2698 Folsom @ 23rd St. (entrance on 23rd St.)
San Francisco, California 94114

THE FOCUS TRIO with MARC CARY

Friday, October 26th



The FOCUS Trio is a groundbreaking collaboration between three musicians and three cultures. Grammy-nominated pianist Marc Cary, coming from a traditional jazz background, incorporates his Native American roots in laying down the musical foundations. Sameer Gupta (drums and tabla) draws on classical Indian rhythmic and melodic concepts. And David Ewell (bass) invokes tonal centers based around scales often heard in traditional Chinese music. The FOCUS project is a mesmerizing feat of cross-pollination!

“The concept of FOCUS Trio is a collaboration between three cultures. Aside from that, playing our asses off the in the tradition of the great Duke Ellington, Max Roach and Paul Chambers, is the focus. … The live show will expand on the concepts developed since the recording of out 2006 album, FOCUS. The recording is the seed and the performance is when the plant grows.” ~ Marc Cary



More about Marc Cary …

Marc Cary is an exceptionally innovative and gifted keyboardist whose musical expressions are consistently fresh, unrestrained and inspiring. Marc's Native American and African American roots and his musical training at the Oxendine Music Academy (MD), Duke Ellington School of the Performing Arts (DC) and the University of the District of Columbia Jazz Studies Program, have helped shape his approach to musical composition and his style of playing.

A Grammy-nominated pianist, Marc possesses an expansive vocabulary. His seminal masterwork, Rhodes Ahead Vol. 1, released in 2000, is considered by many to be a classic; the Fender Rhodes-laden record signifies ’70s free jazz, when the electric piano was often the sonic weapon of choice. 1995's Cary On, 1997's Listen, and 1998's The Antidote have also been received with considerable critical acclaim. In 2000, Marc won the First-Annual Billboard/BET “Best New Jazz Artist” Award.

Marc has also played and recorded with an impressive roster of musicians, including Me'Shell NdegeOcello, Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Arthur Taylor, Abby Lincoln, Erykah Badu, Jackie McClain, Clifford Jordan, Carmen McCray, Milt Jackson, Curtis Fuller, Eddie Henderson, Arthur Taylor, Frank Foster, Max Roach, Shirley Horn and Ani DiFranco. He is often sought out by Wynton Marsalis, among others, for key accompaniment.

Marc is Native American from the Wampanoag/Chappaquiddick Nation and African American. The New York City-born, Washington, DC-raised pianist grew up in a home environment where Native American traditional music and world music were listened to, admired and discussed. No surprise, then that Marc has music in his “genes”: Marc's parents, grandfather, and great grandmother were all musicians who performed in a variety of genres, including classical piano, cello, jazz trumpet and percussions.

Marc is also known on the underground dance music scene as producer Marco Polo. He keeps many irons in the fire with acoustic and electronic jazz, dance world music, and funk. Marc relishes the freedom to grow and change within his core musical identity. As Marc says, “I'm not moving away from tradition—I'm expanding it.”



www.marccary.com

$15 suggested donation. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

Added by BayTaper.com on September 27, 2007

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