November 7, 2010 at
All Souls at Sundown:

Sherman Irby, saxophone
Ryan Kisor, trumpet • Aaron Goldberg, piano
Dwayne Burno, bass

and the poetry of John Brehm

While deeply involved in the New York jazz scene in the early ‘90s, saxophonist Sherman Irby caught the attention of Blue Note Records, for which he recorded his first two albums, Full Circle and Big Mama’s Biscuits. He toured the U.S. and the Caribbean with the Boys Choir of Harlem in 1995; was a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra from 1995 to 1997; recorded and toured with Marcus Roberts and participated in the incomparable Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program during those same years; and began his four-year stint with Roy Hargrove in 1997.

Since then he has released several other albums on his own label, including Black Warrior, Faith, and Organ Starter. In addition to playing with his own group, he joined the final ensemble of the late Elvin Jones in 2004. He recently rejoined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and continues to perform with his quartet and his newly formed group, Organomics. The New York Times describes Irby as “a skilled and carefully controlled improviser” and his music as “diaphanously swinging, terrifically elegant.”

“Brehm’s poems are sexy, funny, often brilliantly crafted, and wonderfully sweet at their core.” His poems are those rare poems “one can confidently recommend to any friend, even those whose hearts are hardened to poetry” (Ploughshares).

No Admission Charge