DEVIN PHILLIPS QUARTET

Devin Phillips, Saxophones | Kiran Raphael, Piano | Eric Gruber, Bass | Tyson Stubelek, Drums
Born and reared in New Orleans, Devin Phillips’s intense affair with the saxophone began at the age of eight. At 14, he was accepted into the prestigious New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, whose alumni include Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr. and Nicholas Payton. There, trained in music theory and multi-styles composition, he graduated in 2000 with top honors. He has also tutored under clarinetist and educator Alvin Batiste. Like many budding young horn players form the Big Easy, he put his time in playing with the local brass bands in a traditional process of initiation in the musical process. Devin Phillips has paid his dues performing, touring and recording with top jazz artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Palmieri, The Headhunters, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, musician Lenny Kravitz, and Los Hombres Caliente, with whom he recorded two award-winning albums.
His reputation as a sax man with intricate and rhythmically innovative sounds made him a popular feature at jazz festivals: France’s Jazz de Vien Festival; Tokyo’s JVC Jazz Festival; Itanbul’s The Ruins; Spain’s Barcelona Jazz Festival; the Netherlands’ North Sea Jazz and the New Orleans Jazz Festival. In 2005, Phillips formed New Orleans Straight Ahead. But in August, Hurricane Katrina muted the music. With all gone, save his sax, and his family scattered throughout the U.S., Phillips evacuated to Portland and reformed New Orleans Straight Ahead with other musician evacuees. Phillips and took advantage of a program created by the PDXJazz Festival in partnership with Azumano Travel, which invited jazz musicians affected by the hurricane to come to Portland with their families, either for temporary shelter or for good. The invitation included free transportation to Portland, temporary housing, and access to an active jazz network with performance and workshop opportunities. Over the course of six months, more than 50 New Orleans musicians traveled to Oregon, a dozen musicians, including Phillips, have decided to remain in Portland. Since arriving, Phillips has performed at a number of local clubs and appreciated the opportunity to be part of the Portland Jazz Festival. Phillips says that opening the festival with “Amazing Grace,” talking with McCoy Tyner and being asked to stand in for one of Eddie Palmieri’s frontline players were high points for him.

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KAIDI AKINNIBI

Acclaimed London-based saxophonist, whose sound is very much centred in the capital’s vibrant music scene. Growing up in south London and learning from the Kinetika Bloco and Jazz Warriors families, Kaidi’s outlook on music has always been multifaceted, which can be seen in the various collaborations with the likes of Tom Misch, Black Midi, Blue Lab Beats, Celeste, Wizkid and DoomCannon.

Line up:

KAI AKINNIBI: Tenor Sax

JAMAL WILSON: Piano/Synth

DANIEL ROGERSON: Guitar/vocals

KLEIN SSERWADDA: Bass

NICO SAGGESE: Drums

His own music, more vocally orientated, borrows from Shoegaze rock and electronic production sounds amongst his other influences in jazz and classical music to create soundscapes reminiscent of a movie soundtrack.

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THE JAZZ SYMBIOSIS QUINTET

The music of Steve Swallow, Clare Fischer, Benny Golson, A.C.Jobim, McCoy Tyner, Kenny Garrett, Roland Kirk, Dizzy Gillespie, Mingus & Coltrane.
Scott FitzGibbon | flute, saxophone
Ken Johnston | trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn
Gus Russell | piano
Robert Lassila | bass
Joe Kelner | drums

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

William Henry Graham was born on September 8, 1918 in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in Denver, Colorado. During his years in Denver he led his own ensemble which included Paul Quinichette among its members. He went on to study at Tuskegee University and then Lincoln University of Missouri after a stint in the Army during World War II.

He worked with Count Basie, Lucky Millinder, Herbie Fields, and Erskine Hawkins early in his career. From 1946 to 1953, he worked with Dizzy Gillespie as a baritone saxophonist. As a composer under Gillespie, he penned the tune Oh-Sho-Be-Do-Be.

Following his Gillespie years he led his own band in New York City, in addition to touring Europe with Sarah Vaughan in 1953. From 1955 to 1957, Bill was back with Basie, including on the 1956 release April in Paris and the Newport Jazz Festival. In 1956-57 he teamed again with Quinichette, then in 1958 he found work with Duke Ellington and Mercer Ellington from 1958–59.

Outside of jazz, Graham also played on numerous R&B recordings, including those of Wynonie Harris, Joe Williams, and Little Willie John. In the 1960s he quit active touring and became a teacher in the New York City Public Schools system.

Saxophonist Bill Graham transitioned on December 29, 1975 in New York at the age of 57.

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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The Jazz Voyager

The Jazz Voyager is heading to Logan Airport in Beantown for a summer experience at the famous Scullers Jazz Club that has been a jazz landmark in the city since its founding in 1989. Led by jazz impresario Fred Taylor, the 200-seat club offers spectacular views of Boston’s skyline and the Charles River that serve as the perfect backdrop for world-class entertainment you won’t see anywhere else in Boston.

This week I’ll be enjoying NEA Jazz Master saxophonist Kenny Garrett. His illustrious career includes hallmark stints with Miles Davis, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. With a heralded career as a solo artist of more than 30 years ago, he is easily recognized as one of modern jazz’s brightest and most influential living masters.

The venue is located on the ground floor of the DoubleTree Suites at 400 Soldiers Field Road, MA 02134. More information can be obtained by calling 617-747-2261 or by visiting scullersjazz.com.

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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