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| Larry Willis Quintet, George Coleman Quartet @ Jazz Forum! Friday & Saturday Oct 26 & 27 | 7 & 9:30 pm Larry Willis Quintet Larry Willis is a leading American jazz pianist and composer, who has performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion, rock music, Latin music, Bebop and Avant-Garde. After his first year studying music theory at the Manhattan School of Music he began performing regularly with Jackie McLean. After he graduated he made his first jazz recording, McLean's Right Now!, which featured two of Willis' compositions. His first recording of any type, however, was as a singer with the Music and Arts Chorale Ensemble, performing an opera by Aaron Copland under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. He decided to concentrate on jazz because of the difficulties African American musicians had in finding work in concert music. He is still recording and touring around the world. Throughout his illustrious career he has performed with a wide range of musicians, including a stint of seven years as keyboardist for Blood, Sweat & Tears (beginning in 1972). Some of the other musicians he has played and recorded with include Dizzy Gillespie, Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw, Hugh Masekela, Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Stan Getz, Art Blakey, Art Taylor, Clifford Jordan, Carmen McRae, Shirley Horn, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Earl May, David "Fathead" Newman, Alphonse Mouzon and Carla Bley. Don't miss the Larry Willis Quintet at the Jazz Forum feat. Josh Bruneau, trumpet, Steve Davis, trombone, Blake Meister, bass, and Billy Williams, drums. Friday & Saturday Nov 2 & 3 | 7 & 9:30 pm George Coleman Quartet NEA Jazz Master A masterful improviser with an ear for both blues-informed lyricism and adventurous harmonics, saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator and NEA Jazz Master, George Coleman, is one of the most respected musicians to emerge out of the hard-bop era. With brilliant technique and a deeply soulful tone firmly rooted in his hometown of Memphis, Coleman has performed with many of the most legendary figures in Jazz and influenced countless saxophonists during his half-century in music. Intrigued by the music of Charlie Parker, Coleman taught himself to play the alto saxophone. In 1952, at the age of 17, he got his first big break with blues guitarist B.B. King, touring and recording with him for several years. Coleman switched to tenor sax when King needed a tenor man in his band. In 1956, Coleman moved to Chicago and joined Walter Perkins' group MJT+3. In 1958, he attracted the attention of drummer Max Roach and was offered a position in his band, requiring Coleman to relocate to New York City. In 1959, he signed on with trombonist Slide Hampton's octet, which afforded Coleman opportunities to tour Europe for the first time and develop his composing and arranging skills. In 1963, Miles Davis came calling, and Coleman was soon part of the groundbreaking quintet that included Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. In addition to the group's four classic albums, Coleman also played on Hancock's landmark Blue Note recording, Maiden Voyage. After leaving Davis' group, from 1964-74 Coleman freelanced as a composer and arranger for various musicians, such as Betty Carter, Chet Baker, Lionel Hampton, Lee Morgan, Elvin Jones, Charles Mingus, and Cedar Walton. He then began to focus on his own groups, working in quartet, quintet, and octet settings, and adding the soprano saxophone to his instrument repertoire. Coleman has played numerous times at the Jazz Forum, at festivals, in prestigious concert halls and top clubs around the United States and in Europe. A winner of numerous honors and awards, Coleman has twice been presented the Key to the City of Memphis. In 1997, he received the Jazz Foundation of America's Life Achievement Award, and in 2012, he was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. See the George Coleman Quartet feat. Jeb Patton, piano, John Webber, bass, and Joe Strasser, drums at the Jazz Forum! 1 Dixon Lane Tarrytown, New York (914) 631-1000 write your comments about the article :: © 2018 Jazz News :: home page |