INNOVATION APPRECIATION
Saratoga Springs jazz show to honor music of Ornette Coleman
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Jazz at the Spring, presented by Capital District Jazz, is celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month with a Thursday night concert featuring Chris Pasin and Ornettiquette.
The band was formed by trumpeter Chris Pasin to honor the music of Ornette Coleman, one of the most powerful and creative innovators in the history of jazz.
During his career Coleman, who in 2007 won the Pulitzer Prize for his album “Sound Grammar,” overturned the structure of be-bop, a style of jazz which uses the architecture of an underlying tune from the American Songbook as the structure for wide ranging improvised solos. Coleman’s idea was to explore melody and do away with the idea of a fixed series of chords. He didn’t do away with harmony, but rather created melodies with harmonic implications as the platform for improvisation. Coleman broke through style and structure to seek sound.
Pasin recalls his introduction to the music of Coleman, “I became acquainted with the music of Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, and Albert Ayler as a teenager, and played along with their records. A little later I transcribed “Ghosts,” and started playing it with people, but it was not until recently that the idea of a band playing the music inspired by these heroes occurred to me, thus engendering ‘Ornettiquette,’” he said in a press release.
The upcoming local show, part of the Jazz at the Spring series, will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Spring Street Gallery, located at 110 Spring St. in Saratoga Springs.
Pasin - trumpeter, composer, and band leader - studied at The New England Conservatory. His brilliant trumpet sound has filled Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater, Royal Albert Hall, the Village Vanguard, Ronnie Scott’s, and the Blue Note; he has traveled with Buddy Rich and performed with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson, Ray Charles, Toshiko, Brother Jack McDuff, and many others. He plays with musical artists of all genres, in groups large and small; is a leader himself, and has produced and recorded several CDs featuring his own creative compositions.
Joining Pasin this Thursday are some of the region’s accomplished jazz artists, Adam Siegel on alto sax, Michael Bisio on bass, and Harvey Sorgen on drums.
Jazz at the Spring is held the last Thursday of each month at the Spring Street Gallery and is sponsored by Capital District Jazz, a not-for-profit organization formed by practitioners and fans who love jazz music.
CDJ’s mission is to build and serve a wider audience for jazz through education; to create performance opportunities for jazz musicians; and to develop venues for these pursuits. American in origin, jazz reaches and draws from millions of performers and listeners around the globe who are inspired by its rich history, excited by its technical complexity, and moved by its emotional depth. The members of CDJ want to share their love of jazz with current and potential performers and enthusiasts throughout the Capital District.
CDJ is offering a number of free tickets for youth age 17 and younger. Anyone interested in obtaining a free ticket can inquire via email at info@cdjazz.org.
General admission tickets are available for $15 each in advance online at brown paper tickets: https://www. brownpapertickets.com/ event/3353792. Tickets will cost $20 at the door.