The Jazz Composers Collective Third Annual Festival @ The Jazz Standard

The Jazz Composers Collective will present its third annual Festival @ the Jazz Standard from Tuesday, March 11 through Sunday, March 16 (116 E. 27th Street, NYC). Since its formation in 1992, the Collective has distinguished itself as a unique, musician-run, New York City-based organization dedicated to fostering the development, performance and documentation of new works. Under the artistic direction of bassist Ben Allison, the Collective and the Jazz Standard are joining forces again to present a week-long series celebrating the wide range of musical expression created by Collective artists, the outgrowth of eleven years of collaboration. The Festival will feature ensembles led by Collective composers-in-residence Ben Allison, Michael Blake, Frank Kimbrough, Ted Nash, and Ron Horton.

Tickets: Mon-Thurs & Sun - $20; Fri & Sat - $25. For reservations, contact the Jazz Standard at 212-576-2232.

Tuesday, March 11
7:30PM - Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel
9:30PM - Michael Blake's Elevated Quartet

Wednesday, March 12
7:30PM - Ron Horton Quintet
9:30PM - Frank Kimbrough Trio

Thursday, March 13
7:30PM - Frank Kimbrough Trio
9:30PM - Frank Kimbrough Quintet

Friday, March 14
7:30 / 9:30 - Ben Allison's Peace Pipe
11:30 - Herbie Nichols Project

Saturday, March 15
7:30 / 9:30 - Ted Nash & Still Evolved
11:30 - Herbie Nichols Project

Sunday, March 16
7:30PM / 9:30 - Michael Blake's Eulipion Orchestra

TUESDAY, MARCH 11

7:30pm - BEN ALLISON & MEDICINE WHEEL: Ben Allison (bass), Ted Nash (saxophones), Michael Blake (saxophones), Rufus Cappadocia (cello), Michael Sarin (drums) Ben debuted his adventurous Medicine Wheel ensemble at an April 1996 Collective concert. Since that time, he has gone on to record three discs with the group for Palmetto Records - Medicine Wheel (1998), Third Eye (1999), and 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.

9:30pm - MICHAEL BLAKE's ELEVATED QUARTET: Michael Blake (saxophones), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Mike Mazor (drums)

Michael approaches his bands as works-in-progress, drawing inspiration from Roland Kirk, Fela Kuti, Duke Ellington and other great bandleaders. His latest disc, Elevated (Knitting Factory Records), may be his most traditional session to date, but the leader's lyrical ear has a way of making the familiar sound fresh.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12

7:30pm - RON HORTON QUINTET: Ron Horton (trumpet), Tony Malaby (tenor saxophone), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Matt Wilson (drums)

Ron is known around town as the quintessential musician's musician, well respected for his work with groups led by some of today's most creative composers such as Jane Ira Bloom and 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). This performance will feature new music that the group has recently recorded.

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

The trio format is Frank's favorite mode of expression. For these performances (March 12 & 13), Frank will play mostly new music written for his upcoming recording date for Palmetto Records. 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 John Barry, and group improvisations created in the moment.

THURSDAY, MARCH 13

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

9:30pm - FRANK KIMBROUGH QUINTET: Frank Kimbrough (piano), Scott Robinson (saxophones), Dave Ballou (trumpet), Ben Allison (bass), Matt Wilson (drums)

This performance marks the debut of Frank's new Quintet, which brings together the members of his trio with Scott Robinson and Dave Ballou. Scott and Dave recently joined the Herbie Nichols Project for a tour of the west coast and Canada and have performed with Frank as part of Maria Schneider's Jazz Orchestra.

FRIDAY, MARCH 14

7:30 & 9:30pm - BEN ALLISON's PEACE PIPE: Ben Allison (bass), Mamadou Diabate (kora), Michael Blake (saxophones), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Michael Sarin (drums)

Debuted at a Collective concert in 2002, Peace Pipe builds upon the musical foundations Ben laid down with his group Medicine Wheel. The addition of kora master Mamadou Diabate from Mali opens up a world of rhythmic and orchestral possibilities. Ben and his bandmates will perform music from their self-titled Palmetto disc, which was named one of the best recordings of 2002 by The New York Times, Jazz Times, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Coda (Canada), and Jazz Review (UK), among others.

11:30pm - HERBIE NICHOLS PROJECT: Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Ted Nash (tenor saxophone), Michael Blake (soprano saxophone), Ron Horton (trumpet), Clark Gayton (trombone), Michael Sarin (drums)

Co-led by Frank and Ben, 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 14 & 15), 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). Guided by a sense of adventure, the Project approaches Nichols' music with equal measures of awe and irreverence.

SATURDAY, MARCH 15

7:30 & 9:30pm - TED NASH & STILL EVOLVED: Ted Nash (saxophones), Marcus Printup (trumpet), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Matt Wilson (drums)

Although Ted has earned a solid reputation as a first-call sideman for such notables as 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) on Arabesque Records - showcase his own impressive leadership skills as a player, composer, and arranger. For this performance, Ted will perform music from his forthcoming Palmetto debut, Still Evolved, set to be released in May 2003.

11:30pm - HERBIE NICHOLS PROJECT: Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Ted Nash (tenor saxophone), Michael Blake (soprano saxophone), Ron Horton (trumpet), Clark Gayton (trombone), Matt Wilson (drums)

SUNDAY, MARCH 16

7:30 & 9:30pm - MICHAEL BLAKE's EULIPION ORCHESTRA: Michael Blake (tenor & soprano saxophones), Ted Nash (alto saxophone & flute), Briggan Krauss (alto saxophone), Peck Allmond (tenor saxophone), Scott Robinson (baritone saxophone), Steve Bernstein, Dave Ballou, Marcus Printup (trumpets), Clark Gayton, Art Baron, Brian Harding (trombones), Marcus Rojas (tuba), Matt Munisteri (guitar), Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Jeff Ballard (drums), Mauro Refosco (percussion)

Michael closes out the week with the New York City premiere of his large ensemble arrangements that were recently commissioned for John Korsrud's Vancouver-based Hard Rubber Orchestra. With a “who's who" of A-list musicians/improvisors on board, expect an unconventional take on the big band, fueled by stimulating small group creativity.

THE JAZZ COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE: 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 47 composers, the participation of over 170 musicians, and the premiere performances of more than several hundred compositions. For more info, visit www.jazzcollective.com.