Michael Weiss Quartet at The Side Door Jazz Club

MICHAEL WEISS QUARTET – Sat Jan 31st 2015 - Doors 7:30pm Show 8:30pm 860-434-0886** www.thesidedoorjazz.com


Michael Weiss – piano, Walt Weiskopf - tenor saxophone, David Wong – bass, George Fludas – drums.

Weiss first gained international exposure with the release of his debut recording, Presenting Michael Weiss (Criss Cross). It was awarded Stereo Review's "Best Recording of the Month" and was "Jazz Pick of the Year" on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. In 1987 Weiss began touring the USA regularly as a member of Johnny Griffin's quartet. Weiss' fifteen year association with the "little giant," which includes four recordings, has earned the pianist widespread critical recognition as a soloist, accompanist and arranger. In the Chicago Tribune, Howard Reich wrote that "whether playing ferociously fast right-hand lines or two-fisted blues chords, Weiss matched the tenor and tone of Griffin's work."...

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MICHAEL WEISS QUARTET – Sat Jan 31st 2015 - Doors 7:30pm Show 8:30pm 860-434-0886** www.thesidedoorjazz.com


Michael Weiss – piano, Walt Weiskopf - tenor saxophone, David Wong – bass, George Fludas – drums.

Weiss first gained international exposure with the release of his debut recording, Presenting Michael Weiss (Criss Cross). It was awarded Stereo Review's "Best Recording of the Month" and was "Jazz Pick of the Year" on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. In 1987 Weiss began touring the USA regularly as a member of Johnny Griffin's quartet. Weiss' fifteen year association with the "little giant," which includes four recordings, has earned the pianist widespread critical recognition as a soloist, accompanist and arranger. In the Chicago Tribune, Howard Reich wrote that "whether playing ferociously fast right-hand lines or two-fisted blues chords, Weiss matched the tenor and tone of Griffin's work."

In addition to his work with Griffin, Weiss has served as accompanist to several jazz legends such as Art Farmer, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Charles McPherson, Frank Wess, Gary Bartz, the Jazztet, Jackie Paris, Tom Harrell and Al Foster. He also has extensive big band experience, performing with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks, Mingus Epitaph, and Vanguard Jazz Orchestras. Jazz at Lincoln Center has employed Weiss several times: as featured soloist in the PBS broadcast, Live From Lincoln Center: The City of Jazz, as commentator in Wynton Marsalis' NPR series, Making the Music, and as educator, conducting master classes for high schools competing in the annual Duke Ellington competition.

Weiss' four recordings have received unanimous critical acclaim. Stereo Review devoted a feature review to his debut album, Presenting Michael Weiss (Criss Cross). Power Station (DIW) was selected as one of the top five releases of 1997 by JazzTimes, in which Sid Gribetz said, "Weiss' originals sound as if they were standards of the genre." In Fanfare, Royal S. Brown wrote, "Weiss' consummate command of the piano shows throughout the album." According to the British magazine Jazz Journal, Milestones (SteepleChase) contains "splendid music on every track...piano playing of the highest order." His 2003 release, "Soul Journey" (Sintra) features a collection of all original compositions for septet including the award winning, "El Camino." As Terry Lawson of the Detroit Free Press writes, "the songs simply smoke."

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