Feb 16 and 17th: SPECIAL EVENT: Kenny Wheeler with John Taylor, Jon Irabagon, Andrew Bain and Michael Janisch

The pizza express welcomes two of the UKs most revered and celebrated jazz musicians and composers in a very rare and special musical collaboration with three rising jazz stars, celebrating the life and music of Kenny Wheeler.

Wheeler was born in Toronto Canada in 1930 and studied trumpet before moving to the UK in 1952, where he played with John Dankwork, Ronnie Scott, Joe Harriot and with pioneering free improvisers John Stevens, Tony Oxley and Anthony Braxton. Through his subsequent groups with John Taylor, Norma Winstone, the Dave Holland Quintet and his own big band, Wheeler has become one of the most highly regarded composer/trumpeters in jazz history. Recently turning 80, Wheeler embarked on a birthday celebration tour featuring his big band. For these two nights, he is presenting his music for quintet in a rare and intimate setting, joined by long time musical associate and world renown English pianist John Taylor and the recent Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz Saxophone Winner, NYC based altoist Jon Irabagon, with the first call rhythm section team of Scottish drummer Andrew Bain and American bassist Michael Janisch.

John Taylor's individualistic piano style draws on the whole of the jazz pallette and considerable influence from classical music, his approach is characterised by a sophisticated and advanced rhythmic and harmonic sensibility. He has performed since the 60s with many of the most creative improvising musicians: Charlie Haden, Norma Winstone, Jan Garbarek, Enrico Rava, Gil Evens, and Lee Konitz. He currently tours the world with his trio featuring Mark Johnson and Joey Barron and teaches at universities in Cologne, Germany and York, England.

NYC residenct Jon Irabagon, winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition and Concord Recording Artist, has performed extensively as both a sideman and as a leader in an ever-expanding range of projects, from the most straight ahead to the most searching. Jon has studied under such divergent artists as Dave Liebman, Wynton Marsalis, Dick Oatts, Jason Moran and Victor Goines, and has performed and/or recorded with musical luminaries such as Billy Joel, Wynton Marsalis, Bright Eyes, Tom Harrell, Tommy Iago, Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Deborah Gibson, John Abercrombie, Frank Wess, Wycliffe Gordon, Renee Fleming, Kenny Washington, Lou Reed, Jenny Lewis, and Ken Vandermark.

At: Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho 10 Dean Street Soho London W1D 3RW
Booking Tel : 0845 6027 017

Price of Admission: 25 Pounds (20 for students/musicians)

http://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/jazzList.aspx

Jon Irabagon Trio Featuring Barry Altschul Releases "Foxy" on Hot Cup Records September 14, 2010

"Jon is one of the city’s deadliest horn players.”
– Hank Shteamer, Time Out New York

“Jon’s encyclopedic knowledge reworks, and rewrites, history with an omnivorous curiosity.”
— Vincenzo Roggero, Italian All About Jazz

Hot Cup Records is proud to announce the release of "Foxy", the fourth album as a leader by saxophonist Jon Irabagon. Joining him on this trio recording are the legendary drummer Barry Altschul and bassist Peter Brendler. Over the course of 78 plus minutes, the trio explores and attempts to exhaust the possibilities of a standard sixteen bar form. In his extraordinary uninterrupted tenor saxophone solo, Irabagon interacts with his two bandmates and draws on historical elements from both his own work and that of past masters.
Rarely, if ever, do young musicians with Irabagon's mainstream credentials and awards attempt such a range of ambitious projects. Ideas present in Irabagon's first three releases merge here to create an important artistic statement and a continuation of his already illustrious career. The flexibility of the jazz tradition and the relationship between "inside" and "outside" playing, first explored on
"Outright" (Innova), is pushed further in this trio recording. Irabagon has also explored long-form improvisation and the use of recurring motifs in his duo with Mike Pride.
Like many young musicians, Irabagon has sought out older, more experienced players to perform and record with. His previous release, "The Observer" (Concord), featured Kenny Barron, Rufus Reid, and Victor Lewis, one of the classic rhythm sections in jazz. Yet the choice of Barry Altschul seems more appropriate given the range of Irabagon's interests. Having earned his place in jazz history by performing with such diverse legends as Hampton Hawes, Dave Holland, Lee Konitz, Anthony Braxton, and Paul Bley, Altschul is the perfect combination of tradition, innovation, and experience. Irabagon and Altschul's interaction on "Foxy" demonstrates both their similar musical sensibilities and astonishing technical prowess.

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Concord announces "The Observer"

Concord Jazz is proud to announce the release of The Observer, saxophonist and composer Jon Irabagon's newest recording as a leader. Winning the 2008 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition has afforded Irabagon the opportunity to assemble a dream-team of musicians, including the stellar rhythm section of pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Victor Lewis. This combo of familiar players is augmented by extraordinary trumpeter Nicholas Payton on two tracks, while pianist Bertha Hope provides gorgeous accompaniment to one of her late husband, Elmo Hope's compositions. Along with veteran producer Don Sickler and engineering wizard Rudy Van Gelder, Irabagon and company have crafted a statement of power and beauty replete with twists and turns, a diverse but cohesive collection sure to please jazz aficionados and new fans alike. Irabagon is no stranger to the recording studio, and his musical horizons are broad. His first album as leader, Outright!, was released last year by Innova; other projects include a duo of free improvisation with drummer Mike Pride called I Don't Hear Nothin' But the Blues and his long-time tenure with the post-bop rebels Mostly Other People Do the Killing, whose take on Billy Joel's “Allentown” is only partially tongue-in-cheek. “I'm a child of the 1980s,” laughs Irabagon. “I grew up absorbing all kinds of music, from easy-listening to country, and pop on the radio; I just took it all in.” The Illinois native of Filipino descent began on piano, then played saxophone in middle school and high school band, but only as he prepared to enter DePaul University did he begin a serious study of jazz. “I'd always been interested in the act of performing music, but I developed a real and gradually deepening curiosity about what makes it tick, the elements involved in crafting a successful composition.” He also became interested in the mechanics of soloing, immersing himself in the joyful intrigue of soloists like Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt and Cannonball Adderley, beginning to crystallize his precise and uniquely swinging approach to the alto saxophone.

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Jon Irabagon Wins Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition

By Nate Chinen

From the NY Times Art Beat Blog:

Jon Irabagon, an alto saxophonist based in Astoria, Queens, won the 21st annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in Los Angeles on Sunday, securing the most prestigious honor available to a young jazz musician. Finishing in second place was Tim Green, of Baltimore, Md.; Quamon Fowler, of Fort Worth, Texas, was third.

....

Mr. Irabagon, who will receive $20,000 and a contract with the Concord Music Group, has one album out as a leader, “Outright!” (Innova). He can also be heard on the new release by the pugnacious post-bop group Mostly Other People Do the Killing, which will appear at Zebulon in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Saturday. (Nov 1, 2008)

Outright! reviewed in All About Jazz

Troy Collins just gave Outright! its first review. Check it out here:
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=29386

Village Voice

I'm honored to be on two out of the top 5 new albums in the new Village Voice. Check out the article here.

It's on!

Welcome to the new page!! Pardon our dust as we get it rolling. Check out the new album at http://www.innovarecordings.com/artist1.asp?skuID=323