Gene Ess & Fractal Attraction “Absurdist Theater” Album Release Party @ Blue Note, NYC

FEATURING:
Gene Ess - Guitar 
Thana Alexa - Vocals 
Manuel Valera - Keyboards 
Thomson Kneeland - Bass 
Mark Ferber - Drums

1st Set 11:30am, 2nd Set 12:30pm

Blue Note, 131 W3rd St, NY, NY www.bluenote.net

Through the 1990’s Gene recorded and toured globally with the prolific drummer Rashied Ali (known for his association with saxophonist John Coltrane). In 2002, The Rashied Ali Quintet released “No One In Particular,” which was co-produced by Gene and well received by critics.

Gene’s last album Eternal Monomyth was released in May of 2015. The album has received international acclaim and also charted on the national jazz radio chart peaking at #7. The quintet includes some of the best NYC jazz musicians and include: Thana Alexa on voice, John Escreet on piano, Thomson Kneeland on bass, and Clarence Penn on drums. This album received the prestigious “Outstanding Jazz Performance” Award from SESAC in 2016. 
 

The new album, Absurdist Theater, is slated to be released September, 2016. This set of new music continues Gene’s exploration using voice as an instrument in a chamber group setting. On this album, Gene is joined by Thana Alexa on voice, Manuel Valera on piano, Yasushi Nakamura on bass, and Clarence Penn on drums. 

Over his career, Gene has performed and recorded with many wonderful musicians. Some are: Dave Liebman, Al Foster, Rashied Ali, Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Carlos Santana, Archie Shepp, Reggie Workman, Tigran Hamasyan, and Ravi Coltrane.