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Blue Smoke Jazz Standard 116 East 27th Street New York Barbecue 212-447-7733 Jazz 212-576-2232 www.jazzstandard.net
Birdland 315 W 44th St New York 212-581-3080 www.birdland.com
Cachaça Jazz 'n' Samba Club 35 West 8th Street New York 212-388-9099 cachacajazz.com
Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Jazz at Lincoln Center 33 W. 60th Street 11th Floor New York 212-258-9807 www.jalc.org
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MICHAEL WEISS TRIO
TO DEBUT AT THE
VILLAGE VANGUARD
APRIL 1-6, 2008
After more than 25 years as a musicians’ musician in the trenches of the New York jazz scene, pianist and composer Michael Weiss is finally getting a measure of the attention his talents so richly deserve. His quintet made a critically acclaimed debut at the Village Vanguard in 2006, followed by a successful return engagement at the club in 2007. Now Weiss is bringing a star-studded trio into the Vanguard with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash. The engagement marks a new peak for Weiss but also a full-circle return to the format, inspiration and personnel associated with the first flush of his success in New York.
In the late 1980s – after Weiss had established himself as a top-call sideman with bebop veterans like tenor saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Junior Cook, alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson and trombonist Slide Hampton – he became a regular at Bradley’s, the premiere piano room of the day in New York. Weiss typically led trios at Bradley's that often featured either Washington or Nash. Weiss also worked with Washington for several years in Griffin’s quartet, and Weiss and Nash spent a season together in the Art Farmer-Clifford Jordan quintet of 1989. More recently, Weiss and Nash have anchored the rhythm section behind veteran trumpeter Joe Wilder’s highly praised residencies at the Vanguard.
The other key link between Weiss, Washington and Nash is the late pianist Tommy Flanagan, whose suave and sophisticated style left an important imprint on several generations of musicians. While Washington and Nash were longtime trio mates with Flanagan, Weiss considered the older pianist a mentor and the two became friends. Weiss has a similar relationship with Barry Harris, who, like Flanagan, was also originally from Detroit – all three pianists share an affinity for Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and mining the rich trove of neglected standards. Flanagan thought highly enough of his younger colleague that he often attended Weiss’ performances, including his 1992 Merkin Hall concert entitled “Rediscovered Rarities: Monk, Bud and Bird.” When Flanagan was hospitalized briefly at one point, he even sent his wife to Bradley’s to take note of Weiss’ repertoire.
While Weiss still loves to draw from his unusually deep knowledge of jazz tunes and standards, his repertoire since the mid ‘90s has leaned toward his original compositions, which favor a meticulous attention to detail, rich harmonic schemes, formal ingenuity and imaginative melodic and rhythmic development. Still, while his writing has become fleshed out with a broader range of ideas and influences, Weiss’ improvisations have never shed his bop-oriented roots. For this engagement, Weiss will focus on his originals with a number of standards mixed in.
MICHAEL WEISS TRIO at the Village Vanguard, April 1-6
Michael Weiss, piano
Peter Washington, bass
Lewis Nash, drums (Dennis Mackrel replaces Nash on April 2 only)
Set times are 9 and 11 p.m. The Village Vanguard is located at 178 Seventh Avenue South. For reservations and information: (212) 255-4037. http://www.villagevanguard.com/
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