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Saxophonist Sarah Manning at Yoshi's November 21st, 2005

According to famed jazz writer Nat Hentoff, twenty-something alto saxophonist and composer Sarah Manning “can swing as naturally as she breathes - an enlivening presence in the new generation of jazz makers. Manning plays and writes in what is unmistakably her own voice.” On November 21st, 2005, the fierce young Bay Area saxophonist makes her debut at the renowned jazz club Yoshi's in characteristically bold fashion - with the live recording of her second album. Grammy nominated producer Bud Spangler will be recording the performance for the album and for future broadcast on his radio program on KCSM, “Sunday Night Suites.”

Empowered by the innovative new web platform ArtistShare, Manning will feature seven new originals. She has been documenting the process on her website through photo galleries, essays, news items, sheet music, audio clips, interviews and more. Joining her onstage will be Randy Porter on piano, John Wiitala on bass and Akira Tana on drums - the same quartet as Manning's critically acclaimed debut album, House on Eddy Street. In April 2005's JazzTimes, David Franklin observed, “Sounding like no one but herself, she possesses a well-focused, slightly edgy tone that suits equally her firmly swinging, uptempo postbop excursions and her highly melodic slow-tempo explorations.”

With a live recording, Manning continues the interactive relationship she has been building with fans through the innovative new web platform ArtistShare. Participants from New York to the United Kingdom have logged into her website and joined the Yoshi's Street Team. Through this free participant offer fans can see what's behind the music for the recording as it is being created - from the meanings of titles like “Small Fire Breathing Dragon” and “Two Rooms, Same Door” to the harmonic structure, audio of early performances and reflections on both the creative process and the massive changes in the music industry. You can also listen to interviews with other people in the music business, including Yoshi's Artistic Director Peter Williams and fellow ArtistShare artist Deanna Witkowski.

Originally from New England, Manning relocated to the West Coast, inspired in part by a previous journey by Greyhound bus. Girl and horn took the bus all the way from New York to San Francisco where Sarah played on the street for eleven days and paid for her trip by busking for change. Without a rhythm section, and trampled upon by tourists and businesspeople, she began to develop the edginess and determination she displays today.



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