The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager will be landing in the Big Apple tonight heading to Broadway to help kick off the New Year at Dizzy’s by celebrating with drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts on his 65th birthday. The club sits high above Columbus Circle with a backdrop of Central Park and the Manhattan vistas. It’s a view to remember.
This multi-Grammy winner and Guggenheim fellow leads an all-star band for a high-energy, four-night run, featuring saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, pianist James Francies, James Genus on the double bass, and guitarist Paul Bollenback. Tain’s distinct blend of swing, innovation, and soul, honed through collaborations with legends like Wynton Marsalis and McCoy Tyner, is sure to set the stage afire and raise the roof.
Tickets range from $25.00~$60.00 and some performances Sold Out , so check availability before you go.
Dizzy’s is located at 10 Columbus Circle, New York City, NY 10019. For more information visit https://jazz.org/dizzys.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
James Robert Haslip was born December 31, 1951 in the Bronx, New York City to Puerto Rican immigrants. Spanish was his first language but he learned to speak English in kindergarten. Moving to Huntington, New York when he was four years old, by age seven he was playing drums then trumpet and tuba until landing on the bass at 15.
Surrounded in the home with music that included classic and orchestra jazz, Latin, and pop vocals, he and his peers also visited nightclubs and concert venues. Jimmy took music lessons and attended a private music school, but considers himself self-taught. He went to a local music shop with his father, purchased a right-handed bass though he is left-handed, and learned to play it upside down without restringing.
During his high school years Haslip formed his first band called Soul Mine with his classmates, playing soul music at school dances and parties. The early 1970s saw him playing with New York glam band Street Punk, then moved to Los Angeles, California in 1976, where he played with guitarists Tommy Bolin and Harvey Mande.
A founding member of the jazz fusion group Yellowjackets in 1977, a relationship that lasted until 2012, he has also worked with Jeff Lorber, Eric Marienthal, Bruce Hornsby, Rita Coolidge, Gino Vannelli, Kiss, Tommy Bolin, Allan Holdsworth, Marilyn Scott, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Donald Fagen, and Anita Baker.
Bassist Jimmy Haslip is currently taking a break from performance to concentrate on family and producing independent projects.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bruce David Gertz was born on December 15, 1952 in Providence, Rhode Island. He first learned to play guitar, then switched to bass guitar as a teenager, playing with local blues and rock groups.
He studied music formally at New England College and Berklee College of Music in the 1970s. After graduating from Berklee in 1976 he taught music there; he is now a professor of music. He worked with George Garzone in the Overtones in the late Seventies and was a co-leader of ensembles with Jerry Bergonzi from 1978 to 1989.
He has worked with Mike Stern both in the Bergonzi ensembles and with Stern’s own quartet. From 1982 to 1985 he was house bassist for the Willow Jazz Cafe in Somerville, Massachusetts. In the 1990s he worked with John Abercrombie, Joey Calderazzo, Ken Cervenka, Adam Nussbaum, Danilo Perez, Dan Reiser, Kurt Rosenwinkel, George Schuller, and others.
Double and electric bassist Bruce Gertz continues to perform.
BILL CHARLAP TRIO
The Bill Charlap Trio – with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington – is a jazz super-group with three brilliant, accomplished talents.
Their dazzling interplay and near-telepathic communication has earned a Grammy Award and multiple nominations, plus raves from audiences everywhere. Downbeat gave their new live recording, And Then Again, 4 ½ stars, placing them among “the best of the best ensembles in jazz history” playing at “the epitome of their creative powers.”
Two Shows ~ 7:00pm & 9:30pm | Friday 12.13 ~ 7:00pm Sold Out
Tickets: $40.00 + $3.00 fee
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ROBERT HURST
A Detroit Native, Robert Hursts boasts a distinguished 30+ year career as a composer, bassist, educator, and entrepreneur. Renowned for his work with icons like Sir Paul McCartney, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Diana Krall, Terence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton, Ravi Coltrane, Kris Davis, and the legendary Pharaoh Sanders, Hurst’s talent shines on over 250 recordings, earning him seven GRAMMY® Awards and numerous RIAA® certifications. Notably, he was the inaugural bassist for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, garnering four EMMY® Awards from his performing, directing, acting, arranging, and composing on the NBC program. Hurst’s musical prowess extends to 30+ major motion picture scores for hits like The Wood, Good Night and Good Luck, and Ocean’s Eleven series.
Currently an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, Hurst received an NEA Grant for groundbreaking programming at The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. In 2024, he continues to shape the music landscape through curated performances, acclaimed releases, and global tours. Recognized in Detroit’s jazz legacy film, “The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit,” Hurst remains an integral figure in contemporary music and cultural movements.
JEFF “TAIN” WATTS:
Jeff “Tain” Watts is one of the most in demand jazz drummers in the world today. Jeff Watts majored in classical percussion at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University, where he was primarily a timpanist, followed by enrollment at the Berklee School of Music, where he pursued jazz studies alongside such talented players as Branford Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, Greg Osby, Aimee Mann, Steve Vai and Marvin “Smitty” Smith. Jeff joined the Wynton Marsalis Quartet in 1981 and proceeded to win three Grammy Awards with the ensemble. Watts left Wynton Marsalis in 1988. After working with George Benson, Harry Connick. Jr. and McCoy Tyner, he joined the Branford Marsalis Quartet in 1989. Jeff has worked in the film and television industry as both a musician on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and as an actor, Rhythm Jones in Spike Lee’s “Mo Better Blues”. Jeff joined Kenny Garrett’s band after returning to New York in 1995 after three years in LA on the Tonight Show. Watts also continued to record and tour with Branford Marsalis as well as Danilo Perez, Michael Brecker, Betty Carter, Kenny Kirkland, Courtney Pine, Geri Allen, Alice Coltrane, Greg Osby, Steve Coleman, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Ravi Coltrane.
ORRIN EVANS:
During his kaleidoscopic quarter-century as a professional jazz musician, pianist Orrin Evans has become the model of a fiercely independent artist who pushes the envelope in all directions. Never supported by a major label, Evans has ascended to top-of-the-pyramid stature on his instrument, as affirmed by his #1-ranking as “Rising Star Pianist” in the 2018 DownBeat Critics Poll. Grammy nominations for the Smoke Sessions albums The Intangible Between and Presence, by Evans’ raucous, risk-friendly Captain Black Big Band, stamp his bona fides as a bandleader and composer. In addition to CBBB, Evans’ multifarious leader and collaborative projects include the Eubanks Evans Experience (a duo with eminent guitarist Kevin Eubanks); the Brazilian unit Terreno Comum; Evans’ working trio with bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Mark Whitfield, Jr.; and Tar Baby (a collective trio of 20 years standing with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits). One of Tar Baby’s two 2022 releases will be released on Evans’ imprint, Imani Records, which he founded in 2001 and relaunched in 2018.
The Band: Robert Hurst – Bass | Jeff “Tain” Watts – Drums | Orrin Evans – Piano
Tickets: $95.00 Dinner & Show
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