Steve Hudson Chamber Ensemble Plays the Cornelia Street Cafe Tonight, 5/26

The Steve Hudson Chamber Ensemble (www.Steve-Hudson.com), led by composer Steve Hudson - piano/melodica, and featuring Sara Caswell – violin, Jody Redhage - cello/voice, and Martin Urbach - cajon/percussion, returns to play a live show backing their critically acclaimed album "Galactic Diamonds" – tonight, May 26th, 2012 at 6:30 pm, at the Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia St., New York. Tickets are $20, (includes one drink) and can be purchased at the door. Call (212) 989-9319 or visit www.corneliastreetcafe.com for more information.

Vocalist Peter Eldridge has won two Grammy Awards with New York Voices, and has recorded/performed with Bobby McFerrin, Theo Bleckmann, Meredith Monk, and Joshua Redman. Praised by Keyboard Magazine for his "exquisite compositions" and for "a quest for beauty in his lines that evoke the masters," Steve Hudson has worked with Steven Bernstein, James Zollar, Marcus Rojas, and Claire Daly. Sara Caswell has performed and recorded with pianist Fred Hersch, Esperanza Spaulding, and the New York Pops Orchestra, while Jody Redhage currently tours with bassist Esperanza Spalding and has performed with the Tokyo String Quartet, and Bang on a Can. Martin Urbach has shared the stage with Lee Konitz and Dave Liebman. In 2011, the ensemble performed at Chamber Music America's national conference in New York and toured Italy and Austria to promote "Galactic Diamonds."

Their newest recording, Galactic Diamonds, has been called "a collection of little gems" by All About Jazz; "so disarmingly fun that it's impossible to resist...a good-naturedly eclectic mix of third stream jazz with a catchy, quirky pop edge" by Lucid Culture; and "consistently engaging" by Christian Carey, Signal To Noise.

Steve Hudson is a pianist and composer based in New York City whose compositions and piano style embrace the history of jazz, blues, folk, and modern classical music, all with a free spirited love of improvisation. Recently, Steve and saxophonist Claire Daly premiered an extended suite at the Juneau Jazz Festival dedicated to the Alaskan explorer Mary Joyce which they also took to Jazz at Lincoln Center.