Tyshawn Sorey is quickly earning a reputation as a bandleader, composer and multi- instrumentalist. The New York Times' Ben Ratliff called a recent performance by Sorey's band Oblique “hot with its own life force," and he has premiered many of his own works as a solo pianist at such notable New York venues as The Stone and the Vision Festival. Commissioned pieces for a variety of ensemble formats are scheduled for premiere in 2008. Sorey first earned critical notice as the drummer in groups such as Steve Coleman & Five Elements, Dave Douglas' NOMAD, Fieldwork, and Pete Robbins & Centric. He has also performed with Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton, George Garzone, Vijay Iyer, Misha Mengelberg and Wadada Leo Smith among many others. His quartet features Ben Gerstein (trombone), Cory Smythe (keyboards) and Thomas Morgan (bass).
Critics have called Taylor Ho Bynum “a strong cornetist and serious-minded composer with experimental tendencies" (Nate Chinen, The New York Times) and “an agile and creative improviser who sounds like no one but himself" (Chris Kelsey, JazzTimes). His sextet, which AllAboutJazz-New York's David R. Adler recently described as “virtuosity on its own terms," is committed to further exploring the extensions of composition and improvisation pioneered by Duke Ellington, Charles Ives and Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), but with a trickster sensibility and a third millennium flavor. Bynum is touring in April to support his two new recordings, The Middle Picture and True Events (482 Music), a duo CD with sextet drummer Tomas Fujiwara released on February 27th. This performance will feature Loren Kiyoshi Dempster (cello), Jessica Pavone (viola, electric bass), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Evan O'Reilly (guitar), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums).
About Firehouse 12:
Firehouse 12 is an award-winning bar, state of the art recording studio and unusually intimate music venue located in New Haven's historic Ninth Square District. Its distinctive 75-seat performance space, located inside the recording studio, offers world-class acoustics and unprecedented technical possibilities to both listeners and performers. Many of the most respected names in jazz and creative improvised music have performed at Firehouse 12 since it opened its doors in April 2005.
The local media has called it “a steamy source of bold new music" (Owen McNally, Hartford Courant), noting both its “astutely stylish, updated-classic aesthetic" (Hugh Elton, New Haven Advocate) and its dedicated fan base of “people who bring near-religious reverence to the music, producing an exchange of energy that often fires great performances" (Regina DeAngelo, New Haven Independent).
In 2007, Firehouse 12's owner/producer/recording engineer Nick Lloyd joined forces with acclaimed cornetist/composer Taylor Ho Bynum to found Firehouse 12 Records, a label dedicated to capturing creative music in its native environment. The label, which officially launches on April 3rd with the release of its first two titles, intends to produce a variety of physical and digital-only releases, including music recorded live during recent performances at Firehouse 12.
The Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet's The Middle Picture (FH12-04-01-002) and 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (FH12-04-03-001), the highly anticipated 9-CD box set documenting the Anthony Braxton 12+1tet's week-long run at Iridium in March 2006, are the label's inaugural releases. More projects are planned for fall, including new recordings by the Peter Evans Quartet, the Tyshawn Sorey Quartet, and Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble. Downloadable audio and video samplers of performances from the venue's 2006 Fall Jazz Series are also in the works.
For more information contact Improvised Communications.
