LIVE at Piedmont Piano Company
Charles Chen Quartet
Album Release “The Long Way Home”
The Long Way Home is pianist Charles Chen's upcoming album, recorded in New York with nonagenarians, bassist Bill Crow (98) and drummer Steve Little (91), along with guitarist Félix Lemerle. On the album, the band plays standards, and Charles interviews Bill and Steve about their legendary careers in jazz. Félix will be joining Charles this evening, as well as bassist Nico Martinez and drummer Brian Fishler.
General Admission
$30 in advance / $35 at the door
We are offering a limited number of seats for this performance. Advance purchase is recommended.
CHARLES CHEN
Charles Chen is a San Francisco Bay Area pianist who performed or recorded with notable musicians such as Randy Brecker, Billy Drummond, Bob Sheppard, Roy McCurdy, Adam Nussbaum, Mike Richmond, Ralph Moore, Peter Washington, and Kenny Washington. He has played at Yoshi's, San Jose Jazz Festival, and Freight and Salvage. In 2019, he won first place at the Jazz Search West competition. Charles leads a trio and has performed internationally in Taiwan, Singapore and Japan. His debut album, Charles, Play!, was featured as one of the Best Albums of 2024 in Downbeat Magazine.
Charles is also a passionate educator and his students have gone to the best music schools in the nation (Juilliard, MSM, Berklee, NEC) and won a variety of awards (YoungArts distinctions, all-state band placements, and first place for arranging and performance in the Charles Mingus competition).
He serves as the historian of the South Bay Traditional Jazz Society. He is also an admin to Jazzcord, a popular jazz discord community with over 7000 members, where he writes historical essays and album reviews regularly. charlesperforms.com
FÉLIX LEMERLE
Félix Lemerle is a jazz guitarist & composer living in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up in his native Paris, he was exposed to music at an early age thanks to his father, a jazz bass player. Initially trained as a classical pianist, he shifted his attention to guitar and jazz music in his teens, and started performing in France and Europe in various clubs and festivals, graduating from the CRR de Paris with a Degree in Jazz & Improvised Music, completing his Master in Jazz Performance as a Fulbright Scholar at CUNY Queens College. There he quickly established himself on the scene, performing, recording and touring with some of the foremost musicians in the world. He graduated from The Juilliard School with an Artist Diploma in Jazz Studies.
A highly in-demand guitarist, Félix has performed internationally in many venues & festivals such as Carnegie Hall, Chris' Jazz Cafe, BLU Jazz+, to name a few, sharing the stage with a long list of luminary musicians such as Jimmy Cobb, Freddie Redd, Buster Williams, and more.
Félix works regularly in New York with his own groups, including the collaborative band RAISE FOUR. He has won the 1st prize at the Eddie Lang Guitar Contest 2012 in Italy, and the 2nd prize at the Jarek Śmietana Guitar Competition 2015 in Poland (jury included John Abercrombie, Mike Stern & Ed Cherry). He appears on albums by Peter & Will Anderson, Samuel Lerner, Neil Saidi, Nathan Brown & Yoav Trifman. His debut album « Blues For The End Of Time » (2022, Tzim Tzum Records) features Jimmy Cobb, Bertha Hope, Ari Roland & Samuel Lerner, and showcases Félix's profound artistry of the guitar and exceptional compositional skills. instagram.com/felixlemerle
NICO MARTINEZ
Nico Martinez is a professional double bassist, electric bassist, and bandleader. He performs at esteemed venues around the country such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Blue Note NYC, The Monterey Jazz Festival, and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. The things Nico loves most about performing are the relationships that are deepened while creating something new and spontaneous, and conveying emotion and fulfillment through musical storytelling. He feels equally satisfied playing a supportive, solid role in an ensemble as he does stepping out for a solo feature. Nico is known for creative musical ideas, superb technique, and a refined sense of taste.
Nico hails from Davis, California where he started playing jazz in junior high school. By high school he was performing professionally in the Sacramento area. Nico moved to New York to further his studies with world renowned bassists Ben Wolfe and Gerald Cannon at The Juilliard School, earning his Master's in Music. He now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, and performs full time alongside the most seasoned players. instagram.com/nicoarielmartinez
BRIAN FISHLER
Brian Fishler is an east/west coast drummer/percussionist. Growing up in Novato, California, Brian started playing the drums at the age of four years old and went on to win various awards and scholarships throughout his high school tenure. Fishler played professionally in the Bay Area before moving to NYC in 2005. Some highlights include performing at the Montreal Jazz Festival and Montreux Jazz Festival, the Carson Daly Show and the London based Jonathan Ross Show. Fishler can be heard performing in the 2017 film The Lego Batman Movie as well as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Fishler continues to tour internationally and domestically with various artists and bands of different genres.
Fishler has played for and performed with the likes of Craig Handy, Ed Cherry,Bob Sheppard, Benny Benack III, Bruce Foreman, Erik Jekabson, Marcus Shelby, Joel Frahm, David Gibson, Brian Charette, Tom Guarna, Noel Jewkes, Brad Leili, Mike Olmos, Andrew Speight, Dave McNab, , Kenny Washington, Petula Clark, Michael C. Hall, Carol Channing, The Max Weinberg Orchestra, The Chico Hamilton Orchestra, Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) Richard Cheese, Aaron Freeman (of Ween), Bernie Worrell (of Funkadelic) , Donovan Leitch, The Hot Sardines, George Gee, Fred Schneider (B-52’s), and many other talents. instagram.com/brianfishler