MACI MILLER & DAVID O’ROURKE

THURSDAY APRIL 15

9.00 PM PARIS / 8.00 PM LON / 3.00 PM NY / 12.00 PM LA

TICKET PRICE €10.00 / £10.00 / $13.00

Maci Miller - vocals David O’Rourke - guitar

Philadelphia’s Maci Miller captivates and entertains audiences around the globe with her unique and soulful jazz vocals, and is equally at ease whether she’s interpreting the Great American Songbook, rearranging popular songs, or her performing her own compositions.

She has sung in legendary rooms such as the The Jazz Standard and Danny’s Skylight Room in NYC, and Chris’s Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Bally’s, Harrah’s and the Claridge in Atlantic City. Her travels have also taken her to the iconic Bamboo Bar in Bangkok, Thailand for several extended runs. Adding to her extensive musical experiences, Maci is a featured guest vocalist with numerous notable symphonic orchestras, big band and pops concerts. 

On recordings and live on stage, she has worked with some of the greatest in the business, including trumpeter Steve Jankowski (Nile Rodgers, Chicago), saxophonist Larry McKenna (Woody Herman), Demitrious Pappas (Smokey Robinson’s Musical Dir.), and the late, great George Mesterhazy (Shirley Horn). Her latest recording, Round Midnight, was a collaboration with David O’Rourke.

David O’Rourke has played with many jazz legends such as Tommy Flanagan’s Trio, Cedar Walton’s Trio, Jackie McLean, Billy Higgins, Curtis Fuller, James Spaulding, Vernal Fournier, and Brother Jack McDuff. He collaborated with drummer Lewis Nash on a project that brought Irish music and jazz together for a CD (“Aisling”) by a band they called “The Celtic Jazz Collective”. They played several runs at Jazz Standard as well as a performance in Harvard sponsored by the Cambridge Multicultural Center. David recorded a CD with Larry Willis (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass) and Al Harewood (drums) and later on wrote an extended orchestral medley from Porgy And Bess for Larry Willis to perform with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. His close friendship with George Benson and Hammond B3 player Seleno Clarke led to a 12 year stint with Seleno’s Quintet. From their Harlem base the quintet played festivals in the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and at various US festivals.

For over a decade, New York City based jazz guitarist, conductor, and arranger he has guided tomorrow’s jazz musicians as ‘house bandleader’ of the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra. And for his contributions to Jazz Standard Discovery (a music education program that he has led since 1998), David and co-founder James Polsky were named “New Yorkers Of The Week” by NY1 News. He has played with Les Paul and Bucky Pizzarelli and studied with legends such as Barry Galbraith and Pat Martino. He currently leads and writes for his own 20-piece band (The O’Rourkestra) at the Zinc Bar NYC.

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Booking closes 30 minutes before the start of concert to allow time to process payments and send passwords.

DICK DE GRAAF & BARRY GREEN

FRIDAY APRIL 16

9.00 PM PARIS / 8.00 PM LONDON / 3.00 PM NEW YORK / 12.00PM LA

TICKET PRICE €10.00 / £10.00 / $13.00

Dick de Graaf - alto sax Barry Green - piano

Dick de Graaf has been known for years for his unique approach in which he combines a cool saxophone technique with an old-fashioned warm and deep saxophone sound. His virtuoso improvisations resemble whimsically constructed buildings by an architect with unbridled imagination.

 In addition to being a saxophone soloist, de Graaf has also manifested himself as a resourceful composer and arranger over the years. Inspired by his collaboration with greats such as Chet Baker, Misha Mengelberg, Jasper van 't Hof, Toumani Diabaté and Erkan Ogur, he repeatedly initiated surprisingly original projects. In it, he increasingly explored the border areas between jazz, classical and world music. Jimi Hendrix, West African griots, J.S. Bach, Franz Schubert, Astor Piazzolla and Bela Bartok became new sources of improvisation.

His interest in connecting jazz with classical music led to a doctoral dissertation on applications of serial compositional techniques from the work of Peter Schat and Olivier Messiaen in his own jazz music, for which he obtained his PhD in 2017. The enthusiastically received CD "Bird Buzz" was the convincing artistic result of this.

On the occasion of Dick de Graaf's 40th anniversary as a jazz musician, the CD 'Festive' will be released in April 2021 with 8 new pieces laid down by a new quartet featuring pianist Barry Green, bassist Jos Machtel, and drummer Pascal Vermeer.

Barry Green is a rising star on the European Jazz scene. He has accompanied, led and recorded with many of the world's leading Jazz artists including: Dave Friesen, Bobby Watson, Perico Sambeat, Charles McPherson, Deborah Brown, Ben Street, Drew Gress, Chris Cheek, Tom Rainey, Gerald Cleaver, Stan Sulzmann and many more.

He started his own record label called Moletone records in 2008. The first release was the trio record "The Music of Chance" featuring Ben Street and Jeff Williams, this received glowing reviews. A duo album followed this featuring the great bass player Dave Green, "Turn Left at Monday", performing rare songs by Alec Wilder and Ornette Coleman. His third release on Moletone records is "Babelfish" (you put it in your ear!), with vocalist Brigitte Beraha, and featuring Chris Laurence and Paul Clarvis.

In January 2014 Barry recorded two trio albums in New York; the first with Chris Cheek and Gerald Cleaver titled "Great News", and the next with Drew Gress and Tom Rainey called "Almost There"..

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Booking will close 30 minutes before the concert to allow time to process payments and send passwords.

JOSH NELSON

SATURDAY APRIL 17

9.00 PM PAR / 8.00 PM LON / 3.00 PM NY / 12.00PM LA

TICKET PRICE €10.00 / £10.00 / $13.00

Josh Nelson - piano

Born and raised in Southern California pianist-composer-bandleader Josh Nelson has performed with some of the most respected names in jazz, including Kurt Elling, John Pizzarelli, Benny Golson, Sheila Jordan, John Clayton, George Mraz, Jeff Hamilton, Dave Koz, Joe Chambers and Peter Erskine.

Nelson toured with legendary vocalist Natalie Cole for six years and continues to tour with vocalists Gaby Moreno, Freda Payne, Alicia Olatuja, Sara Gazarek, accordionist Richard Galliano, saxophonist Tom Scott, multi-instrumentalist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and violinist Christian Howes. He taught jazz for four years at Soka University and more recently at Cal State University Northridge. In 2006, Nelson was a semi-finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition.

His debut album as a leader, 2004’s Anticipation, garnered attention while his 2007 followup, Let it Go, was hailed by Jazz Times, All About Jazz and Jazz Review as a fully-realized breakthrough album. Nelson’s next album, 2009’s I Hear a Rhapsody, had him re-imagining Jerry Goldsmith’s “Theme From Chinatown,” Jimmy Van Heusen’s “Here’s That Rainy Day” and Elliott Smith’s “Everything Means Nothing To Me” while contributing seven affecting originals.

With 2011’s sci-fi influenced Discoveries, Nelson introduced his Discovery Project, an immersive multi-media presentation combining video, performance art, light and art installations with his original music.

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Last minute booking will close 30 minutes before the start of concert to allow time to process payments.

BRUCE BARTH

SUNDAY APRIL 18

9.00 PM PARIS / 8.00 PM LON / 3.00 PM NY / 12.00PM LA

BOOKING HAS CLOSED FOR THIS CONCERT

Bruce Barth - solo piano

Jazz pianist and composer Bruce Barth has been sharing his music with listeners the world over for more than two decades. Deeply rooted in the jazz tradition, his music reflects both the depth and breadth of his life and musical experiences. In addition to traveling widely performing his own music, he has also performed with revered jazz masters, as well as collaborated with leading musicians of his own generation. And most notably, his performances feature material from his large book of very powerful and imaginative original compositions, written in a voice that is both deeply personal and expressive. Tony Bennett, with whom Bruce toured for over a year, says "I have a great love for excellent musicians, and Bruce Barth is one of my favourites."

Bruce has performed on over one hundred recordings and movie soundtracks, including ten as a leader. He is equally at home playing solo piano (American Landscape on Satchmo Jazz Records), leading an all-star septet (East and West on MaxJazz), and composing for a variety of ensembles. His trio has recorded live at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City.

Originally from Pasadena, California, Barth started piano lessons at the age of five, with a natural tendency to play by ear. He fell in love with jazz as a teenager, and learned by listening, later studying at New England Conservatory in Boston. While in Boston, he recorded George Russell's masterpiece, "The African Game" for Blue Note Records.

Within a year of moving to Brooklyn in 1988, Barth toured Japan with Nat Adderley. He
started working with Vincent Herring and Stanley Turrentine, and joined Terence Blanchard's quintet in 1990. During the next four years, he toured extensively with Blanchard, recorded six CD's and several movie soundtracks, and played onscreen in Spike Lee's film, Malcolm X.

While in Blanchard's band, he recorded his first two CD's as a leader, In Focus and Morning Call on the Enja label, both which were chosen for the New York Times' top ten lists in their respective years. These recordings displayed not only Barth's piano work, but the scope of his original com positions and memorable arrangements of jazz standards.

He has continued to release a stream of critically acclaimed recordings in solo, trio, quintet and septet groupings, the latter featured on his 2001 release East and West; with an all-star group playing Barth's compositions based on memories of his childhood experiences in the Western United States -- deserts, ranches, and ghost towns. His Live at the Village Vanguard CD was second on the national radio charts, and won international critical acclaim.

Some of Barth's recent appearances include trio performances at Village Vanguard, Jazz Standard, and Smoke in New York, several major European Festivals including San Sebastian, Stockholm, and Barcelona, and solo piano tours of Japan. His septet has played in several
festivals, including Terrassa, Spain, and Braga, Portugal.

He has performed with James Moody, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Tony Bennett, Freddie Hubbard, Tom Harrell, Victor Lewis, John Patitucci, Lewis Nash, Vincent Herring, George Robert, Steve Wilson, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, David Sanchez, Terell Stafford, Tim Armacost, Luciana Souza, Karrin Allyson, Dave Stryker, and the Mingus Big Band.

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Booking closes 30 minutes before the start of concert to allow time to process payments and send passwords.