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Tom Harrell, Baptiste Trotignon Duo at the Kintano 1/12-13 |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Tuesday, 02 January 2007 |
"Life is so intriguing because there
is constant change. There's a
certain shading for every moment. That's what we do when we play. We
express our feelings through the textures and colors of the sensual
material world and then transcend that into the spiritual realm."
- Tom Harrell
 Tom Harrell © Howard A. Gitelson
Tom Harrell is a highly skilled trumpeter and composer with a genius
IQ. That genius shines both in his compositions and his playing. He is
a brilliant improviser with a clear and precise tone, a singular talent
and unique voice in jazz today. He has been selected as trumpet player
of the year by Downbeat magazine three times. Despite his struggle
with schizophrenia, a disorder he was diagnosed with in his twenties,
Harrell has amazing creative output, working on diverse musical
projects and colaborations.
Tom Harrell was on born June
16th, 1946 in Urbana, Illinois. His family moved to the San
Francisco Bay Area when he was five. Tom
first picked up the trumpet when he was eight and when he was barely a
tennager he began jamming locally
with professional bands. After playing with the Jazz Workshop in
the late 60s, Harrell toured with the Stan Kenton and Woody Herman
bands. Tom worked several years with Horace Silver during the 70s, then
he moved to New York, where he performed with the Mel Lewis Village
Vanguard big band, Bill Evans and Lee Konitz, Azteca, and many others.
During the 80s Phil Woods expanded his quartet to a quintet in order to
include Harrell. He has also recorded several sessions as a
leader, with a major label recording contract exposing his
compositional skills to a wider audience. Harrell’s 1999 release,
Time’s Mirror, won a Grammy
nomination and his 1998 Latin CD, The Art
of Rhythm, was named the Best Jazz Album of the Year (2000) by
Entertainment Weekly.
Young pianist Baptiste Trotignon was born in Nantes in
1974. He moved to Paris in 1995, and
decided to devote himself to jazz after a dozen years spent studying
classical piano. Shortly after he had moved to Paris, Baptiste was
heard in every jazz club of the capital as well as in festivals around
France and abroad. In 2001, he received a Golden Django in the New
Artist Category for his first album Fluide.
His second album as a leader, Sightseeing,
was released later on the same year. In 2002, he earned the Grand Prize
at Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition. Baptiste
was a key
member of Moutin Reunion (with the Moutin brothers and Rick Margitza),
and has been a collaborator of many groups on the French Jazz Scene :
Alex Tassel Quintet, Claudia Solal Quartet, Jérôme Barde
Quartet,
Umberto Pagnini Quartet (La Cricca d'Umberto), Eric Le Lann Trio
(featuring Riccardo Del Fra), Pierrick Pedron Quartet, Jean Christophe
Beney Quartet.
Hear The Tom Harrell and Baptiste Trotignon Duo on January 12th and
13th, with sets at 8:00 and 9:45 p.m. at Kitano New York, 66 Park
Avenue, (212)-885-7000.
Also on January 14th, you can hear Tom Harrell & Baptiste Trotignon at St. Luke's Lutheran Church as part of the French Jazz Festival. 308 W. 46th St. 212-246-3540. |
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 Sunday, 20 July 2008
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