DONNY MCCASLIN QUINTET

For more than two decades, protean saxist and composer Donny McCaslin has relentlessly expanded his musical purview in a variety of ensemble settings: as a sideman, as the pilot of his own diverse groups and, more recently, as a collaborator on the late Bowie’s final album, Blackstar. That investment in genres outside of jazz is visible on the tenorist’s recent work.

Donny McCaslin – Saxophone

Gregoire Maret – Harmonica

Julian Lage – Guitar

Scott Colley – Bass

Johnathan Blake – Drums

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BEN WENDEL QUARTET

Ben Wendel is a naturally inquisitive musician whose credentials branch out beyond jazz. He briefly toured with Snoop Dogg. He’s a member of Kneebody, a postmillennial groove band with a sizable following, as well as an accomplished solo artist and producer.

Ben Wendel – Saxophone

Gerald Clayton  – Piano

Linda May Han Oh – Bass

Obed Calvaire – Drums

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RAVI COLTRANE 3+3

Ravi Coltrane is the son of saxophonist John Coltrane and jazz harpist Alice Coltrane and is a jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi.

Dezron Douglas & Johnathan Blake ~ Oct 25-27

Gadi Lehavi & Éle Howell ~ Oct 28-30

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Myron Pierman “Mynie” Sutton was born October 9, 1903 in Niagara Falls, Canada. He worked in dance ensembles in Buffalo, New York and Cleveland, Ohio between 1924 and 1931. Returning to Canada in 1931 he founded the Canadian Ambassadors in Aylmer, Quebec. This was one of very few black jazz bands based out of Canada in the 1930s.

The group operated out of Montreal, Canada from 1933, playing at Connie’s Inn, the Hollywood Club, and Cafe Montmartre. Additionally they toured Quebec and Ontario. Pianists in the ensemble included Lou Hooper and Buster Harding.

By 1941 the Ambassadors had disbanded and Sutton returned to his birthplace of Niagara Falls, where he played locally for decades. He made no commercial recordings. A collection of materials devoted to Sutton is held at the Concordia University library in Montreal.

Alto saxophonist and bandleader Mynie Sutton transitioned on June 17, 1982 in Niagara Falls.

BRONZE LENS

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Ami Nakazono was born on October 6, 1986 in Kagoshima, Japan and began classical piano lessons at the age of 4. By 12 she was playing the alto saxophone and joined her school brass band. After two years, she won the “City Solo Instrumental Competition.” At the same time she was offered a full scholarship to study music at Fukuoka Daiichi High School in Fukuoka, Japan, where she studied classical music, theory, ear training, harmony, and brass band skills.

After graduation, she entered Senzoku Gakuen University, Japan’s most prestigious university, with a jazz major. During this time, Ami formed her own band and began playing gigs in and around Tokyo, Japan. Again two years later in 2007 she accepted a scholarship from Berklee College of Music, moved to Boston, Massachusetts and continued to perform and study under Walter Beasley, Dino Govoni, Bill Pierce, Shannon LeClaire and Jeff Harrington, and flute with Mia Olson. In 2008 with mentor and inspiration George W. Russell Jr., the two worked on several collaborations during this period at Berklee.

Nakazono began performing internationally with the acclaimed band, Violette, headed by French jazz singer~songwriter Violette De Bartillat. In 2010 she recorded for two critically praised albums, Joie de Vivre with Violette and Shine with George W Russell Jr.

Saxophonist Ami Nakazono is currently an active member of Boston’s entertainment group Raw Ambition and continues to perform at prestigious venues and festivals across the United States.

BRONZE LENS

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