The John Marshall Jazz Quintet will fill Abingdon's June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street) with the sound of Jazz for a one-night-only concert on Sunday, August 17 at 7pm. Set to join trumpeter John Marshall are Grant Stewart on saxophone, Tardo Hammer on keyboard, David Wong on bass and Jimmy Wormworth on drums.
Having learned his craft, with help from Ornette Coleman and Lonnie Hillyer, trumpeter John Marshall went on to work with a succession of big bands led by Buddy Rich, Mel Lewis, Lionel Hampton, Al Porcino, Gerry Mulligan and Dizzy Gillespie. In the late eighties John and pianist Tardo Hammer co-led the Bopera House, a standard-setting quintet which also featured tenor saxophonist Ralph Lalama. Originally from New York, John moved to Europe in 1992 and became a member of the brass section and featured soloist with the West Deutscher Rundfunk Big Band, based in Cologne, Germany, he is one of the brightest contemporary hard bop trumpet voices. John Marshall leads his own quintets in Europe and has put out seven CDs as a leader since 1992, and many more as a sideman. He now returns to New York in August to appear at Abingdon Theatre Company with an amazing assembled group of jazz musicians. For more information about John Marshall, visit
www.marshallbop.com.
Tenor Saxophonist Grant Stewart grew up in Toronto, Canada, where at the age of 19 he moved to NY and has been unstoppable ever since. His big sound is deeply rooted in Don Byas, Dexter Gordon, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and of course, Charlie Parker. Many senior masters of the music have expressed deep respect and admiration for the depth and maturity of his style. His many albums for Sharp Nine and other labels have won wide acclaim. His latest quartet album,Live At Smalls, for the Smalls Live label won the prize in the jazzcategory of the German Record Critics Association in 2013. Grant Stewart and John Marshall have been a team since 2004, recording four albums together, and touring in Europe five times.
Pianist Tardo Hammer, with whom John Marshall played and recorded with since the mid-eighties, belongs to the top circle of bepop piano masters. He developed his craft with Junior Cook, Bill Hardman, Charlie Rouse and Art Farmer among others. His trio CDs for the Sharp Nine label have all been highly praised. These days he can be heard regularly in town with his own trio, as well as with jazz legend Annie Ross and the group of Charles Davis.
http://home.earthlink.net/~tardo
Jimmy Wormworth, 75 years young, has played with Kenny Dorham, John Coltrane, Booker Litter and the unforgettable Lambert, Hendricks and Ross group. Jimmy is a precious piece of jazz history, almost without equal in pure bebop drumming. He is also a collaborator of John Marhsall's for many years. Today, with Tardo Hammer, he can be heard with Annie Ross, Charles Davis and Tardo's trio.
David Wong, the youngster of the group, is the bassist with The Heath Brothers, The
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra,
Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band, and anyone else who is lucky enough to engage this much-in-demand virtuoso. He graduated from Juilliard as a classical bassist and then has proceeded to take the jazz world by storm.
All proceeds will go to benefit the not-for-profit Abingdon Theatre Company.
