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475 Kent Avenue, #410 Brooklyn, NY 11211 718.302.4377www.conniecrothers.net / connie@conniecrothers.net

BIOGRAPHIES

She has performed with her quartet at the JVC Jazz Festival, in Birdland and Small’s in New York City, Fasching in Stockholm (with guitarist Andy Fite and bassist Ulf Ackerhielm), Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque. Singers Harry Schulz and Linda Satin performed with the quartet at Birdland.

Crothers has performed extensively as a soloist. She appeared solo in the 2008 Vision Festival. She was presented as a soloist by the Interpretations Series at Merkin Hall in 2006, New York City, also performing a duet with Roscoe Mitchell in that concert; she performed at Deep Listening Space in Kingston, NY. She has performed solo in festivals such as Berlin Jazztage, Jazz at Middleheim in Belgium, DuMaurier International Festival in Toronto, New Music America Festival, “Piano Nights” Festival in St. Augustine. Lennie Tristano produced her in three solo concerts in Carnegie Recital Hall; a fourth concert was produced by the Lennie Tristano Jazz Foundation. John Sutherland chose her solo recording, “Music from Everyday Life,” for his list of the best ten recordings of the year in Coda.

Her most recent CD--”Conversations”--is a duet recording with clarinetist Bill Payne.

She is in a newly-formed trio--TranceFormations--with Andrea Wolper, singer, and Ken Filiano. They appeared at the ISIM Conference in 2006 in Ann Arbor, MI, the ISIM benefit concert in 2008 and at the Brecht Forum in 2007, in New York City.

Other recent performances include a duo engagement with pianist Kazzrie Jaxen at Ford Piano, Peekskill, NY; a duet with Richard Tabnik at the Queens Art Museum Bullova Gallery, New York City; a duet with bassist Henry Grimes and a trio performance with Grimes and alto saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc at The Stone in New York City; duo with electroacoustic improviser Ben Manley at Location One in New York City presented by Roulette and trio with Manley and trombonist Jim Staley at Steinway Hall. She has performed with Moondoc at Hallwalls in Buffalo and at the Vision Festival in a quintet which included trumpet player Nathan Breedlove, Adam Lane and drummer John McCutcheon. She appeared with percussionist Kevin Norton at Location One and in Kingston, NY. She presented a two-piano concert with Valentina Nazarenko in Steinway Hall. She has performed duo with guitarists Bud Tristano, Ace Yamashita and with tenor saxophonist Bob Field at Faust-Harrison, New York City, and in a duet with Harry Schulz in the Multithon, St. Augustine, FL. She performed with singer Bob Casanova at Open Space and with Casanova and singer Dori Levine at Roulette, in New York City. She presented concerts in her loft, featuring performances with Bill Payne, Lee Konitz, bassist Jeremy Stratton, John McCutcheon, tenor saxophonist Lorenzo

Connie Crothers is recognized for her uncompromising spontaneous improvisation, originality, virtuosity and wide range of expression.

She leads a quartet, with alto saxophonist Richard Tabnik, drummer Roger Mancuso and bassists Ken Filiano or Adam Lane. In January 2007, this quartet released a CD, “Music is a Place,” New Artists. It was chosen by Stuart Broomer for his list of the top ten recordings of the year, published in The Village Voice and on the website jazzhouse.com; it received an honorable mention for best CDs of the year in All About Jazz/New York. The band’s two CDs, “Ontology” and “Live, Outpost Performance Space,” with poet Mark Weber, New Artists, received critical acclaim.

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475 Kent Avenue, #410 Brooklyn, NY 11211 718.302.4377www.conniecrothers.net / connie@conniecrothers.net

BIOGRAPHIES

Sanguedolce, alto saxophonist Nick Lyons, guitarist Adam Caine, Bud Tristano, singer Cheryl Richards. She appeared with singer Fay Victor at a benefit concert for The Jazz Foundation. Crothers has recorded duo with Max Roach--”Swish,”--and performed duo with Mr. Roach in Tokyo, Bologna, New Orleans and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Roach and Crothers were honored by Harvard University as Visiting Jazz Artists; during the ceremony they performed with the Harvard University Band and tap dancer Diane Walker. For this concert, Anthony Braxton wrote a composition for them. She co-led an engagement at the Village Vanguard with Warne Marsh, in a quartet featuring bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Peter Scattaretico. She performed with Marsh, with Roger Mancuso and bassist Joe Solomon in Carnegie Recital Hall.

“Love Energy,” New Artists, a quartet CD co-led by Lenny Popkin and featuring Carol Tristano and Cameron Brown, was chosen #1 record of the year by Jack Cooke in Wire. Another release from this quartet, “In Motion,” as selected for the best 50 records of the year by the French magazine, Jazz Magazine. The quartet appeared at the Blue Note, Sweet Basil and Birdland in New York City, De Singel, De Werf and L’Archeduc in Belgium, Bim House in Amsterdam, the Toronto International Jazz Festival, Spoleto in Charleston, NC. When her first record, “Perception,” originally on SteepleChase, was reissued in 1983 on Inner City, it was selected as one of the ten best records of the year by Mark Weber in Coda. When it was reissued in 1986, Patrick Williams chose it for record of the month in Jazz Magazine. When it was reissued in 1995, Claude Colpaert selected it as record of the month in Jazz Hot. Her duet recording with Richard Tabnik, “Duo Dimension,” was selected by Lois Moody for her year’s ten best list for Ottowa Citizen.

Feature articles have appeared in Knack, Belgium, Jazz Podium, Germany, Cadence, The Village Voice. She was a guest on Marian McPartland’s radio show “Piano Jazz.” In the centennial issue of Cadence magazine Crothers was selected for the list of the most important and influential musicians in the last twenty-five years of the 20th century.

Known for her association with Lennie Tristano, she teaches jazz improvisation in her studio in Brooklyn.

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475 Kent Avenue, #410 Brooklyn, NY 11211 718.302.4377www.conniecrothers.net / connie@conniecrothers.net

BIOGRAPHIES

Andrea Wolper

Jazz vocalist, improviser, songwriter, Andrea Wolper appears in clubs, festivals, and concert halls in the U.S. and internationally. One third of the improvising trio, TranceFormation, with Connie Crothers and Ken Filiano, Andrea also leads her own jazz trio and quintet, is a member of Art Lillard’s Heavenly Big Band, and appears as a guest artist with an impressive roster of jazz and improvising musicians.

Her New York performance credits include Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (Jazz at Lincoln Center), JVC Jazz Festival, Iridium, Sweet Rhythm, 55 Bar, Makor, and more. International appearances include tours in South Africa, Italy Portugal, and Czech Republic, as well as annual tours in Germany. U.S. appearances include the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz, Fairfax (CA) Jazz Festival, Jazz on the Plazz (CA), Many Colors of a Woman Jazz Concerts, and performances on numerous other concert and festival stages.

Andrea’s second CD, The Small Hours, presenting her arrangements of standard and non-standard music, as well as her own compositions, continues to receive high critical praise and to be heard on the radio since its release in late 2005. Her original song, Not Sleeping in Your Arms, is the fourth-most downloaded track of all time at AllAboutJazz.com.

Andrea teaches vocal technique, as well as workshops and master classes. She is a past President of International Women in Jazz, and served on the Advisory Board of the Jazz Vocal Coalition. Andrea earned a black belt in Shotokan Karate, is a published author and journalist, and is a human rights activist.

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475 Kent Avenue, #410 Brooklyn, NY 11211 718.302.4377www.conniecrothers.net / connie@conniecrothers.net

BIOGRAPHIES

“creative virtuoso,” a “master of technique” . . . “a paradigm of that type of artist. . . who can play anything in any context and make it work, simply because he puts the music first and leaves peripheral considerations behind.”In addition to being one of the most sought-after bassists working today, Ken composes for his quartet with Michael Attias, Tony Malaby, and Michael T.A. Thompson. He is also a member of numerous ensembles including the Steve Adams/Ken Filiano Duo, Connie Crothers Quartet, Giora Feidman Quartet, Vinny Golia ensembles, Fred Hess Band, Jason Hwang Quartet, Dom Minasi Trio, Fay Victor Ensemble, Andrea Wolper Quartet, Saco Yasuma Ensemble, and more. His prolific output also includes performances and/or recordings with Bonnie Barnett, Rob Blakeslee, Bobby Bradford, Roy Campbell, Nels Cline, Alex Cline, Eric von Essen, Ted Dunbar, Bob Feldman, Georgian Chamber Orchestra, Dennis Gonzalez, Lou Grassi, Francois Grillot, Hayes Greenfield, Phil Haynes, Joseph Jarman, Sheila Jordan (with the Aardvark Orchestra), Raul Juarena, Joe Labarbera, Joelle Leandre, Frank London, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Tina Marsh, Warne Marsh, Bob Meyer, Hafez Modirzadeh, Butch Morris, Barre Phillips, Roberta Piket, Don Preston, Bob Rodriguez, Roswell Rudd, ROVA Saxophone Quartet, Ursel Schlicht, Paul Smoker, Chris Sullivan, Peeter Uuskyla, Biggi Vinkeloe, Kenny Wessel, Pablo Ziegler.

Ken has appeared at numerous festivals including the DuMaurier International Jazz Festival, Ottawa and Montreal Jazz Festivals, New York JVC Jazz Festival, Jazz em Agosto (Lisbon), Seixal Jazz Festival, Jazz Ao Centro (Coimbra, Portugal), Fundacio Joan Miro (Barcelona), Jazzin’ Tondela, Bergamo Jazz Festival, Banlieues Bleues Festival (Paris), Tampere International Jazz Festival (Finland), Vision Festival, Seixal Jazz Festival, the Charles Ives Festival, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (Finland) and more. He has appeared on concert stages throughout the world, including Carnegie Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, and Philharmonie am Gasteig (Munich). He was principal bassist with the Cascade Festival Orchestra from 1985 - 2002. Ken is on the faculty of Mansfield University (PA), has a private bass studio at his home in Brooklyn, and teaches master classes in bass and improvisation.

Ken Filiano, bass, performs throughout the world, playing and recording with leading artists in jazz, spontaneous improvisation, classical music, tango and world music, and interdisciplinary performance, fusing the rich traditions of the double bass with his own seemingly limitless inventiveness. Ken’s extensive discography includes the solo bass CD, subvenire (NineWinds), which received unanimous critical praise. For this and numerous other recordings and performances, critics have called Ken a

Connie Crothers, Pianist 475 Kent Avenue, #410 Brooklyn, NY 11211 718.302.4377

www.conniecrothers.net / connie@conniecrothers.net

photo by Marlise Momber

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Andrea Wolper, Vocalist 475 Kent Avenue, #410 Brooklyn, NY 11211 718.302.4377

www.conniecrothers.net / connie@conniecrothers.net

click to download digital version

photo by Michael Keel

Ken Filiano, Bass 475 Kent Avenue, #410 Brooklyn, NY 11211 718.302.4377

www.conniecrothers.net / connie@conniecrothers.net

click to download digital version

photo by Luis Catarino