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New York Guitar Festival at Merkin Concert Hall

Merkin Concert Hall's portion of the NYGF offers an eclectic tribute to a pair of late Rock n'Roll legends: Jerry Garcia and George Harrison. On September 19, the center presents "A long Strange Trip: The Legacy of Jerry Garcia," featuring guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, doo-wop singing outfit The Persuasions and banjo legend Tony Trischka. Kaukonen, whose credits include lead guitarist for Jefferson Airplane and co-founder of the band Hot Tuna, is well suited to address Garcia's towering legacy, having been a vital influence on the electric folk and free form rock music scene since the 1960s. Equally enduring is The Persuasions, which has been singing soulful harmonies together since the 1960s and recently released an album of Dead covers. Rounding out the Garcia homage is banjo virtuoso Tony Trischka, known for exploring genres usually considered out-of-bounds for his instrument.

The second portion of the Merkin series features a tribute to the late George Harrison, titled after his 1970 multidisc solo epic, “All Things Must Pass.” Like that session, with its stellar lineup, this program includes a long list of guest performers, including Vernon Reid; Steve Bernstein and his band Sex Mob with guitarist Dave Tronzo; acclaimed guitarist/composer Wolfgang Muthspiel; guitarist Joel Harrison with saxophonist Dave Liebman, accordionist Tony Cedras, bassist Stephan Crump, percussionist Jamey Haddad and vocalist Raz Kennedy.

About the Artists

As lead guitarist for Jefferson Airplane, Jorma Kaukonen played a major role in developing its sound, pushing the original
“electric folk” direction toward free-form blues rock. But even in the band’s early days, Jorma began to branch out inde-pendently,
eventually forming, with bassist Jack Casady, the off-shoot band Hot Tuna. In 1992, Jorma founded the Fur Peace
Guitar Ranch, where he teaches traditional American music to young musicians. More about Jorma Kaukonen

The Persuasions have been performing since the early 1960’s, when they worked the street corners of Brooklyn. They have
been touring and performing solidly for the past 40 years and have successfully sung their way around the world, appearing
with Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, Bette Midler and Paul Simon. They have also been featured on a Spike Lee PBS Special
on singing. More about the Persuasions

Tony Trischka’s banjo music is a masterful mix of bluegrass, old time, popular, classical and original music, and is ever chang-ing.
Trischka draws on his 30-year career, and includes captivating compositions that range from flat out hard-driving to
dance-able to poignant.

Vernon Reid formed the trio Living Colour in 1984, which has sold over four million records and won two Grammy Awards, two
MTV Music Video Awards, two International Rock Awards and more. He has played with Jack DeJohnette, Public Enemy, B.B.
King, The Ramones, Mariah Carey, Mick Jagger, Tracy Chapman, Eye & I, Family Stand, Carlos Santana and others. Currently,
he works with a New York band he calls Masque, which he describes as “the place where rock, jazz, hip-hop and technology
meet.” More about Vernon Reid

Steve Bernstein has worked as music director of John Lurie’s band the Lounge Lizards, and as co-leader of the trio Spanish
Fly. He has arranged for the Academy Award-nominated score to the film “Get Shorty,” as well as Robert Altman’s history-drenched “Kansas City.” Bernstein has played and recorded with artists ranging from Tricky, Cakelike, Foetus, Digable
Planets and They Might Be Giants to Aretha Franklin, Bootsy Collins, Don Byron, Allan Toussaint and Mel Torme. Sex Mob
includes alto saxophonist Briggan Krauss, bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen. More about Steve Bernstein's Sex Mob

Slide guitarist David Tronzo has played with such varied musicians as Paul Motion, Davis Sanborn, John Hiatt, Wayne Horvitz,
The Lounge Lizards and many others. He was named as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time in Musician Magazine.
Internationally acclaimed guitarist/composer Wolfgang Muthspiel is a native of Austria. He has more than 9 albums record-ed
under his own name and is a winner of numerous awards and competitions. Following Muthspiel’s debut album on
PolyGram in 1989, CD Review named him one of the artists “Most Likely to Succeed.” More about David Tronzo

New York-based guitarist/composer Joel Harrison plays creative jazz influenced by ethnic traditions from around the world,
Rhythm and Blues and modern classical music. His latest CD, Range of Motion (Koch Jazz) has received considerable praise,
including positive reviews in Downbeat, Jazz Times, Cadence and Boston Phoenix. Since 1998 he has toured internationally with his quartet. He has also composed film and documentary scores, most recently for A&E. More about Joel Harrison

David Liebman has often been featured with top European musicians such as Joachim Kuhn, Daniel Humair, Paolo Fresu,
Jon Christensen, Bobo Stenson and in the World View Trio with Austrian drummer Wolfgang Reisenger and French bassist
Jean-Paul Celea. In 2000, Liebman was inducted into the Hall of Fame of The International Association of Jazz Educators
and in 2001, he received the Fred Waring Award from COTA. Liebman has been featured on nearly 300 recordings in his
career. His artistic output has ranged from straight ahead to chamber jazz; from fusion to avant-garde. More about David Liebman

Born in Cape Province, South Africa, in 1952, accordionist Tony Cedras was one of the central figures in the Cape jazz scene
early in his career. In 1987 he was asked to tour with Paul Simon following the unexpected success of the Graceland album.
Mr. Cedras toured with Simon from 1987–1992. He performs with various groups including Chris Botti, Bakithi Khumalo,
Damon Duewhite, Cyro Baptista, Morris Goldberg and others.

Memphis-bred bassist/composer Stephan Crump has become known for the elegance and purposeful groove of his
acoustic and electric bass playing. His compositions can be heard in Miramax, HBO and Bravo films. In 1994, he
received his Bachelor of Music degree from Amherst College, where he worked with jazz greats Max Roach, Frank
Foster, and Ray Drummond. Upon leaving Amherst, he toured with the Tommy Dorsey Band before moving to New York. More about Stephan Crumb

Born in Cleveland Ohio, Percussionist/Drummer Jamey Haddad has performed with Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Alan
Farnham, The Paul Winter Consort, Carly Simon and Betty Buckley. Haddad is the Recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship
to South India, four National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, two in Jazz Performance and two in International
Music Studies/Collaborations. He teaches World Music at Berklee College of Music and the New School. More about Jamey Haddad

Raz Kennedy has been performing and recording in the Bay Area for over 16 years. He has recorded with and was a
founding member of Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra, and has worked with Toni Childs, Mickey Hart, Al Jarreau, Kenny
Loggins, Narada Michael Walden, Andy Narell, Todd Rundgren, The Bobs, Rhiannon, Linda Tillery and Bob Ostertag
among others. Kennedy presently produces, writes, arranges, performs, and coaches singers for live and studio projects. More about Raz Kennedy