QUINTESSENTIAL JAZZ:The Mark Shilansky Trio With Taylor Haskins

QUINTESSENTIAL JAZZ
The Mark Shilansky Trio
With Taylor Haskins
Saturday, April 1st at 7PM
Sunday, April 2nd at 3PM
At The Hand House, Elizabethtown, NY

Pianist Mark Shilansky’s musical journey has taken him through many genres and and ensembles, a path similarly shared by one of his oldest friends and musical collaborators, Westport’s local musical renaissance man Taylor Haskins. In this concert, with special guest Haskins, and with his Boston area trio of bassist Keala Kaumeheiwa and drummer Austin McMahon, Shilansky seeks to reconnect with his formative musical influences, to discover what revelations they might hold today. For Haskins, this means revisiting the music of trumpeters Clark Terry and Freddie Hubbard, and the singular beauty of the playing and compositions of trumpeter Tom Harrell. For Shilansky, the lush, swinging, gospel-influenced playing of James Williams is a touchstone, as is the interactive trio work of pianist Bill Evans, the outward bound swing and groove of Herbie Hancock, and Hancock’s work with horn players Wayne Shorter and Miles Davis, and the barroom character studies of his first hero, Billy Joel. This concert is sure to be filled with introspective balladry, breathtaking musical climaxes, and wit with both music and words, as Shilansky and Haskins annotate their program with illuminating historical data and humorous anecdotes.

Expect no less than stunning from this set of concerts. Brilliant jazz pianist and overall human inspiration Mark Shilansky will return to Piano by Nature flanked by colleagues from Boston’s Berklee School of Music and Westport’s incredible Taylor Haskins. The concerts will be focused on the “classics” that most influenced them, and will also be a poignant reunion for these colleagues and friends sharing a joyous reconnection after the long, pandemic separation. PBN is so fortunate to have Mark return with yet another wonderful synthesis of highly-talented musicians performing first-class and truly original music.

The Hand House parlor will open half an hour prior to performance time, and we encourage attendees to arrive early to avoid lines at check-in. Tickets are $20 per person. Reservations are required and may be made through email at pianobynature@gmail.com or by phone at 518-962-8899. You may leave a message at either and seats will be obtained on a first-come-first-served basis. There will be no walk-ups available as our seating is limited.

Learn more at pianobynature.org.