Cornelia Street Presents Jed Distler, Jung Lin, Kenny Warren, et al., 8/10-16

This week, the Cornelia Street Cafe will be hosting several musical acts, including Four-handed Fantasies with Jed Distler, The Zozimos Quartet, and much more. For more information and a complete calendar listing, visit www.corneliastreetcafe.com.

Tue Aug 10
8:30PM FOUR HANDED FANTASIES WITH JED DISTLER
(Jed Distler, piano; Jung Lin, piano)
Three of today's most forceful yet utterly distinct piano personalities preside over the Cornelia Street Café's Yamaha grand (loaned by Jed, by the way) over two evenings. Jed Distler and Jung Lin reunite to collaborate with Mozart's Sonata in D Major K. 381 and Schubert's Fantasia in F Minor D. 940, plus solo works by Schumann, Rzewski, Godowsky, Rachmaninov & Distler.

Jed Distler and Jung Lin participated in Cornelia Street's 2009 outdoor Make Music New York premier of Simeon ten Holt's Canto Ostinato for Four Pianos. They join up again this summer for two pillars of the duet repertoire by Mozart and Schubert, with solos in between. The Simon Mulligan/Jed Distler duo, by contrast, is based on both pianists' informal Café encounters, where they've been known to sight-read overtures and improvise on just about anything at the drop of a hat.

Known for her poetic and virtuosic pianism, Taiwan native Jung Lin conducted her own orchestral works at age 12, won numerous competitions in her native country, and was featured on Taiwan's major news program "90 minutes." At sixteen her symphonic poem, "The Black Wedding" was given its premiere by The Juilliard Symphony under Miguel Harth-Bedoya. In addition to numerousall-Chopin recitals played all over the world, Jung's fervent and highly acclaimed championing of Nicolas Medtner's resulted in a forthcoming recording for Naxos. In addition to three New York Botanical Garden recitals broadcast on WQXR, other recent appearances include Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bargemusic, and the International Keyboard Institute and Festival.
Cover $10

Wed Aug 11
8:30PM FOUR HANDED FANTASIES WITH JED DISTLER
(Jed Distler, piano; Simon Mulligan, piano)
Three of today's most forceful yet utterly distinct piano personalities preside over the Cornelia Street Café's Yamaha grand (loaned by Jed, by the way) over two evenings. Jed Distler and Simon Mulligan dust off the old piano bench in search of long-forgotten arrangements of popular classics and justly obscure opera potpourris, take audience requests, improvise a little, and serve up Satie's four-handed Parade.

Described by The Times of London as 'the most abundantly gifted of pianists', Simon Mulligan has more than 20 CDs to his credit, including Martinu's Triple Concerto (conducted by Yehudi Menuhin), Rozsa's Spellbound concerto with the BBC Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin, Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition, Chopin's Nocturnes, Ned Rorem's Second Piano Concerto, and solo works by legendary pianist Alexis Weissenberg. He has premiered works by Hans Werner Henze, James MacMillan, Tobias Picker, Mark Anthony Turnage and Paul Moravec. In 2007, Simon was one of the youngest recipients to be awarded the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music for his musical achievements.

Called "an altogether extraordinary pianist" by Michael Redmond in the Newark Star-Ledger, Jed Distler has premiered works by Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Curran, Virgil Thomson, Simeon ten Holt, Andrew Thomas, Lois V Vierk, Wendy Mae Chambers, Richard Rodney Bennett, Virko Baley and other luminaries. Jed has given solo concerts in Italy, Switzerland, England, and all across the US, and his work can be found on the Bridge, Decca, Nonesuch,Point, CRI and New World labels. A new solo CD Meditate with the Masters features his own soothing, relaxing piano renditions of classical music's greatest hits. As ComposersCollaborative's artistic director, Jed founded the Cornelia Street Café's long-running Serial Underground series, and is hosting Hammered, a New York Public Radio show devoted to all genres of keyboard music. He also writes CD reviews for Gramophone and Classicstoday.com.an be found on the is also a passionate composer and arranger, writing for film, television and his own jazz quartet. He also writes CD reviews for Gramophone and www.Classicstoday.com.
Cover $10

Thu Aug 12
8:30PM THE ZOZIMOS COLLECTIVE - QUARTET
(Ben Stapp, tuba; Sebastian Noelle, guitar; Alex Terrier, saxophones; Danny Fischer, drums)
The Zozimos Collective expands and contrasts in personnel depending on the program and tonight it will feature the group as a quartet. Weaving Messiaen inspired rhythmic drones, 4D - Faux Harmony, aleatoric techniques, and more, Zozimos searches for a musical tincture that will touch even the most hardened New York soul.
Mr. Stapp's most recent release, and debut CD "Ecstasis," has received a critic's pic from the NY Times, Honorable Mention in the Village Voice, and was described as a "fresh new voice," and "most certainly to watch" by All About Jazz. Since then he has spent his time developing his language as a composer and tubist with his group the Zozimos Collective.
Cover $10 www.benstapp.com

10:00PM KENNY WARREN HALA HALA
(Kenny Warren, trumpet, compositions; Phil Rowan, bass; Devin Gray, drums; JP Schegelmilch, piano)
Denver born, Brooklyn based trumpeter Kenny Warren has been gaining some notoriety in New York recently for his work with Slavic Soul Party, Tony Malaby's Novela, and NOOK. His new quartet, Hala Hala, features all original music inspired by his eclectic jazz roots. He will be supported by old and new friends J.P Schelgelmilch on Piano, Phil Rowan on Bass, and Devin Gray on Drums.

Cover $10 http://www.myspace.com/kennywarren

Fri Aug 13
9:00PM & 10:30PM ANDERS BERGCRANTZ QUINTET
(Anders Bergcrantz, trumpet; Adam Kolker, saxophones; Michael Eckroth, piano; Ron McClure, bass; Victor Lewis, drums)
Anders Bergcrantz Quintet is a brand new constellation put together for this event and for many more performances to come. Old friends & New friends getting together to create some serious music. The band leader is from Sweden and the rest of the musicians from the US. An All Star band with a lot of passion and focus, performing jazz music at its best!
Anders Bergcrantz grew up in a family of jazz musicians and is one of the foremost trumpet soloists in the world today and the favourite player among many jazz stars all over the planet. He is truly a unique and virtouso trumpeter with a fat and beautiful sound.

Anders Bergcrantz has received a great number of fantastic awards and prizes all along. Twice he received the foremost Swedish Jazz award "THE GOLDEN RECORD" Twice he has been voted "JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR", His latest release "About Time" was voted "Best Jazz CD of the year" by Swedish Radio's listeners, among loads of other great acknowledgements and very recently (September 2009) received this years Swedish/French award Django d'Or in the category: CONTEMPORARY STAR OF JAZZ.

Adam Kolker is a multi-talanted performer, composer and arranger. He performed and recorded with latin-jazz artist Ray Baretto from 1994 through 2002 ( with whom he received two Grammy nominations). He also has appeared and/or appears regularly in New York City with such groups as the Village Vanguard Orchestra, the Maria Schneider Big Band, Bruce Barth, Kenny Wheelers Large Ensemble a.o. He has recorded with Bruce Barth, John Herbert, Peter Herborn, The Story among many others.

Michael Eckroth was born May 30, 1975, ND. Raised in a musical family, he started piano lessons at four years of age. Eventually studying and performing in Brazil and Cuba, Eckroth´s career, though centered in straight ahead jazz, has been deeply influenced by Latin American music. Eckroth is a highly respected pianist, working as sideman with many jazz stars, and is a member of the John Scofield Quartet. Eckroth is also performing and recording as a leader.

Ron McClure studied with Don Sebesky, and worked in the Buddy Rich Sextet in 1963 and Maynard Ferguson's big band and Herbie Mann concurrently in 1964. He then assumed the bass chair in the Wynton Kelly Trio vacated by the late Paul Chambers in 1965 (frequently accompanying guitarist Wes Montgomery). Thereafter, he joined the Charles Lloyd Quartet with Keith Jarrett and Jack de Johnnette, spanning 1966-69. In the greater part of the 1970s, Ron engaged himself in an association with saxophonist Joe Henderson, with whom he joined Blood, Sweat & Tears. Henderson and McClure recorded four albums together. In the 1980's, McClure joined Quest, led by David Liebman, which included drummer Billy Hart and pianist Richie Beirach. McClure and Anders Bergcrantz has worked and recorded several times together, in NYC and Europe.

A super star! Victor Lewis has been one of the most respected and loved jazz drummers of the world since the mid seventies. His work with Woody Shaw, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon among many others is now part of jazz history. Victor Lewis is a modern, tasteful, hard swinging drummer with capacity to play any style of jazz. He is also a fantastic composer and band leader of his own. The greatest!
http://www.andersbergcrantz.com

Sat Aug 14
9:00PM & 10:30PM HEAVY METAL DUO
(Ray Anderson, trombone; Bob Stewart, tuba)
The Heavy Metal Duo, Bob Stewart and Ray Anderson, explodes brass playing to another dimension. Product of a 30 year musical friendship, the Duo weaves blues, jazz, folksongs, spirituals and originals into a wondrous tapestry. Deeply versed in the essence of swing and occasionally sounding like an entire brass band, Stewart and Anderson cover the entire history of the music, from earliest parade ground marches to latest sonic sculptures.
"The two synchronized their prodigious talents on "East St. Louis Toodle-oo", "Wade In the Water", "John Henry" and even The Four Tops' "Sugar Pie Honeybunch", retelling every tale in ebullient and hauntingly personal fashion." David Adler, All About Jazz, NY.

Described by critic Gary Giddins as "one of the most compellingly original trombonists," and declared "the most exciting slide brass player of his generation" by the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, Anderson is by turns a supremely lyrical player and bold texturalist, a warmly natural-sounding soloist and footloose innovator. He has led or co-led a daunting assortment of tradition-minded and experimental groups, big bands, blues and funk projects and even a trombone quartet. He is recognized as an original and compelling composer and has recorded more than 80 of his own compositions with these groups. He has also demonstrated his special supportive skills on a remarkably wide assortment of albums by Anthony Braxton, David Murray, Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, Dr. John, the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Luther Allison, Bennie Wallace, Henry Threadgill, Barbara Dennerlein, John Scofield, Roscoe Mitchell, the New York Composers Orchestra, Sam Rivers' Rivbea Orchestra and others.

Bob Stewart has toured and recorded with such artists as Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Carla Bley, David Murray, Taj Mahal, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Arthur Blythe, Freddie Hubbard, Don Cherry, Nicholas Payton, Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Haden, Lester Bowie and many others both in the United States, Europe and the Far East. "The Tuba, as you know, was phased out of most ensembles around 1923 with the introduction of the "walking" upright bass. Since then it has only been in the last 20 years that composers and arrangers have begun hearing the instrument. As a result, there are more instances in which the Tuba appears in ensemble work."

Bob Stewart is bridging the gap between 1923 and the present by bringing the Tuba back into the modern ensemble as the bass in the rhythm section and as a horn available for melodic lines and soloing.
Cover $10 http://www.rayanderson.org

Sun Aug 15
8:30PM TANYA KALMANOVITCH, TED REICHMAN AND ANTHONY COLEMAN
(Tanya Kalmanovitch, violin, viola; Ted Reichman, accordion; Anthony Coleman, piano)
Violinist/violist Tanya Kalmanovitch, accordionist Ted Reichman and pianist Anthony Coleman frequently perform in the context of Boston's New England Conservatory, where Coleman and Kalmanovitch are on faculty in the department of Contemporary Improvisation. Tonight, they'll improvise over works drawn from the musicians' own compositions, 20th century modernisms (jazz and classical alike), and stubborn popular song.

Cover $10 http://www.myspace.com/antcol8

Mon Aug 16
8:30PM CORNELIA COMEDY FESTIVAL
(John Morrison, comedian; John Oliver, comedian; Wyatt Cenac, comedian; Pat Dixon, comedian; Leo Allen, comedian; Mark Normand, comedian; Sean Donnelly, comedian)
John Morrison hosts John Oliver, Wyatt Cenac, Pat Dixon, Leo Allen, Mark Normand & Sean Donnelly Cornelia Street Cafe
Cover $10 (plus $7 Drink Minimum)