Jerome Sabbagh Quartet

Saxophonist and composer Jerome Sabbagh was born in France and has been living in New York since 1995. A prolific forward-thinking composer, as well as a musician with a deep connection to the well of the jazz tradition, he has been a band leader for over 15 years. His longstanding quartet of fifteen years with Ben Monder, Joe Martin and Ted Poor has released three critically acclaimed albums, including "The Turn” (Sunnyside Records), which was selected in the best releases of 2014 by the Boston Globe, L.A. Times among others. His most recent release is “Vintage”, featuring NEA jazz master Kenny Barron, with Joe Martin and Johnathan Blake (Sunnyside, 2023). Jerome Sabbagh has shared the stage with Victor Lewis, Bill Stewart, Greg Hutchinson, Billy Drummond, Nasheet Waits, Eric McPherson, Johnathan Blake, Eliot Zigmund, Andrew Cyrille, Damion Reid, Daniel Humair, Mark Turner, Melissa Aldana, Chris Cheek, Reggie Workman, Matt Penman, Joe Sanders, Lage Lund, Guillermo Klein, Mike Moreno, Laurent Coq and Jean-Michel Pilc. He has played in some of the world's most famous festivals, including Newport, San Francisco, Paris, Tokyo and Medellin, and at the Village Vanguard, as part of Paul Motian’s New Trio. In 2011, 2017, 2018 and 2019, DownBeat selected him as a rising star. He was one of the only European-born musicians on the list. Jerome Sabbagh is a D’Addario artist and is also endorsed by Audeze. This artist does not have a bio yet. Joe Martin is one of the most sought-after bassists on the current New York City jazz scene. Known for his warm sound, facile ear, harmonic flexibility, and lyrical solos, he has performed with a diverse range of musicians including Andy Bey, Vinicius Cantuaria, Bill Charlap, Billy Drummond, Art Farmer, Aaron Goldberg, Jon Gordon, Ari Hoenig, Joel Frahm, Ethan Iverson, Guillermo Klein, Ivan Lins, Lionel Loueke, Bill McHenry, John McNeil, Brad Mehldau, Mingus Big Band, Ben Monder, Jane Monheit, Chris Potter, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jaleel Shaw, Edward Simon, Mark Turner, and many others. He has performed on dozens of recordings as a sideman and has two critically acclaimed recordings as a leader, "Not By Chance" (Anzic) featuring Chris Potter, Brad Mehldau, Marcus Gilmore, and "Passage" (FSNT) which features Mark Turner, Kevin Hays, and Jorge Rossy. Continuous musical dialogue amongst great musicians is a major source of inspiration for Joe. Composition is another indispensable component to Joe's musical world. Born in Kansas City in 1970, Joe grew up surrounded by music in Pella, Iowa. His father, a retired music history professor, was clarinetist with the Des Moines Symphony for 28 years, and his mother, a librarian by profession, is an amateur violinist. His younger brother Phil is a drummer who resides in Chicago. He listened regularly to his parents' extensive classical music collection, which also included records by Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, and George Shearing. His grandfather was a jazz pianist who played nightclub and dancegigs in Joplin, Missouri. On family visits, his grandfather taught him many of the great American standards. Growing up in this nourishing musical environment gave Joe his deep love and respect for all music. Joe began his musical studies on cello at age seven. He also played trumpet in his school band. At age fifteen he picked up the electric bass and with encouragement from his parents, band director, and Des Moines bassist Susie Miget, took the instrument home for the summer. He felt an immediate rapport with the bass, playing by ear and learning bass lines he heard on the radio. Initially drawn to progressive rock, he also listened to fusion and funk players like Stanley Clarke, Ralphe Armstrong, Larry Graham, and Jaco Pastorious, By the end of high school he had also begun playing the string bass and listening to Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Scott LaFaro, and Ron Carter. Joe attended DePaul University in Chicago on an academic scholarship, but continued his bass study with Larry Gray, with whom he studied both classical and jazz. After two years he craved a more intensive jazz environment and transferred to William Paterson College in New Jersey, where he studied with Todd Coolman, Rufus Reid, and Harold Mabern. During this period he frequented New York City jazz clubs and heard veteran bassists like Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, Ray Drummond, George Mraz as well as younger players like Bob Hurst, Larry Grenadier, ChristianMcBride, and Peter Washington. Joe earned a Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude in 1994 and subsequently moved to New York City. Since then, the experience he has gained performing with jazz legends, as well as his contemporaries, continues to further his growth and maturity as a musician. weblinks: www.joemartinbass.com www.facebook.com/joemartinbass NASHEET WAITS, drummer/music educator, is a New York native. His interest in playing the drums was encouraged by his father, legendary percussionist, Frederick Waits. Over the course of his career, Freddie Waits played with such legendary artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, McCoy Tyner, and countless others.Nasheet's college education began at Morehouse in Atlanta, GA, where he majored in Psychology and History. Deciding that music would be his main focus, he continued his college studies in New York at Long Island University, where he graduated with honors, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Music. While attending Long Island University, Waits studied privately with renowned percussionist, Michael Carvin. Carvin's tutelage provided a vast foundation upon which Waits added influences from his father, as well as mentor Max Roach. It was Max that first gave Nasheet's formidable talent international spotlight, hiring him as a member of the famed percussion ensemble M'BOOM. One highlight of Nasheet's tenure with M'BOOM was the live concert performance of M'BOOM with special guests Tony Williams and Ginger Baker.Nasheet's talent came to the attention of reedman Antonio Hart, who asked Waits to originate the percussion chair of his first quintet. Waits remained a standing member of Antonio's various ensembles, recording three albums and touring nationally and internationally in noted venues, jazz festivals, as well as live television and radio performances. Nasheet remained a member of Antonio's group through 1998.Most recently Nasheet has been a member of Andrew Hill's various bands, Jason Moran's Bandwagon, and Fred Hersch's trio. As an originating member of pianist Jason Moran's Bandwagon, Jason, bassist Tarus Mateen, and Nasheet have been deemed, the most exciting rhythm section in jazz by JazzTimes, The 2001 recording Black Stars with the Bandwagon, featuring Sam Rivers was named the Best CD of 2001 in (Jazz Times, Jan 2002) and The New York Times.Nasheet's recording and performing discography is a veritable who's who in Jazz, boasting stints with jazz notables such as Geri Allen, Mario Bauza, Hamiett Bluiett, Abraham Burton, Ron Carter, Marc Cary, Steve Coleman, Stanley Cowell, Orrin Evans, Stefon Harris, Andrew Hill, Bill Lee, Jackie McLean, The Mingus Big Band, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Greg Osby, Joshua Redman, Vanessa Rubin, Antoine Roney, Wallace Roney, Jacky Terrason, Bunky Green, and Mark Turner. Waits has recorded and toured extensively in Africa, Europe, Japan, Canada, South America and the United States. Amidst his performing, recording and touring activity, Nasheet teaches private lessons to youth and adults, stressing a personal approach to the drums and music. He has been heralded for his musicality and creativity by such virtuosos as Ed Thigpen, Max Roach, Andrew Hill, and Stanley Cowell . True to his personal philosophy of the necessity to balance Tradition and Modernism, Waits collaborates and performs regularly with a wide range of artists. He remains dedicated to exploring his role and creative path in music.Weblinks:www.nasheetwaits.com