Jazz Speaks

View Original

The Jazz Gallery Presents a Night of Duos

From L to R: Stomu Takeishi, Bradon Ross, Myra Melford, and Ben Goldberg. Photos courtesy of the artists.This Saturday, January 16th, The Jazz Gallery will present a special double bill featuring duos of incomparable interplay. Guitarist and banjoist Brandon Ross and bassist Stomu Takeishi have been playing together for two decades. After cutting their teeth in Henry Threadgill's Make a Move ensemble in the 1990s, the pair began to play duo in the year 2000, a group they now call For Living Lovers. Their 2014 album Revealing Essence (Sunnyside) is a spacious and beautiful affair. Check out their stunning interplay on "Chant," below.Like Ross and Takeishi, pianist Myra Melford has a Threadgill connection—she studied composition with him in New York in the 1980s. She's now a resident of the Bay Area in California; as is her duet partner, clarinetist Ben Goldberg. The pair have played on each other's albums, including Melford's 2010 record The Whole Tree Gone (Firehouse 12) and Goldberg's 2015 album Orphic Machine (BAG), and have been working as a duo since 2008. Their rapport is ever-evolving, exploring new musical territories and challenges. The pair stretch out on Melford's composition "The Kitchen," recorded in Toulouse, France in 2013.For this special night, both duos will play short sets of their own, before reforming as a quartet to cap off the concert. It is sure to be a night of scintillating musical conversation. Brandon Ross/Stomu Takeishi and Myra Melford/Ben Goldberg perform at The Jazz Gallery on Saturday, January 16th, 2016. Sets are at 7:00 and 9:00 P.M. $22 general admission ($12 for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.