Jeremy Manasia News

2 things...

2012-02-08T15:30:00.000-05:00

sorry if you are receiving this twice!!!

Hi all,
I'm here to let you all know about my new project/CD of all original music that I'm looking to release in a few months.
I'm looking to self produce and release it using an online engine called KICKSTARTER.
Essentially, kickstarter allows me to become a PBS pledge drive for a month!
What that means is that anyone... ANYONE, can make a pledge to fund this project and receive an award :)
Directly below is a link to my kickstarter page, where you can watch a video that I made explaining the whole project.
Check it out:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/763009300/jeremy-manasias-new-trio-album
Any pledge you can make, and any way you can spread the information around will be tremendously appreciated!

Also, I'm playing with my trio tonight at SMALLS from 11:30 - 2:00AM
with BARAK MORI on bass and JASON BROWN on drums
We will be playing a lot of music from the new CD, and as always, if you can't make it, you can watch it at:
http://smallsjazzclub.com/indexnew.cfm?itemCategory=32321&siteid=272&priorId=0&banner=a

Thank you for all of your support!
Yours,
JM

www.jeremymanasia.com

NEW AFTER DARK REVIEW!

2010-04-20T15:28:00.001-04:00

Featured Artist: Jeremy Manasia

CD Title: After Dark

Year: 2009

Record Label: Posi-Tone Records

Style: Contemporary Jazz

Musicians: Jeremy Manasia (piano), Barak Mori (bass), Charles Ruggiero (drums), Ian Hendrickson-Smith (saxophone), Jane Monheit (vocals)

Review: The New York piano player Jeremy Manasia has put together a wonderful trio recording, After Dark. It features ten original Manasia compositions, a Cole Porter song "Just One Of Those Things". The jazz standard "Soul Eyes" by Mal Waldron and "I'm Wishing" composed by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey. Joined by bassist Barak Mori and drummer Charles Ruggiero the trio lays down a classic bop inspired groove that swings, gets bluesy and touches a classical lilt. A favorite trio recording for 2009.

After Dark hits hard from the very first track. A Jeremy Manasia original composition entitled "Ruggburn" screams with delight as drummer Charles Ruggiero blasts out a thunderous rolling opener, seemingly insuring the alertness of the audience. The band jumps on board after four bars, they come on swinging, hot and heavy with lots of energy they pull each other back and forth in a dynamic tug of war that has each member displaying gifted musical abilities. Manasia hits full sounding dark chords, he mumbles in the background (reminiscent of Bud Powell), he adds fills, sustain, time and space. Playing melody, all the while swinging incessantly and running the keyboard with sweet sounding notes - the song progresses through a rhythmic bass solo by Barak Mori returns to a verse and builds to close in dynamic fashion repeating the melody a couple of times the trio hits a downbeat and fades to the next song.

This is a well produced recording, great sound and a wonderful feel and for me most importantly, everything flows smoothly. When a guest artist is introduced you know it is still the same album the theme is on track. Ian Hendrickson-Smith is guesting on "Soul Eyes" he plays tenor saxophone and lays down smooth, grand, rounded tones in a west coast style, alla Stan Getz.

On the song "When You Smile" composed by Manasia and Ruggiero, Jane Monheit makes a guest appearance, same thing - everything flows beautifully. The feel is vibrant and uplifting, with Monheit adding her lead instrument, vocals, to compliment the trios depth of musicality. An excellent tune.

The classical overtones are heard in songs such as "Ria", "Search For Moonlight" and "Bayside Reflections". Perhaps contemporary classical is a more fitting description. Or even contemporary jazz. I personally like Ellington's classification of music, "There are two kinds of music. Good music and the other kind." After Dark fits into the category of the first kind, Good Music.

Tracks: Ruggburn, Arch Eyes, Ria, Search For Moonlight, Stepping Stones, Soul Eyes, When You Smile, Jake's Dilemma, Bayside Reflections, I'm Wishing, Just One Of Those Things, Jerry's Blues, Afterthought

Artist's Website: http://www.jeremymanasia.com/index.html

Reviewed by: Paul J. Youngman

Jeremy Manasia Expresses Himself After Dark

2009-06-15T16:55:00.000-04:00

Jeremy Manasia Expresses Himself After Dark

Jeremy Manasia

Jazz pianist and composer Jeremy Manasia has already had quite an accomplished career. Having trained at New York’s prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts (i.e. the school that inspired the movie Fame) and been a finalist for the Thelonius Monk Competition, he has since toured the world as a musician and played with such jazz luminaries as Charles Owens, Peter Bernstein, Ryan Kisor, Chris Potter, Marlena Shaw, Diane Schurr, and The Glenn Miller Orchestra.

Jeremy has also adopted the mantle of bandleader and recorded two albums of his own compositions. His latest one, After Dark, features Jeremy backed by two of New York’s finest jazz stalwarts, Barak Mori and Charles Ruggiero, and includes guest performances by two other notable jazzbos, Jane Monheit and Ian Hendrickson-Smith.

In the midst of a busy performance and teaching schedule (he’s a faculty member at Manhattan School of Music), Jeremy swung by the ol’ blog to talk about the roots of creativity, what it’s like to influence young minds, and his budding career as a film composer. Check it out…

(Editor’s Note: It should be stated, for the record, that Jeremy is also an old friend of this blog and its author. We went to high school together, way back in the day. FYI.)

Dude, I remember back in high school when you looked and dressed like a headbanger. You certainly didn’t look like someone who played jazz. How’d you first get interested in jazz?

High school and mom. I went to LaGuardia High School for piano, and as a piano major you need to take up a secondary instrument. I wanted to play saxophone, and was given the oboe. After a year I wanted out, and switched to double bass. This left a hole in my schedule, so I was tossed into the jazz history class (a senior level elective course) taught by Justin DiCioccio. This ultimately was an experience that would change the direction of my life forever.

My mom was also a jazz singer at this time, and was performing around New York City with very prominent jazz musicians like Harold Mabern, Ira Coleman and Bob Cranshaw. So all of a sudden I was surrounded by jazz everywhere. I also had a private piano teacher at the time, Peter Vianni, from Staten Island who was a jazz player and started to show me some voicing and improvisation techniques.

Yeah, I was a headbanger for a while. I came up on rock ‘n’ roll and folk music. Around the house I was hearing The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, The Stones, Bob Dylan, and also some early disco like Chaka Kahn and Donna Summer. Later on I became really influenced by The Beatles and John Lennon. I was really affected by John Lennon’s death, seeing how hard it hit everyone.

I naturally progressed into some more modern and harder rock, like Van Halen and Rush, and eventually got deep into the 80s metal scene, listening to bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Judas Priest, long hair, leather jackets, and studs. After I was turned onto jazz, I went through a segue period where I was listening to artists like Pat Metheny and John Scofield.

When I look back at it all though, it does make sense, as all American music – rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, country, funk – it all comes from the blues.

Tell us about your new album, After Dark.

I’m really happy with my new record, After Dark. It has compositions of mine that span over a decade of my writing, and were carefully chosen for this date. The final track on the record, “Afterthought,” I actually wrote in college, more than 15 years ago. “Jerry’s Blues” is also an oldie, from around ‘97, ‘98. Most of the others are from the past two to five years.

I was really happy about the lineup on this record. Charles Ruggiero is one of my oldest friends, and someone whom I have played a lot of music with in my life. He was getting ready to move to L.A., where he is now, and I wanted to make sure we got this date in before he left. And Barak Mori was the obvious first choice for bassist, for the hookup he and Charles have, and his great vibe. Both of those guys took the music really seriously, and worked their butts off to play their best on this record. I could tell from the first rehearsal how good this was going to turn out, and how they were going to give their all in the studio. It made me make sure to kick it up a notch when we got in to the studio.

Ironically, we had done a quartet date with Ian Hendrickson-Smith the week before, in the same studio, with the same rhythm section. As it turned out, Ian was not going to use the material from that session, so I thought it would be a great idea to include one of the tracks on After Dark, and that’s how Ian, and “Soul Eyes,” made it on the record. Which also thrilled me, because Ian is also one of my older friends that I have made a lot of music with over the years.

The record was recorded by Glenn Forrest, who is an unknown master of his craft. He is an engineer of a dying breed; the ones who don’t look at computer screens, but LISTEN to the track as it is being made. He gives great care, and has great knowledge on how to get the best possible sounds, and always does. There is no one that I would have felt more comfortable in the studio, than with G-Bleuy. He is just the man, and made a great sounding record.

About six months after it was recorded, I ended up signing a deal with Posi-Tone records to release After Dark . Posi-Tone is a L.A. based jazz record company who have been putting out great records for the past few years. Once the wheels got rolling everything slowly came together. The Jane [Monheit] recording session, the cover art, Eric Reed wrote the liner notes, and Charles and Nick O’Toole (co-founder of Posi-Tone) mixed the record in L.A.

After Dark is the record I always wanted to make, with some of my best friends, playing a variety of different compositions of mine, and a couple of standard compositions.

Jane Monheit does some guest vocals on the album. How’d you get her on board?

Jane’s husband and drummer, Rick, is old friends with the drummer on my record, Charles. They have all been great friends for a long time. And I have known them as well, just not as close as Charles. After we had recorded the music for After Dark, Charles really loved a song I wrote, then called “Chrisantics,” dedicated to my old teacher, Chris Anderson. Charles said, “I’m going to write lyrics to that song, and get Jane to sing it…” And lo and behold, “When You Smile” was born, and Jane did it. She was really amazing to work with, very professional, and just an amazing singer. The melody on “When You Smile” has a very large range and is very difficult to sing, but it just fit like a glove to Jane. I’m really happy and grateful to have her on the record, it really adds a nice special touch.

As a musician, who are some of your influences and inspirations?

An artist’s influences and inspirations fluctuate throughout the course of his/her life, and I can certainly say that what influences me today is drastically different from what did 10, 15 or 20 years ago.

That being said, the music that pulled me completely into jazz-dom was John Coltrane and his pianist McCoy Tyner. That was the first jazz that I really fell in love with. Albums like Crescent, Live at Birdland, and Coltranewere records I wore out and listened to multiple times daily.

After the fall into jazz-dom, I started expanding my listening and became influenced by pianists Sonny Clark, Wynton Kelly and Red Garland. This was during college, and I spent a lot of time with the great Blue Note records of the 50s and 60s by Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Dexter Gordon etc., that frequently had these pianists on them, as well as McCoy, and Herbie Hancock.

During the years that I was studying in Holland, my musical influences started to really expand, and at the same time that I was being turned onto Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, I was really learning a lot from listening and transcribing Bud Powell and studying with Barry Harris, and Dutch pianist Franz Elsan. Also around this time I was exposed to the piano music of Maurice Ravel, which has made a lasting effect on my life.

Through the years there have been so many varied musical influences, from Stevie Wonder and Donnie Hathaway to Billie Holliday and Sarah Vaughn to Duke Ellington and Thad Jones, to Robert Johnson and Ghanayan drumming. Nowadays, things other than music are greatly influencing the way I approach music. The work and philosophy of Jackson Pollock is very close to me right now, dealing with art and creativity coming from the unconscious. Also my zen practice is very influential to learning how to completely and fully express myself through art in a sincere way.

What, if anything, are you trying to achieve or communicate with your work?

I’m trying to achieve a state of total and pure expression. Ravel said that the real aim, the ultimate concern, is fullness and sincerity of expression. It is a personal struggle and spiritual path to allow myself to be honest and open in my expression, despite all of the inner critical voices. I believe a human’s greatest joy in life is to creatively express themselves, in any shape or form. There is always an open door in front of us every moment of our lives to be completely sincere in our expression, whether telling someone to screw off, showing kindness, creating art, anything. It is our greatest desire to be ourselves, fully, without any inhibitions. And I know that the people who have affected me the most have been the ones who have lived their lives in this way.

Nelson Mandela said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” This is my path as an artist and as a person. And I find that the older I get, the more and more simple the message becomes. There are no limits to the imagination, and less is usually more. So there is this search for the boundless simplification. Like when you hear a tune like “Mood Indigo” by Duke Ellington, or “Don’t Let Me Down” by John Lennon. They are so simple, yet you have to ask yourself, “Where did they FIND THAT!” Duke Ellington said that every day he is looking for a melody. He’s never sure where or when he will find it. But from the moment he wakes up to the moment he falls asleep, he is searching, constantly looking.

You also teach budding musicians. How’d you first get into that and what do you like about it?

Teaching is a way of directly giving back all that I am thankful for having received from music. It is really a position of service, of giving and guiding.

Also, teaching is quite frequently an experience of looking into a mirror, and can be very challenging, while maintaining integrity for what you teach, with staying open enough for a teaching to enter yourself. I constantly learn from my students.

Teaching constantly challenges me to remind myself who I am, and to maintain the integrity of who I am and allow openness for this other person, this other expression that may be drastically different from myself.

The job of a teacher is to open someone up to the creative expression in the abstract that is within them. Yes, there are definitely techniques, and formalities that must be worked on and learned, and mastered. And these are tools that are acquired to be a vessel that can freely express him/her self, beyond the technique.

At the right moments, a teacher also needs to know when to give a kick in the ass, to keep the student straight. Because what we are dealing with here, is pretty serious business, actually. When you start talking about true sincere expression with no limits, you are treading on sacred ground. Ground that has been tread on by many past masters, who have shown us the many ways. So it is important to be able to see when a student may be being lazy, or goofing off, and provide a good ass kicking.

Don’t get me wrong, it is all about fun, and reaching a point of real good feeling, warm groovy goodness. But that stuff is the most serious stuff there is, and can’t be taken for granted. We should be serious about having a good time, and making that warm groovy goodness with, and for, everyone we contact.

On top of everything else, you’re a budding film composer. Why film music?

Because I love movies. That simple.

As a child, movie music greatly affected me, probably more than I even realize. I would really get lost in movies, and hearing the music (when it is done well) brings you right back there. C’mon, Star Wars, Raiders,Superman… awesome music.

And also, the musician these days needs to have a little more versatility, besides just being a player. I love to write, I love the movies, and I get great joy out of putting music to a scene. It’s like being a child again.

Ken Fowser/Behn Gillece Quintet wins Generations International Competition for Emerging Jazz Combos at Yoshi’s San Francisco

2009-05-21T17:54:00.002-04:00

New York City-based band earns Generations/San Francisco State University Fellowship including mentoring by Generations Band featuring Jimmy Cobb & Eric Alexander

A fiery performance before a packed house at the Generations Project "Battle of the Combos" at Yoshi's San Francisco on Thursday night, May 7, propelled the Ken Fowser/Behn Gillece Quintet to victory in the second annual Generations International Competition for Emerging Combos, sponsored by the International Center for the Arts (ICA) at San Francisco State University. With its competition victory, the Fowser/Gillece Quintet earned a year-long fellowship at SF State, including mentoring by the veteran all-stars of the Generations Band, including Jimmy Cobb, Ray Drummond and Eric Alexander. Mentors and young musicians will convene several times during the coming year, with the Fellowship winners receiving invaluable insights on performing and the dynamics of band interaction and advice about the music industry.

Return to Generations home page.

Fowser/Gillece Quintet wins on musicianship and ensemble interplay

It was two New York City-based bands squaring off, as the Fowser/Gillece group, led by tenor saxophonist Ken Fowserand vibraphonist Behn Gillece,won the competition over the fine Bruce Harris Quintet. The Fowser/Gillece Quintet's winning performance opened with a sly, energetic blues by the group's pianist Jeremy Manasia, called "Jeremy's Other Blues." Gillece's ringing vibes work and Fowser's warm, muscular sound took hold of the audience immediately, and Manasia stormed the castle with a spry, multi-faceted solo, springing nimbly among cheerful musical ideas. Another highlight was "The Hutch," Gillece's tribute to vibes great Bobby Hutcherson. But while the quality of the playing by these three, as well as bassist Adam Cote and drummer Jason Brown, was high throughout the band's set, it was the empathetic interplay among all five musicians that made the performance shine. It's not surprising that this quintet had substantial team chemistry on display. They've been together long enough to have recorded a fine CD, Full View.

AFTER DARK

2009-01-12T12:57:00.003-05:00

JEREMY MANASIA

AFTER DARK

with

BARAK MORI

CHARLES RUGGIERO

and special appearances by

IAN HENDRICKSON-SMITH

JANE MONHEIT

and with liner notes by ERIC REED

available EVERYWHERE January 13, 2009

itunes store

www.posi-tone.com

www.amazon.com

CD RELEASE PARTY

2009-01-12T04:05:00.003-05:00

Tuesday January 27th

7:00pm-10:00pm at

SMALLS

183 10th street at 7th ave

come celebrate the release of JEREMY MANASIA's new record

AFTER DARK

POSI-TONE RECORDS

featuring:

BARAK MORI

CHARLES RUGGIERO

WAYNE ESCOFFERY

JOE MAGNARELLI

$20 cover/good for one drink

with catering by Street/Tix inc...

JEREMY MANASIA QUINTET LIVE AT SMALLS

2008-10-11T04:11:00.001-04:00

NOVEMBER 2nd

SMALLS jazz club presents:

JEREMY MANASIA with

RYAN KISOR

IAN HENDRICKSON-SMITH

BARAK MORI

JOE STRASSER

playing the music of KENNY DORHAM and JOE HENDERSON

sets at 10:30 and 12:00

$20 at the door

Smalls is located on 10th street between W4th and 7th ave south

new release AFTER DARK coming soon

2008-09-19T05:25:00.001-04:00

Stay tuned for POSITONE records new release

Jeremy Manasia trio AFTER DARK

with Charles Ruggiero, Barak Mori

and some very special guests!

coming VERY soon...

NEW JAM SESSION TIME KICKS OFF AT ROTHS

2008-08-30T10:53:00.001-04:00

We are proud to announce starting Wednesday September 3rd Roths Westside Steakhouse will be starting up it's jam session at a new day and time. Jeremy Manasia will host the festivities, and play solo piano from 5:00 - 8:00, and then kick off the jam with his trio at 8:00PM

Come for dinner, drinks, to listen to good music, play good music or all of the above!

Wednesdays from 8:00 - 11:00pm
at Roths Westside Steakhouse
93rd and Columbus ave.
OPEN JAM SESSION

5:00 - 8:00pm solo piano

8:00 - 11:00pm trio and jam session

Mark it down! EVERY WEDNESDAY! Hope to see you soon!

Roths Jam will move to Wednesdays

2008-07-08T15:06:00.001-04:00

I am happy to announce that the Roth's Westside Steakhouse Jamm Session
will pick up and resume again sometime in the fall at an earlier time and on Wednesdays.
Stay tuned for more information, and for a kickoff date.
Most likely in September.
Have a great summer and look forward to seeing you in the fall!

WEBSITE UP AND RUNNING

2008-01-27T22:30:00.000-05:00

We are proud to announce that a fully functioning WWW.JEREMYMANASIA.COM has hit the world wide web. Please check back often to see whats new.