Jazz Gallery Celebrates Ornette Coleman, 9/24-26

The Jazz Gallery, in tandem with noted photographer Jimmy Katz, will celebrate the music and life of Ornette Coleman at the Jazz Gallery in New York on September 24-26, 2010. The event, "Celebrating Ornette Coleman," will feature great musicians playing music composed or inspired by the legendary saxophonist, who has expressed deep support for the event.
 
Katz, also a sound engineer, created the festival to honor a man who has broken all boundaries and led the way since the 1950s to the creative improvised music we enjoy today. This event is the first in a series of festivals dedicated to musicians whose artistry changed the course of jazz. The festival will be recorded, and to further a mission to support and promote jazz artists,  the musicians will own the masters.
 
All the featured musicians have unique musical statements to make in honor of the great Ornette Coleman. The artists are:
 
Trio Lovano Super Sonix (Joe Lovano, Cameron Brown, Joey Baron)
Mark Turner Quartet (Avishai Cohen, Joe Martin, Marcus Gilmore)
Kevin Hays Quartet (Seamus Blake, Ben Street, Jochen Rueckert)
Nasheet Waits and Equality (Stanley Cowell, Eric Revis, Logan Richardson)
Jonathan Blake Trio (Wayne Escoffery, Matt Brewer)
Logan Richardson/Ambrose Akinmusire Quartet
Joel Frahm Trio (Martin Wind and Matt Wilson)

Surprise guests are also expected. See full schedule below.
 
Katz did not limit the lineup to saxophonists. "The leaders were asked to dedicate their performance to Ornette Coleman, and were given no direction more than that. The idea is that the format be open and in his spirit."
 
Seating is limited and tickets will be on sale at the Jazz Gallery website (www.jazzgallery.org).
 
Ornette Coleman (born March 9, 1930) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning artist and one of the world's most significant jazz innovators. His playful, vocal-inspired alto saxophone sound harks back to the very beginnings of African-American music, even as it pushes boldly into the future. From such groundbreaking albums as "Change of the Century", "Free Jazz", "The Shape of Jazz to Come"  and of course 2007's "Sound Grammar", to his orchestral work "Skies of America" and his harmolodic "free-funk" ensemble Prime Time, to his curating of the 2009 Meltdown Festival in London, to his collaborations with Jerry Garcia, Joe Henry, Lou Reed and many more, Coleman has created a monumental living legacy that defies categories, influencing practically every jazz musician who has followed in his wake.
 
Jimmy Katz, born in New York City in 1957, received his B.A. in political science and studied photography with John McKee at Bowdoin College. He was presented with the Jazz Journalists Association's Excellence in Photography Award in 2006. His work has been exhibited throughout North America as well as in Europe and Japan. Jimmy and his wife, Dena Katz, have collaborated on photographic projects in New York in the music field since 1991, and have done over 300 recording projects and 100 magazine covers. Their fine art color photography projects "Salt Dreams" and "World of Wonders" explore American subcultures and eccentricities.
 
The Jazz Gallery is a nonprofit international jazz cultural center, dedicated to nurturing the youngest generation of professional jazz musicians. Founded in 1995, The Jazz Gallery has helped foster and launch the careers of, among others, Miguel Zenon (2008 MacArthur Fellow), Yosvany Terry, Vijay Iyer, Jason Lindner, Dafnis Prieto, Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Lionel Loueke and Aaron Parks. The Gallery's success in uncovering such talent is underscored by the involvement of jazz greats such as Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman, Oliver Lake and Lee Konitz. With funding from The Jerome Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, The Greenwall Foundation, Meet the Composer, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and many others, The Jazz Gallery is able to offer ambitious programs including its Thursday Night Debut Series, Jam Sessions with Roy Hargrove, participation in the CareFusion NYC Jazz Festival, and an upcoming new Commissioning Residency program.