The Creative Music Series proudly presents
Andrew Lamb (aka The Black Lamb), multi saxophones, flute, woodwinds,
Joe Fonda, bass
Luther Gray, drums
Spotlighting Two renowned and creative masters From NewYork’s downtown scene, plus a leading Boston virtuoso.
For an evening of new and innovative music on our stage, and to share their (musical) beauty with all walks of life.
Treat yourself to a rare NY + Boston combination (for our age)!
Like John Coltrane and his progeny, Lamb's vehicle is the psalm-like expression of his tenor saxophone
Steven Loewy of Allmusic writes that Andrew Lamb is "a serious musician seeking to uplift his soul through art, and, the results reflect his quest, testifying to his musical abilities, enormous potential, and depth of character."[1]
“I sincerely believe that the arts and music in particular are essential to the
healing and balance of humanity and the universe at large”. My
compositions are organic, not based on refurbished ideas or concepts, but
on moments that I have seen, felt, embraced, and risen beyond”.
andrewlambtrio.bandcamp.com
Joe Fonda is a powerful, technically felicitous bassist whose presence on the American jazz scene continues to grow. He's one of those people who speaks of jazz as "the music"…
Like his sometime employer Anthony Braxton, he's excited about the whole of jazz, and…the music his quartet plays on Live At The Bunker can be angular and freewheeling. Intern’l improvised music archive
Joe was an original member of the influencial 5tet known the NU Band featuring the late great trumpeter Roy Campbell and alto Mark Whitecage. Look for Joe to lead a revised NU Band in ’25!
“It’s not unusual for jazz musicians of (Luther) Gray’s generation to pull music from the rock and pop world into their universe. But Gray is especially adept at drawing from multiple influences in a single gig and making it part of a unified whole.” — Jon Garelick, The Boston Globe
Jazz drummers, in general, are philosophers when contrasted with the dumb jock model often attributed to boomer era fossil rock. Mr. Gray is a thinking drummer with an expansive kindliness about him that shifts to striking capacities of concentration when he engages his kit.
Luther also has water cascades, whitewater rapids and quiet frog splashes in vernal pools worked into the repertoire. Faucet splashes from urban sinks, a slow dripping leak and a morning shower are in there too as well as the various rounds of waves at oceanic edges...flow.
Bios:
Andrew Lamb (born August 26, 1958, Clinton, North Carolina) is a jazz saxophonist and flautist. Lamb was raised in Chicago and South Jamaica, Queens. Having studied with AACM charter member Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Lamb came into New York City's avant-garde community during the 1970s, becoming an active presence in the Bedford-Stuyvesant arts world.
In 1994, he led a session for Delmark, composing all the pieces on Portrait in the Mist, which featured vibraphonist Warren Smith, bassist Wilber Morris, and drummer Andrei Strobert. Lamb has since recorded duets with Warren Smith (Duet, WISland, 1999, and Dance of the Prophet), made a trio recording with Eugene Cooper and Andrei Strobert (Kiki Records), and in 2003 released Pilgrimage on CIMP with Tom Abbs and Andrei Strobert, as well as a later release with his group The Moving Form, Year of the Endless Moment (Engine Studios). Lamb has also recorded with Henry Grimes’s Sublime Communication trio Live from WKCR (2004) and Live at Edgefest in Ann Arbor (2005), both on the JazzNewYork Productions label.
Joe Fonda is a composer, bassist, recording artist, interdisciplinary performer, producer and educator.
An accomplished international Jazz artist, Fonda has performed with his own ensembles throughout the United States ,Canada , Europe and Asia. He has collaborated and performed with such artists as Anthony Braxton ,Archie Shepp, Ken McIntyre, Lou Donaldson, Bill and Kenny Barron, Leo Smith, Perry Robinson, Dave Douglas, Curtis Fuller, Bill Dixon, Han Bennink, Bobby Naughton, Xu Fengia, Randy Weston, Gebhard Ullmann, Carla Bley, Carlo Zingaro, Barry Altschul, Billy Bang.
Fonda was the bassist with the renowned Anthony Braxton sextet, octet, tentet, from 1984 through 1999.
As a composer, Fonda has been the recipient of numerous grants and commissions From Meet the Composer New York and the New England Foundation on the Arts . He has released twelve recordings under his own name.
The producer and musicial director for the Connecticut Composers and improvisors Festival from 2001 to 2011.
Drummer Luther Gray, though largely self-taught, his musical training involved drum lessons from Kim Martin, Larry Bright, Steve Bagby, and Mickey Newman.
In 1995 he graduated the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Music, after which he taught privately and performed in the Washington , D.C. area with, among others, Butch Warren, Cecil Payne, Webster Young, Tsunami, Liquorice, Peter Edelman, Jenny Toomey, Bob Butta, and Buck Hill.
Since moving to Boston he has resumed teaching private drum lessons and has played with Joe Morris, Jay Hoggard, Joe McPhee, Timo Shanko, Cameron Brown, Allan Chase, Joseph Daley, Sabir Mateen, Roy Campbell, Ida, Geoff Farina, Andrew White, Rob Brown, Bill Lowe, Greg Abate, Raqib Hassan, Bill Pierce, Mitch Seidman, Steve Swell, Joe Beck, Fred Anderson, Ken Vandermark and many others.
In addition to his performing schedule Luther teaches art and music at an after-school program for elementary school children.
Contact: Alex Lemski, 617/800-7255, alexlemski@gmail.com