"By nature if not by definition jazz musicians are tireless consolidators: of languages and rituals, of literatures and styles. Some artists exercise that impulse entirely within the jazz tradition, building on roughly a century of precedent (or, in too many cases, just a choice decade or two). Others seek purpose in charting unexpected routes or teasing out unlikely connections — something you may have noticed more of lately, especially among musicians under 40, and especially in New York. The pianist Bobby Avey is in his 20s, and has firmly aligned himself with those aims."
— Nate Chinen, New York Times...
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"By nature if not by definition jazz musicians are tireless consolidators: of languages and rituals, of literatures and styles. Some artists exercise that impulse entirely within the jazz tradition, building on roughly a century of precedent (or, in too many cases, just a choice decade or two). Others seek purpose in charting unexpected routes or teasing out unlikely connections — something you may have noticed more of lately, especially among musicians under 40, and especially in New York. The pianist Bobby Avey is in his 20s, and has firmly aligned himself with those aims."
— Nate Chinen, New York Times
Elysium Furnace Works is proud to present Beacon-based pianist and composer Bobby Avey in a solo performance at the Howland Cultural Center on Saturday, June 30 at 8 PM. The Howland Cultural Center is located at 477 Main St., in Beacon, NY. Admission will be $20 at the door -- advance tickets are $15 and will be made available online at http://bobbyavey.brownpapertickets.com.
Praised by The New Yorker magazine as, “a young pianist of invention and refinement,” Bobby Avey has established himself as an emerging star in the jazz community. In 2011, he won the esteemed Thelonious Monk Competition for composition. This award followed his 2010 debut record as a leader, A New Face, lauded by the NY Times as “A promising debut.” In 2005, while a student at the Purchase Conservatory of Music, he was invited by NEA Jazz Master David Liebman to adapt and arrange art songs from the Classical and Romantic eras for reinterpretation, creating a vehicle for improvisation. The project, which culminated with the album Vienna Dialogues, was released in 2006 on ZOHO to rave reviews. In 2011, Avey received the New Jazz Works: Commissioning and Ensemble Development grant from Chamber Music America. The grant enabled Avey to travel to Haiti to record a Vodou Ceremony in the small village of Soukri and then create an hour-long suite grounded in rhythms found in Haitian Vodou drumming. The suite, entitled Authority Melts From Me, pays homage to the Haitian Revolution and was premiered and recorded in November 2012. Authority Melts From Me features Avey, Miguel Zenón, Ben Monder, Thomson Kneeland, and Jordan Perlson. In April 2013, Avey released his first solo piano album, Be Not So Long To Speak, on Minsi Ridge Records. The project features originals, improvisations, as well as renditions of Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust and Quincy Jones’ P.Y.T. Avey recently joined the David Liebman group Expansions. Bobby Avey is a past Yamaha Young Performing Artist on piano and graduated from Purchase Conservatory of Music summa cum laude in 2007.
Elysium Furnace Works' 2018 roster embraces a fiercely independent, eclectic diversity, featuring exceptional artists from a wide array of musics, including jazz, rock, world music, noise, electro-acoustic improvisation and modern classical composition. Other concerts EFW will present in 2018 include:
July 28 — Mike Pride Trio: With a resume that spans everyone from Anthony Braxton to hardcore punk legends MDC, as well as having performed before hundreds of thousands across the country opening for Amy Schumer as a member of Locksmith Isidore, drummer/composer Pride leads a fearless, peerless trio featuring Jon Irabagon on saxophones and Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello.
September 22 — Kris Davis: Winner of the Rising Star Pianist award in Downbeat Magazine’s 2017 critics poll, the phenomenally talented keyboardist and composer Davis makes her debut in Beacon for this highly-anticipated solo performance.
October 20 — Atonal Hits: This accomplished duo — pianist Illya Filshtinskiy and violinist Katha Zinn— has performed around the world many times, from Asia to Turkey to Carnegie Hall. As suggested by their humorous name, Atonal Hits specializes in performing not only the most challenging works by some of the most forward-thinking classical composers of the last century, but also such timeless masterpieces as in their recent project recording the complete sonatas for violin and harpsichord of J.S. Bach.
Elysium Furnace Works is a cooperative project co-led by Mike Faloon, James Keepnews and Steve Ventura. EFW seeks to present the work of vanguard artists in settings as dedicated and uncompromising as the art itself, focusing primarily although not exclusively on live music performances in and around Beacon, NY.
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