The Live At Smalls Album Series New Releases By Dezron Douglas, Tyler Mitchell, David Schnitter & Grant Stewart
SmallsLIVE, the live-performance label of Greenwich Village jazz venue Smalls, will continue its tradition of documenting its storied scene with four new albums available now HERE. The Live at Smalls series will feature Dezron Douglas, The Tyler Mitchell Quintet, the David Schnitter Quintet and the Grant Stewart Quartet. Produced by acclaimed pianist and label founder Spike Wilner, the Live at Smalls series is dedicated to the idea that jazz is best heard in a live setting with minimal editing, captured in the full spontaneous moment it was created.
Founded in 1994 by jazz violinist, nurse and former Navy submariner Mitch Borden, Smalls began as a raw basement space that quickly became “the mecca for combos and big bands with a revolving cast of players, as well as a place for all-night jamming-the sort of jazz training ground largely missing from the scene since the '50s” (Downbeat). The club was forced to close after September 11th until 2004. In 2007, pianist Spike Wilner mortgaged his upper-west side apartment to partner with Borden. They began to restore the club back to its original feeling and also to bring back its original mission of supporting a new generation of talented musicians who would become the heirs to the mantle of jazz.
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Dezron Douglas
Dezron Douglas: Live at Smalls, the bass prodigy is presented with a band of his peers: the highly original Stacy Dillard, the fiery Josh Evans, pianist David Bryant and the veteran drummer Willie Jones III. Hailing from Hartford, CT, Douglas is a product of the Jackie McClean institute. Quickly establishing himself as a dominant voice on the jazz scene of New York City, Dezron began to work with such giants including Louis Hayes, Pharaoh Sanders, Louis Nash, Kevin Mahagony.
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The Grant Stewart Quartet
The Grant Stewart Quartet: Live at Smalls, the robust and creative tenor saxophone player draws on his deep, diverse repertoire of old American song classics and bebop tunes. Stewart has performed with a number of jazz greats, including Jimmy Cobb and Donald Byrd. A frequent performer at Smalls Jazz Club, Grant comes in with his regular working band featuring the legendary Tardo Hammer on piano, the young bass prodigy David Wong and Grant’s brother Phil Stewart on drums.
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The David Schnitter Quintet
The David Schnitter Quintet: Live at Smalls, reveals the tenor saxophonist’s compelling and often startling original compositions, accompanied by his venerable group: pianist Spike Wilner, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, drummer Anthony Pinciotti and his wife, vocalist Marti Mabin. Schnitter has the distinction of being the longest standing member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, as well as an accomplished composer who writes for string quartets and jazz quartets.
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The Tyler Mitchell Quintet
The Tyler Mitchell Quintet: Live at Smalls marks the veteran bassist’s return to New York City after a hiatus of 10 years. Before leaving New York, Mitchell was the top call bass player on the scene. He recorded a number of albums and toured with legends such as Art Taylor’s Wailors, Barry Harris, Steve Grossman and many others. On this bristling live date, Tyler Mitchell is joined by a band of younger musicians: the brilliant tenor (and former Art Taylor alum) Abe Burton, drummer Eric McPherson, pianist Spike Wilner and the young trumpet phenom, Josh Evans.
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