The Swing Collective at The Appel Room

The Swing Collective is a new quintet of enormously talented young musicians representing five countries of origin. Chilean tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana made history in 2013 as the first female instrumentalist to win the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, and she has since become a prolific bandleader and soloist known for her fierce sound and gift for melody. Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles is a 2015 Guggenheim Fellow whose signature blend of Afro-Caribbean musical traditions in contemporary jazz contexts has made him an audience favorite at Jazz at Lincoln Center and beyond. Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca condenses a stunning, cross-continental scope of influences into original works that are conceptually thought-provoking, musically ambitious, and always well received by a wide variety of listeners. Japanese bassist Yasushi Nakamura is a versatile, relentlessly driving rhythm player and soloist widely regarded as one of New York’s hardest-swinging and most dependable musicians. Finally, Jacksonville, Florida-native Ulysses Owens, Jr. is a multi-Grammy Award-winning drummer, composer, and bandleader who has released several acclaimed albums as a leader and played with Christian McBride, Joey Alexander, Dianne Schuur, and Kurt Elling. For two nights in The Appel Room, these formidable artists will debut brand new works composed specifically for this extraordinary collective....

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The Swing Collective is a new quintet of enormously talented young musicians representing five countries of origin. Chilean tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana made history in 2013 as the first female instrumentalist to win the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, and she has since become a prolific bandleader and soloist known for her fierce sound and gift for melody. Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles is a 2015 Guggenheim Fellow whose signature blend of Afro-Caribbean musical traditions in contemporary jazz contexts has made him an audience favorite at Jazz at Lincoln Center and beyond. Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca condenses a stunning, cross-continental scope of influences into original works that are conceptually thought-provoking, musically ambitious, and always well received by a wide variety of listeners. Japanese bassist Yasushi Nakamura is a versatile, relentlessly driving rhythm player and soloist widely regarded as one of New York’s hardest-swinging and most dependable musicians. Finally, Jacksonville, Florida-native Ulysses Owens, Jr. is a multi-Grammy Award-winning drummer, composer, and bandleader who has released several acclaimed albums as a leader and played with Christian McBride, Joey Alexander, Dianne Schuur, and Kurt Elling. For two nights in The Appel Room, these formidable artists will debut brand new works composed specifically for this extraordinary collective.
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