EMBER are a jazz trio with a collective mindset
With the new album August in March, three accomplished players perform modern jazz as a band of equals.
Today, the Spotlight shines On EMBER, a trio featuring saxophonist and trumpeter Caleb Wheeler Curtis, bassist Noah Garabedian and drummer Vincent Sperrazza. Their latest album, August in March, came out August 11, 2023 on Imani Records and is “a vivid representation of the musical, interpersonal and community-oriented ideas that the three forward-thinking musicians that make up EMBER…care deeply about.”
Today’s conversation explores the heady thematic elements of EMBER’s music: humanism, community, place, and the importance of being a band of equals.
Stick around after the discussion to hear the track “Flotation Device and the Shivers” from August in March, by EMBER.
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Dig Deeper
• Visit EMBER at emberband.com
• Listen to EMBER’s August In March on Bandcamp or your favorite streaming platform
• Follow EMBER on Instagram
• Also on Instagram: Caleb Curtis, Noah Garabedian, and Vinnie Sperrazza
• Vinnie Sperrazza’s Chronicles email newsletter (Substack)
• Frank Zappa & Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Improvisations, Boston 1969
• Rahsaan Roland Kirk: An Alternative Top Ten Albums Guaranteed To Bend Your Head
• Alice Coltrane Documentary (1970)
• Complete Recordings of Sam Cooke with the Soul Stirrers
• Oscar Peterson Trio with Milt Jackson - Very Tall
• The state of Utica’s jazz scene
• Joe Henderson’s The State of the Tenor
• Be sure to check out other musical projects from Caleb Curtis, Noah Garabedian, and Vinnie Sperrazza
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Ember
Band
The Brooklyn, NY based collaborative trio Ember (previously Curtis+Garabedian+Sperrazza) finds itself at the crossroads of musical and personal exploration resulting in true band-hood and non-hierarchical playing. Each of the members - Caleb Wheeler Curtis (alto saxophone, trumpet), Noah Garabedian (bass), and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) - are integral parts of the NY creative music community as leaders, collaborators and instigators. The music in this trio is organized but open and expressive. Their music opens up the true freedom of improvisation, exploration, and creativity.
In 2021 they released, "No One Is Any One," featuring Orrin Evans on piano on Sunnyside Records. Their latest release, "August In March" is available everywhere now from Imani Records.
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