LIVE at Piedmont Piano Company
Billy Hart with Joe Warner & Tarus Mateen
Pianist and Bay Area young lion Joe Warner teams up with NEA Jazz Master and legendary drummer Billy Hart, along with renowned bassist Tarus Mateen, for an evening of world class jazz piano trio. This all-star group will thrill and delight audiences with standards, blues, ballads, and adventurous swingin' featuring one of the greatest drummers of our time.
$30 General Admission
We are offering a limited number of tickets to attend this performance in person. Advance purchase is recommended. Masking is encouraged but not required.
BILLY HART
NEA Jazz Master William “Billy” Hart (born November 29, 1940 in Washington, D.C.) is a jazz drummer and educator who has performed with some of the most important jazz musicians in history. Early on Hart performed in Washington, D.C. with soul artists such as Otis Redding and Sam and Dave, and then later with Buck Hill and Shirley Horn, and was a sideman with the Montgomery Brothers (1961), Jimmy Smith (1964–1966), and Wes Montgomery (1966–1968). Hart moved to New York in 1968, where he recorded with McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul, and played with Eddie Harris, Pharoah Sanders, and Marian McPartland. Hart was a member of Herbie Hancock’s sextet (1969–1973), and played with McCoy Tyner (1973–1974), Stan Getz (1974–1977), and Quest (1980s), in addition to extensive freelance playing (including recording with Miles Davis on 1972’s On the Corner).
Billy Hart works steadily and teaches widely. Since the early 1990s Hart spends considerable time at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and is adjunct faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music and Western Michigan University. He also conducts private lessons through The New School and New York University. Hart often contributes to the Stokes Forest Music Camp and the Dworp Summer Jazz Clinic in Belgium.
He leads the Billy Hart Quartet with Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson, and Ben Street, which has released two albums on ECM Records. www.billyhartmusic.com
JOE WARNER
Pianist Joe Warner is one of the Bay Area’s brightest young talents quickly gaining recognition for his compelling style and exceptional performances. He is Pianist and Musical Director for The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol, leads the Joe Warner Trio, and has also performed or recorded with Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Buster Williams, Billy Hart, Gary Bartz, Azar Lawrence, Mistah F.A.B., Mary Stallings, Steve Turre, Robert Randolph, Kenny Washington, Marcus Shelby Orchestra, Johnny Talbot, Stephanie Crawford, Elena Pinderhughes, Roy McCurdy, Marvin 'Smitty' Smith, Eric Wyatt, Lenny White, Casey Benjamin, Dennis Chambers, Bernard Purdie, The California Honeydrops, Willie Jones III, Jules Broussard, Freddie Hughes, Derick Hughes, Martin Luther, John Santos, Oakland Symphony, Rickey Woodard, John Handy, Valerie Troutt, and Denise Perrier, among others. www.joewarnermusic.com
TARUS MATEEN
Tarus Mateen's creative genius and mastery of acoustic bass, electric bass, rhythm guitar, and piano make him one of the most sought-after musician/producers in hip-hop, house, blues, rock, reggae, soul, and straight ahead jazz. He is quite possibly the only musician to receive critical acclaim in all these musical genres at once.
By the time Tarus was a teenager, he was a studio musician for some of California’s early rappers and had toured nationally with his brothers. In 1985 Tarus attended Morehouse College to major in Music. Setting the local club circuit on fire, Tarus sharpened his skills on both the upright and electric bass. While playing in Savannah, Art Blakey encouraged Tarus to move to New York and join his band. Upon arriving in New York in 1988, Tarus landed a one and a half-year stint with legendary jazz master Betty Carter. Since 1996, there has not been a Top 10 jazz album that didn’t feature Tarus Mateen, a phenomenal feat for any artist.
A consummate artist, Tarus isn’t afraid to explore any musical genre. He is consistently requested for performances and studio sessions with R&B and hip hop artists including Q-Tip, Lauryn Hill, Ghostface, Ice Cube, and The Roots.
Tarus has also made his mark on film with trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard on the scores for Sugar Hill, and for the Spike Lee film Malcolm X, as well as the Grammy nominated Malcolm X Jazz Suite. Tarus’s original score for the upcoming documentary film, King George: a King Runs for President, about George Weah an international soccer star, is gaining pre-screening momentum in Hollywood. As well as having featured music on RFK Goes to South Africa a documentary about Robert F. Kennedy fighting Aparthied. www.tarusmateen.com