ETHAN IVERSON (arranger, piano)
pianist, composer, and writer, first came to international prominence as a founding member of The Bad Plus, a game-changing collective with Reid Anderson and David King. The New York Times called TBP “Better than anyone at melding the sensibilities of post-60’s jazz and indie rock.” During his 17-year tenure, TBP performed in venues as diverse as the Village Vanguard, Carnegie Hall, and Bonnaroo; collaborated with Joshua Redman, Bill Frisell, and the Mark Morris Dance Group; and created a faithful arrangement of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and a radical reinvention of Ornette Coleman’s Science Fiction. Since leaving TBP, Iverson has kept busy. In 2017, he co-curated a major centennial celebration of Thelonious Monk at Duke University and premiered the evening-length Pepperland with the Mark Morris Dance Group. In 2018, he premiered an original piano concerto with the American Composers Orchestra and released a duo album of new compositions with Mark Turner on ECM. In 2019, he released Common Practice with Tom Harrell on ECM, standards tracked live at the Village Vanguard. In 2021, he released the big band work Bud Powell in the 21st Century and was featured on the March cover of DownBeat. In 2022, he released Every Note is True on Blue Note records, an album of original music with Larry Grenadier and Jack DeJohnette. Iverson has also been in the critically-acclaimed Billy Hart quartet for well over a decade and occasionally performs with elder statesmen like Albert “Tootie” Heath or Ron Carter or collaborates with noted classical musicians like Miranda Cuckson and Mark Padmore. For almost 20 years, Iverson’s website Do the Math has been a repository of musician-to-musician interviews and analysis. Time Out New York selected Iverson as one of 25 essential New York jazz icons: “Perhaps NYC’s most thoughtful and passionate student of jazz tradition—the most admirable sort of artist-scholar.” Iverson has also published articles about music in The New Yorker, NPR, The Nation, and JazzTimes.
MARCY HARRIELL (lead vocals)
is a singer, actress, and designer. Music was as mandatory as air for the daughter of a truck-driving trumpeter and a gardening artist. In her childhood home, she delighted in drilling arias while jazz greats played in the background. Her ability to passionately embrace diverse vocal styles has made her a standout in New York theatre. Jumping lithely amongst opera, rock, jazz, and R&B, the New York Times recently hailed her as a vocalist who “demolishes the furious torch song” with a “rafter rattling intensity.” Broadway star turns include Tony Award-winning musicals In the Heights, Rent, and her nightly showstopping performance in Lennon, where the New York Post declared this “wildcat kitten” a “star in the making.” Throughout her career, she has had the honor to work with numerous industry legends: Stephen Sondheim, who guided her performance of Marta in Company at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center; Athol Fugard, who directed her in the world premiere of his play Sorrows & Rejoicings; Jerome Robbins and Arthur Laurents, under whose masterful supervision Harriell deepened the role of Maria in West Side Story. "Superfriend" Lin-Manuel Miranda recruited her to record early demos for Disney’s Moana, tapping Harriell's emotional interpretations for the soundtrack. Enamored by another interpretation, Quentin Tarantino wrote the role of “Marcy” for her in his film Death Proof. On the small screen, Harriell has been a series regular on NBC's Ed; HBO's Nurse Jackie; CBS’s Queens Supreme; and has guest starred in numerous episodics, including Manifest, NCIS, Law & Order, and Search Party. When she’s not onstage, onscreen, or in-studio, Harriell takes a happy audience on a colorful ride alongside her husband Rob in the hit YouTube series @TheHandmadeHarriells, creating couture garments for everyday life.
(@marcyharriell/thehandmadeharriells.com)
SIMÓN WILLSON (bass)
is a Chilean-born, New York City-based bassist, composer, and improviser. As an eclectic and in-demand sideman, he has toured with a host of different artists in Europe, the United States, Canada, and South America. His wide-ranging interest in different realms of jazz and improvised music has led him to work with a diverse pool of established artists such as Dave Douglas, Ethan Iverson, Steve Cardenas, George Garzone, Jason Palmer, Rodney Green, Michael Blake, Pablo Held, Jim Black, Tim Miller, and Frank Carlberg, among many others. He also plays in bands of contemporaries such as Kevin Sun, Max Light, and Jacob Shulman. In addition to his sideman work, he co-leads the bands Great on Paper, Family Plan, and Earprint. The latter won the “best debut album” category of the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll in 2016, and Family Plan released their debut album in September 2021, due to receiving a generous grant from the Chilean government. Willson can be heard on over twenty-five records for labels such as Tzadik, Steeplechase, Newvelle, and Endectomorph, in addition to a number of self-releases.
VINNIE SPERRAZZA (drums)
is an active member of the Brooklyn jazz and creative music community. He leads several bands (including Apocryphal, Haunted, and Pilot House Overhead), writes music, and is a featured collaborator in a number of bands (including Landline, Hearing Things, and many others). In 2017, he released two widely-praised albums of his original compositions: Juxtaposition (Posi-Tone Records) and Hide Ye Idols (Loyal Label). In 2018, he toured the United States as a member of the MMDG Music Ensemble and did a brief tour of Spain with PLAY, featuring Jacob Sacks and bassist Masa Kamaguchi. Recently, Sperrazza toured extensively with Pepperland and released three collaborative albums with The Choir Invisible (with Charlotte Greve and Chris Tordini), Trio Trio (featuring Dave Scott and Rich Perry), and Caleb Curtis/Noah Garabedian/Vinnie Sperrazza.
JONATHAN FINLAYSON (trumpet)
is an accomplished trumpeter, composer, and band leader. Named a rising star by DownBeat magazine, Finlayson has been an integral part of the creative music scene in New York since relocating in 2000. He is widely admired for his ability to negotiate cutting-edge material while bringing a strong sense of individuality and verve. Finlayson has garnered critical acclaim and recognition for his three recordings as a leader with his group Sicilian Defense. He has also received much recognition for his contributions as a sideman with cutting-edge artists such as Steve Coleman, Henry Threadgill, Steve Lehman, and Mary Halvorson.
CLINTON CURTIS (background vocals)
is a multi-genre singer, musician, and songwriter originally from Key West, Florida. As a choral singer he has worked with many of the world’s luminary conductors and orchestras, most recently including engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony. March 2016 marked his operatic debut in Curlew River for the Mark Morris Dance Group. As a popular songwriter and frontman for The Clinton Curtis Band he has toured internationally as a cultural ambassador with the U.S Department of State. He has released five original studio albums available at music.clintoncurtis.com.
BLAIRE REINHARD (background vocals)
is thrilled to be joining the MMDG Music Ensemble in The Look of Love. Her voice and original compositions have been featured in hundreds of TV shows, films, radio spots, and commercials, with credits including Feel the Beat, So You Think You Can Dance, The Friend, Inside Amy Schumer, Dance Moms, The Young and the Restless, One Life to Live, Lincoln Heights, The Voice, Silver Bells, High School Musical, The Namesake, Cow Belles, and The Merry Gentleman. She has also worked as music supervisor on series including Younger and Chappelle’s Show. For over a decade, she has managed and directed the Blaire Reinhard Band, performing as lead vocalist and keyboardist at events around the greater New York City area (blaireband.com).