About this Event
NYC's unique jazz prayer service, Sundays at 5 since 1965. All are welcome. Free to attend!
This week, we welcome Michael Marcus (multi-woodwind player), Warren Smith (vibraphone), and Jay Rosen (drums). This trio is special because each member brings a multitude of history & wealth of
musical knowledge, along with years of experience, to the foundation of the trio.
We celebrate improvisation by always keeping the tradition rooted in our
expressions & musical offerings.
Inspired by the legendary Cecil Taylor trio w/Jimmy Lyons & Sunny Murray, we are always setting our musical operandis in the spiritual mode and thus we represent the World Street!
We are honored to include master percussionist and vibraphonist Warren Smith in our group.
All three of the trio members are prolific individual recording artists and
stay involved in multiple groups and settings.
Michael just completed his second recording for the prestigious ESP-DISK record label.
T he recording is slated for an early Spring 2025 release.
About Michael Marcus
Michael Marcus (August 25, 1952) is an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist. He plays B♭ & A clarinets, bass clarinet; sopranino, soprano, tenor, baritone, bass, and C melody saxophones, stritch (straight alto) saxophone, saxello, bass flute, tárogató & alto tarogato, and octavin.
In 1991 Enja released Under the Wire, his debut album as a leader.[1] He has worked with artists including: Albert King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Frank Lowe, Henry Grimes, Jaki Byard, Rahn Burton, Vince Wallace, Fred Hopkins, Denis Charles, Jay Rosen, Tarus Mateen, Perry Robinson, Warren Smith and Edgar Bateman to name a few.
Marcus and Ted Daniel comprise Duology, which has collaborated with Andrew Cyrille and Henry Grimes. With Sonny Simmons, he is the co-leader of The Cosmosamatics.
Michael was rewarded an individual performance grant from the NEA (National Endowment of the Arts)-composing for a string quartet in conjunction with his original music.
About Warren Smith
For nearly 70 years, Warren I. Smith has been an enormous contributor to the American Jazz and Music scene as percussionist; composer-arranger; leader; curator; archivist; educator; activist and mentor to generations of jazz artists. In addition to his own extensive musical endeavors and collaborations, he has always been a first call by many of the most prominent composers of the second half of the 20th century due to his combination of rhythmic precision, high creativity and sensitivity to the composers’ intent.
As a percussionist, Smith’s resume is not only a veritable who’s who of jazz, but also spans a scope unlike any other artist. His total command of all aspects of the jazz tradition have resulted in his performing over the years with a myriad of artists, including small groups led by a spectrum of jazz heavyweights, ranging from Dizzy Gillespie, Sy Oliver, Frank Foster, Charles Mingus to Muhal Richard Abrams, Tony Williams, Sam Rivers and Cecil Taylor.
As an archivist, Smith’s documentation of the jazz scene for more than 60 years is mind-boggling. Included in his archival activities are more than 1000 recordings from both Studio WIS and his touring and presenting activities. As of 2021, his huge archives are being housed at Indiana University – itself a legendary font of jazz education – the largest archives in the prominent institution’s prestigious collection. New York Filmmaker Chuck Martin’s first of three films about Smith is entitled Warren Smith: Percussionist and Archivist and focuses heavily upon Smith’s remarkable focus and commitment to his archiving.
As an educator, Smith takes enormous pride in his activism and effectiveness in helping to establish jazz in the realm of higher education. He has taught institutionally since the late 1950s until recently at all levels from elementary to post-collegiate, including Bennington, Adelphi, the New School, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and SUNY Old Westbury, where he began a long collaborative relationship with Makanda Ken McIntyre and the outstanding students they mentored, including Craig Harris. He has always taught privately, and as is the case with extraordinary artists of his caliber and generosity, every interaction that one is fortunate to have with him is an educational experience. His mentorship has profoundly influenced countless artists.
At 87 years old, Smith is still dynamically involved in all of the above-mentioned areas. He works regularly with longtime colleagues like Joseph Daley, Bill Cole, Jack Jeffers and The Makanda Project (dedicated to performing the unrecorded works of Makanda McIntyre), as well as with M’Boom. He still maintains the Composers Workshop Ensemble from his workshop at the Andrew Freedman House, where he continues to perform, teach, and curate. He is overseeing the ongoing placement of his archives at Indiana University and recently completed his third film collaboration with Chuck Martin, Exactly One. His autobiography in collaboration with poet/author Kirpal Gordon entitled Crossing Borders & Playing with Pioneers: My Life in Music was published in May 2023.
About Jay Rosen
Jay Rosen was born in 1961 in Philadelphia. His family moved to Long Island, N.Y. in 1964. Jay's musical interest took shape from recorded music that was played around the house as well as two aunts and a brother that were all musicians. Musical vibrations affected Jay in deep, profound ways. Jay began music lessons at age eight on guitar and then piano. However, after seeing (and hearing) Tony Williams (with Sonny Rollins) at Carnegie Hall in 1971, Jay switched to the drums exclusively.
Upon hearing Charlie Parker and John Coltrane at the age of 13, Jay decided to pursue jazz as a serious course of study. Jay has studied with Barry Altschul, Kenwood Dennard, Marvin "Smitty" Smith, and Joe Morello among others. Jay has been an active member of the New York jazz scene since 1990. Since then he has been deeply involved in the creative improvised and new music scenes in New York City and beyond.
Jay Rosen has earned a considerable reputation as a first-rate drummer, lending his talents to diverse musical projects. He has performed throughout Europe, Canada and the U.S. and/or recorded with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Mark Whitecage, Perry Robinson, Paul Smoker, Herb Robertson, James Carter, Anthony Braxton, Dave Taylor, Michael Marcus, Jaco Pastorius, Ivo Perelman, Steve Swell, Kenny Werner, Michael Bisio, William Parker, Roy Campell, Sonny Simmons, Howard Johnson, Dom Minasi, Dominic Duval, Joe McPhee, Matt Shipp, and Charles Gayle among many others.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Saint Peter's Church, 619 Lexington Avenue, New York, United States
USD 0.00
