Doors open at 7 - Music at 7:30 - $30 advance tickets - $35 at the door
Seated listening room style show - General admission - All ages
The Alluvion Jazz Series wraps up its season with a band of legendary scale. Led by saxophonist Jordan VanHemert, this bold ensemble of masterful musicians brings the 2025/26 Jazz Series to it's crescendo.
VanHemert is coming in hot with key players from all around the US, including seasoned giants of the jazz world: drummer Lewis Nash, bassist Rodney Whitaker, and Trumpeter Terell Stafford.
Combined with new, rising forces in jazz: guitarist Jocelyn Gould and pianist Miki Yamanaka, this next-level lineup is going to bring the heat to close out this epic series.
Featuring:
Jordan VanHemert - saxophone, leader
Miki Yamanaka - piano
Lewis Nash - drums
Terell Stafford - trumpet
Jocelyn Gould - guitar
Rodney Whitaker - bass
JORDAN VANHEMERT
Saxophonist, composer and educator Jordan VanHemert has four critically acclaimed releases to his credit, and a fifth on the way in early 2024 (featuring Terell Stafford, producer Michael Dease, Helen Sung, Rodney Whitaker and Lewis Nash).
Born in Korea and raised in Michigan, VanHemert makes music rooted in the jazz tradition and guided by a resolute political consciousness, illuminating issues of race and social justice. With a penchant for modern, swinging melodicism, he pays homage to his Korean roots while drawing on the blues-infused hard bop tradition handed down to him by his mentors.
An integral part of VanHemert’s mission is to advocate for API and BIPOC representation through his art, in part by sharing Korean culture, perspectives and storytelling through music. He has co-chaired a number of diversity committees including the North American Saxophone Alliance Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging and Accessibility.
VanHemert has played with the likes of John Daversa, Dmitri Matheny, Rodney Whitaker, John Webber, Geri Allen, Chris Vadala, Vince DiMartino and Dave Eggar. He has performed at ShapeShifter Lab, The Painted Bride, The Blue Llama, Edgefest, Elkhart Jazz Festival, the Korean Cultural Foundation of Philadelphia and many more.
MIKI YAMANAKA
Japanese-born pianist Miki Yamanaka has called New York City home since 2012 and in the past decade has wasted no time establishing herself as one of the leading personalities of her generation on the piano and beyond. Critics laud her “light, expressive touch and solidly crafted, mainstream approach” - Mike Jurkovic (All About Jazz), while audiences delight in not only her playing, but her vibrant personality as well.
Yamanaka has gained international recognition from her albums as a leader; her most recent and most celebrated release, “Chance” (Cellar Music), features her NYC rhythm section, Tyrone Allen and Jimmy Macbride. Additionally, Miki has emerged as a leader of the “New York Scene” via her notable residencies at mainstay West Village sister clubs Smalls and Mezzrow.
During the pandemic, she developed a successful in-home live-streaming weekly concert series cleverly titled “Miki’s Mood” where she features a veritable who’s who of NYC talent (including her husband and frequent collaborator - drummer Jimmy Macbride). The series showcases her vast knowledge of Jazz standards and tunes, often featuring themed offerings of various composers from both the Great American Songbook as well as iconic Jazz composers.
LEWIS NASH
“Rhythm Is My Business” is the title of his 1989 debut recording as a bandleader, and legendary drummer Lewis Nash is all about the business of keeping rhythm.
Universally recognized as one of the great drummers in jazz history, his illustrious career now spans over four decades. Nash is one of jazz’s most recorded musicians, appearing on over 500 recordings including 10 Grammy winners and numerous Grammy nominees.
In fact, Nash has the distinction of being the only musician in jazz history featured on the winners in both the “Best Jazz Vocal" and “Best Jazz Instrumental" album categories in two separate years: the 2004 Grammys with Nancy Wilson and McCoy Tyner, and again in 2010 with Dee Dee Bridgewater and James Moody.
A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Lewis arrived in New York City in 1981 at the age of 22 and first gained international recognition as a member of vocalist Betty Carter’s trio. This was a pivotal time in his development, as he traveled the world for nearly 4 years with Carter and had the opportunity to meet and engage with many of his musical peers and predecessors.
In the years to follow, Nash toured, recorded and performed with many of jazz’s most celebrated icons, and his resume reads like a “who’s who” of jazz royalty. These jazz legends include: Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, JJ Johnson, Sonny Rollins, Tommy Flanagan, Sonny Stitt, Clark Terry, Stan Getz and many, many more.
TERELL STAFFORD
Terell Stafford, acclaimed trumpet player based in New York, has been hailed as “one of the great players of our time, a fabulous trumpet player” by piano legend McCoy Tyner. Stafford is recognized as an incredibly gifted and versatile player, he combines a deep love of melody with his own brand of spirited and adventurous lyricism. Stafford’s exceptionally expressive and well defined musical talent allows him to dance in and around the rich trumpet tradition of his predecessors while making his own inroads.
Stafford has been an integral member in bands led by esteemed artists such as Cedar Walton, Sadao Watanabe, Herbie Mann, and Matt Wilson. Stafford has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Rosie O’Donnell Show, and You Bet your Life. Stafford can be heard along with Bobby Watson on the soundtrack for the feature film A Bronx Tale and in the documentary Treme: Untold Story of Black New Orleans.
Stafford can be heard performing on over 130 albums. Stafford with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, performed on Diana Krall’s GRAMMY nominated From this Moment On (2006). John Clayton invited Stafford to perform with the Clayton Brothers Quintet, Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and to teach for the prestigious Vail Jazz Foundation.
JOCELYN GOULD
2021 JUNO Award winner Jocelyn Gould has been called “a leader in the next generation of great mainstream jazz guitarists” by Howard Paul, CEO of Benedetto Guitars.
Her joyful energy has captivated audiences around the world and her passion for music is as infectious as her unique ability to connect with audiences. Jocelyn has absorbed the influences of the jazz guitar greats and has woven them into an exciting personal sound, citing Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Joe Pass and Kenny Burrell as primary influences on the guitar.
Jocelyn has performed and recorded internationally as a leader and with GRAMMY-nominated vocalist Freddy Cole, JUNO-winning trumpeter and vocalist Bria Skonberg, DownBeat Trombonist of the Year Michael Dease, Etienne Charles, Jon Gordon, Rodney Whitaker, Randy Napoleon and Diego Rivera.
RODNEY WHITAKER
Internationally renowned bassist and Origin Records recording artist, Rodney Whitaker, currently holds the titles of Professor of Jazz Bass and Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University where he has built one of the leading jazz degree programs and performing faculty in the world.
He is considered one of the leading performers and teachers of the jazz double bass in the United States. He is also the Artistic Director of the Michigan State University Professors of Jazz, former Artistic Advisor of Jazz @ Wharton Center, Director of Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Orchestra and a former member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Rodney is one of the hardest working and swinging bass players on the scene and has recorded with great musicians such as Roy Hargrove, Pat Metheny and Wynton Marsalis. Featured on more than 100+ recordings — from film to compact discs — Whitaker’s film scores, China, directed by Jeff Wray, was released on PBS Fall 2002 and Malaria and Malawi, released on PBS Fall 2010. Also, Whitaker has a DVD release featuring Michigan State University’s Jazz Department entitled, “Inside Jazz”. In 2011, he was nominated for an EMMY for the ‘Original Music’ category, “Malawi and Malaria: Fighting to Save the Children” produced by Robert Gould and Sue Carter.
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