Logan Richardson Quartet
Logan Richardson- Alto Sax
Harold O'Neal- Piano
Joe Sanders- Bass
Nasheet Waits- Drums
BIO
Being a native son of Kansas City, Missouri (b1980) Logan Richardson has always understood the Importance of observing, learning, and loving the process of tradition, and all that it entails. Kansas City, a city that propelled the development of improvised music as a whole (1925‐38). Creating a
Nest for the individual artist to develop, in a vibrant economy, and musical social structure that lended itself to create a huge igniting of musical styles largely based around a strong swing and Blues element.
Logan began playing music at the age of twelve. Of the very first educational experiences in improvised music included learning from the likes of‐Max Roach, Jimmy Heath, James Moody, Clark Terry, Ray Brown, Shirley Scott, Sir Roland Hanna, Marcus Belgrave,Richard Davis…At the age of sixteen Logan was a featured soloist performing in concert with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. Within that same time frame Logan worked with Jimmy Heath in Concert in Small group as well as a Big Band setting. Having the great honor of taking part at The Smithsonian (D.C.) in honor of Duke Ellington’s 100th birthday celebration (’99) as well as being noted in Downbeat Magazine (’99) as “up and coming“
Logan’s first year of post secondary work was done on scholarship attending Berklee College of Music (Boston). Upon completion of his first year he was awarded the Zoot Sims Scholarship (full Music scholarship) to attend The New School University in New York, New York (’01). Along with Logan’s musical studies, and development he has apprenticed, studied, and professionally performed Woodwind repair on Saxophones, and other woodwind instruments in NYC since 2004.
Working in Carl Allen’s “New Spirit” band (’02), Greg Tardy Band (’03‐05), Joe Chambers “The Outlaw” Band (’05‐07) Nasheet Waits “Equality”(’07‐present), Jason Moran “Big Band Wagon”(’07‐present). As a consequence Logan has recorded as a sideman on –Joe Chambers “The Outlaw”(’05)
Greg Tardy’s “Steps of Faith (’06) Nasheet Waits “Live From MPC (‘09) NYC Town Hall (’09) Jason Moran’s Big Band Wagon ‐50th anniversary of Thelonius Monks historic NY TOWN HALL performance. Logan has composed and recorded two albums of original music, and toured as a leader since 2006; his two albums are titled ‐“ETHOS”(Inner Circle Music); CEREBRAL FLOW”(Fresh Sound‐New Talent‐). Both albums have received gracious reviews by various editors, and publications:
‘Logan Richardson knows about that hard-to-describe entity known as the “jazz tradition”.
(DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE)
“Logan Richardson is a sharp-minded and ambitious young alto saxophonist”
(NEW YORK TIMES)
'Logan Richardson’s saxophone playing is incisive, multi-dimensional and remarkably flexible, wrapping and twisting phrases into unexpected origami Shapes-
(JAZZ TIMES)
“Logan is an alto adventurer with a seductively quizzical sound, a blend of Ornette glee and Braxton curveball. There's something eerie about the music on the new Ethos, and it gives the disc character. The leader can sound perpetually bittersweet call him the jazz Bon Iver but there’s a mercurial motion that's in place as well.”
(Village Voice-NYC)
“Logan Richardson is an enterprising and resourceful young alto player, composer and bandleader. Like his well-received debut, Cerebral Flow (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2007), Ethos—also favoring a concept-driven title—shows off Richardson's ample technique and compositions imbued with feeling.”
(All About Jazz-NYC)
Logan was most recently featured in a full page spread in the August 2009 edition of “DOWN BEAT
MAGAZINE”. French magazine “JAZZ MAN” did a feature in July ’07 including him as “one of 10 burning Alto saxophonist worldwide”. German Magazine “SONIC MAGAZINE” wrote a on him titled “Revolution by Evolution “in the October ’08 Logan has played major festivals all over the world such as: JVC Jazz Fest (NYC 2004): Knitting Factory Winter Jazz Fest. (NYC 2005); Terni Jazz Festival (Italy 2007); Foggia Jazz Fest (Italy 2007); The North Sea Jazz Festival (Rotterdam, UK 2008), Ferrara Jazz Festival (Italy 2009); San Francisco Jazz Fest (California 2008); Umbria Jazz Festival (Italy 2007); Amazon Jazz Fest (Brazil 2009); Jazz a’ Vienne (France 2009); Jazz Baltic (Germany2009); Fiemme Jazz Festival (Italy 2007); Terrassa Jazz Festival (Spain 2008); Kansas City Blues and Jazz Fest (Kansas City 2001); Marostica Jazz Festival (Italy 2007); Aspen Jazz Festival (Colorado 2004).
http://www.loganrichardson.com/
and
John Escreet Project
Dave Binney- Alto Sax
John Escreet- Piano
Zach Lorber- Bass
Nasheet Waits- Drums
John Escreet
Since moving to New York in 2006, John Escreet has had a powerful impact, and is emerging as one of the most creative and original pianists on the music scene there. He is highly revered amongst his peers for his creativity, openness and for his own original music, which draws inspiration from many different sources, and encompasses them all and much more. He recently received a commission by Chamber Music America to compose new music as part of the New Jazz Works Program for 2009. Escreet keeps himself busy touring and performing all over the world, but when not on the road he resides in New York City, working on and performing his own original music, constantly challenging himself and searching for something new and original. In the summer of 2008 he graduated from the Master’s Program at Manhattan School of Music, where he studied piano with Kenny Barron and Jason Moran.
He leads his own group ‘The John Escreet Project’ which is described by the New York Times as “a superb band”, and which features some of the most exciting and forward-thinking improvising musical talents on the New York jazz scene - David Binney (alto saxophone), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Matt Brewer (double bass) and Nasheet Waits (drums).
John’s highly anticipated debut album ‘Consequences’ was released in September 2008 on the Posi-Tone label, and quickly received widespread critical acclaim, including being voted “Best debut of 2008” by All About Jazz New York. It is also described by All About Jazz as “a scintillating work of modern progressive jazz”, and by the New York Times as “a highly accomplished debut”.
John has worked frequently in David Binney's regular group in NYC, and was also part of the world premier performance of the saxophonist’s new Big Band at the Jazz Gallery.
John is also a member of a collective called ‘The Story’ which features some of the most exciting and creative young musicians in NYC – Lars Dietrich (alto sax), Samir Zarif (tenor sax), Zack Lober (bass) and Greg Ritchie (drums). Their debut album is released March 2009. John is also a member of The TransAtlantic Collective, which is a new contemporary jazz ensemble, whose members and collaborators are some of the top emerging artists from New York City and London.
Since being in NYC, John has also had the opportunity to perform with many other great musicians, including Wayne Krantz, Chris Potter, Seamus Blake, Logan Richardson, Ben van Gelder, Will Vinson, Marcus Gilmore, Rodney Green, Dan Weiss and many more.
As well as performing at most of New York City’s major jazz venues, John has performed at important international jazz venues such as the Blue Note (Milan), Bimhuis (Amsterdam), Ronnie Scott’s (London), Upstairs (Montreal), and has also performed at major concert halls such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Purcell Room and the CBSO Centre. John is also active in jazz education, and has given clinics and workshops at institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music (London), Birmingham Conservatoire (Birmingham UK), McGill University (Montreal), Humber College (Toronto) and Loyola University (New Orleans).
SELECTED PRESS
“ Pianist John Escreet’s recent debut Consequences signals the jumpstart of a new voice in jazz.” – Downbeat
“John Escreet, a British jazz pianist in his mid-20s, has no problem communicating drama. 'Consequences,' his highly accomplished debut, opens with a half-hour composition — 'The Suite of Consequence' — that divides almost imperceptibly into three parts. The piece at large is a whorl of high-impact quintet engagement, combustible solo digressions, calmly contemplative passages and flashes of mounting suspense. A lot happens there, and each moment carries its own sharp glint of conviction.” – The New York Times
“A commanding performer who comps and solos with the percussive flamboyance of Jason Moran (who wrote the recording’s liner notes), Escreet's imaginative pen brings forth omnivorous music… Cerebral, gutsy, and filled with personality, Consequences is a discriminating work from a promising talent and one of the brightest releases of 2008.” – All About Jazz.com
“...immensely assured [piano playing]... His technique is impeccable, glistening cascades of notes...” - The Times (UK)
“Escreet, who is British but Brooklyn-based, smartly and ambitiously rides the leading edge of contemporary jazz.” – The Ottawa Citizen
“… John Escreet is a talented fellow indeed… Even with Chet’s strong tenor playing – both lyrical and modern, melodic and virtuosic – it was Escreet who made the most lasting impression on me. The quartet had the good sense to leave the young pianist alone to play unaccompanied on nearly every song. The result was that his singular densely- packed harmonic and rhythmic playing was heard unadulterated. With the rhythmic intensity of Jason Moran and the harmonic rule-breaking of Cecil Taylor, this young pianist was a thrill to hear in our own city.” – The Montreal Gazette
“Escreet can turn the standards repertoire inside out, but his balance of conventional lyricism and a looser improvisational freedom testifies to the intelligent creative force he is becoming.” – John Fordham, The Guardian (UK)
“The collaboration between David Binney and John Escreet is very fruitful, and reveals the distinct musical personality of two great improvisers and composers.” – Marie-Claire Durand - www.voir.ca
“Escreet is as original a pianist as he is composer - he has the composer's structural awareness, and a degree of classical training behind him, one suspects from from his arched hands and harmonically complex, fast, cliche-less solos, but he also has the percussive nature of jazz piano in his heart, beating out tricky rhythms with confined harmonic content in percussion battles with the drums. Overall it's refreshing to hear a pianist and be unable to identify other more famous pianists as clear influences.” - The Jazz Breakfast (UK)
http://www.johnescreet.com/
