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Jazz Studies faculty colleagues Ted Poor and Cuong Vu present a duo concert on Dec. 9.
Jazz Studies faculty colleagues Ted Poor and Cuong Vu debut new songs by Poor as well as music from his recent Impulse Records release You Already Know in this duo performance live-streamed from the UW’s Meany Hall. With live video projections by New York City-based visual artist Abigail Portner. A brief question-and-answer session follows the performance.
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Program Detail
The Jazz Studies colleagues’ immersive show features the beguiling projections of visual artist Abigail Portner covering the entire Meany main stage. The duo performs select tracks from Poor’s debut album You Already Know (New Deal/Impulse!) as well as some unreleased songs.
Released in February, the 9-track album produced by Blake Mills features saxophonist Andrew D’Angelo, indie folk-rocker Andrew Bird, and multi-instrumentalist Rob Moose.
LISTEN TOYOU ALREADY KNOW HERE
Praise for You Already Know
Poor’s minimalist yet avant-garde approach on You Already Know attracts a diverse audience. “To Rome” features indie fan-favorite Andrew Bird, with whom Poor records and tours (alongside Madison Cunningham, who also featured Poor on her Verve Forecast debut Who Are You Now).“Only You”expands upon a mantra-like motif which Poor feels provides “form and emotion that grows out of that.” “New Wonder”' isan improvisational piece for which Poor shadowed Andrew D’Angelo’s sax melody on the piano in Sound City Studio’s fabled echo chamber. When the close mic-ed piano sound was muted it left what Poor calls a “shimmery halo” of reverb and space.The hypnotizing track beautifully reflects the improvisational nature of the album. Although it seems as if You Already Knowis on a divergent path from the folk-ish artists and albums Poor has played on and supported, he doesn’t exactly see it that way. Poor unironically believes that it’s still a folk album…not in the sense of the genre classification, but “more the idea of music as oral tradition—music as song.”
Artist Bios
Ted Poor is a New York-born, Seattle-based drummer and composer whose adventurous, soulful playing has vaulted him to the stages of some of today’s most vital artists. Modern Drummer describes his playing as “adventurous, truly dynamic, and forward-thinking.” A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Ted has toured and recorded with renowned artists such as Paul Simon, Marcus Mumford, Bill Frisell, Rufus Wainwright, Pat Metheny, Blake Mills, Madison Cunningham, Chris Thile, John Scofield, Cuong Vu, My Brightest Diamond, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Gabriel Kahane.
Having signed with Verve Records (UMG), his debut album, You Already Know, was released in 2020 to critical acclaim. The album, which is co-produced with Blake Mills features Andrew D’Angelo, Andrew Bird, Rob Moose, Paul Kowert and Sebastian Steinberg. JazzTimes calls the album “profound and moving” and states, “intimate, involving, and lasting, You Already Know balms the senses, wakes them up, slaps them around, and offers positive affirmations.”
Ted is a member of Los Angeles based singer/song-writer Andrew Bird’s band; appearing on and touring the albums Are You Serious and My Finest Work Yet (Loma Vista/Concord). He also performed regularly in the house band on the live radio broadcast of Live From Here with Chris Thile (formerly A Prairie Home Companion). Ted is an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and the acting Associate Director of the School of Music at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Cuong Vu is widely recognized by jazz critics as a leader of a generation of innovative musicians. A truly unique musical voice, Cuong has lent his trumpet playing to a wide range of artists such as Pat Metheny, Laurie Anderson, and David Bowie.
As a youngster, Cuong's intense dedication and love for music led him to a full scholarship at the New England Conservatory of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music in Jazz studies with a distinction in performance. Transitioning from his studies in Boston, he moved to New York in 1994 and began his career actively leading various groups while touring extensively throughout the world. As a leader, Cuong has released eight recordings, each making critics’ lists of the 10 best recordings of their respective years and has received rave reviews from notable publications such as the New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s, the Guardian, BBC Music Magazine, JazzTimes and Downbeat. Each record displays how he has carved out a distinctive sonic territory as a trumpet player, blurring all stylistic borders while developing his own compositional aesthetic and sound world.
Awards and honors that Cuong has garnered include grants from the Royalty Research Foundation, the Donald E. Petersen Professorship, ArtistTrust, 4Culture, CityArts and the Colbert Award for Excellence. Cuong is currently associate professor and chair of Jazz Studies at the University of Washington and was awarded the University of Washington's prestigious Distinguished Teacher Award in his third year on faculty. In 2002 and 2006, Cuong was a recipient of the Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album as a member of the Pat Metheny Group. He’s been recognized as one of the top 50 Jazz Artists in an article called “The New Masters” from the British magazine, “Classic CD” and in 2006 was named the Best International Jazz Artist by the Italian Jazz Critics’ Society. Amazon listed Vu’s “Come Play With Me” on their “The 100 Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time.”