Dave Burrell & Steve Swell duo:

Distinguished composer-pianist Dave Burrell is an African-American performing artist of singular stature on the international contemporary music scene.

Standing out as a leading figure of the New York avant-garde scene in the second half of the '60s, Burrell quickly established himself as one of the most innovative pianists, collaborating with the emerging leaders in contemporary jazz and joining the groups of Marion Brown, Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp. He has played and recorded, among others, with Giuseppi Logan, Sunny Murray, Albert Ayler, Grahan Moncur III, Byard Lancaster, Sirone, Alan Silva, Clifford Thornton, Roscoe Mitchell. His dynamic compositions with blues and gospel roots recall the tradition of Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson and Duke Ellington, as well as avant garde composers Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane." Dave Burrell is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including National Endowment for the Arts, Vision Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, Philadelphia Music Foundation, William J. Cooper Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Pennsylvania State Council on The Arts, MidAtlantic Foundation, John Garcia Gensel Award, and the Pew Fellowship in Jazz Composition.

Born in Newark, NJ, Steve Swell has been an active member of the NYC music community since 1975. His breadth of versatility has allowed him to tour and record with such mainstream artists as Lionel Hampton and Buddy Rich in the past, as well as more contemporary artists like Anthony Braxton, Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor and William Parker. He has over 50 CDs as a leader or co-leader and is a featured artists on more than 125 other releases. He runs workshops around the world and is a teaching artist in the NYC public school system focusing on special needs children. Swell has worked on music transcriptions of the Bosavi tribe of New Guinea for MacArthur fellow, Steve Feld in 2000. Steve is presently a teaching artist through the American Composers Orchestra, Healing Arts Initiative , Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center (Bronx), the Jazz Foundation of America, Leman Manhattan Preparatory School and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.

accessibility: street level entrance to venue but two steps to restroom.

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