avery-sharpe

New Release: My Friend, Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help

Wed, 29 May 2024 17:57:05 GMT

"My Friend, Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help" video from Avery Sharpe Double Quartet, from the recording "I am My Neighbors Keeper" from JKNM Records recorded April/May 2023 with Avery Sharpe double bass/ 6 string double bass and 6 string electric bass.

Zaccai Curtis-piano, Yoron Israel-drums, Tony Vacca-balafon/African percussion, Sarah Griggs-1st. violin, Kaila Graef- 2nd violin, Gregory Diehl-viola and, Dave Haughey-cello, Matt DeChamplain-piano, Anton Kot-drums-track 6-"Parental Love" Wanda Rivera-vocals-track 9-"A Little Prayer for Mom" Dancer-Kabisko Koba

Legendary Bassist Avery Sharpe to Release New Album

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 15:02:47 GMT

A new recording will be released on JKNM Records by internationally renowned bassist/composer Avery Sharpe, “I Am My Neighbors Keeper” is schedule for release in June 2024.

Sharpe has composed a new work which highlights our commitment to one another. Avery initiated the project as a response to the political and racial division that has grown over the past seven years in the country. “The U.S political climate has drastically changed in the past 40 plus years, especially during the last seven of those years. In this age of greed, which Sharpe refers to as “IGM,” I Got Mine, basic human compassion has been eroded. Racial, economic and social strides are being turned back.

New jazz host at NEPM, abstract art in Amherst, dance concert at Smith College

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 17:24:19 GMT

SPRINGFIELD/AMHERST — If you’ve tuned into New England Public Media’s “Jazz à la Mode” this past week, you may have heard a new guy introducing the music on the Monday-to-Friday evening show. And if you’re a jazz fan, you know that he knows his stuff.

Avery Sharpe, the acclaimed bassist and composer who got his start at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is now on “Jazz à la Mode” as a program host alongside longtime host Tom Reney and two newer hosts, Peter Sokolowksi and Bex Taylor.

Springfield Symphony Orchestra To Host Free Juneteenth Concert For Community

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 16:30:15 GMT

Springfield – The Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) will present its inaugural Juneteenth concert, free and open to the community, at 3 p.m. on Monday, June 19, 2023 at Springfield Symphony Hall.

The concert will feature the orchestra performing with many voices from the community, including the Springfield Symphony Chorus, the Avery Sharpe Quartet, and Springfield’s Extended Family Choir. The concert will be conducted by Conductor Kevin Scott, who led the SSO for its “Audacity of Hope” concert in its 2022-23 season celebrating the life and spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Extended Family Choir is a group of more than 20 singers, founded by Avery Sharpe and led by Kevin Sharpe. Featured soloists will include Vanessa Ford, Sofia Rivera, Heshima Moja and Kevin Sharpe. The Avery Sharpe Quartet includes Avery Sharpe on double bass and electric bass; Zaccai Curtis, piano; Charles Langford, soprano and tenor saxophones; and Yoron Israel, drums.

World-famous jazz bassist Avery Sharpe debuts his latest compositions at the Hampden County jail

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 16:04:13 GMT

Hampden County sheriff Nick Cocchi greets jazz musician Avery Sharpe before a special concert at the Correctional Center in Ludlow on Friday, Apr. 21, 2023. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

In his years touring with some of the biggest names in music, Avery Sharpe has seen discouraging things.

“The last 40 years – especially the last six years – things have gotten a little crazy. The country is more divisive, people are scared of each other — the racism, sexism,” he said Friday. “You know, everything has kind of reared its ugly head.”

Sharpe started composing a work he hoped could bring people together.

“I wrote this as an artist, to kind of remind us of our humanity. We are seemingly losing it more and more,” said Sharpe, a world-renowned jazz bassist.

Sharpe brought a hand-picked group of world-class musicians to join the concert in the jail gymnasium. The eight-piece band Sharpe assembled features a heavy string presence, with Sarah Briggs and Kaila Graef on violin, Gregory Diehl on viola and Dave Haughey on cello.

“This” is his latest musical work, “I Am My Neighbor’s Keeper,” which will be soon recorded as an album of 10 pieces.

Jazz musician Avery Sharpe and the band perform a special concert at the Hampden County Correctional Center on Friday, Apr. 21, 2023. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

Jazz Album of the Week: Avery Sharpe's 400 Navigates Four Centuries of African-American History

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 16:40:38 GMT

[Originally published in June, 2019] Sometimes in music, especially jazz, we call a particularly ambitious new album “a project,” especially when the music is something more, the perfect vehicle to deliver an impactful story. With 400: An African American Musical Portrait, bassist Avery Sharpe hasn’t just released a new album—he’s unveiled a serious project.

To say that the whole of 400 is greater than the sum of its parts (which it is) is really saying something, since the component parts are extraordinary. The core group comprises a sextet of heavy-hitters: Philadelphia natives, and brothers, Duane and Kevin Eubanks (trumpet and guitar, respectively), Don Braden (tenor/soprano sax and flute), Ronnie Burrage (drums), and Zaccai Curtis (piano).

Most of these guys have been like family to Sharpe for years. You know who else has been like family to Avery Sharpe? His actual family—and they’re on the record, er, project, too! Appearing on four tracks, the Extended Family Choir, constituted in part by Sharpe’s nieces, nephews, and sister, is directed by Sharpe’s brother, Kevin.