JAZZMOBILE PRESENTS: THE MARC CARY - BEN WILLIAMS PROJECT | JULY 18 | 7:30 & HARLEM SESSIONS @9:30pm JAZZMOBILE THURSDAY NIGHT RESIDENCY AT MINTON'S PLAYHOUSE - WHERE THE NEWEST ADDITION TO - NEW YORK CITY'S LONGEST RUNNING JAZZ FESTIVAL: "JAZZMOBILE'S SUMMERFEST!" CONTINUES WITH THE MARC CARY - BEN WILLIAMS PROJECT HAPPY HOUR 5:00-8:00 PM NO COVER - A FREE ADMISSION EVENT!! MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS FOR 7:30 PM &/OR 9:30 PM SHOW THERE IS A $30 MINIMUM FOR FOOD AND OR BEVERAGES BE SURE TO BE THERE BEFORE SOWTIME TO GET A GOOD SEAT! Timothy Greenfield, Jazzmobile’s Chairman of the Board, said, “We’re looking forward to presenting Jazzmobile artists as well as introducing new talent as a part of this residency at one of the world’s most renowned jazz venues.” Richard Parsons Chairman of Harlem Jazz Enterprises, Co-owner of Minton's Playhouse said, “Jazzmobile, a leading curator of jazz events throughout Harlem and the five boroughs, is the perfect partner to continue the legacy of presenting great music here." ABOUT MARC CARY AND BEN WILLIAMS: Marc Cary MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, PRODUCER, EDUCATOR “The main thing is the intention behind what you say musically; [that’s] the beauty. If you’re thinking something and you hit that note, the resonance of what you’re thinking actually goes through that note. It’s like a telephone frequency carrying your voice--literally. That’s the power.” – Marc Cary In a jazz world brimming with brilliant and adventurous pianists, Marc Cary stands apart by way of pedigree and design as one of New York’s best jazz pianists. None of his prestigious peer group ever set the groove behind the drums in Washington DC go-go bands nor are any others graduates of both Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln's daunting bandstand academies. Cary hails from a musically literate family--his mother is a cellist; his great grandmother was an ivory-tickler in silent movie houses back in that day who also rocked barrelhouse and stride duets with Eubie Blake. Ellington trumpeter Cootie Williams was a cousin of Cary's grandfather. Cary's Ellington education prepared him to take on the daunting Big Apple at the ripe age of 21. Besides Carter and Lincoln, the next decade of his life found him sharing stages and cultivating craft with Dizzy Gillespie, Arthur Taylor, Carlos Garnett, Jackie McLean, Wynton Marsalis and one more goddess-figure among jazz vocalists, Carmen McRae. His comfort with women bandleaders also made him a favorite accompanist among other modern chanteuses, notably Ndegeocello, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill and Ani Di Franco. The pianist's debut recording as a leader was released in 1995. Since then Cary's released a baker's dozen albums of music under his direction--three of those within the past two years for Motéma. Then there is Cary's Rhodes Ahead series--which his current Motéma recording indexes as Volume 2--the first of which on Jazzateria earned him the debut annual Billboard/BET ''Best New Jazz Artist'' award in 2000. Cary remains one of the progenitors of contemporary jazz, evident in his influence on peers. Live gigs with vibraphonist Stefon Harris and bandmate Casey Benjamin began the genesis of Robert Glasper’s recording Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and Cary's record "Taiwa" from Focus in 2006 evolved into "For You" on Glasper's Double Booked and Harris' Urbanus. Cary collaborator Roy Hargrove exalted him with "Caryisms" on 1992's The Vibe, an album whose title track is one of two Cary originals including "Running Out of Time"--now part of the lexicon of live repertoire among jazz stalwarts Hargrove, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Igmar Thomas' Revive Big Band. As New York Times jazz critic Nate Chinen observed recently, “There isn’t much in the modern-jazz-musician tool kit that Marc Cary hasn’t mastered, but he has a particular subspecialty in the area of groove…with a range of rhythmic strategies, from a deep-house pulse to a swinging churn.” He remains one of New York’s best jazz pianists, and as a leading improviser, now heads up the jazz improvisation classes at Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School. Be WILLIAMSBassist Leader Composer Ben Williams began playing bass at age 10, was raised in the District of Columbia, and graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Michigan State University and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School. In 2009, he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition as judged by Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Robert Hurst, Christian McBride, and John Patitucci.[1] The honor included a recording contract with Concord Records through which he released his debut album, State of Art, in 2011, featuring saxophonist Marcus Strickland, guitarist Matthew Stevens, pianist Gerald Clayton, drummer Jamire Williams, and percussionist Etienne Charles. His album Coming of Age, was released in April 2015 featuring sidemen Marcus Strickland on tenor and soprano saxophones, Matthew Stevens on electric guitar, Christian Sands on piano, and John Davis on drums. Williams is a member of guitarist Pat Metheny's Unity Band, which won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. More Info below.