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ZZ Quartet
ZZ Quartet: Beyond the Lines
by Glenn Astarita
Three Europeans and celebrated American drummer Adam Nussbaum stir up some chutzpah via the guitar-accordion based format. In recent times the accordion's role in jazz-centric vernaculars has been expanding. And while this quartet doesn't invent a newfound genre, its spunky and articulate disposition, containing all original compositions engender a sophisticated outlook. With alternating tempos and several speedy unison choruses by guitarist Ratko Zjaca and accordionist Simone Zanchini, the band veers into changeable dimensions, largely executed within a sprightly modus operandi ...
Continue ReadingZZ Quartet: Beyond the Lines
by Dan Bilawsky
Croatian guitarist Ratko Zjaca and Italian accordionist Simone Zanchini hit artistic pay dirt when they teamed up for The Way We Talk (In + Out Records, 2010). They joined forces with Macedonian bassist Martin Gjakonovski and American drummer Adam Nussbaum for that album, creating a cross-cultural blend of music that speaks to specific musical idiosyncracies and universal truths in sound. Now, a few years after that initial encounter-on-record, this outfit returns with a follow-up that's just as pleasing and unique ...
Continue ReadingZZ Quartet: Beyond the Lines
by Dan McClenaghan
The group is called the ZZ Quartet, and no, it is not an expansion of the famed blues rock trio from Texas, ZZ Top. Beyond the Lines is the brainchild of the leaders--the Zs of the ZZ Quartet--accordion master Simone Zanchini and guitarist Ratko Zjaca. And their music isn't rock, though elements of the genre surface, in Zjaca's oft-imes snappy guitar licks, or when Zanchini addresses the “ah-look-at-all-the-lonely-people" bit of the Beatles' melody on the tranquil “River Spirit."Anytime ...
Continue ReadingSmoke Jazz Club Announces September 2026 Line-up Highlighted By Two Of Today’s Leading Trombonists And Mark Turner Quartet’s Album Release Show
Source:
AMT Public Relations
SMOKE Jazz Club announced an exciting line-up for September 2026. The month kickstarts with a longtime SMOKE audience favorite: pianist George Cables leading his Quartet with soulful vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles (Sep 2-6). For two consecutive weeks, a pair of master trombonists lead their respective sextets: Steve Davis (Sep 9-13) followed by Steve Turre (Sep 16-20). The month concludes with the return of Walter Smith III debuting an incredible ensemble slated to premiere a Chamber Music America-commissioned work (Sep 23-27) ...
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Judy Wexler Quartet Featuring Mitchel Forman At 1881, Saturday, August 1st
Source:
Mouthpiece Music
Vocalist Judy Wexler appears at Club 1881 in Pasadena, with Mitchel Forman (p), Blake White (b) & Kendall Kay (d). Vocal Jazz Nights at Club 1881, hosted by Judy Wexler, take place on the first and third Saturdays of the month, featuring some of Los Angeles' finest jazz vocalists. The series has been ongoing since February 2025. 1881 Club is located at 1881 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA. Ample free parking directly next door (Stater Bros. lot) Music ...
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New Multi-generational Jazz Quartet The Scornful Four Announce Debut Album And Launch Show
Source:
John Russell
The Scornful Four has recorded a new album of original compositions and improvisations, with a limited edition run of vinyl albums hitting the shelves of local record stores in July. Following on from their 2023 live album which launched the project/imprint that has become the landmark Jazz in Meanjin series, the band has taken the fire and spontaneity of live performance into the studio. Hopeful Music for Hopeless People is a two-sided reference: providing hope to those who feel like ...
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Grammy Award-Winning Branford Marsalis Quartet Headline JCAL's Annual Downtown Jamaica Riddim & Jazz Festival This Summer
Source:
Flowers PR Agency
This Summer, the Jamaica Center For Arts And Learning (JCAL)—Queens’ premier hub for the visual and performing arts—will present the return of the Downtown Jamaica Riddim & Jazz Festival, its annual outdoor celebration of music, culture, and community. Now in its fourth year, the festival has become a cornerstone of cultural and live entertainment in the Southeast Queens community—serving as a vibrant gathering point that connects artists and audiences through a diverse, genre-spanning lineup of jazz, soul, salsa, and global ...
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Announcing Smoke Jazz Club's January Line-up Including Joshua Redman Quartet, Brad Mehldau And More
Source:
AMT Public Relations
Hailed as the “#1 Jazz Club in New York City (SecretNYC),” SMOKE Jazz Club today announced an exciting line-up to kickstart the New Year starting with the highly anticipated club debut of Joshua Redman leading his stellar Quartet (Jan 7-11). The month continues with two of today’s leading pianists in rare solo and trio performances: Brad Mehldau (Jan 14-18) and Cyrus Chestnut (Jan 21-25). SMOKE’s new Steinway Spiriocast concert series continues with a Sunday afternoon solo piano show by Cyrus ...
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Skylark Quartet Release 'Luna Rossa Al Belvedere'
Source:
Matt Fripp
The Skylark Quartet returns with Luna Rossa al Belvedere, a richly expressive new album released in July 2025, featuring internationally acclaimed flugelhornist Matthieu Michel. Recorded in December 2024 at Unternehmen Mitte Studio, Basel, the album captures the group’s lyrical spirit and dynamic range, shaped by Mediterranean sounds, jazz tradition, and a touch of rock and free improvisation. Originally founded in 2021 under guitarist Samuele Sorana, the group evolved into a collective when bassist Tobias Melcher joined forces to present his ...
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Announcing Smoke Jazz Club's Line-up Of Shows In November 2025 Including The Billy Hart Quartet’s New Album Celebration, Pianists Joey Alexander And Bill Charlap, And More
Source:
AMT Public Relations
Hailed as the “#1 Jazz Club in New York City (SecretNYC),” SMOKE Jazz Club today announced its concert schedule for November 2025. The NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart celebrates his Quartet’s first live recording Multidirectional in a three-night album release celebration during Thanksgiving weekend. Across consecutive weeks, SMOKE presents two highly regarded pianists spanning the spectrum from rising voices to time-honored masters: the precocious 22-year-old Joey Alexander followed by veteran Bill Charlap. Other highlights this month include the return of ...
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Matthieu Mazué's 'Monoliths And Screens For Quartet' Now On Bandcamp!
Source:
Matthieu Mazue
À propos de la matière. In 2022, I was given the opportunity to expand my trio with the addition of saxophonist Michael Attias . As a composer, I’ve sought to translate into music some of the images that inspire me, and the word “Monoliths” came to me quite naturally. In April 2023, during a concert in Berlin, our band played for the first time a second series of pieces entitled “Screens.” If the word “Monoliths” immediately brought Stanley Kubrick to ...
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Arab-jazz Quartet Kinan Azmeh's Cityband Releases 'Live In Berlin,' February 28th
Source:
AMT Public Relations
Arab-Jazz Quartet KINAN AZMEH CITYBAND Announces Release of Live in Berlin Album Dedicated to the People of Syria Premiering Culturally Rich Original Works by Syrian-American Composer/Clarinetist Kinan Azmeh Album Release Show March 1 at Joe’s Pub in New York City Hailed as “intensely soulful (The New York Times)” and “spellbinding (The New Yorker),” Syrian-born, Brooklyn-based composer/clarinetist Kinan Azmeh has announced the February 28th release of his 14th album Live in Berlin (Dreyer Gaido), for which he reconvened his New York-based ...
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Backgrounder: Hank Mobley Quartet (1955)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley began recording in New York in 1953 as part of the Max Roach Sextette. The session was for Debut, a label founded a year earlier by Roach, bassist Charles Mingus and Mingus's then wife Celia. Mobley's first recording session for Blue Note came a year later as a sideman on The Horace Silver Quintet Vol. 1. In March 1955, Mobley recorded his first 10-inch Blue Note album as a leader—Hank Mobley Quartet. He was backed by ...
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