THE BROOKLYN JAZZ UNDERGROUND surfaces
The Brooklyn Jazz Underground, a newly formed collective, is an association of independent bandleaders with a shared commitment to improvised music. Through cooperative effort, members of the BJU strive to create greater awareness of their work
The Brooklyn Jazz Underground Launch Festival To Take Place @ Smalls - January 11-14 (see details below)
The Brooklyn Jazz Underground is: Alexis Cuadrado - www.alexiscuadrado.com, Shane Endsley - www.kneebody.com, Alan Ferber - www.alanferber.com, Anne Mette Iversen - www.annemetteiversen.com, Sunny Jain - www.jainsounds.com, Tanya Kalmanovitch - www.tanyakalmanovitch.com, Benny Lackner - www.bennylackner.com, Ted Poor - www.tedpoor.com, Dan Pratt - www.danpratt.com, Jerome Sabbagh - www.jeromesabbagh.com
For Immediate Release (Brooklyn, NY) - January 2007 will see the birth of The Brooklyn Jazz Underground, a new collective conceived in the spirit of a new, do-it-yourself music industry, and the emergence of myriad independent artists and record labels, spawning a creative boom which counts Brooklyn as one of its bastions of innovation and artistry. The Brooklyn Jazz Underground is a shining example of a vibrant, thriving, creative group that keeps jazz and improvised music perpetually evolving. Individually and collectively, they serve an important role in our culture and society by providing a bustle of composing, playing and teaching that enriches, delights, provokes, inspires and educates. By pooling their resources, and through cooperative effort, the members hope to create a greater awareness of their work.
From January 11th through the 14th at Smalls in Greenwich Village, NYC the group will present their first annual festival to officially launch The Brooklyn Jazz Underground, featuring all ten members leading their own ensembles in performances of original music. The Underground's first annual compilation CD will also be issued at this time. Other ambitions of the collective include becoming a charitable organization (plans are in the works to contribute to funds to benefit public school music programs), and to present a weekly residency in a NYC club featuring members' bands.
Catch members of The Brooklyn Jazz Underground at The IAJE: Panel: The Artists' Collective in Jazz: Unity and Diversity in the New York Scene, Thursday, January 11, 2007, at 4:00 PM, New York Ballroom West - Sheraton Hotel 3rd Floor. Tanya Kalmanovitch (moderator), Alexis Cuadrado and Alan Ferber will be joined by two founding members of the Jazz Composers' Collective, Ben Allison and Frank Kimbrough, to discuss the benefits of artists collectives, as well as the potential problems, to share information about what works, and what doesn't, and to inspire people to establish similar organizations in their local scenes.
The Brooklyn Jazz Underground Members' Bios:
Alexis Cuadrado - www.Alexiscuadrado.com: A native of Barcelona and resident in New York since 1999, bassist Alexis Cuadrado is an active member of the NYC's jazz scene. He currently leads the Alexis Cuadrado Quartet, and the Alexis Cuadrado-Trio, Ibrico, in which he mixes and blends the influence of his Spanish heritage with contemporary improvised music. Cuadrado has released two recordings as a leader, Metro (Fresh Sound/New Talent, 2001) and Visual (FSNT 2004). These CDs include all-original compositions and have received accolades from critics and fans alike. Alexis can also be heard on three recordings from the band Algumia that he co-lead in Spain in the 1990's. Cuadrado is an in demand sideman, having recorded and toured the world with Bill McHenry, Kris Bauman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Alan Ferber, John Chin, Bruce Barth, Ben Monder, Angelique Kidjo and many others.
Cuadrado graduated from the Taller De Msics in Barcelona (1993) he went on to study with the legendary concert bass master Franois Rabbath in Paris (1995-98). In 2001 he obtained a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance and Composition at the Aaron Copland School Of Music-Queens College (NY). He has been teaching since 1993 and has been a guest lecturer and clinician in jazz schools and workshops worldwide. His new quartet album will be released in 2007, and a new Ibrico CD will be available in early 2008. The artist also recently finished his first film soundtrack for the short film, Terapia, directed by the up and coming Spanish filmmaker Juanjo Martinez.
Shane Endsley - www.Kneebody.com: Shane Endsley, a native of Denver, Colorado, and a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, is the leader and trumpeter of the band Kneebody - the first group signed to Dave Douglas' new label, Greenleaf Music. Endsley has toured and recorded extensively with Ani DiFranco and Steve Coleman and has been doing work around New York with Josh Roseman, Dave Binney, Ravi Coltrane, John Hollenbeck, Jonathan Finlayson and others. He is currently playing drums and trumpet in a trio with Ralph Alessi and Tim Berne, and rotary flugelhorn (truba) with Slavic Soul Party.
Alan Ferber - www.Alanferber.com: “Alan Ferber joins the new resurgence of talented young trombonists with vision and leadership."-Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz. “Ferber was sounding ready to groove into the new millennium."-Don Heckman, The Los Angeles Times. Known internationally as a virtuoso jazz trombonist, Ferber also shines as a composer and bandleader. His current recording on Fresh Sound New Talent, Scenes From An Exit Row, features some of New York City's most compelling young players. “Ferber's arrangements bring out the best of the members of his group, who are inspired by their musical surroundings and alternately play as one..."-Budd Kopman, All About Jazz New York. The Alan Ferber Nonet is in constant pursuit of finding new directions in the jazz idiom. It's newest explorations will be heard on an upcoming Fresh Sound release due out in the Winter of 2007, entitled The Compass.
Since moving to Brooklyn in 1999, Ferber has built a solid reputation both as an ensemble player and an improviser. He quickly caught the attention of renowned guitarist, Charlie Hunter, joining his Quintet in 2001, and touring with the group for a year. Ferber has rapidly become one of the city's most in demand sidemen, racking up credits with Kenny Wheeler's Large Ensemble (he played lead trombone in a premiere of the “Sweet Ruby Suite"), the Lee Konitz Nonet, Don Byron's Music For Six Musicians, the Benny Wallace Nonet, the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble and many others. In addition, Ferber has performed extensively with artists as diverse as Nancy Sinatra, Dr Dre, Diana Krall, They Might Be Giants, Harry Connick Jr, Michael Buble, Paul Anka, the Extension Ensemble, and Broadway shows including The Producers, Fosse, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and A Chorus Line. He has appeared on TV shows including Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show, The View, Beverly Hills 90210, and Good Morning America. Ferber is also a dedicated educator.
Ann Mette Iversen - www.Annemetteiversen.com: A former student in classical piano at The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Iversen went on to study bass for four years at the Rhythmic Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen, Denmark, and graduated in 2001 from The New School University with a BFA degree in Jazz Performance. Iversen has resided in New York City for seven years. During this time, in addition to leading her own groups, she has performed with many prominent artists including Terri Lyne Carrington, Ingrid Jensen, Ben Taylor, Nina Nastasia, Carly Simon, Don Sickler, Abraham Burton, Sam Yahel, Jeremy Pelt, Freddie Bryant, Marcus Strickland, Jason Lindner, Gary Versace, Geoff Kisor, Mike Moreno, Lea Delaria, Dena DeRose and many others. Iversen also freelances in many diverse settings, including classical orchestras. To say that she is thoroughly trained and experienced in many musical languages is an understatement.
As a composer Iversen has developed her own unique and personal style that has come out of a talent for unifying jazz music with European classical music. In addition to her compositional work for her own groups, she composed “Hvor er din bolig vidunderlig" for the 125 year anniversary of The Danish Church in New York. Another highlight was her being chosen to present music when Denmark hosted 120 United Nations ambassadors, the General Secretary Kofi Annan and Crown Prince of Denmark, His Royal Highness Prince Frederik, at a dinner at B.B. King's Club in New York in 2002. Iversen has received several grants from the Danish Art Foundation, among others, to reward and encourage her work._
Sunny Jain - www.Jainsounds.com: New York City based drummer/composer Sunny Jain is one of a handful of players to emerge from the South Asian Diaspora as a vibrant voice for the new music of Indo Jazz. His group, Sunny Jain Collective has released two albums, toured India, Nepal and the States and has received international acclaim from critics and fans alike. Sunny Jain Collective was recently featured on MTV Desi cable channel for their 2006 JVC Jazz Festival performance. SJC was also featured on MSNBC's In Style program in October 2005, broadcast throughout India, Dubai, the UK and the United States. Jain is a 2006 recipient of the Chamber Music America New Works grant, which commissions adventurous composers to write new music for their projects. Past recipients have included Dave Douglas, Andrew Hill, Benny Maupin, Jason Moran, Greg Osby, Dafnis Prieto and David Sanchez. In June 2005, Jazz Hot Magazine (France) featured Jain in their drummer issue, which also included Lewis Nash, Horacio “El Negro' Hernandez and Winard Harper. Jain was singled out as a rising star for his fusion of jazz and Indian music.
Sunny has performed with many world-renowned artists such as Joey Baron, Kenny Barron, Seamus Blake, Ted Dunbar, Kyle Eastwood, Kermit Driscoll, Gerald Cleaver, Norah Jones, Robyn Schulkowsky and Kenny Wollesen. He has toured Europe, Japan, India, West Africa, Canada and the States extensively, appearing at such notable venues as Madison Square Garden, Blue Note (NYC, Japan), Lincoln Center, South Asian Heritage Festival (Canada), Cork Guinness Jazz Festival , Vitoria Jazz Festival (Spain), Pescara International Festival of Jazz (Italy), Pizza Express (London), Jazz Yatra Festival (India) and the Musical Society of Nigeria. He was the recipient of the Arts International Grant Award in 2003 and 2005. In 2002, Jain was selected as a Jazz Ambassador by The U.S. Department of State and The Kennedy Center.
Tanya Kalmanovitch - www.Tanyakalmanovitch.com: Violist and violinist Tanya Kalmanovitch operates at the intersection of contemporary jazz, classical music, and free improvisation. Since moving to New York in 2004, Kalmanovitch has fast made a mark on the city's jazz scene. She was named by All About Jazz New York as one of the city's “Best New Talents" of 2004, and singled out by Time Out New York as “the Juilliard-trained violist who's been tearing up the scene". A pioneer in developing pedagogy for improvising string players, Kalmanovitch presents frequent workshops throughout North America and Europe. In 2006 she joined the faculty of the Contemporary Improvisation Department at New England Conservatory in Boston, MA.
Kalmanovitch studied at New York's Juilliard School and has performed with a diverse range of artists including the Turtle Island String Quartet, Mark Turner, Ernst Reijseger, Benoit Delbecq, Dominique Pifarly, Martin Hayes, Mark Helias, John Cage and Shujaat Husain Khan. In addition, she has studied Karnatic music with Lalgudi G. J. R. Krishnan and Karaikudi S. Subramanian in Chennai, India as part of her research for a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology. She performs frequently in Ireland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom as well as in New York and her native Canada. Her duo recording with pianist Myra Melford will be released in the spring of 2007.
Benny Lackner - www.Bennylackner.com: Born in Berlin, Benny Lackner was raised on American folk songs and blues played by his Californian father. Upon moving to America at 13, his uncle Tom Lackner, a jazz drummer, introduced him to a whole new world. Lackner went on to study with pianist Brad Mehldau, to perform at the Monterey and the Montreux jazz festivals, and to play with artists such as the late Billy Higgins, Marc Ribot, Brad Shepik, the Artie Shaw Big Band and Pheeroan akLaff. Lackner now resides in New York City where is working as a bandleader and as a sideman. The pianist has recently shared bills with artists such as Elvis Costello, The Jazz Passengers, Sex Mob, Vijay Iyer, Ralph Alessi and many others.
Ted Poor - www.Tedpoor.com: Since moving to New York City just a few years ago, the drummer/ composer has solidly established himself as a new voice on the music scene. Jazz Review commented that, “[Ted] has an uncanny ability to shape the music and a refreshingly unique, organic approach to playing the drums." This unique approach has caught the ears of many of the New York City's most revered musicians. Poor is a regular member of the Ben Monder Quartet, the Cuong Vu Trio and the Jerome Sabbagh Quartet. In addition, he has recently worked as a sideman with an astonishing list of internationally acclaimed artists, including Chris Potter, Bill Frisell, Maria Schneider, Kermit Driscoll, Kate McGary, Marc Ducret, David Berkman, David Fiuczynski, Rich Perry, Joe Locke, Wycliffe Gordon and John McNeil.
Ted Poor grew up outside of Rochester, NY and attended the Eastman School of Music from 1999-2003 (BM '03). There he studied drumset with Rich Thompson and percussion with John Beck. While at Eastman, Poor joined with several bands that are now active in the NYC area, including The Respect Sextet, Neos, the Ike Sturm Ensemble and Jerseyband. As a leader, Poor's debut CD entitled All Around was released in 2003. His new project is Third Wheel, a dynamic trio featuring Ben Monder and Ralph Alessi.
Dan Pratt - www.Danpratt.com: Dan Pratt is a force to be reckoned with on the New York jazz scene, one of today's top young tenor saxophonists, and a gifted composer, all evidenced on his quartet's debut recording, Springloaded. Pratt began his studies as a classical baritone saxophonist in his native Saratoga, CA before switching to tenor. He was accepted to the Monterey Jazz Festival High School All-Star Band, directed by the late trumpeter and Duke Ellington alumnus, Bill Berry and with this band he experienced his first taste of the international jazz scene, touring throughout Japan and performing at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival. Pratt went on to the Berklee College of Music in 1994, surrounding himself with many fellow artists (including Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno), who were exploring music of all forms. During this time the saxophonist benefited from working with legends such as Bob Brookmeyer, Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano, and many others.
After graduating with honors in 1997, he made the pilgrimage to the Big Apple. Within two years he was performing with the Village Vanguard Orchestra, and in 1999 he formed the quintet Vista with trumpeter Erik Jekabson. With the release of their critically praised debut album The Arrival in 2000, they toured through New York and New Orleans to rave reviews. The Dan Pratt Organ Quartet was formed in the fall of 2001. Pratt can also be heard all over town with a variety of artists including The Christian McBride Big Band, Jamie Begian's big band, the Fat Cat Orchestra, the Big Bad Big Band, and the Rachel Eckroth Nonet.
Jerome Sabbagh - www.Jeromesabbagh.com: The Jerome Sabbagh Quartet plays modern, organic music that can appeal to listeners beyond the traditional jazz audience. Based in New York City, it has released a debut album, North, for Fresh Sound New Talent. The album was voted best CD of 2005 by the readers of French monthly Jazzman and included in the top 10 jazz albums of 2005 by the Ottawa Citizen. The band's newest recording, Pogo, will be released on Sunnyside in April 2007.
While he considers himself a jazz musician and is very much attached to improvising, Sabbagh has grown increasingly influenced by many types of music. This breadth of influences is evident in the original compositions assembled on his albums. The composer and saxophonist was born in Paris, France in 1973. He studied with Philippe Chagne, Eric Barret and Jean-Louis Chautemps before moving to the States at the age of 20. After attending Berklee College of Music in Boston on scholarship for two years and studying with, among others, George Garzone, Bill Pierce, Dave Liebman and the legendary Joe Viola, he moved to New York in 1995. There he formed the collective Flipside with guitarist Greg Tuohey, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Darren Beckett. They were together for five years, toured Europe and New Zealand and recorded an eponymous album for Naxos Jazz. Since then, Sabbagh has been writing music and leading his own bands. Sabbagh has worked with Guillermo Klein's Los Guachos and Pablo Ablanedo's octet, Jean-Michel Pilc, Aaron Goldberg, George Colligan, Ben Street, Franois Moutin, Reid Anderson, Rodney Green, Jeff Ballard, Eric McPherson, Miguel Zenon, Chris Cheek, Bill McHenry, J.D. Allen, Sam Newsome, Seamus Blake, Tony Malaby, Donny McCaslin, Steve Cardenas, Mike Moreno, Brad Shepik, Luciana Souza and many others.
The Brooklyn Jazz Underground Launch Festival @ Smalls, January 11-14: Smalls is located at 183 West 10th Street, at 7th Avenue South
Thursday, JANUARY 11: 8:30 PM: Benny Lackner Trio, 10:00 PM: Shane Endsley Group, 11:30 PM: Tanya Kalmanovitch Hut Five
Friday, JANUARY 12: 10:00 PM Alexis Cuadrado Sextet, 11:30 PM: Alan Ferber Nonet
Saturday, JANUARY 13: 10:00 PM Sunny Jain Collective, 11:30 PM: Dan Pratt Organ Quartet
Sunday, JANUARY 14: 8:30 Anne Mette Iversen's “Best of the West", 10:00 PM Jerome Sabbagh Quartet, 11:30 PM Ted Poor Trio
The Brooklyn Jazz Underground, a newly formed collective, is an association of independent bandleaders with a shared commitment to improvised music. Through cooperative effort, members of the BJU strive to create greater awareness of their work
The Brooklyn Jazz Underground Launch Festival To Take Place @ Smalls - January 11-14 (see details below)
The Brooklyn Jazz Underground is: Alexis Cuadrado - www.alexiscuadrado.com, Shane Endsley - www.kneebody.com, Alan Ferber - www.alanferber.com, Anne Mette Iversen - www.annemetteiversen.com, Sunny Jain - www.jainsounds.com, Tanya Kalmanovitch - www.tanyakalmanovitch.com, Benny Lackner - www.bennylackner.com, Ted Poor - www.tedpoor.com, Dan Pratt - www.danpratt.com, Jerome Sabbagh - www.jeromesabbagh.com
For Immediate Release (Brooklyn, NY) - January 2007 will see the birth of The Brooklyn Jazz Underground, a new collective conceived in the spirit of a new, do-it-yourself music industry, and the emergence of myriad independent artists and record labels, spawning a creative boom which counts Brooklyn as one of its bastions of innovation and artistry. The Brooklyn Jazz Underground is a shining example of a vibrant, thriving, creative group that keeps jazz and improvised music perpetually evolving. Individually and collectively, they serve an important role in our culture and society by providing a bustle of composing, playing and teaching that enriches, delights, provokes, inspires and educates. By pooling their resources, and through cooperative effort, the members hope to create a greater awareness of their work.
From January 11th through the 14th at Smalls in Greenwich Village, NYC the group will present their first annual festival to officially launch The Brooklyn Jazz Underground, featuring all ten members leading their own ensembles in performances of original music. The Underground's first annual compilation CD will also be issued at this time. Other ambitions of the collective include becoming a charitable organization (plans are in the works to contribute to funds to benefit public school music programs), and to present a weekly residency in a NYC club featuring members' bands.
Catch members of The Brooklyn Jazz Underground at The IAJE: Panel: The Artists' Collective in Jazz: Unity and Diversity in the New York Scene, Thursday, January 11, 2007, at 4:00 PM, New York Ballroom West - Sheraton Hotel 3rd Floor. Tanya Kalmanovitch (moderator), Alexis Cuadrado and Alan Ferber will be joined by two founding members of the Jazz Composers' Collective, Ben Allison and Frank Kimbrough, to discuss the benefits of artists collectives, as well as the potential problems, to share information about what works, and what doesn't, and to inspire people to establish similar organizations in their local scenes.
The Brooklyn Jazz Underground Members' Bios:
Alexis Cuadrado - www.Alexiscuadrado.com: A native of Barcelona and resident in New York since 1999, bassist Alexis Cuadrado is an active member of the NYC's jazz scene. He currently leads the Alexis Cuadrado Quartet, and the Alexis Cuadrado-Trio, Ibrico, in which he mixes and blends the influence of his Spanish heritage with contemporary improvised music. Cuadrado has released two recordings as a leader, Metro (Fresh Sound/New Talent, 2001) and Visual (FSNT 2004). These CDs include all-original compositions and have received accolades from critics and fans alike. Alexis can also be heard on three recordings from the band Algumia that he co-lead in Spain in the 1990's. Cuadrado is an in demand sideman, having recorded and toured the world with Bill McHenry, Kris Bauman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Alan Ferber, John Chin, Bruce Barth, Ben Monder, Angelique Kidjo and many others.
Cuadrado graduated from the Taller De Msics in Barcelona (1993) he went on to study with the legendary concert bass master Franois Rabbath in Paris (1995-98). In 2001 he obtained a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance and Composition at the Aaron Copland School Of Music-Queens College (NY). He has been teaching since 1993 and has been a guest lecturer and clinician in jazz schools and workshops worldwide. His new quartet album will be released in 2007, and a new Ibrico CD will be available in early 2008. The artist also recently finished his first film soundtrack for the short film, Terapia, directed by the up and coming Spanish filmmaker Juanjo Martinez.
Shane Endsley - www.Kneebody.com: Shane Endsley, a native of Denver, Colorado, and a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, is the leader and trumpeter of the band Kneebody - the first group signed to Dave Douglas' new label, Greenleaf Music. Endsley has toured and recorded extensively with Ani DiFranco and Steve Coleman and has been doing work around New York with Josh Roseman, Dave Binney, Ravi Coltrane, John Hollenbeck, Jonathan Finlayson and others. He is currently playing drums and trumpet in a trio with Ralph Alessi and Tim Berne, and rotary flugelhorn (truba) with Slavic Soul Party.
Alan Ferber - www.Alanferber.com: “Alan Ferber joins the new resurgence of talented young trombonists with vision and leadership."-Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz. “Ferber was sounding ready to groove into the new millennium."-Don Heckman, The Los Angeles Times. Known internationally as a virtuoso jazz trombonist, Ferber also shines as a composer and bandleader. His current recording on Fresh Sound New Talent, Scenes From An Exit Row, features some of New York City's most compelling young players. “Ferber's arrangements bring out the best of the members of his group, who are inspired by their musical surroundings and alternately play as one..."-Budd Kopman, All About Jazz New York. The Alan Ferber Nonet is in constant pursuit of finding new directions in the jazz idiom. It's newest explorations will be heard on an upcoming Fresh Sound release due out in the Winter of 2007, entitled The Compass.
Since moving to Brooklyn in 1999, Ferber has built a solid reputation both as an ensemble player and an improviser. He quickly caught the attention of renowned guitarist, Charlie Hunter, joining his Quintet in 2001, and touring with the group for a year. Ferber has rapidly become one of the city's most in demand sidemen, racking up credits with Kenny Wheeler's Large Ensemble (he played lead trombone in a premiere of the “Sweet Ruby Suite"), the Lee Konitz Nonet, Don Byron's Music For Six Musicians, the Benny Wallace Nonet, the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble and many others. In addition, Ferber has performed extensively with artists as diverse as Nancy Sinatra, Dr Dre, Diana Krall, They Might Be Giants, Harry Connick Jr, Michael Buble, Paul Anka, the Extension Ensemble, and Broadway shows including The Producers, Fosse, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and A Chorus Line. He has appeared on TV shows including Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show, The View, Beverly Hills 90210, and Good Morning America. Ferber is also a dedicated educator.
Ann Mette Iversen - www.Annemetteiversen.com: A former student in classical piano at The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Iversen went on to study bass for four years at the Rhythmic Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen, Denmark, and graduated in 2001 from The New School University with a BFA degree in Jazz Performance. Iversen has resided in New York City for seven years. During this time, in addition to leading her own groups, she has performed with many prominent artists including Terri Lyne Carrington, Ingrid Jensen, Ben Taylor, Nina Nastasia, Carly Simon, Don Sickler, Abraham Burton, Sam Yahel, Jeremy Pelt, Freddie Bryant, Marcus Strickland, Jason Lindner, Gary Versace, Geoff Kisor, Mike Moreno, Lea Delaria, Dena DeRose and many others. Iversen also freelances in many diverse settings, including classical orchestras. To say that she is thoroughly trained and experienced in many musical languages is an understatement.
As a composer Iversen has developed her own unique and personal style that has come out of a talent for unifying jazz music with European classical music. In addition to her compositional work for her own groups, she composed “Hvor er din bolig vidunderlig" for the 125 year anniversary of The Danish Church in New York. Another highlight was her being chosen to present music when Denmark hosted 120 United Nations ambassadors, the General Secretary Kofi Annan and Crown Prince of Denmark, His Royal Highness Prince Frederik, at a dinner at B.B. King's Club in New York in 2002. Iversen has received several grants from the Danish Art Foundation, among others, to reward and encourage her work._
Sunny Jain - www.Jainsounds.com: New York City based drummer/composer Sunny Jain is one of a handful of players to emerge from the South Asian Diaspora as a vibrant voice for the new music of Indo Jazz. His group, Sunny Jain Collective has released two albums, toured India, Nepal and the States and has received international acclaim from critics and fans alike. Sunny Jain Collective was recently featured on MTV Desi cable channel for their 2006 JVC Jazz Festival performance. SJC was also featured on MSNBC's In Style program in October 2005, broadcast throughout India, Dubai, the UK and the United States. Jain is a 2006 recipient of the Chamber Music America New Works grant, which commissions adventurous composers to write new music for their projects. Past recipients have included Dave Douglas, Andrew Hill, Benny Maupin, Jason Moran, Greg Osby, Dafnis Prieto and David Sanchez. In June 2005, Jazz Hot Magazine (France) featured Jain in their drummer issue, which also included Lewis Nash, Horacio “El Negro' Hernandez and Winard Harper. Jain was singled out as a rising star for his fusion of jazz and Indian music.
Sunny has performed with many world-renowned artists such as Joey Baron, Kenny Barron, Seamus Blake, Ted Dunbar, Kyle Eastwood, Kermit Driscoll, Gerald Cleaver, Norah Jones, Robyn Schulkowsky and Kenny Wollesen. He has toured Europe, Japan, India, West Africa, Canada and the States extensively, appearing at such notable venues as Madison Square Garden, Blue Note (NYC, Japan), Lincoln Center, South Asian Heritage Festival (Canada), Cork Guinness Jazz Festival , Vitoria Jazz Festival (Spain), Pescara International Festival of Jazz (Italy), Pizza Express (London), Jazz Yatra Festival (India) and the Musical Society of Nigeria. He was the recipient of the Arts International Grant Award in 2003 and 2005. In 2002, Jain was selected as a Jazz Ambassador by The U.S. Department of State and The Kennedy Center.
Tanya Kalmanovitch - www.Tanyakalmanovitch.com: Violist and violinist Tanya Kalmanovitch operates at the intersection of contemporary jazz, classical music, and free improvisation. Since moving to New York in 2004, Kalmanovitch has fast made a mark on the city's jazz scene. She was named by All About Jazz New York as one of the city's “Best New Talents" of 2004, and singled out by Time Out New York as “the Juilliard-trained violist who's been tearing up the scene". A pioneer in developing pedagogy for improvising string players, Kalmanovitch presents frequent workshops throughout North America and Europe. In 2006 she joined the faculty of the Contemporary Improvisation Department at New England Conservatory in Boston, MA.
Kalmanovitch studied at New York's Juilliard School and has performed with a diverse range of artists including the Turtle Island String Quartet, Mark Turner, Ernst Reijseger, Benoit Delbecq, Dominique Pifarly, Martin Hayes, Mark Helias, John Cage and Shujaat Husain Khan. In addition, she has studied Karnatic music with Lalgudi G. J. R. Krishnan and Karaikudi S. Subramanian in Chennai, India as part of her research for a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology. She performs frequently in Ireland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom as well as in New York and her native Canada. Her duo recording with pianist Myra Melford will be released in the spring of 2007.
Benny Lackner - www.Bennylackner.com: Born in Berlin, Benny Lackner was raised on American folk songs and blues played by his Californian father. Upon moving to America at 13, his uncle Tom Lackner, a jazz drummer, introduced him to a whole new world. Lackner went on to study with pianist Brad Mehldau, to perform at the Monterey and the Montreux jazz festivals, and to play with artists such as the late Billy Higgins, Marc Ribot, Brad Shepik, the Artie Shaw Big Band and Pheeroan akLaff. Lackner now resides in New York City where is working as a bandleader and as a sideman. The pianist has recently shared bills with artists such as Elvis Costello, The Jazz Passengers, Sex Mob, Vijay Iyer, Ralph Alessi and many others.
Ted Poor - www.Tedpoor.com: Since moving to New York City just a few years ago, the drummer/ composer has solidly established himself as a new voice on the music scene. Jazz Review commented that, “[Ted] has an uncanny ability to shape the music and a refreshingly unique, organic approach to playing the drums." This unique approach has caught the ears of many of the New York City's most revered musicians. Poor is a regular member of the Ben Monder Quartet, the Cuong Vu Trio and the Jerome Sabbagh Quartet. In addition, he has recently worked as a sideman with an astonishing list of internationally acclaimed artists, including Chris Potter, Bill Frisell, Maria Schneider, Kermit Driscoll, Kate McGary, Marc Ducret, David Berkman, David Fiuczynski, Rich Perry, Joe Locke, Wycliffe Gordon and John McNeil.
Ted Poor grew up outside of Rochester, NY and attended the Eastman School of Music from 1999-2003 (BM '03). There he studied drumset with Rich Thompson and percussion with John Beck. While at Eastman, Poor joined with several bands that are now active in the NYC area, including The Respect Sextet, Neos, the Ike Sturm Ensemble and Jerseyband. As a leader, Poor's debut CD entitled All Around was released in 2003. His new project is Third Wheel, a dynamic trio featuring Ben Monder and Ralph Alessi.
Dan Pratt - www.Danpratt.com: Dan Pratt is a force to be reckoned with on the New York jazz scene, one of today's top young tenor saxophonists, and a gifted composer, all evidenced on his quartet's debut recording, Springloaded. Pratt began his studies as a classical baritone saxophonist in his native Saratoga, CA before switching to tenor. He was accepted to the Monterey Jazz Festival High School All-Star Band, directed by the late trumpeter and Duke Ellington alumnus, Bill Berry and with this band he experienced his first taste of the international jazz scene, touring throughout Japan and performing at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival. Pratt went on to the Berklee College of Music in 1994, surrounding himself with many fellow artists (including Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno), who were exploring music of all forms. During this time the saxophonist benefited from working with legends such as Bob Brookmeyer, Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano, and many others.
After graduating with honors in 1997, he made the pilgrimage to the Big Apple. Within two years he was performing with the Village Vanguard Orchestra, and in 1999 he formed the quintet Vista with trumpeter Erik Jekabson. With the release of their critically praised debut album The Arrival in 2000, they toured through New York and New Orleans to rave reviews. The Dan Pratt Organ Quartet was formed in the fall of 2001. Pratt can also be heard all over town with a variety of artists including The Christian McBride Big Band, Jamie Begian's big band, the Fat Cat Orchestra, the Big Bad Big Band, and the Rachel Eckroth Nonet.
Jerome Sabbagh - www.Jeromesabbagh.com: The Jerome Sabbagh Quartet plays modern, organic music that can appeal to listeners beyond the traditional jazz audience. Based in New York City, it has released a debut album, North, for Fresh Sound New Talent. The album was voted best CD of 2005 by the readers of French monthly Jazzman and included in the top 10 jazz albums of 2005 by the Ottawa Citizen. The band's newest recording, Pogo, will be released on Sunnyside in April 2007.
While he considers himself a jazz musician and is very much attached to improvising, Sabbagh has grown increasingly influenced by many types of music. This breadth of influences is evident in the original compositions assembled on his albums. The composer and saxophonist was born in Paris, France in 1973. He studied with Philippe Chagne, Eric Barret and Jean-Louis Chautemps before moving to the States at the age of 20. After attending Berklee College of Music in Boston on scholarship for two years and studying with, among others, George Garzone, Bill Pierce, Dave Liebman and the legendary Joe Viola, he moved to New York in 1995. There he formed the collective Flipside with guitarist Greg Tuohey, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Darren Beckett. They were together for five years, toured Europe and New Zealand and recorded an eponymous album for Naxos Jazz. Since then, Sabbagh has been writing music and leading his own bands. Sabbagh has worked with Guillermo Klein's Los Guachos and Pablo Ablanedo's octet, Jean-Michel Pilc, Aaron Goldberg, George Colligan, Ben Street, Franois Moutin, Reid Anderson, Rodney Green, Jeff Ballard, Eric McPherson, Miguel Zenon, Chris Cheek, Bill McHenry, J.D. Allen, Sam Newsome, Seamus Blake, Tony Malaby, Donny McCaslin, Steve Cardenas, Mike Moreno, Brad Shepik, Luciana Souza and many others.
The Brooklyn Jazz Underground Launch Festival @ Smalls, January 11-14: Smalls is located at 183 West 10th Street, at 7th Avenue South
Thursday, JANUARY 11: 8:30 PM: Benny Lackner Trio, 10:00 PM: Shane Endsley Group, 11:30 PM: Tanya Kalmanovitch Hut Five
Friday, JANUARY 12: 10:00 PM Alexis Cuadrado Sextet, 11:30 PM: Alan Ferber Nonet
Saturday, JANUARY 13: 10:00 PM Sunny Jain Collective, 11:30 PM: Dan Pratt Organ Quartet
Sunday, JANUARY 14: 8:30 Anne Mette Iversen's “Best of the West", 10:00 PM Jerome Sabbagh Quartet, 11:30 PM Ted Poor Trio
For more information contact Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity.
