Tonight, September 9th, at 8:30PM, Sarah Manning's Shatter the Glass debuts at the Cornelia Street Cafe in Manhattan’s West Village. Catching fire on the West Coast, alto saxophonist Sarah Manning was recently reborn from the ashes onto the New York scene. With bassist Linda Oh, pianist Art Hirahara and drummer Kyle Struve, the group will deconstruct and reconstruct Manning’s compositions against the red velvet backdrop of the Cornelia Street stage.
According to Grammy nominated pianist Jessica Williams, “If there is to be jazz in our future, it'll be because of musicians like saxophonist and composer Sarah Manning. She’s a player to listen to, starting right now.” This young artist has produced two albums of her original compositions and headlined top venues from Yoshi’s in Oakland, California to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz. On occasion, she can also be found busking in underground train stations. Manning’s last release, “Live at Yoshi’s: Two Rooms Same Door” (ArtistShare), led to a June 2007 profile in Down Beat Magazine. In the liner notes to her first album Nat Hentoff commented, “Sarah Manning can swing as naturally as she breathes…Manning plays – and writes – in what is unmistakably her own voice.”
At 10PM, tenor saxophonist Sean Nowell leads his group with Art Hirahara on piano, Thomson Kneeland on bass, Will Martina on cello and Joe Abba on drums. A tenor saxophonist and composer from Birmingham, Alabama, Nowell comes steeped in the southern traditions of blues, gospel, jazz, and funk - infused with the complex harmonic and world rhythmic concepts that permeate the music of New York City. They will be performing selections from his new release from Posi-Tone Records, “The Seeker".
With a double bill, Cornelia Street Cafe presents the opportunity to hear two artists with two very distinct voices, united in purpose by their quest to expand the boundaries of jazz. For more information, visit corneliastreetcafe.com. There is a ten-dollar cover for each set. Cornelia Street Cafe is located at 29 Cornelia Street in the West Village.
