The NUVO Jazz Quartet features expansive jazz re-interpretations of late-Romantic classics by Faure, Gershwin and Rachmaninoff, Ladino folk music, plus original Brazilian and Turkish style compositions. Rounding out the repertoire is a vocal blues suite by Ornette Coleman, Thelonius
Monk, & McCoy Tyner.
Michael Smolens — arrangements/compositions, piano, melodica, alto flute, dumbek, voice
Justin Ouellet — violin, viola
Aaron Germain — acoustic/fretless electric basses, classical guitar, gimbri
Marlon Aldana — drum set, cajon, dumbek, percussion
NUVO Jazz Quartet at the Maybeck
Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 3:00pm
This concert is SOLD OUT
The NUVO Jazz Quartet features expansive jazz re-arrangements and re-constructions of late-Romantic romantic repertoire (Gershwin, Faure, & Rachmaninoff), Ladino & Israeli works, plus original Turkish and Brazilian compositions. A vocal blues suite with original Beat-Era lyrics by Ornette Coleman, Thelonius Monk, and McCoy Tyner rounds out the program.
The group is lead by composer/arranger Michael Smolens, who has been fascinated with the intersection of with jazz and classical music with improvisation as a bridge for over five decades. Each band member has toured and recorded extensively, and is a composer, teacher, and bandleader in their own right. Their collaborations include: Grammy Award winning Turtle Island String Quartet and Grammy nominated conductor Gerard Schwarz, 'nuevo flamenco' composer Jason McGuire "El Robio", jazz legends John Handy, Stefon Harris, Stanley Jordon, Nguyên Lê, Paul McCandless, Roscoe Mitchell and vocalists Jacqui Naylor, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Washington, Rhiannon and members of Bobby McFerrin's Voicestra.