A concert series combining old and new on the theme of science
Photo by Mike Chiodo
READ our recent review from the December 2024 issue of The NYC Jazz Record (Page 4) about Medieval Radiance and Incarnate Jazz!
“….Two compelling tunes by Wagnon…. Curreri’s full but unforced tone, Clark’s crisp hi-hat and snare accents and Pillow’s inventive scatting were highlights.”
Medieval Radiance and Incarnate Jazz blends medieval and modern music in a reflection of the natural world. Performed beneath the Neo-Gothic arches of the Church of the Incarnation in NYC, this illuminating event invites you to experience the harmony of ancient and contemporary sounds in a breathtaking setting. Medieval chant and motets segue to music by jazz luminaries such as Hoagy Carmichael, Randy Brecker, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Wayne Shorter. Watch our last concert, Light Gathering, here
Exceptional music that stretches the mind across time, performed by leaders in their genres of medieval song and contemporary jazz. Audience members are invited to stroll, listen, and absorb the sacred space to its fullest.
Performers’ bios:
With “a genuinely genre-busting voice, full and vivid” (The Washington Post), vocalist Sarah Pillow draws on her equal expertise in jazz, classical, and early music repertoire. She has performed many genres of music from medieval to modern, throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Composer and percussionist Marc Wagnon can be heard on over 20 recordings, playing both acoustic and electronic vibraphone and percussion. He has released four albums as leader and six albums in collaboration with bassist Percy Jones in the bands Tunnels and Brand X, and is currently composer-in-residence at Le Métathéâtre in Geneva, Switzerland.
Cole Palensky, a versatile musician from Omaha, Nebraska, is now based in New York City, where he works as an educator and performs extensively. Known for his mastery of the saxophone, Cole has appeared on the Carnegie Hall stage three times and has toured internationally across Europe and Asia. Celebrated by Vandoren and DownBeat magazine as one of the most outstanding saxophonists of his generation, he brings a unique breadth of musical experience to his performances.
Mike Clark first gained worldwide recognition from his drumming on Herbie Hancock’s album ‘Thrust’. Mike’s incisive playing garnered him an international cult following and influenced generations of drummers throughout the world. Mike has also collaborated with such well-known jazz greats as Christian McBride, Chet Baker, John Scofield, Bobby Hutcherson, Woody Shaw, Bobby McFerrin and Nat Adderly, just to name a few. His album Blueprints in Jazz, Vol. 1 was named by DownBeat Magazine as one of the best albums of the decade. Mike can be heard on well over 60 recordings.
Active in a multitude of musical genres, including jazz, western classical, world and popular music, bassist Saadi Zain is respected as a highly skilled and versatile bassist. He has played with artists as diverse as Joshua Bell, Jennifer Holliday, Sheila Jordan and Dua Lipa.
Amber Evans is an Australian vocalist, conductor and composer. She regularly performs as an early music soloist, chamber ensemble vocalist, and contemporary opera/vocal specialist, with consistent touring engagements in Australia, the US and the UK.
Joey Curreri is a jazz trumpeter and composer from Los Angeles, California, currently based in New York City. He has degrees from the University of Miami (BM) and Manhattan School of Music (MM), where he studied with trumpet luminaries Brian Lynch and Ingrid Jensen. Joey is an award-winning trumpeter, winning 2nd place in the 2021 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Soloist Competition, and numerous grants and awards for improvisation and composition, including Downbeat, JEN, and ASCAP. He has played and recorded with jazz piano greats Makoto Ozone and Deron Johnson, and regularly tours the US, Europe, and Asia.
Kirsten Sollek has been called “…an appealingly rich alto” and “…true contralto” by The New York Times, and a singer with “elemental tone quality” by The Philadelphia Inquirer. She is active in both opera, baroque and contemporary music, with performances ranging from concert appearances of Mahler’s Third Symphony with the MSU Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with Bach Collegium Japan, to appearing with composer John Zorn, premiering his music in the US, Europe, Australia, and Israel.
Ingrid Jensen "plays the trumpet with all the brilliance and fire of a true virtuoso... warm, sensitive, exciting, and totally honest." (Marianne McPartland) Jensen has played with a multi-generational case of jazz legends from Esperanza Spaulding to Maria Schneider and Clark Terry, among many others. She is a key member of the supergroup Artemis. ingridjensen.com
Christopher Preston Thompson is a New York City based tenor, historical harpist, and musicologist, and is the director of the medieval group Concordian Dawn, as well as a member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Pomerium.
Arun Luthra is one of New York's premier saxophonists and composers, and an exponent of konnakol – the Carnatic (South Indian classical) music art form of vocalizing rhythms. He has performed with Mike Stern, Charli Persip, The Temptations, Frankie Valli, and Bobby Short among many others.
Joe Martin has established himself as one of the most in demand jazz bassists of his generation. His supportive, lyrical and harmonically inquisitive playing has led to tours and recordings with artists such as Chris Potter, Joel Frahm, Dave Kikoski, Billy Hart, Andy Bey, and Donald Fagen.
Edsel Gomez is one of the premier Latin Jazz pianists in the world today. He has been featured in several Grammy nominated and Grammy winning recordings. Gomez has collaborated with Dee Dee Bridgewater as pianist/arranger/musical director/composer, and toured with Jack DeJohnette, Don Byron, Brian Lynch, Eddie Palmieri among several others. edselgomez.com
From Christchurch, New Zealand, bassist Hamish Smith grew up with a strong passion for music, falling in love with the bass at age 11. Smith was awarded a full scholarship to attend Manhattan School of Music, and has been highly recognized for his rhythmic inventiveness and unique groove-centric approach. Since his move to NYC, he has performed with The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Paquito D'Rivera and Benito Gonzalez, among others. www.smithbassist.com
A highly regarded jazz pianist, Dave Kikoski emerged in the New York jazz scene in the 1980s, and quickly established himself as a go-to performer working with top players like Roy Haynes, Bob Berg, Randy Brecker and many others. Kikoski is known for his adept post-bop style and spontaneous swinging play. Dave has recorded with Pat Metheny, Christian McBride, John Scofield, Ravi Coltrane,Chris Potter, Dave Holland, Mike Stern, Chick Corea, Bill Stewart,Toots Thielemans, Tom Harrell, Gary Thomas, Marcus Miller, Michael Brecker, Pat Martino, Jack Dejohnette and many others. Kikoski has been playing with the Mingus Big Band and Dynasty since early 1990s.
Jazz trumpeter Alexandra Ridout is from the UK and is currently based in New York City. At the age of 17 Alexandra was crowned the winner of the BBC Young Musician Jazz Award 2016, which is the most prominent jazz competition in the UK, widely promoted bythe BBC on National TV and Radio. Since her move to the USA in 2021, Alexandra’s exquisite playing has been sought out by many revered international musicians, including European touring with world renowned Renee Rosnes’ Blue Note signed band ‘Artemis'.
John Mark Rozendaal, early bowed strings, specializes in teaching and performing stringed-instrument music from the Medieval through Baroque eras. As founding Artistic Director of Chicago Baroque Ensemble, he performed and led seven seasons of subscription concerts, educational programs, radio broadcasts, and recordings for the Cedille and Centaur labels. John Mark served as principal violoncellist of The City Musick and Basically Bach and has performed both solo and continuo roles with many period instrument ensembles. He is a member of Brandywine Baroque as well as Trio Settecento with violinist Rachel Barton Pine and harpsichordist David Schrader, and the consort, LeStrange Viols.
Peter Retzlaff is a New York City-based drummer who has played with Kenny Werner, Maynard Ferguson, Diane Schuur, Greg Osby, Pete McCann, Loren Stillman and several others. As an educator, Peter is a full-time instructor and Director of Curriculum at the Drummers Collective, NYC. peterretzlaff.wordpress.com
Performances videos
November 8 2024 Light Gathering
June 7, 2024 Hidden Dimensions
Our closing concert of last season was an exploration of influences that we feel but cannot see - gravity, weather, spirituality, pain, music…featuring works from Hildegarde von Bingen, Harold Arlen and Chick Corea, among others.
November 3, 2023 Once Upon a Prime: The Power of 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11
Bringing triangles, pentagons and heptagons to life with shifting tempos in our shifting times. We’ll be taking the music beyond the binary realm. Featuring works by Giullaume de Machaut, Pat Metheny, Eric Dolphy and Dave Brubeck, among others.
June 9th, 2023 Moon and Stars
