Piedmont Piano Company is pleased to present
JAZZ CAMP FEST:
Allison Miller and Jenny Scheinman's
Parlour Game
In their latest endeavor PARLOUR GAME, violinist Jenny Scheinman and drummer Allison Miller dig into the rootsier elements of jazz along with the formidable pianist Carmen Staaf and bassist Tony Scherr. The repertoire explores swing, gogo, backbeats and ballads. Scheinman and Miller are both artists with eclectic backgrounds, having collaborated with such diverse musicians as Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Lucinda Williams, Natalie Merchant, and Rene Rosnes. In PARLOUR GAME they explore the classic format of the piano quartet and strive for excellence in simplicity - the perfect groove and a melody that sticks.
$20 General Admission
Allison Miller is a Brooklyn-based drummer, composer and teacher. She has been named one of the Top 20 Jazz Drummers in Downbeat Magazine, and her band Boom Tic Boom’s most recent release, Otis Was A Polar Bear, was chosen for NPR’s Jazz Critics Poll. She grew up in the DC area, studied classical percussion at West Virginia University, and has collaborated with many prominent American musicians such as as Dr. Lonnie Smith, Rene Rosnes, Anat Cohen, Patricia Barber, Ben Allison, Ani DiFranco, Natalie Merchant, Brandi Carlile, and Toshi Reagon. She is a regular drummer for Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Meredith Vieira Show. She teaches at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC and is the artistic director of Jazz Camp West. She endorses Yamaha drums, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth and Evans drumheads. allisonmiller.com
Jenny Scheinman is a composer, violinist and songwriter. She grew up on a homestead in Northern California and has been performing since she was a teenager. She has toured and collaborated with some of the most innovative jazz artists in the world such as Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Brian Blade, Nels Cline and Marc Ribot, as well as numerous American songwriting legends such as Lucinda Williams, Bruce Cockburn, Rodney Crowell, Robbie Fulks, Lou Reed, and Ani Difranco. Scheinman has released nine studio albums and continues to steadily develop her career and acclaim as a bandleader. Her fourth instrumental release, 12 Songs, was named by the New York Times (Ben Ratliff) as one of the Top Ten Albums of 2005. In 2008 she received national press attention in such distinguished publications as Rolling Stone, Billboard, Wall Street Journal, New York Times for her simultaneous release of the lush orchestral instrumental album Crossing The Field and her debut eponymous vocal release Jenny Scheinman. She followed this with three critically acclaimed and strikingly contrasting releases – Mischief & Mayhem, The Littlest Prisoner (a stunning follow-up vocal release featuring Bill Frisell and Brian Blade) and Here On Earth (a tribute to fiddle music and a companion piece to her multi-media touring show "Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait.") She consistently tops the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll, and was hailed “best fiddler in NYC” by Time Out New York. jennyscheinman.com
Pianist/composer Carmen Staaf is an active voice in the NYC and global music scenes. Her skills and approach have led her to perform in a wide range of settings with some of the most influential musicians of our era. She has performed with Wynton Marsalis and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchesta at Lincoln Center, with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter at The Playboy Jazz Festival, solo at The Kennedy Center, as well as at such venerable jazz venues as The Village Vanguard, The Blue Note, SFJazz, and the Montreal and North Sea jazz festivals. An active educator, Staaf has held faculty positions at Berklee College Of Music, The New School Stanford Jazz Institute, and has led masterclasses around the globe. She is the transcriber for Herbie Hancock's MasterClass performances and lessons, and the pianist and musical director for NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater. Staaf’s most recent album is Day Dream (TRR, 2017). carmenstaaf.com
Tony Scherr currently plays bass with Bill Frisell, Sex Mob, and Sun Kil Moon. He has also played bass and guitar with John Lurie & The Lounge Lizards, Joey Baron's Killer Joey, The Maria Schneider Orchestra, Norah Jones, Kate Fenner, Dakota Staton, John Scofield, Sasha Dobson, and Aaron Neville. Scherr was born in New Haven and lives in Brooklyn.