The Jazz Gallery Presents: Jazz Composers' Showcase

Art by The Jazz Gallery

This week, The Jazz Gallery’s long-running Jazz Composers’ Showcase returns for a special summer edition. Curated by Miho Hazama, the showcase has allowed a wide range of composers to present their large ensemble music live with a top-notch band. This tradition of embracing a variety of sounds and voices continues with this edition’s composers, Anita Brown, Avinoam Ettun, and Naoya Ogura.

Brown has been leading her own band in the New York area for over two decades, releasing an album 27 East in 2003. Her band recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the album with a performance at Birdland. Below, you can check out Brown’s graceful and evocative "Shifting Tides of Montauk”:

Ettun is a guitarist originally from Israel and came to New York to study at The New School. Beyond his large ensemble writing, Ettun leads a string quartet, performing original compositions that draw from country and chamber music, like the loping “A Theme For Better Days.”

Ogura is a trumpeter from Japan, and like Ettun, came to New York to study—in Ogura’s case at Queens College. Check out his lush take on “What I Did For Love” from the musical A Chorus Line:

The Jazz Gallery presents The Jazz Composers’ Showcase, vol. 18, on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. The featured composers are Anita Brown, Avinoam Ettun, and Naoya Ogura, and the band includes Ben Kono, Michael Thomas, John Lowery, Andrew Gutauskas, and Jason Rigby on woodwinds; John Lake, Luke Wingfield, David Adewumi, and Stuart Mack on trumpets; Nick Grinder, Jasim Perales, Marty Scott, and Jenifer Wharton on trombones; Chris McCarthy on piano; Oli Hirvonen on guitar; Evan Gregor on bass; and John Sturino on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. E.D.T. $20 general admission ($15 for members, FREE for SummerPass holders), $30 reserved cabaret seating ($20 for members), $20 livestream access ($5 for members, FREE for SummerPass holders) for each set. Purchase tickets here.