This week, the third edition of this season's Jazz Gallery Mentoring Series kicks off with performances at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and The Jazz Gallery. This third edition features bassist Eric Revis mentoring pianist/multi-instrumentalist Julius Rodriguez. Beyond his longstanding association withs saxophonist Branford Marsalis, Revis has put together an acclaimed body of work as a bandleader over the course of several records, including 2017's Sing Me Some Cry (Clean Feed). Writing in the New York Times, Nate Chinen notes that Revis's working trio with Kris Davis and Gerald Cleaver has "a rare and mystifying cohesion."Currently studying in the Juilliard jazz program, Julius Rodriguez has established a strong reputation in New York as both a drummer and pianist. In an interview with Jazz Speaks, Rodriguez noted how this dual perspective informs his playing:

[Piano and drums] are different worlds, though they connect through rhythm. When I’m playing drums with a piano player, there are a lot of things we catch rhythmically, and vice versa when I’m playing piano with a drummer. People notice that, and they love to see that connection. They’re both accompanying instruments, and their job is to make the soloist feel comfortable and sound good. It’s different on the piano, because you have all the harmonic things you can do. On the drums there’s the rhythm. So the harmonic sense helps me on drums, and the rhythmic awareness helps me on piano.

In addition to creating a strong hookup with Revis on the leader's open and mercurial compositions, Rodriguez will be sparring with drummer Nasheet Waits and saxophonist Andrew D'Angelo over the course of the concerts as well.  The Jazz Gallery Mentoring Series, vol. 5, ed. 3 features 4 concerts in the month of December:December 11 | The National Jazz Museum in Harlem | 7:00 P.M. | $10 general admissionDecember 12 | The Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA | 9:00 P.M. | FREE admissionDecember 13 | The Jazz Gallery | 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. | $15 general admission (FREE for members), $20 reserved cabaret seating ($10 for members) for each setDecember 19 | Shapeshifter Lab, Brooklyn | 8:15 P.M. | $15 general admissionThe band features Eric Revis on bass, Julius Rodriguez on piano, Andrew D'Angelo on saxophone, and Nasheet Waits on drums.