Jazz at Lincoln Center NewsFlash

For More Information, Please Contact:
DON LUCOFF, DL Media (610) 667-0501, dondlmedia@covad.net
JANA LASORTE, Janlyn PR (973) 762-7954, jana@janlynpr.com
SCOTT H. THOMPSON, Jazz at Lincoln Center (212) 258-9807, sthompson@jalc.org

LISTING INFORMATION:
Venue: Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Event: The Ben Riley Monk Legacy Septet
Date: February 8-13, 2005
Address: Frederick P. Rose Hall - Broadway at 60th Street, 5th Floor
Artist Sets: 7:30 & 9:30pm every day / Also 11:30pm Friday & Saturday
After Hours Sets: 11pm Tuesday-Thursday / 12:45am Friday-Saturday
Monday: Monday, February 7: Upstarts! with Juilliard Jazz Ensemble
Juilliard Jazz Ensemble, Ali Jackson & Friends
Doors Open: 6pm for 7:30pm set / 9pm for 9:30pm set
Admission: $30 music charge for artist sets / $10 After Hours sets
Student Prices: Sun, Tues, Wed 9:30pm set $15 with valid student ID / After Hours $5 with valid student ID / Upstarts! $10 for students with valid ID
Minimum: $10 tables / $5 bar all shows
Reservations: (212) 258 9595 or www.jalc.org

Celebrating Black History Month This Week with
the Music of Thelonious Monk Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
Featuring trumpeter/arranger Don Sickler, saxophonist Wayne Escoffery & guitarist Freddie Bryant

After Hours with The Peter Leitch Duo

(New York, NY) February 7, 2005 - Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola – located in The House of Swing, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall - presents The Ben Riley Monk Legacy Septet, performing the music of Thelonious Monk with a piano-less septet that captures the spirit and sound of Monk through the incomparable playing of drummer Ben Riley and the unique arrangements and orchestrations of trumpeter/arranger Don Sickler. In addition to offering a completely fresh take on Monk's perennial music, Riley's Monk Legacy Septet features some of the major players on the current jazz scene, including saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, guitarist Freddie Bryant, bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and saxophonist Bruce Williams.

Tuesday, February 8 through Sunday, February 13: The Ben Riley Monk Legacy Septet
Ben Riley (drums), Don Sickler (trumpet & arranger), Bruce Williams (alto & soprano sax), Wayne Escoffery (tenor & soprano sax), Jay Brandford (baritone sax), Freddie Bryant (guitar), Kiyoshi Kitagawa (bass).

Two full artist sets at 7:30pm & 9:30pm. Additional set on Friday & Saturday at 11:30pm.

Drummer Ben Riley and arranger/trumpeter Don Sickler have taken their deep love and understanding for Thelonious Monk's music and developed a new environment for exploring the genius of the man: a piano-less septet. Ben Riley played in Thelonious Monk's quartet for nearly five years and was continuously inspired by Monk the composer and performer. 2004 marked the 40th anniversary of the first of 166 nights that Riley performed with Monk at the Village Vanguard.

Monk had his own personal harmonic and rhythmic language, which, coupled with his unorthodox approach to the piano - the way he coaxed sound from the keys of the piano - made his voice in the rhythm section totally unique. Riley's no-piano Monk Legacy Septet lets varying combinations of horns and guitar explore Monk's accompaniment role, using Monk's own unique palette of harmonies and rhythms. Ben can once again react to the familiar Monk language and accents, now being spoken by alto or soprano sax, trumpet, tenor sax, baritone sax and guitar. The combination of these different instrumental timbres, without piano, creates a refreshing new canvas of sound for exploring Monk's music.

Don Sickler's arrangements dissect and re-construct Monk's comping and solos so the Septet's voices echo Monk's original thoughts and phrases, inspiring Riley's responses. As many excited audience members said after the group's debut performance at the Village Vanguard in NYC, "This band ROCKS!"

Ben Riley's Monk Legacy Septet repertoire currently includes: Ask Me Now, Bemsha Swing, Blue Monk, Boo Boo's Birthday, Brake's Sake, Bright Mississippi, Bye-Ya, Coming On The Hudson, Epistrophy, Evidence, Four In One, Gallop's Gallop, Green Chimneys, Jackie-ing, Let's Call This, Little Rootie Tootie, Pannonica, Reflections, Rhythm-A-Ning, Shuffle Boil, Straight, No Chaser and Ugly Beauty.

Ben Riley's remembrances of Dizzy Gillespie:
"The first time I worked with Dizzy, he said, ‘you play wonderful rhythms, but please, play them longer, stretch them out.' He loved Latin and African rhythms, and wanted to hear more of them! Everyone that he always played with, Dizzy would bring his own cymbals, but he always told me to bring my cymbal; a Chinese cymbal that I use, he always said, ‘bring your cymbals!'”

Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola offers spectacular views and serves a jazz inspired menu seven days a week through the collaboration between Great Performances and Spoonbread culinary creators. Reservations can be made at 212-258-9595 or via the Jazz at Lincoln Center web site http://www.jalc.org.

AFTER HOURS SETS
Tuesday-Saturday, February 8-12
After Hours: The Peter Leitch Duo
Peter Leitch (guitar) and Sean Smith (bass).

Tuesday-Thursday set starts at 11:30pm; Friday & Saturday set starts at 12:45am.

Over the years Peter Leitch has gained an international reputation for his unique personal style, rooted in tradition but recognizably his own. Of his fourteen recordings as a leader, most feature his long-time rhythm section of pianist John Hicks, Ray Drummond and Marvin "Smitty" Smith. Several also include a saxophonist (Pepper Adams, Bobby Watson and Gary Bartz have each contributed to Peter's recordings). The Montreal Concert, Peter's latest CD, is a duet of another sort. Recorded live (a first!), he and altoist Gary Bartz take some musical chances to create what Jazziz Magazine calls, "one of the new decade's sterling examples of chamber jazz."

Tuesday, February 15 through Sunday, February 20:
Bank of America Jazz Festival: Carol Sloane with The Norman Simmons Quintet
featuring Eric Alexander and Paul Bollenback Carol Sloane (vocals), Norman Simmons (piano), Eric Alexander (tenor sax), Paul Bollenback (guitar) Chip Jackson (bass), Ben Riley (drums) February 15-20 / Tuesday-Sunday

Two full artist sets at 7:30pm & 9:30pm. Additional set on Friday & Saturday at 11:30pm.

"With all the talk today about new jazz singers, none comes even close to Carol Sloane. This is what jazz is all about." - Nat Hentoff, May 2004

Carol Sloane is a native New Englander, born into a family of music lovers, celebrated her 50th anniversary as a jazz vocalist in 2004. Although Carol never had formal music training, she was blessed with the ability to "hear" and quickly memorized hundreds of popular songs she heard on the radio in the 1940's and 50's. In 1958, after singing with local groups during her teenage years, Carol was offered a job singing with the famous Larry Elgart Orchestra. She toured with the band until 1961, when she was given the opportunity to sing at the Newport Jazz Festival through the lobbying efforts of her friend, world-famous jazz singer and composer Jon Hendricks. Carol recorded her first album for Columbia Records in 1961 and began a successful career appearing in the top jazz clubs in America. She made her New York debut opening for Oscar Peterson at the famed Village Vanguard. She was also the opening act for Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Jackie Mason, Phyllis Diller and Bill Cosby in such places as Mr. Kelly's in Chicago and the "hungry i" in San Francisco.

Carol's extensive discography (visit www.carolsloane.com) attests to her long association with major recording labels in the U.S. She has recorded with the likes of Art Farmer, Kenny Barron, Phil Woods, Bill Charlap, Frank Wess, Kenny Burrell, Clark Terry, Bill Mays, Houston Person and Tommy Flanagan. Sloane has appeared on major stages and at festivals around the world. Carol currently records for High Note Records. This association produced the first CD titled "I Never Went Away" which features legendary jazz pianist Norman Simmons. The latest CD, "Whisper Sweet," was released in September 2003 to rave reviews: "Nobody is singing jazz with more grace and feeling." Jesse Hamlin, The San Francisco Chronicle, "Instead of pyrotechnics, she strives for an ideal mixture of clarity, emotional balance and buoyancy." Stephen Holden, The New York Times.

Carol Sloane's thoughts on Dizzy Gillespie: "The vocalist with Dizzy's band was Dizzy, but I had the opportunity to warble a couple of tunes with him at a Kennedy political fund-raiser in Boston a few years ago. What can I say? Standing beside him while he played sweetly behind me is a highly cherished memory."

"Appearing at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola is a special treat for me. The space could not be more aptly named and I'm thrilled to be performing here in its inaugural year. "

AFTER HOURS SETS
Tuesday-Saturday, February 15 through Saturday, February 19
After Hours: Bob Kindred (tenor saxophone); John DiMartino (piano)

Tuesday-Thursday set starts at 11pm; Friday & Saturday set starts at 12:am.

In recent years an ever-growing audience, here and abroad, has become aware of the rare, individual sound and depth of the playing of tenor saxophonist Bob Kindred. Of his most recent releases, JazzTimes Magazine said "It's fair to say that Kindred now ranks with the giants of his instrument, with Ben Webster, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, John Coltrane and Zoot Sims." Kindred's craft was first honed in his native Philadelphia working with organ trios led by Groove Holmes, Charles Earland and Shirley Scott. He then toured with several big bands including Woody Herman's Thundering New Herd. In 1992 Kindred was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for a concert entitled "To Ben and Johnny, With Love", a tribute to Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges. His latest release is Bob Kindred and Larry Willis, Duets.

At Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola , Kindred will be joined by ace pianist/arranger, and fellow Philadelphian, John DiMartino, who has performed and recorded with such notables as Kenny Burrell, James Moody and Eddie Gomez. DiMartino is a sought after musical director and has accompanied Jon Hendricks, Diane Schuur and the late Billy Eckstine. He is also active on the world scene, working with Paquito D'Rivera, South African bassist Bakithi Kumalo and conguero Giovanni Hidalgo. DiMartino continues to enjoy a long association with percussionist/musicologist Bobby Sanabria. Their joint efforts include the Grammy nominated CD, "Live And In Clave" on the Arabesque label, three instructional videos on Warner Bros. and numerous educational clinics and seminars. John is a long time member of Ray Barretto's "New World Spirit," and is featured pianist/arranger on several recordings, including the Grammy nominated CD "Contact." Mr. DiMartino has also recorded with Freddie Cole and legendary percussionist Patato Valdez.

Jim Hall Quartet
Jim Hall (guitar), Greg Osby (alto saxophone), Scott Colley (bass), Lewis Nash (drums) February 22-27

John Handy Legendary Monterey QuintetJohn Handy (alto sax), Michael White (violin), Don Thompson, Jerry Hahn (guitar), Terry Clarke (drums) Tuesday-Sunday, March 1-6

Jazz at Lincoln Center is a not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to jazz. With the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, weekly national radio and television programs, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, a jazz appreciation curriculum for children, advanced training through the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, music publishing, children's concerts, lectures, adult education courses, film programs, and student and educator workshops. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, President Derek E. Gordon, Chairman of the Board Lisa Schiff and Jazz at Lincoln Center Board and staff, Jazz at Lincoln Center will produce hundreds of events during its 2004-05 season. This is the inaugural season in Jazz at Lincoln Center's new home – Frederick P. Rose Hall – the first-ever performance, education, and broadcast facility devoted to jazz.