Season Five brings Newvelle co-founder Elan Mehler from behind the scenes to in front of a piano as he joins forces with the pioneering trumpeter Dave Douglas. Together, the two artists composed an original collection of songs inspired by, and set to the words of, short poems by Basho, Saigyo, Santoka and contemporary poet/songwriter Adam McBride-Smith.
Leading an impressive band with John Gunther on reeds, Simón Willson on bass, and Dayeon Seok on drums, the sextet is complemented by the extraordinary vocalist Dominque Eade.
Dave Douglas is a prolific trumpeter, composer, educator and entrepreneur known for the stylistic breadth of his work and for keeping a diverse set of ensembles and projects active simultaneously. His unique contributions to improvised music have garnered distinguished recognition, including a Doris Duke Artist Award and two GRAMMY® nominations.
Known to Newvelle members as the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the label, pianist and composer Elan Mehler has toured his bands in major festivals and venues worldwide, receiving generous accolades from The Guardian, Downbeat, Jazzwise, Jazztimes and many other publications. Elan’s latest record, featuring Bill Frisell on guitar– “TJ and the Revenge” — came out in December on Little Lost Records.
Dominique Eade is a vocalist, improviser and composer whose wide-ranging work with artists from Anthony Braxton and Ran Blake to Stanley Cowell and Dave Holland over the past three decades has earned critical recognition from Down Beat, The New York Times, Jazz Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Atlantic Monthly and many other publications here and abroad.
John Gunther has performed or recorded with many notable jazz artists including Christian McBride, Bobby Watson, Wallace Roney and more. With a restless musical spirit, he explores all forms of jazz from traditional to avant-garde as well as classical music, world music and experimental electronic music performing on stages throughout the U.S., South America and Europe.
Simón Willson is a Chilean born, Brooklyn based bassist and composer. A graduate of the prestigious New England Conservatory in Boston, Simón is an eclectic and in demand sideman, he has toured with a host of different artists in Europe, the US, and South America. In addition to his sideman work, he co-leads the band Earprint which won the “best debut album” category of the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. Simón was also featured on the Newvelle Special Editiona release of Piano Noir.
Korean-born drummer Dayeon Seok came to the United States where she earned a Bachelor’s degree at Berklee College of Music and received a Master’s degree at New York University. Currently based in New York, her fresh and thoughtful approach to her instrument has been highly in demand from jazz musicians including pianist Russ Lossing and bassist Matt Pavolka among many others.