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Harris Eisenstadt's Canada Day $12 general, $8 members/students/seniors 
Harris Eisenstadt (drums)Nate Wooley (trumpet) Matt Bauder (tenor saxophone) Chris Dingman (vibraphone) Eivind Opsvik (bass) Canada Day is the eponymous debut of Brooklyn-based drummer/ composer Harris Eisenstadt's two year-old working quintet. This release, the Toronto native's eighth as a bandleader, documents his book of originals for the band, developed at gigs around New York and beyond. Built around the specific personalities of its members, trumpeter Nate Wooley, saxophonist Matt Bauder, vibraphonist Chris Dingman and bassist Eivind Opsvik, this group has been his primary focus as a bandleader since returning to New York in 2005. "Nate and Matt are known for their experimental sides," explains Eisenstadt, "yet both are lyrical players with totally personal sounds in more jazz/song form-oriented contexts. Chris, who I've worked with since my 2007 record, The All Seeing Eye + Octets (Poobah), brings harmonic sophistication and a skeletal, shimmering texture that only vibraphone can provide. Eivind is one of the premier young bassists working in New York and I felt instantly at home with his lyrical and rock solid approach. He thinks in song forms even when abstracting material, making him the perfect bass player for these compositions." Nominated for up and coming artist of the year for 2009 by the jazz journalists association, "Harris Eisenstadt is strong proof that jazz is still young and growing," (Greg Burk, L.A. Weekly). Critics have called him "a rising presence as a composer of note" (Troy Collins, allaboutjazz.com), "vital and increasingly influential" (Glenn Astarita, jazzreview.com) and "one of the most creative and skilled musician/composers incorporating traditional material to create new and vital improvised music" (Robert Iannapollo, allaboutjazz-new york). The Village Voice's Jim Macnie adds, "he's perpetually building new ensembles to suit the variety of music he hears in his head-that's what composers do. "One of only a handful of drummers equally well-known for his work as a composer, Eisenstadt is among the most versatile and prolific musicians of his generation. His eclectic resume includes studies with some of the most respected names in both improvised music and West African drumming, and performances in genres ranging from film and theater to poetry and dance to contemporary classical and opera. Most active in jazz and improvised music, as both an in-demand sideman and a bandleader, he has performed all over the globe, earned commissions from organizations such as Meet The Composer and the American Composers Forum, and appeared on more than 35 recordings over the past decade. His latest, Guewel (clean feed, 2008), was named one of the year's best in publications such as allaboutjazz.com, Time Out New York and the Village Voice. Learn more at www.harriseisenstadt.com |
