JAZZ COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE - Celebrating 10 years of Collaboration - Festival at the Jazz Standard

TUESDAY, MARCH 19

7:30PM - BEN ALLISON & SEVEN ARROWS: Ben Allison (bass), Ted Nash (saxophones), Ron Horton (trumpet), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Tim Horner (drums)

To open the Festival, Collective founder Ben Allison reunites the band heard on his debut recording as leader, Seven Arrows (Koch Jazz, 1996). For this outing, Ben will dust off some old favorites, including “Dragzilla" which has since been adopted by some of NYC's most well-respected drag queens as their official theme song. Can you think of a better way to kick off a jazzfest?

9:30PM - HERBIE NICHOLS PROJECT: Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Ted Nash (tenor saxophone), Michael Blake (soprano saxophone), Ron Horton (trumpet), Wycliffe Gordon (trombone), Tim Horner (drums)

Co-led by Frank Kimbrough and Ben Allison and premiered by the Jazz Composers Collective in 1994, the Herbie Nichols Project explores the music of the brilliant but under-recognized pianist-composer. For these Festival gigs (March 19 & 24), the band will draw from their comprehensive repertoire of Nichols' works, with a focus on his unrecorded and more obscure tunes, many of which can be heard on the Project's latest CD, Strange City (Palmetto Records).

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20

7:30PM - MICHAEL BLAKE's ELEVATED QUARTET celebrating the release of their new CD, Elevated: Michael Blake (saxophones), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Mike Mazor (drums)

9:30PM - MICHAEL BLAKE & FREE ASSOCIATION: Michael Blake (saxophones), Peck Allmond (tenor saxophone, trumpet), Ted Nash (saxophones), Ron Horton (trumpet), Marcus Rojas (tuba), Matt Munisteri (guitar), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Mauro Refosco (percussion), Matt Wilson (drums)

Lounge Lizards veteran Michael Blake approaches his bands as works-in-progress, drawing inspiration from Roland Kirk, Fela Kuti, Duke Ellington and other great bandleaders. For the evening's first set, Michael and his Quartet will celebrate the release of their new CD, Elevated (Knitting Factory Records). On the second set, he'll be joined by the members of his band Free Association, playing music from their 2001 release, Drift (Intuition Music), and some newer works he has developed thanks to a grant from the Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project/Chamber Music America.

THURSDAY, MARCH 21

7:30 / 9:30PM - FRANK KIMBROUGH TRIO: Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Matt Wilson (drums)

The trio format is Frank Kimbrough's favorite mode of expression. For these performances, Frank and his trio will perform music from their soon-to-be-released CD, Quickening (Omnitone Records), which was recorded live at a Jazz Composers Collective concert in 1999. In addition to Frank's originals, the group is also known to play new takes on old standards, the music of composers like Jimmy Giuffre, Ornette Coleman and Annette Peacock, and group improvisations created in the moment.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22

7:30PM / 10:30 / 11:30PM - BEN ALLISON & MEDICINE WHEEL with special guest Mamadou Diabate: Ben Allison (bass), Michael Blake (saxophones), Ted Nash (saxophones), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Tomas Ulrich (cello), Matt Wilson (drums), Mamadou Diabate (kora)

Ben Allison debuted his adventurous Medicine Wheel ensemble at an April 1996 Collective concert. Since that time, he has gone on to record three CDs with the group for Palmetto Records - Medicine Wheel (1998), Third Eye (1999), and his latest, Riding the Nuclear Tiger (2001) - and has toured extensively in the U.S. and abroad. Ben's compositional vision is forward-looking and panoramic in scope, but he also has a knack for focusing his band's attention on the details. For these performances, Ben will be joined by Malian kora master Mamadou Diabate, and will play music from recordings past and future.

SATURDAY, MARCH 23

7:30PM / 10:30 / 11:30PM - TED NASH QUINTET: Ted Nash (saxophones), Marcus Printup (trumpet), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Tim Horner (drums)

Although Ted Nash has earned a solid reputation as a first-call sideman for such notables as Mel Lewis, Joe Lovano, Marcus Roberts, and currently Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, his recent recordings - Sidewalk Meeting (2001) and Rhyme and Reason (1999) both on Arabesque Records - showcase his own impressive leadership skills as a player, composer, and arrranger. For these performances, Ted will premiere some new works and newly arranged material that he has been developing for his Quintet.

SUNDAY, MARCH 24

7PM - RON HORTON QUARTET: Ron Horton (trumpet), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Matt Wilson (drums)

Ron Horton is considered around town as the quintessential musician's musician, well known for his work with groups led by some of today's most creative composers such as Jane Ira Bloom and most recently Andrew Hill. Through his work with the Collective, Ron has emerged as a composer and bandleader in his own right, as evidenced by his critically acclaimed recording, Genius Envy (Omnitone Records). For this debut performance of his new Quartet, he will perform some new works, along with some of the music heard on Genius Envy.

9PM - HERBIE NICHOLS PROJECT: Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Ted Nash (tenor saxophone), Michael Blake (soprano saxophone), Ron Horton (trumpet), Wycliffe Gordon (trombone), Matt Wilson (drums)

See above (March 19).

THE JAZZ COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE - CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF NEW MUSIC (1992-2002)
Established in 1992, the Jazz Composers Collective is a non-profit, musician-run organization dedicated to presenting original music according to the vision of participating composers and musicians, while making it accessible to a diverse audience. To date, the Collective has presented nearly 100 concerts featuring the works of 45 composers, the participation of over 160 musicians, and the premiere performances of more than several hundred compositions.