Late Night Concert Series w/Ben Waltzer

Showtimes:  10:30pm-11:45pm

This no-nonsense jazz pianist in the Ellington and Monk vein gets a big, ringing sound out of the extreme registers of the instrument…He manages a thoughtful modernism that coexists more than peaceably with a buoyant, unselfconscious sense of swing.” – New York Times

Pianist Ben Waltzer cut his teeth on the expansive New York jazz scene of the 1990s playing with the likes of Gerald Cleaver, Reid Anderson, and Bill McHenry and developing his personal voice alongside peers Brad Mehldau, Kevin Hays, and Ethan Iverson. In 2014, Waltzer relocated to Chicago and rapidly integrated into the thriving jazz community there. The Point, Waltzer’s first record as a leader since that move, captures his top-flight Chicago quartet with saxophonist Geof Bradfield, bassist Clark Sommers, and drummer Dana Hall in a vibrant live performance at Chicago’s Pro Musica Audio.

The quartet initially coalesced under the leadership of Dana Hall as Black Fire, exploring the iconoclastic music of Andrew Hill weekly at Andy’s Jazz Club. Perhaps their easy connection is less surprising given that Bradfield, Hall and Sommers all did their own stints in New York before settling in Chicago. The band honed its sound and repertoire there for the next two years, developing the trust and intuition evident here on their debut recording – The Point.

The New York-Chicago transplant sees the music here as reflecting and connecting the many junctures along his path. “We see and hear through our personal prisms,” says Waltzer, “and as a resident of Hyde Park, The Point offers a vista in many directions that evoke varied relationships and aspects of my life.”

Click Here For All Reservations