Jazz at Lincoln Center
33 West 60th St., 11th floor
New York, NY 10023
www.jazzatlincolncenter.org

February 28, 2005

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: Benny Green Trio
Date: March 1-6, 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: February 28: Upstarts! with Queens College Jazz Ensemble/Ali Jackson Trio
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

(New York, NY) February 28, 2005 – Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola – located in The House of Swing, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall – presents one of jazz’s finest young players, pianist Benny Green, leading a trio featuring the great Ray Drummond on bass, and the much in demand drummer, Rodney Green. Benny Green will be delighting audiences with his takes on standards, pop songs and original compositions. The pianist’s latest CD is Bluebird, a duo set featuring guitarist Russell Malone.

Tuesday, March 1 through Sunday, March 6:
Benny Green Trio
Benny Green (piano), Ray Drummond (bass), Rodney Green (drums)

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

Benny Green has managed to combine the styles of Bobby Timmons, Wynton Kelly, Gene Harris and especially Oscar Peterson in his playing to form a style of his own. He grew up in Berkeley, CA and played as a teenager with Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw. After moving to New York, he spent important periods with Betty Carter (1983-1987) and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1987-1989), becoming quite well known during the latter association. In addition to working with Freddie Hubbard, Green popped up in many bop-oriented settings for a few years before joining Ray Brown's Trio in 1992. At the same time, he has worked with his own trio, which originally included Christian McBride and Carl Allen. When Oscar Peterson was asked in 1992 to name his protégé for a concert, Green was his choice. Benny Green has recorded for Criss Cross and Blue Note in addition to his work with Ray Brown on Telarc and his earlier Blakey dates. Green’s latest recording is Bluebird (Telarc), his second recording with guitarist Russell Malone. The duo take on classic jazz compositions, standards, pop songs, and originals with delightful aplomb.

Monday, February 28 UPSTARTS!:
7:30 & 9:30pm: Queens College Jazz Ensemble/Ali Jackson Trio

AFTER HOURS SETS
Tuesday-Saturday, March 1-5 After Hours: Dan Nimmer Trio Dan Nimmer, piano; David Wong, bass; Mark Taylor, drums.

Pianist Dan Nimmer is an old soul in a very young body. Just 21 years old, he plays with the spirit, the passion and the soul of someone who has been on the planet much longer. Indeed, with his prodigious technique and his innate sense of swing, his playing often recalls that of his own heroes, specifically Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner and Art Tatum.

Nimmer was given classical lessons and studied at the famed Milwaukee Conservatory with Professor Mark Davis. It was Mark who exposed him to Oscar. A lot of Oscar. "One of my main guys," says Nimmer, "along with Wynton (Kelly), Red Garland, Bud Powell. Chick, Herbie, but mostly Oscar, Earl Garner, and Art Tatum." At the same time, he began playing local gigs with renowned saxophonist Berkley Fudge. Fudge was the one who began teaching him the standard jazz repertoire and exposed him to the grammar of swing and improvisation.

Upon graduation from high school, Nimmer left for Northern Illinois University to study with famed Chicago pianist Willy Pickins. Pickins, a man with a prodigious technique and a highly personal style, was an inspiration, yet Nimmer dropped out following his first year at NIU to pursue the classic jazz education – working in the clubs of Chicago nightly and expanding his contacts and repertoire. Soon, he hooked up with another local musical legend and former instructor, guitarist Fareed Haque, with whom he has been touring and recording ever since. In January 2004, Nimmer moved to New York City and his debut CD on Nardis Music will be available this summer.

****NEXT WEEK AT DIZZY'S CLUB Coca-Cola ****

Tuesday, March 8 through Sunday, March 13: Bobby Watson & Horizon
Bobby Watson (alto sax), Terell Stafford (trumpet), Ed Simon (piano), Essiet Okon Essiet (bass), Victor Lewis (drums)

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

Bobby Watson, former member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, is an alto player with the dexterity of Bird and the sound of a giant. Watson has recorded more than twenty recordings as a leader, but it is his mid-‘90s group, Horizon, that stands out as his most powerful artistic statement. Watson has reconvened all the original members for Horizon, proving that when you have a band this good the passage of time is irrelevant. It sounds as though they’ve never been apart. Watson and Horizon will be performing music from their new CD release, Horizon Reassembled, on Palmetto Records.

Bobby Watson on Dizzy Gillespie:
Dizzy was a great influence on me, I came in contact with him when I was a young man in Kansas City and he never forgot who I was over the years. As I grew up and married and had kids, he became their uncle Diz. I feel so proud to have known him. He was a giant, someone who, even after his chops diminished, his appeal continued to grow. He knew the value of a hug and a smile.

Monday, March 7 UPSTARTS!:
7:30 & 9:30pm: Juilliard Jazz Ensemble/Ali Jackson Trio

AFTER HOURS SETS Tuesday-Saturday, March 8 through Saturday, March 12 After Hours: Dominick Farinacci (trumpet), Adam Birnbaum (piano), Yasushi Nakamura (bass), Carmen Intorre (drums)

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

Coming Up At Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
DR. LONNIE SMITH’S SOUL JAZZ II
Dr. Lonnie Smith (Hammond B-3 organ), Fred Wesley (trombone), Peter Bernstein (guitar, March 15-17), Rodney Jones (guitar, March 18-20), Lenny White (drums) Tuesday-Sunday, March 15-20

Ted Nash & Odeon
Nathalie Bonin (violin), Bill Schimmel (accordion), Clark Gayton (tuba & trombone), Matt Wilson (drums) Tuesday-Sunday, March 22-27

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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 & CEO Derek E. Gordon, Executive Director Katherine E. Brown, 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.

For more information on Jazz at Lincoln Center, please visit www.jalc.org.