https://www.giantsteparts.org/news daily 0.75 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1618719427739-U2KBTEPQ4VY18MXJ7Q9M/ChrisPotter_JoeMartin_NasheetWaits_KATZ0061.jpg News https://www.giantsteparts.org/news/2023/4/3/giant-step-arts-launches-modern-masters-and-new-horizons-series-with-the-first-ever-live-album-as-a-leader-by-saxophonist-mark-turner-recorded-at-the-iconic-village-vanguard monthly 0.5 2023-04-03 https://www.giantsteparts.org/news/2021/6/24/i9m43uymwtw9k7uaut5qzfg9efvlfh monthly 0.5 2021-06-24 https://www.giantsteparts.org/news/2021/4/18/spring-2021-walk-with-the-wind-concert-series-in-central-park monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://www.giantsteparts.org/news/2020/9/23/ohh9hya4cb4phvsy395g9jpdi5ot5g monthly 0.5 2020-10-03 https://www.giantsteparts.org/news/2019/6/4/jason-palmer monthly 0.5 2019-06-04 https://www.giantsteparts.org/news/2019/3/5/eric-alexander-leap-of-faith-release monthly 0.5 2019-08-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1551842544271-0ZJRLX129TNL30JA79FP/EricAlexander_KATZ0275c_coverRGB.jpg News - Eric Alexander "Leap of Faith" release Tenor saxophone master Eric Alexander takes a Leap of Faith into new territory with adventurous chordless trio featuring Doug Weiss and Johnathan Blake Alexander’s new album, available May 17, 2019, is the third release from Jimmy Katz’s Giant Step Arts, a groundbreaking, artist-focused non-profit with a single mission: to help modern jazz innovators create their art free of commercial pressure “[Eric Alexander] is invariably eloquent and persuasive, reinforcing his stature as one of the jazz world's most astute and accomplished tenor saxophonists.” – Jack Bowers, All About Jazz “A lot of magic and beauty can come out of the freedom to explore that Jimmy [Katz and Giant Step Arts] granted us. I think the reason the music sounds the way that it does is because there was so much trust and freedom.” – Johnathan Blake, drummer and Giant Step Arts recording artist A modern-day master of the tenor saxophone, Eric Alexander is revered in hard bop and post-bop circles for his muscular tone, sophisticated expression, and exhilarating melodic invention. On his latest album, Leap of Faith, Alexander takes an unexpected plunge into the unknown with a set of far-reaching excursions with a brilliant chordless trio featuring bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Johnathan Blake. Recorded live at New York City’s Jazz Gallery, the stunning, surprising new album will be released May 17, 2019 thanks to the groundbreaking new non-profit Giant Step Arts, led by noted photographer and recording engineer Jimmy Katz. It was at Katz’s suggestion that Alexander decided to take this leap in the first place. The two men have known one another for more than 25 years, crossing paths shortly after the Illinois native arrived in New York City in the early 90s. Hearing the passion and imagination in Alexander’s playing, Katz would often suggest that the saxophonist explore a more expansive setting than his usual bop métier afforded. Being an artist with a particular vision (and a dose of the accompanying stubbornness), Alexander’s instinctual response was to reject any suggestion of where he should take his own music. “I know what I feel and what I’m enthusiastic about as a musician, so I have a built-in knee-jerk reaction to people telling me I should do something different,” Alexander explains. “You have to trust what you’re doing, or it can be very hard to be genuine. Once the idea began to set in, though, I realized it could be really exciting and rewarding on many levels. I started trying to figure out what type of material would satisfy the mission of the project and also make me feel like I was being honest, and I came up with something that was a little more than slightly different from what I’ve done before.” Creating the environment to do just that – embark on daring new endeavors, freed from the usual demands of record label and sales chart expectations – is precisely why Katz founded the innovative Giant Step Arts. Katz launched the organization in January 2018 in order to provide some of the music’s most innovative artists with the artistic and financial opportunity to create bold, adventurous new music free of commercial pressure. For the artists it chooses to work with, by invitation only, the nonprofit: • presents premiere performances and compensates the artists well • records these performances for independent release • provides the artists with 800 CDs and digital downloads to sell directly. Artists will own their own masters. • provides the artists with photos and videos for promotional use • provides PR support for the artists recordings “Giant Step Arts will not be selling any music,” Katz says. “We have two goals: help the musicians and raise more money so we can help more musicians.” That model, Alexander says, is for him as radical a departure from the norm as the music on Leap of Faith. “It’s diametrically opposite in every single sense of that term from everything else that I’ve done. It feels like a test for a very different model and I’m anxious to see what’s going to happen. It’s a leap of faith, appropriately enough.” While Leap of Faith falls squarely into a tradition of unbridled tenor exploration that dates back to some of Alexander’s major heroes, notably Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, it represents a first for Alexander in a few ways. He has rarely played in, and almost never recorded in, a chordless trio setting. It also marks the first time, in a discography that counts more than 40 releases, that Alexander has recorded an album consisting solely of his own original tunes. Aside from Katz’s persistent urging, Alexander was also inspired to undertake this bold new endeavor by a turbulent period in his life that included the death of his father, who is paid heartfelt tribute on the tender and searching ballad “Big Richard.” That was the most potent of the several “mid-life bumps in the road” that Alexander found himself facing upon turning 50 in 2018. “That may have put me, emotionally and creatively speaking, in a bit more of a raw space,” he concludes. “I thought I could use this project to vent, that maybe it would be cathartic to just let things fly.” Inaugurated by Alexander’s roving melodic tendrils, the trio begins the album with a brief free investigation that snaps into the bristling, brawny “Luquitas,” built upon and opened up from an earlier Alexander original dedicated his second-born son, “Little Lucas.” The piece is an out-of-the-gate showcase for the trio’s boundless energy, surging forward with unceasing momentum for more than eight minutes. It’s followed by “Mars,” which borrows the harmonic progression of a surprising source: the Bruno Mars megahit “Finesse.” “My kids liked it,” Alexander explains. “If your kids actually want to share something with you, it’s good to stop and listen for a second. I really liked it, then I took that ball and ran with it.” Meditative piano chords open “Corazon Perdido,” which breaks the chordless pattern by having Alexander accompany himself for a few ruminative minutes. It’s followed by some of the saxophonist’s most electrifying blowing, on the swaggering “Hard Blues.” Blake’s powerful rumble provides the bed for the blistering, volatile “Frenzy,” while Weiss’ deep, moaning bowed bass becomes the undercurrent of “Magyar,” based on a reduction of themes from Béla Bartók’s “Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.” Coltrane’s influence rears its fiery head on the far-reaching finale, “Second Impression.” For those who’ve heard Alexander stretch out live, some of the more explosive playing on Leap of Faith may not be quite so shocking. Alexander says it’s also not such a departure given his own wide-ranging tastes, which have not always emerged so strongly in his music. “Despite the fact that people believe that they have a pretty good idea of what my ‘brand’ is, I’m not really a bebop purist. I’ve always incorporated bits and pieces of what people might consider the avant-garde into what I do, so this was just a matter of letting that take over. That was really the giant step for me, and it felt at times like an out of body experience.” Eric Alexander Boasting a warm, finely burnished tone and a robust melodic and harmonic imagination, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander has been exploring new musical worlds from the outset. He started out on piano as a six-year-old, took up clarinet at nine, switched to alto sax when he was 12, and converted to tenor when jazz became his obsession during his one year at the University of Indiana, Bloomington. At William Paterson College in New Jersey he advanced his studies under the tutelage of Harold Mabern, Joe Lovano, Rufus Reid, and others. Eric has appeared in many capacities on record, including leader, sideman, and producer, as well as composing a number of the tunes he records. By now, Alexander has lost count of how many albums feature his playing; he guesses 80 or 90. While he has garnered critical acclaim from every corner, what has mattered most has been to establish his own voice within the illustrious bop-based jazz tradition. https://www.giantsteparts.org/news/2019/3/5/asac9xhmg7z51ga3rlctlx7juo234e monthly 0.5 2020-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1551842000586-KLFKSYQ0FGPNQ5ZF871C/JohnathanBlake_KATZ0248cover_cd_SMALL.jpg News - Johnathan Blake "Trion" release Drummer Johnathan Blake to release Trion, an exhilarating chordless trio outing captured live with fellow modern jazz greats Chris Potter and Linda May Han Oh Blake’s double album available April 5, 2019, is the second release from Jimmy Katz’s Giant Step Arts, a groundbreaking, artist-focused non-profit with a single mission: to help modern jazz innovators create their art free of commercial pressure “Johnathan Blake is a drummer equally capable of muscular propulsion and subtle shading.” – Nate Chinen, New York Times “[Blake’s] playing is furious but never overpowering, always alive with inner detail, galvanizing the players in his midst.” – David R. Adler, The New York City Jazz Record One of the most in-demand drummers of his generation, Johnathan Blake takes an all-too-rare turn as a leader with his vibrant new release, Trion. The album, captured live before a thrilled audience at New York City’s renowned Jazz Gallery, features a virtuoso chordless trio with two fellow masters of their instruments: the modern tenor giant Chris Potter and the eloquent bassist Linda May Han Oh. Trion, packed with nearly two hours of thrilling, exhilarating music, will be released April 5, 2019 thanks to the groundbreaking new non-profit Giant Step Arts, led by noted photographer and recording engineer Jimmy Katz. Though Blake’s name is on the cover, he approached this trio date with the same sense of open camaraderie with which he enters into any musical situation – the collaborative spirit that makes him such a remarkable drummer. The album’s title is taken from a physics term that refers to three atoms combining to form a single unit, a concept that is deeply meaningful in the context of this highly attuned trio. Blake initially put this trio as a collective which called itself the BOP Trio, inspired by the initials of each member’s last name. Their instant chemistry stemmed from extensive playing together in other situations: Blake had worked in similar chordless settings under Potter’s leadership along with Larry Grenadier and Ben Street, and with Oh in trios with Mark Turner and Jaleel Shaw. “I’m in awe of both Linda and Chris,” Blake says. “This was a really beautiful chance for us to make some honest music together and I really enjoyed the process. We all felt very comfortable in the chordless format; we really know how to fill up the space without getting in each other’s way, which gives each one of us the opportunity to have our shining moments.” When Katz approached him with the offer to record, Blake says, “I was almost in shock. It’s almost unheard of for artists nowadays to own their own project if they sign with a record label. Jimmy and [his wife and partner] Dena Katz have always been strong advocates for the music and they just want the best artistic project out there. Their idea is that if the project is really good, it’s not only a reflection of the artist but it’s also a reflection on them. I think they’re really visionaries in that respect.” Both of Trion’s two discs opens with a solo drum feature by Blake; the expressive “Calodendrum” is named for an evergreen tree native to Africa, reflecting the drum language’s roots on the continent, while “Bedrum” is a word that means “to drum about in celebration,” which couldn’t be more appropriate for Blake’s joyful percussion explosions. The band initially enters via Potter’s arrangement of The Police’s frenetic “Synchronicity I,” which showcases the trio’s brilliant attack and sustained intensity, stretching out over an enthralling and invigorating 17 minutes. Oh’s deeply moving solo leads into her own moody piece “Trope,” built on her brooding bass throb and a sinuous melody beautifully expressed by Potter. Potter contributes two pieces; the composer sets the pace for the lively bounce of the South African-inspired “Good Hope” by using his sax keys as percussion instruments, while the weightless lines of “Eagle” soar with seemingly effortless grace. Blake’s own originals look back to his early days in Philadelphia. “West Berkley St.,” named for the street where Blake grew up in the city’s Germantown section, and “High School Daze” both groove with the influence of the funk and hip hop tunes he heard alongside jazz, while the latter adds in a few unexpected swerves that suggest the stupor of wandering from classroom to classroom. “No Bebop Daddy” was inspired by saxophonist Donny McCaslin’s young son, who would loudly protest his father’s choice of music from his car seat on morning rides to school. Blake’s own father, the late jazz violinist John Blake Jr., is represented by his “Blue Heart,” a previously unrecorded composition. “Since he left us in 2014 I’ve made it a point to continue to celebrate my father’s life and legacy,” Blake says. “It’s a way for me to continue to let people know about this man who was such a great artist and beautiful human being.” Bassist Charles Fambrough was a family friend and a collaborator with John Blake Jr. in the McCoy Tyner band. Fambrough’s “One for Honor” was originally recorded on Tyner’s 1980 album Horizon, and later on the bassist’s own 1991 release The Proper Angle. “Charles basically knew me from birth and was one of the first people to give me a professional gig when I was still living in Philadelphia. He was like an uncle to me, and I want his music to live on and people to know about this amazing musician who left us way too soon.” The trio’s take on Charlie Parker’s classic “Relaxin’ at Camarillo” was unplanned, an on-the-spot decision when the Jazz Gallery audience demanded an encore. Its muscular swing and infectious exuberance, especially coming on the spur of the moment, reveals the three musicians’ love for playing together along with their spirited virtuosity. “A lot of magic and beauty can come out of the freedom to explore that Jimmy granted us,” Blake says. “I think the reason the music sounds the way that it does is because there was so much trust and freedom.” Johnathan Blake Johnathan Blake, one of the most accomplished drummers of his generation, has also proven himself a complete and endlessly versatile musician — "the ultimate modernist," as John Murph of NPR has dubbed him. Blake's gift for composition and band leading, so ably demonstrated on his 2012 recording debut The Eleventh Hour, reflects years of live and studio experience across the aesthetic spectrum. Through years-long memberships in the Tom Harrell Quintet, the Kenny Barron Trio and other top ensembles, Blake has reaped the benefits of prolonged exposure to the greats of our time — arguably of all time. Through his powerful, evocative drumming and fully rounded artistry, he's also left a huge imprint on the music of such rising figures in jazz as Hans Glawischnig, Alex Sipiagin, Donny McCaslin, Avishai Cohen, Omer Avital, Patrick Cornelius, Michael Janisch, Shauli Einav, Jaleel Shaw and more. https://www.giantsteparts.org/news/2019/jason-palmer-release monthly 0.5 2020-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1550521360552-KP9K3EFZ6FA3LNIEYQLC/JasonPalmer_frontcover_WEB.jpg News - Jason Palmer "Rhyme and Reason" release https://www.giantsteparts.org/press daily 0.75 2022-07-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1657240649330-AJPFA3RWSF847STA045L/Jimmy+%26+Dena+Katz+Downbeat+page0013.jpg press https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2022/7/7/giant-step-arts-releases-concerts-from-central-park monthly 0.5 2022-07-08 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2022/6/28/live-from-summit-rock-central-park-concert-series-captured-on-disc monthly 0.5 2022-07-08 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2022/6/28/to4id93odozf3nhdputfgl0e5xo170 monthly 0.5 2022-07-08 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2020/10/3/walk-with-the-windnbspbrings-jazz-to-new-yorks-central-parkfor-free monthly 0.5 2020-10-03 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2020/9/23/ouqyf6v2eyigw1tm87dl2se6075dk9 monthly 0.5 2020-09-24 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2020/9/23/michael-thomas-event-horizon-by-londonjazz monthly 0.5 2020-09-24 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2020/9/23/downbeat-review-event-horizon monthly 0.5 2020-09-24 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2020/9/23/jason-palmer-the-concert monthly 0.5 2020-09-24 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2020/9/24/jason-palmer monthly 0.5 2020-09-24 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2019/8/2/stereophile-magazine monthly 0.5 2019-08-02 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2019/6/4/40j4cnv1oj8vhnxuojn3ws5mycp75s monthly 0.5 2019-06-04 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2019/4/8/jazziz monthly 0.5 2019-04-08 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2019/3/1/new-york-times-jason-palmer-herbs-in-a-glass monthly 0.5 2019-03-01 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2019/3/1/wbgo-take-five-jason-palmer-rhyme-and-reason monthly 0.5 2019-03-01 https://www.giantsteparts.org/press/2019/3/1/jason-palmers-2-cd-set-a-winner monthly 0.5 2019-08-02 https://www.giantsteparts.org/new-events daily 0.75 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1618717063469-YWS7MEEU42VEV6LPTV49/ChrisPotter_JoeMartin_NasheetWaits_KATZ0061.jpg Events https://www.giantsteparts.org/new-events/2023/4/24/2023-recording-session monthly 0.5 2023-04-03 https://www.giantsteparts.org/new-events/2023/1/12/2023-open-recording-session monthly 0.5 2023-04-03 https://www.giantsteparts.org/new-events/2022/8/8/2022-summer-concertsopen-recording-sessions monthly 0.5 2023-04-03 https://www.giantsteparts.org/new-events/2023/4/3/2022-winter-concert-series-with-live-streaming-ida-k-lang-concert-hall-winter-series-hunter-college-nyc monthly 0.5 2023-04-03 https://www.giantsteparts.org/new-events/2021/6/24/nej4wqchbei7ln0zq0y0rq5tb3g836 monthly 0.5 2021-06-24 https://www.giantsteparts.org/new-events/2021/4/17/q8s1uummd14gtsyk8l7tgzrfnbiucu monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://www.giantsteparts.org/projects daily 0.75 2023-03-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1533255512444-MK98R5HHX0RWK0Z83DRG/JasonPalmerQuartet_JimmyKatz_0D8C0262.jpg founder https://www.giantsteparts.org/home daily 1.0 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1534957062887-V92S73PEZ7Z9BE686TPU/JasonPalmer_Silhouette_KATZ0461_Web.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1533244966786-RB6GMSDG75KIX5LRV2JL/JohnathanBlakeTrio_TheJazzGallery_a.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1680543272559-2GQAX78CF2U4ORURS0XR/JasonPalmer_FrontCoverNoText_Med_KATZ0491d+.jpg Home https://www.giantsteparts.org/what-we-do daily 0.75 2023-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1532976884558-HU5WUEM5BHGE0Z5JSZJG/JohnathanBlakeTrio_TheJazzGallery_a.jpg What We Do https://www.giantsteparts.org/take-action daily 0.75 2019-02-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1534957151604-I5X6BRJA3T9IUA2VZN0X/JasonPalmer_Silhouette_KATZ0461_Web.jpg Donate https://www.giantsteparts.org/johnathan-blake daily 0.75 2019-03-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1533264028122-OR9SJ3E9V5N6UZ5UWS74/JohnathanBlakeTrio_KATZ0075c+copy.jpg Johnathan Blake https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1533264050039-WFWIC3UZ4OH8F9P94J3O/JohnathanBlakeTrio_KATZ0124b_V1.jpg Johnathan Blake https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1533263764939-0L2U2L8FXYCBXF7KJDPI/JohnathanBlake_KATZ0157a_Web.jpg Johnathan Blake Johnathan Blake, one of the most accomplished drummers of his generation, has also proven himself a complete and endlessly versatile musician — "the ultimate modernist," as John Murph of NPR has dubbed him. Blake has honed his musicianship as a long standing member of the Tom Harrell Quintet, the Kenny Barron Trio and other top ensembles, to emerge as a band leader in his own right. His Giant Step Arts project is TRION, a spectacular trio of forward thinking musical collaborators featuring tenor saxophonist Chris Potter and bassist Linda May Han Oh. www.johnathanblake.com https://www.giantsteparts.org/contact daily 0.75 2019-03-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1533261367258-JZSBIOE3PX3NYJDEPU85/JasonPalmer_Silhouette_KATZ0461.jpg Contact https://www.giantsteparts.org/jason-palmer daily 0.75 2019-03-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1551476114715-7K0YLJPN8U3GSCJ4NEOC/JasonPalmer_Playing_insideright_SMALL.jpg Jason Palmer 2019 https://www.giantsteparts.org/eric-alexander daily 0.75 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/94516e2f-40d1-4826-bb60-1e75654d9dd5/EricAlexander_KATZ0275b_covercrop.jpg Eric Alexander - Eric Alexander Leap of Faith Doug Weiss Johnathan Blake A modern-day master of the tenor saxophone, Eric Alexander is revered in hard bop and post-bop circles for his muscular tone, sophisticated expression, and exhilarating melodic invention. On his Giant Step Arts release, Leap of Faith, Alexander takes an unexpected plunge into the unknown with a set of far-reaching excursions with a brilliant chordless trio featuring bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Johnathan Blake. www.ericalexanderjazz.com https://www.giantsteparts.org/jason-palmer-2020 daily 0.75 2020-09-24 https://www.giantsteparts.org/projects1 daily 0.75 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1680532150909-84C3NPX2BK734XBGWYBH/Wilson+Jones+Lederer+LeapDayTrio_COVER+*F+KATZ0036.jpg Projects - Leap Day Trio Live at The Cafe Bohemia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1680522342059-NTAJCQ3MJDLPNNH8L9OC/JasonPalmer_COVER+final_KATZ0034h_SMALL+2021.jpg Projects - Jason Palmer Live From Summit Rock in Seneca Village https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1680532066922-BJ4TYSF31JA2Z12ABW7A/Burton_McPherson_NEW+COVER_TEXT+KATZ0310h_layers_2021.jpg Projects - Burton/McPherson Trio The Summit Rock Session at Seneca Village https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1680522372087-D9JA8ENVWB3R7QJFTMHY/MichaelThomas_SKY_KATZ0307_cover_SMALL.jpg Projects - Michael Thomas Event Horizon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1680532127896-PBYEN0HMBY4DEK5WDUZY/JasonPalmer_Cover_KATZ0293bcover_SMALL.jpg Projects - Jason Palmer 2019 The Concert: 12 Musings for Isabella https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1680532091636-SAAECMDP0878IX8YYNVC/EricAlexander_KATZ0275b_covercrop.jpg Projects - Eric Alexander Leap of Faith https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1680532048350-WGC1503ESUASV626CNH1/JasonPalmer_Rhyme%26Reason_frontcover.jpg Projects - Jason Palmer 2018 Rhyme and Reason https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/1680532031512-571Z498783VETLY2CO71/JohnathanBlake_KATZ0248_frontcover_.jpg Projects - Johnathan Blake Trion https://www.giantsteparts.org/jason-palmer-2022 daily 0.75 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/edd06ec4-43f0-4335-b4e3-6279e2c6e70f/JasonPalmer_COVER+final_KATZ0034h_2021.jpg Jason Palmer 2022 - Jason Palmer Live From Summit Rock in Seneca Village Mark Turner Edward Perez Johnathan Blake Bandcamp Trumpeter Jason Palmer leads his third recording for Giant Step helming a fantastic quartet featuring saxophonist Mark Turner along with bassist Edward Perez and drummer Johnathan Blake. The album features the stellar band stretching out on tunes culled from the trumpeter’s prior pair of releases along with a blistering new composition. Within seconds of Palmer’s solo intro a plane can be heard roaring by, one of many pulse-quickening reminders (sirens, car horns, birdsong) of the environment in which this incredible music was captured. https://www.giantsteparts.org/leap-day-trio-1 daily 0.75 2023-04-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/75019bde-1553-402e-b929-c7371d453bb4/Wilson+Jones+Lederer+LeapDayTrio_COVER+*F+KATZ0036.jpg Leap Day Trio - Leap Day Trio Live At the Cafe Bohemia Matt Wilson Mimi Jones Jeff Lederer Bandcamp Leap Day should be predictable – it comes around like clockwork after all, once every four years. But it always seems to spring out of nowhere, an odd quadrennial anomaly that realigns the calendar and the clock. The Leap Day Trio does something similar. After nearly three decades of playing together, drummer Matt Wilson and saxophonist Jeff Lederer shouldn’t have too many new tricks left up their sleeves. Somehow they continually manage to surprise both audiences and each other with their witty interplay and off-kilter sensibilities, in this latest venture aided by a new addition to their ever-expanding circle, the potent and vibrant bassist Mimi Jones. Another surprise comes via the location of the trio’s spirited debut recording: Live at the Café Bohemia revives a legendary name from jazz’s past. Due out November 4, 2022 via the artist-centered nonprofit Giant Step Arts and recorded by renowned photographer/engineer Jimmy Katz, the album features the birth of a new trio at the rebirth of a storied New York City venue. This lively and electrifying set took place (when else?) on Leap Day and Leap Day Eve 2020, just four months after the Bohemia reopened – and mere weeks before live music experiences like this were shut down for months to come. Wilson and Lederer first met at a rehearsal date shortly after the drummer moved to New York City in 1993, where Wilson was immediately struck by the saxophonist’s visceral sound. “Any relationship I have with a musician usually starts with the sound coming up through the ride cymbal, and with Jeff the sound and the feel were so hard-hitting.” The two went on to work together in Wilson’s Quartet, his Carl Sandburg-inspired project Honey and Salt, and the holiday-focused Christmas Tree-O; and in Lederer’s Albert Ayler-inspired bands Sunwatcher and Brooklyn Blowhards. When Katz proposed a recording date at the newly-reopened Café Bohemia, a trio made the most sense for the somewhat cavernous space. Wilson instantly thought of Jones, who he’d recently seen perform. “I was really digging the way that I heard Mimi approach music,” he recalls. “Her spirit is to me is very reminiscent of an era of bassist that that I've been very fortunate to get to play with: folks like Cecil McBee, Buster Williams, Rufus Reid, and Calvin Hill. They’re grounded but also have a great sense of adventure.” All three brought in music for the date, though in the trio’s collective spirit the pieces remain uncredited on the album. It’s not always difficult to place the composer – opener “Dewey Spirit” is clearly named for Wilson’s mentor, saxophonist Dewey Redman, and “Gospel Flowers” previously appeared on a date that Lederer recorded with drummer Jeff Cosgrove and organist John Medeski – but the point is that the band was far more interested in communal invention than in individual expression. “I loved the way it felt,” says Lederer. “The way we play in this trio is pretty distinct from the way we play in the one that works in the month of December. It creates a whole different feeling. There’s just something about the openness of it, and Mimi brings a very flowing feel to it. There’s just a lot of breath in the sound.” “The trio only rehearsed twice before the gig,” admits Wilson, “but I could tell we were really going to throw down. Our spirits are aligned in a lot of ways. We all have differences, of course, but the overall spirit of adventure and kindness comes through.” Originally opened as a jazz club in 1955, when Charlie Parker offered to play the room in exchange for free drinks, the original Café Bohemia barely survived two Leap Days before closing in 1960 (Bird, tragically, passed away before ever playing the club he’d willed into being). After almost six decades, the club reopened in 2019 in its original Greenwich Village space, now the basement of the Barrow Street Ale House. Live at the Café Bohemia immediately joins the ranks of the stellar recordings captured live at the Bohemia by some of the music’s most revered names: Kenny Dorham’s ‘Round About Midnight at the Café Bohemia and two volumes by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, both on Blue Note; Randy Weston’s Jazz à la Bohemia for Riverside; a pair of Charles Mingus albums featuring Max Roach. Cannonball Adderley was discovered at the Bohemia when he sat in with Oscar Pettiford, who penned “Bohemia After Dark” in tribute to the club. Herbie Nichols was the house pianist, and the club was the testing ground for the Prestige recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet. Marvin Koner’s famous cover image for Davis’ ‘Round About Midnight was snapped at the Bohemia, its red tint coming not a filter but from a red fluorescent light above the bandstand. “It felt great to be back in a place that’s small and carefree,” says Wilson, citing his and Lederer’s early days as regulars at the now-defunct East Village bar Detour. “The Miles Davis Quintet – John Coltrane, Philly Joe Jones, Red Garland, Paul Chambers –used the Bohemia as their home base in New York. And the Kenny Dorham record from there is a classic.” “I was trying not to feel the weight of history,” Lederer says. “I thought I was cool with it, but then we walked in on Friday night and the first face I see at the table is Joe Lovano. Joe is a friend, but at the same time he's still a hero. It felt like such an event, all tied with the history of the place.” Attended by a host of family, friends, fellow musicians, jazz history buffs and just plain fans, the Leap Day Trio’s debut was no doubt a memorable event – one that the band ensures will be repeated far more than often than every four years. https://www.giantsteparts.org/burtonmcpherson-trio daily 0.75 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/117cd9ae-1872-4e27-b429-3a5f3340d057/Burton_McPherson_NEW+COVER_TEXT+KATZ0310h_layers_2021.jpg Burton/McPherson Trio - Burton/McPherson Trio The Summit Rock Session at Seneca Village Abraham Burton Eric McPherson featuring Dezron Douglas https://www.giantsteparts.org/michael-thomas-1 daily 0.75 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/b1dd6738-ef9f-4e2e-9d99-7a465f862676/MichaelThomas_SKY_KATZ0307_frontcover.jpg Michael Thomas - Michael Thomas Event Horizon Jason Palmer - trumpet Hans Glawischnig - bass Johnathan Blake - drums Bandcamp https://www.giantsteparts.org/jason-palmer-2019 daily 0.75 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/01f807e1-85a5-46ca-ba0e-013bdcaa21d3/JasonPalmer_TheConcert_Cover_KATZ0293bcover_SMALL.jpg Jason Palmer 2019 - Jason Palmer The Concert: 12 Musings for Isabella Mark Turner-Tenor Saxophone Joel Ross-Vibraphone Edward Perez-Bass Kendrick Scott-Drums Bandcamp Sometime during the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, a pair of thieves entered Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum disguised as police officers, exiting 81 minutes later with 13 works of art by some of the greatest painters of all time. Three decades later, the frames that once held those artworks still hang empty. The still unsolved heist remains the biggest art theft in the history of the world. Trumpeter and composer Jason Palmer has been fascinated by this remarkable mystery since he moved to Boston in 1997 to study at New England Conservatory. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the theft, and in part to shine a renewed spotlight on the crime in the hopes of unearthing some clue to the artworks’ whereabouts, Palmer composed his brilliant new suite dedicated to the missing pieces. Palmer’s dozen compositions, one for each piece stolen (a pair of related Degas sketches are combined in one homage), ignite masterful performances by the composer’s outstanding ensemble, featuring influential saxophonist Mark Turner along with rapidly rising star Joel Ross on vibraphone, drummer Kendrick Scott and bassist Edward Perez. The album was recorded last May with during a unique performance in the breathtaking Harold S. Vanderbilt Penthouse of the InterContinental New York Barclay, generously donated by the hotel for this occasion. On March 30, 2020, the results of that magical night will be released as The Concert: 12 Musings for Isabella, thanks to the groundbreaking non-profit Giant Step Arts led by noted photographer and recording engineer Jimmy Katz. Katz founded Giant Step Arts to create such once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for artists, freeing them from the usual demands of record label and sales chart expectations. The Concert marks Palmer’s second outing via Giant Step Arts. His highly-acclaimed Rhyme and Reason, was the inaugural release for Katz’s fledgling organization. “I’m really fortunate to work with Jimmy,” Palmer says. “It’s the first time I’ve released music myself, so I’m learning so much about how that works and I’ve sold a lot more records than I ever thought I would.” The audacious heist at the Gardner Museum, which included works valued at more than $500 million by artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Manet, and Degas, is a captivating story on its own. But in the disappearance of this priceless art, Palmer discovered a metaphor for the lack of respect for art and creativity in the modern world. “I found a congruence between the idea of these specific works being physically lost and art in general not being appreciated in society,” he explained. “I think there’s some kind of celestial relationship between making music inspired by works that are lost in hopes of having the art that I produce not be so lost on society.” Palmer’s compositions take myriad approaches to translating the missing works into music. Working from images of the stolen art, he drew inspiration for some of the pieces from the content of the source material. “Christ in a Storm on the Sea of Galilee,” for instance, responds to Rembrandt’s painting of a tempest-tossed voyage with a rollicking, turbulent 15/8 groove. The same artist’s shadow-shrouded “A Lady and Gentleman in Black” spurred him to concoct a raucously funky melody using only the black keys of the piano. Others inspired a more abstract approach, such as “An Ancient Chinese Gu,” taken from a bronze vessel used to drink wine during rituals in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The gu’s flaring, trumpet-like mouth evoked a clarion horn melody, inflected by a melody inspired by Chinese folk traditions in reference to the object’s provenance. https://www.giantsteparts.org/jason-palmer-2018 daily 0.75 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/3dae8060-4dcb-4242-a3f5-dcc87a95292b/JasonPalmer_Rhyme%26Reason_frontcover.jpg Jason Palmer 2018 - Jason Palmer Rhyme and Reason Mark Turner Matt Brewer Kendrick Scott Bandcamp https://www.giantsteparts.org/johnathan-blake-1 daily 0.75 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b5f545f7c932737c2d02341/9cbca5ac-19af-468a-9d6d-5d04704d62d9/JohnathanBlake_KATZ0248_frontcover_.jpg Johnathan Blake - Johnathan Blake Trion featuring Chris Potter Linda May Han Oh Bandcamp https://www.giantsteparts.org/home-alt-bedford daily 0.75 2025-05-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52a74d9ae4b0253945d2aee9/1390500612440-PGQSIY8KL9F7T5VIXQLO/chambers-2.jpg Home Alt A better world Starts with a choice Contact Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52a74d9ae4b0253945d2aee9/1390500503574-5BAPXZO9U06UV61P49UO/chambers1.jpg Home Alt Sustainability Starts with you Join Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52a74d9ae4b0253945d2aee9/1390500933384-LII4SRIPHFYOUFX0UCXC/chambers-4.jpg Home Alt A better world Starts with a choice Join Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52a74d9ae4b0253945d2aee9/1390504287124-HQ8GNX1JCE22V047MSQ9/chambers-8.jpg Home Alt Preserve Nature Join Us