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jessica jones quartet Bio

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Band bio:

The Jessica Jones Quartet is an improvising jazz ensemble which performs original experimental music. Their music derives from the jazz tradition using structured original compositions as a framework for freer improvisation. Combining two tenor saxophones with bass and drums, the group creates an exciting, robust new soundscape. The compositions of Jessica Jones and husband and fellow tenor saxist, Tony Jones, are currently given life by the innovative and energetic rhythm section of drummer Kenny Wollesen (works with Bill Frisell, John Zorn) and bassist Stomu Takeishi (works with Henry Threadgill, Myra Mel- ford), original members of the band from the 1980s. The eclectic musical backgrounds of the band members infuse the music with the energy and creativity of new textures while remaining firmly rooted in the jazz tradition.

The Jessica Jones Quartet has played in the Knitting Factory Festival in New York City, the Bay Area Jazz Poetry Festival, and the Eddie Moore Jazz Festival in Oakland, California, where the group headlined with special guest Don Cherry. The group has been featured in venues on the East and West Coast including Yoshi’s and Dizzy’s Club and released several CDs to critical acclaim including “Nod,” featuring Tristano-lineage pianist Connie Crothers and Joseph Jarman of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and their most recent, “Moxie.” Poets, storytellers, and guest musicians have been augmenting the core quartet as the band continues to explore creative alliances.

In addition to her work with the band and as a sideman in NYC, Jessica is an innovative jazz educator and consultant, working with children on improvisation, composition, and oral traditions for Jazz at Lincoln Center, Stanford Jazz Workshop, the Vision Festival, Brooklyn Friends School, Jam Camp West and others.

“Their latest effort is a chordless marvel, a lean and grooving program of six tunes that maintains a taut liveliness from beginning to end.” - Brian Zimmerman, Downbeat magazine editor’s pick http://downbeat.com/Newsletter/2016/1601/1601.html

“... predictably unpredictable, grounded yet far-reaching, and irresistibly intriguing in its unfolding. The tenors move along with a combination of patience and attitude, enhancing the un- derlying feel with their cool-headed, hot-blooded moves...a program that’s both unrestrained and structurally sound.” - All About Jazz.com http://www.allaboutjazz.com/moxie-jessica-jones-new-artists-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Jessica Jones Bio:

JESSICA JONES BIO

Leader Jessica Jones plays tenor saxophone and piano and composes most of the band's music and has worked with Joseph Jarman, Cecil Taylor, Steve Coleman, Don Cherry, and Peter Apfelbaum; as well as a variety of Haitian, Caribbean and African bands. These influences helped form her compositional direction which is grounded in the jazz tradition and, as is truly traditional in jazz, reaches for new directions and a unique sound. Aside from working and recording with the Jessica Jones Quartet, Jessica is active as a sideman. In addition to the Quartet recordings, Jessica's discography includes:

Multikulti--Don Cherry--A&M Records
It Is Written--Peter Apfelbaum--ACT Records
Lifetime Visions--Joseph Jarman--Bopbuda Records
Marco Enedi-Glenn--Spearman Creative Orchestra Music and Arts

Festivals as a sideman include:

Vision Festival, NYC---Joseph Jarman Sextet, Lifetime Visions Orchestra and Joseph Jarman Quintet
Nancy (France) Jazz Festival Lifetime Visions and the Orchestra
Chicago Jazz Festival--Joseph Jarman, Leroy Jenkins, Myra Melford

Jessica has begun incorporating spoken word artists as well as the lush vocal stylings of daughter Candace Jones into her compositions,finding great inspiration in the textures of new collaborations.

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