25th October 2014: NYSQ ‘The New Straight Ahead’ gets wide acclaim from JazzTimes, Acoustic Music Exchange, UK Vibe, All About Jazz, UK Vibe and more + USA Tour in November & new recording

The New Straight Ahead (click here) is the debut WWR release from the New York Standards Quartet (NYSQ) and their fourth album to date. The NYSQ is made up of pianist David Berkman, drummer Gene Jackson, saxophonist Tim Armacost, and double bassist Daiki Yasukagawa.  As a band the New York-based unit have developed a near telepathic relationship playing together in a variety of settings since their formation in 2006. Conceptually, the NYSQ strives to develop its own language within the tradition of performing standard jazz repertoire. Check the promo video to the left for more info on their new release.

The band has been busy this year with multiple tours including a three week run of dates across Japan where the band has been very popular for years.  There’s been some great reviews come in as well since the summer release of the album and we reprint some of the highlights below:

“Absorbing and perceptive music… a fresh perspective to a repertoire of standards and jazz classics.”
JazzTimes Magazine

“The music of NYSQ does more than cast old standards with new arrangements, they give old tunes new life, new meaning and a new reason for hearing them again.”
4 Stars, All About Jazz

“A wonderfully inventive and pulsating band… Definitely one to look out for.”
The Northern Echo

“This stellar quartet line up features a some of New York’s finest musicians and is a terrifically fresh revisiting of the standards repertoire.”
4 Stars, UK Vibe

“An example of contemporary jazz that preserves the tradition without being hobbled by it… it is evident from the confident rapport reflected in their playing that these musicians have developed a mature working relationship of the type that characterises the best of the big name combos we have come to revere.”
Jazz Views

“This configuration of musicians has played together before, three CDs worth (this being the debut Whirlwind label release), and the underlying cohesivity shows.”
Acoustic Music Exchange

NOV USA TOUR.

The NYSQ is back on tour in just over a week in the USA, this time with WWR’s own Michael Janisch playing double bass.  They will record their 5th album (and 2nd for us to be released in 2015) at the end of the tour in NYC. Check the dates below (we’ll have the final schedule in a few days):

Saturday, November 1 Smalls Jazz Club New York City

Monday 3 – TBC Asheville, NC

Tuesday 4 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Concert) Chapel Hill, NC

Wednesday 5 Charleston Jazz Society (Concert) Charleston, SC

Thursday 6 University of Central Oklahoma (Concert and Workshop) Edmond, OK

Friday 7 Walton Arts Center (Concert) Fayetteville, AK

Saturday 8 Blue Room (Jazz Club) Kansas City, MO

Sunday 9 Murry’s (Concert) Columbia, MO

10 Recording for 5th album, second Whirlwind Recordings release