 Igor Butman
Igor Butman, saxophone virtuoso, bandleader, club owner and television host, is Russia's number one jazz personality. Born in 1961 in Leningrad (now St.Petersburg), Igor Butman started playing the clarinet at the age of 11. In 1976 he entered the Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music, where during his second year he dropped the classical clarinet for the jazz saxophone. In 1983, Igor Butman played in Oleg Lundstrem`s big band - the best one in the USSR. Next year he was invited by Nick Levinovsky to join the most well known jazz group "Allegro" and played with them for three years. In the Soviet Union, a country of over 300 million people, Igor was known as the best tenor saxophonist, placing first in the Soviet Critics' Polls and recording many albums for Melodiya.
After Igor Butman immigrated to America in 1987, he went on to major in Performance and Composition at Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. Igor's big sound and boyish exuberance have earned him standing ovations and many new fans, and his US solo career has moved straight ahead. He led his own group with Rachel Z at the Regattabar in Boston, and has been featured soloist with the Billy Taylor Quartet, the Walter Davis Jr. Quartet and the Monty Alexander Quintet. He move to New York in 1989 and worked with The Lionel Hampton Orchestra. In 1992, Igor recorded with actor/musician Michael Moriarty's Quintet the album Live at the Fat Tuesday`s on DRG Records. In Variety's review of this recording, it was noted that Igor, "Impressed with a round tone and deft ability at double time efforts and harmonized tightly". In the 90's Igor Butman performed at almost every major jazz festival, such as JVC Jazz Festival in New York, Boston Globe Jazz Festival in Boston, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho, Festival Internationale de Jazz de Montreal in Canada.
Igor Butman moved to Russia and during the following years he became " a jazz bridge between Moscow and New York", bringing to Russia and playing with Eddie Gomez, Lenny White, John Abercrombie, Joe Lock and many other musicians.
Wynton Marsalis performed in Russia in 1998, and he invited Butman to be a guest soloist with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Next year Marsalis was a featured guest with the Igor Butman Big Band at Le Club. On September 18 & 20, 2003 Jazz at Lincoln Center opened its 2003-04 season with a special collaboration between the renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and the Igor Butman Big Band. Two big bands on one stage occasionally played at the same time, but more often passed the music back and force. In an interview with Jazz Times magazine, Marsalis said of Butman, "I love Igor's Butman playing and I love him personally. He has a great feeling for the music and for people and he's phenomenal musician. Igor Butman is my main man!"
Igor Butman is an artistic director at Le Club, Moscow's top jazz venue, where he appears with his big band every Monday, and has presented such musicians as Ray Brown, Chick Corea, George Benson, Kenny Garret, Randy Brecker, Gary Burton, Al Di Miola, Monty Alexander, Take 6 and many others. In December 2007 Sony Classical will release Igor Butman's CD Magic Land featuring Chick Corea (piano), John Patitucci (double bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums).
 Cyrus Chestnut
He began his professional career working with John Hendricks (1986-88), Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison (1988-1990), and Wynton Marsalis (1991). In September 1991 he became Betty Carter's pianist, staying with her until 1993. During his early years he also worked occasionally with Freddie Hubbard, Brandford Marsalis, Larry Coryell, Courtney Pine, Chico Freeman, George Adams, Michael Carvin, Chick Corea, Joe Williams and Dizzy Gillespie. Highlights of his recording career as a sideman include Crystal Stair and Black Pearl for CBS with The Harrison-Blanchard Quintet (1987/1988), For Art's Sake and Indian Blues for Candid with Donald Harrison (1990/1991), and It's Not About the Melody for Verve with Betty Carter (1992). In recent times, Cyrus has worked and recorded with Roy Hargrove (The Tenors of Our Time, Verve, 1994), Christian McBride (Getting to It, Verve, 1995) and singer Kathleen Battle (So Many Stars, Sony, 1995).
As a leader, Chestnut's furst recording was his self-produced Gospel album, There's a Brighter Day Comin' in 1989, followed by Japanese Alfa recordings, The Nutman Speaks and The Nutman Speaks Again (1993). His last recording for Alfa, Another Direction (1994), received the Golden Award by the prestigious Japanese magazine, Swing Journal. That same year Cyrus signed with Atlantic Records: His first album for the label, Celebration, was followed by The Dark Before the Dawn (1995), Earth Stories (1996), and Cyrus Chestnut (1998). In 2000, Chestnut collaborated with Vanessa Williams, Brian McKnight, The Manhattan Transfer, and The Boys’ Choir of Harlem on an updated version of Vince Guaraldi's seasonal classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas. All of Chestnut's recordings have received excellent reviews and accolades all over the world. His latest release is his Telarc debut, Genuine Chestnut (Click here for a Jazz Police review).
 George Mraz
Cyrus' piano style, rooted in the African-American traditions, exhibits a deep knowledge of the history of Jazz Piano. The influences of Art Tatum, Hank Jones, Red Garland and Tommy Flanagan are evident in his playing, but he has also absorbed many other musical concepts which he is now blending into a mature, extremely lyrical and personal style. Without any doubt, Cyrus will be one of the major forces in the evolution of Jazz Piano during the 21st century.
George Mraz studied bass at the Prague Conservatory and gigged at a club in Munich for a year. In 1968, he attended Berklee College of Music and then toured with Oscar Peterson (1970-1972). Mraz was a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra from 1973 to 1976, and worked with Stan Getz from 1974 to 1975, and has since played with many of the top jazz players, including Walter Norris, Pepper Adams, Roland Hanna, Zoot Sims, Tommy Flanagan, John Abercrombie, Carmen McRae, Jimmy Rowles, Stephane Grappelli, and countless others.
 Lewis Nash
In 1981, Nash moved to New York City and joined the trio of the great jazz vocalist Betty Carter. For nearly four years, he toured internationally with Ms. Carter. He is featured on three of her recordings, including the Grammy winning Look What I Got. Ron Carter hired Nash in 1984. As a member Carterīs nonet, quintet and quartet, Nash toured extensively and is featured on several of the bassistīs recordings.
In the fall of 1986, saxophonist Branford Marsalis asked Lewis to join his quartet. That active association spanned two years and several continents, and is documented on Marsalisī Grammy nominated recording Random Abstract, as well as two videos: Royal Garden Blues (directed by Spike Lee) and Branford Marsalis - Steep.
Hear Igor Butman & Manhattan Trinity featuring Cyrus Chestnut (piano), George Mraz (bass), and Lewis Nash (drums) at Dizzy's on Tuesday-Sunday, November 27th through December 2nd. Sets are at 7:30 & 9:30pm with an additional 11:30 set on Friday and Saturday.
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Friday, 09 January 2009
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