded him in a very individual way. Bill Stewart and Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts in the last ten years did that, and Antonio Sanchez is doing it for this next round of drummers.”
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Thursday - Sunday September 23 - 26
TAYLOR EIGSTI TRIO + BECCA STEVENS
with special guests JULIAN LAGE (9/23), GRETCHEN PARLATO and GERALD CLAYTON (9/26)
With the September 21st release of his new Concord Jazz album Daylight At Midnight, Taylor Eigsti takes not only his music but perhaps jazz itself in striking new creative directions. “I love jazz standards, and I’ve grown up lis¬tening to a lot of them,” the pianist explains. “For this album however, I’m excited to take a step away from them, and I’ve tried to find some songs not necessarily associated with the American Songbook that would serve as great vehicles for emotional expression, improvisation, and interaction within the group.” Taylor’s selections range from Coldplay (“Daylight”) and Nick Drake (“Pink Moon”) to Rufus Wainwright (“The Art Teacher”) and Feist (“The Water”) as well as “Secreto” by the Spanish Catalan composer Federico Mompou (1893–1987). Taylor also has a secret special guest lined up for his 26th birthday on the 24th!
Tickets: $25/$30 Friday & Saturday - PURCHASE NOW
Monday September 27
MINGUS BIG BAND
“Whenever you feel gloomy about the future of jazz, try to catch the mavericks gathered by Charles Mingus’ inde¬fatigable widow, Sue. Many repertory bands can deliver note–perfect but lifeless reproductions of old glories. Mingus’ heirs stay as true to the restless spirit of the originals as anyone could possibly hope for.” (Clive Davis, The Times of London Online)
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday - Wednesday September 28 - 29
THE JAZZ PASSENGERS with special guests MARC RIBOT (9/28) & DEBBIE HARRY (9/29)
With their heady mixture of expert musicianship and witty invention, the Jazz Passengers “often suggest a perverse mainstream band, a hard–bop group as imagined by Frank Zappa” (Bob Blumenthal, The Boston Globe). Founded by saxophonist Roy Nathanson and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, the Jazz Passengers have been entertaining audiences around the world for more than two decades. Now, Jazz Standard and Justin Time Records herald the new release of Reunited, the first new Jazz Passengers recording in 12 years! This special engagement features the group in its original incarnation along with special guest vocalist Debbie Harry (9/29), the fabled front-woman of Blondie. Titled after the old Peaches & Herb R&B ballad, Reunited refers also to the return of original guitarist Marc Ribot (9/28), who has performed and recorded with a who’s-who of music including Tom Waits, Wilson Pickett, Elvis Costello, Marianne Faithful and John Zorn. On disc and on stage, the Jazz Passengers will make sparks fly!
Tickets: $25 / $30 Tuesday & Wednesday - PURCHASE NOW
Thursday - Sunday September 30 - October 3
JOSHUA REDMAN TRIO
Joshua Redman’s Jazz Standard debut in October 2009 was the New York jazz event of the fall season, with sold–out houses and fabulous music. “Redman's set at the Jazz Standard showed tremendous equipoise, and the saxophonist wore the boutonniere of stardom so nonchalantly as to render it a useless ornament” (NPR Jazz). Turning 40 last year seems to have marked a turning point for the celebrated saxophonist, now “making some of the best music of his career” (Nate Chinen, New York Times). This week at Jazz Standard, Joshua, Matt, and Gregory will work from the blueprint of Redman’s acclaimed Nonesuch CD Compass to create some of the most exciting sounds by any jazz group working today.
Tickets: $35 - PURCHASE NOW