Concerts with the finest Jazz artists brought to your home
GMF ONLINE CONCERT SERIES
Solo Concerts with some of the finest artists in Jazz today
Each concert will be 30 minutes long and will be followed by a Q&A session with the performing artist.
The concerts will be live on Zoom. We have done all we can to achieve the best possible audio experience but we can only work within the bounds of the technology available at present. We advise using headphones.
ADVANCE BOOKING ESSENTIAL
Booking closes 90 minutes before the start of concert to allow time to process payments and send out the meeting ID and password. With the increased amount of traffic in cyberspace at this time some replies are being delayed. To ensure that you receive your meeting ID and password in time please book as far in advance as possible.
XAVIER DAVIS
TUESDAY JUNE 2
9.00 PM PAR | 8.00 PM LON | 3.00 PM NY | 12.00PM LA
This concert has been paused to observe Blackout Tuesday
It has been re-scheduled to take place on June 24.
Xavier Davis' professional career as a Jazz pianist took off when the legendary vocalist Betty Carter spotted his outstanding talent in 1994. It was her who brought Xavier to New York, hiring him exclusively as the pianist of her working trio. Today, Xavier is one of the most accomplished Jazz pianists world wide.
Xavier has performed and recorded with many world-famous Jazz artists like the legendary Freddie Hubbard, Tom Harrell, Christian McBride, Regina Carter, Stefon Harris, Abbey Lincoln, Wynton Marsalis, Don Byron, Nat Adderley, Nicholas Payton, Al Foster, among others. During 1999 - 2000 season, Xavier was Musical Director of the Boy's Choir of Harlem. He is featured on more than 50 albums, is part of the Christian McBride Big Band and was featured on Christian's album 'The Good Feeling', which won a GRAMMY award in 2012.
As a bandleader, Xavier has released two critically acclaimed albums - 'Dance of Life' and 'The Innocence of Youth'.
In 2005, Xavier became the first person to receive the prestigious "New Works Grant" twice from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation under the auspices of Chamber Music America.
He has composed and arranged music for outstanding artists like Carl Allen, Regina Carter, and Hans Schuman. He co-produced the album "Wise Children" by Tom Harrell and recently produced the new album of singer Lizzie Thomas.
"Pianist Xavier Davis simply knows how to make every note on his instrument sing.” - Bob Blumenthal, Jazz Times
WILL BARRY
WEDNESDAY JUNE 3
9.00 PM PAR | 8.00 PM LON | 3.00 PM NY | 12.00PM LA
TICKET PRICE €10.00 / £10.00 / $13.00
Will Barry is an award winning rising star pianist from London.
At just 27 years of age he is part of numerous projects internationally, most prominently touring with Phronesis bassist Jasper Høiby’s group ‘Fellow Creatures’ in Turkey, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Holland and also extensively in the UK.
Winner of the prestigious MUSICIANS COMPANY " JAZZ YOUNG MUSICIAN AWARD 2017", he has performed at the North Sea, Love Supreme, Green Hours and Umbria Jazz Festivals, and appeared alongside Madison McFerrin, Perico Sambeat and Eddie Henderson as well as Cuban musicians Julio Montalvo, Yoel Paez and Issac Delgado Jr.
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Last minute booking will close 90 minutes before the start of concert to allow time to process payments.
MIKE KANAN & STEPHANIE GREIG
The Anniversary Concert
THURSDAY JUNE 4
BOOKING NOW CLOSED FOR THIS CONCERT
9.00 PM PAR | 8.00 PM LON | 3.00 PM NY | 12.00PM LA
TICKET PRICE €10.00 / £10.00 / $13.00
Michael Kanan hails from Boston, Massachusetts where he first began to play the piano at age 7. He started improvising at the keyboard early on, and by age 10 he was listening to jazz. His first instructor was pianist Harvey Diamond, a student of jazz innovator Lennie Tristano. During his years at Boston College, Michael had the opportunity to perform with several jazz greats including Tal Farlow, Lee Konitz, Al Cohn, and Alan Dawson. After graduating college and doing some freelance work around Boston, he moved to New York in 1991 to study with another Tristano student, the pianist Sal Mosca. He established himself in New York, playing and recording with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, and Jorge Rossy, among others. He also developed a growing reputation as a vocal accompanist. In 1996, he joined the band of legendary singer Jimmy Scott, touring the US, Europe, and Japan and recording 4 CDs. In 2001, Michael became the accompanist and arranger for one of today's most celebrated vocalists, Jane Monheit. With Ms. Monheit's group, he has toured all over the world, recorded several CDs and DVDs, and made many TV appearances, including The David Letterman Show and The Conan O'Brien Show.
When not on the road with the Monheit band, Michael performs and records with his own groups. He has made two trio recordings for Barcelona's Fresh Sound New Talent label: "Convergence" and "The Gentleman Is A Dope", both featuring bassist Ben Street and drummer Tim Pleasant. He has also recorded a duet with his longtime collaborator, alto saxophonist Nat Su, entitled "Dreams And Reflections". He can be heard around New York with his trio featuring guitarist Greg Ruggiero and bassist Neal Miner.
Stephanie Greig is a second-generation bassist who began learning the standards while growing up in Las Vegas. Since 1998, she has played jazz in a variety of settings from New York to the South Pacific. Additionally, she performed as double bass principal in the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra from 2012 to 2018, and in recent years has composed theatrical and chamber music for the Concrete Timbre artists’ collective.
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Last minute booking will close 90 minutes before the start of concert to allow time to process payments.
BARRY GREEN
FRIDAY JUNE 5
BOOKING IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS CONCERT
9.00 PM PAR | 8.00 PM LON | 3.00 PM NY | 12.00PM LA
TICKET PRICE €10.00 / £10.00 / $13.00
Barry's star is rising high 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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Last minute booking will close 90 minutes before the start of concert to allow time to process payments.
"This pianist can effortlessly sustain a graceful Bill Evans-like lyrical swing, but also massages the ideas of others." John Fordham - The Guardian
DAVID BERKMAN
SATURDAY JUNE 6
BOOKING IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS CONCERT
9.00 PM PAR | 8.00 PM LON | 3.00 PM NY | 12.00PM LA
TICKET PRICE €10.00 / £10.00 / $13.00
David Berkman has been an essential part of the New York jazz scene for over 30 years, as a creative and swinging voice on the piano and as a gifted composer, arranger and bandleader. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he currently divides his time between teaching in N.Y. and performing with world renowned jazz artists at home and abroad. Berkman has performed with numerous jazz luminaries including: Sonny Stitt, Tom Harrell, Brian Blade, the Vanguard Orchestra, Cecil McBee, Dave Douglas and Chris Potter. His 10 recordings as a leader have appeared on numerous “Critic’s Best” lists. Berkman is a tenured professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music, C.U.N.Y. in New York and has published three books on jazz with Sher Music Publishing which are used in jazz schools worldwide.
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Last minute booking will close 90 minutes before the start of concert to allow time to process payments.
“Berkman is a scintillating composer and improviser…” —Steve Futterman, Entertainment Weekly
BRUCE FORMAN
SUNDAY JUNE 7
BOOKING IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT
9.00 PM PAR | 8.00 PM LON | 3.00 PM NY | 12.00PM LA
TICKET PRICE €10.00 / £10.00 / $13.00
A hectic touring schedule; eighteen recordings as a leader, including his newest release, Junkyard Duo; countless sideman recordings including Ray Brown, Bobby Hutcherson, Roger Kellaway; soundtrack performances on three of Clint Eastwood’s distinguished films—most notably Academy Award-winning Million Dollar Baby; producer, arranger, acclaimed educator, in residence at USC’s Studio/Jazz Guitar Dept., when does Bruce Forman rest?
Bruce Forman’s life and musical journey provide an American saga that is still in full swing. His Texas origins, his early career in San Francisco and New York, and his years on the road, all contribute to the unique and highly personal vision that he demonstrates today.
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Last minute booking will close 90 minutes before the start of concert to allow time to process payments.
"Bruce Forman is one of the great lights of our age.” Barney Kessel, Jazz Times
MICHAEL WEISS ZOOM JAZZ PIANO MASTER CLASS
JUNE 7
10 .00AM LA |1.00PM NY | 6.PM LON | 7.PM PAR | 8.00 PM MSK
THE MASTERCLASS WILL BE 90 MINUTES DURATION. MICHAEL WILL PLAY, TAKE QUESTIONS AND GIVE DEMONSTRATIONS.THE EVENT IS OPEN TO PIANISTS, ALL MUSICIANS AND ANYONE WHO WANTS TO LISTEN/OBSERVE.
PRICE: $21.00 | €19.00 |£18.00
Topics discussed to be selected from the following:
Technique
– posture, hand position, good tone, choosing fingering that insures intended articulation and phrasing.
– Eliminating extraneous and unnecessary motion, from the fingers to the arms, shoulders, head.
– Swing with legato.
Harmony
– a step-by-step method to choose the best voicings, with range considerations.
– Using harmony as an expressive device, coloring any melody note with the desired amount of consonance and dissonance.
– Using passing chords and understanding progressions.
Melody Within Harmony
– melodic movement inside chords. A thorough review of chord/scale tonality.
– Applying Barry Harris' sixth/diminished scale concept to a song.
Arranging
– Create quality introductions, endings, codas, interludes
Rhythm
– Carrying the tempo independently, and what it means to swing
Comping Considerations
– Choosing the best supporting harmony and rhythm for each type of soloist
Solo Piano Concepts and Orchestration
– maintaining the tempo by yourself at any tempo without walking a bassline or stride left hand.
Practicing
– Making the most efficient and productive use of your practice time
– Transposition exercises, repertoire, perfecting rhythm and articulation.
– What to get out of listening to records.
M I C H A E L W E I S S
“He can focus the intensity in a tune as well as any pianist in mainstream jazz” – New York Times
“One of the most fluent and flexible pianists of his generation” – BMI Music World
"Weiss' shrewd writing and arranging skills are as clearly in view as his sleek piano work"
– The New Yorker
Since arriving in New York in 1982, pianist, composer, arranger and educator Michael Weiss has forged a formidable career working in the bands of jazz legends Johnny Griffin, Art Farmer, Slide Hampton, Frank Wess, Heath Brothers, George Coleman, Jazztet, Charles McPherson, Jon Hendricks, Lou Donaldson, and the Junior Cook/Bill Hardman Quintet. He has also performed with Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Clark Terry, Clifford Jordan, Phil Woods, Pepper Adams, Ron Carter, David Newman, Gerry Mulligan, Nancy Wilson, Randy Brecker, and other high profile jazz recording artists. Weiss’s big band work includes the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Mingus Epitaph Orchestra and Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.
As a band leader Weiss has headlined at festivals and clubs internationally as well as every major New York venue, including the Village Vanguard, Blue Note, Jazz Standard, Birdland, Bradley’s, Iridium, Sweet Basil and Smoke. At the Vanguard, the New York Times wrote that Weiss "demonstrated a strong sense of leadership and organization" exhibiting "sensitivity and logic, along with crisp control."
Television appearances include CBS-TV’s Nightwatch and PBS’ Live From Lincoln Center: The City of Jazz. NPR radio appearances include PianoJazz with Marion McPartland, Making the Music with Wynton Marsalis, Jazzset, and the Jazz Piano Christmas Special.
Weiss was a 1989 prizewinner in the Thelonious Monk Institute's International Piano Competition and won the 2000 BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute's Composition Competition grandprize presented to him by Wayne Shorter.
Weiss' four recordings as a leader are on the CrissCross, SteepleChase, DIW and Sintra labels. About his latest recording, “Soul Journey” critics write:
"Warmth, integrity and above all, originality. Weiss’ originals sound as if they were standards of the genre." – JazzTimes
“the songs simply smoke” – Detroit Free Press
“About as close to perfection as a recording can get. If there is truly justice in our world, this should be a Grammy nominee.” – Jazz Improv
“This music lives and breathes freshness and exhilarating originality. The individual selections are strong and attractive enough, to still be played as jazz vehicles in 10, 20, or even 50 year’s time.” – Jazz Journal
Weiss is deeply committed to jazz education. In master classes and residencies throughout the world Weiss aims to relay his bandstand experience through a host of topics that directly address the standards and performance practices required of a professional jazz musician.
Visit www.michaelweiss.info