- Genre :: Jazz
- Listen :: Earthling | Diamond in the Rough | Brick by Brick
- View :: Band Website
- download :: HiRes Image
Nasar Abadey and SUPERNOVA (Washington, D.C.) performs jazz in a multi-dimensional and multi-directional way—from crossing the borders of jazz and continuing beyond space and time. Nasar Abadey and SUPERNOVA perform and explore various jazz elements such as traditional African rhythms, bebop, fusion, Afro-Cuban, Afro Brazilian, and free form. Since the band was formed in 1979, it has sought opportunities for a wider, freer expression of music. The quartet’s musical inspirations include John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, and Duke Ellington. Nasar Abadey and SUPERNOVA see touring as an opportunity to engage in dialogue about jazz music, the elements particular to the genre, its history, and the mixture of cultures that contributed to the creation of jazz as an art form.
Nasar Abadey (drums) began playing drums at age five and received his first drum set at age 16. Inspired by Tony Williams, Max Roach, and Roy Haynes, this Maryland native creates jazz music steeped in modal, free form, fusion, and avant-garde styles pioneered in the 1960s and 1970s. His personal style is explosive, intriguing, and melodic. He has worked with Sonny Fortune, Dizzy Gillespie, and others. Abadey released his debut recording, Mirage, in 2000 (Amosaya Record), and is planning a follow-up release in 2010. Abadey has toured Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. He is Professor of Jazz Percussion at Peabody Conservatory of Music, teaches privately, and runs workshops in Washington, D.C. and its neighboring public schools. Abadey attended Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia
Joe Ford (saxophone) is a passionate saxophonist who began playing in 1958 while in elementary school in Buffalo, New York. His melodious, humorous, dark and insightful style reflects the broad spectrum of the American experience, and ranges from spirituals, country, and rural blues to contemporary musical concepts and avant-garde jazz. Ford is classically trained and his influences include Sidney Bechet, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins. He has worked with musicians such as Frank Foster, McCoy Tyner, and the Fort Apache Band. His original post-bop tunes can be found on his album Today’s Nights. Ford received his Bachelor of Science in music education at Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio.
Corcoran Holt (bass) began playing djembe and other West African percussion at the age of four and began his study of classical acoustic bass at age ten with the renowned D.C. Youth Orchestra. He attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., received a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Studies from Shenandoah Conservatory, and earned a master’s degree in Jazz Studies from Queens College under the tutelage of Buster Williams. Holt has performed domestically and internationally with jazz greats including Curtis Fuller and Jimmy Heath and is a current member of the Steve Turre group. In March 2009, he toured with Alvin Atkinson and the Sound Merchants on a U.S. State Department tour in the Middle East. He resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Richard Johnson (piano) is a skilled jazz pianist and active music educator. Born in Pittsburgh, Johnson graduated from the Berklee School of Music, earned a master’s degree in Jazz Pedagogy from Boston Conservatory, and graduated from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance. Johnson has been a member of Wynton Marsalis' Septet, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Russell Malone's quartet and Irvin Mayfield's quintet. Johnson’s Reach AFAR “Jazz to Hip-Hop” programs have been extremely popular in schools across Atlanta. Along with his educational projects, Johnson maintains an active jazz performance schedule. He toured in East Africa with the Rhythm Road and in Central and South America, and South Asia on other U.S. State Department tours.
