Music

The Four Freshmen are America’s most enduring vocal group. From the moment they step on stage The Four Freshmen will get your heart pounding and your feet moving. With pure energy and great songs from the past and present. The Four Freshmen deliver a world of music that will take listeners back to the bygone era of their youth while introducing others to a brand of vocal harmony entertainment unique to the legendary Four Freshmen. A Four Freshmen concert is one you will never forget!

Tommy Boynton singing 1st tenor and playing bass. Growing up in Aurora, Co., his musical journey began in the 3rd grade, singing in a children’s chorus, and studying piano and drums. Tommy’s love for music lead him to Phil Mattson’s prestigious School for Music Vocations in Creston, Iowa. He then graduated from the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA, where he studied with Dominique Eade and Ran Blake. Boynton continued to share his love and passion for music by returning to SMV to teach. Tommy has shared the stage with several Grammy nominated musicians, including jazz pianist Fred Hersch, and critically acclaimed jazz vocalist Kate McGarry. While on the road, he does miss his kitties, Alice and Little Brother, more than anything.

Stein Malvey sings the 2nd tenor and plays guitar with The Four Freshmen. Growing up in Northfield, Minnesota, he began his musical journey at age four, studying piano. Growing restless with classical repertoire, he discovered guitar at age 12, and fell in love. Just two years later he was playing guitar professionally. Stein graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in guitar performance from Lawrence University Conservatory of Music. Stein spent years in both the New York and Minneapolis music scenes, recording and touring with groups in many genres: rock, pop, r&b, soul, funk, jazz, country, and avant- garde. When he isn’t touring with The Four Freshmen, Stein lives in Los Angeles.

Born in 1992, Jon Gaines was introduced to the world of music at the age of 5 when he began taking piano lessons from his grandmother in his hometown, Derry NH. By fifth grade, young Jon was expanding his musical talents to the trumpet, but it wasn’t until Jon first heard a recording of Louis Armstrong that a passion was sparked and this new found love of jazz set him on a life long pursuit for musical excellence. Gaines’s high school years were spent performing with a wide variety of concert and jazz bands as well as several vocal ensembles. After high school, Jon attended the prestigious New England Conservatory where he furthered his studies in jazz improvisation with the likes of educators John McNeil, Jerry Bergonzi, and Frank Carlberg. Jon also continued to advance his trumpet technique through lessons from venerable instructors Steve Emery and Laurie Frink. Along with all his instrumental studies on trumpet and piano Jon also undertook several years of vocal instruction before earning his bachelors degree in 2014. Outside of his music career Jon is an Eagle Scout and when not performing in his current home town of Boston he enjoys exploring the great outdoors, in particular the woods of Northern Maine.

Bob Ferreira auditioned for The Four Freshmen in 1992 for bass voice and percussion,while a music student at Central Washington University. The group asked Ferreira to join, presenting him with a difficult decision of whether or not to leave his academics behind in lieu of a career in entertainment. Bob is still pleased with his decision and has not looked back since. He enjoys being part of such an iconic musical legacy having performed in fifty states, ten countries, and on nine Freshmen recordings. When not on the road with The Four Freshmen, Ferreira occasionally freelances as a drummer in Las Vegas.

For more information or for tickets, visit: http://www.bluenotebeijing.com/ticketdetail/a4371ef0-71df-4391-a112-f028d87d1a2a

In 1998, American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded “The Melody At Night With You” in his home studio, as a Christmas gift to his wife Rose-Anne Jarrett. The album was later released by the ECM Records, and has become one of the best-selling piano albums in the 2000s. On this year’s Christmas Eve (December 24th), the young Chinese pianist A Bu will present a special solo performance at the Blue Note Beijing, in the occasion of the 20-year anniversary since the album’s recording completion. As being seen as China’s most internationally recognized jazz artist, A Bu will play the original tracks from the album, in his own unique and oriental style, to pay a tribute to Keith Jarrett.

Born in Beijing in 1999, A Bu began playing the piano at the age of 4 and have subsequently studied in the Central Conservatory in Beijing and the Juilliard School’s Pre-College in New York. A Bu has been twice invited by the UNESCO and Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz to participate in the International Jazz Day’s All Star Global Concert, sharing stage with world class jazz artists including Herbie Hancock, Marcus Mille, Igor Butman, Till Brönner and many more. On the 2015 edition of the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition, A Bu won the 1st prize and the Audience Choice, as the first Chinese winner in the history of the competition. After the competition, the legendary producer Quincy Jones also made great compliment to A Bu. Until now, A Bu has released two albums: “88 Tones of Black and White” & “Butterflies Fly in Pairs”, and has performed in the most famous venues around the world including the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Foundation Louis Vuitton and the Olympia Concert Hall in Paris.

Join him for a concert and prix fixe dinner with paired wines. For more information or for tickets, visit: http://www.bluenotebeijing.com/ticketdetail/080b8d57-f319-485e-8f04-8dee1e10b834

Lauded as one of the top jazz pianists of his generation, Sullivan Fortner is recognized for his virtuosic technique and captivating performances. The winner of three prestigious awards – a Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship, the 2015 Cole Porter Fellowship from the American Pianists Association, and the 2016 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists – Sullivan’s music embodies the essence of the blues and jazz as he connects music of all eras and genres through his improvisation.

As a leader, The Sullivan Fortner Trio has performed on many of the world’s most prestigious stages including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Discover Jazz Festival, Tri-C Jazz Festival, Jazz Standard, and the Gillmore Keyboard Festival. Fortner has been heard with other leading musicians around the world including Dianne Reeves, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, John Scofield, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Fred Hersch, Sean Jones, DeeDee Bridgewater, Roberta Gambarini, Peter Bernstein, Stefon Harris, Nicholas Peyton, Billy Hart, Dave Liebman, Gary Bartz, Etienne Charles and Christian Scott.

Fortner brings the same sense of musicianship to his recordings as he does to his live performances. His first album, Aria (Impulse Records) has garnered acclaim by The New York Times and Downbeat Magazine as it showcases Fortner’s mastery at both rendering well-chosen standards and composing memorable melodies. On Aria, Fortner leads a splendid ensemble, comprised of drummer Joe Dyson, Jr., bassist Aidan Carroll, and tenor and soprano saxophonist Tivon Pennicott. Fortner’s highly anticipated sophomore album as a solo recording artist is slated to be released in 2018. Fortner can also be heard on the recordings of Etienne Charles’s Kaiso (2011), Donald Harrison’s Quantum Leaps (2010), and Theo Croker’s Fundementals (2007). Most recently, he has recorded with Grammy Award winning artists Roy Hargrove and Cecile McLorin Salvant on their highly anticipated albums.

Fortner’s foray into music education has led him to lead masters classes at today’s most formidable music institutions, including Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NoCCA), Purdue University, Lafayette Summer Music Workshop and Belmont University (TN).

A native of New Orleans, Fortner began playing the piano at the age of seven and was hailed a virtuoso before he was out of high school. He has a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music in Jazz Performance from Manhattan School of Music.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit: http://www.bluenotebeijing.com/ticketdetail/4461dd0a-acd7-4f36-99bc-dc9073b826d1

Originally from New York City, Jesse Harris is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, singer, guitarist and producer of artists from all over the world. He began making records in the mid 90s with Once Blue (EMI Records), his first group and first experience writing for another singer. Since then he has worked with dozens of artists and released 14 albums under his own name. His forthcoming, Aquarelle, recorded in Lisbon, will come out later this year.

In 2003 Jesse received the Grammy Award for Song Of The Year for Norah Jones’ breakout hit “Don’t Know Why,” from her debut album, Come Away With Me, which has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. It includes four other of his compositions: “Shoot The Moon,” “One Flight Down,” “I’ve Got To See You Again,” and “The Long Day Is Over. He plays guitar throughout the recording.

Since then, Jones and Harris have collaborated numerous times. She has been a guest on many of his albums and he appears as guitarist on almost all of hers. He also contributed songwriting to her 2008 release The Fall and produced her version of his song “World Of Trouble” for the Ethan Hawke film The Hottest State. That soundtrack features not only Harris’ score, but new versions of his songs by Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Cat Power, Feist, The Black Keys, M. Ward, Brad Mehldau, Bright Eyes (on whose album “I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning” Jesse also appears as guitarist) and others. Harris and Jones appear together in the Amy Poehler/Paul Rudd comedy They Came Together, performing his song, which he also produced, “It Was The Last Thing On Your Mind.”

Other artists who have recorded Jesse’s songs include Smokey Robinson, George Benson, Pat Metheny, Kandace Springs, and Solomon Burke, on whose album Like A Fire Harris plays guitar and sings backing vocals. Songwriting collaborations have included Madeleine Peyroux, Melody Gardot, Lana Del Rey, Maria Gadu, and Vinicius Cantuaria.

In 2013 Jesse joined John Zorn’s The Song Project, along with Mike Patton, Sofia Rei, and Sean Lennon, writing lyrics for various Zorn compositions and singing them at festivals worldwide with a band featuring Marc Ribot on guitar, John Medeski on keyboards, and Zorn conducting. Two of the group’s albums have been released by Tzadik Records. Recently Zorn and Harris started a new project, Songs For Petra, which features Petra Haden and The Julian Lage Trio (for whom Jesse has produced two albums, Arclight and Modern Lore).

Other production credits include albums for Forro In The Dark, Sasha Dobson, and Petra Haden, who recorded an entire album of his songs, entitled “Seemed Like A Good Idea – Petra Haden Sings Jesse Harris” (Sunnyside Records).

For more information or for tickets, visit: http://www.bluenotebeijing.com/ticketdetail/7f9e7042-08d8-4465-b0fb-32b81ef12ba6

Mark Whitfield graduated from Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music, the world’s foremost institution for the study of Jazz and modern American music in the spring of 1987. Shortly thereafter, he returned to his to his native New York to embark on a career as a Jazz Guitarist that afforded him the opportunity to collaborate with legendary artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, Carmen McRae, Gladys Knight, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Smith, Clark Terry, Shirley Horn, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Joe Williams, Stanley Turrentine and his greatest teacher and mentor George Benson.

In 1990 the New York Times dubbed Whitfield “The Best Young Guitarist in the Business”. Later that year, Warner Bros. released his debut album “The Marksman”. The success of his debut release led to a recording career that has produced a total of 14 solo recordings and a myriad of collaborative efforts with some of the most important artists in recent years; Sting, Steven Tyler, D’Angelo, Mary J. Blige, John Mayer, Chaka Khan, Jill Scott, Diana Krall, Christian McBride, Chris Botti, Roy Hargrove and Nicholas Payton.

Along the way the “Whitfield Family Band” was born, literally. In 1994 The Mark Whitfield Quartet appeared on the Thanksgiving Day broadcast of Good Morning America. This performance featured a very special guest drummer, 4 year old Mark Whitfield Jr. It was obvious even then that he was destined for greatness. Following in his father’s footsteps he attended the Berklee College of Music and graduated in 2011 with honors. He went on to study for his Masters Degree at the Manhattan School of Music while simultaneously embarking on a career as a drummer extraordinaire. He has quickly earned a reputation as one of the best young drummers in Jazz and was nominated for a Grammy in 2014 as part of the ensemble featured on Kenny Garrett’s 2013 release “Pushing the World Away”. Not to be outdone by his older brother, Davis Whitfield, a prodigious pianist, earned a Presidential Scholarship and graduated from the Berklee College of Music with honors in 2014.

In February of 2017 the “Whitfield Family Band” released its debut recording, “Grace”, to rave reviews. We just recorded the music we had been playing together since they were little boys. We had some help, bassist extraordinaire, Yasushi Nakamura and the co-writer and singer of the title song, our cousin Sy Smith. “Grace” spent almost 3 months in the top 10 on the jazz radio charts and we’re still receiving rave reviews around the world. In September 2017, Chesky Records released a live recording I made for them earlier in the year in the trio format featuring Billy Drummond on drums and Ben Allison on bass. This recording was equally well received at jazz radio and by the jazz press.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit: http://www.bluenotebeijing.com/ticketdetail/b47e02b4-91c2-436a-974a-af6b98086c30

GRAMMY Nominated Saxophonist & Composer, Alex Han has been recognized as one of the most promising musicians of his generation. He identifies as more than just a jazz musician – While giving a nod to the jazz tradition, his music is deeply inspired by many genres with the goal of bringing contemporary instrumental music to broader audiences. His refreshing style & passion are what he uses to bring his vision of where music can go into reality.

Han has shared the stage with amazing artists such as Lalah Hathaway, Robert Glasper, Terri Lyne Carrington, Christian Scott, George Duke & Richard Bona in addition to his exceptionally prominent work as the touring & recording saxophonist for GRAMMY Award Winning Bassist & Composer Marcus Miller.

In May 2017, Han released his debut album, “Spirit” , produced by Marcus Miller. A true labor of determination, this debut stands out as a remarkable exhibition of Han’s abilities not only as a performer but additionally as a composer, having written 7 out of the 10 compositions on the album. Han also includes 2 well crafted covers of “Fragile” by Sting & “The Jungle Way Out” by Yohannes Tona that bring a newness to the tunes while title track “Spirit”, Miller’s personalized composition for Han, elevates the energy of the album to its maximum.

With astounding performances & exceptional attention to serving the music, Spirit is set to be a consequential album in the world of Jazz & Instrumental Music and has received a GRAMMY Nomination for the 2018 Year.

For more information or for tickets, visit: http://www.bluenotebeijing.com/ticketdetail/e4195bc5-0275-4fea-8136-4d44f19054aa

Born in 1942 in Harlem, Larry Willis grew up around music; jazz was popular in his neighborhood, and closer to home, he had a brother who played piano. As a child, Willis noodled around on the piano that was in the house, but his talent seemed to lie in singing.

Willis was accepted into New York's High School of Music and Art as a voice major. His career there was very successful, and included a performance of a Copland opera with the Music and Arts Choral Ensemble conducted by Leonard Bernstein. His senior year, Willis found his way back to the piano. Later that year, he started gigging around town with his fellow classmates, Al Foster and Eddie Gomez.

Willis continued his musical studies at the Manhattan School of Music, where he switched his concentration from voice to music theory. He also spent more time at the keyboard and soon began studying with John Mehegan, Willis' first and only piano teacher.

At the age of 19, Willis was discovered and recruited by saxophonist Jackie McLean, and made his jazz recording debut on McLean's Blue Note release, Right Now! The album also included two of Willis' compositions. From that auspicious start, Willis went on to play with jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Cannonball Adderley, Stan Getz, Carmen McRae, and Shirley Horn. From 1972 to '79, Willis was the keyboardist for the fusion group Blood Sweat and Tears. He's also been a crucial part of the Grammy-nominated Afro-Cuban jazz group Fort Apache. In all, Willis has appeared on 300-plus albums, with more than 20 recordings as a leader.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit: http://www.bluenotebeijing.com/ticketdetail/59495d37-02b1-499b-ad7c-8e26696924f6

Chinese trumpeter Cui Jian puts his whole heart and soul into everything from rock to jazz standards. He’s made tons of releases, hundreds of performances and lots of connections over his 30 year career. With his veteran band, he’ll appear at Blue Note on December 6th and 7th to bring his adventurous spirit to jazz, hip-hop and rock works.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit: http://www.bluenotebeijing.com/ticketdetail/c4daf880-707b-458d-88f2-16cad5107755

Kandace Springs was invited to perform with Prince at a concert to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Purple Rain. Mentored by Prince, her debut album Soul Eyes, is a favorite for the Grammy for Best New Artist. See this up-and-coming artist at Blue Note Beijing on December 1st and 2nd.

For more information or for tickets, visit: http://www.bluenotebeijing.com/ticketdetail/4792ad6f-ee2f-4123-aba5-48a171808204

Chenghua Vinck conducts pianist Michael Tan and the Deutsche Kantorei Peking in a programme of choral Christmas music. Hear Vivaldi’s Gloria D-Dur, Bach’s Klavier, Rutter’s Kinderchor (Carol of the Children), Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus and other Christmas favorites during this concert series.

For more information or for tickets, visit: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/MWd0X8PU-Wkp78kwpSjoZA