Firehouse 12's fifth annual Spring Jazz Series continues on April 16th with the official Connecticut CD release celebration of Playdate's self-titled debut on Posi-Tone Records. This two-set performance is a homecoming for band members Noah Baerman (piano), Wayne Escoffery (tenor saxophone) and Amanda Monaco (guitar), who first played music together at teenagers while studying music at New Haven's Educational Center for the Arts. Bassist Henry Lugo and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza, longtime members of Baerman's trio, round out the quintet.

Playdate operates as a collective, performing original music written by Baerman, Monaco and Sperrazza, as well as pieces by John Stubblefield and James Williams among others. AllMusic.com reviewer Ken Dryden called Playdate "a rewarding session," and the Middletown Eye's Richard Kamins added, "if you attended Noah's premiere of 'Know Thyself' at Crowell Concert Hall this past November, you know how powerful this quintet can be. This program is pleasing, well-played jazz that's long on melodic invention, filled with strong improvisations and creative interplay and blessedly free of clutter."

The members of Playdate are all veterans of the New York jazz scene, and Baerman, Escoffery, Monaco and Sperrazza are each active bandleaders in their own right. When not working together in various configurations, these five musicians have appeared on well over 50 recordings and performed with a wide range of notable artists and ensembles. They previously collaborated on Baerman's 2005 release, Soul Force (Lemel Records), which paid tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as in live performances of his extended suite, "Know Thyself," which was commissioned by Chamber Music America and the Doris Duke Foundation. Learn more at http://www.posi-tone.com/playdate/playdate.html

2010 Spring Jazz Series Schedule:

03/26 :: Caliente! Circle Around the Sun
04/02 :: Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures Sextet
04/09 :: Myra Melford’s Happy Whistlings
04/16 :: Playdate
04/23 :: Armen Donelian Quintet
04/30 :: Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up
05/07 :: Dan Weiss Trio
05/14 :: Marcus Strickland Trio
05/21 :: Jean-Michel Pilc Trio
05/28 :: Fay Victor Ensemble
06/04 :: Peter Madsen Trio
06/11 :: Myron Walden Momentum

Tickets and more information available at:
http://firehouse12.com/performance_space_calendar.asp