On Saturday, November 12th at 8:00 PM, the Vermont Jazz Center will present saxophonist Javon Jackson’s quartet “We Four” featuring renowned drummer Jimmy Cobb (who has had tenures with Miles Davis, John Coltrane etc.) along with Jeremy Manasia on piano and David Williams on acoustic bass. We Four’s understated promo reads “four jazz luminaries who join together to lovingly pay tribute to John Coltrane and the music of his time.”
Their CD (with a different pianist and bassist) sticks to the more accessible late ‘50s/early ‘60s era of Coltrane’s repertoire presenting choice standards like “My Shining Hour” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is” as well as familiar Coltrane compositions such as “Like Sonny and Naima.” San Francisco Jazz Collective states “Since John Coltrane’s death in 1967 at the age of 40 there has been no shortage of tributes to the saxophone titan. But tenor mastermind Javon Jackson’s project focusing on Coltrane-associated compositions stands above and far beyond the ordinary, featuring four veteran masters with close professional and spiritual ties to Trane…Coltrane’s legacy is in good hands”
Even though Jackson was only two years old when Coltrane died, his affinity for Trane is apparent on many levels, but especially in the sound he coaxes from his horn which is at times colored by Coltrane’s timbre, inflections and note choices. But the depth of the connection and Jackson’s understanding of Trane was deeply enriched by the years in which he played in drummer Elvin Jones’s band. Jones was John Coltrane’s sound-soulmate – he provided what turned out to be the loose, triplet-based rhythm that defined the essence of Coltrane’s Classic Quartet. After Coltrane, Jones pushed the musicians he worked with (including Javon Jackson) to play with intensity, creativity and focus. Live and on record one can feel Jones incessantly urging them into a muscular dialogue reminiscent of his interactions with Coltrane.
Prior to working with Elvin Jones, Jackson gained notoriety as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He auditioned for the Messengers in 1987 while still a student at Berklee. Once he received the green light, Jackson left Berklee and toured and recorded with the Messengers until Blakey’s passing in 1990. After completing his studies at Berklee, Jackson then went on to earn a Masters in Jazz at SUNY Purchase and is now head of the jazz studies program at the Jackie McLean Institute at Hartt School of Music. Working with Blakey helped Jackson develop relationships with other Messengers who had come before him. In a 2005 interview Jackson elaborated on this in the following quote: “Freddie Hubbard – he and I have gotten to be very, very close. He’s almost like a father figure, or a big brother. We’ve got that kind of family relationship, and that’s another thing that Art Blakey’s band afforded me, because I’ve worked with Cedar Walton, I’ve worked with Curtis Fuller, I’ve worked with Donald Byrd, and those were all Messengers, man, so it’s like one big fraternity.”
Jackson has fourteen recordings as a leader. He has toured with and recorded over 135 CDs with jazz greats including Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Charlie Haden, Betty Carter, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, Donald Byrd, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Richard Davis, Bobby Hutcherson, Curtis Fuller, JoAnne Brackeen, Stanley Turrentine, and others. Jackson made his recording debut as a leader with Elvin Jones and has since recorded six projects for Blue Note Records featuring collaborations with Betty Carter, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Kenny Garrett, Jacky Terrasson, John Medeski and Vernon Reid. As a leader he has also made recordings for Palmetto Records, Criss Cross, Solid Jackson (his own label), Chesky Records and Smoke Sessions. In 2012, he was the recipient of the prestigious Benny Golson Award from Howard University in Washington, DC for recognition of “legendary excellence in jazz.”
Jackson put together We Four to pay homage to the music of John Coltrane. What better way to evoke Coltrane’s spirit than to include his bandmate and NEA Jazz Master, Jimmy Cobb, one of the most highly regarded drummers on the scene today. He collaborated extensively with Coltrane during their years as Miles Davis sidemen, appearing together on the epochal album Kind of Blue. All told, Jimmy Cobb appears on nine recordings with Davis as a leader and six recordings under Coltrane. His output is truly staggering. A partial list of artists with whom he has recorded includes Dinah Washington, Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry, Cannonball Adderley, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Wynton Kelly, Stan Getz, Wes Montgomery, Gil Evans, Miles Davis, Paul Chambers, Kenny Burrell, J. J. Johnson, Sonny Stitt, Nat Adderley, Hank Jones, Ron Carter, George Coleman, David “Fathead” Newman, Geri Allen, Earl Bostic, Leo Parker, Charlie Rouse, Ernie Royal, Philly Joe Jones, Bobby Timmons, Walter Booker, Jerome Richardson, Keter Betts, Jimmy Cleveland, Sam Jones, Red Garland, Joe Henderson, Eddie Gómez, Bill Evans, Jeremy Steig, Richard Wyands, Peter Bernstein, Richie Cole, Nancy Wilson, Ricky Ford; he even appears on Wayne Shorter’s first recording.
Cobb is king of the ride cymbal – his signature swing beat is powerful even at quieter volumes. A mystical propulsion drives almost every recording on which he is heard. His most famous association is with bassist Paul Chambers (“Mr. P.C.”) with whom he appeared on dozens of recordings including Kind of Blue. The way the two of them locked in to the same quarter note provided the drive of Miles Davis’s first great quartet and is best heard in collaborations with pianists Red Garland and Wynton Kelley. Along with their work with Davis, the coveted rhythm section of Cobbs, Paul Chambers and Wynton Kelley provided the pulse on legendary recordings with Coltrane, Art Pepper, Cannonball Adderley, Wes Montgomery, Wayne Shorter and Joe Henderson. Still going strong at 88, Cobb continues to lead his own open-minded, hard-charging bands. His current ensemble, Cobb’s Mobb, includes forward thinking pianist Brad Mehldau, guitarist Peter Bernstein and bassist John Webber, their most recent album, The Original Mob, is unrelenting in groove and spirit.
The pianist of the group is Jeremy Manasia. He has appeared with Jimmy Heath, Louis Hayes, Gary Bartz, Donald Harrison, David Williams, Peter Bernstein, Wayne Escoffery, Joe Magnarelli, Ben Monder, Nnenna Freelon, Aaron Neville, and he performs regularly at New York City’s top jazz clubs including the Village Vanguard, Dizzy’s, Smalls, Smoke, the Iridium and the Blue Note. He has released five recordings as a leader and was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Competition, the Great American Jazz Piano Competition, and the American Pianists’ Association Jazz Piano Competition. As an educator, Manasia has won a Presidential Scholars Teachers Recognition award, numerous Downbeat Music awards and three Charles Mingus Competition awards.
Trinadadian bassist David Williams has been a member of Cedar Walton’s group since 1982. When drummer Billy Higgins was in the trio it was recognized as “one of the most highly regarded trios in contemporary acoustic Jazz.” Williams has worked and recorded with some of jazz’s greatest luminaries including Woody Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson, Stan Getz, Kenny Barron, Duke Jordan, Monty Alexander, Frank Morgan, Hank Jones, Charles McPherson, Larry Willis, George Cables, Abdullah Ibrahim, David “Fathead” Newman, Sonny Fortune, John Hicks, Louis Hayes, Jackie McLean, Clifford Jordan, Abbey Lincoln, Ernestine Anderson, Kathleen Battle, Chuck Mangione, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway. He has ten albums out under his own name.
One can see that this quartet is a gathering of jazz stars. These stars will align on November 12th at the Vermont Jazz Center as these gentleman work within the constructs of the constellations laid out by the great master John Coltrane. This is a concert not to be missed. Order tickets now as it is anticipated that the venue will sell out.
The Vermont Jazz Center presents Javon Jackson and We Four on Saturday, November 12th at 8:00 PM. The VJC is especially grateful for sponsorship by Dave Snyder of Guilford Sound, Mark Anagnostopulos and Janet Zinter. Their contributions made this concert possible and we are filled with gratitude. The VJC is also thankful for the ongoing support from the Vermont Arts Council, The National Endowment for the Arts, and The Hampton Inn of Brattleboro. VJC publicity is underwritten by the Brattleboro Reformer, WVPR, WVEW, WFCR and Chris Lenois of WKVT’s Green Mountain Mornings.
Tickets for Javon Jackson and We Four at the Vermont Jazz Center are $20+ general admission, $15 for students with I.D. (contact VJC about educational discounts); available at In the Moment in Brattleboro, or online at www.vtjazz.org, by email at ginger@vtjazz.org. Tickets can also be reserved by calling the Vermont Jazz Center ticket line, 802-254-9088, ext. 1. Handicapped access is available by calling the VJC at 802 254 9088.
Contact: Eugene Uman – eugene@vtjazz.org
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OWxzlhKXYs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDmh7u_iM2o (Jimmy Cobb Interview)
Javon Jackson and We Four Featuring Jimmy Cobb @ VJC
Concert Date – Saturday, November 12th, 2016,
Press Release date: November 5th, 2016
Contact Eugene Uman, Vermont Jazz Center, 802 254 9088, eugene@vtjazz.org
Short Summary
Who: Javon Jackson and We Four Featuring Jimmy Cobb
Javon Jackson (saxophone), Jeremy Manasia (piano), David Williams (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums)
What: Tribute to John Coltrane – standards and originals by Trane
When: Saturday, November 12th, at 8:00 PM
Where: The Vermont Jazz Center, 72 Cotton Mill Hill, #222, Brattleboro, VT 05301
Tickets available: online at www.vtjazz.org, by email at ginger@vtjazz.org, by phone 802 254 9088, in person at In The Moment, Main St., Brattleboro, VT.
