Slife Productions

Slife Productions Dynamic audio and video production services Dynamic video and audio production based in Philadelphia.

09/27/2024

tcikets: www.SmokeJazz.com

Livestreams are Available for 48 Hours in Every Time Zone

Christian Sands – piano
Marvin Sewell – guitar
Jonathon Muir-Cotton – bass (Thu & Fri)
Yasushi Nakamura – bass (Sat & Sun)
Ryan Sands – drums

“In addition to being a technically adroit, harmonically sophisticated player, Sands is one of the most profoundly rhythmic young pianists in jazz today.”�
– Downbeat

Pianist and composer Christian Sands celebrates the release of his stunning new album, "Embracing Dawn," leading a quartet featuring guitarist Marvin Sewell, bassist Jonathon Muir-Cotton (Thursday & Friday), bassist Yasushi Nakamura (Saturday & Sunday), and drummer Ryan Sands. An emerging jazz force, Sands has collaborated with jazz luminaries such as Christian McBride, Gregory Porter, Geri Allen, Esperanza Spaulding, and Warren Wolf, among many others. His virtuosic technique and compelling musical vision encompass and reexamine the entire language of jazz. Whether it’s stride, swing, bebop, progressive, fusion, Brazilian, or Afro-Cuban, he expresses himself through an extensive vocabulary of patterns, textures, and structures, all the while maintaining a strong sense of understatement, sensitivity, taste, and swing — hallmarks for as long as he has been playing. The Boston Globe calls Sands “a fabulously gifted instrumentalist, a piano protege of Dr. Billy Taylor, Geri Allen, Jason Moran, and Vijay Iyer.”

09/13/2024

Tickets: www.SmokeJazz.com

Livestreams are Available for 48 Hours in Every Time Zone

Jazzmeia Horn - vocals
Victor Gould - piano
Aidan McCarthy - bass
Greg Artry - drums

“Horn is among the most exciting young vocalists in jazz, with a proud traditionalism that keeps her tightly linked to the sound of classic figures like Nancy Wilson and Betty Carter, but a vivacity of spirit and conviction that places her firmly in the present.” —The New York Times

Three-time GRAMMY nominee, vocalist, and composer Jazzmeia Horn will release her third album, Messages, on Empress Legacy Records this Fall. She celebrates this highly anticipated new recording of her stellar quartet with a five-night concert celebration at SMOKE. An award-winning vocalist (winner of 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition), Horn is “without a doubt among the jazz world’s most exciting young vocalists…her sound is explosive and bright and rich, catnip for audiences looking for boldness that’s still traditional,” reports Billboard. Downbeat adds, “Jazzmeia Horn harbors both astounding technique and an acute artistic vision…[she] has a thrilling presence with a musical sensibility that strikes a deft balance between mid-century jazz and contemporary neo-soul.”

04/12/2024

Tickets at www.SmokeJazz.com

Livestreams are Available for 48 Hours in Every Time Zone

George Coleman – tenor saxophone
Peter Bernstein – guitar
Michael Weiss – piano
John Webber – bass
Carl Allen – drums

“[Coleman] is still one of the most fluent and inventive tenor saxophonists around.
”– The Guardian

Smoke celebrates its 25th Anniversary led by the legendary tenor saxophonist who launched the then-new club on its first night, April 9, 1999, the great George Coleman! Downbeat says, “When you hear the tenor sax of George Coleman, you know it’s him within a few notes. That deep spark of a tone evokes a time and place—be it his historic work with Max Roach, Chet Baker, and Miles Davis, or as a leader in his own right.” He is leading an exciting group for these anniversary livestreams featuring guitarist Peter Bernstein, pianist Michael Weiss, bassist John Webber, and drummer Carl Allen.

04/05/2024

Tickets: www.SmokeJazz.com

Walter Smith III – tenor saxophone
Matt Stevens – guitar
Brad Mehldau – piano
Harish Raghavan – bass
Kendrick Scott – drums

“A tenor sax player for our times.” – The Guardian

Tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III makes his highly anticipated Smoke debut , leading an impressive quintet with pianist Brad Mehldau, guitarist Matt Stevens, bassist Harish Raghavan, and fellow Houston native drummer Kendrick Scott. Since his arrival almost 20 years ago, Smith has been a key figure and performer who has been a member of several legendary groups, including the Roy Haynes’ Fountain of Youth Band, the Terence Blanchard Quintet, Eric Harland’s Voyager, the Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet, as well as groups with Jason Moran, Christian McBride, Gerald Clayton, and Sean Jones Quintet to name a few. JazzWise reports, “Walter Smith III expresses his deep modern jazz roots with an airy tenor sax tone and a ferocious but understated technique,” while Downbeat adds, “His tone and melodicism are just killing with a flow of ideas that’s vast and beautiful.”

03/02/2024

Tickets: www.SmokeJazz.com

Emmet Cohen – piano
Joe Ranieri – bass
Joe Farnsworth – drums

“A young piano virtuoso with a delicate touch, assured, swaggering swing feel, and debonair flow.” –The New York Times

Emmet Cohen, a jazz sensation, leads his acclaimed trio with bassist Joe Ranieri and drummer Joe Farnsworth. Called “one of the finest piano players to emerge in decades” by All About Jazz, Cohen has earned a dedicated and passionate following and has attracted new audiences to jazz. He has accompanied numerous jazz luminaries and plays with the command of a seasoned veteran. Downbeat observed that his “nimble touch, measured stride, and warm harmonic vocabulary indicate he’s above any convoluted technical showmanship.” His trio is one of the hottest young quartets in jazz today and melds all styles of jazz: stride, swing, bebop, free, and contemporary, with an emphasis on the Great American Songbook.

03/02/2024

Tickets: www.SmokeJazz.com

Emmet Cohen – piano
Buster Williams – bass (special featured guest, Wednesday only)
Joe Ranieri – bass (except Wednesday)
Joe Farnsworth – drums

“A young piano virtuoso with a delicate touch, assured, swaggering swing feel, and debonair flow.” –The New York Times

Emmet Cohen leads his acclaimed trio with bassist Joe Ranieri and drummer Joe Farnsworth and features a special guest on Wednesday, the legendary bassist Buster Williams. Called “one of the finest piano players to emerge in decades” by All About Jazz, Cohen has earned a dedicated and passionate following and has attracted new audiences to jazz. He has accompanied numerous jazz luminaries and plays with the command of a seasoned veteran. Downbeat observed that his “nimble touch, measured stride, and warm harmonic vocabulary indicate he’s above any convoluted technical showmanship.” His trio is one of the hottest young groups in jazz today and melds all styles of jazz: stride, swing, bebop, free, and contemporary, with an emphasis on the Great American Songbook.

02/24/2024

Tickets: www.SmokeJazz.com

Jeremy Pelt – trumpet
Vincent Herring – alto saxophone
Wayne Escoffery – tenor saxophone
David Kikoski – piano
Paul Bollenbeck – guitar
Essiet Essiet – bass
Otis Brown III – drums

“Top-shelf soul-jazz and swing… Every one of these musicians is elite – it was an extraordinary set.” – Glide Magazine

Alto saxophonist Vincent Herring is the creative force behind this spectacular collective supergroup featuring trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, guitarist Paul Bollenback, pianist David Kikoski, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Otis Brown III. Herring describes it as “‘the best musicians playing great music and enjoying it thoroughly.” Their repertoire reimagines soul jazz classics with new arrangements but also includes some of their own new additions to the genre. The performances are rich, soulful, and funky. The New Yorker sums it up by saying, “This packed-to-the-gills outfit taps into a classic repertoire of funk-tinged tunes by the likes of Bobby Timmons, Horace Silver, and Lou Donaldson. It practically dares audiences to sit still and remain on their best behavior.”

02/10/2024

Tickets: www.SmokeJazz.com

Eddie Henderson – trumpet
Donald Harrison – alto saxophone
George Cables – piano
Gerald Cannon – bass
Lenny White – drums

“His musical wisdom, gleaned during decades spent on the best jazz bandstands, informs every unerring note.” – Downbeat

Trumpeter Eddie Henderson and his quintet celebrate the February release of a new film documenting his incredible life, Eddie Henderson: Uncommon Genius. He also released an acclaimed new album in September, Witness to History, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of his 1973 recording debut as a leader, Realization. Joining Henderson for these special performances is a spectacular quintet of his closest collaborators: Alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, pianist George Cables, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Lenny White. Henderson’s “deft feel and plush sound made him a central figure in the worlds of jazz-funk and hard-bop in the 1970s,” according to The New York Times. The Chicago Reader adds, “His progressive, assured, and imaginative improvisations roll out in a glorious sun-splashed tone… he seems to dance through his solos, balancing his quick clockwork technique with bursts of bluesy soul.” The eternally youthful Henderson has proven again that he is still making some of the most important music of his career into his 80s.

02/03/2024

Tickets: www.SmokeJazz.com

Tierney Sutton – vocals
Christian Jacob – piano
Ricky Rodriguez – bass
Lenny White – drums

*PLEASE NOTE: All 7PM and 9PM shows at Smoke are Dinner Shows

“A serious jazz artist who takes the whole enterprise to another level.” – The New York Times

Tierney Sutton, the nine-time GRAMMY-nominated jazz vocalist, returns to SMOKE by popular demand backed by a sublime trio. One of the most acclaimed jazz vocalists, Sutton is renowned for her impeccable voice and imaginative treatments of standards, and she has received GRAMMY nominations for every project she has released in the last decade. JazzTimes describes her recent recordings as marking her transition “from great to iconic.” The New York Times adds, “Ms. Sutton is a pure jazz spirit who respects a song. Even when going out on an improvisatory limb, she never lets its essence slip away.”

01/20/2024

Tickets: www.SmokeJazz.com

Freddie Hendrix – trumpet
Billy Harper – tenor saxophone
Francesca Tanksley – piano
Dezron Douglas – bass
Aaron Scott – drums

“A luminary figure in post-bop” – The New York Times

The incredible Billy Harper leads his celebrated quintet—with trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, pianist Francesca Tanksley, bassist Dezron Douglas, and drummer Aaron Scott—while celebrating his 81st birthday. One of the most original and significant saxophonists of the past 50 years, Harper has a distinctive sound and approach that is purely his own. Over the years, he’s worked with Art Blakey, Max Roach, Gil Evans, Elvin Jones, Lee Morgan, and, most recently, the Cookers. The San Francisco Chronicle says, “he is a soul of sensitivity and intelligence, as well as of explosive, majestic passion.” “His viscous, chocolaty tone and depth-charge bursts from the bottom of his range [are] a stark contrast to the current trend for a post-bop homogeneity of tone in the newer generation of saxophone sounds,” reports JazzWise.

01/14/2024

Tickets: www.SmokeJazz.com

Steve Wilson – saxophones & flute
Billy Childs – piano
Hans Glawischnig – bass
Ari Hoenig – drums

“One of the most critically acclaimed pianists in modern jazz” – All About Jazz

Renowned pianist and composer Billy Childs leads a sensational quartet with saxophonist Steve Wilson, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Ari Hoenig. A native of Los Angeles, Childs grew up immersed in jazz, classical, and popular music influences, which he blends in powerful and personal compositional and performing voice. A child prodigy who started performing at age six and studying at USC at 16, he was “discovered” by trumpet legend Freddie Hubbard, with whom he embarked on a successful performing and recording tour. He also recorded and performed with a number of other influential jazz musicians, including J.J. Johnson, Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis, Jack DeJohnette, and Dave Holland, among many others, and with such varied artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Sting, Renee Fleming, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Kronos Quartet. Downbeat reports, “The same creative spirit that’s propelled him from the bands of bop giants as a twenty-something side-player to a composer renowned throughout concert halls and across jazz festival stages remains unhampered.”

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Philadelphia, PA
19118

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