This Saturday, August 21, The Jazz Gallery is pleased to welcome vocalist Renée Neufville back to our stage. A true lodestar of neo-soul, Neufville’s music effortlessly floats along the jazz-R&B axis. And as founding member of Roy Hargrove’s RHFactor, Neufville has stewarded his legacy, including in this performance of her “Song for Roy,” performed with […]
Photo courtesy of the artist.
This Saturday, August 21, The Jazz Gallery is pleased to welcome vocalist Renée Neufville back to our stage. A true lodestar of neo-soul, Neufville’s music effortlessly floats along the jazz-R&B axis. And as founding member of Roy Hargrove’s RHFactor, Neufville has stewarded his legacy, including in this performance of her “Song for Roy,” performed with The Jazz Gallery All-Starts at this summer’s Newport Jazz Festival.
For this special performance at the Gallery, Neufville will be joined by a top-flight band, including saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, pianist Keith Brown, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, and drummer Willie Jones III.
Renée Neufville and Friends play The Jazz Gallery on Saturday, August 21, 2021. The group features Ms. Neufville on vocals, Jaleel Shaw on alto saxophone, Keith Brown on piano, Lonnie Plaxico on bass, and Willie Jones III on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. E.D.T. $25 general admission ($10 for members), $35 reserved table seating ($20 for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.
This Saturday, August 14, trombonist Kalia Vandever returns to The Jazz Gallery stage to present a new project entitled Memories. For this reflective project, Vandever has assembled a rich palette, featuring peers like saxophonist Morgan Guerin, pianist Paul Cornish, bassist Hannah Marks, drummer Connor Parks, and vocalist Melissa McMillan. Looking back at her last interview with Jazz […]
Photo courtesy of the artist.
This Saturday, August 14, trombonist Kalia Vandever returns to The Jazz Gallery stage to present a new project entitled Memories. For this reflective project, Vandever has assembled a rich palette, featuring peers like saxophonist Morgan Guerin, pianist Paul Cornish, bassist Hannah Marks, drummer Connor Parks, and vocalist Melissa McMillan. Looking back at her last interview with Jazz Speaks, one can see the seeds of this project forming, particularly in her use of voice.
I feel more empowered musically and personally than a few years ago when I finished school. I’m happier and more confident in the music I’m making. I’m also really excited about the music my friends are making right now. I’m currently learning the guitar and using that as a compositional tool. I’m also trying to write songs with words, which is really difficult, but something I’ve always been interested in.
Before checking out Memories at the Gallery, take a listen to the patient and nostalgic “Calling Me Back Home,” commissioned and performed by The Westerlies:
Kalia Vandever presents Memories at The Jazz Gallery on Saturday, August 14, 2021. The group features Ms. Vandever on trombone, Morgan Guerin on saxophone & EWI, Melissa McMillan on voice, Paul Cornish on piano, Hannah Marks on bass, and Connor Parks on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. E.D.T. $15 general admission (FREE for members), $25 reserved table seating ($10 for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.
This Friday, August 13, The Jazz Gallery is pleased to welcome trumpeter Ralph Alessi back to our stage. As a composer, Alessi is fond of discursive forms that give the band space to explore ranges of color. In a previous interview with Jazz Speaks, Alessi described the growing emphasis on timbral variety in his own […]
Photo courtesy of the artist.
This Friday, August 13, The Jazz Gallery is pleased to welcome trumpeter Ralph Alessi back to our stage. As a composer, Alessi is fond of discursive forms that give the band space to explore ranges of color. In a previous interview with Jazz Speaks, Alessi described the growing emphasis on timbral variety in his own playing:
I’m more mindful of how I create sound than I used to be. It’s something that I’m very drawn to with different players. As I’ve played more and more, and as I’ve taught more and more, it’s become one of those things that I’m constantly thinking about. I find it’s really common for people to stuck in this Western classical idea of what are appropriate sounds. In the jazz tradition, a lot of the sounds that come out of it are not the sounds you learn in school. I find those other sounds to be really expressive and an essential part of the music.
I really try to push myself, as I hear players on the trumpet who are very, very good at producing a variety of expressive sounds. I aspire to that.
While Alessi’s most recent album as a leader featured his quintet This Against That, he will be convening a quartet configuration at the Gallery, in the vein of his first two ECM releases, Baida and Quiver. The show (and both records) feature the long-running rhythm team of bassist Drew Gress and drummer Nasheet Waits, while the piano chair for this evening will be held by Craig Taborn, completing a group of hard-to-pin-down improvisers.
The Ralph Alessi Baida Quartet plays The Jazz Gallery on Friday, August 13, 2021. The group features Mr. Alessi on trumpet, Craig Taborn on piano, Drew Gress on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. E.D.T. $25 general admission ($10 for members), $35 reserved table seating ($20 for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.
When pianist John Escreet began his studies at the Manhattan School of Music in 2006, the New York club he visited most frequently was The Jazz Gallery. “It was the venue with the most interesting music that I wanted to hear,” Escreet remembered in a 2012 interview with Jazz Speaks. It didn’t take him long […]
Clockwise from top left: John Escreet, Chris Potter, Eric Harland, Harish Raghavan. Photos courtesy of the artists.
When pianist John Escreet began his studies at the Manhattan School of Music in 2006, the New York club he visited most frequently was The Jazz Gallery. “It was the venue with the most interesting music that I wanted to hear,” Escreet remembered in a 2012 interview with Jazz Speaks. It didn’t take him long to become a regular on the bandstand, joining David Binney’s band on stage in 2007, and celebrating the release of his debut album Consequences (Positone) at the Gallery the next year.
In the years since, Escreet has brought a host of projects to the Gallery stage, from his working trio with bassist John Hébert and drummer Tyshawn Sorey (check out a classic set from Amsterdam’s Bimhuis, below), to one-off groups featuring guests like guitarist Ben Monder, trumpeter Amir ElSaffar, and saxophonist Seamus Blake.
Now a resident of Los Angeles, Escreet makes a special return to The Jazz Gallery on Thursday, August 12, convening an all-star quartet with saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Eric Harland.
The John Escreet Quartet plays The Jazz Gallery on Thursday, August 12, 2021. The group features Mr. Escreet on piano, Chris Potter on saxophone, Harish Raghavan on bass, and Eric Harland on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. E.D.T. $25 general admission ($10 for members), $35 reserved table seating ($20 for members), $20 for livestream access ($5 for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.
Pianist/multi-instrumentalist Julius Rodriguez has been a regular at The Jazz Gallery since his first year at Juilliard in 2016-17. He’s worked with bassist Eric Revis in the Mentorship Series, joined drummer Kassa Overall’s sonic experiments, and presented a host of different projects. At the Gallery this Friday, August 6, Rodriguez convenes a working quintet of […]
Photo courtesy of the artist.
Pianist/multi-instrumentalist Julius Rodriguez has been a regular at The Jazz Gallery since his first year at Juilliard in 2016-17. He’s worked with bassist Eric Revis in the Mentorship Series, joined drummer Kassa Overall’s sonic experiments, and presented a host of different projects.
At the Gallery this Friday, August 6, Rodriguez convenes a working quintet of his talented peers—Giveton Gelin on trumpet, Morgan Guerin on sax & EWI, Philip Norris on bass, and Brian Richburg, Jr. on drums. In a previous interview with Jazz Speaks, Rodriguez spoke in depth about working with these musicians:
Giveton is great. He’s probably one of my favorite trumpet players to play with. He’s got amazing dark tones on the trumpet, and just his melodies. He’s coming out of the whole Roy [Hargrove] school.
And Phil is an incredible bass player. His technique, impeccable. And he’s very rooted in swing and just classic—well he’s a big fan of Ray Brown. I love that sound and love to have it in my music. He also knows how to—how do I put it—just do other shit. He’s always coming out with great ideas, and I love the way he sounds on my music. It’s nice to have someone who really knows their way around the bass.
And Brian is a drummer from New Orleans. New Orleans drummers are amazing. I love having that sensibility to groove at any time, but he also has that moderness to his playing.
Along with Guerin, this quintet has continued to grow and gel as a unit, even through the pandemic. Before hearing their newest music at the Gallery, take a listen to their streaming performance at Smalls from this past March.
The Julius Rodriguez Quintet plays The Jazz Gallery on Friday, August 6, 2021. The group features Mr. Rodriguez on piano, Giveton Gelin on trumpet, Morgan Guerin on saxophone & EWI, Philip Norris on bass, and Brian Richburg, Jr. on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. E.D.T. $25 general admission ($10 for members), $35 reserved table seating ($20 for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.
Trumpeter and singer Wayne Tucker is one of those irrepressible personalities. Even during this year of COVID, Tucker always found places to share his music, whether Grand Army Plaza, Central Park, or a street corner in Park Slope. As someone who’s as comfortable in the pop realm as in jazz, Tucker’s own music plays fast […]
Photo courtesy of the artist.
Trumpeter and singer Wayne Tucker is one of those irrepressible personalities. Even during this year of COVID, Tucker always found places to share his music, whether Grand Army Plaza, Central Park, or a street corner in Park Slope. As someone who’s as comfortable in the pop realm as in jazz, Tucker’s own music plays fast and loose with style. In a previous interview with Jazz Speaks, Tucker talks about what excites him on the bandstand:
I call people whose sounds I love, and who can play in many different styles. We could play “Lonely Woman” and start in the way I’ve envisioned, but I try to play with people who want to go on a musical adventure. As a band, we have a lot of fun on stage.
This Thursday, August 5, Tucker and his band Bad Mothas return to the Gallery stage for two sets. To get a taste of what kind of adventures might go down, take a listen to their recent set at the Bronx River Art Center, below.
Wayne Tucker and the Bad Mothas play The Jazz Gallery on Thursday, August 5, 2021. The group features Mr. Tucker on trumpet and vocals, Miles Tucker on tenor sax, David Linard on piano/keyboard, Addison Frei on keyboards, Tamir Shmerling on upright & electric bass, and Diego Ramirez on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. E.S.T. $15 general admission (FREE for members), $25 reserved table seating ($10 for members), $20 for livestream access (FREE for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.
This Friday, July 30, vocalist Sachal Vasandani returns to The Jazz Gallery with two different sets. To kick things off, Vasandani will be joined by pianist Romain Collin, as the duo present music from their new album, Midnight Shelter (Edition Records). Recorded last summer during the middle of the pandemic, the album brims with tactile intimacy, […]
Photo courtesy of the artist.
This Friday, July 30, vocalist Sachal Vasandani returns to The Jazz Gallery with two different sets. To kick things off, Vasandani will be joined by pianist Romain Collin, as the duo present music from their new album, Midnight Shelter (Edition Records). Recorded last summer during the middle of the pandemic, the album brims with tactile intimacy, a balm for a time of social distancing. Take a listen to Vasandani and Collin’s take on Nick Drake’s “River Man,” which makes you feel as if you and the vocalist are sitting inside Collin’s piano.
For the evening’s second set, Vasandani has assembled a true supergroup featuring a front line of trumpeter Mike Rodriguez and saxophonist Dayna Stephens, plus a crack rhythm team of Gerald Clayton, Dezron Douglas, and newly-minted NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart. This is definitely a night where it’s more than worth staying for both sets.
Vocalist Sachal Vasandani plays The Jazz Gallery on Friday, July 30, 2021. For the first set, Mr. Vasandani will be joined by Romain Collin on piano. For the second, he will be joined by Dayna Stephens on saxophone, Mike Rodriguez on trumpet, Gerald Clayton on piano, Dezron Douglas on bass, and Billy Hart on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. E.S.T. $25 general admission ($10 for members), $35 reserved table seating ($20 for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.
