Bassist and composer Scott Colley, who has performed with legendary jazz musicians Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, and Andrew Hill, and who was an original member of the Harold Danko Quartet, will join a small ensemble of Eastman School of Music students on Friday, April 1, as part of the Jazz Café Series, which features Eastman jazz students in performance with nationally acclaimed jazz artists. The Jazz Cafés feature a combination of standards and Scott’s music and include two sets – one at 7 p.m. and one at 10 p.m. — in the Atrium at Max’s of Eastman Place.
Colley’s remarkably empathetic skills, strong melodic sense, and improvisational abilities have served him well in groups led by colleagues Chris Potter, Adam Rogers, Brian Blade, David Binney, and Kenny Werner. But it is as a composer and bandleader in his own right that Colley has flourished in recent years, as evidenced by a string of recordings, beginning with his 1996 debut Portable Universe (Freelance) and continuing with 1997’s This Place (SteepleChase), 1998’s Subliminal (Criss Cross), 2000’s The Magic Line (Arabesque) 2002’s Initial Wisdom (Palmetto), 2007’s Architect of the Silent Moment (CAM jazz), and Colley’s 2010 release, Empire (CAM jazz). Appearing on more than 200 albums to date, he has worked with a variety of musicians: guitarists Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, and Adam Rogers; saxophonists Michael Brecker, Chris Potter, and Clifford Jordan; pianists Herbie Hancock, Kenny Werner, and Edward Simon; and drummers Brian Blade, Antonio Sanchez, Bill Stewart, and Roy Haynes.
The Eastman students performing in this concert are Colin Gordon, alto saxophone; Billy Petito, guitar; Sterling Cozza, piano; and Daniel Sunshine, drums. Harold Danko, Professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media and a former bandmate of Scott Colley, will also be featured on the performance. Tickets to each concert are $10 (general admission), available at the door. Drinks and light snacks will be available for purchase.