Our Virtual Jazz Weekend program brings amazing Jazz musicians together for a series of 4 hybrid events that combine performances, a discussion with the artists and time to ask your favorite musician the questions you’ve been eager to have answered. Tune in every Thursday in September at 7pm – All four events will be streamed via Facebook, YouTube and on our STREAM NOW page!
Nicole Zuraitis & Dan Pugach
Thursday, September 3 @ 7pm
View the Performance HERE
About Nicole – Grammy® nominated vocalist, pianist and songwriter Nicole Zuraitis draws from the traditions of jazz, pop and blues to create music that is rich in depth and heart. As a bandleader, a recording artist and the premiere vocalist of the world famous Birdland Big Band among other notable ensembles, Nicole has established herself as a staple on the New York City Jazz scene and has made a significant mark on the global modern jazz landscape. In 2019, Nicole’s career blossomed even further when her and her husband, renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, were dually nominated for a Grammy® for their arrangement of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”.
About Dan – Dan Pugach is a GRAMMY® nominated drummer and composer living in Brooklyn, NY. He was born in Israel and moved to the United States in 2006. He served as the drummer for The Air Force Band in the IDF while attending the Rimon School of Jazz at the same time. He received a Bachelor of Music Degree from Berklee College of Music, where he studied with Terri Lynn Carrington, Hal Crook, and Joe Lovano, and an M.A in music from the City College of New York, where he studied with Mike Holober and Scott Reeves. He is the leader of The Dan Pugach Nonet, a nine-piece ensemble playing his original music and his arrangements. This ensemble tours regularly and has played at Bird’s Eye Basel, The Zone in Tel Aviv, Blue Note Jazz, The 55bar, Smalls Jazz Club, The Jazz Loft, The Jazz Estate, Stowe Jazz Festival among respected Performing Arts Theaters across the nation.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT NICOLE AND DAN!
Frederick Johnson & Michael Ross
Thursday, September 10 @ 7pm
View the Performance HERE
About Frederick – Frederick Johnson is an internationally acclaimed vocalist who has spent the past 35 years presenting concerts and giving seminars on the power of creative expression as a tool for personal well-being and healing. He has been recognized as one of the world’s greatest vocal jazz improvisers and has been honored as a passionate and versed chanter of sacred text. Frederick has performed on stage with such musical greats as Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Kenny Garrett, John Scofield, Christian McBride and Richard Elliot. He has performed as an opening act for Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Aretha Franklin, Patti La Belle, Patti Austin, George Benson, B.B. King, David Sanborn, Ramsey Lewis, Herbie Mann, Nat Adderly, Joe Zawinul and many others.
About Michael – A native of Harrisburg, Pa, Michael studied music at the University of South Florida and has studied privately with Cecil McBee, Dee Moses, and Jim Miller. He has led two longstanding Tampa Bay-area groups: Liquid Bebop and the Michael Ross Quartet, which has three recordings of original compositions: Doghouse (2000), Dog Eat Dog,(2002) and Year of the Dog (2004). Michael’s sideman credits include Nat Adderley, Jimmie Cobb, Herbie Mann, Nathen Page and countless other musicians throughout Florida and the south. He has many years of experience as a clinician, working with elementary, secondary, and college students. His latest recording is Ginger (2013).
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FREDERICK AND MICHAEL
Dan Tepfer
Thursday, September 17 @ 7pm
View the Performance HERE (please note: due to technical difficulties there is approximately a one minute delay, between minutes 2:13 – 3:08, before we connect to Dan in Paris)
About Dan – One of his generation’s extraordinary talents, Dan Tepfer has earned an international reputation as a pianist-composer of wide-ranging ambition, individuality and drive — one “who refuses to set himself limits” (France’s Télérama). The New York City-based Tepfer, born in 1982 in Paris to American parents, has performed around the world with some of the leading lights in jazz and classical music; he has also crafted a discography striking for its breadth and depth, encompassing probing solo improvisation and intimate duets, as well as trio albums rich in their rhythmic verve, melodic allure and the leader’s keen-eared taste in songs no matter the genre.
Tepfer earned global acclaim for his 2011 Sunnyside album Goldberg Variations / Variations, a disc that sees him performing J.S. Bach’s masterpiece as well as improvising upon it — to “elegant, thoughtful and thrilling” effect (New York magazine). Tepfer’s newest album, Natural Machines, stands as one of his most ingeniously forward-minded yet; available now as a video album on YouTube and as an audio-only CD/download/stream via Sunnyside, this solo project five years in the making finds him exploring in real time the intersection between science and art, between coding and improvisation, between digital algorithms and the rhythms of the heart.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DAN
Sarah Elizabeth Charles & Jarrett Cherner
Thursday, September 24 @ 7pm
Live from the Soapbox Gallery in Brooklyn
About Sarah Elizabeth – Vocalist/composer Sarah Elizabeth Charles and pianist/composer Jarrett Cherner are set to release their debut duo album, Tone, in the fall of 2020. This collection of original material centers on the magical, fleeting, and delicate nature of life as well as the need to take care of ourselves, each other, and the world around us. Traveling through the sonic realms of jazz, folk and poetic verse, these compositions were written by Sarah and Jarrett over a four year time period. They look forward to sharing the vision that they have spent careful time honing with the world.
About Jarrett – Hailed as “an impressive soloist and an immaculate accompanist” (Richard Kamins) who is “particularly inventive” (Scott Yanow), Brooklyn-based pianist, composer and bandleader Jarrett Cherner has captivated listeners with his lyricism, technical facility and consistently evolving musical vision. Originally from San Francisco, where he garnered praise as “one of the most exciting young pianist-composers on the Bay Area scene” (Andrew Gilbert, San Jose Mercury News), Cherner debuted on his own BaldHill Music label in 2006 with the compelling trio release Burgeoning, which earned recognition from the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards. As a driving force behind the collective jazz quintet Sketches (sketchesmusic.com), Cherner released two albums, both critically acclaimed: Sketches Volume One (BaldHill, 2013) and Volume Two (Brooklyn Jazz Underground, 2014).
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SARAH ELIZABETH AND JARRETT
Thank you Soapbox Gallery for partnering with us!
About Soapbox Gallery – Soapbox Gallery is dedicated to presenting music, performance and works of art that engage the issues of our time. The gallery was founded on the premise that art and culture are powerful reminders of our shared humanity, which can help to shape identity and promote social evolution. Soapbox was inspired by the idea that a simple, humble box–that one stands on and delivers a speech from–can start a movement and perhaps even help to change the world.
