THE DAN ZEMELMAN QUARTET: Smokin’ Original & Standard Jazz

Dan began piano at age 5, playing classical music.  He developed a passion for Jazz in early adulthood, studying with Richard Davis at UW Madison and receiving an award as ‘Best Jazz Artist’ at UW Madison in 1996.  In 1998, as part of the Kennedy Center’s prestigious Jazz Ambassadors program, he toured India and Sri Lanka courtesy of the US State Department, representing America’s Jazz tradition through teaching and performances.  He is now an in-demand Jazz pianist in the bay area and currently plays regularly with the Bay Area’s great bassist/composer Marcus Shelby as well as his own group, The Dan Zemelman Quartet, that debuted at Yoshi’s in 2009.  Last year they received an honorary position as an alternate band for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2010  Rhythm Road music abroad program.

This is the group’s 4th time at the Red Poppy.  Tonight the Quartet will present an array of originals and standards, showcasing the brilliant trumpeter Erik Jekabson and fiery rhythm section of Greg Wyser-Pratte on drums and Chris Lopes on bass.  As always, the evening’s performance will be spontaneous, passionate, diverse and highly improvisational.

Dan Zemelman: piano
Erik Jekabson: trumpet
Greg Wyser-Pratte: drums
Chris Lopes: bass

“While Zemelman possesses a lovely touch and fertile harmonic imagination, what stands out most on One Way Or Another is the probing lyricism that undergirds his group concept.  He gives his formidable collaborators plenty of space, but the improvisation is always tightly bound to the melodic line.  The resulting music is playful, tender, celebratory and consistently engaging, a rare project that compels a second, third and fourth spin.” – Andy Gilbert, SF/bay area jazz critic, on Dan Z’s debut CD One Way or Another

“Zemelman is, after all, an intimidatingly good pianist. He uses choice voicings, he obviously listens carefully to his other band members, and he writes some interesting song heads….He uses cool modern harmonies and emphasizes the dark edges of each chord. His tunes propel themselves forward with driving rhythms, but in his solos Zemelman often moves in and out of time…..The material here doesn’t have the same intentionally difficult or earth-shatteringly experimental qualities that you sometimes hear in contemporary jazz, but it’s really well put together.” – Rachel Swan, East Bay Express, on Dan Z’s debut CD One Way or Another

www.danzemelman.com
www.livestream.com/yoshis/video?clipId=pla_f525c1b1-38d7-4072-9855-91522ce09ef4
www.danzemelman.com/pages/newmusic

Doors at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.