Chris Lightcap's

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Glenn Siegel, 413-320-1089 [email protected] Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares presents: Chris Lightcap’s “Bigmouth” Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares continues its 4th season with a performance by Chris Lightcap’s “Bigmouth” , on Thursday, April 21 at 7:30pm at the Arts Block Cafe , 289 Main St., Greenfield, MA. Bigmouth features Chris Lightcap , bass; Tony Malaby and Chris Cheek , tenor saxophones; Craig Taborn , piano and Gerald Cleaver , drums. Single tickets ($15) available at www.jazzshares.org and at the door. When Chris Lightcap – a celebrated composer and bassist who has lent his huge sound, propulsive groove and creative vision to a wide-ranging array of artists including Marc Ribot, Regina Carter, Tomasz Stanko, Joe Morris and Matt Wilson – first assembled his own group over ten years ago, he had no idea it would develop into a viable entity. “I just put us all together to amuse myself and see what would happen,” he recollects. Four acclaimed CDs and countless sold-out shows later, Bigmouth has evolved into one of today’s most accomplished creative music ensembles. Bigmouth features two profoundly original tenor saxophonists, Tony Malaby and Chris Cheek, the multifaceted genius of keyboardist Craig Taborn, and the creative powerhouse drumming of Gerald Cleaver. The band is, in effect, a “supergroup” within the contemporary world of creative music. Despite each member’s outsize musical personality, together they create a cohesive whole, resulting in grand collective statements of driving, ethereal beauty. The band’s new recording, Epicenter , is an impressive follow-up to 2010’s Deluxe , a critically lauded recording that was on twenty of the year’s “best of” lists, including the New York Times, NPR, and JazzTimes. “As impressive as bassist Chris Lightcap’s first two albums were in showing off his distinctive two-tenor quartet, they didn’t prepare us for the richness and emotional reach of Deluxe ,” writes Lloyd Sachs in Downbeat. “…brimmingly alive…from start to finish this music sings.” Lightcap was recently awarded a prestigious Chamber Music America New Jazz Works grant, which commissioned the original compositions featured on Epicenter . He wrote pieces inspired by various touchstones and cultural landmarks of his adopted home, New York. Drawing on his love of West African music, classic pop hooks and great composers across the entire spectrum of jazz, Lightcap creates memorable melodies and harmonic landscapes for the group to delve into. Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares concerts are produced by a group of music lovers who have purchased jazz shares. Like farm shares, where stakeholders ensure the success of the farm by pre-paying for food, Pioneer Valley Jazz Share members purchase jazz shares to provide the capital needed to produce concerts with minimal institutional support. Operating under the fiscal sponsorship of The Northampton Center for the Arts, we are a grassroots, all-volunteer organization dedicated to the continued vitality of the music. Thanks to our business sponsors: Davis Financial Group, Florence Savings Bank, UMass Fine Arts Center, Downtown Sounds, Carol Abbe Smith Delap Real Estate, River Valley Co-op, Simmer Music, Bueno y Sano, Tony Margherita Management, Haydenville Woodworking & Design, Artisan Gallery, Amanouz Café, Clarion Hotel, Barbara Ween: Visage, Hampshire College and Dean’s Beans. .

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