About this Event
NYC's unique jazz prayer service, Sundays at 5 since 1965. All are welcome. Free to attend!
This week, we welcome Megumi Yonezawa and John Hébert.
Megumi Yonezawa (piano)
Megumi Yonezawa, a pianist and composer from Hokkaido, Japan, began her musical journey at
the age of six. She graduated from Berklee College of Music with a bachelor’s degree in
performance and jazz composition, earning prestigious awards such as the Jazz Performance
Award, the Clare Fisher Award, and many others.
After Berklee, she received a scholarship from the Hokkaido Cultural Foundation to explore jazz
in the United States. Recommended by renowned pianist Jason Moran, Megumi became the
regular pianist for saxophonist Greg Osby, performing at iconic venues such as the Village
Vanguard and Carnegie Hall. She has played at major jazz festivals, including the Montreal Jazz
Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival. Megumi contributed to Osby's album "Public" on Blue
Note Records, featuring jazz luminaries like Nicholas Payton and Joan Osborne.
In addition to her work with Osby, Megumi has collaborated with various artists and released her
own albums. Most notably, a collaboration album, "Boundary," with bassist Masa Kamaguchi
and drummer Ken Kobayashi on ESP-Disk, was released in 2018. Her debut album, "A Result of
the Colors," with bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson was released in 2016,
followed by her second album, "Resonance," with bassist Mike McGuirk and drummer Mark
Ferber in 2022 on Sunnyside Records. Her playing is known for blending jazz with
contemporary classical elements.
John Hébert
(bass)
Hébert had his first double bass lessons with Bill Huntington. He studied at Loyola University of
New Orleans from 1990 to 1992, during which time he performed with Steve Masakowski, Tony
Dagradi, and Johnny Vidacovich, among others. He continued his education at William Paterson
University in New Jersey with Rufus Reid, where he obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in
Jazz Performance.
Since then he has lived in New York, where he has worked with musicians such as Andrew Hill,
Lee Konitz, Paul Bley, John Abercrombie, Kenny Wheeler, Paul Motian, David Liebman, Uri
Caine, Greg Osby, Bill Stewart, Marc Copland, Fred Hersch, Joe Fiedler, Maria Schneider, Andy
Middleton, and Ingrid Laubrock. He also leads his own group, the Byzantine Monkey. He was
mentioned as a "Rising Star Acoustic Bassist" in Down Beat magazine's Critics Poll. In 2022,
Hébert released the album Sounds of Love. He can also be heard on Dave Liebman's trio album
Truth and Honesty (2022, with Ben Monder), Mat Maneri's Ash (2023), and Andy Milne's Time
Will Tell (2024), among others.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Saint Peter's Church, 619 Lexington Avenue, New York, United States
USD 0.00
