Jérôme Sabbagh Quartet

Saxophonist and composer Jérôme Sabbagh was born in Paris, France in 1973. He studied with Philippe Chagne, Eric Barret and Jean-Louis Chautemps before moving to the U.S. at the age of 20. He moved to New York in 1995 after attending Berklee College of Music in Boston on scholarship for two years and studying with, among others, George Garzone, Bill Pierce, Dave Liebman, and Joe Viola. There he formed the collective Flipside with guitarist Greg Tuohey, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Darren Beckett. They were together for five years, toured Europe and New Zealand and recorded an eponymous album for Naxos Jazz. Since then, Mr. Sabbagh has been writing music and leading his own bands. As a regular sideman, Mr. Sabbagh has been involved with pianist Laurent Coq's quartet along with bassist Brandon Owens and drummer Damion Reid, Guillermo Klein's Los Guachos and Pablo Ablanedo's octet. He has also played in bands led by Jean-Michel Pilc and Magali Souriau. Mr. Sabbagh has performed in many festivals including the JVC Jazz Festival (Paris), Jazz In Marciac (France), Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Medellin (Columbia), and at venues such as Blues Alley (Washington), the Jazz Standard, the Jazz Gallery, Smalls, Fat Cat, the 55 Bar, the Knitting Factory, Birdland (New York), Radio France, Sunside, Duc des Lombards, AJMI La Manutention, Cri du Port, Sceaux What (France). As a follow-up to the critically acclaimed North (Fresh Sound New Talent), Mr. Sabbagh has recently released a new album, Pogo, available on Sunnyside in the U.S. and on Bee Jazz in Europe.

Guitarist Ben Monder studied music at Queens College and the University of Miami. After returning to New York in 1984, he spent most of his time working with R&B and wedding bands and practicing jazz in his room. His big break came in 1986 when Jack McDuff called him to join his band The Heatin’ System for some extended road trips to the Midwest and West Coast. A musician in the New York area for over 20 years, he has also performed with a variety of artists, including Marc Johnson, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian, George Garzone and Tim Berne. He has appeared with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Kenny Wheeler Large Ensemble, Guillermo Klein’s Los Guachos, and is a regular member of the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra and Paul Motian’s Electric Bebop Band. He has conducted clinics and workshops around the world, and served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory for the last three years. Mr. Monder continues to perform original music internationally with his own quartet and trio. He has appeared on over 90 CDs as a sideman and has released 4 as a leader: Oceana (Sunnyside, 2005), Excavation (Arabesque, 2000), Dust (Arabesque, 1997), and Flux (Songlines, 1995).

Bassist Joe Martin, born in Kansas City in 1970, grew up in family of musicians in Pella, Iowa. He began his musical studies on cello at age seven, and played trumpet in his school band. At age 15 he picked up the electric bass and with encouragement from his parents, band director, and Des Moines bassist Susie Miget, took the instrument home for the summer. He felt an immediate rapport with the bass, playing by ear and learning bass lines he heard on the radio. By the end of high school he had also begun playing the string bass. Mr. Monder attended DePaul University in Chicago on an academic scholarship, but continued his bass study with Larry Gray, with whom he studied both classical and jazz. After two years he transferred to William Paterson College in New Jersey, where he studied with Todd Coolman, Rufus Reid, and Harold Mabern. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude in 1994 and subsequently moved to New York City. Mr. Martin has performed with a wide variety of artists, which includes Andy Bey, Mark Turner and Art Farmer. He is a member of Kurt Rosenwinkel's current band, documented on a forthcoming live recording from the Village Vanguard. He has also performed with many artists including Andy Bey, Vinicius Cantuaria, Bill Charlap, Art Farmer, Aaron Goldberg, Jon Gordon, Ari Hoenig, Joel Frahm, Ethan Iverson, Guillermo Klein, Ivan Lins, Lionel Loueke, Bill McHenry, John McNeil, Brad Mehldau, Mingus Big Band, Ben Monder, Jane Monheit, Jean-Michel Pilc, Chris Potter, Maria Schneider, Jaleel Shaw, Grady Tate, Mark Turner, and Michael Weiss. His debut CD Passage, which features Mark Turner, Kevin Hays, and Jorge Rossy, received much acclaim from critics and musicians alike. He leads gigs regularly in New York City at clubs including The Jazz Gallery, Smoke, and Smalls. He has also toured with his band in Italy.

Drummer Ted Poor graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 2003 where he earned his BM in Jazz Performance and taught on the faculty of the Community Education Division. While at Eastman, Ted studied drum set Rich Thompson and percussion with John Beck. Now a resident of New York City, Ted performs and records a variety of music with many different ensembles. For the past several years he has worked with the guitarist Ben Monder’s Quartet and played on Ben Monder’s most recent CD, Oceana (featuring Kermit Driscoll, Skuli Sverrison and Theo Bleckman). Mr. Poor is also a member of trumpeter Cuong Vu’s trio (with bassist Stomu Takeishi), with whom he tours Europe and the US. Their recent CD, It's Mostly Residual, features guitarist Bill Frisell. He is also a member of groups based outside of NYC such as the Rochester based trio Paradigm Shift, and has performed on their latest release Shifting Times (Nagel Heyer Records) featuring Joe Locke, Wycliffe Gordon and Marcus Printup. Mr. Poor also plays with Jerseyband and Neos, experimental groups that were formed at Eastman, and with Chris Potter.

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4/14/08: Jérôme Sabbagh Quartet

The Jérôme Sabbagh Quartet is led by the Parisian-turned-New Yorker saxophonist. The group plays modern, organic music that appeals to listeners beyond the traditional jazz audience, as heard on its newest release on Sunnyside, Pogo. In cooperation with the French Embassy.

Jérôme Sabbagh Quartet

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Jérôme Sabbagh Quartet

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