The Jazz Gallery Presents: Jazz Composers' Showcase, vol. 14

This week marks the return of The Jazz Gallery's Jazz Composers' Showcase featuring new music for large ensemble. For this fourteenth edition of the series, the Gallery is pleased to welcome three new composers to the stage—Sam Blakeslee, Elijah Shiffer, and Inés Velasco.A trombonist originally from Columbus, Ohio, Blakeslee has been based in New York since 2017. You can frequently find him playing in a number of New York's acclaimed large jazz ensembles, including Manuel Valera's New Cuban Express Big Band, Brian Krock's Big Heart Machine, and the Terraza Big Band. Before moving to New York, Blakeslee led his own big band in Northeast Ohio, holding a monthly residency at Blu Jazz in Akron. Check out his pungent and forceful tribute to fellow trombonist/composer Bob Brookmeyer, below.While Blakeslee is a relatively recent arrival in New York City, saxophonist Elijah Shiffer is a native of the New York area and graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. With his working band The Robber Crabs, Shiffer has devised a quirky book of music where hot swing nestles in alongside skronky timbres. Take a listen to Shiffer and company's distinctive brew on their debut album, Unhinged (OneTrickDog), below.Drummer Inés Velasco hails from Guadalajara, Mexico and is a recent graduate of the Berklee College of Music. Fluent in many musical styles, Velasco has composed and arranged music for flamenco performers Javier Limón and José Mercé, as well as the National Jazz Orchestra of Mexico. Take a listen to her evocative take on the standard "Be My Love," performed by the Metropole Orkest.The Jazz Gallery Presents the Jazz Composers' Showcase, vol. 14, on Thursday, February 13, 2020. The showcase is curated by Miho Hazama on features music by Sam Blakeslee, Elijah Shiffer, and Inés Velasco. The band features Ben Kono, Elijah Shiffer, Jeremy Powell, John Lowery, and Andrew Gutauskas on reeds; Sam Hoyt, Dan Blankinship, Jon Challoner, and Tony Glausi on trumpets; Matthew McDonald, Sam Blakeslee, Nick Grinder, and Rebecca Patterson on trombones; Olli Hirvonen on guitar;Martha Kato on piano; Evan Gregor on bass; and Lee Fish on drums. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. $15 general admission (FREE for members), $25 reserved table seating ($10 for members) for each set. Purchase tickets here.