Eddie Gomez. A native of Santurce, Puerto Rico, Eddie Gomez moved to New York as a young child. His musical talents emerged early as he took up the double bass at age eleven. At New York City’s High School of Music and Art, he furthered his studies and performed with professional dance bands as well as the Newport Youth Band led by Marshall Brown. By age 18, Gomez’ resumé already included gigs with Benny Goodman, Buck Clayton, Marian McPartland, and Paul Bley. Although he pursued classical bass studies at Julliard, Gomez’s first love was jazz, and he joined Gerry Mulligan’s band. Playing with Mulligan at the Village Vanguard in 1966, Gomez caught the attention of Bill Evans, and at age 21, he became a formidable part of the Bill Evans Trio. Noted Time Magazine of this association, "Eddie Gomez has the world on his strings." During his eleven years with Evans, Gomez contributed significantly to the evolution of the trio, which toured and recorded prolifically, winning two Grammy awards.  But Gomez was not solely tied to Evans, as he performed in the late 60s with his other idol, Miles Davis, along with the quintet featuring Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Tony Williams.

Eddie Gomez left Evans in 1977, subsequently performing with Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, George Benson, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Hank Jones, Nancy Wilson, Tania María, and Ray Barreto, among others. He continued to appear as a guest classical artist as well, and performed and/or recorded with such pop artists as Bobby Darin, Carly Simon, and Art Garfunkel. Today Gomez performs worldwide and composes for his own projects as well as for film; he also teaches master classes throughout the United States and Europe. With pianist Mark Kramer, Eddie Gomez recently recorded the highly acclaimed "Jazz Fiddler on the Roof" for the TWINZ label. Fiddler composer Jerry Bock noted that "From Prelude to Postscript it was an ongoing revelation of invention, emotional insight and musicianship beyond measure."

The Pianists

Werner “Vana” Gierig. "Imagine recombining the musical DNA of Herbie, Keith, and Chick with a samba band and you’ve got a notion of what piano phenom Werner “Vana” Gierig's latest CD is like…an abundance of fresh compositional brainstorms for revitalizing the piano trio.  No moment is rote; and even the brash experiments are elegant.” (Keyboard Magazine). Growing up in Germany where he studied both jazz and classical piano, Gierig came to the U.S. to study at Berklee College of Music and went on to receive a Master’s Degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. Since receiving the Boston Music Society Award for Outstanding Achievements in Jazz in 1986, Gierig has performed and recorded to considerable acclaim worldwide, although he remains largely unknown in the U.S. outside New York His credits include work with Rachelle Ferrell, Lena Horne, George Howard, Special EFX, Najee, Warren Hill, Will Downing, and Angela Bofill; he is a long-standing member of Regina Carter’s Quintet, serving as co-producer, artistic musical director, pianist and composer on her recording, Paganini’s Dream. Gierig has received numerous prestigious composition and performance awards, most recently winning the National Performance Activity Award from SESAC, the performing rights organization. His recent chart-topping recording, the critically acclaimed A New Day (Twinz), integrates a classic jazz trio with Brazilian percussion.

Fernando Otero. A native of Buenos Aires, Fernando Otero was surrounded by a family of musicians. His mother, Elsa Marval, was a renowned opera singer/pianist who gave young Fernando his first voice and piano lessons. Studying harmony and composition throughout his childhood, Otero absorbed the diverse musical styles of the traditional tango, folklore, classical music, and jazz. These influences are evident in Otero’s unique approach to composition, melding the traditional and classical, folk rhythms and jazz elements. His recent recording for Twinz, Plan, has been acclaimed as his strongest to date. Wrote Phil Freeman for Jazziz, “Otero's a seriously talented pianist, and his orchestrations are equal parts Bernard Herrmann and Charlie Parker. That is, they alternate between jagged suspenseful crescendos and long, sinuous melodies. This music bounds out of the speakers and leaps into every corner of the room at once, exhilarating but also bewildering -- it's not tango, jazz, or classical, but some brand-new combination of all three.”

Andy Ezrin. While studying classical piano, at age 12 Andy Ezrin discovered jazz in his father’s record collection at age 12, and soon was improvising on his own. After completing jazz studies at the University of Miami, Ezrin was a finalist in the Great American Jazz Piano Competition at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival. He then toured internationally with the Grammy award-winning vocal jazz group, New York Voices, and appears on four of their recordings. Living in New York City since 1992, Ezrin has been busy performing and composing, recording with Randy Brecker, Michael Brecker, Dr. John, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash, and Eddie Gomez; he’s also worked with pop artists Joe Jackson and Rickee Lee Jones. Ezrin will soon release release a jazz organ trio recording entitled Zoom (Twinz) featuring Marcello Pelliteri on drums and Jean-Baptiste Bocle on vibes, along with Bill Stewart, Larry Grenadier, and Lewis Nash. Noted Bill Meredith, “From an arrangement standpoint, Andy capitalizes on the open canvas of swinging grooves, laid down by the finest of New York's jazz elite. What is skillfully brushed onto these canvases are Andy's lyrical melodies, his ever-shifting harmonies, always with an infusion of soulfulness.”

Weekend Sets
Friday, July 15:  

• Set 1 (8 pm). Werner "Vana" Gierig (p), Chris Lightcap (b), Gene Jackson (d), Adriano Santos (Brazilian Percussion)

• Set 2 (10 pm). Fernando Otero (p), John di Cesare (b), Wolfgang Koessler (cello) and Will Vinson (sax)

• Set 3 (11:30 pm). Andy Ezrin (p), Ben Wittman (d), Paul Nowinski (b)

Saturday, July 16:     

• Set 1 (8 pm). Fernando Otero (same line-up as above)

• Set 2 (10 pm). Werner "Vana" Gierig (same line-up as above)

• Set 3 (11:30 pm). Andy Ezrin (same line-up as above)

Sunday, July 17:     

• Set 1 (8 pm). Andy Ezrin, surprise set

• Set 2 (10 pm). Werner "Vana" Gierig, surprise set

For more information, visit www.iridiumjazzclub.com