Sunday Afternoon April 2, 2006
The Vision Club Series 2006 presents
An Afternoon with
HENRY GRIMES's
Masters of the Future
Henry Grimes (bass), Maestro Marshall Allen (alto saxophone, EVI), Andrew
Bemkey (bass clarinet), Gamiel Lyons (flute), Tyshawn Sorey (perc.)
2 Sets at 1:30pm & 3pm
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Location: Clemente Soto Velez - 107 Suffolk St. @ Rivington
$15 per set, $10 student, kids 14 & under free (families encouraged!!!)
Info/Reservations: 212-696-6681 or
www.visionfestival.org
simple retellings of the genre's stock stories. He stains them with his own
blood, sweat and tears, making his canvases among the music's most poignant
and exhilarating." David Sprague, "Variety," 'O5
NEW YORK, NY: Since his return to music in 2003 (punctuated by a spectacular
New York debut at that year’s Vision Festival) the return of Henry Grimes
has taken the jazz world by storm. After a 30-year break from music, he has
reemerged in full force, being featured on ABC News and the New York Times
and performing with the modern giants of jazz, including Bill Dixon, Joe
Lovano, David Murray, Dave Douglas, Kidd Jordan, William Parker, Charli
Persip and many others. In December of 2003, Grimes was awarded All About
Jazz's award for Musician of the Year and he has toured the U.S. and the
world to great acclaim.
For this special afternoon of music, the group performing will pair the
veteran mastery of Grimes and Sun Ra Arkestra Maestro Marshall Allen with
three of the most impressive musicians of the younger generation. These
three musicians – Andrew Bemkey, Tyshawn Sorey and Gamiel Lyons – are
budding masters who have already made names for themselves in the creative
jazz scene. This summit meeting of various generations will be a unique
opportunity to hear all the musicians in a new and exciting context.
For full bios of all musicians, please read below. Photos available upon
request!
For complete series schedule visit our website at
www.visionfestival.org
Artist Bios
HENRY GRIMES (bass)
Master bassist HENRY GRIMES, missing from the music world since the late
'6O's, has made an unprecedented comeback after receiving the gift of a bass
(a green one called Olive Oil!) from William Parker in December, 'O2 to
replace the instrument Henry had been forced to give up some 3O years
earlier. Between the mid-'5O's and the mid-'6O's, the Philadelphia-born
(1935), Juilliard-educated Henry Grimes played brilliantly on some 5O albums
with an enormous range of musicians, including Albert Ayler, Don Cherry,
Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Lee Konitz, Steve Lacy, Charles
Mingus (yes, Charles Mingus), Gerry Mulligan, Sunny Murray, Sonny Rollins,
Roswell Rudd, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor, Charles Tyler,
McCoy Tyner, Rev. Frank Wright, and many more ... and then one day in the
late '6O's, he left New York for San Francisco to work with Jon Hendricks,
Al Jarreau, and Archie Shepp, then headed to Los Angeles, and soon after
turned in his bass for repairs he was unable to pay for, and disappeared
entirely from the music world.
More than 3O years passed with nothing heard from Henry, yet after only a
few weeks with his new bass, he emerged to begin playing music again! These
days, he lives, works, and teaches in New York City and has been working
almost exclusively as a leader with Marshall Allen, Fred Anderson, Rob
Brown, Roy Campbell, Jr., Daniel Carter, Marilyn Crispell, Andrew Cyrille,
Bill Dixon, Hamid Drake, Edward "Kidd" Jordan, Joe Lovano, Sabir Mateen,
Bennie Maupin, Jemeel Moondoc, David Murray, William Parker, Marc Ribot,
Roswell Rudd, and many more. Since 2OO3, Henry Grimes has played and toured
extensively in Europe (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany,
Holland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey) as well as in Canada and the U.S. To the astonishment and joy of
all, he's playing at the very height of his artistic powers (or indeed
anyone's), just as though he'd never stopped at all! In the past two years,
he's taught workshops and master classes at City College of New York,
Edgefest in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and JazzInstitut Darmstadt, among others;
he was named "Musician of the Year" by "All About Jazz / New York" at the
end of 'O3; he received prestigious Meet the Composer awards in 'O3 and 'O5;
he has been twice nominated for an "L.A. Weekly" Best Jazz Artist Award ('O3
& 'O4); and he was most recently featured in "Downbeat" (July, 'O5), "The
Village Voice" (July), "Signal to Noise" (summer issue), "JazzTimes"
(August), "Time Out New York" (September), and "Time Out Chicago" (best of
2OO5 issue, January, 'O6). Henry Grimes is still healthy and strong, and
his gentle, humble bearing and courageous life story have inspired all those
privileged to know him, hear him, play music with him.
For further information:
www.HenryGrimes.com,
MusicMargaret@earthlink.net.
MARSHALL ALLEN (alto saxophone, electronic valve instrument [EVI], multi
inst.)
MARSHALL BELFORD ALLEN was born in 1924 in Louisville and started clarinet
lessons at age 1O. During the mid-'5O's, Marshall met Sun Ra and became a
student of his precepts. After joining the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1958, Marshall
Allen led Sun Ra's formidable reed section for over 4O years (a role akin to
the position of Johnny Hodges in the Duke Ellington orchestra). Marshall
Allen lived, rehearsed, toured and recorded with Sun Ra almost exclusively
for most of his musical career. As a featured soloist with the Arkestra,
Marshall pioneered the avante-garde jazz movement of the early '6O's,
expanding a style rooted in Johnny Hodges and Don Byas, and influencing all
leading avant-garde saxophonists thereafter. Marshall Allen is featured on
over 2OO Sun Ra releases, as well as appearing as special guest soloist in
concert and on recordings with such diverse groups as NRBQ, Phish, Sonic
Youth, Diggable Planets, Terry Adams, and Medeski, Martin & Wood. Perhaps
most significantly, Marshall Allen assumed the helm of the Sun Ra Arkestra
in 1995 after the ascension of Sun Ra in 1993 and John Gilmore in 1995.
Maestro Allen continues to make his home at the Sun Ra residence in
Philadelphia, composing, writing and arranging for the Arkestra much like
his mentor, totally committed to a life of discipline centered on the study,
research, and further development of Sun Ra's musical precepts. He maintains
the Sun Ra residence as a living museum dedicated to the compilation,
restoration and preservation of Sun Ra's music, memorabilia, and artifacts.
He is also writing fresh arrangements of Sun Ra's music, as well as
composing new music for the Arkestra. He works unceasingly to keep the
big-band tradition alive, reworking arrangements of the music of Fletcher
Henderson and Jimmie Lunceford for the Arkestra to play, along with many
other American standards. Maestro Marshall Allen has appeared with and
without the Arkestra in several Vision Festivals and also toured the
northeastern U.S. with Henry Grimes's Spaceship on the Highway in 2OO5.
For further information:
www.thesunraarkestra.com.
ANDREW BEMKEY (bass clarinet)
ANDREW BEMKEY was born in 1974 in Libertyville, a little town outside of
Chicago, and grew up in Elkhart, Indiana. After finishing high school, he
moved to New York City and was fortunate to be schooled and inspired by
three great musical mentors: Jaki Byard, Makanda Ken McIntyre, and Reggie
Workman. During this time Andrew also began his own band, KinShip, which he
maintained for three years, composing original music for the group, playing
piano, keyboards, wooden flutes, and small percussion instruments.
Meanwhile, master musicians such as Rashied Ali, Andrew Cyrille, Lawrence
"Butch" Morris, and William Parker were calling on Andrew Bemkey to play
piano in their groups, and Mr. Ali, Mr. Cyrille, and Mr. Workman each
brought Andrew into New York's annual Vision Festivals. Andrew has been a
pianist for most of his life, but a chance encounter with a bass clarinet in
'O2 has blossomed into a new form for his musical expression, while
strengthening his relationship with the piano. Word is spreading, and (as
in this case), now Andrew is being called upon to play his horn with nearly
as much frequency as the piano. For the past several years, Andrew has been
a regular member of both Roy Campbell, Jr.'s band "Tazz" and the Billy Bang
Quintet, playing concerts and festivals in the U.S. and Europe, including
the Sons d'Hiver Festival in Paris and the Other Minds Music Festival in San
Francisco, and was a member of the Henry Grimes Quintet at Iridium (NYC) in
'O3.
While still emerging as a recording artist, Andrew will be featured on two
Billy Bang Quintet CDs to be released in the coming months.
For further information:
www.JumpArts.org/AndrewBemkey.html.
GAMIEL LYONS (flute)
GAMIEL LYONS is a promising and talented young newcomer in the world of jazz
and creative music. Flutist, composer, bandleader, and conceptualist, he
was born in 1982 in New York City, and as a traditionally trained visual
artist, was chosen to attend the prestigious High School of Music and Art as
an art major. Largely self-taught for most of his first year as a musician,
Gamiel was accepted to study music at the Harlem School of the Arts in '98,
and it was there that he built his foundation in music theory and harmony,
performance, and jazz improvisation, receiving a SURDNA scholarship in
recognition of his discipline and dedication to music. He is also
coordinator of the after-school and summer-camp programs at the Catholic
Youth Organization in Port Richmond and is a young martial-arts master and
instructor. These days, Gamiel is at work producing his own recording
project entitled "The Primordial Silence," with special assistance from Ravi
Coltrane, featuring Gamiel's original compositions for flute and piano in an
intimate and adventurous duo setting. The recording will most certainly be
the first of many more to come.
For further information:
gam_ly@hotmail.com.
TYSHAWN SOREY (perc., multi-inst)
TYSHAWN SOREY, composer, percussionist, and multi-instrumentalist from
Maplewood, NJ, was born in 198O and started playing music on a toy drum set
when he was 3 years old, branched out to piano at age 5, followed up with
trombone, and was his own self-taught one-man band by the time he was 8. At
William Paterson U. in Wayne, he studied jazz studies and performance, and
there he met pianist and composer Michele Rosewoman, who became his mentor
and gave him his first international performance opportunity. Now Tyshawn
is a member of Dave Douglas' Ensemble NOMAD, as well as Steve Coleman & Five
Elements, and he works with many leading lights in the jazz and contemporary
music world, including Billy Bang, Anthony Braxton, Charles Gayle, Henry
Grimes, Vijay Iyer, Robin Kenyatta, James Moody, Lawrence "Butch" Morris,
the New Jersey New Music Ensemble, Max Roach, Michele Rosewoman, Sirone,
Henry Threadgill, Reggie Workman, Steve Wilson, and many more. In addition,
as a composer, Tyshawn has created works for solo piano for Vision Festival
'O5 and for various chamber ensembles.
For further information:
FV3Qtrs@aol.com.
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