Kavita Shah Quintet ft. Steve Wilson

Kavita Shah is an award-winning vocalist, composer, researcher, and educator who makes work in deep engagement with the jazz tradition, while also addressing and advancing its global sensibilities. A lifelong New Yorker of Indian origin hailed for possessing an “amazing dexterity for musical languages” (NPR), Shah incorporates her ethnographic research on Brazilian, West African, and Indian traditions into her original music. Her projects include “Visions” (2014), co-produced by Lionel Loueke, “Folk Songs of Naboréa” (2017, named a Top 10 Jazz Concert of the Year by Nate Chinen), “Interplay” (2018) in duo with François Moutin, which was nominated for France’s Victoires de la Musique for Jazz Album of the Year, and “Cape Verdean Blues” (2023), a "quietly riveting" (New York Times) and "gorgeous" (The Guardian) tribute to the music of Cesária Évora. Shah is currently working on a new record of original music for her jazz quintet chronicling the journey to her ancestral villages in rural India. "...one of the most gifted young woodwind specialists on the modern scene. His intellectual approach and studied chops are coupled with a deep spiritual base and driving creativity."cduniverse.com"Adept in almost any setting, Wilson has the rare ability to say more with lessand to let the space between each note breathe and resonate."George Varga, The San Diego TribuneThese are some of the qualities that have earned STEVE WILSON a prominent position on the bandstand and in the studio with the greatest names in jazz, as well as critical acclaim as a bandleader in his own right. A musician's musician, Wilson has brought his distinctive sound to more than 100 recordings led by such celebrated and wide-ranging artists as Chick Corea, George Duke, Michael Brecker, Dave Holland, Dianne Reeves, Bill Bruford, Gerald Wilson, Maria Schneider, Joe Henderson, Charlie Byrd, Billy Childs, Karrin Allyson, Don Byron, Bill Stewart, James Williams, and Mulgrew Miller among many others. Wilson has seven recordings under his own name, leading and collaborating with such stellar musicians as Lewis Nash, Carl Allen, Steve Nelson, Cyrus Chestnut, Greg Hutchinson, Dennis Irwin, James Genus, Larry Grenadier, Ray Drummond, Ben Riley, and Nicholas Payton.A native of Hampton, Virginia, Wilson began his formal training at age 12. Playing saxophone, oboe, and drums in school bands, he also played in various R&B and funk bands throughout his teens, and went on to a year-long stint with singer Stephanie Mills. He then decided to major in music at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, affording him opportunities to perform and/or study with Jimmy and Percy Heath, Jon Hendricks, Jaki Byard, John Hicks, Frank Foster and Ellis Marsalis. In 1986, he landed a chair with O.T.B (Out of the Blue), a sextet of promising young players recording on Blue Note Records. In 1987 he moved to New York and the following year toured the US and Europe with Lionel Hampton. Becoming a first-call choice for veteran and emerging artists alike, Wilson was the subject of a New York Times profile "A Sideman's Life", highlighting his work with Ralph Peterson, Jr., Michele Rosewoman, Renee Rosnes, Marvin "Smitty" Smith, Joanne Brackeen, The American Jazz Orchestra, The Mingus Big Band, The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Leon Parker, and Buster Williams' Quintet "Something More". In 1996 he joined the acclaimed Dave Holland Quintet, and from 1998-2001 he was a member of Chick Corea's Grammy winning sextet "Origin".Having been cited by his peers in a New York Times poll as one of the artists most likely to break out [on his own] as an established leader, Wilson recorded four CDs (New York Summit, Step Lively, Blues for Marcus and Four For Time) on the Criss Cross label. He then debuted on Stretch Records with Generations, his multi-generational quartet with Mulgrew Miller, Ray Drummond and Ben Riley. His second Stretch release Passages features his working quartet-Bruce Barth, Ed Howard and Adam Cruz, and special guest Nicholas Payton. Containing nine original compositions Passages established Wilson as a leader whose vision reveres the past, creates a soundscape of the present, and reaches toward the future. Wilson's most recent recording Soulful Song, was released by MAXJAZZ in June 2003. It features his quartet and special guests Rene Marie, Carla Cook, Phillip Manuel, James Genus, Billy Kilson, Paul Bollenback and Wilson "Chembo" Corniel. The recording, which is the debut of the MAXJAZZ horn series, issues forth a powerful and provocative performance from these dynamic and versatile artists. As Wilson explains, "It's a tribute Black radio, as it was called then, that was particularly inclusive in its programming and a galvanizing force in the community. On the same station one could hear R&B, jazz, blues, gospel, comedy, local news and affairs, and social commentary". In addition to new original material the program includes songs by Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea, Abbey Lincoln, Gil Scott Heron, Earth, Wind & Fire, Patrice Rushen, and The Staple Singers. Wilson was a featured guest with Dr. Billy Taylor in his series "Jazz at the Kennedy Center" which is broadcast on NPR. He was artistic consultant to Harvey Keitel for the film "Lulu On The Bridge" as well as being featured on the soundtrack. He has been Artist-In-Residence at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hamilton College, Old Dominion University, and for the 2002/2003 season with the award winning arts organization CITYFOLK in Dayton, Ohio which included the performance of a commissioned work. He has been a featured performer, panelist, and clinician at conferences of the International Association of Jazz Educators, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and Chamber Music of America. Wilson was honored with the Marc Crawford Jazz Educator Award from New York University in 2001, and the Virginia Jazz Award 2003 Musician of the Year presented by the Richmond Jazz Society, recognizing his outstanding service in the advancement of jazz and education in their respective communities. Since 1997 he has been regularly cited in the Downbeat Magazine Critics and Readers Polls in the soprano and alto saxophone categories.Wilson continues to tour with the Steve Wilson Quartet and Generations. He performs in duo with his long-time friend and colleague Lewis Nash, in Musical Dialogue with Lewis Nash and Steve Wilson. He is also a touring member of the Grammy winning Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, The Buster Williams Quartet, and Mulgrew Miller's Wingspan, and is on the faculty at The Manhattan School of Music, SUNY Purchase, and Columbia University. Weblinks:www.Stevewilsonmusic.com This artist does not have a bio yet. Pianist Julian Shore is known for his "deep maturity as a composer and bandleader" (DownBeat), and his work as both a versatile sideman, and experienced bandleader has JazzTimes calling him one of the “leaders of the young jazz piano scene.” Bandcamp glows “his melodies are fueled by a powerful blend of contemplation and exploration. It’s just as easy to immerse yourself in any single moment as it is to be swept away by the entire epic journey.” Originally from New Zealand, Matt Penman moved to the States in 1994 to attend Berklee College of Music, and to New York in 1995 where he maintains an international performing, recording and teaching schedule as one of jazz musics most in-demand musicians.He is an established member of the SFJazz Collective, an 8-piece composers collective devoted to presenting the original works of its members as well as arrangements by the band of a different jazz greats work every year. The Collective is in its sixth year and currently features Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas and Stefon Harris. He also performs regularly with John Scofield; in his trio-plus-horns formation, and in a quartet with Joe Lovano. He is also a member of Nils Wograms Root 70, a drummerless trio with Hayden Chisholm and John Taylor, and a new collaborative quartet featuring Joshua Redman. Other past collaborators include Kurt Rosenwinkel, Kenny Werner, Chris Cheek, Seamus Blake, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Guillermo Klein, Rebecca Martin, Nicholas Payton, Fred Hersch and Madeleine Peyroux.He has mentored in many workshops throughout Europe and in 2007 was an Artist in Residence at the Brubeck Institute in Stockton, California, and was on the faculty of the 2009 Banff Workshop for Creative and Improvised Music.His own projects include the 1998 co-led album Flipside on Naxos, then in 2001 The Unquiet, and 2008 Catch of the Day both on the Barcelona label Fresh Sound. He also features on about 85 CDs on various labels. VARUN DAS is an emerging star drummer, composer, and educator based in New Jersey/ New York. His music comes from the sophisticated rhythms of Indian classical music, the rich soul of Black American Music, and the energetic atmosphere of progressive rock. In addition to his work as a bandleader, Das is a notable Bollywood drummer and a nationally recognized sideman and studio artist especially in the jazz and fusion world. At the age of 13, he received his online Specialist in Drums Certificate from Berklee College of Music (2013) and is currently an undergraduate student at Manhattan School of Music (2018-2022) where he studies with prominent jazz drummers, John Riley and Kendrick Scott; he has also worked hands on with Paquito D’Rivera, Elio Villafranca, Miguel Zenon, Jim McNeely, and Harvie S. As one of the most in demand Bollywood drummers in the United States, Das has performed with Dr. KJ Yesudas, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Chinmayi Sripada, Jeffrey Iqbal, Shankar Tucker, Aima Baig, Anup Rubens, DSP, and many others. In August 2021, he became a core member of world renowned fusion band Red Baraat. Das was selected for several prestigious national jazz honors. Notably, in 2018, he was selected as the GRAMMY Jazz Band drummer (also Grammy Alumni band drummer in 2019, 2020 with pop star Bebe Rexha, and 2022). In 2019, he was recognized as a National YoungArts Foundation finalist in jazz percussion. He was recognized by DOWNBEAT Magazine as “Best/ Outstanding Soloist” in the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 in the college category of the annual student music awards. In 2021, Das released his debut EP entitled Solitude, consisting of 5 duets for vibraphone and piano. Additionally, his composition for five saxophones, “State of Mind” was chosen as the winner piece in both the All-Eastern and New Jersey All-State composition competitions in 2017. Through his music, Das communicates his outlook towards society and tells stories of individuals and places that have been of significant impact to him and his upbringing.