TOWERING POPPIES. Jasmine Lovell-Smith s

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1 Jasmine Lovell-Smith s TOWERING POPPIES Honest, intelligent chamber jazz, stark in its minimalism, gentle in its dissonance, firm in its lyricism. JazzTimes An outstanding collection of original jazz compositions Utne Reader An almost incredibly assured sounding debut Hank Shteamer, Best of 2012 is an improvising quintet that combines a modern chamber jazz aesthetic with folk, impressionism and free improvisation. Led by New Zealand saxophonist & composer Jasmine Lovell-Smith,their chemistry as a band is unmistakeable, with TimeOut New York describing them as a handsomely fluid and lyrical combo. Based out of New York City, Towering Poppies features a stellar cast of musicians from Canada and the United States. With Cat Toren on piano (Vancouver/NYC member of Juno Award winning Pugs & Crows), Adam Hopkins on bass (Baltimore/NYC), Kate Pittman on drums (New York) and Josh Sinton on bass clarinet (New York), each member of the group is an accomplished improviser, and their sound is a truly collaborative endeavor. Towering Poppies released their debut album, Fortune Songs, in August 2012, to critical acclaim in the jazz press, with UK jazz critic Stephen Graham hailing it as a dynamite debut. They have continued to perform regularly in New York and the wider Northeast at venues including ShapeShifter Lab, Korzo, SEEDS and ibeam. Their sophomore album is due out in early 2016.

2 JASMINE LOVELL-SMITH BIO With a playing style inspired by the vocal styles of jazz greats like Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald, Lovell-Smith literally makes her sax sing Utne Reader a distinctive new voice on the soprano saxophone New York City Jazz Record Jasmine Lovell-Smith is a composer and saxophonist from Christchurch, New Zealand, currently based in the U.S.A. Born to an American mother, a trained opera vocalist, and a Kiwi father, the voice was Jasmine s first instrument. After discovering jazz in high school, she took up the saxophone and went on to graduate from Massey University (Wellington, NZ) in 2006 with a Bachelor of Music majoring in jazz saxophone performance and composition. Jasmine participated in Dave Douglas Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, and in Ralph Alessi s School for Improvisational Music Summer Intensive, before relocating to New York City in the summer of 2010, where she formed Towering Poppies. As a composer/arranger, Jasmine s works have been performed by ensembles including the New Zealand Youth Jazz Orchestra and the New Zealand High Schools Jazz Orchestra. Jasmine seeks to create music that is lyrical and memorable, balancing intuition and spontaneity with carefully crafted structures. Some of her interests include setting poetry to music, polyphony and composing for woodwind instruments. She continues to develop her craft as a composer, currently studying towards her M.A. in composition under Anthony Braxton at Wesleyan University.

3 ADAM HOPKINS CAT TOREN is a jazz pianist, improviser, and composer. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Cat has studied classical piano and theory at the Royal Conservatory of Music and holds a Bachelor of Jazz Studies from Capilano College in Vancouver. She has been a valued participant at the Banff Centre s Big Band Workshop and Jazz and Creative Music Workshop. JOSH SINTON is a creative musician who specializes in playing the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet he studied composition at the university of chicago and improvisation at the aacm in the 1990 s and then proceeded to carve out a niche for himself in chicago writing and performing music for dance (with julia mayer) and theater, and 1999 moved to boston to resume studies at the new england conservatory is a bassist, composer and educator born and raised in Baltimore. He holds a graduate performance diploma from Peabody Conservatory in Jazz Studies, a master s degree from Michigan State University in Orchestral Bass Performance, and a bachelor s degree from James Madison University in Music Industry. KATE GENTILE Originally from Buffalo, drummer/composer/ improviser, she has played and recorded with a panoply of renowned musicians. Kate has enjoyed teaching privately and through schools and summer programs for over 10 years, and holds a dual degree in Jazz Performance and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music.

4 Jasmine Lovell-Smith s TOWERING POPPIES technical rider Stage -The stage must be big enough to fit comfortably a standard full size drum set (Bass drum, snare, 3 toms and 4 cymbals), double bass, full size piano, bass clarinet and saxophone, leaving at least 5 feet of space between every musician. -7x7 feet carpet for the drum set. -3 stools of standard size for the saxofonist, clarinetist and bassist. Audio -An experienced audio technitian must be available for sound check and concert. -If required, the quintet will use the local PA system. Please provide the appropiate cables an conecctions. -Preferebly, a 16 channel mixer will be used. -All necessary microphones for the quintet must be provided, according to the needs and size of the venue. -3 Audio monitors on stage. Lighting -Standard lighting and specials over the musicians. -Lighting design and transitions are open, as long as there is always enough light over the musicians and music stands. There should never be sudden changes of lights or total darkness. -Preferebly blue, purple, red and yellow colors will be used. These are the quintet s prefered requirements, however the ensemble is open to accept other setup proposals as long as they are discussed befored signing a contract. Please contact the manager for specifications on the drum set.

5 + info More information and audio and video samples can be found at the following links: contact in mexico Cristohper Ramos Flores Tel: (52)