New Yorker Lew Tabackin brings a International Jazz Trio to the West Coast with Russian bassist Boris Kozlov and British drummer Mark Taylor. Multi-reedist Tabackin's exquisite flute playing is one of the most distinctive sounds in jazz, and as a stratospheric saxophonist he's nearly unmatched - only fellow tenor legends like Sonny Rollins and David Murray fly quite as high. Come early and expect the moon - he'll give it to you!

Lew Tabackin is a player who has built upon the foundation of jazz tradition, standing on the shoulders of giants like Coltrane, Cohn and Rollins. He developed his own unique voice and added it to that of the other great innovators who have gone before him. A master of both the tenor saxophone and the flute, Tabackin makes beautifully intricate and unabashedly bold music.

Lew Tabackin's interest in music began in his birthplace, Philadelphia, where he first studied flute and then tenor saxophone in high school. He majored in flute at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music.

One of the most influential jazz artists of his generation, alto/soprano sax monster Kenny Garrett has been a major force in jazz since his first appearances with the Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis nearly twenty years ago. This week (March 23rd - 27th), he brings his stellar quartet to the  Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. Click here for a review of his Feb 21st show in Minneapolis.

Kenny Garrett grew up surrounded by jazz, gospel, R & B, and classical music in his native Detroit. His father, who played tenor sax, introduced young Kenny to jazz and the saxophone. Like many young Detroit jazzhounds in the 70s, Garrett was mentored by Marcus Belgrave. In 1978, his plan to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston took a back seat when Garrett had the opportunity to tour with the Duke Ellington Orchestra (under Mercer Ellington's direction). Moving to New York 3 years later, Garrett played in the Ellington band's Sophisticated Ladies; he was exposed to the music of Thad Jones as a member of the Mel Lewis Orchestra and to the music of Mingus as a member of the Dannie Richmond Quintet. His first recording (Introducing Kenny Garrett, Criss Cross) was released in 1984, and soon he was performing with Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, and Woody Shaw. In 1986, still with the Jazz Messengers, he also joined Miles Davis' last touring band, playing and recording for five years. Notes Garrett of this association, "Miles' genius was getting the best out of musicians without controlling them—letting them be free, but also getting what he wanted from them." As one of the last great musicians to work his way up the ranks in the bands of other great musicians, Garrett attributes much of his success to his early work in those great bands, but cites John Coltrane as having the most influence on his artistry.

March 1st trhough the 5th Dave Douglas and Nmad will appear at the Jazz Bekery in Los Angeles. Here's what Dave has to say about this new band: "This is a really new and wonderful group of players, and I'm having a blast writing for the unique combination of instruments and outlooks. I think people who enjoyed Charms of the Night Sky and Tiny Bell Trio will find something they love here, and will be really turned on to hear these new players. I'm especially excited by the way this band can play so lyrically, but turn on the drive at a moment's notice. I'm looking forward to these gigs."

Partially inspired by Douglas' love of world folk music, Nomad also carries the spirit of jazz that informs all of Dave's music. The recording is a profound and playful mix that veers between the solemnity of solitary contemplation and the drunken debauchery of ecstatic celebration.

For the past half decade Dave Douglas has repeatedly been named trumpeter, composer, and jazz artist of the year by such organizations as the New York Jazz Awards, Down Beat, Jazz Times, Jazziz, and the Italian Jazz Critics' Society.