$15 at the door 7:30pm Show
ESQUINA is inspired by Miles Davis’s electric period (On the Corner, Agharta, Pangaea), featuring synths, electric bass, and processed trumpet with FX pedals as well as Armenian melodies and influences. The band will perform beautiful original tunes with space for free improvisation and group interplay.
Band Members
Michael Sarian - Trumpet/FX
Nathan Ellman-Bell - Drums
Marty Kenney - Bass
Santiago Leibson - Keys
✧
Michael Sarian’s ESQUINA draws inspiration from Miles Davis’s groundbreaking work with electronics and extended improvisation. Their innovative approach features Sarian’s loosely structured compositions and graphic scores, seamlessly integrating themes and sounds from his Armenian heritage. ESQUINA emphasizes group interplay, allowing the ensemble to explore and create unique performances that vary with each show. This project not only highlights Sarian's artistic vision but also invites audiences to experience the spontaneity and depth of contemporary jazz in a fresh, captivating way. Their upcoming album is set for release April 25 on Greenleaf Music.
Born in Toronto and raised in Buenos Aires, Michael Sarian has performed at some of the most iconic international stages, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center and Teatro Colón, Lollapalooza, the Houston Rodeo, Rock in Rio, the Blue Note, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Michael's artistic output is as diverse as his background; he has released three albums with his quartet, toured the world with the Jonas Brothers, released electronic avant-garde music with Barcelona-based pianist Olec Mün, and shared the stage with artists such as Michael Bublé, Jon Bellion, and Kirk Franklin. Michael was selected to join the 2024 Art Omi: Music Residency cohort and was a semifinalist at the prestigious DCJazzPrix in '20, '23 and '24, an artist in residence at Culture Lab LIC for the winter/spring 2022 season, and a 2020 Performer-Composer in Residence at Westben Centre for Connection & Creativity.
Nathan Ellman-Bell is a graduate of the Idyllwild Arts Academy and the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he earned a degree in jazz studies. He has performed with such jazz luminaries as Michael Formanek, Craig Taborn, Uri Caine, Sebastien Ammann, Dave Douglas and Sam Rivers.
Based in New York City, Marty Kenney is among his generation’s most versatile and in-demand upright and electric bassists. Kenney completed his master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music, studying under bassist Jay Anderson. He has performed with musicians such as Art Lande, Billy Drummond, Rich Perry, Steve Slagle, Allan Harris, Rez Abbasi, Steve Wilson, Brian Krock’s Big Heart Machine, David Berkman, and the New York Standards Quartet featuring Tim Armacost and Gene Jackson. He has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival; Pori Jazz Festival; the Mosaic Festival in Romania; Umbria Winter Jazz Festival; Porretta Soul Festival; and many notable venues around the world, including the Bimhuis, Shinjuku Pit Inn, Jazzclub Unterfahrt, Smalls, Dazzle Jazz Club, Birdland, Red Rocks Amphitheater, and the Blue Note.
Santiago Leibson is a pianist and composer from Argentina, based in Brooklyn since 2014. As a leader, he has recorded solo, trio, and sextet formations. He’s also an active member of various different projects including Lim Yang Zodiac Trio, Elsa Nilsson Band of Pulses, Matt Pavolka Band, Michaël Attias Quartet, Allan Mednard Trio, Nicolás Politzer Trio, and Michael Sarian Quartet.
