Peter Bernstein Quartet

“Few guitarists put as much care, sensitivity and subtle strength into every single note as Bernstein does. Among the finest melodists in jazz, he has a full-breadth command of his instrument, but his biggest assets are his knack for crisp understatement and simplicity.

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The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra began its life as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1966.The world-famous Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City booked the newly formed band for three Monday nights that February. Those performances were wildly successful and the engagement was extended indefinitely. The Village Vanguard’s owner, Max Gordon, told Mel Lewis, “We’ll keep it going until it tapers off.” Over half a century and more than 2700 Monday nights later, it still hasn’t. The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra stands apart from all other modern ensembles of its kind and is still as strong and vital as ever.

“Among his generation of jazz musicians, Kurt Rosenwinkel has to be the most beloved guitarist. Chalk it up to his originality: He's set trends among his peers with ideas about harmony and form, and he's created an easily recognizable playing style on an instrument where individuality is rare in mainstream jazz.

“We'll keep it going until it tapers off...

“Studious and self-assured, with a casually debonair style and a warm but faraway air, the Chicago-born Mr. Ross, became ubiquitous on the scene over the last few years without forcing himself in, by virtue of his rhythmic distinction and his adaptive spirit.

“He bears the name of jazz royalty, and he's spent many hours curating, archiving and producing his parents' recordings. But when he picks up his own saxophones, Ravi Coltrane blows an original and distinctly modern strain of jazz, distilling but never seeking to imitate his family's adventurous improvising spirits. Now one of today's top saxophonists

“The ranks of young pianists are littered with technical virtuosos, but Clayton stands apart: He has touch, too. He's a warm and graceful player, with plenty of personal nuance; he would say that his style comes as much from gigging with West Coast bigwigs as from listening to a wide range of music.

“Changes come and go in Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood, but the basement club occupying 178 Seventh Avenue South since 1935 remains a stable and revered New York City landmark.