Shostakovich Jazz

One of the jazz world's most unique and influential pianists since the 1960's, Keith Jarrett is known for his breathtaking solos and stylistic diversity. Live At Open Theater East showcases Jarrett's magic fingers as they interpret a number of classic jazz standards. Keith Jarrett Trio - Live At Open Theater East movie Backed by talented jazz stars Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, Jarrett's music is as beautiful and inspiring as the setting-an illuminated outdoor ampitheater.

Pianist, composer, and bandleader Keith Jarrett is one of the most prolific, innovative, and iconoclastic musicians to emerge from the late 20th century. As a pianist (though that is by no means the only instrument he plays) he literally changed the conversation in jazz by introducing an entirely new aesthetic regarding solo improvisation in concert. Though capable of playing in a wide variety of styles, Jarrett is deeply grounded in the jazz tradition.

During the 1970s, solo piano box sets were rare. When Keith Jarrett's monolithic, ten-LP solo box, Sun Bear Concerts, arrived from ECM in 1978, the only comparable collection was The Tatum Solo Masterpieces, a six-disc set of the pianist's '50s sides. Jarrett's five Japanese concerts from November of 1976 in Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, and Sapporo were completely improvised and gloriously recorded by engineer Okihiro Sugano. Most jazz critics greeted it as a seminal work that set Jarrett apart from his peers.
When he hits a mysterious minor ninth to open the first concert in Kyoto, all bets are off. For nearly 80 minutes he balances tension with release, the pastoral with the cosmopolitan…

During the 1970s, solo piano box sets were rare. When Keith Jarrett's monolithic, ten-LP solo box, Sun Bear Concerts, arrived from ECM in 1978, the only comparable collection was The Tatum Solo Masterpieces, a six-disc set of the pianist's '50s sides. Jarrett's five Japanese concerts from November of 1976 in Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, and Sapporo were completely improvised and gloriously recorded by engineer Okihiro Sugano. Most jazz critics greeted it as a seminal work that set Jarrett apart from his peers.
When he hits a mysterious minor ninth to open the first concert in Kyoto, all bets are off. For nearly 80 minutes he balances tension with release, the pastoral with the cosmopolitan…

GoGo Penguin are an English band from Manchester, England, featuring pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Nick Blacka, and drummer Rob Turner.
The band's music features break-beats, minimalist piano melodies, powerful basslines, drums inspired from electronica and anthemic riffs. They compose and perform as a unit. Their music incorporates elements of electronica, trip-hop, jazz, rock and classical music.

Critics have described GoGo Penguin's music with references to Esbjörn Svensson Trio, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Massive Attack, Brian Eno, modern classical composers Shostakovich and Debussy, or contemporary minimal music composers like Philip Glass.

Jazz meets techno meets big band. It really shouldn't work…and yet, as anyone who has ever heard or seen the Jazzrausch Bigband will know, the reality of the band in action firmly knocks that idea on the head. Ever since Jazzrausch started in 2014, it has been on an unstoppable path of growth and development which has been very much on the band’s own terms. Jazzrausch first came to attention as the house band at the legendary Munich techno club "Harry Klein" – currently threatened with closure, incidentally – where the recordings for the new album "Emergenz" were made. Since then, the band’s growing renown has taken it to Germany’s great temples of classical music: the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Isarphilharmonie in Muich and the Berlin Philharmonie… and a buzz has been building internationally too. What is Jazzrausch Bigband all about? Putting a couple of exceptional and unconventional musical brains in charge, letting their sense of what is serious and what is banging prevail, and then seeing how much it can appeal to both younger and older audiences. Jazzrausch has dealt with the whole idea of ‘no can do’. By hitting it out of the ballpark.

Alon Nechushtan was born in Rishon le Zion (near Tel Aviv) in 1974. He already learned to play the piano when he was six years old, and he began to compose for chamber music ensembles when he was 10. Private studies under Slava Ganelin as well as listening to the current music of his youth from Genesis to Pink Floyd stirred his awaking interest for jazz pianists – and of course composition studies from Debussy to Shostakovich. He also played in jazz combos during his classical composition studies in Jerusalem. After he received his Master's degree, he moved to the USA for good in 2003, first to Boston (on the advice of Between the Lines artist Yitzhak Yedid) where he continued his studies under Ran Blake, Paul Bley, Fred Hersch and others. Bob Brookmeyer was also one of his mentors, and he conducted numerous premiers of Nechushtan's compositions. He moved to New York in 2003, and his first recordings were soon released, among others on John Zorn's label Tzadik. Since then he has worked with many musicians such as Marty Ehrlich, Frank London, Ned Rothenberg, Eliott Sharp, Mark Dresser and many others.