Legend Meets Brilliance feat. Don Aliquo, Marc Payne w/ Jacob Jezioro & Tony Martucci

Don Aliquo is a celebrated jazz artist in the greater Nashville area. Active for over two decades, he is a respected saxophonist, composer, recording artist, and educator. Pianist, Marc Payne, a Nashville native, is among a handful of young artists whose brilliance inspires and fuels the area's thriving jazz scene. Together they meet to brandish their "no holds barred" approach to the music. Get ready for an explosive night of sound as two of Nashville's jazz titans collide! Together, this dynamic duo is set to unleash their "no holds barred" approach to music, promising an evening of raw energy, spontaneous improvisation, and modernistic genres with one foot in tradition and the other in the future. Tonights show includes special guests Jacob Jezzioro on bass and Tony Martucci on drums. Experience the thrilling sound that fuels Nashville's vibrant jazz scene! Saxophonist Don Aliquo’s playing has been described as “smooth as silk...with an unfailing feel for breath and phrasing" while extremely supple in the addressing of his axe but always zeroed in on what he's describing”. “Growth” his newest release, explores new territory with intriguing compositions and ample solo space for Aliquo’s inspired improvisations. The eight originals are both complex and open, which shows him expanding his boundaries not only as an instrumentalist and improviser, but also as a composer. The music is an electrifying modern outing with one foot in the future and one in the tradition. Aliquo has released six solo projects and has worked collaboratively or performed as a sideman on many others. His previous solo cd “Sun and Shield” features veteran jazz masters Rufus Reid, Jim McNeely, and the dynamic Obed Calvaire. Notable collaborations include a duo recording with eclectic pianist Michael Jefry Stevens and quartet recordings with Roger Humphries and the late Beegie Adair. He also has recorded with his mentor, notable Pittsburgh tenor stalwart, Don Aliquo Sr. on the MCG label. Don has performed in concerts and recordings with many world-class artists including Gary Burton, Greg Osby, Rufus Reid, Roger Humphries, Harold Danko, Adam Nussbaum, Donald Brown, Pete Christlieb, Scott Robinson, and Bobby Shew. Don is Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. He is a Selmer and Vandoren artist. He has played or recorded with many notable artists including Rufus Reid, Gary Burton, Greg Osby, Roger Humphries, Harold Danko, Jim McNeely and Obed Calvaire. Don has been described as a "fluid and articulate player with a flow of always surprising ideas complete with a dexterous technique and an incredibly smooth tenor sound." His most recent cd release (The Innocence of Spring) was recorded live with pianist Michael Jefry Stevens at Hinton Hall on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University where Aliquo is Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies. One of the most talented and diverse young up and coming jazz pianists in Nashville, Marc Payne dazzles with beautiful chords, lines, rhythms and harmonies, keeping music flowing with varying dynamics and interludes woven into compositions that keep pieces fresh and lively. Young at heart and old in soul, Marc has soaked up some of the most influential pianists' styles and harmonics and is able to deliver; from Art Tatum to Oscar Peterson, Sony Clark, Thelonious Monk to Hank Jones, James P. Johnson and more. Born in Virginia and having moved to north Nashville at a very young age, Marc soaked up the sounds of jazz from his father playing jazz records as he grew up. Marc began playing music when he was 11 years old on a light up keyboard and then studied gospel which led him to playing for the Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church when he was 13. In his junior year at Pearl-Cohn high school Marc really started to develop an intense interest and more serious pursuit of jazz piano. From there he ended up going to Nashville School for the Arts where he graduated in 2017 to begin his professional career in music. Some of Marc’s mentors include Jody Nardone, Imer Santiago, Lady Chapman, Chazen Brown, Nioshi Jackson, and Rob Butts. Marc has shared the stage with many great artists such as Bobby Watson, Regi Wooten, Curtis Lundy, Roy Wooten, Duffy Jackson and more, and has played on two of Shannon Callihan’s releases. Marc has played numerous venues in and around Nashville including the Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame, Jazz on the Cumberland, Historic 15th ave Baptist church, and Rudy’s Jazz Room. Jacob Jezioro is a bassist, composer, bandleader and producer with deep roots in Nashville and an increasing presence in New York City. He began pursuing music seriously at the age of fourteen under the guidance of his father, acclaimed Nashville bassist, guitarist and producer Jack Jezzro. Jezioro continued his studies at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he was mentored by distinguished bassists Jeremy Allen and Kurt Muroki, before earning his master’s degree through the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. While at Berklee, he worked closely with renowned pianist and educator Danilo Pérez, performing with him in Panama and Costa Rica and teaching young jazz musicians through educational programs associated with the Newport Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival and FiJazz Festival in Costa Rica. Since returning to Nashville in 2019, Jezioro has become an active and versatile presence in the city’s jazz community while also spending time performing and developing new musical connections in New York. He leads his own ensembles and has performed and recorded regularly with pianist Pat Coil, drummer Danny Gottlieb and guest artists including saxophonist Joel Frahm and vocalist Jaimee Paul. As a recording artist, Jezioro has released projects including Ubuntu Motifs and Blue Adrift, the latter featuring acclaimed violinist Mark Feldman, with his adventurous work drawing from original compositions, jazz standards and a broad range of musical traditions. He is also the founder of Green Box Music, through which he produces and releases his own projects and the work of fellow artists in collaboration with his father’s Burton Avenue Music label. Tony Martucci is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania–born jazz drummer, composer, bandleader and educator whose deeply musical approach has made him a respected presence on the jazz scene for more than six decades. Known for his sensitivity, melodic imagination and highly interactive style, Martucci combines rhythmic authority with an exceptional ability to listen, respond and shape the emotional direction of an ensemble. Throughout his distinguished career, he has performed and recorded with an extraordinary roster of artists, including John Abercrombie, Mose Allison, Paul Bley, Michael and Randy Brecker, Gary Burton, Tommy Flanagan, Joe Henderson, Fred Hersch, Lee Konitz, David Liebman, Joe Lovano, James Moody, Joshua Redman, Sonny Stitt and Kenny Werner, among many others. As a leader, he has released several critically acclaimed recordings, including Earth Tones, Collage, Long Street Charm and Life in Hand, with his work earning recognition from publications including JazzTimes, DownBeat and The Washington Post. Martucci has also devoted a significant part of his career to jazz education, previously serving on the music faculties of the College of William & Mary and the University of Maryland and completing more than sixteen years as a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he taught drum set, Latin percussion and small jazz ensembles. Equally admired as an accompanist, improviser and teacher, Martucci approaches every performance with deep listening, spontaneity, an unmistakable sense of swing and a lifetime of experience rooted firmly in the jazz tradition.