Piedmont Piano Company is pleased to present
4 & More
4 & More is an exciting new jazz quartet made up of bicoastal drumming legend Mike Clark, as well as the Bay Area’s most respected players with years on the New York scene, Peter Barshay on bass, Mike Zilber on sax, and Keith Saunders on piano. The group is dedicated to a fresh take on the powerful New York-based swing exemplified by the mid-60s Miles Davis group and the Coltrane quartet, mixed with the beauty and contemplative music more commonly found on the West Coast.
$20 General Admission
While often referred to as the “Tony Williams of funk,” Mike Clark considers jazz his first love. He gained worldwide recognition as one of America’s foremost jazz and funk drummers while playing with Herbie Hancock in the early seventies. His incisive playing on Hancock’s “Actual Proof” garnered him an international cult following and influenced generations of drummers.
Mike has performed with such well-known jazz greats as Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride, Chet Baker, John Scofield, Nicholas Payton, Tony Bennett, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Eddie Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Vince Guaraldi, Woody Shaw, Donald Harrison, Albert King, Larry Coryell, Mike Wolff, Wallace Roney, Billy Childs, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Chris Potter, Bobby McFerrin, Nat Adderly, Oscar Brown Jr., and Gil Evans and his Orchestra. drummermikeclark.com
A veteran bassist who has established a strong reputation over the years from his sideman work on both the New York City and San Francisco Bay Area jazz scenes, Peter Barshay has performed with such jazz luminaries as Kenny Barron, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Stitt, Kenny Werner, Shirley Horn, Woody Shaw, Pharoah Sanders, Blue Mitchell, Tony Williams, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano, Johnny Griffin and Bobby McFerrin. Barshay’s numerous appearances at clubs and jazz festivals have taken him around the world, helping to establish his reputation as a solid, reliable bassist. Having soaked up a lifetime of sounds on both coasts -everything from salsa and straight ahead to funk-fusion, avant garde and music derived from the Afro-Cuban and Brazilian traditions -- he brings a wealth of experience to the musical table.
Michael Zilber is a San Francisco-based saxophonist and composer. Jazz legend Dave Liebman calls him “one of the best players and composers around anywhere. Period!” He has released 11 albums as a leader to numerous rave reviews, the latest being “Zilber’s Originals for the Originals”, his homage to saxophone giants. Featuring jazz greats Dave Kikoski, James Genus and Clarence Penn, the album was released in early 2017, to rapturous response. In late 2016, he and guitar virtuoso John Stowell released Basement Blues, their 3rd recording together on Origin Records.
Zilber is currently a sideman in trumpeter/composer Erik Jekabson’s Stringtet, as well as playing and composing for the highly regarded Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, whose recent release Cheap Rent received 4.5 stars in DownBeat. Zilber also teaches at the California Jazz Conservatory where his student groups have won more than a dozen national DownBeat awards. michaelzilber.com
Keith spent his formative years in Los Angeles where he studied with Charlie Shoemake and later, with Horace Silver. Keith worked extensively in L.A. with such well known artists as Eddie Harris, Roy McCurdy, and Bill Watrous, as well as recording with Dick Berk's Jazz Adoption Agency, for which he was the arranger.Keith Saunders spent his formative years in Los Angeles where he studied with Charlie Shoemake and later, with Horace Silver. Keith worked extensively in L.A. with such well known artists as Eddie Harris, Roy McCurdy, and Bill Watrous, as well as recording with Dick Berk's Jazz Adoption Agency, for which he was the arranger.
After moving to New York City in 1984, Keith worked and/or recorded with a wide variety of musicians, including Richie Cole, Frank Wess, Ralph Lalama, Joe Lovano, Hank Crawford, and Mickey Roker. In 1991, Keith became the leader of The NY HardBop Quintet, writing and arranging music for the group. In 2010, Keith moved to the Bay Area where he has worked with Akira Tana, Donald Bailey, Frank Tusa, Warren Gayle, Jeremy Pelt, Pete Yellin, and Vince Lateano and has appeared at Yoshi's, SF Jazz, Club Deluxe, Bird and Beckett, Comstock Saloon, Piedmont Piano, and Cafe Stritch to name a few venues. keithosaunders.com