Sunday Supper & Jazz

Cover Charge of $20/Person will be added to your check.  Please make your reservations by telephone only. Call 410-626-9796.

Saxophone master and composer Michel Nirenberg returns to the U.S. for his 2016 fall tour. In October and November, he’ll share the vibrant melodies and rhythms of his native Brazil with jazz and world music fans in the Mid-Atlantic. On Sunday, November 20, he’ll make his Annapolis debut with pianist Tim Murphy in the Sunday Supper and Jazz series presented by Elana Byrd at 49 West Café from 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

In recent months, Nirenberg has been making music in his hometown, Rio de Janeiro, collaborating with friends and performing tunes from his 2015 debut album, Retrato/Portrait. First released in the U.S., the recording was well received. It soared on the American CMJ radio charts peaking at No. 6. Dan Bilawski of All About Jazz wrote, “In terms of style, substance, and execution, Nirenberg ranks high. This is some brilliant Brazilian jazz.” Raul da Gama of Latin Jazz Network called Nirenberg, “a player who uses virtuosity not for self-aggrandizement but to glorify the music.”

Nirenberg first came to the U.S. to attend graduate school.  After earning many awards and an undergraduate degree in Brazil, he earned a master’s degree in classical performance from James Madison University in Virginia. Before returning to Brazil he released his first album and joined the roster of Jazz Beyond Borders artists.

In these U.S. appearances and a subsequent tour of Israel, Nirenberg will begin sharing some tunes slated for his next recording. In Annapolis, he’ll be backed by several international performers including Brazilian seven-string bassist Leonardo Lucini, American pianist Tim Murphy and English drummer Geoff Easthope.

Listeners will hear selections from the album and exciting new compositions and arrangements meant to introduce American music fans to a wider range of Brazilian jazz and instrumental music styles. Nirenberg’s composition “Faith,” mixes baião, partido alto and maracatu rhythms. Another recent and deeply spiritual composition, “Bahia de Todos os Santos” is an Ijexá, a rhythm from the state of Bahia in the northeast of Brazil. Bahia’s capital, Salvador, was built around Todos os Santos (All Saint’s Bay) and was a major port in the slave trade. Nirenberg introduces and ends the piece with a traditional capoeira chant and percussion solo.

Nirenberg will also cover “Espinha de Bacalhau,” one of Brazil’s most popular and recognizable choros, written by the great Severino Araújo in 1937. The title, which means “a fish spine,” refers to it’s up tempo speed and technical difficulty. Fortunately, his team of international musicians is clearly up to the task! Visit the Calendar Page of  HYPERLINK “http://www.jazzbeyondborders.com” http://www.jazzbeyondborders.com for more details and artist website link.