Jeremy Siskind has earned such praise as “a remarkable pianist” and “a rising star on the jazz scene” from Piano Jazz host Marian McPartland. The southern California native began playing piano as young child, and by his early teens was performing original compositions through Yamaha’s Junior Original Concert program. He went on to win the soloist competition at the Fullerton College Jazz Festival, “Most Outstanding Rhythm Section Player” in the Reno Jazz Festival, and in 2002 was the youngest winner of the American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publisher’s (ASCAP) Young Jazz Composer’s Awards while still in high school. Armed with a substantial scholarship, Jeremy studied at the Eastman School of Music with Harold Danko, Tony Caramia and Bill Dobbins, earning his degree in Jazz Performance and Music Theory. He then earned a Master's degree at Columbia in English and Comparative Literature, simultaneously starting his career as a New York-based pianist and recording with the likes of Chris Potter, Marcus Printup, Chris Lightcap and Jo Lawry. He's also written for music magazines, composed beginning piano music for FJH Publishers, and teaches students through the Yamaha program. His ongoing studies include work with Sophia Rosoff and Fred Hersch.

 

Vocalist Nancy Harms grew up in Clara City, MN, attended Concordia College, and for a few years taught music in Milaca before seriously pursuing a singing career in the Twin Cities. Here she became a popular and inventive artist, gigging at the Dakota, Artists Quarter, Honey and other area venues, and appearing at the Capri Theater in Arne Fogel’s production of Blue. Shortly after releasing her debut CD (In the Indigo), she relocated to New York where she has quickly become one of the most exciting new singers on the jazz scene. She has performed at 55 Bar, Birdland, Dizzy's and more; has performed and recorded with Wycliffe Gordon; formed an unusual trio with singer Emily Braden and bassist Steve Whipple (Double Bass/Double Voice), and began a collaboration with Jeremy Siskind, now formalized in Finger Songwriter.

 

Lucas Pino started studies on the alto saxophone at age ten. He found early inspiration in the music of John Coltrane, switching to tenor at age 12. In high school, he earned such honors as a Downbeat "Best Instrumental Soloist" award, and upon graduation entered the prestigious Brubeck Institute Fellows program. In 2007, Lucas moved to New York City to complete undergraduate studies at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, also studying privately with Chris Cheek. In 2009, he was awarded the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship for the graduate program at Juilliard, where he studied with Ron Blake. Over the past few years, Pino has toured internationally, appearing at numerous festivals and venues, and teaching at the Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony and presenting master classes nation-wide.

 

The Finger Songwriter project explores the many aspects of loss – “from nostalgia, to denial, to madness, and eventually to resolve, optimism and hope” (BJU Records). Siskind provides the musical foundation in his original compositions, then adapts and reinvents literary texts from poems of Jorge Luis Borges, Elizabeth Bishop, Seamus Heaney, Wallaces Stevens and Henry Longfellow as well as prose from Jack Kerouac, Paul Auster and Steven Millhauser. A bonus track from Billy Joel (“All You Wanna Do Is Dance”) ends the collection with an upward thrust. (See full review on Jazz Police).

 

A major source of inspiration was British vocalist/lyricist Norma Winstone and specifically her work with pianists John Taylor and Fred Hersch, the ensemble Azimuth, and her recent recordings with European saxophonist Klaus Gesing and pianist Glauco Venier, the latter providing the blueprint for Siskind’s trio here. Notes Jeremy, he was moved by “the warmth of the sound, the intimacy of the setting, and the emotional power of a lyric delivered against a subtly morphing acoustic backdrop.” Hence his choice of collaborators for Finger Songwriter--Harms, who “has an intense, focused, and captivating way of delivering a lyric” and a “beautiful, dark tone that’s perfect for the music,” and Pino for his “warm, deep and heartfelt tone reminiscent of Stan Getz… and phrasing similar to Joe Lovano.”

 

See and hear the fine results of this collaboration and welcome Nancy Harms back to Minnesota on July 21st at Jazz Central!

 

Jazz Central is located in the lower level of 407 Central Ave NE in Minneapolis. Music begins at 8:30 pm. http://jazzcentral.squarespace.com