Wednesday - Friday, July 1 - 3
Jeff "Tain" Watts 4 + 1 with special guest Nicholas Payton
Jeff “Tain” Watts’ presence on any stage, whether as a crucial sideman or take-charge leader, is a sure sign of high-energy, high-quality sounds in the offing. Tonight, Tain has assembled one of his best-ever bands, featuring the articulate saxophonist Marcus Strickland and New Orleans–bred trumpet star Nicholas Payton. Watts, his latest CD released through Dark Key Music, blends percussion with politics, swing with sarcasm, and improvisation with irony on an all-original program. “More and more I am enjoying composition as much as playing,” says Tain. “All good music has a common ground, whether it’s Beethoven, Ellington, or Prince...It’s all good. I’m just trying to be musical.”
Tickets: $30 - PURCHASE NOW
Saturday, July 4
Closed For Independence Day
Sunday, July 5
Mark Rapp Group
The music of trumpeter/composer/bandleader Mark Rapp bridges the gap between modern jazz idealism and contemporary jazz accessibility. Rather than trying to classify his warmly melodic sound, this former star student of Ellis Marsalis is “more interested in discovering and expressing the music in me, like Miles and Monk did.” In addition to his triumphant performance at the 2008 JVC Newport Jazz Festival, Mark Rapp has appeared at the W.C. Handy Jazz Festival, the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Coca-Cola, and at other top clubs and festivals. Token Tales, his recently released debut album, “is filled with memorable melodies and marked by Rapp's mature trumpeting, which is impressive without being showy.” (Boston.com)
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Monday, July 6
Mingus Big Band
In a May 2009 review for Star-Ledger, veteran jazz critic Zan Stewart notes: “The heartily swinging, emotional music written by Charles Mingus (1922-1979) continues to be heard, live, thanks to Mingus Mondays. This ongoing series at the Jazz Standard spotlights three ensembles that delve into a wealth of vital works by the bassist, composer and bandleader. This past Monday was the big band's turn, and its first set was a doozy. The band's written parts here (and throughout the evening) had that glow and grit – often like a raucous chorus – that were core to Mingus’ numbers.”
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday, July 7
JDT
Hailed by the New York Times as a “promising young keyboardist, deeply attuned to pop production and orchestration,” Jason Domnarski has been an active member of the NYC downtown music scene for several years. His music weaves together the sonic strands of the urban landscape, combining rock, jazz and electronic styles with unique piano sounds and innovative production. Jason’s group JDT has performed at some of NYC’s leading venues including an extended residency at Rockwood Music Hall. This Jazz Standard engagement celebrates the release of Inventing the Wheel, the second album by JDT and the group’s first for Ropeadope Records.
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Wednesday, July 8
Jimmy Greene Quartet
With each performance and every new recording, Jimmy Greene continues to burnish his growing reputation as “one of the most striking young tenors of recent years" (Tony Hall, Jazzwise magazine). As his former instructor and mentor Jackie McLean once said: “From the beginning, I could tell that Jimmy was going to be an exceptional student. He already had a very mature sound and a very mature concept.” In the eventful year 1997, Jimmy moved to New York City; joined the legendary Horace Silver’s quintet; made his Jazz Standard debut at the helm of his own fine group, and recorded his self-titled debut album for Criss Cross Records. Mission Statement,released April 2009, is the latest CD from Jimmy Greene.
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Thursday - Sunday, July 9 - 12
Generations
The youthful alto saxophonist Andrew Speight spearheaded the formation of the Generations band as a project of the International Center for the Arts at San Francisco State University. Despite changing personnel and the untimely death of original pianist Ronnie Matthews in June 2008, the Generations band has not only survived but also strengthened its position as the premier cross-generational jazz band, its members’ collective experience encompassing more than 60 years of the music’s history. (Senior statesman Frank Wess was playing with Billy Eckstine’s big band in 1946!) The guiding principles of musicianship and mentorship remain constant in the Generations band, even as new members like pianist David Hazeltine and trumpeter Jim Rotundi have arrived to offer fresh insights and perspectives.
Tickets: $25 / $30 Friday & Saturday - PURCHASE NOW
Monday, July 13
Mingus Orchestra
With its diverse instrumentation and attentive focus on its namesake’s more classically influenced compositions, the Mingus Orchestra “has all the depth and muscle needed to render the master bassist-composer’s tempestuous fantasias.” (Time Out New York)
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday - Wednesday, July 14 - 15
Charlie Hunter/Doug Wamble/Tony Mason
A former MPV sideman with Wynton Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson, Doug Wamble has built a growing reputation of his own as a guitarist, singer and songwriter since the 2003 release of Country Libations (Marsalis Music/Rounder). Doug’s lyrical slide guitar was featured prominently in the soundtrack of Ken Burns’ epic WWII documentary The War, broadcast on PBS in Fall 2007. Charlie Hunter is “a groove-minded guitarist known for his distinctly ambidextrous technique” (Nate Chinen, The New York Times). He’s recorded some 20 albums, six of them for Blue Note Records including Songs from the Analog Playground (2001) with guest vocalists Mos Def and Norah Jones. Along with drummer Tony Mason (Norah Jones, Joan Osborne), Doug Wamble and Charlie Hunter infuse their unpredictable musical menu with jaw-dropping technique and an infectious, outgoing spirit.
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Thursday - Sunday, July 16 - 19
Stefon Harris & Blackout
Vibraphonist/composer Stefon Harris and his band Blackout return to our stage for four nights of great music. When three-time Grammy Award nominee Harris introduced this band on his 2004 Blue Note CD Evolution, the Washington Post hailed their success in “pursuing contemporary jazz on its own terms” and Jazz Times ranked the album among its Top 50 CDs of the year. Stefon Harris & Blackout have performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center, Jazz At Lincoln Center, and San Francisco’s Herbst Theater, among other leading venues. “Unquestionably one of the most exciting and imaginative jazz artists around!” (Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Tickets: $25 / $30 Friday & Saturday - PURCHASE NOW
Monday, July 20
Mingus Dynasty
Created by Sue Mingus in the wake of its namesake’s death in 1979, Mingus Dynasty is the original Charles Mingus legacy group. Its illustrious alumni include Randy Brecker, Jon Faddis, Jimmy Knepper, John Handy, David Murray, Kenny Washington, Charlie Haden, and Reggie Workman. “…Beyond preservation and neo-classic reverence for Charles Mingus, one of jazz’s most explosive geniuses. It’s wild, eruptive, disruptive and ambitious music on its own that grabs you by throat and holds on.” (Buffalo NY News)
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday - Sunday, July 21 - 26
Terence Blanchard
Given the demands on his time and talent as a film composer, educator, and guest soloist, this week offers the increasingly rare opportunity to hear Terence Blanchard in the intimate confines of Jazz Standard. In 2008, the trumpeter embarked on a nationwide 52–date, 22-state tour as a member of the Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary All-Stars. That group’s album Live At The 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival earned Terence Blanchard his third career Grammy Award, for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo on the track “Be-Bop.” “When Blanchard wants to let it rip, there's plenty of material to be torn up. His working band is a feisty little outfit…there's bound to be plenty of crackle in the cellar.” (Jim Macnie, The Village Voice)
Tickets: $30 - PURCHASE NOW
Monday, July 27
Mingus Big Band
“Most people are forced to do things they don’t want to for most of the time, and so they get to the point where they feel they no longer have any choices about anything important – including who they are. We create our own slavery. But I’m going to keep on getting through, and finding out the kind of man I am, through my music. That’s the one place I can be free.” (Charles Mingus, from a conversation with critic/author Nat Hentoff. Quoted by Hentoff at JazzTimes.com, December 2008.)
Tickets: $25 - PURCHASE NOW
Tuesday, July 28
Quincy Jones Presents: Alfredo Rodríguez featuring Dafnis Prieto & Charles Flores
When Quincy Jones gives his stamp of approval to a young musician, you can be sure there’s a major new talent coming over the horizon. Such is the case with 23-year-old Alfredo Rodríguez, the scion of a prominent musical family in his native Cuba and the newest member of Q’s musical family. After hearing Alfredo perform at the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival, Jones stayed in contact for the next two and half years while trying to expose the piano prodigy’s talent beyond his native Cuba. Now one of Alfredo Rodríguez’s cherished dreams comes true as he makes his New York debut as a leader on our stage. He is joined by the dynamic Cuban drummer, Dafnis Prieto, who recently recorded a thrilling live album with his Si O Si Quartet (which included bassist Charles Flores) at Jazz Standard in March.
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Wednesday, July 29
Gerald Clayton Trio
Born in 1984 into a leading jazz family, at age six Gerald Clayton began eleven years of classical piano training before he embarked on jazz studies at USC and the Manhattan School of Music. From 2006-2008, Gerald toured extensively with Roy Hargrove’s quintet, big band, and funk group; he played on Hargrove’s Earfood (Universal Jazz, 2008) and on Diana Krall’s From This Moment On (Verve, 2006). But it is Gerald Clayton’s own trio, with drummer Justin Brown and bassist Joe Sanders, that provides him the most direct opportunity to explore and expand upon his own directions in music both on stage and on his ArtistShare debut CD Two-Shade. “Huge, authoritative presence, an Oscar Peterson-like style, highly controlled touch and dynamics, and rhapsodic, episodic soloing.” (Ben Ratliff, The New York Times)
Tickets: $20 - PURCHASE NOW
Thursday - Saturday, July 30 - August 1
Freddy Cole Quartet with special guest Harry Allen (7/31-8/1)
Jon Hendricks calls him “a real Prince of Song, upholding a noble tradition as only he can.” Abbey Lincoln declared that he “bears a standard and is an inspiration to those of us who love the music.” Now in the sixth decade of his performing career and “back home” on our always-welcoming stage, Lionel Frederick “Freddy” Cole is a nonpareil vocal interpreter of The Great American Songbook and a superbly swinging pianist. Freddy’s special guest for this Jazz Standard engagement will be the masterful tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, whose lengthy discography as both leader and sideman includes the 2008 releases Stompin' The Blues (with Joe Cohn) and the Japan-only Viva! Bossa Nova. “Harry’s playing is nothing less than perfect!” (John Pizzarelli)
Tickets: $25 / $30 Friday & Saturday - PURCHASE NOW