"Benny Green could be the monster pianist of the 21st century"- Joanne Brackeen

Benny Green

Benny Green possesses the history of jazz at his fingertips with his mastery of keyboard technique and decades of experience playing with no one less than the most celebrated artists of the last half century. Green has been hailed as perhaps the most exciting, hard-swinging, hard-bop, pianist to ever emerge from Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Green is currently on tour with his project called Monk's Dream: 50 Years Fresh billed as 'A Celebration of the Expanding Musical Universe of Bebop'. With Monk's Dream, Benny and band pay homage to the legacy and the man that is his first and most significant musical hero, Thelonious Monk. With his trio, featuring Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums Benny Green releaseed his latest album, Source last year [click here for a Jazz Police review].  Come hear Benny Green and his trio at the Jazz Standard on Friday, February 24th through Sunday, February 26th (note: Ben Wolfe subs on bass on Saturday).

Tadd Dameron (Gottlieb)

Joe Farnsworth, taking up a cause of the late, great, Philly Joe Jones, honors the music of the late bebop pianist/composer Tadd Dameron this weekend at Smoke Jazz and Supper Club on the upper west side. Dameron, whose compositions include jazz classics such as “Our Delight,” Good Bait,” and “Lady Bird,” was a pioneering bebopper whose focus on writing over performing probably limited his proper recognition. Instead, advocates like Philly Joe and now Joe Farnsworth have continued to make the case for his genius. This “Birthday Celebration” -- Dameron and Farnsworth share a February 21st birthday – also features legendary pianist Richard Wyands and bassist John Webber. Special guests include the legendary George Coleman on Friday, February 17th and top tenor Eric Alexander on Saturday, Fwbruary 18th.

Janice Friedman at the Kitano©Andrea Canter

Three nights in Manhattan, four gigs at four clubs. Just an ordinary weekend in the Big Apple? 

Janice Friedman Trio at The Kitano, January 26. I first encountered pianist/vocalist Janice Friedman via a review copy of her 2007 trio release, Swingin’ for the Ride. It was her third CD but her first with her own vocals. Not long after, I met her in New York when she was playing with Judi Silvano’s Women’s Work ensemble. But it was another four years before I managed a New York visit that coincided with her performance schedule. And The Kitano is a perfect setting to enjoy Janice Friedman, the intimacy of the small club/sushi bar enhanced for me with a table literally four feet from the piano. The first set was sold out (meaning about fifty jammed in like a spicy tuna roll) and for Janice it was like a party in her living room. Her cohorts—bassist Ed Howard and drummer Will Dyson—added to the feel of accomplished artists kicking back with friends.