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Event
Sheila Jordan with the Harvey Diamond Quartet
Saturday, March 3 2018, 8:00 pm. Jazz concert featuring NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan with the Harvey Diamond Quartet. Harvey Diamond, piano; Phil Grenadier, trumpet; Jon Dreyer, bass; Joe Hunt, drums. At the New School of Music, 25 Lowell St, Cambridge MA. Walk from Harvard Square, take the #71 or #73 bus, or park free in the lot behind the school.
Raised in poverty in Pennsylvania's coal-mining country, Sheila Jordan began singing as a child and by the time she was in her early teens was working semi-professionally in Detroit clubs. Her first great influence was Charlie Parker and, indeed, most of her influences have been instrumentalists rather than singers. Working chiefly with black musicians, she met with disapproval from the white community but persisted with her career. She was a member of a vocal trio, Skeeter, Mitch And Jean (she was Jean), who sang versions of Parker's solos in a manner akin to that of the later Lambert, Hendricks And Ross. After moving to New York in the early 50s, she married Parker's pianist, Duke Jordan, and studied with Lennie Tristano, but it was not until the early 60s that she made her first recordings. One of these was under her own name, the other was The Outer View with George Russell, which featured a famous 10-minute version of "You Are My Sunshine". In the mid-60s her work encompassed jazz liturgies sung in churches and extensive club work, but her appeal was narrow even within the confines of jazz. By the late 70s jazz audiences had begun to understand her uncompromising style a little more and her popularity increased - as did her appearances on record, which included albums with pianist Steve Kuhn, whose quartet she joined, and an album, Home, comprising a selection of Robert Creeley's poems set to music and arranged by Steve Swallow. A 1983 duo set with bassist Harvie S, Old Time Feeling, comprises several of the standards Jordan regularly features in her live repertoire, while 1990's Lost And Found pays tribute to her bebop roots. Both sets display her unique musical trademarks, such as the frequent and unexpected sweeping changes of pitch, which still tend to confound an uninitiated audience. Her preference to the bass and voice set led to another remarkable collaboration with bassist Cameron Brown, whom she has been performing with all over the world for more than ten years so far and they have released the live albums Ive Grown Accustomed to the Bass and Celebration. Entirely non-derivative, Jordan is one of only a tiny handful of jazz singers who fully deserve the appellation and for whom no other term will do. (Copyright 1989-2000 Muze UK Ltd)
The legendary jazz pianist Harvey Diamond has graced the Boston area for decades with his music which is at once both deeply intricate and deeply emotional to even the most casual listener. Over the years he has performed across the U.S. and in Europe. among Lennie Tristano's last students in the 1970's, and has done concert appearances with NEA Jazz Masters Sheila Jordan, Dave Liebman, and Art Farmer, and also with Charles Neville, Herb Pomeroy, Harvie S, Jay Clayton, Joe Hunt, Don Alias, Jason Palmer, Cameron Brown, Marc Johnson, Marcus McLaurine, and many others. After decades of patience by his fans, he has finally released his first CD as a leader, The Harvey Diamond Trio. Sheila Jordan says, "Harvey Diamond is a fantastic pianist. He plays from his heart and totally disappears into the song. He's a real joy to sing with."
Throughout a career that spans nearly three decades, trumpeter Phil Grenadier has emerged as one of jazzs most imaginative and innovative players. His two albums as leader, 2000s Sweet Transients and 2003s Playful Intentions, have won him copious international acclaim, while his collaborations with a broad array of notable musicians demonstrate the raw talent and adventurousness that led the San Jose Mercury News to call him a trumpeter of rare fluency and depth. He has performed with Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, George Shearing, Tony Bennett, Carlos Santana, James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Dionne Warwick, Bob Belden, Richie Beirach, Ethan Iverson, Bill Stewart, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Jeff Ballard, Steve Swallow, Kenny Barron and countless other greats.
Speaking of legendary, drummer Joe Hunt combines complexity with relentless swing and sensitivity to what's happening around him. this is why Bill Evans invited him to join his trio, why Stan Getz invited him to join his quartet, and why almost the entire history of jazz has shared the stage with him, including George Russell, Chet Baker, Eric Dolphy, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Charles Mingus, Bob Brookmeyer, and Herb Pomeroy. It's also why Harvey invited him to this performance.
Bassist Jon Dreyer is one of Harvey Diamond's closest collaborators. He also performs regularly with James Merenda, both as a member of his band TickleJuice and also in more mainstream jazz settings, and has performed with most of the Boston jazz community, including Jason Palmer, Adam Janjigian, Yoko Miwa, Frank Wilkins, Dominique Eade, Joe Hunt and Steve Langone.
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LocationNew School of Music (View)
25 Lowell Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States
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