Tonight at 7:00 p.m., veteran jazz guitarist and composer Michael Musillami will celebrate the forthcoming release of his latest record, Mettle (Playscape Recordings), with a free concert at The Hotchkiss School‘s Esther Eastman Music Center in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Musillami, who directs the Hotchkiss Jazz Ensemble (aka Right Brain Logic), will perform with his new septet, the Michael Musillami Trio + 4, an augmented version of his longstanding trio with bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller that’s celebrating its 10th anniversary as a working unit in 2012. They’ll be joined by special guests Russ Johnson (trumpet), Ned Rothenberg (alto saxophone and clarinet), Jeff Lederer (tenor saxophone and clarinet) and Peter Madsen (piano).

The group will play selections from Mettle, which officially hits the streets on February 7th, as well as other original material specially arranged for this combination of musicians. That includes a new piece called “Of The Brave”, which Right Brain Logic performed at their concert in early December under Musillami’s direction. Saxophonist Charles Tokarz, who also teaches at Hotchkiss, will join Musillami’s group for the composition’s official debut.

Owen McNally previews both the performance and the record in his feature for the Hartford Courant.

Learn more at http://michaelmusillami.com and http://playscape-recordings.com

On Friday, January 13th at 7:00 p.m., veteran jazz guitarist and composer Michael Musillami will celebrate the forthcoming release of his latest record, Mettle (Playscape Recordings), with a free concert at The Hotchkiss School‘s Esther Eastman Music Center in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Musillami, who directs the Hotchkiss Jazz Ensemble (aka Right Brain Logic), will perform with his new septet, the Michael Musillami Trio + 4, an augmented version of his longstanding trio with bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller that’s celebrating its 10th anniversary as a working unit in 2012. They’ll be joined by special guests Russ Johnson (trumpet), Ned Rothenberg (alto saxophone and clarinet), Jeff Lederer (tenor saxophone and clarinet) and Peter Madsen (piano).

The group will play selections from Mettle, which officially hits the streets on February 7th, as well as other original material specially arranged for this combination of musicians. That includes a new piece called “Of The Brave”, which Right Brain Logic performed at their concert in early December under Musillami’s direction. Saxophonist Charles Tokarz, who also teaches at Hotchkiss, will join Musillami’s group for the composition’s official debut.

“Musillami creates music that ignores category and boundary and moves ahead fearlessly,” writes the Hartford Courant‘s Owen McNally. Critics have called him “exceptional” (Grego Applegate Edwards, Cadence), “engaging” (Jim Macnie, Village Voice), “a modern-day jazz master” (Roger Levesque, Edmonton Journal) and “a fine composer of notable original music” (Michael G. Nastos, AllMusic.com).

DownBeat reviewer Lloyd Sachs adds, “Musillami is one of the most accessible thinking-man’s guitarists. Whether he’s waxing lyrical with his richly resonant sound and sculpted lines or charging into the open field with springing and vaulting rhythmic patterns, there is a soulful immediacy to his playing. His mind’s eye is as good as his ear.”

Musillami’s career spans more than 25 years and includes extensive work as a performer, bandleader/composer and educator. In addition to his trio, which has performed across Europe and North America since 2002, he has earned international acclaim as the leader of groups ranging from duo to octet. When not performing or teaching at The Hotchkiss School, he is the manager of Playscape Recordings, the highly regarded independent record label he founded in 1999.

Learn more at http://michaelmusillami.com and http://playscape-recordings.com

Photo by Napone Punyagupta

On Sunday, July 3rd at 7:30 p.m., Michael Musillami Trio + 4 will perform as part of The Hotchkiss School’s Summer Concert Series at the Esther Eastman Music Center’s Katherine M. Elfers Hall in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Led by veteran jazz guitarist Michael Musillami, the school’s longtime Director of Jazz Studies, the septet will premiere three all-new extended compositions from Natural Direction (Playscape Recordings), his forthcoming 17th release as a bandleader.

The Michael Musillami Trio + 4 augments Musillami’s longstanding flagship trio, featuring bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller, with Russ Johnson (trumpet), Matt Moran (vibraphone), Ned Rothenberg (alto saxophone and clarinet) and Jeff Lederer (tenor saxophone and clarinet).

Critics called the Michael Musillami Trio’s most recent release, 2010′s Old Tea (Playscape Recordings), “a moving, masterful suite” (Owen McNally, Hartford Courant), “guitar-led trio jazz at its best” (Simon Adams, Jazz Journal), and “nothing short of extraordinary” (Nic Jones, AllAboutJazz.com).

“Musillami is one of the most accessible thinking-man’s guitarists,” wrote DownBeat‘s Lloyd Sachs. “Whether he’s waxing lyrical with his richly resonant sound and sculpted lines or charging into the open field with springing and vaulting rhythmic patterns, there is a soulful immediacy to his playing.”

The Rochester City Paper‘s Ron Netsky adds, “Drummer George Schuller and bassist Joe Fonda are so tuned in to Musillami’s wavelength that when the group really gets going, it functions as a single living organism.”

Learn more about Michael Musillami at http://michaelmusillami.com