GERALD CLEAVER

drums

Gerald Cleaver is one of the New York jazz scene’s leading drummer/composers, who covers a wide range of stylistic ground. Having played with jazz masters Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris and Ray Bryant as well as the leading lights of the AACM, Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams, Wadada Leo Smith and Henry Threadgill, he is a product of many traditions within creative music.

Cleaver is best known for his associations with Roscoe Mitchell, Charles Gayle, Miroslav Vitous, Mario Pavone, William Parker, Michael Formanek, Joe Morris, Jeremy Pelt, Craig Taborn and Yaron Herman. He is also the leader of the bands Uncle June (a reflection on the personal and familial challenges of Black Americans during The Great Migration featuring TonyMalaby, Andrew Bishop, Mat Maneri, Craig Taborn and Drew Gress), Violet Hour (a tribute to Detroit featuring Jeremy Pelt, JD Allen, Andrew Bishop, Ben Waltzer and Chris Lightcap) and Farmers By Nature (a free-improvising collective co-led with bassist William Parker and pianist Craig Taborn).

Born 1963 and raised in Detroit, Cleaver is a product of the city’s rich music tradition. Inspired by his father, drummer John Cleaver, Jr. (whom Uncle June is named after), he began playing the drums at an early age. He later played violin in grade school and trumpet in junior high & high school. As a teenager he gained invaluable experience playing with Detroit jazz masters Ali Muhammad Jackson, Lamont Hamilton, Earl Van Riper, and Pancho Hagood. While attending the University of Michigan as a music education major he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Study Grant, to study with drummer Victor Lewis. He graduated in 1992 and began teaching in Detroit where he worked with Rodney Whitaker, Marcus Belgrave, Donald Walden, and with visiting musicians Hank Jones, Kenny Burrell, Frank Foster, Cecil Bridgewater, Eddie Harris, Howard Johnson, Diana Krall and Don Byron.

In 1995 he accepted an appointment as assistant professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Michigan, and in 1998 also joined the jazz faculty at Michigan State University. He moved to New York in 2002 and has since focused exclusively on playing.  Cleaver has played and recorded with a cornucopia of artists including Franck Amsallem, Tim Ries, Lotte Anker, Reggie Workman, Marilyn Crispell, Matt Shipp, Kevin Mahogany, Ralph Alessi, Jacky Terrasson, Jimmy Scott, Muhal Richard Abrams, Dave Douglas, Roy Nathanson, Tim Berne, Jeremy Pelt, Ellery Eskelin, Charles McPherson, David Torn, Terje Rypdal and Lou Reed.

His 2001 recording Adjust (Fresh Sound New Talent) was nominated in the Best Debut Recording category by the Jazz Journalists Association. Gerald Cleaver's Detroit (Fresh Sound New Talent), is an homage to his hometown and to the late, great Detroit drummers Roy Brooks, Lawrence Williams, George Goldsmith and Richard "Pistol" Allen.  His latest recording with Uncle June, Be It As I See It (Fresh Sound New Talent) represents Cleaver’s most personal statement with regard to his familial past and his experience as an Black American.

SIMON NABATOV

piano

His musical education began at the age of 3, his father, himself a musician, being the first teacher. The Central School of Music and Moscow Conservatory were the next steps. After the whole family emigrated and settled in New York in 1979, Nabatov continued his studies at the Juilliard School Of Music. By that time his interest and involvement in jazz and improvised music grew strong enough to make them his main activity.

Since then he performed and recorded with many fine musicians such as Paul Motian, Tony Scott, Sonny Fortune, Kenny Wheeler, Alan Skidmore, Herb Robertson, Louis Sclavis, Charles McPhearson, Billy Hart, David Murray, Paul Horn, Ricki Ford, Marty Ehrlich, Mark Dresser, Jim Snidero, Herb Geller, Dave Pike, Attila Zoller, Matthias Schubert, Barry Altschul, Vladimir Tarasov, John Betsch, Ed Schuller, Arto Tuncboyaci, Adam Nussbaum, Jay Clayton, Ron McClure, Mark Feldman, Drew Gress, Phil Minton, Michael Moore, Han Bennink, Misha Mengelberg, Wolter Wierbos and many others.

He enjoyed continuous work with Ray Anderson Quartet, Arthur Blythe Quartet, NDR Big Band (Hamburg,Germany), Steve Lacy - Simon Nabatov Duo, Perry Robinson Quartet, Nils Wogram Quartet, Nils Wogram - Simon Nabatov Duo, Matthias Schubert Quartet, Matthias Schubert - Simon Nabatov Duo, Klaus König Orchestra.

His own projects and activities include solo recitals, trio with the bassist Mark Helias and the drummer Tom Rainey (both based in New York), quartet "Nature Morte" with the British vocalist Phil Minton, multi reed-player Frank Gratkowski and trombonist Nils Wogram (both from Germany), quintet including his trio plus the violinist Mark Feldman and the trumpet player Herb Robertson ( both residing in New York).

The most recent addition to the list is the formed in 2003 trio Nabatov - Reijseger - Vatcher. The current edition of it includes the Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger and the American drummer Michael Sarin.

As the co-leader Nabatov plays duos with Nils Wogram, Tom Rainey, Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger, German tenor sax player Matthias Schubert , Dutch drummer Han Bennink and with the Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg.

Simon Nabatov performed and recorded numerous pieces of chamber music, some of them written specially for him: "Piano Concerto "Baba" by the American pianist/composer Kenny Werner, "Sonata for violin and piano" by the Irish bassist/composer Ronan Guilfoyle,"Trumpet Sonata", "Cello Sonata", "Trio for flute,cello and piano" by the Swiss reed-player/composer Daniel Schnyder. He also performed and recorded some of the more known "crossover" works, such as "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin (NDR Symphony Orchestra Hannover,1998) or "Concerto for Jazz Ensemble and Orchestra" by Rolf Liebermann (NDR Symphony Orchestra and Big Band, Hamburg,1996).

Nabatov was among the winners of the 3rd "International Great Jazz Pianist Competition" in Jacksonville, USA (2nd prize) in 1985 and of the "Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition" in Paris, France (3rd prize) in 1989. In 1987 he was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Simon Nabatov made numerous radio productions for most major European broadcasting companies: WDR, NDR, HR, BR, SFR, Radio France, Radio Zürich, Radio Ireland etc.

A more recent and by far the largest radio production project (co - sponsored by WDR and Bayer AG) saw him write and record over 6 hours of music for solo piano, duo (with the American reed player Michael Moore), his trio, the quartet "Nature Morte" and the quintet. Beginning of 2000 the Swiss label HatHut Records brought out the first recording - the trio release "Sneak Preview". The next three recordings, quartet "Nature Morte", quintet "The Master and Margarita" and solo "Perpetuum Immobile" have been released by Leo Records . Two more CD´s - " Chat Room" ( duo with Han Bennink ) and "Autumn Music" ( trio with Ernst Reijseger and Michael Vatcher ) were brought out by this independent English label.

The most recent project produced by WDR was a 90 - minute piece " A Few Incidents" based on the texts of Russian writer Daniil Charms. The octet included Phil Minton, Frank Gratkowski, Nils Wogram, Ernst Reijseger, Cor Fuhler, Matt Penman, Michael Sarin and Simon Nabatov.

Simon Nabatov has taught at the Folkwang Hochschule, Essen (1989-1991) and at the International Jazz and Rock Academy, Remscheid (1991-1993), both in Germany. From 1998 to 2001 he taught at the Musikhochschule Luzern, Switzerland.

Since 1989 he resides predominantly in Cologne, Germany, but keeps an apartment and a part of his heart in New York.

pascal niggenkemper

double bass

   German-french bassist PASCAL NIGGENKEMPER is active in the creative music scene in the US and Europe.

In 1999 he moved to Cologne where he studied jazz and classical double bass at the Hochschule für Musik. He coleaded the audio visual dance project Turbo Pascale. This formation toured Germany, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and France, as well as appeared at Festivals such as the Moers Festival, Jazzmesse “Jazzahead Bremen“ and the "WDR Jazznight" with live radio broadcast on WDR Radio.

In 2005 Pascal Niggenkemper was granted the DAAD Award and moved to New York. 

It is in NY that Pascal met Tyshawn Sorey and Robin Verheyen and formed the PNTrio. The trio recorded the CD "pasàpas" (Konnex 2008) and “urban creatures” (JazzHausMusik 2010). PNTrio toured extensively in Europe (Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France and Austria) They performed at the Jazzcologne Festival and the Jazzherbst Konstanz. Their performances were recorded for the WDR and the BR Radio. In June 2010 the Trio performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

With guitar player Scott DuBois and drummer Jeff Davis, Pascal formed the group pascal’s newfield. The group toured in 2009 in Europe. 

In cooperation with Jazzdor Strasbourg-Berlin, Pascal formed this year the french-german septet vision7 that performed at Jazzdor Strasbourg-Berlin and Vive le Jazz in Cologne and Jazz à la Cité in Paris among others.

With Simon Nabatov and Gerald Cleaver, Pascal released in September 2011 the CD/LP upcoming hurricane on NoBusiness Records which is listed among 'ALBUMS OF THE YEAR' 2011 in the 'The New York City Jazz Record'.

Pascal is also co-leading the groups baloni (CD ‘fremdenzimmer’ Clean Feed Nov 2011) a duo for two prepared basses with Sean Ali called PascAli (CD ‘suspicious activity’ creative sources September 2012) and speaking tube with Emilie Lesbros and Frantz Loriot.

With friends, he curates in NY the house concert series ze couch, where every month artists meet to present their work.

He is a member of Thomas Heberer’s Clarino (CD ‘klippe’ Clean Feed Sept 2011 & ‘cookbook’ red toucan 2012), Gerald Cleaver’s Black Host, Joe Hertenstein’s HNH (HNH on clean feed 2010) and polylemma (CD polylemma on red toucan 2011), Joe Morris abstract forest, Carlo Costa’s Minerva (CD ‘saturnismo’ between the lines 2011), Joachim Badenhorst’s Carate Urio Orchestra Jean Carla Rodea’s Azares, Alan Bjorklund’s Amygdala (CD ‘History Lesson’ 577records) and Jean-Brice Godet’s Mujô.

Festival presence includes: Vision Festival New York, Umbrella Festival Chicago, Strade del Cinema Aosta, Jazzcologne, Jazz à la Cité in Paris,  NewAdits Klagenfurt, Font New York, Vive le Jazz Cologne, Jazzdor Strasbourg-Berlin etc...