Jazz Composers Collective The Herbie Nichols Project

"Wonderful evidence of these players' creativity as well as Nichols' genius."--Jazztimes

A contemporary of Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, the brilliant jazz composer and pianist Herbie Nichols (1919-1963) is perhaps best known as the composer of the Billie Holiday classic "Lady Sings the Blues." Although his career was cut short by leukemia at the age of 44, he left a rich legacy of great tunes on a handful of marvelous releases for the Blue Note and Bethlehem labels.

Nichols's music shows his love of New Orleans jazz, West Indian folk melodies, bebop's rhythmic excitement, and the harmonic depth of Bela Bartok. And his full body of work is now receiving long overdue recognition, thanks to CD reissues and this terrific ensemble dedicated to breathing new life into his catalogue of songs.

Led by gifted pianist Frank Kimbrough and bassist Ben Allison of the Jazz Composers Collective, the Herbie Nichols Project also features Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and such talents as Michael Blake on saxes, Ron Horton on trumpet, and Matt Wilson on drums. Collectively they demonstrate, in Downbeat's words, "a group empathy rare in this age of superstar collaborations."