Mentoring Opportunity for Female Instrumentalists at Jazz Gallery 4/24 with Sarah Manning

On Thursday, April 24th, 2008, saxophonist and composer Sarah Manning's Shatter the Glass will return to the Jazz Gallery for two sets. Female instrumentalists can apply to attend the performance of Manning's compositions featuring Art Hirahara on piano, Thomson Kneeland on bass and Kyle Struve on drums, as a special guest of the band. Attend the private sound check, meet the Shatter the Glass members, and gain free admission to the show.

Any female instrumentalist of any age is eligible. You don't need to be a professional, and you don't need to play jazz although you must have an interest in it. Guest will be chosen from applicants with the goal of finding who might benefit the most at this time in their musical development. Entries are due by Friday, April 18th and can be found at shattertheglass.org under the heading “Advocacy".

According to Grammy nominated pianist Jessica Williams, “If there is to be jazz in our future, it'll be because of musicians like saxophonist and composer Sarah Manning. She's a player to listen to, starting right now." This young saxophonist and composer has produced two albums of her original compositions and headlined top venues from Yoshi's in Oakland, California to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz. Her latest release, Live at Yoshi's: Two Rooms Same Door (ArtistShare 2006), led to a June 2007 profile in Down Beat Magazine. In the liner notes to her first album Nat Hentoff commented, “Sarah Manning can swing as naturally as she breathes...Manning plays - and writes - in what is unmistakably her own voice."

Since Shatter the Glass debuted at the Jazz Gallery last August, Sarah Manning has relocated to the East Coast from San Francisco, closing the 3000 mile gap and intensifying the group's focus on achieving that elusive goal in today's jazz world - a working, stable group that through rehearsals and philosophy lives and breathes on stage as a musical unit. Shatter the Glass was born in the summer of 2007 in an intensive four-day residency of open rehearsals and a concert at the Center for the Arts in Northampton, Massachusetts. Last November, they brought their concept to the Oakland Museum of California at the intimate James Moore Theatre. Leading by example and through direct mentoring, Shatter the Glass advocates against the misconception that women are somehow “the other" in jazz, as demonstrated by the many “Women in Jazz" festivals and events that marginalize their contributions.

For more information on the April 24th date, and the mission of Shatter the Glass, please visit shattertheglass.org Sets start at 9PM and 10:30PM. The Jazz Gallery is located at 290 Hudson Street, NY, NY. Tickets are $12 for the general public and $10 for Jazz Gallery members. They can be purchased at jazzgallery.org or by calling (212) 242-1063.

Downloadable photos available at sarahmanningmusic.com