JUDY NIEMACK - voc. (USA)
GREG COHEN - b. (USA)
JOHANNES BALLESTREM - p. (D)
"Throughout her long recording career—which started with By Heart on Sea Breeze Records in the late ‘70s— Judy Niemack has been a jazz singer who identified strongly with instrumentalists. Sheila Jordan, Betty Carter, Annie Ross and Ella Fitzgerald have directly or indirectly influenced her risk-taking vocal style, but Niemack’s improvisatory spirit also owes a great deal to Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and other non-singers. Niemack has added lyrics to a long list of bop and postbop instrumentals along the way and her sense of adventure continues to serve her well on Listening to You....Niemack reminds us how sensitive an interpreter of lyrics she can be on introspective performances of Harry Warren’s “There Will Never Be Another You”, Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are”, Jay Gorney- Sidney Clare’s “You’re My Thrill” and Edward Heyman’s “Body and Soul”....New York City Jazz Record In this special Zig Zag evening, Judy Niemack, ("A jazz singer with a perfectly glorious voice" NYTimes), will honour the 100th birthday of one of the most influential jazz vocalists, Ella Fitzgerald, with songs from "American Songbook", including Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Cole Porter along with her own songs and lyrics. Accompanied by pianist Johannes Ballestrem and bassist Greg Cohen (with such diverse artists as Ornette Coleman, Tom Waits, Woody Allen and Norah Jones), Judy will explore the beautiful melodies and passionate lyrics of the 40's, developing a contemporary vision of Ella's legacy along with her exemplary musical cohorts...
Greg Cohen (born July 13, 1953) is an American jazz bassist. Best known for his work with John Zorn's Masada quartet; more recently he has been touring with Ornette Coleman[citation needed], and performed on Coleman's much-praised Sound Grammar album. Cohen has also often played traditional jazz, including work with Ken Peplowski, Kenny Davern and the filmmaker/clarinettist Woody Allen. He has worked with many musicians, including Tom Waits, David Byrne, and Elvis Costello.
Cohen's bass playing credits include work with artists such as Dagmar Krause, David Sanborn, Susana Baca, Gal Costa, Marisa Monte, Laurie Anderson, Willie Nelson, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Dave Douglas, Tricky, Jesse Harris, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts, Joey Baron, Donovan, Crystal Gayle, Bob Dylan, Nina Nastasia, Alan Watts, Lee Konitz, Richie Havens, Dino Saluzzi, Lou Reed, Marianne Faithfull, Odetta, Danny Barker, Tim Sparks, and Antony and the Johnsons.
In August/September 2006 he was musical director of the Century of Song series at the German arts festival, RuhrTriennale. He invited songwriters and performers such as David Byrne, Holly Cole and Laurie Anderson.
He has been a regular member of Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band, which used to play every Monday evening at Manhattan's Carlyle Hotel. He appears in the documentary film Wild Man Blues (directed by Barbara Kopple), which documents a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band. Cohen appears in Robert Altman's 1993 film Short Cuts.[1]
Cohen is a bass professor and the head of string department at the Jazz Institute Berlin.[2] He has been a resident of Summit, New Jersey.
Johannes von Ballestrem ist ein deutscher Jazzmusiker. Er studierte Klavier am Jazz Institut Berlin, wo er u.a. bei Wolfgang Köhler, Tino Derado, Kurt Rosenwinkel und John Hollenbeck Unterricht hatte. Außerdem war er Mitglied im Bundesjazzorchester, mit dem er mehrere CDs veröffentlicht und zahlreiche Tourneen in unterschiedliche Länder unternommen hat.
Momentan absolviert er einen Master bei Michael Wollny.
Aufgrund seiner stilistischen Vielseitigkeit ist von Ballestrem ein gefragter Sideman in unterschiedlichsten Bands und regelmäßig in seiner Heimatstadt Berlin, in ganz Deutschland sowie international zu hören.
Unter anderem stand er in der Vergangenheit mit Jazzgrößen wie Kurt Rosenwinkel, Greg Cohen, Kurt Elling, Till Brönner, Eric Harland, Michael Schiefel und Jiggs Whigham auf der Bühne.
Im März 2014 eröffnete Johannes von Ballestrem mit einem Solokonzert die deutsche Kulturwoche in Cotonou, Benin (Westafrika), außerdem spielte er dort Konzerte mit beninischen Musikern.
Mit dem preisgekrönten Trio “Massive Schräge” veröffentlichte er 2014 die erste eigene CD, die von der Kritik sehr positiv aufgenommen wurde.
2016 erhielt er von der Berliner Senatskanzlei für kulturelle Angelegenheiten ein Stipendium für einen zweimonatigen Forschungs- und Arbeitsaufenthalt in New Orleans, um sich dort mit den Wurzeln des Jazz zu befassen.
http://www.judyniemack.com
Beginn 20:30 Uhr( Einlass 20:00 Uhr)