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BANN

Named after the initials of the four musicians it consists of, the BANN quartet lines up Seamus Blake on tenor sax, Israeli progressive guitarist Oz Noy and the experienced pair formed of double bass player Jay Anderson and drummer Adam Nussbaum. Blending Noy’s fusion guitar and Blake’s jazzy leaps over the solid rhythm of Anderson and Nussbaum, this studio debut recording showcases the attractive and inventive sound of this groundbreaking fusionacoustic band.

On the road since 2007, BANN has presented its original blend of music at festivals and jazz clubs in France, Sweden, Finland and Germany, and the satellite channel 3SAT partially broadcasted the concert that the quartet held at the Internationales Jazzfestival Viersen.

As You Like

Salvatore Bonafede trio

Renowned pianist and composer Salvatore Bonafede gets back with a trio, featuring Marcello Pellitteri (drums) and Marco Panascia (electric and double bass). Out of folk clichés, Salvatore Bonafede Trio takes Mediterranean melodies dipped into the bittersweet colours of their home-island and opens them up to a worldwide jazz audience. His newest album Sicilian Opening on JazzEyes features originals played with fine melodic lines and evocative sound, as well as evergreen pop hits arranged in Bonafede’s distinctive jazz style. With this recording Bonafede definitively cements his reputation as one of the most compelling piano players and brilliant composers on the present scene.

Sicilian Opening

Al Foster Quartet

A piece of the history of jazz, since, very young, in early ’70s he joined Miles Davis’ famous group, Al Foster is one of today most influential drummers, counted among the most sensitive and modern performers of the last decades. His inventiveness and powerful drive are provided for at best with the quartet that, since ’97, has seen Foster escorted by saxophonist Eli Degibri, pianist Kevin Hays and double-bass player Douglas Weiss, now to release “Love, Peace and Jazz!”, a unique live recording at Village Vanguard.

Love, Peace and Jazz!

Joe Locke Quartet

Joe Locke is considered by many to be the most gifted vibraphonist of his generation. His international reputation as a player, composer, band leader and conceptualist has been further enhanced recently by the accolades he has received for the creative output of his touring and recording projects, namely his “4 Walls of Freedom” (voted one of the top ten CDs of 2003 by DownBeat magazine), and his work in the U.S. and Japan with the Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group. This unit’s live performance at the Ballard Jazz Festival in Seattle, was awarded the Earshot Jazz 2005 Golden Ear Award as Concert of the Year.

Sticks and Strings

Seamus Blake Quartet

To consider that saxplayer Seamus Blake was inclosed in the Downbeat Critics Poll as an “artist deserving of wider recognition”, that Pat Metheny described him as “the best tenor player I’ve heard in a couple of years” (JazzTimes April 1997), that John Scofield hired him for his Quiet Band, calling him “extraordinary, a total saxophonist” or that he placed 1st in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in February 2002, all that only attests a part of this very interesting musician’s course. London born – but Vancouver raised – saxophonist showcases a fluent phrasing both on tenor and soprano, forged during the best years of jazz in ’90s New York City, together with his pals Mark Turner, Kevin Hays, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Larry Grenadier.

Live in Italy

Eddie Gomez Trio

Flanking pianist Bill Evans for eleven years and chosen by Charles Mingus to play on his latest recording “Me, Myself and Eye”: that would be enough to present double-bass player Edgardo “Eddie” Gomez from Puerto Rico. Supported by pianist Stefan Karlsson, mate of four recordings and several concerts, and drummer Nasheet Waits, Gomez provides for a jewel-case consisting of standards and original compositions, on a Cd with a particular title, Palermo, which states his fondness for this city, its spirits and moods.

Palermo

Kevin Hays Trio

Pianist Kevin Hays is considered one of the most brilliant jazz musician of the scene, and he is a front artist at Jazz Eyes: following critically acclaimed “For Heaven’s Sake”, his previous release with originals and standards, he now strikes back with his “melodic charms and sense of style” (The New Yorker), featuring longstanding companions Doug Weiss and Bill Stewart on the newest recording “You’ve Got a Friend”, also available on LP, where the trio plays pop hits and jazz masters like Monk and Parker.

You’ve Got a Friend

For Heaven’s Sake