Rifftides readers in the New York metropolitan area, or planning to visit it, may care to make note of an unusual performance coming up this week. Soprano saxophonist Bill Kirchner, pianist Marc Copland and vocalist Carol Fredette will make a rare collaborative appearance on Wednesday evening, April 17, at The Players. Ordinarily, the private club on Gramercy Park South is open only to members, but membership is not required for this occasion. The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, co-sponsor of the event, posted comments about the musicians:
Jazz at the Players
“Bill Kirchner is one of those rare musicians who is able to synthesize an awareness of the past with his own voice, taking jazz in new directions that are firmly based on tradition.”—Benny Carter
“Carol Fredette is everything you need in a jazz singer. She thinks, swings and phrases like a creative instrumentalist, yet her way with words captures the essence of a lyric.”—Dan Morgenstern, author, jazz historian, critic
On Marc Copland “A quiet giant of his instrument…the stuff of legend.”—All About Jazz.com
To my knowledge, no recording exists of Kirchner, Fredette and Copland together. Perhaps one will materialize from the Players gig. In the meantime, here’s Copland with a solo version of Don Sebesky’s “You Can’t Go Home Again†from the pianist’s album Time Within Time.