New Quartet

Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet + various brass instruments)
Aaron Stewart (woodwinds)
John Escreet (piano)
Tyshawn Sorey (trombone + drums)

Since its’ immediate inception on November 19, 2009 at the AACM Concert Series in NYC, Sorey has begun preparing a new work for this quartet entitled Acts (to be premiered in October at the Jazz Gallery in NYC). This is the quartet’s second appearance in New York, and they will be performing brand new compositions by Sorey, as well as material from Acts.

Tyshawn Sorey (b. Newark, N.J., 1980) is an active composer, performer, educator, and scholar who works across an extensive range of musical idioms. As a percussionist, trombonist, and pianist, Tyshawn has performed and/or recorded nationally and internationally with his own ensembles and with those led by Muhal Richard Abrams, Steve Coleman, Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris, Michele Rosewoman, Anthony Braxton, Vijay Iyer, Wadada Leo Smith, Dave Douglas, and Billy Bang, among many others. Sorey’s work has been favorably reviewed in Traps, The Village Voice, The Wire, The New York Times, Modern Drummer, JazzTimes, The Star-Ledger, and Downbeat Magazine, and on WKCR-FM. Tyshawn has also appeared in Downbeat Magazine’s Annual Critics’ Poll since 2007. His article in Arcana 4 (John Zorn, ed.), “Meaning in Music”, examines his approach to both composition and improvisation. Sorey received his B.M. (2004) in Jazz Studies and Performance from William Paterson University where he studied under John Riley, James Williams, and Kevin Norton, while concurrently studying composition with Anton Vishio and John Link, in addition to working in various settings under Peter Jarvis, director of the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble. Sorey has also conducted and participated in various lectures and master classes on improvisation, composition, contemporary drumming, ensemble playing, and critical theory at the International Realtime Music Symposium in Norway, Hochschule für Musik Köln, School of Improvisational Music, Musikhochschule Nürnberg, Berklee College of Music, Birmingham Conservatory of Music in England, and Cité de la Musique in Paris. He has received commissions from Van Lier Fellowship and Roulette Intermedium, most recently for a multi-chapter work in progress entitled “Wu-Wei,” recently premiered in its’ entirety at The Stone in New York City, where he served as curator, in August 2009. Tyshawn is currently a private instructor in composition and improvisation for the School of Improvisational Music.