LIVE at Piedmont Piano Company
Allison Miller & Carmen Staaf
Drummer Allison Miller and pianist Carmen Staaf continue the collaboration they began on the acclaimed Science Fair with Nearness, a new duo album release that freely explores originals and standards with playful intelligence and deeply synced connection. “Allison Miller and Carmen Staaf share an affinity for incorporating unexpected elements within familiar forms. That was obvious on their previous collaboration, the 2018 album Science Fair, recorded with a trio and quintet. Here, they use it to great effect on a set of piano and drum duets.” (John Frederick Moore, Jazziz, 2022)
$20 General Admission
We are offering a limited number of tickets to attend this performance in person. Advance purchase is required. COVID-19 SAFETY: All ticket holders must wear a mask while inside the piano store.
CARMEN STAAF
Herbie Hancock calls Carmen Staaf "a consummate jazz pianist with equal talent in composition, orchestration and arranging. A bright future awaits her." Currently pianist and Musical Director for NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater, Carmen has performed everywhere from the Village Vanguard with John Zorn, to Lincoln Center as a guest soloist with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, to recordings with Natalie Merchant and Lila Downs. She has performed with jazz luminaries including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock (in a two-piano setting at the Playboy Jazz Festival), Eddie Gomez, Bob Brookmeyer, and at the Kennedy Center in concert alongside Fred Hersch and Kenny Barron. A Yamaha Artist, she has been a DownBeat Critics Poll “Rising Star Pianist” for the past two years. She co-leads a piano trio with the drummer Jeff Williams; the trio has released the albums “Bloom” (Whirlwind) and “Woodland” (Newvelle). She was a fellow at the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute, where she studied with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. Carmen has played at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Newport and Monterey Jazz Festivals, International Jazz Days in Paris and at the White House, and throughout Europe, Latin America and India. Formerly on faculty at Berklee, Carmen teaches at the New School and is a regular Artist in Residence at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. carmenstaaf.com
ALLISON MILLER
NYC-based drummer/composer/teacher Allison Miller engages her deep roots in improvisation as a vehicle to explore all music. Described by critics as a Modern Jazz Icon in the Making, Miller won Downbeat magazine’s 67th Annual Critics Poll “Rising Star Drummer” and JazzTimes magazine’s Critics Poll. Her composition, “Otis Was a Polar Bear”, is included on NPR’s list of The 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women+. She is also the first recipient of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Commissioning Grant. The commissioned work, Rivers In Our Veins, is now being performed throughout the United States and has grown into a multimedia suite featuring live music, tap dance, contemporary dance, and video. Miller, a three time Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, was Monterey Jazz Festival’s 2019 Artist in Residence, alongside bassist/producer Derrick Hodge. Miller is also a proud member of the critically acclaimed Bluenote recording supergroup Artemis and has been the rhythmic force behind behind such artists as Toshi Reagon, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Sara Bareilles, Ani DiFranco, Natalie Merchant, Brandi Carlile, Indigo Girls, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. As an educator, Miller teaches at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and is the Artistic Director for Jazz Camp West. In 2017 Miller was appointed Arts Envoy to Thailand for her work with Jazz Education Abroad. allisonmiller.com