Results for "New York City"

Michael Vitali

Born: May 14, 1971

A native of Zurich, Switzerland, Michael Vitali hit the New York music scene in 2002, shortly after graduating from Berklee College of Music. Though he arrived with little more than a change of clothes, a drum set and a voracious appetite for music, Michael immediately impressed his audiences and peers with his innate sensitivity and dynamism. The appropriately named Vitali maintains an astonishing performance schedule, with appearances in New York’s most popular venues, such as Fat Cat, Smoke, Cleopatra’s Needle and The Metropolitan Room, to name a few. Michael has toured throughout the US and Europe, he has recorded on several albums and performed live on WKCR. Steeped in jazz tradition, Michael is also known for his versatility

Lena Bloch

Born: January 31, 1962

“In jazz”, muses Lena Bloch, “many things come together that are thought of as opposites: mind and feeling, responsibility and abandonment, looseness and precision, improvisation and composition. I just love that.”

Lena’s love for jazz has taken her on a challenging and circuitous voyage.

Born in Moscow, Russia, Lena Bloch immigrated to Israel and moved to Europe in 1990, where she became a part of the European jazz scene (Germany and Holland) for 12 years, finally came to the United States, earning Master’s Degree in Composition and moved to Brooklyn, NY in 2008, where she quickly became a contributor to one of the most fertile and interesting jazz scenes of recent memory.

As a long-time disciple of Lee Konitz, Lena is an improviser, dedicated to spontaneity and precision

Faith Gibson

Born: December 29, 1960

Faith Gibson began her career as a jazz vocalist at the 2003 Glasgow Jazz Festival. The shy Pittsburgh native grew up within a family of musicians, played piano and flute as a child, and sang in choirs as well as smaller vocal ensembles. In her search for a mode of expression, jazz ultimately seduced her. The joy of improvisation gave her the confidence to appear as soloist and leader on stage and to record her first CD, ‘You Don’t Know Me,’ in 2004.

Faith’s second, much awaited album of mostly original songs, ‘Big Moon,’ was released in 2009 and is still being played on jazz radio stations around the globe.

Paul Meyers

Guitarist/composer Paul Meyers has performed and/or recorded with Geri Allen, Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Ray Drummond, Eliane Elias, Clare Fischer, Sonny Fortune, Eddie Gomez, Jon Hendricks & Annie Ross, Marc Johnson, Wynton Marsalis, George Mraz, Rufus Reid, David Sanchez, Kenny Werner, and the Woody Herman Orchestra in appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He toured for years with two great jazz singers - Jon Hendricks since 1993, and Andy Bey from 1997 to 2008.

International performances include Japan and Hong Kong with the Salute to Duke Ellington Orchestra ( featuring Paul along with Bob Brookmeyer, Mel Lewis and Joe Wilder ) - Spain with the great percussionist Cafe - France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy with Jon Hendricks - Brazil, England, Macedonia, Greece and the Netherlands with Andy Bey - Japan with Karrin Allison - Argentina with Gary Burton

Shirley Crabbe

Born: February 18, 1963

Native New Yorker and 2019 New York Bistro Award winner, Shirley Crabbe has been hailed as possessing a voice that “must surely appeal to all who love good jazz singing.” Her “almost Ella Fitzgerald–like vibe glows…” says Downbeat Magazine's John Ephland on her 2011 debut recording HOME featuring the legendary saxophonist Houston Person. Her 2018 Top 50 album BRIDGES (2018) has received rave reviews and spotlights her collaborations with renowned pianists Donald Vega, and David Budway. Shirley has been a guest on syndicated radio programs such as “Jazz Inspired” hosted by Judy Carmichael, and Steve Cuden's "StoryBeat" to name a few, and currently performs at jazz clubs, festivals and concert series in the US

Jen Shyu

Born: March 28, 1978

Born in Peoria, Illinois, USA, from Taiwanese and East Timorese immigrant parents, 2016 Doris Duke Artist Jen Shyu (Chinese name: 徐秋雁) is an experimental jazz vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, producer, and Fulbright scholar. Known mostly for her virtuosic singing with saxophonist and 2014 MacArthur Genius Fellow Steve Coleman since 2003 and having collaborated with innovators Anthony Braxton, Bobby Previte, Chris Potter, Michael Formanek, and David Binney to name a few, she has performed her own music around the world in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rubin Museum of Art, Ringling International Arts Festival, Asia Society, Roulette, Blue Note, Bimhuis, Salihara Theater, National Gugak Center, and National Theater of Korea and festivals around the world. A Stanford University graduate in opera with classical violin and ballet training, Jen had already won many piano competitions and played the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No

Etienne Charles

Born: July 24, 1983

Trinidad born Etienne Charles is a performer, composer and storyteller, who is continuously searching for untold stories and sounds with which to tell them.

His lush trumpet sound, varied compositional textures and pulsating percussive grooves enable him to invoke trance, soothing and exciting listeners while referencing touchy and sometimes controversial subjects in his music.

A 2015 Guggenheim Fellow and 2022 Creative Capital Awardee, he researches his compositions by travelling to the regions on which he is focused, meeting with musicians and cultural leaders then observing and participating in rituals to be fully immersed into the cultures that he is studying.

Bliss Blood and Al Street

Bliss Blood is a musician and songwriter from Houston, Texas. She moved to New York City, New York in 1996. She sings and plays ukulele in a duo with guitarist Al Street. They have released 2 cds and are currently recording their third. She also leads the 1920s jazz-themed New York City group The Moonlighters, formed in 1998. The Moonlighters have released five cds, and toured Germany four times. She has recorded six albums from 1988-1995 with Houston experimental rock band Pain Teens. She has also appeared on recordings with groups including The Melvins, Exit-13 and Angels of Light.

David Schwartz

Born: December 26, 1982

David Armstrong Schwartz, born December 26th, 1982 in Barrington IL, began playing guitar at the age of 11 and was initially inspired by the early 90's grunge sound of bands such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Sound Garden. During his high school years, David played in various rock bands as well as the Barrington High School Rhythm Machine. David's musical direction made an abrupt change after hearing the rock-influenced jazz of John Mclaughlin, Al Di Meola, and Allan Holdsworth. This change in musical direction inspired David to study music full time and in 2001 he entered the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver where he studied Jazz and Commercial music as well as composition

Gabriel Guerrero

Colombian-born pianist/composer Gabriel Guerrero fearlessly navigates the breadth of modern music, imbuing his performances with rhythmic and harmonic influences from South America to the avant-garde and the rich expanses of jazz. Guerrero elevates his music with a deeper understanding of his roots, adding his own aesthetic and emotional weight to every phrase. Speaking of the drive, direction and roots of music rather than style, Gabriel moved from his native rhythms, contemporary improvisation and the avant-garde to the traditions of Be-Bop and Jazz.

In 2023 Gabriel Guerrero releases “Equilibrio” on the Origin Records Label. The record showcases Guerrero’s refinement as a composer/arranger/producer with ten originals; the music was influenced in part by the journey of personal growth and self-discovery, incorporating experiences from moments such as “Present Moment”, “Permanent Diversion”, and “Belong”. The album features New York-based QUΔΠTUM band with Seth Trachy/sax, Will Slater/bass and Felix Lecaros/drums. This recording was made possible in part by the Queens Council on the Arts’ “New Work Grant”.