AACM 2022 Concert Series

Masks are encouraged and appreciated, but not mandatory for this event.

The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, AACM one of the world’s oldest musicians associations, co-founded by Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams, Jodie Christian, Kelan Phil Cohran and Steve McCall, celebrates 57 years of artistic dedication with the AACM CONCERT SERIES 2022.

This will be the final concert of the year of David Virelles Solo Piano and Reggie Nicholson’s Triosphere.

David VirellesSolo Piano

David Virelles - Piano

Reggie Nicholson TrioSphere

Reggie Nicholson - percussion

James Zollar - trumpet

Bruce Edwards - guitar

David Virelles

New York based Pianist David Virelles grew up in a musical family in Santiago de Cuba, steeped in the music of the Afro - Caribbean diaspora and Western classical music. Having been invited to Canada by Jane Bunnett in 2001, Virelles relocated to Toronto where he eventually graduated from Humber College. He worked extensively all over Canada with his own groups and as a sideman. Moving to the United States in 2009, David organically brings together Cuban folkloric and New York improvisational worlds, an interest that started when he was 14. While he views his work as “a hundred percent traditional,” drawing from multiple traditions, in practice, he is creating a syncretic new personal music, rather than a mixture of elements or a recreation.
Besides his solo work, he has also worked with Henry Threadgill, Ravi Coltrane, Andrew Cyrille, Reggie Workman, Oliver Lake, Bill Frisell, Román Díaz, Tomasz Stanko, Stanley Cowell, Terri Lyne Carrington, Sam Rivers, Chucho Valdés, Milford Graves, Chris Potter, Tom Harrell, Wadada Leo Smith, Steve Coleman, Mark Turner, Paul Motian, Marcus Gilmore, Hermeto Pascoal, Changuito and Juan Pablo Torres, among others.
David’s 2012 album Continuum ended up on many “Best Of The Year” lists, including Best Album of 2012 in The New York Times. He has released three records on the Munich label ECM to critical acclaim, documenting a wide artistic range – Mbóko, Antenna, and Gnosis. His release Igbó Alákorin (The Singer's Grove) Vol I & II is a celebration of the musical history of Santiago de Cuba. This record features Santiago music legends and it was recorded at the Siboney E.G.R.E.M. studios in this southeastern Cuban town. It was named Best Latin Jazz album by NPR in 2017. In 2020, Virelles released Transformación del Arcoiris with Pi Recordings, an electronic EP exclusively on the BandCamp platform. Virelles latest album is NUNA (El Tivoli Music/ Pi Recordings), an exploration of the solo piano setting.
Virelles is a Shifting Foundation Fellow, a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts, Louis Applebaum Award, Cristobal Díaz Ayala Travel Grant and The Jazz Gallery Commission. He has been named #1 Rising Star in the Piano category by DownBeat, and Artist of the Year by Musica Jazz Magazine (Italy). While a student at Humber College in Toronto he won the Oscar Peterson Prize, presented by Peterson himself. He is a recipient of the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts and the CINTAS Fellowship in Music Composition. David is also a tenured professor at the Zürich University of the Arts. He has been a guest lecturer at residences at Basel Jazz Campus and the Focus Year special program in Switzerland, CalArts, UCLA, Siena Jazz Summer Workshop, JazzDanmarks Summer Sessions, Amsterdam Conservatory, University of Toronto, Humber College, Fayetteville State University and Harvard University.

“A different side to the great legacy of pianists that come from Cuba... He is the new school.” Gilles Peterson

“… there is a young Cuban pianist named David Virelles, whom I consider a genius.”Chucho Valdés

“Virelles looks set to make big differences in contemporary music for years to come.”The Guardian

“It’s got nerve and soul and memory.”The New York Times

Reggie Nicholson

The instantly recognizable style and sound of Reggie Nicholson has made him one of the most distinctive, inventive and inspirational drummer/percussionists of his generation: a formidable technician, but one who uses his considerable skills constructively and with infinite taste. Born in Chicago, and a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 1979, Nicholson has absorbed the musical influences of the organization, learning the skills to compose and improvise original music. As a composer, he has been twice nominated for the Alpert Award in the Arts, and his compositions have performed at many venues in New York City, including Roulette, the Interpretations Series, The Vision Festival, and the AACM Concert Series. Nicholson’s recordings include “Unnecessary Noise Allowed” (1997), featuring his quintet, The Reggie Nicholson Concept; and “Percussion Peace” (2005), a solo recording experimenting with electronics and percussion instruments. In 2007, the premiere of “Timbre Suite’ was recorded for percussion ensemble. ”Surreal Feel” (2008) highlighted his writing for brass instruments and percussion. “Mettle” (2018) was his second solo recording for percussion, and his latest recording, “No Preservatives Added” (2020), features new compositions for percussion ensemble.

This Event Is Made Possible By New York State Council On The Arts With The Support Of Governor Kathy Hochul And The New York State Legislature. Additional Funds Made Possible By The Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music at Columbia University, and Private Donors.