Gary Bartz: Music Legacy in Motion.

Born and raised in Baltimore, NEA Jazz Master Gary Bartz stands as a titan of modern jazz, dedicated to honoring and advancing Black American musical heritage. With a career spanning over six decades, Bartz’s masterful approach to the alto saxophone and his concept of “informal composition” have redefined the boundaries of jazz improvisation.

Bartz first rose to prominence in the 1960s, performing alongside legendary figures like Max Roach, Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, and Miles Davis. His work with Davis included the iconic Live-Evil sessions, marking him as a dynamic force in the jazz fusion movement. As a bandleader, Bartz has released over 45 albums, including the groundbreaking Harlem Bush Music, blending Afrocentric themes with avant-garde expression.

In 2025, Bartz will unveil his first solo recordings since 2011—a highly anticipated dual project produced by Grammy-winning producer Om’Mas Keith (Frank Ocean, John Legend). These works, slated for announcement early in the year, reaffirm Bartz’s position at the vanguard of jazz innovation.

An artist unafraid to evolve, Bartz continues to shape jazz’s future. Recent collaborations with Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge for their acclaimed Jazz Is Dead series and performances with the jazz-funk collective Maisha have introduced his artistry to new audiences worldwide.

Bartz’s contributions to jazz have earned numerous accolades, including two GrammyAwards and the BNY Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award. As he embarks on his latest tour,audiences can expect a blend of timeless compositions, bold improvisations, and glimpsesinto his exciting new projects. Whether you’re a lifelong jazz devotee or new to the genre,experiencing Gary Bartz live is a masterclass in the transformative power of music.

Pharoah Sanders official site | Pharoah Sanders on Facebook

Pharoah Sanders possesses one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone sounds in jazz. Harmonically rich and heavy with overtones, Sanders’ sound can be as raw and abrasive as it is possible for a saxophonist to produce. Yet, Sanders is highly regarded to the point of reverence by a great many jazz fans. Although he made his name with expressionistic, nearly anarchic free jazz in John Coltrane’s late ensembles of the mid-’60s, Sanders’ later music is guided by more graceful concerns.

The hallmarks of Sanders’ playing at that time were naked aggression and unrestrained passion. In the years after Coltrane’s death, however, Sanders explored other, somewhat gentler and perhaps more cerebral avenues — without, it should be added, sacrificing any of the intensity that defined his work as an apprentice to Coltrane.

Pharoah Sanders (his given name, Ferrell Sanders) was born into a musical family. Sanders’ early favorites included Harold Land, James Moody, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane. Known in the San Francisco Bay Area as “Little Rock,” Sanders soon began playing bebop, rhythm & blues, and free jazz with many of the region’s finest musicians, including fellow saxophonists Dewey Redman and Sonny Simmons, as well as pianist Ed Kelly and drummer Smiley Winters. In 1961, Sanders moved to New York, where he struggled. Unable to make a living with his music, Sanders took to pawning his horn, working non-musical jobs, and sometimes sleeping on the subway. During this period he played with a number of free jazz luminaries, including Sun Ra, Don Cherry, and Billy Higgins.

In 1964, Coltrane asked Sanders to sit in with his band. The following year, Sanders was playing regularly with the Coltrane group. Coltrane’s ensembles with Sanders were some of the most controversial in the history of jazz. Their music represents a near total desertion of traditional jazz concepts, like swing and functional harmony, in favor of a teeming, irregularly structured, organic mixture of sound for sound’s sake. Strength was a necessity in that band, and as Coltrane realized, Sanders had it in abundance.

Sanders made his first record as a leader in 1964. After John Coltrane’s death in 1967, Sanders worked briefly with his widow, Alice Coltrane. From the late ’60s, he worked primarily as a leader of his own ensembles.

In the decades after his first recordings with Coltrane, Sanders developed into a more well-rounded artist, capable of playing convincingly in a variety of contexts, from free to mainstream. Some of his best work is his most accessible. As a mature artist, Sanders discovered a hard-edged lyricism that has served him well.

Nubya Garcia Official Website | Nubya Garcia on Facebook | Nubya Garcia on Twitter | Nubya Garcia on Instagram

London-based saxophonist and composer, Nubya Garcia, is one of the leading forces behind the resurgence of jazz-influenced sounds in the UK. Raised in a creative environment built by a set of Caribbean parents, her brand of afro-tinged Jazz has made her a key component in a string of new and established groups: from work with MOBO Award-winning drummer, Moses Boyd, legendary Jungle producer and toaster, Congo Natty, through to her own works as part of six-piece, Maisha, and the Nérija septet.

Nubya fearlessly threw herself head first into this 5ive project, her debut recording, with a clear vision of what she wanted and was meticulous in her pursuit of her sound. Enlisting the help of fellow musical comrades from an exciting new wave of London based talent, Nubya tapped into well-seasoned, harmonious relationships with players that know and understand her – and this joyful union radiates through her compositions.