Darrell Grant's MJ New Quartet Tours Oregon in May 2017
West-coast Jazz All-Stars Unite in a Tour of Western Oregon
(Portland, OR) MJ New, the classic jazz quartet led by pianist and composer Darrell Grant, is touring in Oregon April 30–May 13, 2017. After selling out previous shows in Portland, Oregon, the quartet is offering both concerts and clinics throughout the state for a two week period beginning April 30.
Performances promise the introspective elegance of the MJQ from virtuoso players Darrell Grant, piano; Marcus Shelby, bass; Mike Horsfall, vibraphone; and Carlton Jackson, drums. The ensemble melds classical counterpoint, American song, blues, and sophisticated arrangements of Chopin, Jobim, Sting, and more with the sovoire faire of a martini shaken, not stirred. Audiences will be transported by the spirit of the 1920’s Harlem Renaissance that is carried forward with selections from classic MJQ recordings including "Blues on Bach", "Django" and "Under The Jasmin Tree" as well as original compositions and arrangements by this cadre of multi-talented artists.
Read more about the quartet at https://www.darrellgrant.com/mj-new-jazz-quartet.
Press kit with high-resolution images and bios is available here: http://bit.ly/2nnm88o.
Schedule of Public Events
Sunday, April 30 1:00 PM (Quartet at 3:00 PM)
Portland Art Museum, Whitsell Auditorium
“Sound of Identity” is presented in collaboration with the “Constructing Identity” exhibition and PDX Jazz and will pair music to pieces from the Petrucci collection.
Portland, OR
$17-20, free for museum members
Thursday, May 4 7:00 PM
Artistic Piano Gallery
Presented by Siskiyou Music Project and Britt Music & Arts Festival, Education & Engagement
Medford, Oregon
$10-$25
Sunday, May 7 2:00 PM
Music in the Woods Concert at Mary’s Woods
West Linn, Oregon
$10-$25
Tuesday, May 9 7:00 PM
Lincoln City Cultural Center
Lincoln City, Oregon
Advance $20, $18 members
At the door $22, $20 members
Wednesday, May 10
Presented by Black Market Gourmet
Coos Bay, OR
More details coming soon!
Thursday, May 11 7:30 PM
The Jazz Station
Eugene, OR
$15, $11 members
Friday, May 12 7:00 PM
Wilfs
Portland, OR
$15
Saturday, May 13 7:00 PM
Clatsop Community College Performing Arts Center
Presented by Pacific Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Astoria, OR
$15
ABOUT MJ NEW
Formed by Darrell Grant in 2013, the MJ New Quartet is a tribute to the Modern Jazz Quartet’s spirit of classicism, elegance, and deeply-curated aesthetic rooted in the 1920's Harlem Renaissance — an aesthetic that for over 40 years resisted the pull of fads, fashion and cultural upheaval until it sparkled like a diamond. MJ New plays both the MJQ’s classic and lesser known compositions as well as original arrangements and compositions that pay homage to the group’s legendary genre-melding. Mesmerizing together, pianist Darrell Grant, bassist Marcus Shelby, vibist Mike Horsfall, and drummer Carlton Jackson are each a virtuoso in their field. More at www.darrellgrant.com.
Since his 1988 appearance in vocalist Betty Carter's trio, pianist and composer Darrell Grant has built an international reputation performing with jazz luminaries Frank Morgan, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, Brian Blade, and Esperanza Spalding. He has toured as a bandleader and solo artist in the U.S., Canada, Asia, and Europe. He has released seven critically-acclaimed albums as a leader, including Black Art--selected as one of 1994’s top ten jazz CD's by the New York Times.
In 2012, Grant was one of 12 composers awarded a Doris Duke Jazz New Works Grant by Chamber Music America. The resulting work "The Territory” premiered at Chamber Music Northwest and has been performed at The DiMenna Center in New York City, and the Portland Jazz Festival. Grant was inducted into the Jazz Society of Oregon Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2011, he was the first recipient of the Kamelia Massih Outstanding Faculty Prize in the Arts from Portland State University, where he is a Professor of Music and directs the Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Institute. He has been featured on National Public Radio and is a recipient of a 2015 Individual Artist Grant from the Regional Arts & Culture Council. More at www.darrellgrant.com.
Bassist Marcus Shelby is an artist in residence with Yerba Buena Gardens Festival and is artistic director of the Marcus Shelby Orchestra. An educator and advocate for sharing the history, present, and future of African American lives and social movements in the United States of America, and a champion of early childhood music education, he was named one of the “Top Ten Most Influential African Americans in the Bay Area” by City Flight Magazine in 2005. More at www.marcusshelby.com.
Vibraphonist Mike Horsfall has performed with Chuck Redd, Leroy Vinegar, Rebecca Kilgore, and Gary Hobbs, and has recorded with Pink Martini, the Nu Shooz Orchestra and with Tall Jazz, a trio he co-founded in 1989 which was voted into the Jazz Society of Oregon’s 2010 Hall of Fame. He serves on the music faculty at Willamette University and Mt. Hood Community College. More at www.mikehorsfall.com.
Carlton Jackson, whose drumming was called “intensely musical” by the Los Angeles Times, is a member of the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. His well-documented work with pianists Tom Grant and Dan Siegel, guitarists Dan Balmer and Terry Rob, bassist Leroy Vinnegar, blues singer Curtis Salgado, composer Jon Newton, and others, have solidified his status as an engaging, versatile performer. His work has appeared on feature films, television, and radio commercials, and he actively performs and records in the Pacific Northwest.
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Press contact:
Kim Morris
kim (at) vespertineworks.com
713.854.6162