The Sound It Out series presents NY3 - the all-star trio of clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, drummer Matt Wilson and double-bassist Martin Wind - in a very rare performance at 8:00 PM on Saturday, December 1, 2012, at the Greenwich House Music School in New York City's West Village. Cohen has won hearts and minds the world over, with her expressive virtuosity and delightful stage presence having earned her top spots on both the critics and readers polls in DownBeat magazine several years running. Reviewing Cohen's 2008 headlining set with her quartet at the North See Jazz Festival, DownBeat said: "Cohen not only proved to be a woodwind revelation of dark tones and delicious lyricism, but also a dynamic bandleader who danced and shouted out encouragement to her group. . . With her dark, curly, shoulder-length hair swaying to the beat of the music as she danced, she was a picture of joy." The irrepressible Wilson is a first-call drummer for sessions ranging from straight-ahead jazz to the avant-garde, as well as bandleader in his own right with such groups as the popular Arts & Crafts. Wind has played with the top European jazz orchestras and with icons from Phil Woods to Pat Metheny, as well as leading his own bands. Tickets for NY3 are $20 ($15 for students), available at the door; go to www.greenwichhouse.org for more information.
This will be only the second show to date by NY3, so sparks are sure to fly as the trio airs fresh takes on standards and a brace of new originals. Cohen, who will be playing both clarinet and tenor saxophone, says: "The music we perform as a trio comes from the jazz tradition, but it's very playful - we have fun with sounds and melodies, following our instincts, without overanalyzing. Matt Wilson is like a kid onstage, and that's what I like to be - it's great to have a partner in crime like him. Matt gets these incredible sounds from the drums, and Martin has this deep, round, almost classical sound on the bass, using his bow in such a musical way. And not having a traditionally harmonic instrument in the band, no piano or guitar, it frees us from pre-assigned roles, so we can really explore the music - so we can play in every sense of the word."
Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and now a citizen of the U.S., Anat Cohen has been voted Clarinetist of the Year six years in a row by the Jazz Journalists Association, as well as 2012's Multi-Reeds Player of the Year. Anat has toured the world with her quartet, headlining at the Newport, Umbria, SF Jazz and North Sea jazz festivals as well as at such hallowed clubs as the Village Vanguard. This fall, Anzic Records released her sixth album as a bandleader, Claroscuro, which ranges from buoyant dances to lyrical ballads as it showcases Anat's fluency in a global set of styles - from New Orleans and New York to Africa and Brazil. For more information, go to www.anatcohen.com.
Matt Wilson, born and raised in Illinois, has performed on some of the world's top stages, from Jazz at Lincoln Center to the White House. He has played on more than 250 recording sessions as a sideman, as well as released nine albums as a leader for Palmetto Records and recorded five more as a co-leader of such projects as Trio M with Myra Melford and Mark Dresser. For more info, go to www.mattwilsonjazz.com. As a composer and bandleader, Martin Wind has a long-running quartet with Scott Robinson, Bill Cunliffe and Tim Horner, as well as a duo with a fellow native of north Germany, guitarist Ulf Meyer; for more info, go to www.martinwind.com.
Events in the Sound It Out series at Greenwich House Music School include a post-show meet-and-greet for performers and listeners with refreshments provided by Greenwich House. Tickets for NY3 are $20 ($15 for students and seniors), available at the door. The Greenwich House Music School is located at 46 Barrow Street, half a block west of Seventh Avenue South (212-242-4770, www.greenwichhouse.org). Upcoming performances in the Sound It Out series at Greenwich House include Kris Davis & Tim Berne on December 6; and the Darius Jones Quartet on December 20, with Matt Mitchell, Trevor Dunn and Ches Smith. For additional coming attractions, see the Sound It Out concert schedule below; and there are more exciting shows being added - go to www.facebook.com/sounditoutnyc.
Established in 1905, Greenwich House Music has long been a focal point of the downtown arts scene, with pivotal figures from Henry Cowell, Edgar Varèse and John Cage to Meredith Monk, Joan La Barbara and Morton Subotnick linked with the institution. Singer-songwriter Steve Earle and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen have performed at Greenwich House, and jazz has a history there, too: Varèse and composer Earle Brown, collaborating with saxophonist-producer Teo Macero, hosted an improvisation session in 1957 with a group that included such players Art Farmer and Charles Mingus. More recently, the Jazz Composers Collective held important concerts at Greenwich House in the '90s. Curated by Bradley Bambarger, the Sound It Out series aims to continue this tradition by hosting musicians from jazz and other venturesome genres, further binding Greenwich House Music with progressive scenes across New York City.
For more information about Sound It Out, contact Bradley: 917-805-8747; bradleyb3@earthlink.net.
Greenwich House Music School: 46 Barrow Street, New York City, www.greenwichhouse.org, 212-242-4770