"Ms. Charles’s voice is haunting and ethereal, but her lyrics tend to tackle questions of social justice and contemporary society. That much was clear on “Free of Form,” her head-turning album from 2017. Here, she debuts a collection of new music written with Mr. Cherner, a pianist." - NYT pick.
Born from a mutual love of jazz harmony, lilting melody, and timeless poetry,
TONE is the latest project from vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles and pianist Jarrett Cherner, featuring original material composed by the duo. Full album due 2018.
SARAH ELIZABETH CHARLES
@secsounds / sarahecharles89@gmail.com
Sarah Elizabeth Charles is a rising vocalist/composer based in New York City. She has worked and studied with artists such as George Cables, Geri Allen, Nicholas Payton, Sheila Jordan, Jimmy Owens and Carmen Lundy and released her debut record, “Red” in September of 2012 with her band SCOPE. As the active vocalist in a number of bands (including SCOPE, AJOYO, Manner Effect, Transient Beings, Enoch Smith Jr. and Benjamin Rando) Charles has performed at many venues throughout her career. These have included The White House, Carnegie Hall, the first annual Culture Summit in Abu Dhabi, The Kennedy Center, the Bern International Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival, the Sicca Jazz Festival in Tunisia, the Blue Note in New York City, Gillette Stadium as a National Anthem singer for the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival and many more.
In addition to her performances, Charles is also an active educator. She works as a teaching artist with
Carnegie Hall’s Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Lullaby and Future Music Project Youth workshops, has a private lessons studio in New York City and is developing an early childhood music education program with Rise2Shine, a non-profit organization based in Fond Parisien, Haiti.
Charles' musical output has been described as a “genre of one” (DownBeat Magazine), “soulfully articulate” (NY Times) and “an unmatched sound” (Jay Z’s Life+Times). Her critically acclaimed sophomore project, “Inner Dialogue”, released in 2015 on Truth Revolution Records, features her band along with co-producer/special guest Christian Scott. Her third album, "Free of Form", is set to be released in the fall of 2017 on Ropeadope/Stretch Music and will feature SCOPE as well as Scott as co- producer/special guest. One can only look to the future for more unique and boundary pushing music from this one of a kind artist.
More info at sarahelizabethcharles.com
JARRETT CHERNER
Hailed as “an impressive soloist and an immaculate accompanist” (Richard Kamins) who is "particularly inventive" (Scott Yanow), Brooklyn-based pianist, composer and bandleader Jarrett Cherner has captivated listeners with his lyricism, technical facility and consistently evolving musical vision.
Originally from San Francisco, where he garnered praise as “one of the most exciting young pianist- composers on the Bay Area scene” (Andrew Gilbert, San Jose Mercury News), Cherner debuted on his own BaldHill Music label in 2006 with the compelling trio release Burgeoning, which earned recognition from the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards. As a driving force behind the collective jazz quintet Sketches (sketchesmusic.com), Cherner released two albums, both critically acclaimed: Sketches Volume One (BaldHill, 2013) and Volume Two (Brooklyn Jazz Underground, 2014). Cherner’s 2016 trio release Expanding Heart (BaldHill, 2016) features bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Jason Burger in a set that reflects personal growth, combining original material with covers of wildly disparate songs by Vincent Rose, Otis Redding and Ornette Coleman.
Cherner began his professional rise in Boston while earning concurrent degrees at Tufts (B.S., Mathematics) and New England Conservatory (Jazz Piano Performance). He studied with master teachers Danilo Pérez, Jerry Bergonzi, Frank Carlberg and Michael Cain, among others. Returning to San Francisco for a time, Cherner then moved to New York in 2008 to pursue graduate studies at Manhattan School of Music, studying with Jason Moran, Garry Dial and Dr. J. Mark Stambaugh. He has since toured throughout the U.S. as well as South America, Canada, Mexico and Europe, as both a leader and sideman. An adjunct professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, he also teaches through the New York Jazz Academy, both privately and via Skype from his Brooklyn studio.
Jazz audiences and fellow musicians are closely watching his growth as a virtuoso soloist and a seasoned, independent-minded artist.
@jarrcher / jarrett@jarrettcherner.com
