December!

Hi all - going to try and post one update on the 1st of the month outlying the proceedings….

December is a fun month to play at Halls. Thats right - I am at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, Rockwood Music Hall and Berklee Performance Center (Hall). First up playing the great 8-Bit Big Band at the Berklee Performance Center on December 3 and then at one of my favorite venues in NYC, The Town Hall on December 9. I am back at the illustrious Carnegie Hall on December 12th with another one of my favorite artists Jessica Vosk in a tribute to Judy Garland and her (Judys!) groundbreaking debut at the Hall. Also happy to playing again this month at Rockwood Music Hall with the incredible Peter Eldridge and his band of some of my favorite musicians on December 16th. On the days in between you should be able to catch me at my Broadway show Moulin Rouge (most of the time!). Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and have a great New Year!

Rave Reviews for Two Takes Volumes 1 & 2

Four Stars in JazzWIse- Click here

Jay Harvey Upstage - Click here

Rave in Columbia Tribune- Click here

Steptempest Blog - Click here

Feature in Rochester City Newspaper - Click here

New Records Out September 2021!

I’m thrilled to announce that my two(!) debut records as a leader will be out on Anzic Records on September 24, 2021. The first is a quintet record of all original music with Marquis Hill on trumpet, Godwin Louis on alto saxophone, Luis Perdomo on piano and Matt Clohesy on acoustic bass. The second album is a big band record of the same 8 pieces I recorded with the quintet arranged by some of todays masters of big band composition and arranging, including Jim McNeely, Mike Holober, Miho Hazama, Darcy James Argue, Alan Ferber, John Daversa, Laurence Hobgood and Brian Krock. The band is a virtual who’s who of the New York Jazz scene, including soloists such as Donny McCaslin, Troy Roberts, Marshall Gilkes, Jon Gordon, Adam Birnbaum, Nir Felder, Jason Rigby, Scott Wendholdt and many more.

Click here for the albums!

January in Review

2019 is off to a great start. I had two great album recording sessions- First with the guitarist Joel Harrison and his large ensemble at Oktaven Studios in Mt. Vernon, NY. Great band and music featuring soloists Ingrid Jensen, Stacy Dillard, Alan Ferber and Jon Irabagon. The second session was for trumpeter/vocalist Augie Hass’ new record, done at Trading 8’s in Paramus, NJ.

I played my first gig with Emmy and Tony-winning vocalist Kristen Chenoweth in Minneapolis with the Grammy-winning Minnesota Orchestra. Conducting and on piano was the fabulous Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

The beginning of January marks the annual arrival of APAP to New York. Two regular groups I play with, Duchess and the Laila Biali Trio, had great performances and turnouts for their showcases. Laila, Matt and I then also played a sold-out show at Rockwood Music Hall and the band was on fire.

Last but not least, I am starting to realize one of my two new projects that will be coming out sometime later in the year. The first of these projects is fulfilling a particular dream of mine: a large ensemble record featuring an amazing cast of the world’s best musicians, performing my original compositions arranged/orchestrated by the world’s top arrangers, including but not limited to Jim McNeely, Mike Holober, Alan Ferber, Darcy James Argue and more. I am beyond thrilled to put this out in to the world and perform it. Stay tuned for more!

New Records

It's Spring in NYC and I'm happy to announce a few records I've worked on will finally be released out in to the world!

The first is violinist Meg Okura's Ima Ima featuring her ensemble the Pan-Asian Chamber Ensemble. Great writing and a great band featuring the legendary trumpeter Tom Harrell and guitarist Rez Abbasi.

Second is vocalist Amy Cervini's No One Ever Tells You. Amy is an incredible singer who also happens to be a great friend and human being. Her album consists of a close knit band of great musicians and friends and the record has a great "live-gig" feel to it. Out on Anzic Records on June 15.

Third is saxophonist Charles Pillow's Electric Miles. It's a great large ensemble re-imagining of Miles Davis' electric music including music from Bitches Brew, On The Corner and more. Great soloists including trumpeters Tim Hagans and Clay Jenkins, saxophonist Dave Liebman and trombonist Mike Davis.