MORE ABOUT LEWIS PORTER-PHIL SCARFF GROUP
New York-based pianist, composer, educator, and author Lewis Porter combines forces with Boston saxophonist and composer Phil Scarff in this compelling ensemble. From jazz standards to contemporary treatments of traditional Indian classical fare, and from melodic originals to free-wheeling improvisation, East emerges from West and the audacious emerges from the contemplative.
“Lewis Porter… a helluva piano player,” raves Jazz Times. Pianist/composer/educator/author Lewis Porter, Ph.D. (//www.lewisporter.com), long known as a jazz educator at Rutgers-Newark, formerly at Tufts and Brandeis, and as the author of books including a celebrated volume on John Coltrane, is also very active as a jazz pianist and composer. His concerto for Dave Liebman and orchestra was premiered at Harvard on April 19, 2012. He has performed or recorded across the USA and Europe with Liebman, Wycliffe Gordon, Ravi Coltrane, Marc Ribot, and many others.
“Phil Scarff… weaving magic through his saxophone with Raga Puriya… soul-stirring… sonorous,” extols the Deccan Herald, Bengaluru, India. Phil Scarff (//www.philscarff.com) performs Indian classical music and jazz, and leads the acclaimed world-jazz ensemble, Natraj, which has performed domestically and abroad in India, Ghana, and elsewhere. He has shared the spotlight with icons of Indian classical music including saxophone great Kadri Gopalnath, Chitravina Ravikiran, Shashank, and Trichy Sankaran, as well as African master drummers Godwin Agbeli and Abubakari Lunna. Phil performs and records with creative jazz ensembles including Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Composers Alliance, Sandy Prager, and Filmprov.
The Porter-Scarff Group features Lewis Porter, piano; Phil Scarff, tenor, soprano, and sopranino saxophones; John Funkhouser, string bass; and Bertram Lehmann, drums.
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