Sam Newsome, saxophone
"Monk in the Woods" explores the idea of intertwining the improvisational languages jazz, and the sounds heard in urban soundscapes and nature. I've discovered that the element of chance fuel them both.

Why did I choose the music of Thelonious Monk to be showcased in such an atypical jazz platform? Due to the melodic durability and timelessness of his melodies, Monk's music has a flexibility that allows them to perform in time, out of time, and with limitless tonal and timbral variation. When one plays duo with nature, being able to go wherever the music is pulling you is paramount. Monk's music allows me to do this without aesthetic compromise.

An innovator of unconventional sounds on his instrument, Sam Newsome has evolved as one of the most important soprano saxphonists in improvised music. Since 2007, Newsome has released six ground-breaking solo saxophone recordings that push the boundaries of his instrument. His recordings Blue Soliloquy and Sopranoville, both received five stars in Downbeat Magazine.

A recipient of the 2016 NYFA Fellowship and the 2020 Instant Award in Improvised Music, Newsome works with many genre-stretching musicians on today’s improvised music scene including vocalist Fay Victor, saxophonist Darius Jones, and drummer Andrew Cyrille and numerous others. In 2015, Newsome authored his first book titled Life Lessons from the Horn, a collection of essays recounting his experiences as a saxophonist and improviser on today’s music scene. To date, Newsome has released over 20 recordings as a leader and has appeared on over forty as a side-person. To learn more about Newsome’s music and whereabouts, please visit his blog: www.sopranosaxtalk.blogspot.com.​

Caleb Curtis, saxophone, Noah Garabedian, bass, Vinnie Sperrazza, drums
(Video by Luke Marantz)
Brooklyn, NY based Grammy nominated saxophonist Caleb Wheeler Curtis “lives at the junction of rigorous preparation and willingness to explore.” (Jazz Speaks) His playing and compositions are informed by a constant searching, at times introspective, brash and melodic. In addition to band-leading, Caleb is a core member of Walking Distance (Sunnyside Records), Orrin Evans & The Captain Black Big Band (Smoke Sessions Records), Josh Lawrence & Triptych (Posi-Tone Records), Curtis + Garabedian + Sperrazza (Outside In Music), and the Fat Cat Big Band. His upcoming album, Ain't No Storm, will be released on Imani Records this fall, 2020. A native of Berkeley, California, Noah Garabedian holds a BA in Ethnomusicology from the The University of California Los Angeles, and a Master's of Music Performance from New York University. In 2006 he was awarded a John Coltrane National Scholarship, and in 2007 was selected as a finalist for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz . "...Noah is a positively organic bass player, an incredible artist..." (David Wiegand, of the San Francisco Chronicle). Vinnie Sperrazza is a Brooklyn-based jazz drummer. Born in 1979 in Utica, New York, music and drumming is a family affair for Sperrazza. His father plays and taught drums in Central New York, and his mother sang at church and did live sound for his father’s bands. “An understated but highly-skilled and insanely versatile drummer in the vein of Kenny Wolleson, Jeff Hirshfield, and Paul Motian.” - All About Jazz / “Drummer-composer Vinnie Sperrazza, a familiar face on New York’s new-jazz scene.” - The New Yorker / "Sperrazza has proven repeatedly that he’s a fantastic post-bop drummer. With Hide Ye Idols, he proves he’s also a strong composer with a keen conceptual streak.” - Downbeat

Mike Moreno, guitar
Originally from Houston, Texas, Mike began studying music formally at the Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, a school renowned for its musical alumni, which includes such luminaries as Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Brian Michael Cox, Eric Harland, Chris Dave, Kendrick Scott, and Beyoncé. After graduating, Mike moved to New York City with a scholarship to attend the New School University. While still in school he began garnering the recognition necessary to be called to perform and tour with some of the most venerable names in the Jazz world as well as rising stars of the scene. “Mike Moreno is a masterful composer, with a sense of sophistication that belies his age, and an extraodinary improviser… -Andrew Lienhard, jazzhouston.com" Over the years, they have included The Joshua Redman Elastic Band, Lizz Wright Band, Nicholas Payton Quartet, Stefon Harris Sonic Creed, Me'Shell N'Degeocello, Jason Moran, Terence Blanchard, Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire, Gretchen Parlato, Aaron Parks, Claudia Acuña, Greg Osby 4, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Jeremy Pelt, John Ellis, Myron Walden, Kenny Garret, Yosvany Terry, Ralph Bowen, Will Vinson and more. Additionally, Mike has recorded with numerous major artists, both inside and outside of the Jazz genre. 3 of these recordings were nominated for a Grammy. In 2010 both Q-Tip's "The Renaissance" and Geoffrey Keezzer's "Aurea" were nominated for Best Album in their categories, as well in 2008 Eldar's "Re-Imagination" received the same nomination in the Jazz Category. Moreno's discography also includes artists such as Bilal, Jeremy Pelt, Robert Glasper, John Ellis, Aaron Parks, Jimmy Greene, Myron Walden, Sam Yahel, Ralph Bowen, Marcus Strickland, Yosvany Terry, Kendrick Scott Oracle, Will Vinson, and Bob Reynolds. Recognized as one of the leading voices in the Jazz guitar world, Mike has toured extensively and recorded as a leader of his own band, playing his original music to high critical acclaim. As Nate Chinen describes in his 2007 “The Gig†article in JazzTimes, "There are many other guitarists out there pushing towards a modern ideal, but none with the precise coordinates that Mike Moreno has charted." In 2007, Mike released his debut CD Between The Lines on the World Culture Music label, which Nate Chinen deemed in The New York Times as one of his top 10 Jazz albums of 2007. He recorded his second and third albums, Third Wish 2008 and First In Mind 2011, for European Jazz label Criss-Cross Records. He returned to World Culture Music for the release of Another Way 2012 which made the 25 "Best of 2012" Jazz Releases on itunes. And his most recent album Lotus has just been released.

Alexa Barchini, vocals & Jackson Fitzgerald, guitar
Alexa Barchini is a jazz vocalist, composer, and lyricist, raised in a culturally diverse family with a mother that studied opera. All About Jazz critic Dave Wayne said, “Her voice is close-miked, soft and intimate, and conveys the feeling that she's sharing a secret that is just beyond one's grasp.” Barchini and Jackson Fitzgerald are a Brooklyn based guitar+voice duo, performing originals alongside covers spanning the jazz, singer-songwriter, and Brazilian realms and regularly play in clubs in New York and across the United States.

"Lion's Mane" lyrics and music by Jackson FitzGerald
"Wedding Song" music by Jackson FitzGerald, lyrics by Alexa Barchini
"Rima, the Highway Rider" music by Alexa Barchini

Carmen Rothwell, bass
Ryan Beckley, guitar
Brooklyn musicians Ryan Beckley (Guitar) and Carmen Rothwell (bass) have been performing together with Jason Burger (drums) as Scree since 2016. Scree played an incredibly intimate show inside the barn at Duck Creek last Fall. Their music draws on a variety of influences including American labor ballads. The group’s debut release, “Live at The Owl,” came out November 8, 2019.

Simón Willson, bass
During these past two months I’ve found myself letting my mind wander while playing music. With more time on my hands, I now feel like I can let go of any goal-oriented mindset and dive deep into my own creative process. The timelessness this situation has created has allowed me to cherish my alone time with the instrument in a way that I don’t remember feeling since I was starting to play music. Artists are usually their own harshest critics, but in these moments I find myself to be less judgmental of my own playing, which has allowed me to discover things in my musicianship that were not evident before the quarantine. 

I believe this time has made the relevance of being in the moment even more transparent, which has had an effect on my playing. Instead of focusing on practicing fundamentals, I find myself going in and out of songs I love, improvising freely, stumbling into instantaneous compositions, failing and trying again, but not giving up on the process for the sake of a product. This has helped me become more patient and resilient while playing.

This piece I recorded is a testament to my process at the moment, a good "picture" of a point in time: I move spontaneously between motivic cells I have been working on, free improvisation, and using songs I like such as “The Days of Wine and Roses” and my own original “Easy Listening” as improvisational frameworks.

Simón Willson is a Chilean-born, Brooklyn-based jazz bassist, composer and improviser. As an eclectic and in demand sideman, he has toured with a host of different artists in Europe, the US, Canada, and South America. His wide-range interest in different realms of Jazz and improvised music has led him to play and record with a diverse pool of established artists such as Dave Douglas, Ethan Iverson, Steve Cardenas, George Garzone, Jason Palmer, Rodney Green, Michael Blake, Pablo Held, Jim Black, Tim Miller, Frank Carlberg, among many others. He also plays in the bands of contemporaries such as Kevin Sun, Max Light, among others. In addition to his sideman work, he co-leads the bands Great on Paper, Family Plan, and Earprint. The latter won the “best debut album” category of the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll in 2016. Willson can be heard on over twenty-five records for labels such as Tzadik, Steeplechase, Newvelle, in addition to a number of self-released albums by contemporaries.

Joel Ross, vibraphone
Last year, NPR’s Nate Chinen referred to Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based vibraphonist Joel Ross as “the breakout jazz star of the moment.” He goes on to describe the 23 year old as seeming to “slip free of standard cognitive functions and into a bodacious flow state. Invariably, he's in the midst of a heated improvisation. Maybe he's bouncing on his heels, or bobbing like a marionette. His mallets form a blur, in contrast to the clarity of the notes they produce. The deft precision of his hammering inspires a visual comparison to some tournament-level version of Whac-A-Mole.”

Bruce Barth, piano
Jazz pianist and composer Bruce Barth has been sharing his music with listeners the world over for more than thirty years. In addition to widely performing his own music, he has also performed with revered jazz masters, as well as collaborated with leading musicians of his own generation. Zan Stewart of the Newark Star-Ledger writes: "No one sounds quite like Barth. His solos are characterized by robust swing, his ability to tell a story, and by his rich, beguiling sound."

Bruce has performed on over 125 recordings and movie soundtracks, including fifteen as a leader. He is equally at home playing solo piano (American Landscape on Satchmo Records), leading an all-star septet (East and West on MaxJazz), and playing in a variety of instrumental settings. His trio has recorded live at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City, and his duo recording with saxophonist Steve Wilson, Home, was chosen by Down Beat magazine as one of the best recordings of the year.

Originally from Pasadena, California, Bruce arrived on the New York jazz scene in 1988, and soon started working in the bands of Stanley Turrentine and Terence Blanchard. With Blanchard, he played on four albums, several film scores, and appeared on screen in Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X. Bruce has since established himself as a mainstay of the New York and international jazz scene, being described by the Village Voice as “one of the best pianists in town, period.”

His new recording, “Gratefully Yours,” due in April 2020, features Bruce trio’s interpretations of several songs from that band’s songbook. It features Vicente Archer and Montez Coleman on bass and drums, and is the first release on Bruce’s new label, “Shadow Grove Records.” Bruce has performed at major venues in the United States, Europe, and Japan; including the jazz Festivals of London, Barcelona, Terrassa, Stockholm, Braga and Seixal (Portugal), and San Sebastian.

Bruce has had extended collaborations with Terell Stafford, Steve Wilson, Luciana Souza, Steve Nelson, and Adam Kolker. He has performed with James Moody, Phil Woods, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Bennett, Tom Harrell, Charles McPherson, Eddie Henderson, Branford Marsalis, Art Farmer, Vincent Herring, Rene Marie, Karrin Allyson, Luis Bonilla, Audrey Silver, Roz Corral, Tim Armacost, and Carla Cook.

Finally, Bruce is a dedicated teacher, currently on the faculties of Temple University and Columbia University. He given master classes around the globe. Recent Recordings: Gratefully Yours, Shadow Grove Records, coming summer 2020 Family Feeling, BCMD Records, 2019, featuring Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, and Dick Oatts Sunday, Blau Records, 2018, featuring Jerry Bergonzi www.brucebarthmusic.com