Harris Eisenstadt’s CD Release Tour Begins Tomorrow

Drummer/composer Harris Eisenstadt is about to hit the road to celebrate his latest recording, Canada Day (Clean Feed).

The record documents his original book of music for the longstanding quintet, Canada Day, featuring Nate Wooley (trumpet), Matt Bauder (tenor saxophone), Chris Dingman (vibraphone) and Eivind Opsvik (bass).

Check out Eisenstadt and Wooley playing a stripped-down version of the track “Kategeeper” in the Time Out New York office.

The tour begins Saturday with the first of two nights at New York’s Cornelia Street Cafe and continues with concerts in Buffalo, Rochester and Toronto.

Here’s the complete schedule:

10/24 :: Cornelia Street Cafe (New York, NY)
10/25 :: Cornelia Street Cafe (New York, NY)
10/27 :: York University (Toronto, ON)
10/27 :: Tranzac (Toronto, ON)
10/28 :: Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center (Buffalo, NY)
10/29 :: The Bop Shop (Rochester, NY)

Free Jazz: Harris Eisenstadt’s Canada Day (Clean Feed)

This past Saturday on his influential blog, Free Jazz, Stef Gijssels weighed in on drummer/composer Harris Eisenstadt‘s new release, Canada Day (Clean Feed).

“I’m sure that many mainstream lovers will also enjoy this one,” he writes, “yet the album has at the same time a kind of unpredictability, a freshness of approach together with an enveloping warmth that is quite unusual. And that sensitivity is to be found in the compositions, the playing and in the interaction. With this band Eisenstadt not only brings a synthesis of many jazz subgenres (from the cool vibe sounds of the sixties to the kind of more modern Dave Douglas approach), but he brings it a step further, showing how modern music can be at the same time clever, rich in texture and emotionally intense.”

Harris Eisenstadt’s Canada Day Out Today

Drummer/composer Harris Eisenstadt‘s latest release, Canada Day (Clean Feed), officially hits the streets today.

The record, the Toronto native’s eighth as a bandleader, is the debut of his primary working ensemble, also called Canada Day, featuring Nate Wooley (trumpet), Matt Bauder (tenor saxophone), Chris Dingman (vibraphone) and Eivind Opsvik (bass).

It documents his original book of music for the group, which was written for the specific musical personalities of these musicians and developed in live performances in New York and beyond over the past three years.

“The material on the group’s self-titled album is as exciting as it is diverse,” declares Dusted‘s Marc Medwin, “with any clichés about group telepathy sounding entirely appropriate. Precision and spontaneity make every gesture simultaneously soloistic and supportive as the structures wend their complex but catchy ways forward. He’s the lynchpin of an exciting aggregate.”

“Drawing upon some of the best new talent in the Brooklyn scene,” explains AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins, “Eisenstadt’s formidable quintet is as capable of adventurous timbral explorations as they are of in-the-pocket swing. Blending a mid-’60s Blue Note vibe with elastic post-rock grooves and subtle West African influences, Eisenstadt successfully unites his assorted interests into a cohesive ensemble sound. An accessible blend of inside and outside traditions delivered by an empathetic young ensemble, Canada Day is a welcome addition to the burgeoning discography of one of the new generation’s leading composers.”

AllMusic.com’s Michael G. Nastos adds, “A composer of great depth and diversity, Eisenstadt proves a fine trap drummer for this recording, and a formidable bandleader who deserves more recognition in both areas. The cohesion of the ensemble, glued by the steady, steaming, streaming rhythms of Eisenstadt, keeps the listener focused and compelled to hear more…this is a strong candidate for Top Ten status in the category of best jazz CDs of 2009.”

You can learn more about Eisenstadt, Canada Day, and his many other projects in a new interview by Clifford Allen posted yesterday at AllAboutJazz.com

And, the band will be celebrating its new release with Northeast tour dates in New York, Toronto, Buffalo and Rochester starting October 24th. Details are available here.

Harris Eisenstadt At Clean Feed Fest IV Tonight

Photo by Scott Friedlander

The official street date for Harris Eisenstadt‘s latest release, Canada Day (Clean Feed), is still a few weeks away, but listeners can get a live preview tonight at Clean Feed Fest IV at New York’s Cornelia Connelly Center.

Eisenstadt will be performing with his primary working group, also called Canada Day, featuring Nate Wooley (trumpet), Ellery Eskelin (sitting in for Matt Bauder on tenor saxophone), Chris Dingman (vibraphone) and Eivind Opsvik (bass).

“The cohesion of the ensemble, glued by the steady, steaming, streaming rhythms of Eisenstadt, keeps the listener focused and compelled to hear more,” writes AllMusic.com’s Michael G. Nastos. “This is a strong candidate for Top Ten status in the category of best jazz CDs of 2009.”

The group will hit the road in support of their new record, which comes out October 6th, in late October, stopping in Buffalo, NYC, Rochester and Toronto.

In the meantime, you can catch Eisenstadt in duos with Aaron Siegel (September 22nd at Death By Audio) and Sara Schoenbeck (September 26th at Vox Pop).

Exclaim: KLANG’s Tea Music + Harris Eisenstadt’s Canada Day

This week, Exclaim.ca, the Web site for the Canadian monthly music magazine, Exclaim!, posted new reviews of both KLANG’s Tea Music (Allos Documents) and Harris Eisenstadt‘s Canada Day (Clean Feed).

Glen Hall writes, “Chicago clarinettist James Falzone’s quartet, KLANG, comes on strong, with bold playing, smart compositions and empathetic group interactions. What makes for such pleasing listening is the beautiful blending of the warm clarinet and the glistening sheen of the vibes—a really cool combination.”

“His quintet features some great young talent that attack his challenging compositions with passion,” explains David Dacks in his early review of Canada Day. “Eisenstadt’s songs deftly balance complex arrangements with subtle, elastic grooves. There are elements of post-rock, ’60s Blue Note sounds (à la Bobby Hutcherson) and West African styles—another Eisenstadt specialty.”

Tea Music was released this week and Canada Day hits the streets on October 6th. Both bands will be on tour this fall. Click here for details.

Harris Eisenstadt & Canada Day On Tour In October

Photo by Scott Friedlander

This October, Brooklyn-based drummer/composer Harris Eisenstadt and his working quintet, Canada Day, will tour in support of their eponymous October 6th debut on Clean Feed Records.

This active ensemble, featuring Nate Wooley (trumpet), Matt Bauder (tenor saxophone), Chris Dingman (vibraphone) and Eivind Opsvik (bass), has been Eisenstadt’s primary focus as a bandleader since returning to New York in 2005.

The tour will begin Saturday, October 24th, the first of two nights at New York’s Cornelia Street Cafe, to be followed by stops in Buffalo, Rochester, and Eisenstadt’s native Toronto. A September 16th performance at New York’s Cornelia Connelly Center, as part of Clean Feed Fest IV, will serve as a preview.

Tour itinerary:

Saturday, October 24th at 9:00 and 10:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 25th at 8:10 and 10:00 p.m.
Cornelia Street Cafe
29 Cornelia Street in New York, NY (Greenwich Village)
Admission is $10 per set
Reservations available at (212) 989-9319

Tuesday, October 27th at 12:30 p.m.
York University Music Department
Martin Family Lounge, 371D Accolade East Building
4700 Keele Street in Toronto, ON
Admission is free and open to the public

Tuesday, October 27th at 10:00 p.m.
Tranzac (Toronto Australia New Zealand Club)
292 Brunswick Avenue in Toronto, ON
Suggested donation at the door

Wednesday, October 28th at 8:00 p.m.
Ressurrection Music
Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center
341 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, NY
Admission is $8 members and students; $12 general public

Thursday, October 29th at 8:00 p.m.
BOP ARTS
The Bop Shop Atrium
274 N. Goodman Street (in the Village Gate) in Rochester, NY
$10 requested donation

Learn more at http://www.harriseisenstadt.com

Harris Eisenstadt’s Latest Release, Canada Day, Coming October 6th

Photo by Scott Friedlander

On October 6th, Clean Feed Records will release Canada Day (CF157CD), the eponymous debut of Harris Eisenstadt‘s most active working ensemble. The Brooklyn-based drummer/composer’s eighth recording as a bandleader, Canada Day documents Eisenstadt’s book of originals for the band, developed at gigs around New York and beyond for the past two years. The group, his primary focus as a bandleader since returning to New York in 2005, features Nate Wooley (trumpet), Matt Bauder (tenor saxophone), Chris Dingman (vibraphone) and Eivind Opsvik (bass).

“Canada Day was built around the specific personalities of these four musicians,” Eisenstadt explains. “Nate and Matt are known for their experimental sides, yet both are lyrical players with totally personal sounds in more jazz/song form-oriented contexts. Chris, who I’ve worked with since my 2007 record, The All Seeing Eye + Octets (Poobah), brings harmonic sophistication and a skeletal, shimmering texture that only vibraphone can provide. Eivind is one of the premier young bassists working in New York and I felt instantly at home with his lyrical and rock solid approach. He thinks in song forms even when abstracting material, making him the perfect bass player for these compositions.”

“Eisenstadt is strong proof that jazz is still young and growing,” declared L.A. Weekly‘s Greg Burk. Critics have called him “a rising presence as a composer of note” (Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com), “vital and increasingly influential” (Glenn Astarita, jazzreview.com) and “one of the most creative and skilled musician/composers incorporating traditional material to create new and vital improvised music” (Robert Iannapollo, AllAboutJazz-New York). The Village Voice‘s Jim Macnie adds, “He’s perpetually building new ensembles to suit the variety of music he hears in his head—that’s what composers do.”

One of only a handful of drummers equally well-known for his work as a composer, Eisenstadt, a Toronto native, is among the most versatile and prolific musicians of his generation. His eclectic resume includes studies with some of the most respected names in both improvised music and West African drumming, and performances in genres ranging from film and theater to poetry and dance to contemporary classical and opera. He has performed all over the globe, earned commissions from organizations such as Meet The Composer and the American Composers Forum, and appeared on more than 35 recordings over the past decade.

His previous release, Guewel (Clean Feed), was named one of 2008’s best in publications such as AllAboutJazz.com, Time Out New York and the Village Voice, and helped earn him a nomination as Up and Coming Artist of the Year in the 2009 Jazz Journalists Association Awards. In addition to Canada Day, Eisenstadt also leads Woodblock Prints, a nonet inspired by the ancient Japanese art form. He is also an active member of The Convergence Quartet, Sean Moran’s Big Elephant, The Pavones, Adam Rudolph’s Organic Orchestra and the Nate Wooley Quintet. Learn more at http://www.harriseisenstadt.com