The Charlie Parker Festival featuring Jimmy Scott, Vijay Iyer, The Cookers and Catherine Russell

The distinct soulful and romantic voice of Jimmy Scott continues to charm audiences even at the age of 84. A regular on the jazz scene in the 1950’s and 60’s, Jimmy’s career came roaring back in the early 90’s and has continued to flourish ever since. His natural style, phrasing and knack for bending notes have earned him a long list of admirers including the who’s who of fellow jazz greats. Jimmy Scott is presented in association with Jill Newman Productions.

Primarily self-taught, jazz pianist and composer Vijay Iyer is considered daringly original for creating jazz that is simultaneously improvisational, choreographed and grounded in groove and pulse. His cutting-edge music is powerful, compelling and has earned him numerous accolades in the jazz world. With critically acclaimed releases such as Panoptic Modes, Blood Sutra and Historicity, The New Yorker has given Iyer the title of, "one of today's most important pianists...extravagantly gifted,"

One of the highlights of late1950s and early 1960s was the development of "hard bop", a driving first-born descendent of the bebop era. The Cookers is comprised of many of the musicians who contributed to the development of this sound and to pushing the music forward from there. The band features Billy Harper on tenor sax, Eddie Henderson and David Weiss on trumpet, Craig Handy on alto sax, George Cables on piano, Cecil McBee on Bass and Billy Hart on drums. While giants in their own right, the members of this ensemble have performed and/or recorded with pretty much every jazz great of the past 40 years including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Herbie Hancock, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, and Dexter Gordon, to name just a few. Combined they have appeared on over 1,000 recordings including many of the groundbreaking and most important recordings in the history of this music.

The sultry, bluesy vocals of native New Yorker Catherine Russell is making jazz fans everywhere sit up and take notice. Her unique sound is a throw-back to the female blues and jazz stars of the 1950’s and ‘60’s. With a sound that is at once powerful and touchingly vulnerable, her rich alto voice transports the listener to another time and prompts listeners to tap their feet and nod along to the music.