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Internationally Acclaimed pianist Howard Britz performs with Bassist Don Falzone and Drummer Eric Halvorson.
Very Limited Occupancy. Tables seating 2, 4, 5 guests, with tables for 6, 8, 12 available upon request. See The Attached Seating Chart. Admission Is $15.00 - $20.00 Per Person, Ticket prices may be higher for special performances. Tables Of Two = $35., Four = $75., Five = $87.50 Six = $105., Eight = $130, Twelve = $210 Problems with ticketing? Call Tom at 203-247-4273
Tickets Through Eventbrite............Seating Chart
Howard Britz Piano, Bass Player and Composer
Versatile and creative Pianist, Bassist and composer Howard Britz was born in London, England 1961. He played trumpet then saxophone in high school and had begun to play professionally when an jaw injury forced him to give up wind instruments. Switching to bass at 17 years old he also started composing. After attending Guildhall School of Music in London he played in the London and UK scene from 1985.
In 1995 he made the move to the US taking up a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA then transferring to New England Conservatory and graduating in 1995. During the Boston years played with some of the great artists on the scene at the time including saxophonists Seamus Blake, Bill Pierce and Jacques Schwartz- Bart, pianist Danilo Perez, vocalist/composer Luciana Souza, The Jazz Composers Alliance and composer/pianist Guillermo Klein’s Big Van as well as many Latin Jazz and Salsa groups.
Moving to Philadelphia, PA in 1996 to join his wife who was studying at the University of Pennsylvania, Howard didn’t know a soul there but quickly found a fertile music scene going on. Although somewhat off the radar of many these days, Philly had some great musicians and he was soon in demand for a variety of Jazz groups, vocalists, Salsa and Latin Jazz groups. Philly was also a great finishing school with all of the clubs, after work lounges and bars around the area, a real working Jazz musicians scene.
In 1998 Howard moved to Brooklyn, New York and recorded his first CD. Released in 1999, ‘The Future, The Past’ was made with some of great musicians he had played with in Philly, with pianist/composer Uri Caine, trumpeter John Swana, and drummer, Byron Lancaster. With original compositions by Britz it was a mature statement by a deeply soulful and experienced musician and composer. Quickly establishing contacts with New York players and old ex-Boston contacts he started working around the city and doing some touring.
In 2005 he released his second CD, ‘Made In Brooklyn‘ with a crew of top NY musicians, including drummers Terrion Gully and Anthony Pinciotti, saxophonists, Jacques Schwartz-Bart and Casey Benjamin and pianists James Hurt and Helio Alves The album also documented a group of musicians who were regularly getting together to play, jam and experiment and record as well as playing on gigs together. Some tracks were made in these informal sessions and some recorded more traditionally at Tedesco studios in NJ. ‘Here I Stand’, Britz’ third CD released in 2007 is perhaps his most cohesive and successful artistic statement. A quintet recording of eight original compositions featuring George Colligan on piano, David Smith, trumpet, Casey Benjamin, saxophone and Sylvia Cuenca, drums.
The CD received excellent reviews for the playing and writing, it contains all the elements that you hear in Britz’ playing, inventive melody, driving swing, latin influenced grooves, intelligent yet accessible songs.
From around 1998, Howard had also become interested in the possibilities of playing piano as well. He had long used the piano as a composing aid but had never developed the technique or chops to really play live. He set himself the task of playing piano professionally. His first serious instrument being a saxophone back in High School, he never lost the sense of loving melody and solos which are not the main role of the bass. Having worked for at the piano for many years, he recorded a CD that came out in 2013 called ‘The Feeling of Jazz’, featuring, the great saxophonist, Donny McCaslin guesting on two tracks and bassist Bill Moring and drummer Eric Halvorson.
Eric Halvorson - Drums
Eric has performed with John Fedchock, Dave Liebman, Bob Sheppard, Dave Stryker, Donny McCaslin, Steve Slagle, Vic Juris, Scott Robinson, Adam Rogers, Joe Locke, Bruce Barth, Marilyn Maye, Beegie Adair, vocalist Kenny Washington, Fred Hersch, Mark Murphy, James Moody, and Bill Henderson; vocalist Lucy Woodward; toured internationally with Ute Lemper; Broadway stars Sherie Rene Scott and Christine Ebersole; composer Frank Wildhorn; songwriter and pianist Marvin Hamlisch; soul singer Ben E. King; blues artist George Kilby Jr. and the legendary Pinetop Perkins to name a few. He is currently touring with vocalist Linda Eder and also works with many big bands including Josh Shneider's 'Love Speaks Orchestra', the Birdland Big Band, the Bill Warfield Repertory Big Band, and the George Gee Big Band. He has performed at New York City's top venues including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall (with Beegie Adair), Town Hall, Radio City Music Hall, City Center and jazz venues Iridium, Blue Note, Small's, Smoke and Birdland.
He has performed at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2008 and 2010 and at numerous festivals including the Monterey Jazz Festival, Eleuthera Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Norwich Music Festival (UK), Silda Jazz (Norway), Radio Classica (Chile), Cork Jazz Festival (Ireland), Festival de Jazz (Colombia), Kaunas Jazz Festival (Lithuania), and the Iowa City Jazz Festival.
He is in demand on Broadway and was the drummer for the 2015 revival of Gigi. He has played in the orchestras of Book of Mormon, Moulin Rouge, Mean Girls, Come From Away, The Prom, Beautiful, Waitress, A Bronx Tale, Color Purple, Wicked, Pippin, On the Town, West Side Story, Sister Act, How to Succeed in Business, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Mary Poppins, Cinderella, Shrek, Xanadu, and many others. He played the Los Angeles production of Follies in 2012. He is sought after by a variety of performers because of his rock and pop sensibilities.
Don Falzone - Bass by Mike Hays, Nyack News & Views Team Published May 10, 2018.
When asked about his favorite music, Nyack-based jazz composer Don Falzone names the Bill Evans Trio without hesitation, then quickly adds singer/songwriters Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. Such a wide range of taste is understandable given the breadth of his professional career. He has toured with front-line singers around the world, played with small jazz groups, and composed his own music. Music is important to Falzone, but so are the people. His mental Rolodex of musicians from a 40-year career is truly spectacular.
Falzone has a natural affinity for jazz, having grown up in a family of jazz musicians. He learned to play the electric bass guitar during the amazing musical milieu of the 1970s, and soon began playing professionally. But his passion for acoustic bass didn’t become serious until he was 28 years old.
Don’s father, Sam Falzone, played tenor sax, flute and clarinet with an LA-based big band led by composer Don Ellis. Falzone got a chance to see many of his father’s gigs and played music with his father in Buffalo and LA. Don’s younger sister Nicole is also a professional musician (as well as being a visual artist). And Don is married to Claudia Engelhart, a sound engineer. “Music is a way to stay connected to my family history,” Falzone says.
Falzone has spent a lot of time on the road playing behind singers. For him, road travel has its pluses and minuses. The travel is interesting, but tiring. The shows provide steady income, but limit time for new creative work.
In 1997, he backed Madeline Peyroux at many sites including the North Sea Jazz Festival. From 2006-2010, Falzone toured with Ute Lemper, a cabaret singer, playing all around Europe (watch them in Amsterdam here). The most amazing place he has ever played, Falzone says, was the Odeon of Herodes Amphitheater in Athens, an outdoor theater just below the Acropolis.
Falzone was particularly pleased to play in a Leonard Cohen tribute tour produced by Hal Wilner called “I Came So Far for Beauty: An Evening of Leonard Cohen songs.” In 2006, at the Carnegie Hall show, Falzone got to share the stage with Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson. Their Brighton Beach show was recorded for an album, and the Sydney Opera House performance was filmed for the documentary, Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man.
Aside from recording on some 33 albums with others, Don Falzone composes his own material. He begins his creative work on the piano, usually with a melody but sometimes with a rhythm. Falzone’s first album, 2008’s Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, was an important stage in his development as a player, composer and leader. The album features all original material by Falzone, and he is joined by Donny McCaslin (who played with his own band on David Bowie’s last album) on tenor sax and Maucha Adnet on vocals.
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