Jazz News: Marcus Roberts Trio at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

Jazz News: Marcus Roberts Trio at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Marcus Roberts Trio at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
Posted: 2005-11-15


Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Performance Schedule for November 14-20

November 15-20: The Marcus Roberts Trio

AFTER HOURS With Pianist Dan Nimmer

Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz At Lincoln Center is proud to present the Winners of The ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards in “ASCAP Month of Mondays,” on five consecutive Mondays: Featured Artists are: Manuel Valera-November 28, Sherisse Rogers-December 5, Jason Goldman- December 12, David Guidi-December 19, and Maurice Brown-December 26 (New York, NY) November 14, 2005 - Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola -- located in The House of Swing, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall - presents pianist Marcus Roberts with bassist Roland Guerin and drummer Jason Marsalis, with whom Roberts carries on and expands on the great lineage of the piano trio. The trio has been an inventive entity since 1995. Holding down the After Hours spot is the great up and coming pianist Dan Nimmer. On November 19 Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola hosts a Jazz Battle featuring trombonists Andre Hayward and Steve Davis and baritone saxophonists Joe Temperley and Gary Smulyan. November 14: Closed for Jazz at Lincoln Center's Annual Fall Gala

November 15-20 7:30pm & 9:30pm w/additional 11:30pm set on Fri-Sat The Marcus Roberts Trio Marcus Roberts (piano), Roland Guerin (bass), Jason Marsalis (drums)

The Marcus Roberts Trio was founded in 1993 when Roberts began to study the lineage of great jazz trios, including those of Nat “King” Cole, Oscar Peterson, Errol Garner, and Ahmad Jamal. Roberts first met young drummer Jason Marsalis in the mid-to-late 1980s, during his days in the Wynton Marsalis Septet. Jason was just 10 years old at that time. With the founding of the Marcus Roberts Trio, Roberts had the goal of creating a whole new style of jazz trio playing. After trying a series of drummers and bassists over a two-year period, in 1994 Roberts asked the 17-year-old Jason Marsalis to join his band. In early 1995, Roland Guerin played with Roberts for the first time and from the beginning, he made the trio sound complete. The philosophy and style of Marcus Roberts Trio has steadily evolved from that point.

November 15-19 11pm Tuesday-Thursday, 12:30am Friday-Saturday After Hours: Dan Nimmer Trio

Pianist Dan Nimmer is an old soul in a very young body. Just in his early twenties, he plays with the spirit, the passion and the soul of someone who has been on the planet much longer. Indeed, with his prodigious technique and his innate sense of swing, his playing often recalls that of his own heroes, specifically Oscar Peterson, Errol Garner and Art Tatum.

What is unusual in this world of ever-younger piano prodigies is that Nimmer is not really a product of the jazz academy, and his heroes are not the typical ones most fashionable with young players today. He is that rare combination of an innate musical gift with a deep sense and intuitive understanding of the jazz tradition. The only way it can be described is that when you hear him, it feels like your listening to an older player back in the halcyon days of jazz.

JAZZ BATTLE - November 19 FREE AFTERNOON OF JAZZ AT DIZZY'S CLUB COCA-COLA WHO: Some of the hottest acts on the New York jazz scene including: Andre Hayward (trombone), Steve Davis (trombone), Joe Temperley (baritone saxophone) and Gary Smulyan (baritone saxophone); each accompanied by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra rhythm section of Dan Nimmer (piano), Carlos Henriquez (bass) and Ali Jackson (drums).

WHAT: Jazz Battles at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola are quickly emerging as one of the best ways to hear New York's most innovative jazz artists duke it out on stage. In addition to the free performances, there will be prizes and giveaways for audience members, as well as soda and snacks for sale.

WHEN: Saturday, November 19, 2005 Sets are at 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm, doors open at 12:45pm, 1:45pm and 2:45pm. As space for this event tends to fill up quickly, all are encouraged to come early for each of the three rounds. Audiences must clear the club after each round in order for the next audience to be seated.

1pm - Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Rhythm Section gets things warmed-up. 2pm - Andre Hayward (trombone) vs. Steve Davis (trombone) 3pm - Joe Temperley (baritone saxophone) vs. Gary Smulyan (baritone saxophone)

****NEXT WEEK AT DIZZY'S CLUB COCA-COLA****

November 21 - UPSTARTS! 7:30 & 9:30pm Manhattan School of Music Jazz Orchestra

November 22-27 7:30pm & 9:30pm w/additional 11:30pm set on Fri-Sat ”Blowin' In From Chicago” featuring The Eric Alexander Quintet with Special Guest Von Freeman Boasting a warm, finely burnished tone and a robust melodic and harmonic imagination, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander brings a seasoned veteran's proficiency and poise to his latest recording, Nightlife in Tokyo. As on his four previous Milestone albums as a leader, the 34-year-old colossus-on-the-rise approached this new project with an assured and mature musical vision, gracefully sidestepping the novelties and trends that have come to the fore in so much contemporary jazz marketing. ”I'm not consciously trying to do things differently from record date to record date,” explains the Galesburg, Illinois native. “I'm just really adhering to formula of assembling good musicians that I'm comfortable playing with, getting quality material--a combination of originals and standards and perhaps some new arrangements on standard tunes--and trying to make the kind of recording that a jazz fan or musician can put on and enjoy listening to from start to finish.”

At age 16, Von Freeman played tenor in Horace Henderson's big band for a year. He was drafted into the Navy during WWII, and after his return to Chicago he played with his brothers George on guitar and Bruz (Eldrige) on drums at the Pershing Hotel Ballroom. Various leading jazzmen such as Charlie Parker, Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie played there with the Freemans as the backing band. In the early '50s, Von played in Sun Ra's band. Von's first venture into the recording studio was for Andrew Hill's second single on the Ping label. He did some recording for Vee Jay with Jimmy Witherspoon and Al Smith in the late '50s and appeared and was recorded at a Charlie Parker tribute concert in 1970. It was not until 1972 that Von first recorded under his own name with the support of Roland Kirk. His next effort was a marathon session in 1975 that was released on 2 albums by Nessa. Since then his recordings have included 3 albums with his son, tenor saxophonist Chico Freeman. Von Freeman is considered a founder of the Chicago school of tenor saxophonists along with Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin and Clifford Jordan. November 22-26 11pm Tuesday-Thursday, 12:30am Friday-Saturday After Hours: Bill Ware's Vibes Bill Ware (vibes), Brad Jones (bass), Jamie Aff (drums) ***Note: No After Hours Thanksgiving evening, November 24***

Coming Up At Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola:

Thanksgiving At Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola: A special la carte menu will supplement the usual offerings at this Jazz at Lincoln Center club, which will showcase a performance by the Eric Alexander Quintet. The Southern fare will include dishes such as deep-fried turkey with cornbread-andouille stuffing or grits, plus candied yams, collard greens, cranberries and gravy (seatings from 6 PM on; $30 cover charge, plus $17-$24 la carte entrees) - Zagat

November 22-26: After Hours: Bill Ware's Vibes

November 28 Upstarts! Manuel Valera -ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Award winner November 29-December 4: David “Fathead” Newman and Cynthia Scott with the John DiMartino Trio

November 29-December 3: After Hours: Akiko Tsuruga Trio

Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz At Lincoln Center is proud to present the Winners of The ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards in “ASCAP Month of Mondays,” on five consecutive Mondays: Featured Artists are: November 28: Manuel Valera December 5: Sherisse Rogers December 12: Jason Goldman December 19: David Guidi December 26: Maurice Brown

December 6-11: Donal Fox: Monk and Bach Project Featuring Lewis Nash and George Mraz

December 13-18: Donald Harrison/Patrice Rushen Quintet featuring Christian Scott (trumpet), Vicente Archer (bass) and Carl Allen (drums)

High-resolution, downloadable photos available at: http://www.jalc.org/dccc/c_calendar.asp

About Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, one of the three main performance venues located in Jazz at Lincoln Center's new home, Frederick P. Rose Hall. The intimate 140-seat jazz club is set against a glittering backdrop with spectacular views of Central Park that provides a hip environment for performance, education and other special events. The club also includes fine dinner, dessert and late night menus by New York culinary creators Great Performances and Spoonbread Inc. Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz and advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, weekly national radio and television programs, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, a jazz appreciation curriculum for children, advanced training through the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, music publishing, children's concerts, lectures, adult education courses, film programs, and student and educator workshops. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, Chairman of the Board Lisa Schiff, President & CEO Derek E. Gordon, Executive Director Katherine E. Brown and Jazz at Lincoln Center board and staff, Jazz at Lincoln Center will produce hundreds of events during its 2005-06 season. In October 2004, Jazz at Lincoln Center opened Frederick P. Rose Hall - the first-ever performance, education, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz.

For more information, please visit www.jalc.org