Michael Wolff Calls Knickerbocker 'Home' for February & March; NYU Master Class Confirmed as Well
Wolff Experimenting With New Style of Improvisation, with Bigger Arpeggios, “A Saxophone Approach to Piano"
Acclaimed jazz pianist Michael Wolff follows his triumphant appearance at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (a performance that will soon be broadcast on NPR,) with a return to his hometown of New York City and a multi-show stand at his beloved Knickerbocker club in lower Manhattan. Wolff has a great affinity for the room, which he describes as the “only venerable restaurant/jazz joint left in NYC." See his warm and detailed recollection of the Knickerbocker, below.
Prior to the kick-off of shows at Knickerbocker, Wolff and his trio will conduct a Master Class at NYU, for their jazz department, February 24th at 2pm. On January 29th, Wolff is stepping in to teach two Ensemble classes at NYU as well.
Here is a breakdown of the Knickerbocker dates/musicians:
Feb 26 and 27: Wolff with Victor Lewis, drums and Chip Jackson, bass
March 5, 6: Wolff with Victor Lewis, drums and Ugonna Okegwo, bass
March 12, 13: Wolff with Mike Clark, drums and Chip Jackson, bass
March 19, 20: Wolff with Mike Clark, drums and Rich Goods, bass
Knickerbocker Bar & Grill - 33 University Place, NYC - 212-228-8490
http://www.knickerbockerbarandgrill.com/music.html
Wolff will play multiple sets each night, delivering a mix from his catalogue of CDs, from 'Joe's Strut' to 'Impure Thoughts' to 'Dangerous Vision' to 'Jazz Jazz Jazz', as well as some new music and jazz favorites (likely some Monk, and Wes Montgomery). Wolff's live shows have become known for their unpredictability, humor and high-octane punch. In fact, in a live review of a Wolff concert this summer, The San Jose Mercury News raved, “all of the music felt very full and passionately alive."
Wolff is also expected to introduce a new approach to playing he's taken in recent months: “I discovered a new way of improvising on chords that is actually very simple, but sounds very fresh to me, and, incorporated with my other tools, is exciting to me. I was practicing on one of my older songs, Little M, from my Jumpstart CD, and just outlining the chords and arpeggiating them, and I found a really great way to connect them together and stagger them rhythmically. I don't hear pianists do this much, and it helps to break me away from playing scales, which feel over used, at least by me. So, I'm having fun playing with this new improvisational material, which is not harmonically dissonant, but seems unique. I don't think it's anything earthshaking in and of itself, except as it applies to piano. It's more of a saxophone approach to piano, which is bigger arpeggios. I'm also combining that with something I discovered and clarified about my own playing and approach when I gave a short lecture/demonstration on Jazz and Tourette's syndrome last fall at a Lincoln Center conference on music and the brain. It was how I use my physical impulsiveness in my playing, putting a certain energy into the musical ideas. It's abstract, but demonstrable."
Wolff Experimenting With New Style of Improvisation, with Bigger Arpeggios, “A Saxophone Approach to Piano"
Acclaimed jazz pianist Michael Wolff follows his triumphant appearance at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (a performance that will soon be broadcast on NPR,) with a return to his hometown of New York City and a multi-show stand at his beloved Knickerbocker club in lower Manhattan. Wolff has a great affinity for the room, which he describes as the “only venerable restaurant/jazz joint left in NYC." See his warm and detailed recollection of the Knickerbocker, below.
Prior to the kick-off of shows at Knickerbocker, Wolff and his trio will conduct a Master Class at NYU, for their jazz department, February 24th at 2pm. On January 29th, Wolff is stepping in to teach two Ensemble classes at NYU as well.
Here is a breakdown of the Knickerbocker dates/musicians:
Feb 26 and 27: Wolff with Victor Lewis, drums and Chip Jackson, bass
March 5, 6: Wolff with Victor Lewis, drums and Ugonna Okegwo, bass
March 12, 13: Wolff with Mike Clark, drums and Chip Jackson, bass
March 19, 20: Wolff with Mike Clark, drums and Rich Goods, bass
Knickerbocker Bar & Grill - 33 University Place, NYC - 212-228-8490
http://www.knickerbockerbarandgrill.com/music.html
Wolff will play multiple sets each night, delivering a mix from his catalogue of CDs, from 'Joe's Strut' to 'Impure Thoughts' to 'Dangerous Vision' to 'Jazz Jazz Jazz', as well as some new music and jazz favorites (likely some Monk, and Wes Montgomery). Wolff's live shows have become known for their unpredictability, humor and high-octane punch. In fact, in a live review of a Wolff concert this summer, The San Jose Mercury News raved, “all of the music felt very full and passionately alive."
Wolff is also expected to introduce a new approach to playing he's taken in recent months: “I discovered a new way of improvising on chords that is actually very simple, but sounds very fresh to me, and, incorporated with my other tools, is exciting to me. I was practicing on one of my older songs, Little M, from my Jumpstart CD, and just outlining the chords and arpeggiating them, and I found a really great way to connect them together and stagger them rhythmically. I don't hear pianists do this much, and it helps to break me away from playing scales, which feel over used, at least by me. So, I'm having fun playing with this new improvisational material, which is not harmonically dissonant, but seems unique. I don't think it's anything earthshaking in and of itself, except as it applies to piano. It's more of a saxophone approach to piano, which is bigger arpeggios. I'm also combining that with something I discovered and clarified about my own playing and approach when I gave a short lecture/demonstration on Jazz and Tourette's syndrome last fall at a Lincoln Center conference on music and the brain. It was how I use my physical impulsiveness in my playing, putting a certain energy into the musical ideas. It's abstract, but demonstrable."
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