There’s a new jazz combo playing New York City and its environs. Not exactly earth shattering news. New bands pop up here almost daily. It takes a dedicated jazz enthusiast to catch wind of them all, let alone see them perform live. Much like the innovators and experimental jazz players who emerged in the 1950s BeBop era to take the stage away from the formality and (perceived) staid and stale rhythms of their mentors mired deep in the swing era, this new crop of musical explorers is quietly but insistently demanding attention as they embrace multiple styles and genres of music to create their own unique hybrid sounds.
Anarchy and excitement have always been de rigueur with the young, hip set yet somehow this is different. While asserting themselves creatively and artistically, they are no strangers to their rhythmic and melodic ancestors. Incorporating Latin, pop, hip-hop, reggae, classical, and world music into new fusions of sound, this collection of rebels is not just rehashing old notes but reinventing them, creating new and fresh works where retreads were once the norm.
A few of these innovators are in NYC this month. They include wunderkind Dan Tepfer, who is making waves on the piano from The Village Vanguard to the recent world premiere of his concerto for piano and winds in Prague (see video below.) You can catch Dan every month this summer at The Cornelia Street Café. You’ll also find him on piano with the JC Sanford Jazz Orchestra at the Tea Lounge in Brooklyn on June 28th. That’s also where, on June 17th, you can witness the official debut performance of the Russ Flynn Big Band. They’re on the lips of those “in the know.” And you don’t want to miss Darcy James Argue's Secret Society. They’re continuing to break new ground, this time at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola on June 21st.
The Jazz Mafia hits (Le) Poisson Rouge on Friday (June 25th) with their paired-down 40-piece “Brass, Bows & Beats” Hip Hop Symphony Orchestra. They’re in from sold-out shows in San Francisco on the way to the Montreal Jazz Festival. Adam Theis, Joe Bagale and company have created, over the course of a year, a multi-thematic, genre-defying and community-oriented work that both embraces and expands on jazz tradition while at the same time adhering to symphonic structural elements. It is very San Francisco and it is very cool.
Go out. See Live Music. It matters.
Comments
Great to be kept up to date with the jazz scene by someone who knows music as well as the dynamic Terese Genecco does.
Having moved from Brooklyn many years ago, Terese's article makes me yearn again for the big city and its myriad choices of great jazz.
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