Free Concert: Joshua Breakstone's "Cello-Quartet”

Enjoy a free concert on Sunday, February 4 at 3:00 pm at Bernardsville Public Library with Joshua Breakstone's "Cello-Quartet," a collaboration of four well-known, veteran jazz players: guitarist Joshua Breakstone, cellist Mike Richmond, bassist Lisle Atkinson, and drummer Andy Watson.

The formulation of the group--guitar, bass, drums to which cello has been added--is unique. The harmonizations of the strings are stunning and a combination never before heard in jazz. This is a configuration that has appeal to a broad audience, from classical music lovers, to jazz lovers, to guitar aficionados. "While it's definitely jazz, it's at the same time most definitely something a little different!" says Mr. Breakstone. The group's third recording, “88,” was in the top 50 in U.S. airplay for 15 weeks, and received 4½ stars in the January 2017 DownBeat.

The PBS documentary about the music of Joshua Breakstone, his many tours in Japan and the genesis of the Cello-Quartet, "Joshua Breakstone, Soft Hands; Jazz Ethereal," has begun screenings around the country. To date it's been shown at venues in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut as well as in Phoenix and Denver.
Joshua Breakstone has 22 recordings out as a leader with such greats as Kenny Barron, Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Pepper Adams, Jimmy Knepper, Jack McDuff, Mickey Roker, and Al Harewood. He tours twice each year in Japan, across Europe and just about everywhere in the United States.

“‘Fire in velvet.’ A fitting description of Joshua Breakstone's jazz guitar," wrote Paul Weidman in The Santa Fe New Mexican. "His flowing lines on up-tempo cookers are impeccably clean and fiery, bearing the mark of a first-rate improviser, while his chordal work on heartbreaker ballads is the final word in finesse," has raved Guitar Player Magazine. In his book, “Masters of Jazz Guitar,” Charles Alexander wrote "With a firm grasp of the bebop language, Breakstone nevertheless avoids its clichés, instead unfolding a storyline in his solos, all the while building interest with economical, elegant lines and sustaining longer notes with a clear, rounded guitar sound."

Mr. Breakstone is also the author of "Jazz Etudes: Studies For The Beginning Improviser," a standard text at colleges and universities worldwide. He has both performed and presented workshops throughout the world.
This concert is funded by gifts to the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library. It’s free and no sign-up is needed. There will be light refreshments. Doors open at 2:45 pm. For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.