TrioGram featuring Joe LaBarbera

Wed, Jul 26

Tickets from $15 - $35. TrioGram is a jazz piano trio for the age of information. The group maintains a cutting edge sensibility combined with reverence for the many eras of jazz, and features bassist and bandleader Will Lyle and pianist Bijan Taghavi. Will maintains a busy freelance schedule in New York City and around the world, performing in clubs such as Smalls, Mezzrow, Birdland and Ornithology, and is a former student of bass legend Ron Carter. Bijan is a member of Rodney Whitaker's band (former bassist for Roy Hargrove) and is a professor at Hillsdale College in Michigan. Earlier this year, the band toured Europe, Mexico, and the Southwestern United States. They are equally influenced by the swinging piano trios of the bebop period, impressionistic styles, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and hip hop. As sidemen, the members have worked with such jazz legends as Dave Kikoski, Rodney Whitaker, Carl Allen, Ralph Peterson, Dick Oatts, Ralph Moore, Bill Cunliffe, Roy McCurdy, and more. This is a special show featuring former drummer for Bill Evans, Joe LaBarbera, and will be both a CD release show for their album TrioGram (released April 2023) and rehearsal for their upcoming record, TrioGram II, scheduled to be recorded later this month. Joe La Barbera is best-known for being part of Bill Evans' last trio (1978-1980) along with bassist Marc Johnson but he has remained greatly in-demand up to the present time. The younger brother of tenor saxophonist Pat La Barbera and arranger-trumpeter John La Barbera, Joe was originally taught drums by his father Joseph La Barbera before studying with Alan Dawson during his period at Berklee (1966-1968). La Barbera toured with singer Frankie Randall, spent two years in the Army, toured with Woody Herman's Big Band and then was with Chuck Mangione's very popular band (1973-1977). After a period freelancing in New York, La Barbera toured the world with Bill Evans, making many recordings as part of one of the pianist's finest groups. The drummer's tasteful and stimulating playing inspired both Evans and Johnson. After the pianist's death, La Barbera toured with Tony Bennett and then settled in Los Angeles. During the '80s and 90s, he worked steadily in a countless number of situations, becoming a fixture in Los Angeles area clubs and occasionally leading his own quintet. Joe La Barbera has appeared on scores of recordings where his subtle yet swinging style uplifts every session. Lineup: Will Lyle - bass Bijan Taghavi - piano Joe LaBarbera - drums