Andy Middleton Quartett
Mi, 6.5.2009, 20h30:
Andy Middleton Quartett
hard swinging and harmonic colours
>>> Online-Ticketing
Andy Middleton - tenor/soprano saxophone
Jeanfrançois Prins - guitar
Paul Imm - bass
Klemens Marktl - drums
We play our original compositions in a modern acoustic style - lyrical melodies, interesting mix of meters and rhythmic feels drawing from the tradition of jazz with many influences from world music and European jazz. Hard-swinging rhythm section reminiscent of the Miles Davis Quintet in the 1960's with harmonic colors that create a landscape for the listener - not just ordinary standards and bebop tunes! Paul Imm
Date & Place of Birth: March 29, 1956; Lancaster, PA USA
Educational and Musical Background:
Started playing double bass at age 17; Studied 1974-76 and 1977-80 at Indiana University(IU), Bloomington, IN; private bass studies 1976-77 in Hamburg w/ Helmut Rick; workshops with Homer Mensch; Academic degrees: 1978, BA in German, IU; 1980, MAT in German, IU
Professional experience:
1980-90 - concerts in USA with Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Charlie Rouse, Randy Brecker, Johnny Coles, Eddie Harris, and Jim Beard among others.
1990-present - performances and/or recordings in Europe, India, Japan and the USA with Lee Konitz, Yusef Lateef, Tom Harrell, Kenny Werner, Benny Bailey, Kirk Lightsey, Steve Lacy, Harry Edison, Jeff Hamilton, Laurent de Wilde, Paolo Fresu, Jim Pepper and many, many more
Festival appearances:
JVC Festivals (Paris & New York City), Drum Festival (Amsterdam), Vienne (France), Marciac (France), Toulouse (France), Boulogne-Billancourt (Paris), Burghausen (Germany), Montreal (Canada), Harrisburg (USA), Moers (Germany), Tours (France), Toulon (France), Clermont Ferrand (France), Nancy (France), Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France) and others.
Jeanfrançois Prins – guitar
http://www.jfprins.com/
“ A real voice on the guitar with a warmth that’s all his own”
Joe Lovano
“
...there can be no doubt that this truly creative and musical young man will continue to be heard from. But don’t wait for his next record - catch him live!”
Dan Morgenstern
Belgian Jazz guitarist Jeanfrançois Prins was born in Brussels on February 18th, 1967. In 1991 he was awarded the First Prize for Instrumental Performance at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Bruxelles, as well as the "Golden Sax", awarded by both the French- and Dutch- speaking Jazz journalists in Belgium.
As a guitarist, Jeanfrançois Prins has performed as a leader and/or as a sideman with Toots Thielemans, Lee Konitz, Judy Niemack, Kenny Wheeler, Bud Shank, Lew Tabackin, Gary Foster, Gary Bartz, Steve Houben, Tim Hagans, Till Brönner, Jim Mc Neely, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Walter Norris, Kirk Lightsey, Mal Waldron, Bruce Barth, Alban Gerhardt, Mike Richmond, Eddie Gomez, Jay Anderson, Scott Colley, Rufus Reid, Ricardo del Fra, David Friedman, Jiggs Whigham, Bruno Castellucci, Steve Davis, Adam Nussbaum, Joe La Barbera, Jerry Granelli, Billy Hart, John Betsch, Al "Tootie" Heath, Joe La Barbera, CaféQuincy Jones, Peter Herbolzheimer, Jay Clayton, Darmon Meader, Theo Bleckmann... in Europe (Belgium, Basque Country, Catalunya, Corsica, Estonia, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, Ukraine, ...) and in the U.S. (New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Stanford,...)
Jeanfrançois Prins has recorded five CDs as a leader. The fourth one, "All Around Town" (TCB 99402), was conceived as his own musical photo album of New York City. He recorded it in trio with bassist Mike Richmond and drummer Adam Nussbaum, plus saxophonist Lee Konitz as a guest. His latest release "Light" (GAM 918), is co-led by drummer Steve Davis, in trio with bassist Larry Kohut. "Light" is a good example of their concepts for organic and interactive trio playing with standards as well as modern Jazz compositions.
He is also featured as a soloist and accompanist on a large number of recordings.
ANDY MIDDLETON
Saxophonist, Composer, Educator, Author
Telephone: 0043.1.913.7565; Mobil: 0043.676.715.2077
Andy.middleton @ chello.at
www.andymiddleton.com
www.myspace.com/andymiddletonjazz
Award-winning saxophonist, composer and bandleader ANDY MIDDLETON has been garnering attention for years for his imaginative, sincere, lyrical and adventurous solos. His compositions, arranged for ensembles as varied as 2 saxophones with bass and drums to full big band, weave lyrical melodies, richly detailed harmonic contours, imaginative and forcefully flowing rhythm section writing, fresh approaches to counterpoint and finely textured orchestrations to create emotionally compelling, rhythmically vital jazz.
Saxophone Journal writes that Middleton “is a wonderful, ingenious, melodic musician”;
while Jazz’n More of Switzerland has noted that “Each single tone comes from his heart”. In recognition of his compositional achievements Jazz Times has written that “Middleton ...
writes in a broadly euphonious harmonic language, with a natural tunefulness that engages the ear with exotic airs”, Minor7th.com asserts that “Middleton’s compositional skill is on par with Ralph Towner,” and JAZZ Magazine of France declares that Middleton is “a first class composer/arranger.” Time Out New York has written that he is “an ace saxophonist, a generously skilled arranger and a socially dedicated artist”, while the New York Times hails Middleton as “an accomplished composer as well as a smart post-bop tenor saxophonist.”
As a leader he has had the great pleasure to record with jazz greats Dave Holland and Ralph Towner (Nomad’s Notebook, Intuition Music and Media), Renee Rosnes (Terra Infirma, Owl/EMI France), Joey Calderazzo (Acid Rain, Owl/EMI France), and with Kenny Wheeler, Reinventing the World (Intuition Music and Media), a lament to the world’s threatened environment which firmly establishes Middleton as a musician of extraordinary sensitivity, ability and talent, both as a composer and a performer. He has also worked
extensively as a sideman with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker and Maria Schneider, among many others.
He has toured Europe widely since the early 1990’s, performing at many of the major jazz festivals and in clubs and concert halls in almost every European country. Andy’s book, Melodic Improvising (Advance Music, 2005) is a guide/play-along CD that offers many effective approaches to developing a strong sense of melodic invention.
As of September 2006 Andy resettled in Vienna, Austria to teach Composition, Arranging and Jazz Theory at the Konservatorium Wien, the most prominent music school in Austria. Middleton is a highly regarded jazz clinician, presenting workshops and performing as a guest artist and conductor throughout the United States and Europe. He is artistic director of the Poysdorf Jazz and Wine Summer jazz workshop in Austria, and maintains an active roster of students in his private studio practice.
Middleton was awarded a highly prestigious composition grant from Chamber Music America’s New Works: Creation and Presentation Program in 2004, a National Endowment for the Arts Performance Grant in 1996, and grants from the Fund for US Artists at International Festivals in 1992, 1993, and 2003.
In the words of master saxophonist, composer and educator David Liebman: “Andy Middleton represents the best of a new generation of jazz musicians.”
“Here is improvising and writing in its best form - really pretty amazing!”
MICHAEL BRECKER
“There is one soloist who truly stands apart from the rest of the crowd, and that is Andy Middleton”
Saxophone Journal, USA
“Ein Musician’s Musician, wie er im Buche steht. Andy Middleton kann es in puncto Expressivität und Emotionalität auf dem Sopransaxofon locker mit der Branchengröße Dave Liebman aufnehmen, und dennoch kennt ihn keiner. Dem US-Amerikaner mit Wohnsitz Wien und prächtigen Referenzen von Lionel Hampton bis Maria Schneider gelingen auch auf dem Tenorsax lange, intensive Melodien und spannende Improvisationsgeflechte, die ihn in der nternationalen Saxofon-Garde ganz nach oben rücken. Große Musik.”
Jazzthing, Germany
“Andy Middleton affirms himself not only as a saxophone player but as a first class
composer/arranger.”
JAZZ Magazine, France
Four Stars. Andy Middleton is a modern jazz saxophonist who has warm and fairly original tones on tenor and soprano. Although the music may be relaxed, plenty of sparks fly from Middleton's tenor (which sometimes hints a little at Joe Lovano or Michael Brecker) and his fluent soprano. With bassist Paul Imm and drummer Alan Jones offering stimulating support, this is an enjoyable and accessible set of modern jazz by musicians who deserve to be much better known in the U.S. ****
Scott Yanow
Allmusic.com, April 2008
Three and a half stars (out of four) The European Quartet Live is an excellent album. The simplicity of that statement matches the music on the recording. What makes all of the numbers stand out is the wonderful work of Middleton, who is virtuosic in his tone, speed and concepts. His standmates are nearly as good, but he is the real star.
BOB KARLOVITS
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 10, 2008
The European Quartet Live CD impresses with all of the qualities that Andy Middleton showed us for a long time and that brought him praise from the very well-known colleagues with whom he often has been seen. Everything is very precise and intense, with the leader who knows how to move on the rhythm, taking solos that demonstrate the absolute mastery of his saxophones, in emotional and technical terms. Every note hits the mark, but also reveals the notable feature of leadership, that nothing is done halfway. The CD frees up an uncommon heat or warmth that makes it inviting to the listener.
Vittorio Lo Conte
http://italia.allaboutjazz.com, October 30, 2008
(C) 2008 - Alle Rechte vorbehalten