Williamsburg Jazz Festival
The annual Williamsburg Jazz Festival was first organized in 2001. The September 10-17, 2006 Fourth Annual Williamsburg Jazz Festival provides a week’s worth of events.
Williamsburg Jazz Festival
The Fourth Annual Williamsburg Jazz Festival
SUNDAY 9/10:
WJF JAM SESSION: Hosted by Rick Parker
The Heineken Stage at Rose Live Music
10:30pm till . . .
(Free Show)
345 Grand Street
(btw. Havemeyer and Marcy)
Earlier this year, Carlo Vutera - long-standing Williamsburg resident and phenomenal vocalist - opened a beautiful new club called Rose Live Music. The opening party was a legendary jam session reminiscent of the “great day in Harlem” period of Jazz History in New York. We’re you to count the number of albums that had been released by all the individuals collected in that room over the course of the evening, the total would be in the hundreds: Dave Binney, Seamus Blake, Dana Leong, Jason Lindner, Dave Kikoski, Sam Barsh, Omer Avital, Alan Hampton, Avishai Cohen, Gino Stitson, Marcus Strickland, Junior Terry, Yosvanny Terry . . . the list goes on and on.
This year the Williamsburg Jazz Festival kicks off with another mythic jam session hosted by festival co-director and trombonist, Rick Parker.
SPECIAL GUEST: Bob King, piano All the way from Thailand!! Vietnam Vet, Truck Driver, Astrologer and Jazz Educator, Bob is a beautiful monster of the piano who has no use for any of the aforementioned labels. His style and technique ranges from the floridness of Art Tatum, the lyricism of Franz List and the quirky melodic darkness of Thelonius Monk. Couple that with the nod, nod, wink wink cleverness of Fats Waller and you begin to get a sense of the the bold traditions in jazz that are rolled up in the wonderful tootsie-roll of Bob King.
MONDAY 9/11:
Nicole Rue and love Child
MyMoon Restaurant
Sets at 8pm and 10pm
(Free Show)
184 N 10th Street
(btw. Beford and Driggs)
With a heavy hitting line-up of sidemen - keys (Jeremy Bacon), guitar (Ethan Hein), bass (Marcelino Thompson/ Ariel de la Portilla), drums (Andy LaDue), trumpet (Nate Birkey), and back up vocals (Steffani Bennett/ Stephanie Bernstein), there is certainly a no holds barred bigness about the stage show. Live, the band recalls the rawness of Chakha Khan, particularly with Thompson on bass, who formerly played with Chaka, smoothed with a musicality reminiscent of the Brand New Heavies. The stage presence of the entire group is incredibly powerful. Front woman and vocal powerhouse Nicole Rue centers the band with her earth-bound energy and beer poster good looks. Her physical beauty, her talent and her warm personality pack the shows with high energy and dynamic vocals.
MONDAY 9/11:
The Cangelosi Cards
Spike Hill
10pm till very late
(Free Show)
184 Bedford Avenue
(btw. North 7th and North 6th)
THE L TRAIN is right on this corner!
Quite possibly one of the hardest working bands in New York City right now, the Cangelose Cards warp the fabric of time 5 nights week at regular gigs throughout New York. With a line up of Tamar Korn (vocals), Jake Sanders (resonator guitar), Jesse Selengut (bass), Miguel Weissman (Harmonica) and Brian Pettway (Bass), the group focuses on the early jazz repertoire of Louis Armstrong and Django Reinhardt. The swing dance community of New York has latched on hard to this sound and follow the Cards around from gig to gig every week! Truly not to be missed.
TUESDAY 9/12:
Catherine Siroka and RX
Surf Bar
8pm-10pm
(Free Show)
139 North 6th Street
(btw. Bedford and Berry)
Led by the big, powerful sound of Catherine Sikora on saxophones, this unique trio features equally talented and creative lions on keys and drums (Jeremy Bacon and Tim McClafferty, respectively). In New York, Sikora found mentor and virtuoso tenor saxophonist George Garzone, who studied with legendary John Coltrane. Since then, she and RX have developed their wide open and highly improvisatory sound.
TUESDAY 9/12:
Brian Newman
Spike Hill
10pm - 1am
(Free Show)
184 Bedford Avenue
(btw. North 7th and North 6th)
THE L TRAIN is right on this corner!
Brian Newman has been performing with a variety of musicians and with his own groups since the age of 12. As a trumpet player and singer he writes and produces his own hip-hop infused compositions. Raised in Cleveland he has been residing and performing in NYC and tours abroad. A regular performer at the Waldorf Towers and a variety of other fine NYC establishments including the Blue Note and Rose Live Music.
WEDNESDAY 9/13:
Welf Dorr’s Funk Monk
MyMoon Restaurant
Sets at 8pm and 10pm
(Free Show)
184 N 10th Street
(btw. Beford and Driggs)
Funk Monk combines the hypnotic groove of hip hop with the complex harmonies of jazz, complete with elements of world music and drum & bass. The band features founder and saxophonist Welf Dorr, Sean Dixon on drums, Michael Kiaer on bass, Tosso Hettinger on guitar, Scott Chasolen on keys, and Stimulus from The Real Live Show on rhymes. Funk Monk has performed all over New York, including Nublu and the Knitting Factory. Dorr himself has worked with Jonathan Finlayson, Kenny Wollesen, Frank Lacy, Sonny Simmons, Sabir Mateen, Graham Haynes, Steve Swell, Tony Scherr, Meshell Ndegeocello and the David Murray Big Band and Butch Morris.
WEDNESDAY 9/13:
The Octave Below
Surf Bar
8pm-10pm
(Free Show)
139 North 6th Street
(btw. Bedford and Berry)
The Octave Below is a trio with roots mostly in jazz and funk that have the soul purpose to make good music. Now incorporating rock and electronica to their roots, The Octave Below has created a signature sound that has earned them a respectable fan base in the tri-state area. Angelo Miraglia - Fender Rhodes Piano (George Wesley, Steve Kimock & Friends), Peter Fritz - Bass, Guitars (Post Junction, Steve Kimock & Friends), and John Kimock - Drums, Programming (Post Junction, SKT, Zero) are releasing their debut, self titled EP this month!
THURSDAY 9/14:
Chris Tarry
Galapagos (Main Stage)
8pm
($10 - Good for all 4 Thursday shows) 70 N 6th Street
(btw. Wythe and Kent)
Chris Tarry is one of Canada’s most successful and celebrated electric bassists, with two Juno Awards (Canadian Grammy’s), six Juno Award nominations, three West Coast Music Awards, Jazz Report awards. The Chris Tarry Group is eclectic, soulful and influenced by everything from rock to straight-ahead jazz. Tarry is a founding member of Canada’s jazz super group Metalwood, and since moving to New York has shared the stage and recording studio with top musicians John Scofield, Ben Monder, Jim Rotondi, Wayne Krantz, Mino Cinelu, Tommy Smith, Keith Carlock, Chris Cheek, and DJ Logic.
THURSDAY 9/14:
Carlo Vutera
Galapagos (Back Room)
9pm
($10 - Good for all 4 Thursday shows)
70 N 6th Street
(btw. Wythe and Kent)
Native Sicilian Carlo Vutera has sung many leading roles with the National Opera House in Havana and the NY Lyrical Theater. Working with the renowned Pura Ortiz in Havana, he was inspired to record Ammore, an album that salutes both the popular Neapolitan repertoire and Cuban traditions. The album draws on the talents of top musicians Yosvany Terry Cabrera, Dafnis Prieto, Roberto Carcasses, Descemer Bueno, and Anais Abreu.
THURSDAY 9/14:
Seamus Blake
Galapagos (Main Stage)
10pm
($10 - Good for all 4 Thursday shows)
70 N 6th Street
(btw. Wythe and Kent)
New York-based tenor sax player Seamus Blake has gained increasing recognition as one of the finest and most creative young jazz musicians. John Scofield, who hired Blake for his ‘Quiet Band’, calls him “extraordinary, a total saxophonist.” He has 4 releases on Criss Cross Records. His latest for them, “Echonomics,” features Dave Kikowski. Blake is long standing member of the Mingus Big Band and continues to play and record with the Bill Stewart and Kevin Hays, Franco Ambrosetti, Mark Turner and Billy Drummond. He placed 1st in the 2002 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition, and since then has been touring with the Dave Douglas septet and quintet.
Performing here with: Boris Kazlov on bass and Jonathan Blake on drums.
THURSDAY 9/14:
Edmar Castaneda Trio
Galapagos (Back Room)
11pm
($10 - Good for all 4 Thursday shows)
70 N 6th Street
(btw. Wythe and Kent)
Colombian Harpist, Band leader and composer Edmar Castaneda was born in Colombia Bogota where he started playing the Colombian harp at the early age of thirteen. He has a unique style of playing harp Combining Latin jazz with traditional Colombian music, Edmar has carved a firm place in the international jazz scene. A jazz harpist of imposing talent, he transforms the harp into a lead instrument to phenomenal effect. Producing cross-rhythms like a drummer, smashing chordal flourishes like a flamenco guitarist and collating bebop and Colombian music, he is practically a world unto himself. His style is fascinatingly percussive and he plucks dynamic basslines almost invisibly while picking out melodies with his right hand. Now in his late 20s, Edmar moved to the United States in 1994 and was quickly recognized for his unmatched style and sound.
He has performed with Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Samuels, Trio De Paz, Guiovani Hidalgo, Lila Downs, Janis Siegel, Yerba Buena and Dave Valentin, among other renowned musicians.
He appears here fronting his trio with Dave Silliman on percussion and Marshall Gilkes on trombone.
FRIDAY 9/15
Rick Parker Collective
Laila Lounge
9pm
($10 - for all shows at Laila Lounge)
113 N 7th Street
(btw. Berry and Wythe)
“Young trombonist Rick Parker is yet another powerful young jazz musician to be reckoned with.” (Mark Meyers, All About Jazz) Since relocating to New York in August of 2001, Rick Parker has performed at several of the city’s major jazz clubs including Blue Note, Birdland, the Jazz Standard and the Jazz Gallery. His primary musical project, the Rick Parker Collective, is a critically acclaimed sextet that has been called “the best kept secret in New York right now.” (All About Jazz) Performing here with Kyle Struve (drums), Gavin Fallow (Bass), Sam Barsh (Keys) and Xavier Perez (Tenor Sax)
FRIDAY 9/15
Ralph Alessi
Laila Lounge
9pm
113 N 7th Street
(btw. Berry and Wythe)
($10 - for all shows at Laila Lounge)
Since 1991, trumpeter/composer/educator Ralph Alessi has been an active member of the New York jazz and improvised music scene as both sideman and leader. The Ralph Alessi Quartet includes Alessi as composer and trumpet player, Brad Shepik on guitar, Scott Colley on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. Called “a highly-in-demand, adventurous virtuoso who can handle just about anything” (L.A. Weekly), Alessi has worked with Steve Coleman, Uri Caine, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, Sam Rivers, Drew Gress, Fred Hersch and Jason Moran. Alessi’s recordings include Hissy Fit, Vice Virtue and This Against That (voted one of the top ten records of 2002 by Jazz Times), and an upcoming recording featuring Jason Moran and Alessi’s meditative new compositions which are influenced by jazz, classical, pop and world music.
FRIDAY 9/15
Dave Douglas’s FONT Festival Night
The Heineken Stage at Rose Live Music
9pm
($10 - for all shows at Rose)
345 Grand Street
(btw. Havemeyer and Marcy)
Last year Dave Douglas performed at the WJF and festival founder Jesse Selengut performed and Douglas Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT). This year they decided to make the relationship even closer by curating a night at each otherÕs festivals. Tonight FONT presents 3 great trumpet players and band leaders. Scott Forrey and Vector Trio (9pm), Eric Biondo and Beyondo (10pm) and Ben Neil and Mutantrumpet (11pm till late). See Sunday 9/17 for Selengut’s WJF night at FONT
SATURDAY 9/16
Dana Leong
Galapagos (Main Stage)
8pm
($10 for all 6 Saturday shows)
70 N 6th Street
(btw. Wythe and Kent)
Continuing his momentous streak of summer events including a sold out collaboration with ukulele star Jake Shimabukuro, guesting with Balkan Beatbox at Summerstage, and vibing with John Legend in the studio, cellist/trombonist in one, Dana Leong brings friends and YOU to the event of the summer at New York’s own Williamsburg Jazz Festival at Galapagos.
This time, Leong features Jason Lindner Keys, Aviv Cohen Drums, and special guest(s) Just think - Yo Yo Ma meets Jimi Hendrix, and James Brown at the Big Apple Circus.
SATURDAY 9/16
Brett Sroka & Ergo
Galapagos (Back Room)
9pm
($10 for all 6 Saturday shows)
70 N 6th Street
(btw. Wythe and Kent)
Ergo features the collective sound of drummer Damion Reid, keyboardist Carl Maguire and trombonist/laptop-jockey Brett Sroka. Their music criss-crosses glitchy loops and enveloping electronic textures with plaintive melody and improvisational empathy.
SATURDAY 9/16
Maurice Brown
Galapagos (Main Stage)
10pm
($10 for all 6 Saturday shows)
70 N 6th Street
(btw. Wythe and Kent)
One of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene, Maurice Brown grew up in the south side of Chicago. Showing a remarkable affinity for the trumpet, Brown performed with Ramsey Lewis at the Symphony Center in Chicago while still a student at Hillcrest High School. Following graduation, he received a full scholarship to attend Northern Illinois University, and later continued his studies at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, where he worked with famed clarinetist Alvin Batiste. Brown relocated to New Orleans shortly thereafter, preforming with numerous jazz veterans and urban contemporaries such as Clark Terry, Johnny Griffin, Ellis Marsalis, and Lonnie Plaxico, Bilal, DJ Logic, John Legend, and Kanye West. He has recorded as a sideman with Curtis Fuller, Fred Anderson, Roy Hargrove, Michelle Carr, and Ernest Dawkins.
In 2004 he released his first album as a bandleader, heading his Maurice Brown Quintet for “Hip to Bop,” which showed an amazing affinity for Bop-inflected jazz, along with a willingness to expand the genre’s lexicon through innovative techniques like playing trumpet solos through a wah-wah pedal. Brown lived in New Orleans until being displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and has since relocated to New York City. He continues to head his quintet and a hip-hop/funk combo called Soul’d U Out. Currently, Maurice is scoring the film, “House of Malik,” and is also going to star as the lead role.
SATURDAY 9/16
Jesse Selengut and NOIR
Galapagos (Back Room)
11pm and on…
($10 for all 6 Saturday shows)
70 N 6th Street
(btw. Wythe and Kent)
Known for his diversity of expression, Selengut fronts NOIR - a group revolving around his darkest and most mysterious compositions. Rapidly making a name for himself on the New York City scene, Selengut has performed with avant-garde luminaries such as Daniel Carter, Sabir Mateen, Kenny Wollesen, and Dave Douglas and has opened up for such notables as Chris Potter, George Garzone and Joe Lovano.
Selengut performs tonight with Daniel Kelly (keys), Gavin Fallow (Bass), and Kyle Struve on drums. NOIR has just released their first CD called “This is Jazz NOIR” Derek Silvers, the president of CD Baby had this to say about the release: “This is one of the best I’ve ever heard.”
SATURDAY 9/16
Gretchen Parlato
The Heineken Stage at Rose Live Music
10pm
($10 for all 6 Saturday shows)
345 Grand Street
(btw. Havemeyer and Marcy)
Gretchen Parlato mixes jazz, Brazilian and African elements, creating her expressive inimitable style. She won first prize in the 2004 Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocals Competition, and has performed with greats such as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Oscar Castro-Neves and has studied with Terence Blanchard, Dave Holland and Tierney Sutton.
SATURDAY 9/16
Jason Lindner
The Heineken Stage at Rose Live Music
Midnight and on…
($10 for all 6 Saturday shows)
345 Grand Street
(btw. Havemeyer and Marcy)
Pianist/keyboardist, composer, arranger and producer JASON LINDNER first gained recognition as pianist for Israeli bassist Avishai Cohen’s groundbreaking sextet featuring Jeff Ballard and Steve Wilson. Lindner’s style ranges from acoustic and electro-Jazz to Latin, African and Middle-Eastern rhythms, Funk, R&B, Hop Hop, Electronica and rock. The pianist is perhaps most recognized for his BIG BAND (aka THE ENSEMBLE), whose original sound and raw energy earned them a release on CHICK COREA’S Stretch label in 2000. Lindner’s group for the WJF, “NOW VS. NOW,” includes Jason Lindner on keyboards, trumpeter Avishai Cohen (Third World Love, Karen Ann), bassist Panagiotis Andreou (Yerba Buena), and drummer Mark Guiliana (Heernt, Gadu).
Jason has worked with Claudia Acuna, Baba Isreal (Open Thought), Dafnis Prieto, , Omer Avital, Meshell Ndegeocello, the Roy Haynes Quartet, Elvin Jones, Jon Hendricks, James Moody, Wynton Marsalis, Dave Holland,, Randy Brecker, and many others. He has been musical director for Lauryn Hill.
SUNDAY 9/17
WJF at FONT
Ambient Assault Feat. Maurice Brown
Tonic
8pm
($10 for all Sunday’s shows)
107 Norfolk Street
(btw. Rivington and Delancy)
Ambient Assault is the pet project of four of NYC’s most talented young jazz musicians. The four piece group performs improvised music inspired by today’s most popular dance beats (drum n’ bass, trance, hip hop…). The group’s instrumentation is definitely one of a kind with electric trombone, keyboard and two drummers and allows Ambient Assault to spontaneously perform virtually any kind of electronic dance music groove LIVE. Its members have performed with the Jazz Mandolin Project, Bobby McFerrin, Avishai Cohen, George Benson, Boyz 2 Men and recorded with Redman and Jeff Parker to name a few.
With: Rick Parker (trombone), Sam Barsh (keys), Kyle Struve (drums) Mark Guiliana (drums) and featuring Murice Brown (trumpet)
SUNDAY 9/17
Sabir Mateen and Jesse Selengut
Tonic
9pm
($10 for all Sunday’s shows)
107 Norfolk Street
(btw. Rivington and Delancy)
Philadelphian Sabir Mateen is a Tenor and alto saxophonist, Bb clarinetist, alto clarinetist, flutist and composer. He began playing rhythm and blues in the early ‘70s, which led him to the tenor saxophone chair of the Horace Tapscott Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. From there he has played with Cecil Taylor, Sunny Murray, William Parker, Alan Silva, Butch & Wilber Morris, Raphe Malik, Roy Campbell, Matthew Shipp, Jemeel Moondoc, William Hooker, Henry Grimes, Rashid Bakr and Kali Fasteau. Sabir is a member of the cooperative band TEST, and he also performs with Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra, Earth People, and the Downtown Horns.
Jesse Selengut is proud to be playing with Sabir again. It has been 12 years since they last performed together. This music is electric, spiritualized, avant-garde and as groovy as it gets with dynamic duo Kyle Struve on Drums and Gavin Fallow on Bass.
Williamsburg jazz Festival—History
History
The Williamsburg Jazz Festival was started in 2001 by Williamsburg resident and jazz musician Jesse Selengut. Jesse was running a jam session at Laila Lounge at the time and was beginning to realize how many talented people lived nearby. Jesse teamed up with Jorge Cruz, a serious jazz afficionado, and put together a plan to host a multi-stage event at a variety of local venues.
The first year started out small with mostly local talent but did feature piano great Dave Kikoski. The second annual festival really gathered steam and public acclaim thanks to headliners such as Nellie McKay and Chris Potter. Attendence was over-flowing, the music was great and more and more people were hearing about the event. In 2005, the festival completely took off with legends such as Dave Douglas and Steve Coleman.
Starting on January 4th, 2006 Rick Parker was officially welcomed as co-director and producer of the WJF. Rick, besides being a Williamsburg denizen and a phenomenal trombone player, also has quite a history of putting terrific bands together and hosting and promoting sessions in the neighborhood. He is currently hosting a jam session at Rose Live Music (Grand St near Havemeyer) every Sunday night.
Looking forward, the Williamsburg Jazz Festival is now producing smaller events every three months leading up to a big weeklong festival in September. These smaller events will take place in the different sections of Williamsburg. In January, the WJF featured Dafnis Prieto on the South Side at the Williamsburg Music Center. In March, Ferenc Nemeth performed in Greenpoint at Club Europa in association with New York Dance and Arts Innovations. In the Summer, the WJF will host an event in East Williamsburg and then be back on the Northside in September. Hopefully, this will become a yearly cycle of great jazz programming.