The Highline Ballroom Piano Series - August 17-29th

THE HIGHLINE PIANO SERIES at
 THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM

An Euterpean Celebration of the Piano
August 17 through August 29, 2009
featuring
THE MCCOY TYNER TRIO,
CECIL TAYLOR, THE BAD PLUS,
THE BENEVENTO / RUSSO DUO,
IRIS DEMENT, VIENNA TENG, JEREMY DENK,
PETER CINCOTTI, PHIL VASSAR,
PAULA VALSTEIN with JESSE LYNN and
CHRISTOPHER O' RILEY

The Highline Ballroom proudly announces the first annual Highline Piano Series, beginning August 17th at The Highline Ballroom. 

Highline's Piano Series offers a diverse sampling of some of the finest artists performing on the instrument today from a variety of musical styles and disciplines; including legendary performer and multiple Grammy award winner MCCOY TYNER, introspective and influential country folk from IRIS DEMENT, the popular and groundbreaking jazz trio THE BAD PLUS, up-and -coming chanteuse VIENNA TENG, the inimitable 'poet of the piano' CECIL TAYLOR, chamber musician extraordinaire JEREMY DENK, indie-fusion explorers THE BENEVENTO / RUSSO DUO, country sensation PHIL VASSAR, classical covers of rock classics from CHRISTOPHER O' RILEY and singer/songwriters PETER CINCOTTI,  PAULA VALSTEIN and JESSE LYNN.

On-stage grand piano for all shows provided courtesy of Steinway & Sons.

More information about all the shows in the series (including dates, times and pricing) along with general information about The Highline Ballroom follows.

To inquire as to availability for phone/email/on-air or in-person interviews with any of the following artists; high-resolution photos for print; to arrange for ticket giveaways or press seats or to find out how you or your organization can work more closely with us in promoting The Highline Piano Series,  please contact:

John Seroff at john@bbkingblues.com or 212-997-4555, ext. 11

SHOW INFORMATION

Monday, August 17
THE BENEVENTO/RUSSO DUO
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Rock, Jazz, Jam Band
Doors at 7:00pm, Show at 9:00pm
$18 adv, $20 at door

Wednesday, August 19
PETER CINCOTTI
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Singer/Songwriter, Jazz
1^st Show:  Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 8:00pm
2^nd Show:  Doors at 10:00pm, Show at 10:30pm
Each Show:  $25 adv, $30 at door
Peter Cincotti, the 25 year-old singer-songwriter-pianist, brings to life a fresh, cinematic world on his new Warner Bros. album EAST OF ANGEL TOWN. His profoundly evocative songs tell stories woven into melodies that are both individual and universal.   Although the native New Yorker has been writing music since the age of 9, EAST OF ANGEL TOWN marks Cincotti's first work of all original material. Exploring musical styles that blend pop, rock, blues, funk and jazz, Cincotti's percussive piano playing and rich vocals infuse each song with a startling energy. "I wanted each song to come alive in the studio with the same freshness they had when they were first written," he says. "Every element of the production needed to reflect that quality and, more importantly, serve the meaning of the song."  With topics ranging from the seductive world of Los Angeles ("Angel Town"), male/female dynamics in today's society, ("Be Careful"), a symbolic song of loss, ("Goodbye Philadelphia"), loneliness and love in New York City ("Cinderella Beautiful"), each song tells a unique tale. These stories musically paint characters, both familiar and uncommon, that leave one with the feeling of having walked all day on the streets of Manhattan. When asked if such topics are autobiographical, Cincotti replies, "I think every expression is autobiographical-either literally or symbolically. I don't think it's possible to create something that isn't."

Thursday, August 20
THE VIENNA TENG TRIO
- MADI DIAZ
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Singer/Songwriter
Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 8:00pm
$25
Teng’s fourth album, Inland Territory, is a tour de force musically and lyrically, a complex and deeply thoughtful work from an artist cut loose from limitations. Recorded over five months and in four cities, with instrumentation ranging from orchestral percussion to found-object loops to polyphonic choirs, it’s without question her most ambitious work yet. The credits alone read like a “Ones To Watch” list: engineer and mixer Eddie Jackson (James Taylor, Patti Sciafla), violinist and concertmaster Rob Moose (Sufjan Stevens, Beth Orton), guitarist Kiyanu Kim (Gwen Stefani) and bassist Jeff Allen (Duncan Sheik), to name a few. Guitar virtuoso Kaki King lends her signature soundscapes to a few tracks, renowned clarinetists Ben Goldberg and Beth Custer trade fours, and fellow singer-songwriters Ari Hest, Julian Velard, Odessa Chen and Noe Venable all contribute vocals. “It was a two-degrees-of-separation project,” says Teng. “Everyone I ever wanted to have play on a record of mine—I’d call them up and ask, and if they said yes, I’d go: ‘Great! Who else do you think should be part of this?’ So there was a kind of family feel to the whole thing.

Friday, August 21
THE BAD PLUS
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Jazz
1^st Show:  Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 8:00pm
2^nd Show:  Doors at 10:30pm, Show at 11:00pm
Each Show:  $22 adv, $25 at door
Look solely at the instrumentation of the Bad Plus -- acoustic piano, upright bass, drums, no vocals -- and you'd think they were a jazz trio. While that assumption's not wrong, it doesn't do them justice. These quirky Midwesterners have jazz chops and jazz panache, but they apply those traits with the muscle of a rock band. Oh yeah, they play rock songs, too: Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Blondie's "Heart of Glass" on These Are the Vistas, the Pixies' "Velouria" and Black Sabbath's "Iron Man.”

Saturday, August 22
IRIS DEMENT
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Country, Folk, Singer/Songwriter
Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 8:00pm
$26 adv, $30 at door
After a series of jobs waitressing and typing, Dement first began composing songs at the age of 25. Honing her skills at open-mic nights, in 1988 she moved to Nashville, where she contacted producer Jim Rooney, who helped her land a record contract. Dement did not make her recording debut until 1992, when her independent label offering, Infamous Angel, won almost universal acclaim thanks to her pure, evocative vocal style and spare, heartfelt songcraft. Despite a complete lack of support from country radio, the record's word-of-mouth praise earned her a deal with Warner Bros., which reissued Infamous Angel in 1993 as well as its follow-up, 1994's stunning My Life. Her third LP, 1996's eclectic The Way I Should, marked a dramatic change not only in its more rock-influenced sound but also in its subject matter; where Dement's prior work was introspective and deeply personal, The Way I Should was fiercely political, tackling topics like sexual abuse, religion, government policy, and Vietnam. In 1999, she collaborated with country man John Prine on his album, In Spite of Ourselves. Dement recorded four duets with Prine that earned her a Grammy nod the following year. Her own recording career was on hiatus for the late '90s and early 2000s, but she returned in 2005 with Lifeline.

Sunday, August 23
THE MCCOY TYNER TRIO featuring Gerald Cannon and Eric Kamau Gravatt
and special guest GARY BARTZ
- THE JONATHAN BATISTE BAND
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Jazz
1^st Show:  Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 7:30pm
2^nd Show:  Doors at 10:00pm, Show at 10:30pm
Each Show:  $35 adv, $40 at door
Tyner's blues-based piano style, replete with sophisticated chords and an explosively percussive left hand has transcended conventional styles to become one of the most identifiable sounds in improvised music. His harmonic contributions and dramatic rhythmic devices form the vocabulary of a majority of jazz pianists.  At 17 he began a career-changing relationship with Miles Davis’ sideman saxophonist John Coltrane. Tyner joined Coltrane for the classic album My Favorite Things (1960), and remained at the core of what became one of the most seminal groups in jazz history, The John Coltrane Quartet. The band, which also included drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Jimmy Garrison, had an extraordinary chemistry, fostered in part by Tyner’s almost familial relationship with Coltrane.  From 1960 through 1965, Tyner’s name was propelled to international renown, as he developed a new vocabulary that transcended the piano styles of the time, providing a unique harmonic underpinning and rhythmic charge essential to the group's sound. He performed on Coltrane’s classic recordings such as Live at the Village Vanguard, Impressions and Coltrane’s signature suite, A Love Supreme.

Monday, August 24
CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Rock, Classical
Doors at 7:00pm, Show at 9:00pm
$20 adv, $25 at door
Pioneering classical pianist Christopher O'Riley is taking the innovative step of releasing a digital single of his interpretation of "Heart Shaped Box", a song composed by the late Kurt Cobain for his group NIRVANA, available exclusively at iTunes on April 28. Look for it featured on iTunes' "Rock" page! On May 5, the digital single will be widely released to other music download sites.  "Heart Shaped Box" was recorded In Baltimore, December of 2008, produced by Paul Geluso with Manex Ibar and Christopher O'Riley co-producing. Mr. O'Riley performed on a Hamburg Steinway Model D piano and was recorded by: five microphones inside the piano as well as 360 degree surround microphone system developed by ATT Bell labs known as the "Death Star," comprising seven microphones: two Spaced Omnis; Class A microphone Pre-Amps; 96K 24 Bit Recorder; 5.1 Monitoring.  The mixed microphone technique chosen to capture these performances reflects Chris O'Riley's relationship to both classical and rock music. This dual system was chosen specifically to deliver the intensity and rich harmonic layers of Chris's arrangements for the piano inspired by the sound of guitars, basses and drums. The surround microphone system captured the concert hall acoustic providing the space around the vibrant piano in the final mix. No additional electronic reverberation or noise reduction was needed in post production.   From his groundbreaking transcriptions of the finest pop repertoire from RADIOHEAD , Elliott Smith and Nick Drake to his unforgettably sublime interpretations of the standard classical canon, pianist Christopher O'Riley has redefined the possibilities of classical music. He performs year 'round, criss-crossing North America offering a variety of programs including standard classical repertoire as well as his interpretations of contemporary repertoire from Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, English progressive band RADIOHEAD et al.

Tuesday, August 25
CECIL TAYLOR
Produced by Jill Newman Productions
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Jazz
1^st Show:  Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 8:00pm
2^nd Show:  Doors at 10:00pm, Show at 10:30pm
Each Show:  $25 adv, $30 at door
CECIL TAYLOR'S life simply does not submit itself to the ordinary rules of program biography. Some facts: he was born in Long Island City in 1933. It is recorded that in his early years, the artists he admired included Fats Waller, Erroll Garner, and especially, Bud Powell. His mother grew up in New Jersey and was a childhood friend of Sonny Greer. Therefore, Duke Ellington's influence in the Taylor household was pervasive. As a matter of fact, Cecil Taylor's interest in music is quite cosmopolitan - and the range of his interest in things musical is matched only by his great admiration and intensity of enthusiasm. He attended and graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music. In turn, Mr. Taylor has taught or been in residence for long periods at Antioch College, Glassboro State College in New Jersey, and the University of Wisconsin. Awards and grants have come his way. He recently revised, musicalized, and directed Adrienne Kennedy's play, A Rat's Mass, at New York's La Mama Theatre Annex. He has just completed a new piece for Diane McIntyre's dance company, Sounds in Motion. The work will premiere in New York in early May as part of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre's New York season.

Wednesday, August 26
PHIL VASSAR
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Country, Singer/Songwriter
Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 8:00pm
$25 adv, $30 at door
Those who think they understand Phil Vassar – good-time, whirling-dervish-on-the-piano, hardest-workingman-in-country-music Phil Vassar – might be surprised at the steaming discontent rising from the lyrics of “This Is My Life.” But the simmering rage he directs at corporate fat cats, ineffectual politicians, and society’s quiet inequities can’t be too much of a shock to the legions of fans who know him best.  Prayer Of A Common Man, his fourth studio album and first for Universal Records South, isn’t so much departure as it is evolution. The Virginia-born singer, songwriter and musician may have taken his seat as country’s leading piano man with the success of songs like “Just Another Day In Paradise” and “Six- Pack Summer,” but his writing has steadily grown more introspective and personal.

Friday, August 28
PAULA VALSTEIN
- CASEY SHEA and JESSE LYNN
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Singer/Songwriter
Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 7:00pm
$10 adv, $12 at door

Saturday, August 29
JEREMY DENK
Part of The Highline Piano Series – Piano by Steinway & Sons
File Under:  Classical
Doors at 6:00pm, Show at 8:00pm
$25 adv, $30 at doors
American pianist Jeremy Denk has steadily established himself as one of the most versatile and compelling artists of his generation.  He has appeared as soloist with many major orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony , St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, London's Philharmonia, Dallas Symphony, and Houston Symphony. He appears regularly in recital in New York, Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia and was artist-in-residence at the 2008 Gilmore Keyboard Festival.  Mr. Denk has always been an avid chamber musician. He has collaborated with many of the world's finest string quartets and appeared at the Italian and American Spoleto Festivals, the Santa Fe and Seattle Chamber Music Festivals, and the Verbier Festival. He has also spent several summers at the Marlboro Music School and Festival in Vermont and been part of various "Musicians from Marlboro" national tours.

VENUE INFORMATION

THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM
LOCATION:
431 West 16^th Street (between 9^th Avenue and 10^th Avenue)
Accessible via 14^th Street A, C, E trains
TICKETS:
By Phone:      866-468-7619
On the Web:   http://www.ticketweb.com
In Person:     At Highline box office from noon till doors close every night
- Unless otherwise noted, all shows are suitable for all ages and offer general admission seating. - Seating for all shows is first come, first seated; we do not take advance table reservation, except where noted as a condition of a VIP ticket.  We cannot seat incomplete parties.  Standing room for all shows is available at our bar.
- We are a full-scale restaurant and bar; serving food and drink throughout most of our shows.  A $10 food and/or beverage minimum is standard for table seating during all shows.