Miles, Steely Dan And Rumblin’ Trombones

MANHATTAN, N.Y. - May 29, 2013 - PRLog -- G&J Productions continues signature jazz programming in June at Ginny’s Supper Club with JazzPlus Miles and Steely Dan, featuring the Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, and Cuttin’ Up!: Trombones, with Wycliffe Gordon and Ryan Keberle.

“In the current topsy-turvy music landscape, we think it crucial to devise programming that displays the connection between jazz and other genres of music,” says Greg Thomas of G&J Productions. “That’s why we’re excited about presenting the Burnt Sugar Arkestra, co-founded by fellow journalist Greg Tate, for an evening of sonic interpretation of music by artists who didn’t limit themselves to just one form: Miles Davis and Steely Dan.”

Burnt Sugar will also perform music from the songbook they’ve developed over the past 14 years, and will feature special guest Brian Jackson, a collaborator with Gil Scott-Heron, on flute and piano.

Taking a page from jazz history’s famed cuttin’ contests, trombonists Wycliffe Gordon and Ryan Keberle will engage in a friendly rivalry for G&J’s Cuttin’ Up! series.

“Wycliffe is one of the most acclaimed and respected trombonists on the scene, and his former student Ryan Keberle is making critical waves with his own recordings and performances,” says Jewel Kinch-Thomas of G&J Productions. “This thrilling engagement may well be a rite-of-passage for Ryan, as he takes on his teacher, head-to-head.”

G&J Productions presents

JAZZPLUS MILES, STEELY DAN & SUGAR SONGBOOKS:

BURNT SUGAR THE ARKESTRA CHAMBER

Saturday, June 8          7:30 pm & 10:00 pm   $20

Led by  Village Voice icon Greg "Ironman" Tate and monster groove bassist Jared Michael Nickerson since 1999, Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber is a sprawling band of musicians whose prodigious personnel freely juggles a wide swath of the experimental soul-jazz-hip hop spectrum. This very accomplished crew has playing credits that range from Melvin Van Peebles, Whitney Houston, Toshi Reagon, DJ Logic, Gary Lucas, Jay Z, TV On The Radio, Tamar Kali, Phish, William Parker, Lizz Wright, The Holmes Brothers, Wadada Leo Smith, David Murray and Joseph Bowie.  "For this performance Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber will mash the Miles Davis, Steely Dan & Burnt Sugar songbooks."

Greg Tate - conduction

Mikel Banks - vocals/conduction

Shelley Nicole - vocals/percussion

Lewis 'Flip' Barnes - trumpet

Micah Gaugh - alto sax/vocals

V. Jeffery Smith - tenor sax/vocals

'Moist' Paula Henderson - bari sax

André 'Day Glo' Lassalle - guitar

Ben Tyree - guitar

Bruce Mack - keyboards/vocals/conduction

Leon Gruenbaum - keyboards

Jared Michael Nickerson - electric bass

Trevor Holder - drums

Special Guest Brian Jackson - flute/piano

G&J Productions presents

CUTTIN’ UP! TROMBONES:  WYCLIFFE GORDON & RYAN KEBERLE

Saturday, June 15th        7:30 pm & 10:00 pm   $25          

TWO MUSICIANS – SAME INSTRUMENT –JAMMING HEAD TO HEAD

Wycliffe Gordon enjoys an extraordinary career as a performer, conductor, composer, arranger, and educator, receiving high praise from audiences and critics alike. Gordon tours the world performing hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz for audiences ranging from heads of state to elementary school students. His trombone playing, hailed as “mixing powerful, intricate runs with sweet notes extended over clean melodies,” has been universally hailed by jazz critics.

Gordon received the Jazz Journalists Association 2011 and 2012 Award for Trombonist of the Year, and has been nominated for the Jazzpar Award. He tours regularly leading the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet, headlining at legendary jazz venues throughout the world. Gordon is a former veteran member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The Gully Low Jazz Band, and has been a featured guest artist on Billy Taylor's “Jazz at The Kennedy Center” Series.  

Ryan Keberle’s diverse talents have earned him a place alongside a staggering array of legends, superstars, and up-and-coming innovators playing with jazz greats including Maria Schneider and Wynton Marsalis; hip-hop and R&B superstars like Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, and Alicia Keys; Latin jazz leaders like Pedro Giraudo and Ivan Lins; indie rock ground-breakers such as Sufjan Stevens; or playing in the house band at Saturday Night Live, on the soundtrack of a Woody Allen film, or in the pit for a Tony-winning Broadway musical.

Wycliffe Gordon: trombone and vocals

Ryan Keberle: trombone

Chris Pattishall:  piano

Yasushi Nakamura: bass

Alvin Atkinson, Jr.: drums