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Greenwich House Concert Series
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2017 Concerts

Oct. 6: Stephan Crump’s Rhombal

DATE: Friday, october 6
TIME: 8:00 P.M.
TICKETS: $20 ($15 for students & seniors)

Bassist-composer Stephan Crump, a longtime member of the hit Vijay Iyer Trio, returns as a leader to the Sound It Out series to present his cross-generational quartet Rhombal, featuring trumpeter Adam O’Farrill, tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin and drummer Kassa Overall. Stephan and company are fresh off the release of the band’s first album – which The New York Times dubbed “excellent” and DownBeat praised for the way it “bristles with the unexpected and lively.” Up-and-coming trumpeter Adam O’Farrill, the latest member of the famed O’Farrill family to make a name in jazz, joins esteemed veteran saxophonist Ellery Eskelin on the front line, with Stephan and young drummer Kassa Overall forming an ace rhythm section. About Stephan, The New York Times has said: “As a bassist and composer, Mr. Crump avoids obvious routes but manages never to lose his way.” Below is a personal note from Stephan about his new eponymous album with Rhombal…

” `Rhombal’ is not about sadness. Much more that, it’s a commemoration of a death well-confronted, of a spiritual evolution I witnessed in my brother during our last days together, and of how close we left each other after what had been, for many years, a very troubled relationship… In putting a band together, I usually look first to the spirits involved rather than particular instruments, although after years of exploring with my all-string Rosetta Trio and numerous duo projects, I knew I wanted to deal with drums and breath. I also wanted the collective freedom and challenge that comes from omitting a chordal instrument, and at times to find how the band, itself, might be that instrument…

“I met Adam while on faculty at the Banff creative music summer program in 2013 and immediately connected with him as a person, plus I couldn’t get enough of hearing him play his horn. Ellery I’d admired from afar for years before introducing myself with this project in mind. I thought he and Adam might make an inspired team and was drawn to the generational breadth they would bring to the group. Hearing their sounds together as they warmed up before our first rehearsal, I was knocked back by the vibration. It almost doesn’t matter what notes they play. . . In the name Rhombal, there is a bit of ‘rumble,’ evoking a scrum or sparring tangle, but even more, the idea of developing geometries, of shape-shifting while maintaining a powerful structural integrity and functional equality… I began writing this music in the last few months of my brother’s life, as he battled an extremely rare, aggressive sarcoma. The writing flowed through a year after his passing and was shaped by the chemistry of the band as we began to rehearse and perform. Then, this winter, we recorded the album in a two-day studio journey that was one of the most profound and moving experiences of my life, and which left me with the feeling of a new brotherhood, just formed.”

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Greenwich House Music School
46 Barrow Street
New York, NY 10014
212-242-4770

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Pianist Angelica Sanchez, one of Sound It Out’s favorite artists, returned in March 2017 to perform for the series at NYC’s Greenwich House Music School, celebrating the release of her trio album “Float the Edge” (Clean Feed), featuring bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tyshawn Sorey. The New York Times justly praised “Float the Edge” for being "full of intense power and swarming interplay,” qualities present at the Greenwich House show along with abundant lyricism and collegial warmth. Bart Babinski was on hand to capture the night evocatively in pictures — many thanks, Bart! (The show's first half showcased Angie’s duo with the great trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, with those photos featured in a previous post.)
In March 2017, the duo of iconic trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and ever-creative pianist Angelica Sanchez returned for an encore Sound It Out performance at NYC’s Greenwich House Music School (playing the first half of a bill that also featured Angie leading her trio with bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tyshawn Sorey). Bart Babinski was in the house to shoot lovely photos – three here of Wadada and Angie. Thanks, Bart! (More to follow of the trio.) In 2014, Angie and Wadada released a duo album via Clean Feed, “Twine Forest,” which Dusted magazine praised aptly: “Wadada Leo Smith and the superb pianist Angelica Sanchez produce a recital whose main ingredients are touch, feel, resonance and a real emphasis on the presence of a note, a chord. Smith’s trumpet playing is widely celebrated for possessing these virtues, but Sanchez convinces throughout with her musicality, restraint and creativity.”
Saxophonist-flutist and composer Anna Webber’s Simple Trio — featuring pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer John Hollenbeck — played shows for Sound It Out in 2016 and 2017 at NYC’s Greenwich House Music School, with Bart Babinski there to take these five lovely pictures. (Many thanks, Bart!) Anna, Matt and John were performing around the release of their album “Binary” (Skirl). Now they’re appearing on half of Anna’s upcoming double-disc release, “Idiom,” coming out next month via the great Pi Recordings label…
“Monk on Guitars 1” — Post 5 of 5... In June 2017, Sound It Out capped its fifth-anniversary festival at NYC’s Greenwich House Music School — shows that raised considerable funds for the school and its new, much-needed air-conditioning system — with a rousing, over-capacity event that showcased the music of Thelonious Monk played by some of NYC’s finest jazz guitarists and rhythm sections. Evocative photos by Bart Babinski from the festival’s first three events — featuring Fay Victor’s Herbie Nichols Sung band, the duo of saxophonist Tim Berne & pianist Matt Mitchell, and an all-star ensemble performing the music of Paul Motian — have already been posted. Now here's the fifth of five posts sharing Bart’s beautiful shots from the “Monk on Guitars 1” concert. With music direction by guitarist Rez Abbasi, the jaw-dropping “Monk on Guitars 1” band also included guitarists Nels Cline, Julian Lage, David Gilmore, Miles Okazaki, Liberty Ellman, Steve Cardenas, Anders Nilsson and Mike Baggetta, plus bassists Stephan Crump and Jerome Harris and the drummers Colin Stranahan, Richie Barshay and Mark Whitfield Jr. Thanks so much to Bart for these photos — and, of course, to everyone who participated in Sound It Out’s fifth-anniversary festival, raising funds for Greenwich House Music School!
“Monk on Guitars 1” — Post 4 of 5... In June 2017, Sound It Out capped its fifth-anniversary festival at NYC’s Greenwich House Music School — shows that raised considerable funds for the school and its new, much-needed air-conditioning system — with a rousing, over-capacity event that showcased the music of Thelonious Monk played by some of NYC’s finest jazz guitarists and rhythm sections. Evocative photos by Bart Babinski from the festival’s first three events — featuring Fay Victor’s Herbie Nichols Sung band, the duo of saxophonist Tim Berne & pianist Matt Mitchell, and an all-star ensemble performing the music of Paul Motian — have already been posted. Now here's the fourth of five posts sharing Bart’s beautiful shots from the “Monk on Guitars 1” concert, with one more to follow. With music direction by guitarist Rez Abbasi, the jaw-dropping “Monk on Guitars 1” band also included guitarists Nels Cline, Julian Lage, David Gilmore, Miles Okazaki, Liberty Ellman, Steve Cardenas, Anders Nilsson and Mike Baggetta, plus bassists Stephan Crump and Jerome Harris and the drummers Colin Stranahan, Richie Barshay and Mark Whitfield Jr. Thanks so much to Bart for these photos — and, of course, to everyone who participated in Sound It Out’s fifth-anniversary festival, raising funds for Greenwich House Music School!
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