Lew Tabackin Quartet - 60 Jazzaldia

Lew Tabackin Quartet
Lew Tabackin (tenor sax, flute), Oliver Kent (piano), Philip Aerts (double bass), Mourad Benhammou (drums)

Lew Tabackin, flutist and Jazz tenor saxophonist, is an artist with an amazing vision. His electrifying and passionate way of playing the flute is amazing, breath-taking and intercultural. His characteristic tenor sax style includes lengthy intervals, sudden changes of mood and tempo, and his unwavering zeal. All put together to showcase the full range of possibilities of his instrument. Without copying or emulating the Jazz greats of the past, Tabackin has absorbed different elements in his style, ultimately creating his own sound.      

His interest in music began in his native city of Philadelphia, where he first studied flute, then tenor saxophone, at school. He specialised in flute at The Music Conservatory of Philadelphia and studied with composer, Vincent Periscetti. In 1965, Tabackin moved to New Jersey and then to New York, where he first played with Tal Farlow and y Don Friedman, and later in the big bands led by Cab Calloway, Les y Larry Elgart, Maynard Ferguson, Joe Henderson, Chuck Israels, Thad Jones y Mel Lewis, Clark Terry and Duke Pearson. In the late 1960s, Tabackin came to direct a trio and played in smaller groups with Donald Byrd, Roland Hanna, Elvin Jones and Attila Zoller. During those initial years, he also worked with Doc Severinsen as well as the studio band of the Dick Cavett television show. In Europe, he performed as flute soloist with several orchestras, among them The Danish Radio Orchestra and The Hamburg Jazz Workshop.  

In 1968, he met Toshiko Akiyoshi while they were playing together in a quartet. They later got married and moved to Los Angeles, where they formed the much decorated Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra big band. During their time in Los Angeles, Mr Tabacki also played with Shelley Manne and several other trios with Billy Higgins, John Heard and Charlie Haden. During those years, he frequently toured Japan with Mrs Akiyoshi and their orchestra, as well as his own trio, which included drummer, Joey Baron, and bass player, Michael Moore. 

During the 1980s, he began to get the recognition he deserved as a flutist, emerging as the most acclaimed figure in surveys done among critics and readers of DownBeat. In 1982, Tabackin and Akiyoshi moved to New York, which took them back to the Manhattan Jazz scene. Since then, he has consolidated his status as one of the major tenor saxophonists  and flutists around, in live concerts as well as recordings. 

In addition to all the artists mentioned above, Tabackin has worked with musicians and groups such as Hank Jones, Dave Holland, Victor Lewis, Benny Green, Peter Washington, Lewis Nash, George Wein's Newport All-Star Band, the New York Jazz Giants, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band...

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He continues to tour the world as a soloist, playing in clubs and at Jazz festivals with his own groups and as stand-out soloist with The Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra.