Stephan Crump is a Grammy-nominated bassist and composer, collaborator and bandleader, soloist and educator, based in New York City since 1994. A Memphis native, Crump fell for New York’s fecund scenes during his first semester at Amherst College, when he would drive hours to play late-night, weekday gigs in the West Village. He knew this is where he’d make his life and career. Working beyond genre, he has become a crucial component of multiple New York music communities in and beyond jazz. For two decades, Crump recorded and toured as a third of Vijay Iyer’s acclaimed trio, helping to build that band’s global reputation. Meanwhile, many of his own ensembles—Rhombal, with Tyshawn Sorey, Ellery Eskelin, and Adam O’Farrill; Secret Keeper, with Mary Halvorson; Rosetta Trio, with Jamie Fox and Liberty Ellman—prize versatility and voicings in a manner that more traditional configurations often do not. His Borderlands Trio, with pianist Kris Davis and drummer Eric McPherson, brings this same mentality to a more familiar setting. Other collaborators have included Miguel Zenón, Gordon Gano, Patti Austin, Johnny Clyde Copeland, Wadada Leo Smith, Jim Campilongo, David Gilmore, Sam Newsome, Steve Lehman, Cory Smythe, Ingrid Laubrock, Okkyung Lee, Mat Maneri, and Ches Smith. Crump’s physical and emotional connection to the bass is abundant through the new sextet Slow Water, which explores ecology and environment through composition and group communication. He teaches On Magnetism, a course in connecting more deeply through one’s instrument, after a lifetime of doing just that, and lives still in Brooklyn with his wife and collaborator, the singer Jen Chapin, and their two sons.

Charlie Ballantine - guitar
Quinn Sternberg - Bass
Paul Wells - Drums

Named as one of the top 200 living guitarists by All About Jazz Magazine and a Rising Star in the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll, Charlie Ballantine is acclaimed as one of the finest and most versatile  young guitarists on the scene today. JAZZ TIMES MAGAZINE hails his playing as “teeming with intricate grooves and maniacal precision his guitar work is both beautiful and complex” and VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE described his style by stating “Jazz, rock, and folk music peacefully coexist in Charlie Ballantine’s world”. 

   Equipped with an impressive body of original compositions on albums like “Vonnegut” and “Cold Coffee”, Ballantine also displays a great reverence for the jazz tradition through the inclusion of standards like ‘My One and Only Love’, ‘East of the Sun’ and an entire double album dedicated to the music of Thelonious Monk released September 2021.  “In the vein of fellow guitarists like John Scofield, Bill Frisell and Julian Lage, Ballantine reconciles his educational background in jazz with the stylistic background of his instrument. He approaches the gratifying tonal and harmonic language of rock/roots with the groove, ambition and improvisational focus of a jazz musician” - (JAZZIZ MAGAZINE)

   After graduating from the Jacobs School of Music under the direction of David Baker, Ballantine relocated to Indianapolis and quickly developed a name for himself with a string of high energy performances at clubs like the Jazz Kitchen and Chatterbox Jazz Club. After releasing two solo albums Ballantine was able to attain global recognition with his award winning third album “Life is Brief: The Music of Bob Dylan” which ALL ABOUT JAZZ named in their top ten jazz albums of the year. “From the opening bars of "The Times They Are a-Changin'" it is clear that something special is happening” - (ALL ABOUT JAZZ) 

   Although primarily a front man for his own projects with tours and frequent appearances throughout the US and Canada at venues and festivals such as the Detroit Jazz Festival, Indianapolis Jazz Festival, Rochester Jazz Festival, The Winnipeg International Jazz Festival and The Elkhart Jazz Festival, Ballantine also has an extensive list of side man credits having performed with names like Rob Dixon, Emmett Cohen, and Amanda Gardier helping to further solidify him as a creative force and  put him in the highest of ranks as a performer.  

Watch the last time charlie was here, awesome show. This tour will focus on his Bob Dylan recording.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bneyxW44R_k

Veteran guitarist Michael Musillami’s career spans more than 35 years and includes extensive work as a performer, bandleader/composer and educator.

In addition to his flagship trio, which celebrates its 20th anniversary as a working unit in 2022, he has earned international acclaim as the leader of groups ranging from duo to octet featuring a wide-ranging list of prominent collaborators.

Critics have called his music "truly original" (Michael G. Nastos, AllMusic.com), "challenging and adventurous" (Bill Beuttler, Boston Globe), "scintillating and provocative" (Bill Milkowski, The Absolute Sound) and "honest, frequently surprising and consistently exciting" (Ron Wynn, JazzTimes).

He's also a longtime guitar instructor and ensemble director at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, and founder/manager of Playscape Recordings, a highly regarded independent label that has released nearly 50 independent jazz recordings since 1999.

Featuring: Michael Musillami (guitar/composer), Joe Fonda (bass), & George Schuller (drums)

Tickets are $25 at the door, or online.
Doors open at 7pm, and concert will begin at 8pm.