New Brunswick has turned into a hot jazz town in the last couple years, partly through the work of
The New Brunswick Jazz Project, and evidenced by the performers you can catch in at a variety of venues in the next two weeks.
Guitarist Misha Fatkiev and his group Tribal Etiquette perform tonight. Thursday, Feb. 17 at Makeda, 338 George Street. Fatkiev has performed at The Blue Note, Carnegie Hall, Trumpets Jazz Club and Cecil's, among others. The group includes Tivon Pennicott on tenor sax, Ryan Berg on bass and Nathan Webb on drums.
Tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 18, at Catherine Lombardi, 3 Livingston Avenue, the Alex Hernandez Trio performs from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Born in Miami, Hernandez has lived in Madrid where he recorded and toured with the great flamenco singer Diego "El Cigala", Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes and toured the world with Spanish singer/songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat. Hernandez has performed with Jeremy Pelt, Donny McCaslin, Ravi Coltrane, Joel Frahm, and many more.
You can keep up with activity at Makeda and some other jazz spots in town via the New Brunswick Jazz Project mailing list and website,
www.njbp.org.
At the college, the Rutgers Jazz Ensemble performs at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, in Mason Gross' Nicholas Music Center, 85 George St., Douglass Campus, New Brunswick. Charles Tolliver conducts the Gil Evans arrangement “Springsville” from “Miles Ahead,” “Suspicion” from Tolliver’s Grammy-nominated recording “With Love,” Slide Hampton's “Inner Urge,” the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band's “Suite For Pops,” and “Things To Come” from the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band.
Tickets for the Rutgers Jazz Ensemble are $10 for the general public and Rutgers alumni, employees and seniors, $5 for students with valid I.D.
--C.
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The Shamie Royston Trio appears tonight, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Ethiopian restaurant Makeda, 338 George St., New Brunswick. Royston is a pianist and composer and will be playing with her regular band, featuring Ivan Taylor on bass and Chris Brown, drums. Joining them will be Curtis Taylor on trumpet and Royston's little sister, Tia Fuller, sax. 
