JAZZ 2

by Broken Reed Saxophone Quartet

Saturday, April 25, 2015
8PM-10:30PM; Doors Open 7:30PM

Art on the Corner is thrilled to host JAZZ NITE at
Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd's Soul Café!

• Live Music • Delicious Food & Libations • Great Fun •
...and you don't have to leave the 'hood!

Tickets available at the door: $35pp
Each ticket includes entrance to the event, a glass of wine, two appetizers, and a fun evening!
Additional food and beverages available for purchase.
Wine provided by Long's Wines & Liquors
Appetizers provided by The Family Store
~ lentil cakes ~ spinach pie ~ Mediterranean meatballs ~ vegetarian stuffed grape leaves ~ baklava ~

LIVE MUSIC BY BROKEN REED SAXOPHONE QUARTET

Art on the Corner welcomes Broken Reed Saxophone Quartet to JAZZ NITE!

“Crime Jazz” is an exciting night of music connected with crime and criminals. The program begins with the theme songs of 1950s detective shows written by Johnny Mandel, Henry Mancini and Nelson Riddle, and progresses to the present day with novel arrangements of rock classics such as Michael Jackson’s, "Smooth Criminal,” and Aerosmith’s, "Janie’s Got a Gun." 

The members of Broken Reed Saxophone Quartet - Dimitri Moderbacher, Jacob Teichroew, Jenny Hill, and Charley Gerard (Director) - are joined by drummer Jeff Hirshfield for the performance. The artistry and talent of the individual members of the Quartet have been heard during appearances at the Juilliard School, the Blue Note Jazz Club, the Kennedy Center and jazz festivals around the globe, performing with Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, the Diva Big Band, and Washington Musica Viva. They have received rave reviews from the Washington Post and Saxophone Journal. As a group, Broken Reed Saxophone Quartet has performed in NY, CT, NJ, MD and toured the Burgenland region of Austria. Their music has been broadcast on TV and radio. The Quartet has been described by Dr. Sherrie Maricle, the Leader of the Diva Jazz Orchestra and the Director of Education for the New York Pops Orchestra, as “one of the most unique, innovative music ensembles I’ve heard in recent years. Their arrangements are both original and exciting, encompassing all of the relevant emotions of music, from the subtle to the explosive.”

Charley Gerard started Broken Reed Saxophone Quartet in 2002. A composer, saxophonist and music author with a degree in ethnomusicology from Columbia, Charley Gerard lives jazz. He is the author of several books on Latin music and jazz, including Salsa: Rhythm of Latin Music (White Cliffs Media, 1998); Jazz in Black and White (Praeger, 2001), which Booklist describes as an “excellent study” that highlights “the complex role of race in jazz,” and Kirkus calls a “refreshing change from recent polemics” “with an admirable evenhandedness” providing “an intelligent discussion of a loaded issue” “with integrity and thoughtfulness”; and Music from Cuba: Mongo Santamaria, Chocolate Armenteros, and Other Stateside Cuban Musicians (Praeger, 2001) that Choice Magazine deems “a useful addition to a growing list of books devoted to Latin music emanating from Cuba and Puerto Rico....the book will be a great resource for enthusiasts.”

Gerard possesses a rare collection of talents not often seen together. Versatile and virtuosic in his playing and composition, Gerard has a way of coaxing the beautiful from the unexpected. With his diverse influences—from jazz and swing to Latin and classical—and his liberal tapping of the imagination, his arrangements are thoughtful and exuberant and his performances are as formally impeccable as they are playful. They say great texts play with one another and the same holds true for music; the humor in some of his more serious pieces highlights their earnestness and this lively weight renders them achingly alive. You have only to hear his Four Seasons, Four Saxes, New Four-Casts, re-creation of the Vivaldi classic to know that you are in the presence of a musical master. He has been lauded by the Washington Post for his “humor and crossover composing skill,” “chops and range” and the “ingratiating,” “lived-in feeling” of his music” and by hurdaudio.blogspot.com for his “muted, yet powerful tone and special attention toward phrasing and accent structure.” Dance Magazine dubbed his music “brilliant” and jons-show-log.blogspot.com has described his arrangements as “superb.” Gerard fuses fun listening with dissonant sound. He is even good at the elusive, imprecise science of improvisation, while maintaining a strong sense of control when playing his arrangements. His headier music often functions as a mosaic—artistically assembled bits of sound strung together by his expert composing and perceptive performances from the BRSQ group members. Together, they transport their audience everywhere, from New Orleans jazz clubs and the swinging sixties, to the Baroque period and the pages of poetry and popular culture. As its name implies, the group is as linked by its sense of humor as it is by its unique sound.