Duo Explorations in Jazz
This event is presented in collaboration with:
With this exciting duet project, Jason Palmer and Kevin Harris seek to explore the intimate art form of duo.
JASON PALMER – Trumpeter, composer, and educator Jason Palmer is one of the most in demand musicians of his generation. The recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, Palmer has performed with Roy Haynes, Herbie Hancock, Winton Marsalis, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ravi Coltrane, Jeff Ballard, Lee Konitz, Phil Woods, Common, Roy Hargrove to name a few. A regular performer at Wally’s Jazz Cafe for more than two decades, Palmer has established himself as an internationally renowned musician and a key figure in the New England jazz scene.
For this duo setting, Palmer has composed compositional contrafacts influenced by the music and ever evolving styles of Wayne Shorter, reflecting Shorter’s contribution to some of the major changes in jazz music for more than 50 years.
Palmer’s inventive and dauntless playing draw listeners in. He has recorded 13 albums as a leader and performed on more than 40 albums as a sideman. Four of his recordings were reviewed by Downbeat Magazine, all receiving four stars or better. Palmer has toured in more than 30 countries with saxophonists Mark Turner, Greg Osby, Grace Kelly and Matana Roberts.
Palmer currently serves as the assistant professor of ensembles and brass at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has also taught at Harvard, the New England Conservatory, and the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.
KEVIN HARRIS - A distinctive trait of internationally recognized jazz pianist Kevin Harris is his desire to constantly grow, evolve, improve, and advance.. His interest to interweave traditional and contemporary music styles, visual arts, electronic media, science, and language, is what distinguishes his music and what renders his performances unique experiences, meant to activate the audience’s senses and personal curiosity.
One of the captivating elements of his ensembles, from duet to orchestra setting, is the level of comfort and understanding they have with one another. Harris is known for his diving into soulfully expressive conversations and playful exchanges of ideas with his musicians, while always providing the space to improvise in the moment.
Harris is part of the exclusive YAMAHA’s roster of Jazz piano artists. Among his most notable collaborations are Terri Lyne Carrington, Dayna Stephens, Ralph Peterson, Ameen Saleem, Greg Hutchinson Greg Osby, Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Curtis Lundy, Caroline Davis, Bill Pierce, Francisco Mela, Avishai Cohen, Delfeayo Marsalis, Duane Eubanks, Richie Barshay, Ben Street, Jason Palmer, Rudy Royston, Frank Lacey, Eric McPherson.
