CONNECTION WORKS PRESENTS The 4th SEASON OF BROOKLYN JAZZ WIDE OPEN @ LITTLEFIELD
Littlefield is located at is located at 622 Degraw Street between 3rd and 4th Ave in Brooklyn
“Celebrate music by being a part of the concert series that 'Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open' provides for the community at large!!! We need each other to carry on... Sounds & Feelings"—jazz legend Joe Lovano
“Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open is not just another concert series. One of the elements that makes it special-for both the audience and the musicians-is that artists are invited to discuss their process and answer questions as they arise. This creates a natural, relaxed atmosphere in which the barriers between audience and performers are removed and true understanding and appreciation can take place."—Eileen Willis, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open 2010/2011:
October 13, 2010
John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble feat. Kate McGarry (8 & 9:30PM)
WORKS (Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly, Rob Garcia) with special guest Tony Malaby (11PM)
November 10, 2010
Anat Cohen Quartet (8 & 9:30PM)
WORKS with special guests Ralph Alessi and Chris Lightcap (11PM)
December 15, 2010
Musical Dialogues with Joseph Jarman (8PM)
WORKS with special guest Joseph Jarman (9:30PM)
Ron Horton/Tim Horner—Andrew Hill Project (11PM)
February 9, 2011
TBA
March 9, 2011
Musical Dialogues with Dave Liebman (8PM)
WORKS with special guests Dave Liebman & John Hebert (9:30 & 11PM)
April 13, 2011
Musical Dialogues with Joe Lovano (8PM)
WORKS with special guest, Joe Lovano (9:30 & 11PM)
May 11, 2011
Joel Harrison Large Ensemble (8PM)
Presenting a new work commissioned by Connection Works
with assistance from Meet The Composer
WORKS with special guests 9:30 & 11PM)
CONNECTION WORKS, one of the leaders in the growing movement of artist-run organizations, proudly announces the 2010/2011 season of Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open, the distinguished concert and dialogue series, now in its fourth season, scheduled to take place at Brooklyn's newest, hippest, and most environmentally friendly venue, Littlefield. The 2010/2011 Fall/Winter series will take place on Wednesdays, October 13 (John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble/WORKS withTony Malaby), November 10 (Anat Cohen, WORKS withRalph Alessi and Chris Lightcap), December 15 (WORKS with special guest Joseph Jarman, plus Ron Horton/Tim Horner—Andrew Hill Project), February 9 (TBA), March 9 (WORKS withDave Liebman and John Hebert), April 13 (WORKS withJoe Lovano & TBA) and May 11 (Joel Harrison Large Ensemble, WORKS with special guests).
Connection Works' Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open concert series, provides Brooklyn with events meriting large-scale international attention, maintaining the highest standards in performance and education, presented in a community-based format. The dialogues provide the audience a rare opportunity to interact with musical icons as they share their experience and artistic processes, while the workshops allow young musicians to perform, and receive feedback from seasoned professionals. Since 2007, the Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open series has presented workshops, master-classes and concerts featuring artists such as Joe Lovano, Fly (with Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard), Adam Kolker Quartet with John Abercrombie and Billy Hart, Dafnis Prieto Quartet, Yosvany Terry Quartet, Wycliffe Gordon Quartet, Dave Liebman Quartet, Anat Cohen/Howard Alden Quartet, Steve Coleman and Five Elements and Gene Bertoncini.
Notes on the artists:
October 13 @ 8 & 9:30PM—The John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble featuring Kate McGarry. Hollenbeck is one of the rare artists who have mastered the tradition of big band composition while crossing aesthetic borderlines and speaking directly to the time we live in today. The second CD by John Hollenbeck's Large Ensemble, eternal interlude, the follow-up to the Grammy-nominated A Blessing, is an audacious example of the power of big band jazz to express emotions well beyond swing-era clichés. According to Nate Chinen of The New York Times, “Hollenbeck inhabits a world of gleaming modernity, and “Eternal Interlude" (Sunnyside), the second album featuring his Large Ensemble, reflects both the clarity and brightness of his vision. Timbre is his forte as much as rhythm: his strategies for the band often involve an autumnal rustle of woodwinds and a billowing swirl of brass. On the superb 19-minute title track he creates a gossamer shimmer of flutes, clarinets, piano and marimba; on The Cloud he finds use for a chorus of whistlers."
The John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble consists of Ben Kono (flute, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone), Jeremy Viner (clarinet), Tony Malaby (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone), Dan Willis (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, English horn), Bohdan Hilash (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet), Rob Hudson (trombone), Mike Christianson (trombone), Jacob Garchik (trombone), Jeff Nelson (bass trombone), Jon Owens (trumpet), Tony Kadleck (trumpet), Dave Ballou (trumpet), Laurie Frink (trumpet), Kermit Driscoll (bass), John Hollenbeck (drums), Gary Versace (piano), Matt Moran (mallets), Theo Bleckmann (voice), Kate McGarry (voice), and J.C. Sanford (conductor).
October 13 @ 11PM—WORKS (Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly, Rob Garcia featuring special guest, Tony Malaby. Tony Malaby has been a major force on the creative, improvised music scene since arriving in New York in 1995. He has over ten recordings released as a leader and his debut CD Sabino made The New York Times and Philadelphia City Paper's top ten jazz lists for 2000. He has also been a member of many notable jazz groups including Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra, Paul Motian's Electric Bebop Band, Mark Helias' Open Loose, Fred Hersch's quintet and Walt Whitman project, Michell Portal's Birdwatcher, various projects with Daniel Humair and bands led by Mario Pavone, Tim Berne, Chris Lightcap, Kris Davis, Angelica Sanchez, Michael Attias and Marty Ehrlich.
November 10 @ 8 & 9:30PM—Anat Cohen Quartet. Anat Cohen recently won her 4th consecutive “Clarinetist of the Year" award from the Jazz Journalists Association! (the first time an artist has won this award 4 years in a row). As she so aptly demonstrates on her new CD, Clarinetwork Live at the Village Vanguard, Anat is building upon the clarinet's storied role in jazz music while helping to define the jazz clarinet for the 21st century. “Never short on bluesiness and grit, Cohen clearly knows how to wail, and she has never sounded more nuanced." 4 stars—Ed Enright, DownBeat. “There are not many musicians on today's scene who communicate such a genuine joy in what they do."—Dan Morgenstern. “Bristles with invention."—Gary Giddins, The Village Voice
November 10 @ 11PM—WORKS (Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly, Rob Garcia featuring special guests, Ralph Alessi and Chris Lightcap. Ralph Alessi, a frequent collaborator of artists such as Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, Uri Caine, Fred Hersch, Jason Moran, Drew Gress, Scott Colley, Dafnis Prieto, James Carney, Brad Shepik and many others, is also a forward thinking bandleader, having issued five recordings of original music. JazzTimes named his debut outing one of the ten best recordings of 2002 and called his writing, “as clean and airy and sophisticated and disciplined as post-modern progressive jazz gets." All About Jazz dubbed his 2007 release Look, “an outstanding work of intellect and fire."
Bassist and composer Chris Lightcap, featured on over fifty recordings to date, has collaborated with Marc Ribot, Regina Carter, Craig Taborn, Mark Turner, John Scofield, Dave Liebman, Paquito D'Rivera, Joe Morris, Sheila Jordan, James Carter, Butch Morris, Ben Monder, Tom Harrell and many others. Since 1998 he has also led his own groups and produced three critically acclaimed albums of original music. In 1998 he assembled his own group, featuring Gerald Cleaver, Tony Malaby and Bill McHenry. The debut that followed, Lay-Up, was released in 2000 and dubbed “one of the year's winners" by The New York Times. Lightcap is currently performing with his group, Bigmouth, featuring Tony Malaby and Chris Cheek on tenor saxophones, Craig Taborn on keyboards and Gerald Cleaver on drums. The band's new CD, Deluxe has garnered a rave review in The New York Times, as well as high praise in DownBeat, The Newark Star Ledger and All About Jazz.
December 15 @ 8 (Musical dialogues) & 9:30PM—WORKS (Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly, Rob Garcia featuring special guest, Joseph Jarman. Joseph Jarman is best known as one of the founding members of The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and The Art Ensemble of Chicago. He joined pianist Muhal Richard Abrams' Experimental Band (formed in 1961), alongside his future Art Ensemble compatriots Malachi Favors and Roscoe Mitchell. Starting around 1967, Jarman was one of the first saxophonists to perform solo, a tactic also embraced by other members of the AACM, notably Anthony Braxton. Jarman led his own groups from 1966-1968, recording a pair of albums for Delmark. In 1967 he also recorded with Lester Bowie and the other musicians who would become the Art Ensemble (Bowie, Mitchell and Malachi Favors), which became Jarman's primary creative outlet until 1993. Upon leaving the Art Ensemble, Jarman virtually retired from music, in order to devote himself more completely to spiritual matters. As the '90s progressed, however, he did continue to perform and record, often as a guest with such musicians as Marilyn Crispell, guitarist/ composer Scott Fields, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Lou Grassi, returning to The Art Ensemble in January, 2003.
December 15 @ 11PM—Ron Horton/Tim Horner—Andrew Hill Project. Since 1982, trumpeter Ron Horton has been an integral part of New York's flourishing jazz scene and he stands out both as an exemplary instrumentalist and as a highly progressive composer and arranger. Whether called upon as a sideman or as a leader of one of his own ensembles, he shows that he is committed to further expanding the existing perimeters of jazz. Since moving to NYC in 1980 Tim Horner has utilized his experience, knowledge and skills to become one of the City's, and the world's, most in-demand drummers, working with the likes of Warne Marsh, Hank Jones, George Mraz, Joe Locke, Frank Kimbrough, Ted Nash, Ben Allison, Wynton Marsalis, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Rufus Reid and many others.
Ron Horton's love and deep knowledge of the music of Andrew Hill comes from his firsthand experience with the pianist as a member of his septet from 1983-2000. During that time Horton was an indispensable part of two albums as a player and co-arranger, Dusk, and A Beautiful Day (both on Palmetto). Later, as an active member of the Jazz Composers Collective, he continued his creative arrangements of Hill's music, eventually leading to teaming up with fellow Berklee alumnus, drummer Tim Horner, to assemble a group of sympathetic and talented musicians to play those arrangements.
More about WORKS, the resident ensemble of Connection Works. The group consists of flutist Michel Gentile, pianist Daniel Kelly and drummer Rob Garcia, all of whom compose for the group. They perform as a trio as well as with special guests including, Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Joseph Jarman, Tony Malaby, John Hebert, Loren Stillman and Bill McHenry.
For the past decade, drummer Rob Garcia has brought his superb skills and subtly dynamic rhythmic sense to an assortment of jazz-based, creative ensembles; collaborating with stellar artists such as: Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Wynton Marsalis, Joseph Jarman, Diana Krall, Anat Cohen, Woody Allen, Howard Alden, Lynne Arriale, Dave Binney, Ben Monder, Donny McCaslin, Marty Erhlich, Chris Cheek, Myra Melford, and Vince Giordano among others.
Rob is an inspired composer and bandleader in his own right. His latest CD, Perennial (BJUR 012; with Noah Preminger, Dan Tepfer, and Chris Lightcap) was listed in the “10 Best Jazz Albums of 2009" by The New York Observer. He has also received grants from Meet The Composer and NYSCA to support his group's performances. Rob's other releases include, Place of Resonance (CAP 950), which features Dave Kikoski and Mike Formanek, and Heart's Fire (CWR 101).
Artist-run organizations are a new and successful trend in the jazz world, and Rob has been a major force in this new way for jazz to continue and thrive. He is the founder and executive director of Connection Works, and a member of the Douglass Street Music Collective, an artist-run rehearsal and performance space, featuring some of New York's most creative and cutting edge musicians/composers. He is also a new member of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground, an association of independent artists with a shared commitment to creativity and community.
Flutist and composer Michel Gentile is an active member of the New York jazz scene. He received his Master of Music degree with distinction from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Jimmy Giuffre, Dave Holland, Geri Allen, Mick Goodrick, and George Garzone. Michel has recorded and performed with Fred Hersch, Anthony Braxton, Dave Kikoski, Bobby Previte, Jane Ira Bloom, Harvie Swartz, Michael Formanek, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joseph Jarman, and many others.
Michel has worked extensively with dance, theater, and film and has been featured on national radio and television throughout North America and is a member of the performance ensemble, Strike Anywhere.
Award-winning composer and pianist Daniel Kelly has developed his own personal and unique approach to jazz, Afro-Cuban music, and free improvisation using keyboards, samplers, and electronic sound manipulation as well as the acoustic piano. He has recorded or performed with a wide range of musicians, including David Gonzalez, Michael Brecker, Lauryn Hill, Ray Barretto, David Murray, Bobby Sanabria, William Parker, and John Zorn, and is currently a member of bands led by bassist Harvie S and drummer/composer Rob Garcia. Daniel has also performed several totally improvised solo piano concerts. He has recorded three highly acclaimed CDs of his own compositions, World, Duets with Ghosts, and Emerge, and many others as a sideman. He has also performed with other great musicians such as Donny McCaslin, David Binney, Christian Howes, Brad Shepik, Grammy-winner Nestor Torres, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kyaw-Kyaw Naing, Joel Harrison, and many others.
The Daniel Kelly Quartet, which showcases Daniel's genre-bending compositions, was awarded the 2007 Chamber Music America/ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award.
“This event is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, JPMorgan-Chase, and by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, all administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc. (BAC). Also by The Cary New Music Performance Fund administered by Meet The Composer."
MISSION STATEMENT: Connection Works is an artist-run non-profit organization (501c3) that engages the Brooklyn community with world-class jazz performances and educational events. Our programs promote and facilitate new work by established and up-and-coming artists alike. We provide a forum that supports the astonishing number of brilliant artists in our borough. We at Connection Works believe in and encourage the practice of creativity as a means to nourish the mind, body, and spirit. Connection Works has received grants from: NYSCA, JPMorgan-Chase and DCA via The Brooklyn Arts Council, The Independence Community Foundation, Meet The Composer, and the James and Jill Cornell fund.
ABOUT LITTLEFIELD: Littlefield is a performance and art space in Brooklyn's Gowanus neighborhood nestled between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens. Housed in an old, 6200-square foot warehouse dating from the 1920s, Littlefield merges the Gowanus' industrial past with a sustainable future. These elements include a landscaped interior courtyard, sound walls formed from recycled rubber tires, a bar built from salvaged bowling alley lanes, and energy supplied by wind power. Future projects include a grey-water system and a landscaped roof that will reduce Littlefield's footprint to virtually zero while providing fresh ingredients for our menu. Coupled with an industrial/organic aesthetic is a state-of-the-art sound system designed for live music, art installations, and film screenings.
Musicians that have performed at Connection Works events include: Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Billy Hart, John Abercrombie, Vic Juris, Tony Marino, Marko Marcinko, Matt Dariau, Anat Cohen, Howard Alden, Wycliffe Gordon, Steve Coleman, Gene Bertoncini, Dafnis Prieto, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Dave Valentine, Tony Malaby, Nasheet Waits, John Hebert, Loren Stillman, Bill McHenry, Chris Lightcap, Dan Tepfer, Noah Preminger, Joe Martin, Dan Weiss, Avishai Cohen, Manuel Valera, Hans Glawishnig, Chris Tarry, Massimo Biolcati, Rodney Green, Judi Silvano, Michael Formanek, Gerry Hemingway, Bill O'Connell, Myra Casales, Kyoko Kitamura, Scott Lee, Gary Versace, Jeff Hirshfield, Andrew Rathburn, Jonathan Finlayson, Tim Albright, Jen Shyu, Miles Okazaki, Shane Endsley, Nir Felder, Briggan Krauss, Matt Pavolka, Nate Radley, Roland Schneider, Joel Frahm, Kenny Wessel, Jim Whitney, Yosvany Terry, Osmany Peredes, Obed Calvaire, Vince Giordano, Peck Allmond, Barney McAll, Aaron Diehl, Zaid Shukri, Joel Harrison, Fima Ephron, Jordan Perlson, Tareq Abboushi, Zafer Tawil, Barry Bryson, Herb Gardiner, Jack Stucky, Dave Ambrosio, Matt Renzi, Angelica Sanchez, Anders Nilsson, Nicki Denner, Anton Denner, Jennifer Vincent, Willie Martinez, Jorge Maldonado, Mark Miller, Christelle Durandy, Brahim Fribgane, Tony Romano, Adam Kolker, Joe Fitzgerald, Ben Monder, Adam Rudolph, Matt Wilson, Paul Sikivie, Jeff Lederer, Gilad Heckselman, Marcus Gilmore, Dave Scott, Gary Wang, Peter Apfelbaum, Patrice Blanchard, David Phelps, Daniel Kelly, Michel Gentile and Rob Garcia.
Our advisory board includes Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Woody Allen, Bill de Blasio, Dan Zanes, Joel Thome, and David Gonzalez.
Littlefield is located at is located at 622 Degraw Street between 3rd and 4th Ave in Brooklyn
“Celebrate music by being a part of the concert series that 'Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open' provides for the community at large!!! We need each other to carry on... Sounds & Feelings"—jazz legend Joe Lovano
“Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open is not just another concert series. One of the elements that makes it special-for both the audience and the musicians-is that artists are invited to discuss their process and answer questions as they arise. This creates a natural, relaxed atmosphere in which the barriers between audience and performers are removed and true understanding and appreciation can take place."—Eileen Willis, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open 2010/2011:
October 13, 2010
John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble feat. Kate McGarry (8 & 9:30PM)
WORKS (Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly, Rob Garcia) with special guest Tony Malaby (11PM)
November 10, 2010
Anat Cohen Quartet (8 & 9:30PM)
WORKS with special guests Ralph Alessi and Chris Lightcap (11PM)
December 15, 2010
Musical Dialogues with Joseph Jarman (8PM)
WORKS with special guest Joseph Jarman (9:30PM)
Ron Horton/Tim Horner—Andrew Hill Project (11PM)
February 9, 2011
TBA
March 9, 2011
Musical Dialogues with Dave Liebman (8PM)
WORKS with special guests Dave Liebman & John Hebert (9:30 & 11PM)
April 13, 2011
Musical Dialogues with Joe Lovano (8PM)
WORKS with special guest, Joe Lovano (9:30 & 11PM)
May 11, 2011
Joel Harrison Large Ensemble (8PM)
Presenting a new work commissioned by Connection Works
with assistance from Meet The Composer
WORKS with special guests 9:30 & 11PM)
CONNECTION WORKS, one of the leaders in the growing movement of artist-run organizations, proudly announces the 2010/2011 season of Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open, the distinguished concert and dialogue series, now in its fourth season, scheduled to take place at Brooklyn's newest, hippest, and most environmentally friendly venue, Littlefield. The 2010/2011 Fall/Winter series will take place on Wednesdays, October 13 (John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble/WORKS withTony Malaby), November 10 (Anat Cohen, WORKS withRalph Alessi and Chris Lightcap), December 15 (WORKS with special guest Joseph Jarman, plus Ron Horton/Tim Horner—Andrew Hill Project), February 9 (TBA), March 9 (WORKS withDave Liebman and John Hebert), April 13 (WORKS withJoe Lovano & TBA) and May 11 (Joel Harrison Large Ensemble, WORKS with special guests).
Connection Works' Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open concert series, provides Brooklyn with events meriting large-scale international attention, maintaining the highest standards in performance and education, presented in a community-based format. The dialogues provide the audience a rare opportunity to interact with musical icons as they share their experience and artistic processes, while the workshops allow young musicians to perform, and receive feedback from seasoned professionals. Since 2007, the Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open series has presented workshops, master-classes and concerts featuring artists such as Joe Lovano, Fly (with Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard), Adam Kolker Quartet with John Abercrombie and Billy Hart, Dafnis Prieto Quartet, Yosvany Terry Quartet, Wycliffe Gordon Quartet, Dave Liebman Quartet, Anat Cohen/Howard Alden Quartet, Steve Coleman and Five Elements and Gene Bertoncini.
Notes on the artists:
October 13 @ 8 & 9:30PM—The John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble featuring Kate McGarry. Hollenbeck is one of the rare artists who have mastered the tradition of big band composition while crossing aesthetic borderlines and speaking directly to the time we live in today. The second CD by John Hollenbeck's Large Ensemble, eternal interlude, the follow-up to the Grammy-nominated A Blessing, is an audacious example of the power of big band jazz to express emotions well beyond swing-era clichés. According to Nate Chinen of The New York Times, “Hollenbeck inhabits a world of gleaming modernity, and “Eternal Interlude" (Sunnyside), the second album featuring his Large Ensemble, reflects both the clarity and brightness of his vision. Timbre is his forte as much as rhythm: his strategies for the band often involve an autumnal rustle of woodwinds and a billowing swirl of brass. On the superb 19-minute title track he creates a gossamer shimmer of flutes, clarinets, piano and marimba; on The Cloud he finds use for a chorus of whistlers."
The John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble consists of Ben Kono (flute, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone), Jeremy Viner (clarinet), Tony Malaby (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone), Dan Willis (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, English horn), Bohdan Hilash (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet), Rob Hudson (trombone), Mike Christianson (trombone), Jacob Garchik (trombone), Jeff Nelson (bass trombone), Jon Owens (trumpet), Tony Kadleck (trumpet), Dave Ballou (trumpet), Laurie Frink (trumpet), Kermit Driscoll (bass), John Hollenbeck (drums), Gary Versace (piano), Matt Moran (mallets), Theo Bleckmann (voice), Kate McGarry (voice), and J.C. Sanford (conductor).
October 13 @ 11PM—WORKS (Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly, Rob Garcia featuring special guest, Tony Malaby. Tony Malaby has been a major force on the creative, improvised music scene since arriving in New York in 1995. He has over ten recordings released as a leader and his debut CD Sabino made The New York Times and Philadelphia City Paper's top ten jazz lists for 2000. He has also been a member of many notable jazz groups including Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra, Paul Motian's Electric Bebop Band, Mark Helias' Open Loose, Fred Hersch's quintet and Walt Whitman project, Michell Portal's Birdwatcher, various projects with Daniel Humair and bands led by Mario Pavone, Tim Berne, Chris Lightcap, Kris Davis, Angelica Sanchez, Michael Attias and Marty Ehrlich.
November 10 @ 8 & 9:30PM—Anat Cohen Quartet. Anat Cohen recently won her 4th consecutive “Clarinetist of the Year" award from the Jazz Journalists Association! (the first time an artist has won this award 4 years in a row). As she so aptly demonstrates on her new CD, Clarinetwork Live at the Village Vanguard, Anat is building upon the clarinet's storied role in jazz music while helping to define the jazz clarinet for the 21st century. “Never short on bluesiness and grit, Cohen clearly knows how to wail, and she has never sounded more nuanced." 4 stars—Ed Enright, DownBeat. “There are not many musicians on today's scene who communicate such a genuine joy in what they do."—Dan Morgenstern. “Bristles with invention."—Gary Giddins, The Village Voice
November 10 @ 11PM—WORKS (Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly, Rob Garcia featuring special guests, Ralph Alessi and Chris Lightcap. Ralph Alessi, a frequent collaborator of artists such as Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, Uri Caine, Fred Hersch, Jason Moran, Drew Gress, Scott Colley, Dafnis Prieto, James Carney, Brad Shepik and many others, is also a forward thinking bandleader, having issued five recordings of original music. JazzTimes named his debut outing one of the ten best recordings of 2002 and called his writing, “as clean and airy and sophisticated and disciplined as post-modern progressive jazz gets." All About Jazz dubbed his 2007 release Look, “an outstanding work of intellect and fire."
Bassist and composer Chris Lightcap, featured on over fifty recordings to date, has collaborated with Marc Ribot, Regina Carter, Craig Taborn, Mark Turner, John Scofield, Dave Liebman, Paquito D'Rivera, Joe Morris, Sheila Jordan, James Carter, Butch Morris, Ben Monder, Tom Harrell and many others. Since 1998 he has also led his own groups and produced three critically acclaimed albums of original music. In 1998 he assembled his own group, featuring Gerald Cleaver, Tony Malaby and Bill McHenry. The debut that followed, Lay-Up, was released in 2000 and dubbed “one of the year's winners" by The New York Times. Lightcap is currently performing with his group, Bigmouth, featuring Tony Malaby and Chris Cheek on tenor saxophones, Craig Taborn on keyboards and Gerald Cleaver on drums. The band's new CD, Deluxe has garnered a rave review in The New York Times, as well as high praise in DownBeat, The Newark Star Ledger and All About Jazz.
December 15 @ 8 (Musical dialogues) & 9:30PM—WORKS (Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly, Rob Garcia featuring special guest, Joseph Jarman. Joseph Jarman is best known as one of the founding members of The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and The Art Ensemble of Chicago. He joined pianist Muhal Richard Abrams' Experimental Band (formed in 1961), alongside his future Art Ensemble compatriots Malachi Favors and Roscoe Mitchell. Starting around 1967, Jarman was one of the first saxophonists to perform solo, a tactic also embraced by other members of the AACM, notably Anthony Braxton. Jarman led his own groups from 1966-1968, recording a pair of albums for Delmark. In 1967 he also recorded with Lester Bowie and the other musicians who would become the Art Ensemble (Bowie, Mitchell and Malachi Favors), which became Jarman's primary creative outlet until 1993. Upon leaving the Art Ensemble, Jarman virtually retired from music, in order to devote himself more completely to spiritual matters. As the '90s progressed, however, he did continue to perform and record, often as a guest with such musicians as Marilyn Crispell, guitarist/ composer Scott Fields, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Lou Grassi, returning to The Art Ensemble in January, 2003.
December 15 @ 11PM—Ron Horton/Tim Horner—Andrew Hill Project. Since 1982, trumpeter Ron Horton has been an integral part of New York's flourishing jazz scene and he stands out both as an exemplary instrumentalist and as a highly progressive composer and arranger. Whether called upon as a sideman or as a leader of one of his own ensembles, he shows that he is committed to further expanding the existing perimeters of jazz. Since moving to NYC in 1980 Tim Horner has utilized his experience, knowledge and skills to become one of the City's, and the world's, most in-demand drummers, working with the likes of Warne Marsh, Hank Jones, George Mraz, Joe Locke, Frank Kimbrough, Ted Nash, Ben Allison, Wynton Marsalis, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Rufus Reid and many others.
Ron Horton's love and deep knowledge of the music of Andrew Hill comes from his firsthand experience with the pianist as a member of his septet from 1983-2000. During that time Horton was an indispensable part of two albums as a player and co-arranger, Dusk, and A Beautiful Day (both on Palmetto). Later, as an active member of the Jazz Composers Collective, he continued his creative arrangements of Hill's music, eventually leading to teaming up with fellow Berklee alumnus, drummer Tim Horner, to assemble a group of sympathetic and talented musicians to play those arrangements.
More about WORKS, the resident ensemble of Connection Works. The group consists of flutist Michel Gentile, pianist Daniel Kelly and drummer Rob Garcia, all of whom compose for the group. They perform as a trio as well as with special guests including, Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Joseph Jarman, Tony Malaby, John Hebert, Loren Stillman and Bill McHenry.
For the past decade, drummer Rob Garcia has brought his superb skills and subtly dynamic rhythmic sense to an assortment of jazz-based, creative ensembles; collaborating with stellar artists such as: Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Wynton Marsalis, Joseph Jarman, Diana Krall, Anat Cohen, Woody Allen, Howard Alden, Lynne Arriale, Dave Binney, Ben Monder, Donny McCaslin, Marty Erhlich, Chris Cheek, Myra Melford, and Vince Giordano among others.
Rob is an inspired composer and bandleader in his own right. His latest CD, Perennial (BJUR 012; with Noah Preminger, Dan Tepfer, and Chris Lightcap) was listed in the “10 Best Jazz Albums of 2009" by The New York Observer. He has also received grants from Meet The Composer and NYSCA to support his group's performances. Rob's other releases include, Place of Resonance (CAP 950), which features Dave Kikoski and Mike Formanek, and Heart's Fire (CWR 101).
Artist-run organizations are a new and successful trend in the jazz world, and Rob has been a major force in this new way for jazz to continue and thrive. He is the founder and executive director of Connection Works, and a member of the Douglass Street Music Collective, an artist-run rehearsal and performance space, featuring some of New York's most creative and cutting edge musicians/composers. He is also a new member of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground, an association of independent artists with a shared commitment to creativity and community.
Flutist and composer Michel Gentile is an active member of the New York jazz scene. He received his Master of Music degree with distinction from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Jimmy Giuffre, Dave Holland, Geri Allen, Mick Goodrick, and George Garzone. Michel has recorded and performed with Fred Hersch, Anthony Braxton, Dave Kikoski, Bobby Previte, Jane Ira Bloom, Harvie Swartz, Michael Formanek, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joseph Jarman, and many others.
Michel has worked extensively with dance, theater, and film and has been featured on national radio and television throughout North America and is a member of the performance ensemble, Strike Anywhere.
Award-winning composer and pianist Daniel Kelly has developed his own personal and unique approach to jazz, Afro-Cuban music, and free improvisation using keyboards, samplers, and electronic sound manipulation as well as the acoustic piano. He has recorded or performed with a wide range of musicians, including David Gonzalez, Michael Brecker, Lauryn Hill, Ray Barretto, David Murray, Bobby Sanabria, William Parker, and John Zorn, and is currently a member of bands led by bassist Harvie S and drummer/composer Rob Garcia. Daniel has also performed several totally improvised solo piano concerts. He has recorded three highly acclaimed CDs of his own compositions, World, Duets with Ghosts, and Emerge, and many others as a sideman. He has also performed with other great musicians such as Donny McCaslin, David Binney, Christian Howes, Brad Shepik, Grammy-winner Nestor Torres, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kyaw-Kyaw Naing, Joel Harrison, and many others.
The Daniel Kelly Quartet, which showcases Daniel's genre-bending compositions, was awarded the 2007 Chamber Music America/ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award.
“This event is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, JPMorgan-Chase, and by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, all administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc. (BAC). Also by The Cary New Music Performance Fund administered by Meet The Composer."
MISSION STATEMENT: Connection Works is an artist-run non-profit organization (501c3) that engages the Brooklyn community with world-class jazz performances and educational events. Our programs promote and facilitate new work by established and up-and-coming artists alike. We provide a forum that supports the astonishing number of brilliant artists in our borough. We at Connection Works believe in and encourage the practice of creativity as a means to nourish the mind, body, and spirit. Connection Works has received grants from: NYSCA, JPMorgan-Chase and DCA via The Brooklyn Arts Council, The Independence Community Foundation, Meet The Composer, and the James and Jill Cornell fund.
ABOUT LITTLEFIELD: Littlefield is a performance and art space in Brooklyn's Gowanus neighborhood nestled between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens. Housed in an old, 6200-square foot warehouse dating from the 1920s, Littlefield merges the Gowanus' industrial past with a sustainable future. These elements include a landscaped interior courtyard, sound walls formed from recycled rubber tires, a bar built from salvaged bowling alley lanes, and energy supplied by wind power. Future projects include a grey-water system and a landscaped roof that will reduce Littlefield's footprint to virtually zero while providing fresh ingredients for our menu. Coupled with an industrial/organic aesthetic is a state-of-the-art sound system designed for live music, art installations, and film screenings.
Musicians that have performed at Connection Works events include: Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Billy Hart, John Abercrombie, Vic Juris, Tony Marino, Marko Marcinko, Matt Dariau, Anat Cohen, Howard Alden, Wycliffe Gordon, Steve Coleman, Gene Bertoncini, Dafnis Prieto, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Dave Valentine, Tony Malaby, Nasheet Waits, John Hebert, Loren Stillman, Bill McHenry, Chris Lightcap, Dan Tepfer, Noah Preminger, Joe Martin, Dan Weiss, Avishai Cohen, Manuel Valera, Hans Glawishnig, Chris Tarry, Massimo Biolcati, Rodney Green, Judi Silvano, Michael Formanek, Gerry Hemingway, Bill O'Connell, Myra Casales, Kyoko Kitamura, Scott Lee, Gary Versace, Jeff Hirshfield, Andrew Rathburn, Jonathan Finlayson, Tim Albright, Jen Shyu, Miles Okazaki, Shane Endsley, Nir Felder, Briggan Krauss, Matt Pavolka, Nate Radley, Roland Schneider, Joel Frahm, Kenny Wessel, Jim Whitney, Yosvany Terry, Osmany Peredes, Obed Calvaire, Vince Giordano, Peck Allmond, Barney McAll, Aaron Diehl, Zaid Shukri, Joel Harrison, Fima Ephron, Jordan Perlson, Tareq Abboushi, Zafer Tawil, Barry Bryson, Herb Gardiner, Jack Stucky, Dave Ambrosio, Matt Renzi, Angelica Sanchez, Anders Nilsson, Nicki Denner, Anton Denner, Jennifer Vincent, Willie Martinez, Jorge Maldonado, Mark Miller, Christelle Durandy, Brahim Fribgane, Tony Romano, Adam Kolker, Joe Fitzgerald, Ben Monder, Adam Rudolph, Matt Wilson, Paul Sikivie, Jeff Lederer, Gilad Heckselman, Marcus Gilmore, Dave Scott, Gary Wang, Peter Apfelbaum, Patrice Blanchard, David Phelps, Daniel Kelly, Michel Gentile and Rob Garcia.
Our advisory board includes Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Woody Allen, Bill de Blasio, Dan Zanes, Joel Thome, and David Gonzalez.
