This Tuesday, December 11, The Jazz Gallery welcomes bassist Harish Raghavan and his working quintet back to our stage for two sets. A top-call sideman for elder musicians and peers alike, Raghavan convened his first working band at the beginning of 2018. In an interview with Jazz Speaks, Raghavan spoke about the band's origins.

This had been a long-term idea of mine. I wanted to do a record, because I hadn’t done one yet. I didn’t want to just throw something together. I wanted to get the music out in front of people and feel that energy. I had never really led a band before—I led gigs here and there.So with that idea for the record, I wanted to go out and book some gigs—for the first six months of the year, I was going to book a gig a month and see if we could get a sound together. I recorded the second gig that we did at ShapeShifter Lab and even by that point, it really felt that we had a sound. I think it’s because I know all of these guys, but also because they’re all friends with each other. Instantly, there was a rapport and we really got through the music quickly.

Raghavan's quintet will head into the studio this month to cut their debut record. Before checking out their ever-deepening rapport at the Gallery this week, take a listen to the leader's composition, "Ween," below:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wlENOe0YT0 The Harish Raghavan Quintet plays The Jazz Gallery on Tuesday, December 11, 2018. The group features Mr. Raghavan on bass, Joel Ross on vibraphone, Immanuel Wilkins on alto saxophone, Micah Thomas on piano, and a drummer TBA. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. $25 general admission ($10 for members), $35 reserved cabaret seating ($20 for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.