Steve Wilson and Lewis Nash to present a Musical Dialogue at the Vermont Jazz Center on September 21st, 2013 at 8:00 PM
The Vermont Jazz Center will kick off its 2013-2014 season on Saturday, September 21 at 8:00 PM with a performance by two of the most highly esteemed musicians in jazz. Along with their myriad other projects, saxophonist Steve Wilson and drummer, Lewis Nash have been performing together as a duo since 2001. At the VJC they will be joined by bassist, Nat Reeves.
Duo performances Wilson and Nash say, give them the chance to display their shared dedication to melody while exploring the freedom of unfettered interaction and creativity. They have put together a program built around song and melody, far from the edgy sound that a sax-drum duo might suggest (such as the mind-blowing Interstellar Space by John Coltrane and Rashied Ali). Their duo concept focuses on jazz standards and material from the Great American Songbook complemented by originals built on structured melodies. Nash says they use familiar songs to give the audience a chance to observe their process and directly experience ”the ways we can deconstruct that material.” Another main objective is to create an actual dialogue with the audience: “we want to make it as much a casual, living-room kind of experience as we can.”
Steve Wilson and Lewis Nash are both highly in-demand as sidemen; their playing is richly steeped in the history of jazz, they are leaders of their generation, continually charting new courses and moving jazz forward. When you pair together two individuals who share a long history, a unified vision, brilliant musicianship, an open-minded approach to musical concepts and a natural chemistry, you create a fertile environment where fascinating journeys naturally develop. Collectively, these two artists have been members of some of the landmark jazz bands in recent years, including the ensembles of Chick Corea, Betty Carter, Dave Holland, Tommy Flanagan, Mulgrew Miller, Ron Carter, Lionel Hampton, and Branford Marsalis. Separately, they each lead their own ensembles of some of the finest players on the jazz scene today.
A native of Hampton, Virginia, Wilson began his formal training at age 12 and played in various R&B and funk bands through his teens. While studying music at the Virginia Commonwealth he performed and/or studied with Jimmy and Percy Heath, Jon Hendricks, Jaki Byard, Frank Foster and Ellis Marsalis. In the summer of 1987 he moved to New York and worked with Michele Rosewoman, Renee Rosnes and the American Jazz Orchestra and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. Later that year he joined the Buster Williams Quintet, Something More. Since then, Wilson has recorded and/or toured for such diverse artists as Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Dianne Reeves, Charlie Byrd, Donald Brown, Kevin Hays, Kevin Mahogany, Bruce Barth, Dave Liebman, Louie Bellson, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Don Byron and Geoff Keezer. He has recorded 6 CDs as a leader. The Steve Wilson Quartet has travelled across the United States, and extensively throughout Europe.
Born December 30, 1958 in Phoenix, Arizona, drummer Lewis Nash developed an early interest in music and began playing the drums at age 10. At 18, he was performing with local jazz groups, as well as top name artists appearing in the Phoenix area. By the time he was 21, Lewis had become the ‘first call’ jazz drummer in Phoenix and had performed with Sonny Stitt, Art Pepper, Red Garland, Lee Konitz, Barney Kessell and Slide Hampton. In 1981, he moved to New York and joined the trio of jazz vocalist Betty Carter. For nearly four years, Lewis toured internationally with Ms. Carter. He is featured on three of her recordings, including Grammyaward winning “Look What I Got.” Lewis has been invited to perform and/or record with Ron Carter, Branford Marsalis, J.J. Johnson, the Don Pullen/George Adams Quartet, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Art Farmer, Clark Terry and Milt Jackson. He was a member of the Tommy Flanagan Trio, and is featured on seven CD recordings with the piano master, including the Grammynominated, “Sea Changes.” Along with those mentioned above, his impressive discography includes projects with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson and Benny Carter as well as today’s brightest new names including Diana Krall, Russell Malone and Regina Carter. He has one recording as a leader, “Rhythm is My Business” and has performed throughout the world in numerous contexts.
Together as a duo Steve and Lewis made their debut at the Jazz Salon at the Loft at Quilty’s in November of 2001. They have performed in Woodstock, NY at the Colony Café, the Kaplan Playhouse in Lincoln Center, as part of the Sugar Loaf Music Series in Warwick, NY, the Manchester Craftmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh, and most recently at Sweet Rhythm in NYC.
For this special concert at the Vermont Jazz Center, Steve Wilson and Lewis Nash will perform with bassist Nat Reeves. Born in 1955 in Lynchburg, Virginia, Reeves moved to New York City in 1979 to study and develop his musical career. In 1982 two events occurred that changed his musical career forever: Nat traveled to Japan with the legendary Sonny Stitt during his last tour. That same year, Nat moved to Hartford, Connecticut to work with Jackie McLean at the University of Hartford and the Artists Collective where he found his calling as a teacher. During this time, he continued to perform and record as bassist for such noted bandleaders as Pharoah Sanders, Harold Mabern, Steve Davis, Eric Alexander, Houston Person, David Hazeltine, Larry Willis, Pat Metheny, Mike LeDonne, John Scofield and many others. In 1994, Nat began a deep, musical relationship with Kenny Garrett that continues to this day. In 2001 Reeves decided to focus full-time on his teaching career at the jazz studies program at The Hartt School, (now renamed as the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz).
Steve Wilson/Lewis Nash, a musical dialogue at the Vermont Jazz Center is made possible thanks to generous financial support from Dave Snyder of Guildford Sound, as well as ongoing support of the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, The Hampton Inn of Brattleboro and VPR and WFCR.
Tickets for Steve Wilson and Lewis Nash at VJC on September 21st are $20 for general admission, and $15 for students with I.D. (contact VJC about educational discounts). Tickets are available at In the Moment Record Store in Brattleboro, online at www.vtjazz.org or they can be reserved by calling the Vermont Jazz Center ticket line, 802-254-9088, ext. 1.
Next up at the Vermont Jazz Center will be Cyrus Chestnut on October 19th, 2013.
Contact: Eugene Uman – eugene@vtjazz.org
