Jenny Scheinman is a singer, violin player, composer and arranger. She grew up in the sticks playing folk music with her family, went on to study at Oberlin Conservatory, and has been performing as a violinist/fiddler since she was a teenager. She has taken the #1 Rising Star Violinist title in the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll and has been listed as one of their Top Ten Overall Violinists for the last five years. In addition, she has garnered numerous high-profile arranging credits with artists such as Lucinda Williams, Bono, Lou Reed and Sean Lennon, and has toured and recorded with Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Madeleine Peyroux, Nels Cline, Vinicius Cantuaria, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Mark Ribot. She has four releases of original music under her belt, the last of which, 12 Songs, was named by the New York Times (Ben Ratliff) as one of the Top Ten Albums of 2005. She will be releasing her next two on May 27, 2008 on Koch. The eponymous Jenny Scheinman, produced by Tony Scherr, is her debut recording as a singer and it focuses on the American folk/country/rock music of her childhood. Crossing The Field is her fifth instrumental release and features Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Ron Miles, Doug Weiselman, Tim Luntzel and Kenny Wollesen (who also appear on Jenny Scheinman), plus a string orchestra led by Eyvind Kang and Brooklyn Rider.
Nels Cline is a guitarist and composer. He began to play guitar at age 12 when his twin brother, Alex Cline took up the drums. Cline is not classically trained. This gives him a unique avant-garde style that many other jazz guitarists fail to match, due to their probable conventional training. He is noted for his apt use of effects pedals and looping devices, which enhances his style and gives his approach to guitar and music a distinct sound.
Jim Black is at the forefront of a new generation of musicians bringing jazz into the 21st century. In addition to being one of the most influential drummers of our time, he is also the leader of one of the world’s most forward-thinking bands, AlasNoAxis, featuring his longtime collaborators Chris Speed, Hilmar Jensson and Skúli Sverrisson. Based on the foundation of his virtuosic but highly personal approach to jazz drumming, Black’s aesthetic has expanded to include Balkan rhythms, rock songcraft and laptop soundscapes. Though he is revered worldwide for his limitless technique and futuristic concepts, what many listeners treasure in most Jim Black’s work is the relentless feeling of joy and invention he brings to his performances. Jim Black’s smiling, kinetic, unpredictable presence has enthralled and inspired audiences worldwide for over twenty years.
Matt Penman hails from Auckland, New Zealand where he started playing bass at the age of 14. A scholarship from Berklee saw him move to the States in 1994 and to New York soon after that where he maintains a busy performing, recording and teaching schedule.
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